Chapter 554 Title Conferment
Lin Changning and Qi Rong sat facing each other on a couch by the window. Chess pieces were scattered on the chessboard in the middle, and Lin Changning casually played with the black pieces in his hand.
Qi Rong, draped in a cloak, looked out at the desolate courtyard and sighed: "A-Shu's health? What did Physician Liu say?"
Lin Changning gripped the chess piece tightly, his face grim as he looked down: "This poison, Physician Liu has been working on for almost three months, but it still doesn't work."
The thought of Li Mingshu growing weaker day by day made Lin Changning wish he could dig that Ji guy out of the mass grave and kill him a thousand more times.
After several months of recuperation, Qi Rong's health had improved considerably. The capital authorities were also urging him repeatedly, and the imperial decrees for him and Lin Changning to be conferred titles and appointments as prime ministers were finally issued.
They were just waiting to go to the Fengtian Hall to complete the investiture ceremony.
But now, Mingshu's body is like an autumn leaf, slowly decaying. When I visited Mingshu yesterday, she couldn't even get out of bed. She spent almost half the day sleeping, and the rest of the time she had to take her medicine.
He looked like he had lost a lot of weight.
Qi Rong sighed, feeling a pang of sadness in his heart.
Lin Changning lowered his eyes, lost in thought. After a long while, he asked, "Has Father not dealt with the remaining members of the Ji family yet?"
Qi Rong paused as he placed his piece: "Several long-established noble families in Yun County have joined forces to threaten my uncle. Winter is approaching, and the Tartars will be coming down to harvest hay again. My uncle needs these people to stabilize the border. Xiao Liu, the Su family, and the widow of the Ji family are all temporarily untouchable..."
Lin Changning felt a dull, throbbing pain in his chest. These days, Ashu's awake time was getting shorter and shorter, and every time he spoke to her, it felt like she was giving her last words.
She rambled on about her childhood, saying that if she had met him sooner, they might have become close friends. He apologized to her, saying that her health was failing and she probably wouldn't last much longer.
He apologized for keeping her waiting and asked if she had a boyfriend.
As she was talking, she fell asleep again.
When Li Mingshu came out this morning, she said that she missed home, missed her father, her mother, her eldest and second eldest brothers, and her youngest sister.
Lin Changning almost couldn't hold back the tears welling up in her eyes. With a stern face, she had a carriage driven to the Prince's Mansion and ordered the courtyard where Li Mingshu had lived before her marriage to be cleaned up.
After rearranging the furnishings according to the arrangement before marriage, Li Mingshu was covered with a thick cloak and carried into the carriage, where she was sent back to the Prince's Mansion.
The physician from the Liu family explained that ever since Shu was frightened that day, her body had been like a leaky pot, with her blood, energy, and essence gradually draining away over time. Taking medicine and taking care of her could only slow down the rate of loss of her essence and energy, but it could not stop the loss at all.
The advice given to her was to try to make Li Mingshu happy, as it might help with her condition.
After carrying the girl back to her pre-marriage room, Lin Changning took Yue'er out and put her in the side room next door to lull her to sleep before going to find Qi Rong.
Qi Rong saw that Lin Changning was silent, and his eyes were filled with unconcealed sadness. They, including the people in the capital, now knew that Li Mingshu's health probably wouldn't last much longer.
But the one who was most heartbroken was probably Lin Changning. Qi Rong would visit Li Mingshu every few days and see her growing thinner and thinner each day, which made him extremely sad.
Lin Changning, who spends every day with Li Mingshu and watches her slowly wither away in his arms, must be feeling even more miserable.
When Qi Rong saw Lin Changning recently, he felt that the carefree and cheerful Xiao Liu of the past seemed to be carrying some worries in her heart.
His eyes were dark, with an indelible shadow in them, and his whole being exuded a murderous aura.
Seeing that Lin Changning had stopped again, Qi Rong tried to change the subject. He opened a cabinet next to him and had a guard hand over a stack of papers, which he gently placed next to Lin Changning.
"These are the titles proposed by the Ministry of Personnel. A formal investiture ceremony will be held in the capital in a few days. You can choose one, Xiao Liu."
Lin Changning casually glanced at the titles on the list and picked up the first one at random: "This one will do."
Qi Rong paused for a moment: "You certainly know how to pick one. This title was written by your uncle, Wu'an, meaning to secure the country with military force. The people in the Ministry of Personnel thought you were too young and argued for days about not letting you use this title."
Lin Changning tossed aside the chess piece in his hand, somewhat annoyed: "Let them be."
Qi Rong put the title Lin Changning had chosen into the box, then took out another one: "I'll probably inherit the title of Duke of Qi, so I find the title too troublesome and won't choose another one. An'an wrote to us a few days ago, asking when we're going back to the capital. He misses you a lot. Thanks to you, he recently joined the Cui family and is studying at the Cui family school with A-Zheng. My aunt and uncle also miss A-Shu and Yue'er a bit..."
Lin Changning understood Qi Rong's unspoken meaning. Her long eyelashes trembled, and she rested her arm on the table, gently touching her forehead. "Second Brother, please give me some more time. I'm worried about Ming Shu right now..."
A trace of sadness flashed in Qi Rong's eyes: "My aunt and uncle in the capital have already prepared imperial physicians, and the best carriages will be used. The accompanying imperial physicians have also arrived. If we can get to the capital sooner, perhaps we can have more imperial physicians to think of a solution together."
Lin Changning lowered his phoenix eyes slightly, his eyelashes trembled, and his handsome face was full of entanglement. He thought of Li Mingshu saying that she missed her father and mother this morning, and he also thought of what the doctor from the Liu family said a few days ago that it would not be good for Li Mingshu, who was recuperating, to travel on this day. His throat tightened a little.
After a long pause, he said in a hoarse voice, "Second Brother, please give me another half month. We'll return to the capital in half a month."
Qi Rong looked at Lin Changning, whose face showed indescribable sadness, clenched his fist, and mumbled an "okay".
He knew that Lin Changning was in a dilemma. Ashu was in poor health, but there was no one in Taiyuan who could cure her. Doctor Liu was only keeping Ashu alive with medicine. The journey had taken nearly a month, and any small accident along the way could have directly harmed Ashu.
Moreover, even if they arrived in the capital, the imperial physicians might not be able to cure Mingshu. Lin Changning was hesitant to gamble, nor did he want to risk Li Mingshu's life for that sliver of hope.
He sighed as he watched Lin Changning slump down, seemingly having lost all fighting spirit. Overwhelmed with emotion, he couldn't help but cover his mouth and cough.
Lin Changning was awakened by Qi Rong's cough and poured a cup of warm tea for Qi Rong, saying, "Second Brother, have some water to clear your head."
Qi Rong took the tea, swallowed it, and let out a long sigh of relief. This injury had really taken a toll on his health. Now that winter had just begun, he was already freezing cold, and he would cough if he got even slightly excited.
"fine."
Lin Changning got off the bed, rummaged through a cabinet, took out a bottle of pills, handed it to Qi Rong, and said, "Second brother, you too, you're not fully recovered yet, why are you in such a hurry to go?"
Qi Rong smiled helplessly and took the medicine from Lin Changning: "Uncle is in trouble in the capital. Apart from Lao Qin, who is now in charge of the capital garrison, Lao Qian, Lao Zhao, and all of our generals have been sent to various places to guard the border. The border is restless, and several vassal kings within the country are also not stable. Uncle is not having an easy time either. Those old-time nobles and literati in the capital are the most difficult to deal with. If I go back sooner, I may still be able to help."
Lin Changning sighed softly, "Then we need to get our health back in order first..."
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