Chapter 115 Pine Nut Candy
As dusk settled, the lights in Zhaoyu Hall began to twinkle. Yun Zhou had just arrived with the good news that the epidemic in the suburbs had subsided, and that Ji Yun would be returning soon. Unexpectedly, no sooner had he left than Shen Zhou, the clerk of the Imperial Medical Academy, rushed in, his face filled with worry.
“Dr. Meng,” Shen Zhou bowed and said urgently, “Physician Ji has suffered a relapse of his old injury due to overwork in the suburbs, and his condition is now serious. He keeps calling your name during his illness, and the Imperial Physician has specially sent me to ask you to come and visit him.”
Meng Yutong recalled her past life,
Ji Yun also contracted the disease because he was overworked during the epidemic control efforts and did not pay attention to his health. It was the most dangerous type of cross-infection.
Could he be experiencing the same symptoms this time?
She had witnessed the danger of his illness in his previous life, and this time he had old injuries in both hands and was already in poor health. If he did not receive timely treatment, his life would be in danger.
She dared not think too deeply and immediately asked Shen Zhou to wait a moment. Turning around, she gave Bai Zhi a few instructions and then hurried to the medicine cabinet to prepare the medicine. After picking out several herbs for clearing heat and detoxifying, she went to the herb garden in the backyard and carefully dug out a purple snow ginseng. Before leaving, she suddenly turned back, took a packet of pine nut candy from the counter, and carefully put it away.
After tidying up her belongings, she followed Shen Zhou's carriage and headed towards the outskirts of the city.
As the carriage bumped along the official road, Meng Yutong finally couldn't help but ask, "Scribe Shen, what has been the situation of Physician Ji in the suburbs these past few days?"
Seeing the genuine worry in her eyes, Shen Zhou felt a pang of guilt. Physician Ji had been listless and dejected these past few days, and something seemed amiss. If the Imperial Physician hadn't repeatedly assured him that this would help Physician Ji resolve his inner turmoil, he would never have come to deliver such empty words.
“A month ago, when the epidemic first appeared,” he said carefully, “the Imperial Physician originally pitied Physician Ji’s recent marriage and did not appoint him to go. But Physician Ji insisted on taking the order. After arriving in the suburbs, we initially brought few people, and the epidemic spread here faster than expected. Physician Ji then treated himself as one of the many people, working day and night to treat patients.”
"I advised him to take care of his health, but he always ignored me. He spent his days diagnosing and treating patients, writing prescriptions and brewing medicine, but his condition was very different from when he was in the medical academy. He seemed... lifeless, I can't quite put my finger on it."
"Several times, I saw him sitting alone by the window at night, not sleeping, holding a sachet in his hand, lost in thought. I didn't know what he was thinking. I originally thought that he wanted to cure the patients as soon as possible and go back to reunite with his family."
He paused, his voice lowering: "But the epidemic has been under control these past few days, and all the other medical officers have returned to the city, only Medical Officer Ji insisted on staying. He spends his days either guarding the medicine furnace or sitting alone by the window. The academy director suspects that perhaps he has had some misunderstanding with his wife."
Meng Yutong's heart skipped a beat. His departure to the outskirts of the city was sudden. She hadn't seen him since Yunzhou brought her the winter clothes that day.
At first, she thought he had left in a hurry because of the urgent epidemic outside the city. But now it seems that he is hiding something from her.
He doesn't dare to come back to see me?
Why?
Meng Yutong then asked, "You just said he was sick. When did he fall ill? How serious was it? Did he receive any treatment? What was the illness?"
Meng Yutong herself didn't realize that she had asked a series of questions, and Shen Zhou looked embarrassed for a moment, as if he didn't know which one to answer first.
Shen Zhou looked troubled and said in a low voice, "You'll know once you see it for yourself, Madam."
The carriage sped along the pipeline outside the city. During the journey, the wheels got stuck once because the roadside soil had softened from being soaked by rainwater, which delayed the arrival time.
More than an hour later, Shen Zhou finally rode his horse back to the farm where the medical staff were staying.
Shen Zhou led her through the courtyard and stopped in front of the side room: "Physician Ji is inside." After saying this, he bowed and withdrew.
The lanterns in the corridor swayed, casting her shadow on the door. Meng Yutong took a deep breath and gently pushed open the door.
