Chapter 96. I am here.
Chapter 96
Besides Shen Fengyu, Su Xiyao also came to pick up Shen Suining and take her back to the Yong'an Marquis's residence.
The serpentine longsword was slender and sharp, almost piercing into Shen Suining's body and severing the tendons in her left hand, so much so that she could hardly lift her entire left arm now.
When the carriage slowly arrived at the gate of the Yong'an Marquis's residence, Shen Suining, who was sitting in the carriage, finally opened her eyes. A layer of cold sweat appeared on her forehead, and her face was pale.
While taking her pulse, Su Xiyao asked her calmly, "Is this forceful behavior something that the young master absolutely must do?"
“Besides Miao Wei, you’re the only one I trust,” Shen Suining said with a forced smile, and grasped Su Xiyao’s hand in return. While Shen Fengyu was still outside, she lowered her voice and said in a tone only the two of them could hear, “Help me.”
Su Xiyao sighed softly, opened Shen Suining's palm and placed it flat, then put a black pill into her mouth with her other hand, reminding her, "Xiao Jiu must have already told the young master that although this medicine can relieve pain temporarily, it also has strong side effects. In addition to drowsiness, long-term use will also make people's reactions become increasingly sluggish."
"So what if I feel sleepy?" Shen Suining skillfully put the pill in her mouth and smiled nonchalantly. "Just consider it a rest."
Su Xiyao sighed and shook her head, then took out silver needles and quickly inserted them into several acupoints on Shen Suining's body.
Shen Suining groaned, her brows furrowed, and she curled up into a ball, seemingly in great pain.
A moment later, the pill in her mouth dissolved, and a cool, bitter aftertaste lingered on her tongue before spreading. Shen Suining finally felt a little better, and her brow gradually relaxed.
“Ever since you were poisoned by the Gu in Yunzhou, Young Master has often felt pain,” Su Xiyao said, putting away the needles and hesitatingly asking, “Should we write a letter to Hall Master Shen and Miao Wei?”
"No need," Shen Suining said lightly.
Shen Heyang and Miao Wei are both far away in Yangzhou. With the New Year approaching, it is the busiest time at Shuyu Manor, with a lot of things waiting to be dealt with. Even if they knew, they would not be able to get away for a while, which would only increase their worries. Perhaps if their mother found out, she would send an urgent letter urging her to return to Yangzhou immediately.
Shen Suining didn't want to return to Yangzhou; at least for now, she didn't want to leave Huadu.
After calming down, Shen Suining found that her hand on Su Xiyao was weak and unable to support her. The pain from earlier had also exhausted her strength, making it impossible for her to stand up on her own.
Not wanting Shen Fengyu to notice anything amiss, Shen Suining could only say to Su Xiyao before the carriage curtain was lifted, "Don't tell Fengyu."
Su Xiyao helplessly helped Chen Suining up and draped a fox fur coat over her shoulders. Outside, Shen Fengyu helped her down from the carriage.
Knowing she was coming back, Jing Hao and Jing Yue were already waiting at the gate. After a brief greeting to the two, Shen Suining was helped into the mansion by Shen Fengyu.
"He Hansheng isn't here?" After walking in silence for almost reaching the Plum Garden, Shen Suining finally couldn't help but stop and ask.
Shen Fengyu was unaware of this matter; He Hansheng and Jiang Yuchu were still at the mansion when she left.
She guessed, "I heard from the master that there's been military news these past few days, so the young master has probably been summoned to the palace as well."
"Military intelligence?"
Shen Fengyu nodded. "I heard that a non-royal prince is causing trouble in the Jingchu region. It's a long way from Huadu. The urgent report only arrived in the capital two days ago, so it must have happened many days ago."
Shen Suining had heard her mother mention that during the turmoil of that time, there were so many capable people in the world. There were more than a dozen kings, marquises, generals and ministers who were fighting for supremacy in their own regions. Even those who were forced to submit to the court due to the circumstances of that time were bound to be somewhat restless, especially now that there are almost no military officers in the court who can take charge.
Thinking of this, Shen Suining let out a soft breath, unable to describe her current feelings. She paused for a moment in front of the Plum Blossom Garden, then turned around and said, "Let's go see the Princess first."
...
After visiting the Princess, the pill that Su Xiyao had given her earlier seemed to have lost its effect. As the cool wind outside blew into her body, Shen Suining immediately felt waves of sharp pain coming from the wound on her left shoulder.
Shen Suining's face turned deathly pale, and she became unsteady on her feet. Shen Fengyu noticed something was wrong and quickly stepped forward to support her: "Young Master?"
"fine……"
Before she could utter any words of comfort, Shen Suining staggered forward and fell.
"Young Master!"
Shen Suining did not fall to the ground. She covered her left shoulder and rested for a long time before finally raising her head from the embrace that caught her.
"He Hansheng..." After seeing the other person's face clearly, Shen Suining was stunned for a moment, completely forgetting her current situation, and just stared at him blankly.
After a few days apart, He Hansheng seemed to have lost even more weight than he had at the winter solstice, and his features had become increasingly strong and resolute, giving him a more and more of the tough and resolute demeanor of a soldier.
Although his gaze was as gentle and affectionate as ever, Shen Suining inexplicably sensed a faint distance. For a moment, she felt that He Hansheng was a stranger, as if they were from another world.
Shen Suining lowered her eyes, gasped for breath for a moment, and grabbed He Hansheng's collar with her right hand to barely keep her balance.
Not knowing how to explain why she had ended up in such a sorry state, Shen Suining forced a smile and asked, "The Princess has just retired for the night. Do you want to go see her?"
