Chapter 277 Serious Illness
When Mu Xi opened her eyes again, only Cao Pan'er was by her bedside.
The bed is still the same bed, and the inner room is still the same inner room.
She failed to escape and caused the deaths of three innocent people.
The faces of Granny Yan, Chaolu, and Xixia kept flashing before her eyes, making her unable to look directly at them.
The sobbing and pleas, the cracking of bones, made it impossible for her to find peace.
Although she had opened her eyes, she felt as if she were still dreaming. Her whole body was burning hot, as if fire had seeped into every bone and permeated every inch of her muscles. It felt as if she had been repeatedly hammered and crushed by countless invisible blunt instruments, leaving her feeling sore, swollen, and incredibly heavy. She couldn't even move a finger.
The high fever burned like hellfire inside her, and she could only endure it.
"Your Highness...Your Highness, you're awake? How are you feeling?" Cao Pan'er's voice, trembling with sobs, rang in her ears, and a slightly cool hand trembled as it touched her burning forehead.
Mu Xi wanted to speak, but she had no strength to utter a sound.
She wanted to feel a sliver of relief, a relief that Cao Pan'er was still by her side, but she was overwhelmed by immense guilt and self-reproach; she no longer had the right to feel relief.
She so easily killed three innocent lives, without even thinking about them beforehand.
Unable to make a sound or move, each breath pulled at his chest, bringing a tearing pain and burning sensation.
Mu Xi closed her eyes again, letting her body lie there as if she were dead.
A month passed in this bedridden state. Mu Xi's high fever persisted, fluctuating repeatedly. She was also in a daze, with few moments of lucidity and many moments of stupor.
While in a coma, she floated up and down, and chaos raged and swirled in her mind, forming a series of images that flashed before her eyes: immense grief, boundless anger, deep-seated fear, and agonizing regret... all sorts of intense emotions surged through her frail body, unable to find an outlet, and could only tear at her fragile body again and again.
When she regained consciousness, all she could hear was Cao Pan'er beside her, sometimes crying, sometimes comforting her, sometimes feeding her medicine...
Cao Pan'er stayed by her bedside day and night, wiping her burning body with cold towels again and again, and feeding her bitter medicine.
Mu Xi swallowed mechanically, her eyes unfocused as she stared into the void, unresponsive to Pan'er's calls and attempts to comfort her.
Shen Lun visited twice during this period. Seeing that Mu Xi was on the verge of death and it seemed genuine, he quickly invited several doctors to come and take a look.
The doctors' diagnoses are all pretty much the same; it's just a matter of the patient's willpower.
Later, after taking a lot of tonics, his physical condition gradually improved, but his mental state remained weak and he was still sickly and unable to get up.
Mu Xi's illness did not improve, so the marriage arrangement with the military commissioner of Jiuyou was temporarily put on hold.
After Mu Xi's health improved, Shen Pingting visited her more frequently.
She seemed to know why Mu Xi had suffered such a blow, but she didn't mention it at all, only saying some unrelated things.
Mu Xi remained listless, and as time went on, she couldn't help but feel anxious.
That day, Shen Pingting came again and asked for help: "I'm afraid my sister's illness is not something that doctors can cure. It is probably caused by external evil entering the body. We need to find a skilled witch doctor. I wonder if you can help me find a witch doctor. I have no way to thank you. I have given you all the clothes that my uncle sent me before, which I don't need."
Shen Lun did send a lot of clothes before, but most of them were to appease Mu Xi and to be used as part of her dowry. Now that the wedding has been put on hold, Mu Xi doesn't care about those things anymore.
"A witch doctor?" Shen Pingting didn't seem to care about the clothes, but she looked hesitant.
Mu Xi was puzzled, thinking that this would be a perfectly reasonable request from Yan Sheng: "What, is it difficult to invite a witch doctor?"
Shen Pingting frowned for a moment and then relaxed: "It's nothing, but you should know that Father has always been very proud of his practice of witch doctors and has never thought it necessary to consult any witch doctors."
"Oh, I see." Mu Xi's request to invite the witch doctor was not simply a formality; she was determined to make this happen. "Uncle certainly has the ability, but with war looming in Moyang, he must be preoccupied with many matters. How could I possibly trouble him? It would be better to ask my sister for help. There's no need to bother Uncle. Just have my sister look around here. If she finds one, invite her in; if not, that's fine too."
Shen Pingting hesitated for a moment and then agreed: "Okay, this is not a difficult matter. I will send someone to ask around the neighborhood."
After Mu Xi's health gradually improved, she kept thinking about how to contact Doctor Luo.
Her illness never improved, mostly because she couldn't bear to stay in Shen Lun's mansion for even a moment longer.
This is the only solution I can think of now, albeit with great difficulty.
Doctor Luo and Shen Lun had known each other for a long time and had a grudge against each other. When she brought Cao Pan'er to seek refuge, she did think about leaving some way to contact her in advance, but at that time it was too hasty and she didn't have time to think about it carefully. In addition, she had to hide and leave a backup plan, so she couldn't let Shen Lun see her.
Unexpectedly, they were trapped inside and could no longer be contacted.
Now, the only way is to use this serious illness as an excuse, hoping that Doctor Luo is still nearby and can continue to pretend to be a witch doctor so that Shen Pingting can find him.
And so, Mu Xi waited for several more days. First, Shen Pingting indeed found a witch doctor, but it was not Doctor Luo.
The witch doctor performed spells, incantations, and gave out elixirs.
Mu Xi's illness, however, did not improve; in fact, it seemed to be getting worse.
Left with no other choice, Shen Pingting invited another doctor, but it was still Doctor Luo.
Mu Xi could only continue to suffer from a serious illness.
And so, they continued to drag it out.
The wait continued until the next day, when Shen Pingting invited another witch doctor, dressed in a gray robe and wearing a hood.
When the witch doctor first entered, he had a wrinkled face, ruddy complexion, silver hair, a hunched back, and was leaning on a cane that doubled as a crutch. Mu Xi didn't recognize him at all.
It wasn't until the witch doctor secretly pinched Mu Xi's wrist that she realized what was happening. She then turned around and used the excuse that the witch doctor was performing a ritual and Shen Pingting shouldn't be nearby to avoid overexerting the "yin energy" to send her away.
Shen Pingting led her people to the outer room, and Cao Pan'er immediately stood guard by the door.
At this moment, the disguised healer, Luo Shenyi, quietly revealed her true voice: "Are you alright?"
Just this one sentence brought tears to Mu Xi's already dry eyes again: "Dr. Luo, it really is you."
When you think about it, it's only been three or four months since we last saw each other, but it feels like a lifetime has passed.
Doctor Luo didn't answer immediately. He quickly took out talismans and incense from his person, lit them in the room, and fanned the smoke outwards. Shen Pingting coughed and choked in the smoke, then went outside.
Then Doctor Luo handed several strings of bells and a hand drum to Cao Pan'er, asking her to make noise. Only then did he return to Mu Xi's bedside, taking Mu Xi's pulse with one hand, and said, "It's my fault for being so late in hearing the news. Ever since I learned that a witch doctor had been invited to this courtyard, I suspected that something had happened to you. However, the courtyard is heavily guarded on the outside but tight on the inside. If I hadn't been lying in wait for you without leaving a trace, I wouldn't have been able to sneak in."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
