Chapter 99 Mother
I don't know how much time passed.
It's cold, so cold.
Xie Mianmian felt dizzy and tried desperately to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt heavy, as if they were stuck together with glue.
Through her tightly closed eyelids, Xie Mianmian seemed to sense a burst of bright white light in front of her.
With all her might, she finally managed to slowly open her eyes.
Before her was a strange place, decorated and furnished in a way that Xie Mianmian had never seen before—beautiful yet simple.
Where is this place?
She felt a bizarre and fantastical sensation, as if she were in a dream, and the chill emanating from her very bones made the child shiver.
Suddenly, a woman came towards us against the light, her face obscured.
Xie Mianmian fell into a warm embrace, like a hot spring, the warmth spreading to her limbs and bones, so comfortable.
She stretched out her chubby little hands and hugged the person back, gently rubbing her cheek against them. Even though she didn't know her, she inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity.
It seemed as if they had been separated for a long time and had not seen each other for a long time.
Crystalline tears kept sliding down her slightly puffed-out cheeks.
The person seemed to smile and said gently, "Mianmian, you shouldn't have come here. Go back now."
The person's voice sounded like it was coming through a film of water; Xie Mianmian couldn't hear it clearly. "Who are you?"
But she couldn't make a sound.
Suddenly, a suction force pulled Xie Mianmian away from behind, and she flew away quickly. She only had time to see the woman's lips curl up in a kind smile.
Xie Mianmian was lost in a blissful reverie.
She didn't hear the voice that suddenly appeared in her mind.
"Buzz...Buzz...Insufficient power, system restart failed..."
Inside the bedroom, "Mianmian, Mianmian, wake up!"
"Your Excellency, what exactly happened to my sister?"
The twins were nearly frantic with worry; if the academy director hadn't been taking their pulse, he would have already started shaking their shoulders.
The imperial physician stroked his white beard in deep thought. “Your younger sister’s pulse is stable and there is nothing wrong with her body. She is just a little worried and her temper is a bit hot.”
He removed his fingers from the child's wrist. "From all indications, it seems... the child is asleep."
Wen Shuwan wiped the sweat from Xie Mianmian's forehead with a handkerchief. "But why can't we wake Mianmian up no matter what we do? It's really strange."
It is indeed strange. The academy envoy is not being arrogant. His medical skills are among the best in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty. He has cured countless difficult and complicated diseases.
This was the first time he had ever seen such a strange illness. After carefully examining the pulse, he found that the person was not seriously injured, but had not woken up for a long time.
Seeing the child's long, straight eyelashes flutter, Wen Shuwan exclaimed in delight, "Mianmian seems to be waking up!"
The next moment, Xie Mianmian opened her eyes groggily, yawned widely, and felt as if she had had a very good sleep, her whole body almost feeling soft and limp.
She seemed to have had a dream.
The Xie family gathered around, asking the child anxiously, "Is Mianmian alright?" "Does she feel unwell anywhere?"
Xie Mianmian shook her head to indicate that she was fine.
The abbot said, "It's good that you've woken up. I'll write down a prescription for you. If you still don't get better, come to the palace to find me."
"Thank you very much, Your Excellency!"
So the Xie family got busy, sending things to the doctor, instructing servants to prepare medicine, making food for the children, and so on.
Xie Mianmian stretched and sat drowsily on the couch. The three dogs quietly kept her company, their tail tips gently stroking the child's head.
She murmured, "Mianmian seems to have seen her mother."
With a thud, Xie's father tripped over the chair. He lowered his head, left a message saying "Mianmian, take good care of yourself," and then staggered out of the bedroom.
After Xie Mianmian suddenly fainted, she did not enter the palace for several days.
As she painfully drank the bitter medicine, she thought about how she was going to break her promise to the Seventh Prince to go to school, and she didn't want to.
Wen Shuwan sat at a desk to the side, her brows furrowed, as she flipped through the account books of a shop.
She said, "The brown rice we purchased more than a month ago still hasn't arrived. It's grain that our Xie family donated to villages near the Grand Canal. We have to send someone to check on it."
Although the canal gates were well constructed, the earthquake still damaged some fields, resulting in a poor harvest.
Therefore, the Xie family specially purchased grain from Jiangnan, intending to distribute it to farmers severely affected by the disaster, especially Xiahe Village, which was already poor, and mobilized the entire village's manpower and resources to build a shrine for the child.
When the Xie family learned of this, they sent money to them, but the Xie family refused to accept more than they were entitled to, only accepting the corresponding amount for the materials.
Xie Mingyi put down the book in her hand. "Father is busy at the dock again. It seems something has happened. He hasn't been home for several days."
"Wait, something's not right." Wen Shuwan looked down and carefully examined the name of the caravan that purchased this batch of brown rice. "It's the Xu family's merchants."
"What's wrong with that?"
"The Xu family are salt merchants, but they are ruthless. More than a year ago, when I was still unmarried, they actually came to sabotage the Wen family's pastry shop. Let's not talk about that time. In short, there's probably a problem with this batch of grain. I have to go to the dock myself."
Xie Mingyi took the ledger and began to read it. “The capital is far from the sea. It takes more than two hours to get there, and you can’t make it back and forth in one day. Not to mention me, even my brother can’t trust you to go.”
"But……"
Xie Mianmian, holding the wolf cub, came closer and said, "Why don't we go together? We can visit Father, and besides, Mianmian has never seen the sea before!"
Wen Shuwan looked at Xie Mingyi with difficulty, "This?"
"Come on, come on, Mianmian wants to go play and also wants to see a real, living sailboat!"
Poor thing, this precious youngest daughter of the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner had only ever seen rotten wooden boats buried in the ground, reeking of decay.
The three looked at each other, their hearts filled with a desire to go sightseeing. So... let's go!
That evening, Xie Linyuan returned home with light steps, only to hear the devastating news: his wife was leaving him to go out and have fun.
"How about I come with you?"
As Wen Shuwan bent over to organize her personal belongings, a sudden tightness gripped her waist as a man pressed against her from behind, whispering in her ear.
From behind, Xie Linyuan's broad arms completely shielded his wife in his embrace.
The man seemed like a vicious wolf guarding its food, not wanting anyone else to see his beloved wife even a glimpse of her clothes. He felt that being seen by others was a luxury.
Wen Shuwan paused in folding clothes. "But husband, your leave is over, and you have to attend the morning court tomorrow. Go to bed early tonight."
The large hands clasped around her waist suddenly tightened, and the man's tall figure blocked the bright candlelight, making Wen Shuwan feel as if she were trapped in this small corner.
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