Chapter 99 Together in the damp, cold rain, she in my arms was burning hot. ...
Yin Yi pushed his way through the crowd into the pharmacy and followed Fu Yao. Just as he was wondering how to strike up a conversation, he saw a silk handkerchief fall from Fu Yao's clothes.
Unaware of what was happening, Fu Yao hurried forward when she was suddenly called out, "Miss Fu."
She stopped and turned around. What came into view was a tall, silver-clad guard with a calm expression. He was holding a familiar handkerchief in his hand.
Fu Yao recognized the person immediately and exclaimed in surprise, "Silver Guard?"
Yin Yi and Fu Yao had just met a moderate amount of time. When Xie Qingyu and Yue Yining first recognized each other, Xie Qingyu was constantly sending gifts to the princess's residence. As the person who facilitated the exchange between the two, Fu Yao was able to exchange a few words with Yin Yi, knew his name, and recognized his appearance.
Yin Yi walked over and handed the item back to her: "I just saw it fall off you."
Fu Yao quickly accepted it, saying, "Thank you."
Yin Yi spoke stiffly, "Why would Miss Fu come to the pharmacy? Is she here to get medicine for Lord Yue?"
"Yes, my young lady hasn't been feeling well this morning." Upon his question, Fu Yao's face was filled with worry again. "She's been coughing the whole way here, probably caught a cold. She also kept her eyes closed in the car, looking like she was in a lot of discomfort."
Yin Yi: "Do people from Yue often get sick?"
Fu Yao nodded, "That was true before, but it's improved a bit in the last year. Miss's health isn't very good; when she falls ill, it always gets very serious and takes a long time to fully recover. I'm really worried about her..."
Yin Yi obtained the intelligence, and this mission can be considered a success.
But at the same time, he also remembered what Xie Qingyu had asked him to do before.
“I remember that my eldest son sent a few doses of medicine to the Yue people last month to help them recover,” Yin Yi said, but he noticed that Fu Yao’s shoulder stiffened. He paused, pretending not to notice, and continued, “The weather in Qinghuai is humid and hot. He said that the Yue people are weak and have a weak spleen. If they stay here for a long time, their bodies will easily be exposed to cold.”
"The eldest son instructed me to find a famous doctor in the city and get some medicine suitable for women with yin deficiency. This almost caused me to miss the day's official business."
Fu Yao paused, her expression changing slightly: "...Wasn't that medicine something Lord Xie asked for from the physician at the official residence after he rescued the person from the river?"
Yin Yi belatedly realized that he had said too much.
But it should be alright? Xie Qingyu didn't instruct anyone not to talk about this.
So he said, “No, it was prepared by the eldest son long ago. Medicine is not like other ordinary gifts. He dared not ask someone else to do it, for fear that someone would use his name to harm Lord Yue. So he always thought of finding an opportunity to deliver it to Lord Xie in person. That day, he returned to his official residence after saving someone and happened to have some free time. After quickly washing up, he immediately went to visit Lord Yue.”
Fu Yao remained silent for a long time, and Yin Yi observed her expression, which seemed to indicate that she was lost in thought.
Yin Yi shut his mouth and began to think back on whether he had said anything wrong.
But before he could come to a conclusion, Fu Yao spoke first: "...I see."
"The young master sent medicine, but Miss didn't drink it at the time, for some... special reasons." Fu Yao sighed inwardly, her thoughts a jumble of emotions. "But Miss was very grateful for his concern and told me that he is a very good person."
Actually, she never said that. Yue Yining has been so busy these past few days that she really doesn't have the time or inclination to give Xie Qingyu any.
However, Fu Yao's heart truly softened at this moment. She realized that Xie Qingyu might have really put his heart and soul into Yue Yining, and that he truly cared about her young lady.
She could never bring herself to be hostile to someone who genuinely cared for her mistress.
Yin Yi wasn't usually one to read between the lines, but today he inexplicably understood the unspoken comfort in Fu Yao's words, and the difficulty and embarrassment in her expression.
He thought to himself, if Xie Qingyu knew that Yue Yining suspected that there was something wrong with the medicine he sent, she would probably be torn to pieces.
Moreover, for some reason, he felt a constant throbbing in his temples all day, as if he had an unusually strong premonition of impending doom.
After bidding farewell to Fu Yao, Yin Yi arrived outside the pharmacy, where the crowd had thinned considerably. The rain continued to fall, like thousands of needles across a vast sea.
Yin Yi remembered that Xie's carriage was parked under a willow tree, but when he looked up, it froze in place.
...The carriage disappeared.
