Chapter 102 Phew, finally asleep. ...
Phew, finally fell asleep.
Listening to the steady breathing beside her, Feng Mian quietly opened her eyes and, by the faint light coming through the night lamp outside the bed curtains, gazed at Baili Xunzhou's sleeping face for a moment.
My gaze traveled from his smooth forehead to his long eyelashes, then traced his straight nose and thin lips, before finally settling on his tightly closed eyes.
The thought of those beautiful eyes beneath her eyelids becoming empty and dull made her feel a tightness in her chest, keeping her awake. But not wanting to add to his worries, she lay stiffly, pretending to be asleep.
She sat up, carefully pulled her hand out of Baili Xunzhou's palm, then quietly got up, braced herself on the bed, and rolled over Baili Xunzhou.
As she sat on the edge of the bed, preparing to get up, she first closed her eyes, wanting to experience what it felt like to be blind, only to find herself stuck at the very first step.
She couldn't find her shoes.
She stepped on all four shoes, moving her feet back and forth on the footrest where her slippers were placed. But she couldn't remember whether she had taken them off on the left or right side before going to bed, so she could only patiently measure the size with her feet and put on her slippers by feel.
When she tried to get up, she braced herself against the edge of the bed, but the next moment she felt dizzy and wanted to collapse. She couldn't see, and there was nothing to support her. Her mind was adrift and unsettled, and she couldn't even take a step.
No wonder Baili Xunzhou refused to let go of her hand no matter what. When all around was unknown darkness, having something to hold in one's hand made one feel at ease.
Feng Mian reached out and touched around, her fingertips finally finding the bedpost. She immediately clung to it like a lifeline, carefully stepping off the footstool while holding onto the post. She hooked one hand around the bedpost, while the other hand groped in mid-air, trying to find something to support her and help her move a few more steps, but she couldn't find anything after a long time.
That shouldn't be the case. She could vaguely recall the furnishings in the room. There should have been a flower stand about a step away from the bedpost, but she couldn't reach it.
Feng Mian cautiously opened one eye and discovered that the flower stand was still half a palm's width away from her; no wonder she couldn't reach it. With a goal in mind, she closed her eyes again and reached forward, successfully touching the flower stand and moving over. Then she stood still, letting out a slightly dejected sigh.
She managed to walk to the flower stand by cheating by opening her eyes. If no one was constantly by Baili Xunzhou's side to guide him, how would he walk, sit, or lie down on a daily basis?
She was naturally willing to stay by his side at all times and act as his eyes. If there was a gap, Shanyi could fill in. But life is full of unexpected moments, so you always have to be fully prepared.
Moreover, he could still bear relying on others for help and guidance for a day or two, but if the time for his eyes to regain their sight was delayed for a month or two, it would inevitably make a proud person like Baili Xunzhou feel frustrated.
She squatted down with her knees drawn up to her chest, her brows furrowed with worry, her gaze sweeping across the room. She had to think of a way to at least allow him to move around freely at home.
The next day, as the sunlight slanted in, the sound of sweeping and shoveling could be heard in the courtyard.
Within the draped bed curtains, Baili Xunzhou suddenly opened his eyes, only to find himself surrounded by darkness. After a moment of relief, he realized he still couldn't see. A wave of disappointment washed over him, and he sullenly sat up, first touching his side, before his hand was grabbed.
"You're sleeping so soundly, Your Highness. I'm starting to suspect that someone has drugged your water." Feng Mian's teasing voice rang in his ears.
The gloom in his heart vanished, and Baili Xunzhou laughed, "Then there's no one else among the suspects, just you."
Last night was indeed a good night's sleep he hadn't had in a long time. Perhaps it was because he had finally returned to a place of peace and the person he had been longing for was by his side. Even though he was feeling slightly unwell, he was able to fall asleep peacefully.
His hand was grabbed and bitten, and he cooperated by pretending to be in pain.
Feng Mian was finally satisfied and then asked, "Are you ready to get up?"
"Get up. It's time to get used to the second day of not seeing," Baili Xunzhou said casually, but paused as he prepared to get out of bed.
Feng Mian, knowing he was hesitating, immediately instructed, "Your shoes are on the left. From now on, they'll all be arranged like this, yours on the left and mine on the right."
"Okay." Baili Xunzhou put on his shoes smoothly under Feng Mian's instructions, and then she led him to his feet.
"Come on, get down." She took his hand and stepped off the footstool by the bed first. "Can you feel it when you step here?"
"What is this...?" Baili Xunzhou noticed several uneven surfaces under his feet, as if he were covered with small pebbles of different sizes.
"Take this one too."
A round bamboo cane was stuffed into his palm, and his hand, which was originally holding it in his palm, was moved to his forearm and gently supported.
"This is a walking stick that your mother found for you. Try it out first, and if there's anything you don't like, have someone take it and fix it. I've paved a path on the ground with pebbles, so you can walk on it without worrying about bumping into anything."
Feng Mian supported his forearm and led him forward.
Bai Lixun cautiously stepped out one step at a time, the raised stones clearly distinguishing him from the flat ground beside him, and he knew as soon as he put his foot down whether he had gone astray.
When they reached a spot where the walking stick didn't find any pebbles, Feng Mian pulled him to a stop. "Turning right here leads to the washing area, and continuing forward leads to the exit. Last night I only had time to put up the flooring inside the house, so this morning I instructed them to put up the flooring in the yard as well. At least within the Canggong Courtyard, you can go wherever you want."
"Now, go wash up first."
As Baili Xunzhou obediently followed Feng Mian around the corner, he frowned and asked, "Have you been busy all night?"
