Chapter 12: Sleeping Incense
Her lips trembled slightly, and her voice was weak and erratic: "I feel a little dizzy... maybe I'm hungry."
Ling Tianshui helped her sit down again, and Cui Fufeng hurried to the outer room to call Aunt Xuanji in.
Seeing Qiandeng's pale face, she urged them to help the county lady to the east courtyard first, and then told the maid to find Doctor Jiang.
The maids helped Qiandeng leave. Cui Fufeng sighed worriedly and was about to go back to the backyard with Ling Tianshui, but he left a sentence "You go back first" and disappeared without a trace.
Cui Fufeng became suspicious and after a moment's thought, he quickly walked to the backyard door. Not long after, he saw Ling Tianshui coming towards the backyard with a tortoise shell.
"What's wrong?" Cui Fufeng glanced at Ling Tianshui and asked Daimao.
Daimao hurriedly saluted him and said, "Ah, Mr. Cui, the court physician, Doctor Jiang, tripped and fell while attending to the county lady just now. He's dizzy and needs to rest. Luckily, Ling Sijie reminded him that Mr. Meng is also knowledgeable in medicine, so we should quickly ask him to come to the front yard and help the county lady."
"I see." The lantern hanging high above the courtyard gate illuminated his face. He looked at Ling Tianshui with a meaningful smile on his face. "What a coincidence! Doctor Jiang can't see patients. Fortunately, there's Meng Lanxi in the backyard."
Ling Tianshui turned a deaf ear to her and said to Daimao, "I heard that the county lady doesn't sleep well either. I see Meng Lanxi has some incense that helps with sleeping. You can ask him to prepare some for her."
"Huh, really?" Daimao was pleasantly surprised. "The county lady hasn't been able to sleep well in recent years. If Mr. Meng has a solution, that would be great!"
After she hurried to Yilan Pavilion, Cui Fufeng stood on the path outside the Bamboo Hall, looking at Ling Tianshui with a meaningful look in his eyes: "Ling Sijie is very enthusiastic, and he goes to great lengths to create opportunities for others to spend time with the county lady - but, I thought you would take care of your cousin Ji Linyou."
"I'm worried, it's just a coincidence."
Seeing him pass him and head back to the backyard, Cui Fufeng smiled faintly, "Aren't you worried? Master Meng doesn't have your skills. Things are turbulent in the backyard right now. If he becomes the center of the vortex, can he handle it?"
"Since I dared him to come forward, I naturally have a way to ensure his safety." Ling Tianshui's voice was not loud, but his words were always full of confidence. "Don't worry, Master Cui."
"I have to thank Ling Sijie for this. It saves me and the county lady a lot of worry." The "we" Cui Fufeng mentioned naturally referred to himself and the county lady. "Originally, I thought we would have to rush around investigating and making many assumptions. Now Ling Sijie is willing to help lure the snake out of its hole and directly create a target for the person behind the scenes. If we just hold on to that target, won't it save time and effort?"
Ling Tianshui paused, but said nothing more and left.
Meng Lanxi quickly arrived at the front yard, bringing not only a medicine box but also a bowl of hot porridge.
"From what Miss Daimao has described, the county lady must have been overly distressed and suffered a cold attack, coupled with not having eaten properly, which is why she collapsed. It just so happens that I've also been distressed lately, and I just made some porridge with lily bulbs, gastrodia elata, red dates, and wolfberries. It's supposed to replenish blood and qi, and calm the mind. County lady, please have some to warm yourself up."
Meng Lanxi sat in front of the couch surrounded by lights and handed her the still warm medicinal porridge.
Under the warm orange light, the dimples on his lips were charming. The aroma of the hot porridge made Qiandeng feel comfortable and soothed. She scooped up the sweet and warm porridge and drank slowly, her sadness and chill gradually fading away.
As her body warmed up, she felt limp. Meng Lanxi felt her pulse and said, "The county lady has been suffering from poor sleep and excessive worry for a long time, which has weakened her body. However, her foundation is very good, and she exercises regularly. As long as she takes good care of herself and gets a good night's sleep, she will be fine."
