Chapter 69 It's Hard to Grow Hatred "I need a proper status."
The bitter smell of medicine wafted out through the crack in the door. As soon as Ning Lu stepped into the room, she saw Wei Zhan coming out with a bowl of medicine.
"What's wrong?"
The low coughing continued inside, while Wei Chun and Wei Zhan stood guard outside.
That doesn't make sense.
"The master has woken up."
"Now that you're awake, it's the perfect time to take your medicine, isn't it?"
Ning Lu was puzzled. She raised her hand to test the temperature; it was neither hot nor cold, just right.
Seeing Wei Zhan's solemn expression and silence, she realized the key point. Helplessly, she waved her hand, took the soup bowl with both hands, and squeezed into the room with the medicine.
The crackling of the silvery charcoal fire, the aroma of calming pine and fresh fruit blending together, evokes the feeling of springtime.
Xie Qinghe, dressed in white, leaned against the bedside, his neck tilted to the right, the paper he was fiddling with swaying gently in the breeze from the opening of the door.
He was facing away from the door, so Ning Lu couldn't immediately observe his expression.
Only after getting closer to the bed did I get a good look at everything. The person's eyes were half open, staring into the void, unable to gather any stars, still looking weak and exhausted.
His purplish-red lips were slightly parted, and his chest rose and fell, his breaths flickering like embers in a copper basin.
After several days of not eating or drinking, she lost even more weight, making her look even thinner in her white undershirt.
Ning Lu placed the medicine on the low stool beside the bed, then bent down to pick up the three pieces of paper scattered on the ground and tidied them up.
The white paper with black writing and red handprints is Prince Jing's confession.
Her gaze swept over the document teetering precariously between his fingers, and she ruthlessly pulled it out and took it back.
The friction between his palms made his unfocused gaze manage to gather some light, which then shifted from his fingertips to her shoulder.
The paper and ink were unusual; in addition to the fragrance, faint gold leaf could be seen.
The writing was too literary for Ning Lu to grasp its meaning. She frowned and endured until she finally understood the core idea.
Looking at the words of advice at the end of the article, I finally understood.
[Return immediately.]
Those are two very domineering words.
This letter, sent from the capital, seemed to mention the many famous doctors and good medicines in the capital, suggesting that returning to the capital to recuperate would be beneficial for recovery. However, upon closer examination, it was nothing more than an urging to return.
She wasn't a doctor, but she had been by Xie Qinghe's side for over four months, and even she could tell that what Xie Qinghe needed right now wasn't a good doctor or expensive tonics.
He needs rest.
[With the year-end approaching, Changzhou is a remote place and not a good place to stay for long.]
Frowning, Ning Lu threw the letter on the ground, her hands supporting her on either side of him, her eyes full of disapproval.
It's not advisable to stay long. Wasn't she pampering you like a proper adult for the first three months?
"You don't really plan to rush back to the capital, do you?"
The clear and crisp question pierced through Xie Qinghe's mind, and he struggled to speak.
He gasped for breath, unable to make a sound, which instead caused cold sweat to pour down his forehead.
The neck snapped backward due to lack of support, and the sudden dizziness made the eyelashes droop heavily.
Upon seeing this, Ning Lu immediately frowned and fell silent, using both hands to protect his trembling body.
She rarely saw him so weak and feeble, and coupled with the embarrassment of the truth being revealed, her movements were even somewhat flustered.
With one hand on his back and the other around his neck, she leaned him back onto the pillow, sat down on the edge of the bed, and patiently waited for him to catch his breath.
The cool touch on his wrist; his delicate fingertips caressed the back of his hand.
Her usually quick-witted mouth suddenly went silent. She grabbed his hand and silently accompanied him as he struggled in this discomfort.
After a long while, Xie Qinghe's curled knuckles twitched slightly. He frowned, sighed with difficulty, and finally opened his eyes to look at her again.
“Yu Lanzhou…”
"She was released from prison today, and I went to the courtyard to greet her."
The fan-shaped eyelashes rose and fell, finally revealing the clear and bright expression that was usually seen.