The obvious heartache in his voice was palpable.
Feng Mian patted his arm and denied it, saying, "I went to bed at 3 AM and didn't work all night."
Bai Lixun's heart softened, and he switched the scouting staff to his other hand, firmly grasping Feng Mian's hand with his free hand.
The two of them circled the house twice to familiarize themselves with it. On the third circle, the princess and Feng Ciyan appeared together at the courtyard gate.
Inside the courtyard, a stone path was being paved in full swing. The two of them were taken aback when they saw it. Liu Ying and Wu Liu came forward and led them into the courtyard, explaining that the stone path was specially paved for His Highness the Crown Prince.
Through the open door, Feng Ciyan and the princess saw the couple walking around the house, familiarizing themselves with the layout.
Feng Ciyan glanced around the room and noticed that the sharp corners of the table had been wrapped in soft strips of cloth. He immediately joked, "It seems that Your Highness is living a more comfortable life since you went blind."
Baili Xunzhou smiled and narrowed his eyes. Relying on his current blindness, Feng Ciyan would not dare to nitpick him. He leaned his tall and slender body against Feng Mian's side with a graceful sway. "Yes, I don't want Mianmian to work so hard either, but she can't let go of her worries and always thinks of me. So I have no choice but to listen to her."
Fu Ciyan looked at him with disbelief and turned his head away.
The princess smiled and looked around at the cobblestone path on the ground, praising it with admiration: "Aman is so thoughtful. We'll have them pave this kind of cobblestone path outside the Canggong Courtyard as well, so that Azhu can walk around the mansion more."
The princess only sat for a short while, knowing that Feng Ciyan and they had important matters to discuss, and left after giving them a few words of advice. Feng Mian had taken excellent care of everything, so she had absolutely nothing to worry about.
The room fell silent for a moment. Feng Mian got up and closed the doors and windows tightly before sitting back down at the table. But in that brief moment, Baili Xunzhou eagerly grasped her hand.
Seeing the hint of panic in his eyes, Feng Ciyan sighed inwardly and unusually softened her tone, saying, "If only I had stopped you back then."
Baili Xunzhou chuckled lightly, deliberately feigning difficulty: "I'm still young and in good health, so I'm fine. If it were my uncle who went in, I can't say what the situation would be like now."
"Tsk, you little rascal...!" Feng Ciyan slammed his hand on the table.
Feng Mian looked at him disapprovingly, "Uncle, A-Zhuo can't see right now, so don't bully him."
"You little brat, trying to use this injury as a get-out-of-jail-free card?" Feng Ciyan glared at him irritably, and then, realizing that the boy couldn't see his eye roll, she got even angrier. She simply changed the subject: "Did you find anything in the mine?"
Baili Xunzhou put away his teasing expression and said solemnly, "I saw their account books."
Feng Mian and Feng Ciyan were both startled, then simultaneously felt disappointed, "The explosion was so big, the account books are probably destroyed too."
"The explosion was so sudden, I only had time to protect the book I was holding in my arms." Baili Xunzhou turned his head slightly towards Feng Mian. "When you... Shanyi changed my clothes, did you see it?"
“It seems there is a booklet.” Feng Mian got up again and hurriedly rummaged through the cabinet to find a tattered booklet. “The symbols on it are very strange. You really can’t tell that this is an account book.”
Otherwise, she wouldn't have forgotten about it so easily.
Feng Ciyan took the ledger, flipped through a few pages, and raised an eyebrow: "This seems to be an ancient script of a certain tribe in the Northern Barbarians. I have come into contact with it a little bit before, but it will take some time to fully decipher it."
Feng Mian clenched his fist: "It seems that there really is a traitor within the Great Yong Dynasty. This ledger is written in such precise language, so the information it records must be quite complex. Perhaps if we can decipher it, we can find out which powerful figures in Shengjing City are secretly colluding with the Northern Barbarians..."
Those who dared to overthrow the court and plotted to murder the Prince of Dingbei and Baili Xunzhou stirred up a bloody storm in the Great Yong Dynasty, which had only enjoyed peace for a little over a decade. These people will now pay the price.
"Don't worry, I will definitely get to the bottom of this." Baili Xunzhou noticed Feng Mian's suppressed emotions and gently stroked the back of her hand reassuringly.
"Hey, stop talking big. This is none of your business." Feng Ciyan pointed at Baili Xunzhou from a distance and carefully put the account book into his pocket. "You're already injured like this. You should focus on healing your eyes first. I'll discuss this with the Prince. You two little ones, stop worrying about it."
"No need to see me off, keep practicing walking." Feng Ciyan turned and waved, walking away with a flourish.
Baili Xunzhou immediately looked dejected, like a puppy soaked by the rain. Feng Mian rubbed his face, "Uncle is right, the most important thing for you right now is to take care of your eyes, we can talk about other things later."
He sighed dramatically, then pitifully asked, "Am I really that useless?"
As he spoke, the puppy snuggled into Feng Mian's arms, seemingly feigning vulnerability to elicit her sympathy.
He concealed his true, vulnerable emotions in a way that wouldn't worry Feng Mian, in a way that was half-true and half-false.
Feng Mian ruffled his hair, saying, "How could that be? It's all Uncle's fault. Next time he comes, I'll talk to him for you."
Liu Jixue, who was waiting outside the door, heard everything that was happening inside. Finally, she couldn't help but laugh, shook her head helplessly, and knocked on the door with her finger: "Gentlemen, if you want to recover as soon as possible, may I take your pulse first?"
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