As he spoke, he opened the medicine box and prepared to write a prescription.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the lid was opened, a white rabbit jumped out, jumped onto her bed, touched her hand cautiously, and snuggled up to her.
Qiandeng subconsciously stroked its snow-white fur, and Meng Lanxi lowered her head and smiled. She picked up the rabbit, wiped its claws clean, and placed it next to her. She said softly, "This is the rabbit we rescued from the mountain. There was a cut on its leg from an arrow, but the bleeding has stopped. I don't know how it got into my medicine box."
Qiandeng raised his hand and stroked the white rabbit. He smelled the faint medicinal fragrance on it, and unconsciously hugged her and rested his cheek against its warm fur.
"If you can't sleep well, I'll light some incense for you."
Meng Lanxi stood up and added a spoonful of prepared incense powder to the incense burner beside the couch.
The young man surrounded by cigarette smoke was as faint as a cloud. The little beast in his arms was soft and warm. His warmth and tenderness made her lean on the pillow, unable to move and unwilling to move.
Her whole body seemed to be drained of strength, and the long-term fatigue overwhelmed her, causing her to collapse in this gentle place and close her eyes.
Meng Lanxi sat under the window opposite, drinking tea brought by the maids, silently watching over her and watching her fall into a deep sleep.
Qiandeng fell into a broken dream as usual.
She saw herself holding a man's hand and solemnly handing the soul silk embroidered with black silk into his hands, but when she looked up, she saw her mother on the high platform with her crimson sleeves fluttering, and tears of blood slowly flowing from her eyes.
The mother said: "Deng Deng, he is the murderer who killed Mom..."
She turned around blankly to look at the person she was holding and entrusting her life to, but found that he was shrouded in darkness and shadows, and she could not see his face clearly.
The pain was like a sharp knife, piercing her chest. She pushed him away fiercely, trying her best to shake off this horrible dream, but darkness followed her like a shadow, and the figure of that person grew larger and larger, about to cover the entire world in front of her.
Just as she was wailing in despair, the world before her suddenly became bright.
A rich fragrance filled the air, and thousands of bright lights rose in the dark night, illuminating her entire body.
In the flowing clouds, brilliant stardust fell from the sky. She saw time reversing in a trance, and everything she feared turned to ashes.
On the soul silk that she embroidered with her own hands, her mother turned around and walked down from the platform, smiling at her.
Amidst the blood and fire, the grandfather, whose heart was pierced by thousands of arrows, stood up again and shook off the dust.
The blood, flesh and mud on the Nine Dragon Cloud Thrones gathered together and solidified into her father, who rose up on a dragon.
And she still vaguely remembered the young child holding her two maids, running towards them with laughter, throwing herself into her grandmother's arms, burying her face in the warm embrace that she had lost forever.
The sky was bright. When Qiandeng woke up from his dream, he felt weak all over and in a daze.
She hadn't slept so well in a long, long time.
The white rabbit curled up on the quilt. She raised her hand and gently stroked its soft fur, opening her eyes to look at the flower branches and curtains around her.
The sky was clear and the air was fresh. The sunlight filtered through the lattices and shone on the branches embroidered on the tent. The spring flowers seemed to bloom in the flowing light, graceful and gentle.
It took her a long time to vaguely remember what happened before she fell asleep last night. She remembered that she had embroidered her mother's soul silk, and she also discovered that Shi Jingning, whom she trusted the most, had the most suspicious behavior.
The tenderness and lingering feeling in the dream gradually faded away. She raised her hands to cover her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she let go of the rabbit and got up from the bed.
The maids dressed her, tied her hair, and helped her wash and comb her hair. When she left, she saw Meng Lanxi waiting in the corridor. She smiled and nodded at her, "Did the county lady sleep well?"
"Very good. I haven't slept this well in a long time." Perhaps because of his relaxed spirit, Qian Deng found his dimples even more charming. She couldn't help but smile at him in return. She returned the white rabbit in her arms to him and said with emotion, "Maybe it's because of that bowl of porridge, or maybe it's the incense you ordered, I actually slept through the night without a dream."
It may be normal for others, but for her, being able to escape from nightmares for a night is incredible.
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