He Hansheng paused slightly, responded with an "Mm", and his gaze swept over her left shoulder without leaving a trace before landing on her face, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.
After a moment of silence, Shen Suining stepped aside to make way, "Go quickly."
He swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue, said "Okay" in a low voice, and hurriedly walked past her.
After returning to her room, Shen Suining used an excuse to send Shen Fengyu away and called Su Xiyao over.
Before Shen Suining could speak, Su Xiyao asked, "Does it hurt a lot?"
Shen Suining paused for a moment, then looked away and said somewhat awkwardly, "I'm not that delicate."
Su Xiyao sighed and stepped forward to check on Shen Suining's injuries.
A key characteristic of wounds inflicted by serpentine longswords is that while the incisions may appear small, the actual damage is much deeper than that caused by ordinary longswords, making it particularly difficult to stop the bleeding and resulting in a much slower healing process.
Seven days have passed since the winter solstice, and Shen Suining's wounds are still bleeding profusely. This is why Su Xiyao and Luo Jiuxun initially disagreed with Shen Suining's transfer back to the mansion.
Despite Shen Fengyu's utmost care, the journey was still bumpy. In addition, Shen Suining, fearing that someone would notice something was amiss, repeatedly tried to forcefully raise her left hand, and now blood kept gushing from the cut on her shoulder.
Su Xiyao quickly treated Shen Suining's injuries and cleaned up the blood-stained bandages before He Hansheng returned.
After doing all this, she instructed, "Young Master's left hand has injured its tendons and veins. Before the injury is fully healed, please do not try to push yourself."
Shen Suining straightened her clothes, remained silent for a moment, and then asked, "Then... can it be restored to the way it was before?"
“If Young Master can rest and recuperate peacefully, there will naturally be no problem.” At this point, Su Xiyao couldn’t help but remind him, “However, if you intend to conceal it as if nothing is wrong, I’m afraid…”
Shen Suining clutched her left shoulder and sighed heavily.
Even without Su Xiyao's reminder, Shen Suining knew that hiding her injuries was not an easy task, especially in front of He Hansheng and Shen Yan.
Just as she was about to speak, the bedroom door was pushed open, and Shen Fengyu stood outside with red eyes and a look of suppressed resentment on her face. Even her voice trembled, "Ever since the young master had Xiao Jiu and Sister Su, he has even had to keep it from me."
"..." Shen Suining pressed her temples and explained with a hint of helplessness, "If I wanted to hide it from you on purpose, I wouldn't have asked you to pick me up."
Getting hurt is inevitable in life, and Shen Suining doesn't think it's something that needs to be deliberately hidden. She just doesn't know how to explain the reason for her injury if asked.
Just like now, when she faces He Hansheng, she doesn't know how to talk about her leaving without saying goodbye on the winter solstice. Perhaps this is not an easy thing for He Hansheng to accept.
He might be unhappy or even angry because of this, which would be understandable. If he used his anger as an excuse to ask her what she had done that day, Shen Suining might be able to tell He Hansheng everything she had done as the emperor's Shadow Envoy in the past six months, and they could discuss their future plans together.
Shen Suining waited and waited in the room, having already prepared her answer in her mind. Half an hour passed, but she still didn't see He Hansheng. She called someone in to inquire and learned that after leaving the Princess, he had hurriedly gone to the palace again.
The military situation must have been extremely urgent. Shen Suining didn't think too much about it, but she felt a vague sense of disappointment.
But soon, this slight disappointment was forgotten. After the effects of the medicine wore off, Shen Suining's left shoulder began to ache again. Su Xiyao did not recommend that she use painkillers to relieve the pain every time, so she lit some calming incense and forced herself to fall asleep.
The pain-relieving pills that Su Xiyao gave her also had a calming and sleep-inducing effect. Shen Suining was sleeping soundly on her side and didn't even feel the slight sinking of her side.
When He Hansheng returned, it was already close to evening.
He felt a little relieved when he saw Shen Fengyu personally guarding the bedroom door.
The charcoal stove in the bedroom made a soft crackling sound, and a handful of calming spices were sprinkled inside. The faint fragrance was very familiar to He Hansheng. He looked towards the bed and, sure enough, saw a figure sleeping soundly behind layers of curtains.
He Hansheng took off his cloak, which was damp with the chill of the outside air, stood by the stove for a while, then tiptoed to the bed, lifted the curtain, and slowly sat down.
"Ningning." He called softly, his cool fingertips gently touching Shen Suining's furrowed brows.
She didn't wake up, and didn't even react. Shen Fengyu said that she had taken medicine before going to bed, and with the calming incense burning brightly in the stove, she shouldn't be easily woken up.
After a moment of silence, He Hansheng's gaze shifted to her left shoulder. His thin lips pressed tightly together, and the warmth and affection that had been in his eyes instantly turned cold, as if the warm surface of a lake under the sun had frozen into ice, as he struggled to suppress the emotions that had been building up at the bottom of the lake.
As if sensing something, Shen Suining's brow twitched. He Hansheng immediately noticed, took her right hand, which was lying flat to her side, in his palm, and gently kissed the back of her hand.
“I’m here,” he said softly.
Shen Suining then relaxed her brows slightly, and unconsciously tightened her grip on his intertwined hands.
Just like in early spring, the ice on the lake gradually melted, and He Hansheng let her hold him tightly in her sleep, gently squeezing back with just the right amount of force.
After a long while, he reached out his other hand, tucked a stray strand of hair that had fallen to the tip of her nose behind her ear, and sighed softly, "Ningning, He Bufan has already taken care of it."
As if talking to himself, knowing there would be no answer, he still couldn't help but ask, "Will you stay in Huadu... and continue doing those dangerous things?"
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