Chapter 51: Sleeping Gently brushed aside her hair with his fingertips, and leaned down...
A mouthful of blood suddenly spurted out of Zhao Huaixu's mouth, splashing onto the plain mattress.
"Yu'an!" Fang Yilan widened her eyes in horror and caught Zhao Huaixu's body, which was falling backwards weakly, with both hands. His body was cold and he fell softly in her arms.
"The medicine is too strong, his body can't handle it." Yuan Qingjun's voice came from the side, saying quickly but calmly: "Go get the ginseng!"
The secret guard acted quickly. Yuan Qingjun took the ginseng and crushed it into powder. He mixed it into warm water and carefully poured it into Zhao Huaixu's mouth. He also injected acupuncture points into several of his acupuncture points to slowly force out the poisonous blood accumulated in his body.
After several attempts, Zhao Huaixu's breathing finally stabilized. Although he was still unconscious, his life was saved.
However, he has been in a coma for three days and Zhao Huaixu still shows no signs of waking up.
Fang Yilan sat beside the bed holding a bowl of medicine. In the candlelight, Zhao Huaixu's face was as pale as rice paper, his breathing was weak, and even his lips were so pale that light could be seen through them.
She reached out and pinched Zhao Huaixu's jaw, prying his mouth slightly open. She scooped up a spoonful of medicine and slowly fed it in. Most of the brown liquid overflowed from the corners of his mouth, slid down his jaw, and spread streaks like dead branches on his snow-white shirt, glaring and embarrassing.
After feeding him the medicine, Fang Yilan didn't know what else to do except stay by his bedside.
She gently stroked Zhao Huaixu's brow with her fingers: "Try to pretend to be dead again. I will burn the box of earrings but will not bury it for you." But there was a tremor at the end of her words that she herself did not notice.
The person on the bed still showed no reaction, as if her threats were just whispers in the wind that would be blown away by a gentle breeze.
Perhaps the room was too quiet and a little suffocating, so Fang Yilan put the medicine bowl on the table, stood up, and opened the window a crack.
The night breeze brought a slight chill, dispersing the strong smell of medicine in the room and slightly calming the surging emotions in her heart.
Fearing that he might catch a cold, Fang Yilan quickly closed the window again. Turning around, she noticed the bed curtains swaying, but it wasn't the wind.
Fang Yilan's heart suddenly tightened. She slowly approached, her voice low and calm, yet with a subtle hint of probing: "The earrings are truly your lifeblood. That box was originally for you. Don't you want to see what they look like?"
Zhao Huaixu's eyelashes trembled in the candlelight, like a dying butterfly trying to flap its wings.
Moonlight crept onto his pale fingertips. Fang Yilan watched the faint light wandering across his knuckles, reached out to cover them, and then gave him another drastic measure: "If you wake up, I'll give you a chance to apologize..."
The night watchman rang three times outside the window, as if the previous noise was just an illusion.
Fang Yilan was about to leave when she felt a tightness at her sleeve. Zhao Huaixu's fingertips hooked around her aquamarine sleeve, gleaming like jade in the moonlight.
"Alan..." His voice was like broken jade falling on ice, "I heard..."
Zhao Huai's breath was faintly scented with bitter ginseng as he spoke, and he squeezed out three words weakly but stubbornly: "I'm sorry..."
...
Yuan Qingjun re-prepared the prescription. The new prescription reduced the amount of Houttuynia cordata and added roasted licorice to harmonize the other medicines. The medicinal properties were much milder. After Zhao Huaixu drank it, his face was not as pale as before. Although he still looked thin, he became more energetic and the erythema subsided a lot.
The late spring rain came quickly and heavily, washing away the accumulated illness in the city.
More and more people recovered from their illnesses with the new medicine and left Tongbei Temple. On the streets and alleys, previously closed shops began to open for business, and the streets gradually began to see more people. Although not as bustling as before, they did have a sense of life.
Fang Yilan was busy every day with the deployment of personnel and the distribution of medicinal materials. She also had to personally visit each patient's bedside to ensure that no one was left out. After finishing her work in the city, she had to watch over Zhao Huaixu, boiling medicine and feeding him medicine, and she hardly had time to rest for a moment.
Another day, Fang Yilan came to Zhao Huaixu's room as usual, holding a bowl of freshly boiled medicine in her hand.
His steps were a little heavy, and there was a hint of fatigue in his eyes, but he still kept up his spirits.
She walked to the bedside, gently helped Zhao Huaixu up, and handed the medicine bowl to his mouth. The fatigue on his face was visible to the naked eye: "You are in much better spirits now. Can you drink this medicine yourself?"
Zhao Huaixu took it surprisingly obediently, drinking the medicine mouthful by mouthful, his eyes always fixed on the faint blue shadow under Fang Yilan's eyes.
