Chapter 109 Returning the Profit
As Meng Yutong pondered the various oddities of the wedding, she suddenly heard a very soft murmur coming from the bed. The sound was so faint that it was almost inaudible.
She got up and walked closer, bending down to listen carefully. The candlelight flickered in the room, illuminating Ji Yun's pale profile. Fine beads of cold sweat seeped from his forehead, his brows were slightly furrowed, and his lips were tightly pursed, revealing a weak and sickly air.
Like a porcelain doll that would shatter at the slightest touch.
She stood to the side, watching for a few moments, when he suddenly spoke, uttering a few words haltingly: "Ah Ying... Ah Ying..."
Meng Yutong stiffened slightly, momentarily disoriented, thinking she had misheard.
How could he call out her nickname while he was unconscious?
As she moved closer, she heard the voice clearly, not her imagination, saying, "I'm sorry... Ying, I'm sorry..."
She frowned, puzzled, and asked softly, "Ji Yun, who are you apologizing to?"
The person on the bed seemed to be plagued by nightmares; their pale face revealed immense pain, and their voice was broken and intermittent: "Ah Ying... that begonia... must be in so much pain... It's all my fault... I didn't protect you well..."
Begonia?
In this life, she was not poisoned by the autumn begonia. Could he be referring to...?
Meng Yutong trembled and staggered back a step.
She looked at the person on the bed in disbelief, her heart pounding so hard she could hardly breathe.
No wonder, no wonder.
He was a completely different person in this life, and his behavior was vastly different from before. She had never even considered this possibility.
Ji Yun must have remembered it too. He remembered everything from her previous life, all those unforgettable memories.
She stared at him blankly, her eyes churning with emotions like crashing waves, unable to find peace.
It was at this moment that Ji Yun regained his senses and slowly opened his eyes.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw that Meng Yutong's face was pale and her expression was panicked. Something seemed very wrong with her. His heart tightened, thinking that she was frightened by the changes at the banquet. He forced himself to get up and asked, "Yutong, are you hurt?"
Before he could finish speaking, Ji Yun aggravated his wound due to the hasty movement. He clutched his chest and coughed violently, his thin body trembling under the quilt.
Today is the wedding day, and the Emperor himself is present. Although he doesn't believe that Jin'an would really do anything outrageous on such a day, he doesn't dare to relax his guard and has arranged for some people to stand guard in the backyard.
That's why the rescuers were able to arrive so quickly when the commotion occurred in the front hall.
He never expected that Jin'an's purpose this time was not to save the emperor, but to let Qing Shu take advantage of the chaos to take Meng Yutong's life.
Thankfully, thankfully he stopped it...
Meng Yutong stood to the side, looking down at him. The panic in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by frost that seemed to freeze over.
"Ji Yun," her voice was as cold as ice, "when did you begin to recall your past life?"
Ji Yun's movements suddenly froze.
He looked up abruptly, and their eyes met. He saw the undisguised disgust in her eyes, and his heart sank.
Ji Yun was somewhat flustered. He struggled to raise his hand, wanting to touch her sleeve, but she slapped it away forcefully.
“Answer me,” her voice was terribly cold, she didn’t even bother to look at him, “when you thought about the past, was it before or after we got engaged?”
She, with such a good temper and such kindness and gentleness, was now making no attempt to hide her displeasure and disgust.
She found out.
She must have loathed him.
“The fifteenth of August,” his voice was dry and hoarse, a metallic sweetness rising in his throat, which gradually turned into a bitter taste, “That Mid-Autumn Festival night… I remember everything.”
“Very well,” Meng Yutong’s lips curled into a mocking sneer, “So that’s how it is. No wonder you went to great lengths to be nice to me and protect me in every way. Ji Yun, don’t you find your current behavior absurd and laughable?”
After saying that, she resolutely turned and walked out.
"Ah Ying!" Ignoring his injuries, Ji Yun staggered off the bed and grabbed her wrist. His heart skipped a beat as his fingertips touched her cold skin. "Let me explain..."
