Chapter 132 At this moment, you stand before me, after all, for the long years to come…
All day had passed, and the rain outside showed no signs of stopping. Rainwater dripped from the eaves in lines onto the ground, and fallen leaves clung to the damp ground, refusing to be blown away by the wind.
Inside the Jiheng Mansion, the autumn rain, carrying a penetrating chill, seeped into the air, yet the interior remained warm and cozy, the temperature undiminished by the damp cold outside.
Looking through the hazy windowpanes, the exterior decorations had been mostly repaired, but because of the rain, the workers hired by the mansion had gone home to rest.
Compared to the simple and unpretentious style of the Jiheng Mansion in the past, with its sparse flowers and trees and plain scenery, Huan Xun ordered the steward to completely renovate the mansion, both inside and out, from the day the imperial decree of marriage was issued, and it was completely transformed.
The once deserted pond was refilled with fresh spring water, and countless colorful koi carp were released into it, their leisurely swimming stirring up a pool of gold and red. Chrysanthemums, osmanthus, and begonias of the season were transplanted from all around, and bonsai trees with climbing vines were added to the corridor. In just a few days, the courtyard was full of vibrant life, and its former emptiness and desolation were gone.
The hanging gauze lanterns, the bamboo curtains under the eaves—almost everything was new.
The high fever caused by the inflammation of the whip wounds kept Huan Xun in a coma for two days, which was why he was unable to go to the execution ground.
After returning from the execution ground, Yu Nie sat by his bedside taking care of him.
His forehead was still frighteningly hot, and his breath was scorching.
Taking medicine didn't work, and neither did cooling her down with cold water. Seeing this, she asked Cuiwei to bring her a porcelain bowl and a bottle of strong liquor.
Under the lamplight, she poured the wine into a bowl, gently ignited it with a tinderbox, and with a "poof," a pale blue flame quietly burned in the bowl.
She quickly dipped her hand into the wine, then skillfully pressed it onto the back of his neck, chest, and palms—areas where meridians converge—and rubbed them repeatedly and rhythmically.
This scene astonished Xie Cheng and Lu Jinshi, who were standing nearby.
She finished the procedure smoothly and efficiently, then turned off the fire in the bowl, wrung out a cool, damp towel, and replaced the towel that had been on his forehead.
After that, she stayed by the bedside, and whenever the towel on his head was warmed up again, she would change it again.
In this gentle, repetitive motion, the night outside the window gradually deepened and became even darker.
As she prepared to change the towel again, Huan Xun, still drowsy, grabbed her wrist amidst the interplay of ice and fire.
Then, he slowly opened his eyes and gazed at her.
His eyes were dark, and his voice was hoarse: "You're using such force, are you trying to murder me?"
Her heart skipped a beat, thinking that she had accidentally scratched him with her fingernail. She said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I might have been a little too rough." As she spoke, she tried to pull her hand back, but her wrist was suddenly gripped by a scalding force, and she couldn't pull her hand away in time.
"I was just kidding." A triumphant smile played on his lips, his gaze remaining fixed on her rosy cheeks. "How long have you been waiting?"
"Not long." With Cuiwei and the others present, she finally withdrew her hand and awkwardly put the towel back.
Xie Cheng added from the side, "After Her Highness the Princess returned from the execution ground, she has been watching over you, sir, for several hours now. Just now, the Princess used liquor to cool you down, which helped you recover quite a bit."
Only then did he belatedly recall the gentle touches he had felt while he was in a daze: the cool towel repeatedly changed on his forehead, the warm fingertips. Those moments that made him feel at ease were truly because of her.
I thought that after returning from the execution ground, she would go straight back to Hongzheng Museum to busy herself with the work of preparing explosives.
She's been busy with this matter most of the time. However, after many failures, she hasn't found a suitable method yet.
He raised his lips at her: "You've been guarding this place ever since you came back from the execution ground?"
She nodded: "Mm."
