Chapter 167: Final (Part 1)
In the second year after Zhang Miao got married, Jiang Shuyi fell seriously ill.
The disease was so severe that the imperial physicians had never seen it before and were all helpless. The emperor issued an edict, promising large sums of money and titles to invite the whole country to seek medical treatment. However, many doctors responded to the call, but all of them came with high aspirations but left in despair.
Jiang Shuyi rarely wakes up during the day. Most of the time she sleeps soundly and doesn't know the time of day or night.
When she opened her eyes again, it was dusk, and the whole palace was filled with the last rays of light, like scattered golden dust. She turned her head to see what was outside the window, but she saw Pei Yan sleeping outside her.
The man lay in bed with his clothes on, even without removing his hair crown which was irritating to the touch. He faced her, and his once gentle and handsome features were now filled with weariness.
Jiang Shuyi's eyelashes trembled twice like the fluttering wings of a butterfly. She wanted to prop herself up to help him take off the hair crown, but because she had no strength, she fell back just after she propped up half of her body, and her breathing became a little faster.
"do what."
A familiar voice came, and Pei Yan didn't know when he woke up. At this moment, he had already sat up. Seeing that she had opened the corner of the quilt, he tucked it in skillfully.
Jiang Shuyi's breathing had not yet calmed down, and she was afraid that he would worry, so she just looked at him eagerly.
Pei Yan looked at her and guessed that she wanted him to hug her.
After wrapping her tightly in the quilt, he reached out and held Jiang Shuyi in his arms along with the quilt. He lowered his eyes and asked her softly, "Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"
Jiang Shuyi shook her head. This disease was very strange. It didn't hurt or make her uncomfortable. It just made her sleepy, weak, and unable to eat. In just half a month, she had lost a lot of weight.
Pei Yan asked her softly again: "Do you want to eat something?"
Jiang Shuyi wanted to refuse, but after hesitating for a moment, she nodded as she looked at his eyes fixed on her face.
Pei Yan's expression eased a lot, and he ordered the palace servants to bring in the food, which was all sweet porridge that was easy to digest.
Jiang Shuyi had no appetite. She sat in Pei Yan's arms. Every time he fed her a spoonful of porridge, she had to force herself to swallow it. After eating half a bowl, she felt her stomach churning. She couldn't help it and tilted her head: "I'm full."
Pei Yan did not force her. He handed the bowl of porridge to the palace maid and said gently, "Just eat until you are full. Don't force yourself."
Jiang Shuyi nodded, not knowing what to say. It seemed that in this situation, anything she said would only make the two of them sad.
Pei Yan just held her quietly. When Jiang Shuyi felt sleepy again, he touched her forehead with his nose and said in a coaxing tone: "Jiang Shuyi, when you get better, I will do whatever you ask me to do."
Jiang Shuyi smiled with all her strength, hoping to make Pei Yan happier: "Is it okay for Your Majesty to roll around on the ground with me?"
Before falling asleep, she heard Pei Yan say "yes" in a hoarse voice.
*
Pei Yan once watched his biological mother die before his own eyes.
His biological mother, Concubine Li, was once the most favored concubine in the harem, but after giving birth to him, her figure became out of shape, she suffered from mental illness, and eventually died of weakness from starvation.
He was only four years old at that time and should not have remembered much. However, due to the huge change caused by the death of his mother, Pei Yan can still clearly recall every scene that happened.
My mother was extremely thin, like a branch with all its flowers and leaves withered. My father would occasionally come to take a look at her and say a few words of regretful advice, but most of the time he ignored her. It was only after Pei Yan grew up that he asked him to persuade my mother to eat well.
Since he was three years old, Pei Yan was taken by palace servants to kneel and persuade his mother to eat before each meal.
The mother never listened, and her sad eyes were always looking towards the Qianqing Palace outside the window, not towards her son.
Pei Yan persuaded his mother day after day, and watched his mother's health deteriorate day after day. Until one day, when he woke up early and was about to go to the main hall to persuade his mother, the palace maids told him that it was not necessary.
Three days later, he saw his mother's body being put into the coffin.
Pei Yan didn't feel anything at the time. He had imagined this day thousands of times in his mind since he was old enough to understand. Now that it had happened, he instead felt a sense of peace as if everything had settled.
But Pei Yan never thought that he would experience it a second time in his life.
Jiang Shuyi was sleeping peacefully wrapped in a quilt, her eyes closed, her thick eyelashes casting a light shadow on her cheek.