Fang Yilan felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by him and frowned: "What are you looking at?"
Zhao Huaixu concealed the worry in his eyes and smiled: "It depends on you."
"Stop talking nonsense here and take a good rest after taking your medicine."
Fang Yilan watched him finish drinking the medicine and was about to stand up when a large black fog suddenly spread in front of her eyes. The last thing she remembered was the bitter scent of mugwort on Zhao Huaixu's sleeves.
Faintly, she heard someone talking in a low voice. It was Yuan Qingjun's voice.
"It's nothing serious, she's just very tired."
When I woke up again, the candle wax had piled up into a small hill in the copper cup, and the candle flame was swaying weakly, illuminating the room dimly and warmly.
Fang Yilan shifted slightly, her neck pressed against the soft pillow, a warm arm resting across her waist. Their long hair crisscrossed the brocade quilt, like inky rivers, tangled together, indistinguishable from one another.
She suddenly remembered the old saying: "A heart tied together by hair, life and death are together." A sense of tenderness inexplicably rose in her heart.
Zhao Huaixu's breath brushed past her ear, warm and gentle, with a hint of sleepiness: "Awake?"
Fang Yilan did not answer immediately. Her eyes fell on the window. She heard the sound of footsteps coming from afar. The silver moonlight shone through the carved window panes, casting their shadows on the wall, like a pair of cranes embracing each other, very close and intimate.
"It's still early, sleep a little longer..." Zhao Huaixu's voice sounded softly, with a hint of coaxing, but his arms held her tighter.
Fang Yilan didn't struggle, but just hummed softly and closed her eyes again. Her body was still exhausted, and her consciousness was quickly swallowed by sleepiness, and she fell into a deep sleep.
Zhao Huaixu's eyes fell on her face and did not move away for a long time.
He lowered his head to look at her peaceful sleeping face, gently brushed away the hair in front of her forehead with his fingertips, leaned down, and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Go to sleep."
Outside the window, the morning light fills the courtyard, the sound of birds singing can be heard crisply, and the breeze blows gently, carrying the fragrance of apricot blossoms, slipping into the room through the half-open window lattice.
People passing by saw the two people sleeping in each other's arms through the window, and they couldn't help but smile knowingly, of course, with a few broken glances here and there.
When I woke up again, it was bright daylight.
Fang Yilan opened her eyes to find Zhao Huaixu leaning against the window frame, a book in hand, his gaze fixed on its pages. The morning light from outside the window fell on his snow-white shirt, the collar of which was loosely tied, revealing a hint of his collarbone, making his profile appear even more elegant and refined.
Hearing the slight movement on the bed, he raised his eyes slightly, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and his voice was low and gentle: "Did you sleep well?"
Fang Yilan was still a little confused. She rubbed her eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "Yeah."
Although it is late spring, the morning breeze is still a little chilly.
Zhao Huaixu put down the book in his hand, gently draped a fox fur coat over her shoulders, and took her into his arms. He nuzzled her ear and said in a low, contented voice, "Be careful not to catch a cold."
"Let go, I want to get out of bed."
"Alan, you've been tired for so many days, why don't you take a rest..."
In short, Fang Yilan had to use great efforts to shake off the person who was almost growing on her body.
She straightened her messy clothes and walked out.
Tongbei Temple is now mostly empty. Most of the patients have recovered and left. The temple seems exceptionally quiet, and the air is filled with the faint fragrance of flowers.
Fang Yilan noticed that there were many things placed outside the temple. They turned out to be jars of flowers of various colors. On one of the flower pots was a rag doll with eyes sewn on. In the doll's hand was a piece of paper with the words "Thank you, sister" written crookedly on it.
Fang Yilan approached and squatted down, only to find that there were notes under many potted flowers. The handwriting was different, but all of them expressed gratitude to her.
Several civilians who hadn't left saw her and came forward with sincere smiles on their faces. "General, thank you so much! If it weren't for you, I'm afraid we wouldn't have made it."
Fang Yilan scratched her head a little embarrassedly: "This is what I should do. I am also very happy that everyone can recover."
A young woman came forward, holding a child. The child's face was still rosy from recovering from an illness. She timidly handed her a freshly picked wild flower and said, "Sister, this is for you."
Fang Yilan took the flowers, touched her head, and said softly, "Thank you, these flowers are beautiful."
...
The late spring wind blew willow catkins across the city wall, and Zhou Tingan's carriage stopped under the old locust tree outside Wenbin City.
Fang Yilan handed him the copied confession: "Sir Zhou, this should help you settle the corruption case."
Zhou Ting'an took it: "General, now..."
As soon as he opened his mouth, he was interrupted by a heart-wrenching cough.