The room was silent except for the soft rustling of the wind through the bamboo outside the window. Meng Yutong closed the door and, carrying her medicine box, quietly approached the bed. In the darkness, she could vaguely see a figure lying between the blankets. She leaned down to get a closer look, having to keep her body extremely low.
In the dim light filtering through the window, she could see Ji Yun's thin lips pressed tightly together, his brows furrowed, and his face appearing exceptionally pale in the gloom. She reached out and touched his forehead; it was burning hot to the touch, a clear sign of a cold.
She then took his wrist and carefully felt his pulse. Although the pulse under her fingertips was rapid and weak, it was not a sign of an epidemic or a serious illness, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Meng Yutong was about to get up to brew him some medicine for a cold when she vaguely sensed that something was wrong.
She frowned, then leaned down again, her long hair cascading from her shoulders to his chest. In the dim light, she carefully observed Ji Yun's appearance, noticing an unnatural blush on his cheeks. Closer still, a faint, cool scent of alcohol wafted over.
This isn't a cold; it's clearly drunkenness!
Meng Yutong's brow twitched; she felt a bit absurd.
Just as she was about to get up and leave, the person on the bed seemed to sense her movement. He reached out and wrapped his arms around Meng Yutong's lower back, holding her tightly in his embrace. A pair of deep eyes suddenly opened in the darkness, staring straight into her eyes.
"Ah Ying..." His voice was low and hoarse, soft and weak from being drunk.
Meng Yutong smelled the aroma of alcohol again, and this time she was certain that Ji Yun had indeed been drinking.
"Let me go." Meng Yutong frowned.
Ji Yun gently pulled her down and drew her into his arms. He held her tightly, his words indistinguishable between drunken ramblings and sleep-talking: "Aying, I missed you so much..."
Meng Yutong struggled for a few moments, perhaps aggravating the wound on Ji Yun's shoulder, and he frowned and groaned, "It hurts..."
She didn't dare to make any sudden movements, and only said politely, "Let me go first."
Ji Yun hugged her tighter, burying his head in the crook of her neck, his breath hot, and shook his head forcefully, "I won't let go, if I let go you'll leave."
Meng Yutong rarely showed a hint of helplessness: "You're drunk."
Ji Yun denied it: "I'm not drunk."
He parted his eyes slightly, gazing intently at her, his gaze lingering on her lips. He gently kissed them, a fleeting, light touch like a dragonfly skimming the water.
He stared straight into Meng Yutong's eyes, repeating with a hint of stubbornness, "I'm not drunk."
Meng Yutong raised her hand to touch her lips, her face full of disbelief, "You...when did you become such a scoundrel!"
“I heard it that day,” he said, his long eyelashes drooping and a bitter smile playing on his lips, “You said that the Dowager Consort and Jin’an have been brought to justice, and that it’s time for us to return to our respective places. You want a divorce from me?”
"Didn't we agree from the beginning that your marriage to me was just a temporary measure, and that we would divorce once the situation stabilized? This is simply following the original plan..."
Ji Yun interrupted, "I never intended to divorce you."
He tightened his grip around her waist: "If you hadn't come tonight, I could have convinced myself to let go, but you came tonight, so you have me in your heart too, don't you?"
His piercing gaze seemed to see right through her. "You have me in your heart, and I can't let you leave. This marriage has never been a game to me. The only person I've ever wanted to marry is you."
Meng Yutong turned her face away: "Shuli Shen specially sent me a message saying that you are seriously ill. I came to see you only out of a sense of duty. Please don't misunderstand."
"Moral principles?" He suddenly lowered his head and kissed her lips again.
Meng Yutong pushed him away forcefully, her face a mixture of shame and anger: "What are you doing? I said I came out of a sense of duty. Even if it wasn't you here today, but Brother Liu, Li Jing, or He Haochuan, I would still have come!"
Ji Yun frowned, pulled her up with the hand on her waist, and pressed her against his body.
He had been enough of being a rational and proper person, enough of being a person who concealed his emotions and acted with grace and propriety, enough of being a person who never showed his joy or anger, someone who never revealed his feelings. He had done it all...