Ning Lu breathed a sigh of relief and muttered, "After sleeping for several days, the first thing she asked me when she saw me was this."
Before he could finish speaking, he immediately followed up with a complaint: "Are you satisfied now that you've messed yourself up like this?"
"Hmm." He lowered his eyes and looked down at his nose. "Satisfied."
He still remembers the day she held him, her voice trembling with worry and fear.
She admitted it all, and he remembered it too.
If she can stay by my side when I'm sick, then it's barely a worthwhile thing.
"You haven't answered me yet. Are you going back to the capital?"
Still not reassured by his lack of an answer, Ning Lu tucked her sleeves and moved closer to him.
"When Yu Lanzhou is released from prison... do you still want to... elope with her?"
His voice was low and his eyes were red; his questions still couldn't avoid Yu Lanzhou.
"When did I ever say I was going to run away with her? It was all written in the letters..."
“I just gave her the two thousand taels of silver notes. I wanted her to redeem herself.” Ning Lu raised her voice, speaking righteously: “What kind of place is Yan Chun Lou? She finally had a chance to escape, she definitely can’t go back.”
"As for the future... the future... of course, we need to plan for the long term."
Meeting his eyes, which were strained to suppress weariness yet betrayed a hint of panic, Ning Lu felt increasingly guilty, and her voice grew softer and softer, barely audible.
She said she would take it into consideration, but she hadn't actually made up her mind yet.
Accustomed to everything remaining unresolved, and loudly proclaiming that this was merely a temporary life, the deaths of Prince Jing and Pan Xingxue meant that all her crises in this world had vanished.
She was not used to being so relaxed all of a sudden.
She originally planned that after Yu Lanzhou was released from prison and redeemed herself, they could do something to make a living together and earn some money. That way, when she and the original owner swapped bodies again, the original owner could naturally return to her own life.
Who could have imagined such a drastic change in the life of the person standing before us?
Caught between a rock and a hard place, unable to advance or retreat.
Ning Lu's eyes darted around, noticing something amiss, and she grinned mischievously: "Something's not right, Xie Qinghe. When did you become so concerned about Yu Lanzhou's affairs?"
"What are you up to now?"
Having no expectation of getting any answers, Xie Qinghe just sullenly lowered his head as he listened to her incoherent explanation, his fingertips idly fiddling with the embroidered patterns on her jacket.
Seeing that he still looked listless, Ning Lu felt a pang of sadness in her chest and softened her voice slightly: "To be honest, you've run out of the life-saving medicine you keep by your side. Logically speaking, you should go back to the capital as soon as possible. It would be more reassuring to have your usual doctor by your side."
"But you know that all the doctors who have come these past few days have said that you need to rest well and can't do anything else."
"Do you know what they're saying about you? That you're depleted internally, that you've overused yourself. You've ruined your health to this extent..."
Ning Lu felt a chill run down her spine when she thought about it. In the past few months, according to her observations, the worst thing this guy ever did was cough up blood; otherwise, he mostly just closed his eyes and sat quietly, resting.
Aside from his feigned attempts to manipulate her, he was mostly calm and collected, showing no signs of any seriousness in her condition, to the point that she thought the first doctor was a quack.
But if one doctor said it, then two doctors said it, and all the doctors shook their heads and sighed, she had no choice but to believe it.
Seeing that he didn't respond, Ning Lu grabbed his wrist: "Do you know how terrifying it was that you slept for the past three days?"
"I've really never seen you like this before..."
"If I don't go back to Beijing, will you stay here forever?"
Ning Lu was taken aback when her prepared remarks were interrupted by a counter-question.
"I'm talking about your body..."
"If I go back to Beijing, will you come with me?"
Xie Qinghe didn't let her off the hook, and threw the question back at her in a different phrasing.
Meeting his determined and unwavering gaze, knowing she had nowhere to hide, Ning Lu could only slump her shoulders and shake her head: "I haven't thought about it."
These past few days, while he slept, she sat here watching him, repeatedly reflecting on what had happened during this period, and came to a very new conclusion.
