Chapter 54 Wen Shanyi: "I'm not that fragile."...
What is the relationship?
Ning Lu recalled their previous argument, scratched her head and laughed, "You can now be considered my number one male friend."
"Su Yun is your number one same-sex friend..."
He's quick-witted.
"Why should a high-ranking official like you bother with a lowly woman like us?"
The person sitting on the soft couch propped himself up on the edge, and Ning Lu immediately reached out to help him, borrowing half of his strength for support.
Upon smelling the medicinal scent wafting through the inn, she immediately thought of his lack of medicine and let out a deep sigh.
"What's wrong?"
"I feel sorry for you."
She raised her hand to tighten his collar, while also speaking frankly.
"When you're poor, you can't afford medicine; when you're rich, you still can't afford medicine."
"It's alright."
"It's doomed when it gets in the way."
Ning Lu's mouth moved faster than her brain: "Why don't you go back to the capital sooner?"
The fingertips on her wrist twitched slightly, but Ning Lu didn't suspect anything and continued to carefully observe his expression while chattering on and on.
"I mean, you're naturally sensitive to the cold, and it's windy in Changzhou..."
"Didn't you say that Zhujia'ao... is fine..."
"That's because you were obediently recuperating in Zhujia'ao. Look at you here, living like a falcon under constant pressure. It's really miserable."
Seeing him smile, Ning Lu thought she had misspoke.
"I know that with great power comes great responsibility."
Once inside, they took off his cloak and handed it to a servant to shake off the chill. They then put a light fur coat, warmed by the stove fire, on his shoulders.
"Although you said not to alarm anyone, I still had Wei Chun call a doctor. It's better to have him take my pulse for peace of mind."
Xie Qinghe stared at her back as she busied herself for him, his fingertips fumbling for the ring, slowly breathing in and out.
She wasn't so afraid of him anymore.
Just like before, he's meddling in everything.
He didn't know if he was delirious from his illness or if he was truly exhausted from all the ups and downs of the past years, but after meeting Ning Lu, he often fantasized that if he were just Ji Ming, just an ordinary scholar, would everything be easier?
They even procrastinate again and again, greedily trying to make the most of every single day.
"Have something hot to drink."
Ning Lu brought in a bowl of dark, medicinal soup from outside and sat down opposite him.
"After you take the medicine, don't worry about anything, just go to sleep." She explained seriously, "Your most important thing right now is to save your life."
"And you?"
"I'll wait here for the doctor to arrive."
She didn't rush to hand him the bowl, but gently stirred it, blew on it to cool it down, and took the opportunity to peek at him from above the rim of the bowl.
When he wasn't speaking, Xie Qinghe rested one hand on the table, his eyelids drooping, his brows furrowed, and he breathed heavily.
It seems that even simple breathing is a difficult thing for him.
Ning Lu saw this and consciously made her movements quieter.
In modern times, someone in that situation would definitely need to be hospitalized for observation for a while. But this guy could only take a short nap after the bumpy ride back in the carriage.
I reckon the results of Wei Zhan and Wei Chun's interrogation of Pan Xingxue will be out by tonight, and a whole bunch of papers will be sent over.
No wonder people in ancient times had short lifespans.
Thinking of this, Ning Lu felt a lump in her throat and moved closer to him.
"I've tried it, it's not too hot anymore, drink some slowly."
"Shall I feed you?"
Before he raised his hand, Ning Lu asked a question as if possessed.
As expected, she met his mischievous gaze and had a bad feeling, thinking that he was going to tease her again. But she saw him just shake his head slightly, pick up the bowl and slowly drink it down.
"Xie Qinghe."
She felt very uncomfortable with this appearance.
After he fell asleep, it was the most leisurely time Ning Lu had had in almost half a month. She could take the opportunity to run to the dungeon to find Yu Lanzhou and tell him everything that had happened that day, and find a place to use that key.
But she was worried.
This guy hides it very well when he's awake, but when he's asleep he shows signs of exhaustion and is always restless, even coughing up half of the medicine he's swallowed.
Ning Lu, holding up the handkerchief stained with blood and medicine, hurriedly stopped the doctor who hadn't gone far and questioned him about the reason.
The doctor countered by asking if she didn't know that the master of the house was prone to cold. She simply said that years of taking medicine had already damaged his stomach and intestines, so it was nothing to be surprised about.
Back at Xie Qinghe's bedside, she was in a daze for a long time, muttering to him that the doctor was a quack.
"How could a doctor say that it's normal to not be able to eat? How could that be normal?"
I don't know why I feel so restless. I silently take his hand and press it against my face, warming one hand and then the other, repeating this cycle endlessly.
The wind howled outside the window, and the doors and windows creaked.
Everything about Xie Qinghe came together in her mind: the murder of her mother, the betrayal of her family, the exile of her mentor, and the killing of the Prince Xian...