Huan Xun: "If I don't wake up, are you going to change the towels like this all night?"
Yu Nie: "But your fever won't go down, and I'm always worried." She said frankly.
Her words were so direct. He had a faint smile on his lips, but when he looked at her, his eyes were not casually teasing, but rather focused and scrutinizing, as if he wanted to see through her expression to see if the "worry" she spoke of contained other emotions.
In a brief moment, Yu Nie turned and ordered, "Cuiwei, go and bring the warm medicine."
"Yes, Princess."
She didn't see the answer he wanted, and when she turned her gaze back, the moment of distraction on his face seemed to have never happened.
Huan Xun propped himself up on the edge of the bed and tried to sit up: "I've been lying here for so long, I'm practically moldy. I'd better get down and sit down to drink."
Yu Nie pressed down on his wrist as he tried to prop himself up on the bed, his palm touching his slightly lowered body temperature: "Your fever has just subsided a bit, so it's best not to move around too much."
His gaze swept over the back of her hand.
Noticing his gaze, she immediately moved her hand away and awkwardly explained, "If you don't want to lie down, I'll help you sit up on the bed first."
This time, he agreed.
She stepped forward to help him up, and Xie Cheng assisted from the side.
Through her clothes, she could feel the burning heat and weight of the sick body. The distance between them was so close, almost too close.
Once he was seated, the medicine was quickly brought over, the brown broth on the tray emitting a strong, bitter smell.
Yu Nie took it and was about to feed him.
Huan Xun pressed her hand down and took the bowl from her, saying, "You've been working so hard, take a rest."
Seeing his determination, she did not insist. She got up, walked to the table, and picked up a small dish containing candied fruit.
Huan Xun picked up the bowl of dark brown medicine and drank it all in one gulp.
At this moment, Cuiwei was very perceptive: "Princess, Lord Huan, this servant will go with Guard Xie to see if the porridge in the kitchen is ready."
The little girl was very quick. As soon as she finished speaking, she pulled Xie Cheng out together, gently closed the door, and left the two of them in the room.
The room fell silent instantly.
A bitter taste spread across his tongue, and a faint smile played on his lips as he looked at her.
As he took the candied fruit she offered, his fingertips inadvertently brushed against her palm, leaving a fleeting warmth.
Yu Nie curled her palms, her ear tips turning red, and as if to conceal her identity, picked up a candied fruit from the plate and popped it into her mouth. The sweet and sour taste filled her taste buds and spread all the way to her heart.
"Li Yunsheng has been brought to justice..." He locked her eyes: "You saw it with your own eyes, how does it feel?"
Yu Nie hadn't expected him to suddenly ask this.
She was silent for a moment, her expression shifting from turmoil to hesitation: "Happy. Seeing him decapitated, I did feel a surge of pleasure."
Her voice lowered, filled with a deep sense of bewilderment: "But then, that joy vanished. They died, and my junior brother... he can't come back either. They say blood must be repaid in blood, but the suffering of those they harmed can't be made up for. His death brings me both relief and, more than anything, hatred—hatred for the malice he left behind, which cannot disappear with his death." At the end of her words, her voice was filled with barely suppressed sorrow.
Huan Xun stared at her lowered profile, without speaking immediately.
He looked at her, then got up from the couch.
Seeing that he was about to get down, Yu Nie quickly went to help him.
She had just reached out when his warm hand gently grasped her wrist.
He wasn't forceful, but he pulled her along, and the two sat down around the round table.
He released her hand, picked up the warm teapot, and poured a cup of tea for each of them.
Steam rose, carrying a faint aroma of tea between them, temporarily dispelling the medicinal smell and the heavy atmosphere that had just filled the air.
He pushed one of the glasses toward her: "It's normal that the damage doesn't disappear with the death of the perpetrator."
“But don’t live on hatred.” He gazed at her, unsure whether he was speaking to himself or to her.