A vein throbbed in Fang Yilan's forehead; he knew who had spoken without turning. Zhao Huaixu's carriage was parked ten paces away, its dark curtain deliberately parted half a palm's width, revealing a wrist as sculpted from jade. The man's pale jaw was faintly visible through the veil.
Fang Yilan had no choice but to say goodbye in a hurry: "Master Zhou, the journey to the capital is long, so it is better to leave as soon as possible. Once I have settled Wen Bin's affairs, we can talk in detail when we get to the capital."
However, he didn't expect that when he left his words and walked back, Zhao Huaixu had already leaned out half of his body, holding the shaft of the cart, with his wide white sleeves fluttering in the wind.
Zhao Huaixu's eyes turned red from coughing, and his fingertips were hooked on his veil, trying to keep it from falling. "Alan is back so soon? Ahem... why don't you chat a little more? Did I disturb you?"
Fang Yilan rushed forward in two steps, pressed his palm against his chest, and pushed him into the carriage, then pulled the curtains tightly shut. "You've been to Hades, and you still dare to blow the wind. Your Highness, do you think your life is too long?"
Zhao Huaixu grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the room. The aroma of snow bud tea mixed with the bitter smell of medicine hit her face.
Fang Yilan entered the carriage, but caught a glimpse of a corner of fox fur sticking out from the secret compartment of the seat. He sneered in his heart: "Are you addicted to pretending to be sick?" Just as he was about to step away, his wrist was suddenly wrapped by five cold fingers.
Zhao Huaixu leaned against a soft goose feather pillow, his black hair flowing down. "I just heard that Lord Zhou is leaving today. He has done so much for the people of Wenbin, and Yu'an wanted to come and see him off."
Having said that, his tone was flat, without any trace of reluctance, and the joy in his eyes could not be contained.
Fang Yilan said with a half-smile, "It seems that His Highness has recovered well. Why don't we set off today to return to Shangjing?"
Zhao Huaixu put on a weak expression and said, "Ahem, Yu'an isn't well yet. He needs to rest for a while."
After saying this, she stroked her earlobe with her fingertips, making the sparkling pendant jingle. Then she changed the subject and said, "Now that A-Lan is free, I wonder when she plans to give me the box of earrings?"
"Tired of wearing them? Why not give them back to me? Your Highness the Seventh Prince, what jewelry can you not get? Why bother to rob me of my things?" Fang Yilan pretended to take off his earrings.
"Alan knows what I mean." Zhao Huaixu hurriedly held her right hand and pressed it against her chest, and suddenly felt a square box hidden in Fang Yilan's sleeve.
His eyes suddenly lit up, but he frowned and coughed, then said in a fake tone, "This brocade box... is it for Mr. Zhou?"
"It seems you don't want it." Fang Yilan was not fooled. She took it out of her sleeve but didn't give it to him. She pretended to move away from his legs, but her wrist was held tighter.
A cunning light danced in his dark pupils, and he finally admitted it: "So it was given to Yu'an."
Fang Yilan suddenly leaned over, her nose almost brushing against his earlobe. "Hey, this was originally meant for Lord Zhou, but unfortunately he left in a hurry." She looked at the jade-like tip of his ear with satisfaction as it turned crimson. Her fingertips flicked the green tail feathers, "It's a good deal for you."
Zhao Huaixu tilted his head back and let her do what she wanted. His Adam's apple rolled slightly as her fingertips brushed against his earlobe. The dusk shone through the window onto his face, casting his eyelashes like the trembling shadows of a butterfly.
When the brocade box opened and closed, purple light shone.
Fang Yilan pulled the pine green earrings hard, and then drew a purple light. Seeing him frown in pain, she stood up slowly.
Zhao Huaixu stroked the new earring and smiled softly, "Yu'an likes it very much." The deep purple glass flashed a strange light in the night, just like the boiling poison hidden under the man's illness.
Fang Yilan folded her hands in front of her chest, her gaze fell on the bright color on Zhao Huaixu's ear, her eyes full of pride.
Then, imitating the insolence of a tyrant, he said, "When my mood calms down and I forgive you, I will give you the box of earrings. Consider this today a reward for your good recovery."
Zhao Huaixu let out a few low laughs and said slowly, "As long as Ah Lan doesn't give it to anyone else, Yu Anding will do his best to help. I beg for your forgiveness."
After saying that, his eyes darkened, and he grabbed Fang Yilan's waist, turned over neatly, and pressed her under him. His lips were only an inch away from hers, and their warm breaths intertwined with each other. Just as he was about to fall, he was stopped by two slender fingers.
Fang Yilan said with disgust, "You're so sour, stay away from me!"
He bit her fingertip, and the corners of his eyes curved into a satisfied arc. Fang Yilan looked at the crescent mark on her fingertip, not noticing that there was a similar curve at the corner of her lips.
When dusk finally swallowed up the last ray of daylight, the carriage slowly drove onto the city road, heading home.
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