"Let go." Meng Yutong forcefully flung him away.
He was already seriously injured, and his other arm was still wounded from an old injury. With her push, he fell straight to the ground.
The wound on his shoulder reopened, and crimson blood seeped onto his snow-white undergarment. Overwhelmed by the intense pain and burning desire, his vision blurred, and he finally succumbed to unconsciousness, collapsing to the ground.
Meng Yutong paused slightly, but ultimately did not turn around.
She went outside and called Yunzhou into the house, then took Granny Gui and Baizhi back to Zhaoyu Hall.
The night was deep, cold and silent, swallowing her departing figure, leaving only a desolate room and a solitary lamp flickering by the bedside.
Yunzhou rushed into the room and was speechless with shock at the scene before him. He quickly helped Ji Yun, who had fallen to the ground, onto the bed and then went to call Li Wan and Ji Hongye over.
Ji Yun's newly bandaged wound reopened, staining his chest a deep red. Li Wan's brows furrowed and her hands trembled uncontrollably.
Ji Hongye stepped forward and re-bandaged Ji Yun's wound, then asked in detail what had happened to Yun Zhou and where Meng Yutong had gone.
Yunzhou only said that the two seemed to have had a big argument, but he didn't know the specific reason. He only saw Meng Yutong leave with Granny Gui and Bai Zhi, probably going to Zhaoyutang.
Li Wan felt a pang of sadness. "This child, so badly injured, how could he get out of bed? What happened between him and Yu Tong? Why did Yu Tong suddenly go back to Zhaoyu Hall?"
Ji Hongye frowned slightly. Meng Yutong was a gentle and refined person. If it weren't for a very important issue, why would she argue with Yun'er like this and leave with her people overnight?
He sensed something was amiss and vaguely guessed what was going on, so he pressed Li Wan's shoulder and gently shook his head: "Some issues are beyond the reach of others. Let them resolve them themselves. Once Yun'er wakes up, let him do what he wants; we don't need to stop him. The same goes for Yu Tong; they are all good children with their own ideas and opinions, so we shouldn't interfere too much."
Li Wan nodded, and the two of them stayed by Ji Yun's bedside without saying another word.
*
As the moon sank in the west, all was quiet. After returning to Zhaoyu Hall, Meng Yutong did not light any candles, but went straight into the room, closed the door, and sat alone in the darkness.
Granny Gui and Bai Zhi exchanged glances. Although they didn't know exactly what had happened, seeing Meng Yutong's frosty expression and her hasty departure from the mansion on her wedding night, they had a pretty good idea of what had happened. The two dared not say anything, but simply stood at a distance, holding their breath and waiting.
The autumn wind outside the window was bleak, swirling up fallen, withered leaves that tapped against the windowpane, making a soft rustling sound that added to the desolation.
Meng Yutong sat by the window. The shock and disgust she had felt when she first heard Ji Yun's words, recalling the past, had gradually subsided. Returning to this safe haven that belonged to her, her mind had settled down.
Whether Ji Yun recalls the past is of little concern to her. Since her rebirth, everything she has asked for and desired has been unrelated to him, so whether he wants it or not should make no difference to her.
But where did that surge of anger in the Ji residence just now come from? Even she herself couldn't figure it out.
Feeling slightly troubled, she decided to stop thinking about it and lit a candle. She took out the Xuan paper she hadn't finished writing on before and continued writing on it about the various ailments she had seen at the clinic and her thoughts on them.
As the ink dried, her heart calmed down. She finally let out a long breath, put down her pen, turned off the light, and went to bed.
The next day, the sky was overcast and the autumn wind was chilly, but Zhaoyutang Clinic opened as usual.
The neighbors on Peach Blossom Street were somewhat surprised to see the clinic still open for business.
Someone came specifically to ask, "Dr. Meng, why don't you rest on your first day of marriage?"