Xie Qinghe may not be as fragile as she imagines, but she is certainly not as brave and decisive as she thinks.
Hesitant and indecisive, going back and forth.
Xie Qinghe struggled to sit up from his leaning position and leaned forward, receiving no response. His sleeve was pulled down by a brute force.
A simple movement disrupted his breathing rhythm, and cold sweat beaded on his temples.
Her hands were fair and slender, with bluish-purple veins bulging as she strained.
The figure loomed down from above, and Ning Lu was so nervous that she dared not look up.
Suddenly, he let out a hoarse sigh, his trembling fingertips barely managing to hook his fist, which was tucked into his sleeve.
"Ning Lu, in your long-term plan, will you consider me?"
Offering up her broken heart with both hands, she was more honest than ever before, unlike her calculating self.
The throbbing sound inside my chest grew louder and louder.
noisy.
heat.
Ning Lu stretched out a finger and gently poked the edge of his nail, which had turned white from the force, trying her best to make her tone sound more relaxed.
"We agreed not to have any official titles back then, so what happened? Now you're 'Lord Xie,' are you burdened with these things, and want to act like a gentleman?"
“Look, Lord Xie. In my hometown, I have my friends, family, and way of life. I must go back.”
"Isn't it good for the two of us like this? If you need me, I'll be there; if I need you, you'll be there too. If you're not in a hurry to go back to the capital, and you're recuperating in Changzhou, I'll stay by your side just like before."
"The feelings between people are important; whether or not that thin veil is broken is unimportant. Lord Xie, you're so clever, you must know that, right? A woman as easy to please as me..."
Before he could finish the second half of his sentence, his lips suddenly collided with a soft, yielding substance.
It's icy cold and has a tingling, numb sensation.
The next instant, a gentle breeze brushed past my temples, and the back of my head was firmly held in place.
As their foreheads collided, Xie Qinghe's warmth clung to their cheeks.
His nose brushed against hers, then their lips met, and he sucked and nibbled with a hint of anger.
Ning Lu instinctively widened her eyes and whimpered in resistance.
Immediately afterwards, my lips stung, and a faint, sweet, fishy taste spread across my tongue.
The fingertips caressed and scraped across the earlobe, the hands and feet felt weak and powerless.
I felt dizzy and lightheaded, short of breath and my chest felt tight. I felt like I was falling into the clouds, my legs felt weak and my fingertips felt numb.
The person beneath him, exhausted, slid down inch by inch.
Her lips unconsciously followed, brushing against his gums and the tip of his tongue.
Exchanging breaths is a very romantic thing.
The familiar scents and temperatures suddenly became ambiguous and mysterious.
I was completely bewildered and unable to extricate myself.
The body is more honest than the brain. Ning Lu put her arm around his shoulder and rubbed the soft, draped fabric to create wrinkles.
With a slight tremor in their chests, the two of them slumped onto the bed, their petite bodies completely enveloped in Xie Qinghe's embrace.
A cough welled up inside him, and he turned his head to cover his lips, struggling to suppress it.
The sounds of her heartbeat, breathing, and suppressed coughs traveled down her spine and into Ninglu's brain.
After a blank period, it was her turn to be the one with trembling hands and feet.
My heart was out of control, and my breathing was out of rhythm.
Bang, bang, bang...
Ning Lu.
We're doomed.
The coughing subsided, and the hair on the top of her head was gently combed neatly with a touch.
Xie Qinghe's voice came from all directions, squeezing into her heart.
"But Ning Lulu, a title is very important to me..."
"I need a formal status."
"Your body doesn't lie, so don't lie to me, okay?"
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Author's Note: I received so many nutrient solutions this week! I'm super, super, super happy! Logically, I should update more chapters to show my gratitude! However, I've been quite busy lately and haven't been able to keep up. I'll quietly keep it in mind, try my best to write more, try to maintain the update frequency, and try to build up a backlog of chapters to make up for it. Wishing everyone a happy life! Enjoy reading!
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