She'd heard those rumors so many times she was sick of them.
She used to find it horrifying and shocking, but now, all she can recall is that night when Ji A-ming helped her mend her clothes, and his soft, gentle voice, which he had learned from his mother.
How could someone like that kill his mother?
Despite the rumors circulating outside about how he could control everything and how ruthless he was, people would always dare to bring up past events to stab him in the back when they were angry, whether they were his teachers, friends, or enemies.
It seems that... after someone does a few things, others finally find fault with them, repeatedly emphasizing and slandering them.
She is too. Without knowing the full story, I will not comment.
Having studied socialist values for so many years and seen countless marketing accounts, both true and false, she had become so accustomed to that she could no longer distinguish between them and had genuinely begun to fear him from the bottom of her heart.
Ning Lu clicked her tongue in slight guilt and sighed softly.
There was a light knock on the door. She looked up and was about to get up when her fingertips were hooked.
At first, I just felt guilty, but now my heart is pounding and my eyes are burning.
Seeing Xie Qinghe tilt his head and struggle to wake up, she quickly moved closer to his side and whispered in his ear.
"It must be Wei Zhan and the others who are back. I'll go check on them; you can get some more sleep."
It really was them.
Ning Lu noticed that both of them were covered in snow, and then looked outside and realized that the weather had changed.
"It's snowing again."
"I just hope there won't be any natural disasters."
Wei Zhan had no time to marvel at the vast expanse of white snow falling from the sky; he handed over the confession.
Pan Xingxue has signed and affixed his fingerprint, admitting to embezzlement, military training, and suppressing free speech.
Turning to the next page, it also explains that he was coerced by Prince Jing and had no choice but to do so.
Is that enough?
"I'm afraid not."
Wei Chun glanced at the closed door, hesitating to speak.
“What Pan Xingxue said can be considered an accusation by Prince Jing. The key is to look at the list written by Prince Xian.”
Wei Zhan stared intently at Ning Lu, his gaze carrying a hidden meaning.
"So, do you know where the list is or not?"
Xie Qinghe had initially assigned him to guard the Prince Xian's residence, but Liu Yunying found the list before him and took it away overnight.
His master was soft-hearted and wanted to keep her by his side, so he could only obey, but he still had doubts and suspicions.
"If I knew, of course I would tell him. What good would it do me to keep it from him?"
Ning Lu understood his question, her face scrunched up, and she promptly retorted with a question of her own.
To this day, she doesn't know how long she'll have to stay in this godforsaken place. The only people she can be considered close to are Yu Lanzhou and Xie Qinghe.
She's not stupid.
"You'd better not have it."
Wei Zhan took a step closer and looked down at her.
They had come from the dungeon, and the lingering smell of blood on them stirred up Ning Lu's unpleasant memories. She shivered, took a half-step back, and leaned against the door.
Ning Lu.
The sounds inside were faint, accompanied by labored coughing. Ning Lu's eyes were burning, and she was about to turn around immediately.
"Miss Ning, there's also this."
Wei Chun stopped her and took out a thick stack of letters from his pocket.
"What's this?"
"You hand it to the adult, and he will know."
"good."
Why did you sit up?
Ning Lu habitually pulled off her light fur coat and wrapped it tightly around him before touching his hand.
Unsurprisingly, it's completely lost its appeal again.
Are you cold?
The fact that he vomited so much blood last time didn't scare her or soften her heart at all...
She was unusually nervous today.
Xie Qinghe chuckled and shook his head, following her movements to hug his clothes tighter and lean against the bedside, looking at the signed document in her hand.
"You've admitted it all?"
"Hmm. I accept it all." Ning Lu paused, then tentatively asked, "Would you like me to read it to you?"
Upon hearing the sound, Xie Qinghe's gaze shifted upwards, landing on her eyebrows and eyes.
"That medicine... is only for emergency use. Take the herbal decoction on time as usual, and you'll be fine. Don't worry."
As if to prove that he was really alright, Xie Qinghe deliberately slowed down his speech so as not to speak in a fragmented way.
Ning Lu knew she was making a fuss over nothing, so she nodded firmly and placed the thick letter on top, handing it to him.
"Do you want to see this?" Wei Chun said, "You'll know what it is once you see it."
"Fang Hong's memorial to the throne."
Xie Qinghe recognized the words at a glance.
Seeing Ning Lu's puzzled expression, he explained, "The scholar in the dungeon."
"You know him?"
“Grandfather…the favorite student of Chief Minister Xie.”
Seeing that he was holding the object unsteadily, Ning Lu took it from his hand: "Let me read it to you. Close your eyes and listen."
Xie Qinghe was exhausted and did not resist. He obediently withdrew his hand and leaned to the side as she swayed her head and recited the words one by one.
The calligraphy of these literati can be called art; it is beautiful, but not easy to understand.