What happened? Did you have urgent official business to attend to, so you went back to your residence first? Or did you find another place to wait for him?
Yin Yi circled the pharmacy several times but didn't see a carriage similar to the Xie family's. When he returned to the pharmacy's corridor, he decided to go back to his official residence first, but he ran into Fu Yao, who was carrying a bag of medicinal herbs.
Fu Yao was surprised to see that he hadn't left yet. "Are you waiting for someone?"
Yin Yi hesitated. He didn't know how to answer. He couldn't very well say that he had gotten off the carriage at Xie Qingyu's command to gather intelligence, and now he couldn't find her, could he?
Unable to think of a good explanation, he could only mumble, "...Um, waiting for someone."
Seeing his dazed yet serious expression, Fu Yao chuckled and said, "Then I'll be going now. My young lady is still waiting for me at the manor!"
Yin Yi watched as Fu Yao left under the eaves with an umbrella, her figure disappearing into the rain. He scratched the back of his head and followed her.
Let's go back to the official residence and take a look.
It was completely dark. The moonlight shone down, and a layer of cold, shimmering mist covered the world, as if the earth were draped with a veil of silver silk.
Upon returning to his residence, Yin Yi discovered that Xie Qingyu's carriage was not in the shed, and Huang Qiu and Xiao Chuan's men were also nowhere to be found. He had a vague feeling that something was wrong, and after asking the guards in the courtyard and learning that no one had returned, Yin Yi was almost certain that something had happened to Xie Qingyu.
But he couldn't understand it. The area where the pharmacy was located was mostly inhabited by law-abiding citizens with household registration in Qinghuai City. There were so many patrolling guards on the streets, and Xie Qingyu also had secret guards by her side. How could she have been arrested silently?
This doesn't make any sense.
Yin Yi stood there for a long time before stepping out of the courtyard, intending to go out and ask someone again. But as soon as he stepped out, he saw a group of servants walking by quickly, their movements hurried and their expressions panicked.
Yin Yi's brow twitched, and he quickly grabbed one of them: "What happened?"
The attendant hurriedly said, "A man covered in blood collapsed at the entrance of the official residence. He claimed to be Lord Xie's guard, and he was spitting blood as he spoke. It was terrifying!"
Yin Yi's expression changed drastically. "Where is he now?"
"They've already had him carried in. He had just caught his breath when he said that Lord Xie and Lord Yue left the city today and were captured by bandits. He escaped at great risk! Now, the fate of both lords is unknown, and their whereabouts are unknown!"
Yin Yi's pupils contracted.
Meanwhile, the servants who went to inform others also arrived at Yue Yining's courtyard, where they happened to meet Fu Yao, who had just finished decocting the medicine.
Fu Yao was carrying a wooden tray with a bowl of steaming hot herbal soup on it, still emitting white steam.
She listened blankly to what the person who came to report said. She didn't know what the person said to her, but her hand went limp, and the bowl of medicine slid down the tilted tray.
With a "crack," the white porcelain bowl shattered into pieces on the ground, and the dark brown medicine mingled with the rainwater and mud.
.........
In the mountains and forests, torrential rain poured down on the stone walls, causing bamboo leaves to flutter in the wind.
Jiang Feiyan led her team up to the mountainside; their lair was just a short distance away, and this was the only way up the mountain. Jiang Feiyan waved the hilt of her knife and raised her chin. Her subordinates, several women in black, understood immediately and pushed Yue Yining and Xie Qingyu into a cave.
Jiang Feiyan glanced at their retreating figures. "Let them stay here for now. We'll deal with them when the general returns."
"This is so annoying, why does this rain never stop?" She spat, twisted her arms, stretched and took a few steps. "I'm exhausted, I'm going back to sleep, I'll come back tomorrow."
"Xiao Zhuo, Xiao Ying, you two keep an eye on things, don't let anyone die."
The two women in black who had been called by name stepped forward and said, "Yes."
Inside the cave, moss covered the ground, and water dripped softly.
With his hands bound, Xie Qingyu could only struggle to sit up against the stone wall. He anxiously called out to Yue Yining, who was not far away, "Miss! Miss, are you alright?"
Yue Yining lay on the ground, his eyes closed and his lips pale. He did not respond no matter how he called out to him.
"Damn it...!" Xie Qingyu cursed under his breath, clenching his fists. He breathed heavily, leaning against the cold stone wall, trying to calm himself down.
He found a sharp protrusion on the stone wall, moved it little by little, and pushed the hemp rope on his wrist up.