He pushed one of the glasses in front of her, the bottom of the glass making a slight, crisp sound as it touched the table. "The damage doesn't disappear with the death of the perpetrator; that's normal."
“But don’t live on hatred.” He gazed at her, his eyes deep, unsure whether these words were a warning to himself or meant for her. A faint smile appeared on his lips as he thought of this.
He understands the principle of not living on hatred better than anyone, yet he can do it better than anyone else.
Almost every step he took in life was treading a path of hatred watered with blood. How absurd it was for him to utter such words of advice.
Perhaps because he knew all too well what it was like to be gnawed at by hatred day and night, after a moment of silence, he added in an almost promise-like tone: "Once all of this is completely over, your future will be free of gloom, and something even better will await you."
She felt that his smile just now must have had another meaning.
Before she could ask further, he subtly changed the subject: "Speaking of which, where did you learn this method of reducing fever, my wife?" He was referring to the fact that she had just used strong liquor to reduce her fever.
Her attention was diverted.
She held the teacup, the warmth dispelling the chill from her fingertips: "Someone taught me that before."
"Your martial uncle?"
She shook her head. She was referring to her grandmother. When she was little, her grandmother would use this method when she often had a fever that wouldn't go down. She had learned it from her grandmother.
“I was young then, and a grandmother told me that if a high fever suddenly occurs and medicine does not reduce it, this is the fastest way to relieve the ailment. You must use the strongest liquor, pour it into a bowl, and light it on fire. Fire is the yang pole, and liquor can disperse. Between the heat and the coolness, the entangled heat toxins can be dispelled.”
She smiled and said, "This method looks scary, but seeing that your fever wouldn't go down, I had no choice but to take the risk and try it."
As she finished speaking, she suddenly remembered that he had told her at Chongyue Tower that once the matter was settled, she should tell him everything.
“Huan Xun…” she called softly, her hand gripping the teacup tightening as if drawing courage from it: “If… if one day I tell you that I actually… don’t belong here, would you believe me?”
"Not belonging to this place?" A hint of doubt flashed across his brow.
She took a deep breath, as if she had finally made up her mind to go all in, and met his gaze: "What I mean is, I don't belong at this time. I... come from a very, very far away country."
Huan Xun listened quietly, showing no surprise whatsoever.
He pondered for a moment, as if recalling the past: "In the past, I once heard Lady Dugu say that there was a country in the far east, whose customs and systems were very different from those of Beiye. That was her hometown, but she could never go back."
He looked into her eyes and said, "I suspect... you might also come from a place like that?"
He smiled faintly, the smile dispelling the usual coldness between his brows and revealing an unusual tenderness.
“However, none of that matters,” he said. “The four seas and eight wastelands, the nine provinces and myriad kingdoms, make no difference to me. What matters is… that we were able to meet, and that you are right here in front of me right now.”
Upon hearing this, she seemed to freeze, her slightly dilated pupils revealing the turbulent emotions churning within her.
She had anticipated that he might be shocked or questioning her, but she never expected that he would accept it so calmly, attributing her origins to a fortunate encounter.
A warm, slightly sour feeling rushed to the tip of her nose, forcing her to hurriedly lower her eyelashes, trying to hide her reddened eyes.
Huan Xun looked at her lowered eyes and softened his tone: "In the future, if you are willing, you can slowly tell me about the country you came from. Tell me about the scenery, the people, or... just some ordinary trivial matters."
After saying that, he casually glanced around the newly decorated room, his gaze finally settling on her. He said with an air of nonchalance, "After all, for the long years to come, you and I will not be husband and wife."
The word "husband and wife" came out of his mouth with a tentative, cautious tone, and the last syllable was alluring.
These words, though seemingly casual, stirred up a tangled mess in her mind.
She looked up and met his seemingly casual gaze. Those incredibly beautiful eyes held a barely perceptible expectation.
In the utter silence, only her soft reply to him could be heard: "Okay."
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