The cheeks that were once white and rosy were now only as white as transparent white like mutton-fat jade, the jaw became more prominent, and the lips lost their bright red and became dull.
Pei Yan placed his palm on Jiang Shuyi's face and called her softly, "Jiang Shuyi."
He hoped that the next moment, the person on the bed would open his eyes, hug him and laugh.
The whole hall was silent except for the afterglow.
Pei Yan thought of the dream that Jiang Shuyi had told him.
In the dream, in order to bring her back to life, he recruited talented people from all over the world and finally found Wu Jianshan.
But now, Wu Jianshan is already dead.
Pei Yan ordered a search for his apprentice.
The disciple was not found, and on the second day after the edict was issued, one of Wu Jianshan's disciples unveiled the imperial edict.
He presented a prescription, saying that it was left by his master and could solve the urgent problem today.
The imperial physician checked and found that it was non-toxic, and the palace maids also tried the medicine, but Pei Yan was still worried, so he drank it first before feeding it to Jiang Shuyi.
After drinking for two hours, Jiang Shuyi slowly woke up.
She looked at Pei Yan who was sitting beside the bed, opened her mouth, and uttered one word: "Hungry."
Pei Yan smiled.
The palace maids presented the meal. Jiang Shuyi had a great appetite this time. She drank two bowls of porridge and also wanted to eat beef Hu pancakes.
Pei Yan was afraid that she had just woken up and her weak spleen and stomach could not handle it, so he asked the imperial kitchen to steam some soft and small meat buns. Jiang Shuyi ate five of them at once.
Pei Yan felt full and sleepy, and his heart tightened.
Jiang Shuyi grabbed his hand and explained, "I am fine. I have strength. I just ate too much and feel a little sleepy. Your Majesty, please stay with me for a while. I feel fine when I wake up."
Pei Yan saw that her complexion had indeed improved a lot, and her speech was no longer weak, so he felt relieved and helped her lie down: "Okay, go to sleep, I will always be with you."
Jiang Shuyi slept from the afternoon until dawn the next day.
During this time, she seemed to feel someone talking in the hall, and then a familiar breath approached, pulling her hand out from under the quilt, as if to have someone take her pulse.
Jiang Shuyi was so sleepy and irritated that she raised her leg and kicked it.
Then she heard Pei Yan groan and several gasps.
Jiang Shuyi was very sleepy, so she retracted her hand and continued to sleep.
When she woke up the next day, it was already noon. She sat up, looked at the empty bed beside her, blinked slowly, and realized that Pei Yan was really not with her. She suddenly felt aggrieved and her eyes were sore and red.
When Pei Yanmu came in after taking a shower, he saw Jiang Shuyi with her hair loose, sitting on the bed and crying.
He walked up quickly, held her shoulders, and asked in a tense voice, "Where do you feel uncomfortable?"
Jiang Shuyi was still crying. She lowered her head and looked at the mattress. Her voice was choked: "Do you remember what your majesty said yesterday..."
Pei Yan touched her forehead and found it was not hot, so he sat down, pinched her jaw, and asked while looking at her face: "Tell me what I said."
Jiang Shuyi immediately looked at him with resentment: "Your Majesty said that you will always be with me!"
Pei Yan: "I have indeed been with you the whole time. I just went to take a bath. I didn't know you were awake at this time, otherwise I would have carried you in."
Jiang Shuyi also saw his wet hair, but she was still unhappy and pouted.
Pei Yan confirmed that she looked fine, and finally he felt relieved. He raised his sleeve to wipe her tears: "What about you? Do you remember what you did last night?"
Jiang Shuyi immediately thought of what happened last night when she was in a daze and seemed to have kicked Pei Yan.
She said confidently: "I don't remember!"
Pei Yan laughed and pinched her face: "If you really don't remember, you will ask me what you did."
Jiang Shuyi felt guilty for a moment, then recovered and raised her chin slightly: "No matter what your majesty says, I just don't remember!"
Pei Yan said "hmm" and took her hand: "Since you don't remember, I will help you think about it."
"You kicked me."
As he spoke, he gently pressed Jiang Shuyi's hand to the injured part, and said in a tone that seemed to be a bit of a score-settling: "Kick here."
Jiang Shuyi suddenly opened her eyes wide, stared at his hand and blurted out: "Did you break it?"
She heard Pei Yan sigh.
"If it weren't for the fact that you have just recovered from a serious illness, I would have punished you so hard that you couldn't even cry."
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