He didn't want to hear another man's name from her. He kissed her lips and hugged her waist tightly. The wound on his shoulder throbbed, but he felt an unprecedented pleasure.
Whether Meng Yutong bites him, kicks him, or hits him, he feels good no matter what.
It's better than her always wearing a cold, aloof mask towards him.
The lingering smell of alcohol enveloped him, and he, as if possessed, probed her lips, seizing her breath, until she was exhausted and no longer pushed him away.
Suddenly tasting the salty bitterness of tears, he snapped out of his daze. He hurriedly kissed away her tears, repeatedly saying "I'm sorry," but still wouldn't let go.
He pulled her into his arms tightly again. "Ah Ying, let's try one more time, okay? You don't need to give your heart. You just need to stay by my side. I'll do everything else. Just don't leave me."
Meng Yutong remained silent.
She saw the wound on Ji Yun's shoulder; it had been more than a month, and the scar was still gruesome.
And his left hand, after being injured on Phoenix Mountain, that hand could barely exert any weight. When he was holding her just now, that hand was also obviously weak and trembling.
She naturally felt guilty.
Intertwined with this guilt is an indescribable tenderness, like the melting snow of early spring, seeping into the heart drop by drop.
She loathed this involuntary longing.
She dared not, nor was she willing.
Ji Yun's embrace was warm and persistent, and after a long silence, he finally loosened his grip. He took out a small ebony box from his pocket, took her hand, gently opened it, and placed the contents of the box into her palm.
Meng Yutong's fingertips trembled slightly, as if she had been stung by something.
"Ji Yun, what are you doing?" She sat up and saw that he was already sitting upright with a serious expression.
He opened the box, took out a bright red Gu worm, and swallowed it.
Meng Yutong recalled that when he took the begonia last time, he also had this same look of resignation to death.
Her heart skipped a beat. She quickly opened the box and rushed forward to grab his chin. "What have you been eating again?"
Ji Yun chuckled softly and grasped her hand in return: "You still care about me, don't you?"
He gently stroked the tiny wound between her fingers with his fingertips and explained, "This is a Heart-Binding Gu, which uses your blood as a catalyst. From now on, if I ever betray you, I will suffer the pain of ten thousand Gu worms devouring my heart."
“You…” Meng Yutong stared at him blankly, feeling that this person had truly gone mad.
“Ah Ying, this time, I will give you my true heart. You can keep your heart with you.”
Meng Yutong's eyes widened; she was so shocked by what she was seeing that she couldn't quite process it.
Before she could respond, Ji Yun suddenly clutched her chest, her face turning deathly pale. It felt as if a raging fire was burning in her heart, a searing pain that was unbearable.
This is likely due to the body rejecting and reacting with the poisonous insects after ingestion.
He broke out in a cold sweat, the pain causing him to lose his balance and collapse onto the bed, curling up uncontrollably.
Meng Yutong quickly grabbed his wrist; the pulse under her fingers was like a raging fire snake, chaotic and disordered.
"It's okay... just bear with it... it'll be fine..." Ji Yun didn't want her to worry, so he forced himself to reach out and hold her hand.
"You're a madman."
Meng Yutong got up, took out the packet of pine nut candy from her medical kit, carefully tore off a piece, and wanted to feed it to him.
But his pain seemed to have worsened. He clenched his jaw tightly, letting out a muffled groan of pain, yet he still held onto her hand, saying, "Ah Ying, don't go."
Meng Yutong sighed helplessly, "I promise you, if you have nothing to do today, I will agree to everything you just said."
"Really?" Ji Yun couldn't believe it. He was trembling with pain all over his body, but after hearing her words, he couldn't help but laugh.
Meng Yutong put the pine nut candy in her mouth, then leaned down, took Ji Yun's trembling hand, and gently pulled him into her arms. She looked up and found his cool lips, and gently covered them with hers...
He was in so much pain that he felt nothing, yet he vaguely sensed that someone had pulled him back, embraced him, and kissed him in the dark, turbulent waters. It was a comforting scent, a faint aroma of herbs mixed with a delicate fragrance of flowers and trees—it was her scent.
And... the taste of pine nut candy...
This was the sweetest pine nut candy he had ever eaten in his life...
Author's Note: The main story ends here. Some plot developments will be covered in the epilogue, which will be updated along with the rankings.
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