The woman in black, called Xiao Zhuo, had been observing the situation inside the cave from time to time. Seeing Xie Qingyu rubbing the rope on her wrists against the wall, she whispered to another woman in black, Xiao Ying, "The man inside is untying the rope on his hands..."
Xiao Ying didn't look back: "Don't worry about him, we'll untie them when it's time to eat anyway."
Xiao Zhu hesitated, then said, "...No. I think I saw blood flowing from his hand."
Xie Qingyu couldn't see her wrist and was extremely anxious. She rubbed it hard several times, but accidentally scraped her wrist.
He ignored the dense beads of blood seeping from the lacerated wound, which covered the sharp stone with dark red bloodstains. After breaking the rope and untying it, he stumbled over and knelt beside Yue Yining.
With trembling hands, he untied her bound wrists. The rough hemp rope had left two swollen red marks on her fair skin from the brutal pulling along the way.
Outside the cave, a torrential downpour caused the vines to droop and sway in the rain.
Xie Qingyu pulled Yue Yining into her arms. The first thing she felt wasn't the coolness of the rain, but the burning heat of Yue Yining's body. Yue Yining's clothes were soaked through, and strands of her fine, soft black hair clung to her forehead.
He gripped her hand tightly. The back of her hand was as cold as ice, but the palm was alarmingly hot. He lightly touched her forehead and abruptly pulled away, the lingering heat still lingering in his palm, sending a chill down his spine.
Yue Yining lay in his arms, her arms hanging limply, her breathing weak and shallow, clearly indicating that she had fallen into a coma.
Xie Qingyu felt her heart clench into a fist.
She was indeed sick.
It took about an hour to walk from the original mountain path to this deep forest. Jiang Feiyan and her group wore bamboo hats, while he and Yue Yining were soaked to the bone. In such a downpour, it was impossible to see the path clearly, and without any cover on their foreheads, the rain was so intense that they couldn't even open their eyes.
Yue Yining had already caught a cold, and the heavy rain made her condition worse. She developed a high fever and is now unconscious.
The person in my arms was quieter than ever before. Ignoring their bloodless face, they seemed to be sleeping peacefully.
She was as soft as a willow catkin, her bones slender and her flesh barely grown. Normally, she would wear loose robes with ease and grace, but now she was pitifully thin. A deadly warmth emanated from every inch of her skin that he touched, baking him and constantly reminding him that beneath it lay a flame that would burn her life to ashes.
His arms trembled, and he tightened his grip an inch more. Yue Yining, trapped in his arms, was completely unaware of the disordered breathing above her head, and simply slept soundly.
Xie Qingyu wasn't sure, but it was probably a high fever caused by a cold.
In this dynasty, high fever was called "fever" or "febrile disease," and it was still a relatively dangerous illness. There were no effective drugs or targeted prescriptions that appeared in later generations, so people could only rely on physical cooling and common cold medicines to tough it out.
Now they are at the mercy of others, barely able to protect themselves, and even lack access to common medicine. Adding to this, the cave is cold and damp, without beds, heaters, or even hot water, which will only worsen Yue Yining's situation.
Xie Qingyu's lips tightened into a straight line. He first untied Yue Yining's thickest and completely soaked outer robe, and then began to take off his own clothes.
Compared to the aloof and well-behaved Xiao Ying, Xiao Zhuo was more curious and had been secretly observing the movements inside the cave. Upon seeing this scene, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.
"Hey, Xiaoying," she whispered to her best friend, "Is the guy Sister Yan caught from a wealthy family?"
Xiao Ying thought she had asked an idiotic question and immediately began to lecture her: "Were you distracted again when you were on the mission? Didn't you hear him introduce himself to Sister Yan? The Xie family of Yanjing, a prominent family with hereditary titles, of course he's a scion of a noble family."
Xiao Zhu clicked his tongue: "It really is... Sigh, aren't all young masters supposed to be very concerned about their reputation and would rather die than compromise their principles? How come this Young Master Xie is so shameless? There are plenty of people here, and he just took off his clothes like that..."
Hearing her say that, Xiao Ying couldn't help but look back twice. Xie Qingyu had already taken off the two layers of black brocade robes he was wearing. The ground inside the cave was covered with moss, mud, and rainwater, but he ignored it and simply spread the robes on the ground.
He was only wearing a snow-white, wet undergarment, and he was carefully placing Yue Yining, whom he had laid out on the clothes he had laid out.
This young master Xie was the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life. His face was as bright as the moon, and even though he was in such a sorry state and his clothes were disheveled, his appearance was still as elegant as ever.
She quickly looked away, giving Xiao Zhu a warning look, "Why are you talking so much today?"
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