Ning Lu struggled to read, but she trusted Xie Qinghe's brain and was certain that even if she misread a word, he would understand. So she simply omitted or skipped what needed to be omitted.
Moreover, this Fang Hongwen was just like his personality, quite matching Ning Lu's first impression of him as sharp-tongued and sarcastic.
In terms of content, although most of them objectively criticize current affairs, a closer look reveals that many of them are actually criticizing Xie Qinghe for being ignorant of basic agricultural knowledge, only thinking about power and scheming, and disregarding the common people.
Ning Lu calmly avoided such hurtful words, remaining unfazed even when Xie Qinghe's undisguised gaze fell upon her.
Seeing her intention, the man silently curled the corners of his lips and closed his eyes to listen.
Thanks to her meticulous screening, the world has become much quieter.
"It's gone."
After Ning Lu finished reading the last word, she turned to Xie Qinghe, who was resting with his eyes closed.
What do you think?
"It's too long. It feels like it's been holding back for a long time."
Xie Qinghe could no longer hide the smile in his eyes, and he coughed softly as he laughed.
“He’s been in prison for years and he’s really been feeling stifled.”
"Really?"
"Um."
He nodded and pulled out one of the cards, pretending to look at it.
Ning Lu immediately snatched it back: "Which part didn't you hear clearly? I'll read it to you again."
"I'm not that fragile."
Just as he expected, Fang Hong's choice of words was not so clean.
"You are a patient, you can't get agitated, you have to keep a positive mood."
Ning Lu didn't think she had done anything wrong and handed him a document that focused on educating the people.
"These seem to be policy proposals for governing Pingcheng. Are you suggesting that he replace Jiang Hong as the magistrate of Pingcheng?"
What do you think?
"I don't know." She didn't understand politics, but she felt that Fang Hong was right about one thing: "Pingcheng is remote and poor. To govern it, poverty alleviation and education are both indispensable. I think he's right."
"How can we educate illiterate people..."
Ning Lu suffered a lot in Zhujia'ao, Pingcheng, so Xie Qinghe did not deliberately hide the contempt in his tone.
Yes, it's possible.
Ning Lu suddenly understood the source of his arrogance, and felt a warmth in her heart. She leaned closer to him and said seriously, "Or rather, it's because they don't understand now that it's very important for local officials to be kind to the people. Their responsibility is to make the people understand. Look at Ying County, Lord Cen did a very good job."
Meeting the sparkling eyes in his brows, Ning Lu realized she had been a bit presumptuous, but she wasn't ashamed.
"What I mean is, one monkey, one way to tie it up. Finding this method is also the job of the local officials."
Xie Qinghe's smile remained unchanged, but his breathing became shallow.
The little girl in front of him always seemed reckless and clueless, but in reality, her head was full of novel ideas that he had never seen before.
Not hearing him speak, Ning Lu rolled her eyes and put her hand on his shoulder: "Would it be very hard for you to take on this official position?"
Why do you ask that?
Not daring to admit that she had overheard Wei Zhan's conversation with him, she could only stammer, "If he talks about you like that, and then he gets together with Lord Cen and the two of them speak ill of you behind your back, wouldn't you be in an even more difficult situation?"
Do I need to be afraid of people's criticism?
“Aren’t you afraid?” Ning Lu muttered, “But these words are very draining.”
"For you, calming down is the most important thing."
She spoke in an extremely calm and sincere manner, as if it were just something she mentioned casually.
It was the same back in Zhujia'ao; she always viewed his unhealthy body very objectively, as if nothing else mattered as much as this.
This was something no one had ever told him before.
Suddenly, a soreness surged from my chest, spreading from my shoulder to my fingertips, and a rare warmth spread around me.
I watched her movements quietly as her breath rose and fell.
She checked each sheet of letter from beginning to end, arranged them in order, and then neatly folded them and stuffed them back into the envelope.
"If you ask me, there's no rush. Are you hungry? Would you like something hot to warm you up?"
Xie Qinghe shook his head.
Ning Lu pouted regretfully, her fingertips touching Pan Xingxue's confession, when she suddenly thought of Yu Lanzhou.
The argument last night stemmed from this, and she didn't intend to bother him with it again today, so she decided to leave it at that.
“Wait a few more days… Once Pan Xingxue is convicted, Prince Jing will definitely take action,” Xie Qinghe said hoarsely. “It will be soon.”
"Isn't it said that without a list, there's no way to convict someone?"
"No one else has it, but Xie Qinghe does."
He spoke casually, but Ning Lu felt inexplicably uneasy.
She still remembered how complicated and complicated the death of the wise king was.
This Prince Jing is astonishingly cunning and resourceful.
"Wei Zhan said that with the list, we can arrest people directly, is that right?"
Ning Lu was almost right in front of him: "If it's easier to find the list of traitors, I'll help you find the list first, okay?"
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