The patients who came for treatment also said with concern, "Yes, Dr. Meng, it's okay to take a few days off. We thought the clinic would be closed for the next few days."
Meng Yutong remained calm and smiled faintly: "It is a doctor's duty, and I dare not let personal matters interfere with public duty. Thank you all for your concern."
She performed the same diagnostic methods as always, observing, listening, inquiring, and feeling the pulse. In her spare time, she devoted herself to studying medicinal tea formulas, her expression focused and her demeanor composed, as if she were no different from before her marriage.
If Ji Yun hadn't suddenly appeared outside the door as dusk fell...
Bai Zhi glanced discreetly at Meng Yutong, who was arranging medicinal herbs behind the counter. After hesitating for a moment, she finally stepped forward and whispered, "Miss, Physician Ji has arrived and is waiting outside the door."
"Hmm." Meng Yutong did not look up, her gaze still fixed on the prescription in her hand.
The herbal tea prepared according to this prescription was a bit too astringent, so we need to add licorice to balance it.
She picked up her brush, dipped it in ink, and focused on revising the prescription, without mentioning a word to the person outside the door.
Bai Zhi had no choice but to step back and help, but she kept glancing towards the door out of the corner of her eye.
Ji Yun stood alone, gazing at the familiar figure inside the hall. The once elegant and upright figure could no longer hide his haggard appearance; his face was as pale as paper, and he looked extremely weak and frail.
As night deepened, the autumn chill seeped into his skin. A gentle autumn rain, like silk threads and mist, began to fall silently, dampening his robes and hair.
He remained standing in the rain, like a frozen stone statue, oblivious to the waves of pain throbbing in his shoulder, his gaze fixed on the figure under the warm lamplight.
As the night deepened, the rain intensified.
Wu Ming couldn't bear to watch any longer and stepped forward to advise, "Miss, Physician Ji has been standing in the rain for two hours, and he is still injured..."
Bai Zhi softly echoed, "If the injury worsens from being soaked in the rain like this, I'm afraid..."
Meng Yutong paused slightly with her pen, having just finished revising the prescription. She remained silent for a moment, when a few suppressed coughs came from outside the window.
She frowned. "Please let him in."
Wu Ming breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly went out to lead Ji Yun into the room. He and Bai Zhi then quietly withdrew and closed the door.
Ji Yun stumbled slightly as she stepped into the room, reaching out to steady herself by holding onto the doorframe. The candlelight was soft, illuminating her cool profile, but failing to reach her distant eyes.
"Ji Yun, what exactly do you want to do?" Her voice was filled with obvious fatigue and impatience.
“Ah Ying,” his voice was hoarse, as if filled with endless pain, “all that happened before was my fault. I’ve come here today not to beg for forgiveness. I only ask that you not be so resolute.”
He had never been so humble, nor so afraid.
"Between us, it's nothing more than an exchange of interests, each taking what they need."
She lowered her eyes, avoiding his gaze, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow beneath them. "Back then, when you hadn't remembered the past, I could temporarily set aside the old things and play along with you. But now..."
She looked up at him, her gaze as cold as ice: "You have remembered the past, and I have not forgotten it either. We can never go back to what we were before. Since this marriage was built on deception, I hope the divorce will be brought forward."
Upon hearing her say the word "divorce," Ji Yun's eyes suddenly darkened.
He interrupted her hastily, as if afraid she would say something even more resolute the next moment, "I know your mind is made up and there is no turning back. All the past wrongs are my own doing."
With trembling hands, he took a blue-and-white porcelain bottle from his bosom.
It was an ordinary blue and white porcelain vase, with nothing particularly special about it from the outside.
But upon closer inspection, it inexplicably looked somewhat familiar.
It seems that... it was after she and Ji Yun analyzed the poison of the begonia in the courtyard that day that he collected the excess poison juice using this small bottle!
"You suffered the poison of the begonia because of me."
He uncorked the bottle so quickly that no one could react, then tilted his head back and brought the small bottle to his lips, saying, "Today I return it all."
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