Chapter 43 Stalemate Jiang Xu had never experienced anything like this from a woman before…
Those stubborn eyes gazed at him silently, tears welling up at the edges, but no more tears fell.
Her voice, like her expression, quieted down, and her breathing became even. "All this gold and silver, when you add it all up, is indeed quite valuable."
"Your Majesty has indeed gone to great lengths."
Jiang Xu knew she was eloquent and wouldn't easily back down, but seeing her still so stubborn, he felt a complex mix of emotions. Before, Wan'er was at least willing to play along, but now she treated her like an enemy.
No, perhaps they are strangers.
That cold, icy gaze, like a stagnant pool, left Jiang Xu speechless for a long time. After a moment, with a sullen face, he carried her back to the bed, propped half his body on the bed, and looked at her expression.
In early November, the wind howled outside, and the cold wind seeped in through the cracks, mingling with the warmth of the room. Seeing Wan'er's pale face, he subconsciously pulled the scattered bedding closer to her side.
Shi Wan lay on the quilt, the crimson satin making her appear even more frail and swaying, but her gaze revealed a rare hint of determination and aggression.
"This gold and silver is enough for me to live on for a long time. I'll just consider it... that the king is quite satisfied with my performance."
The voice was very soft, and it seemed to be a slight laugh, "Because I was satisfied, that's why you tipped me."
"That's a kind of exchange, isn't it?"
In the quiet night, the candlelight flickered, and the gaps in the windowpanes widened. The cold winter wind blew, this time extinguishing a few of the warm candlelight.
Shi Wan subconsciously wrapped herself tighter in the quilt and reached out to take off the silver notes on her chest, but the next moment, a large hand suddenly reached out and gently took the silver notes away in a few swift movements, tossing them aside.
Immediately afterwards, she quickly picked up the gold ingots and silver pieces scattered on both sides of the bedding and placed them on the dressing table on one side. Her movements were very light, as if she was avoiding something. Only after she had cleaned up all of these things did she tidy up the bedding and then propped most of her body up on the edge of the bed again.
Seeing that Shi Wan looked back without flinching, he subconsciously stepped back a little and said, "It's safe."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Her expression remained unchanged, but Jiang Xu felt a sudden pang of unease. After a moment, he asked, "How are you feeling?"
"It's acceptable." Shi Wan was still looking at him, but this time, Jiang Xu could clearly read a hint of "seeing her out" in her eyes.
Well, he had gone too far this time. Knowing Wan'er's personality, she was probably angry but stubbornly refused to say anything.
He said gently, "It's getting late, you should get some rest." Shi Wan lowered her eyes and softly replied. Then, the sound of a window closing was heard, and after a moment, the room was quiet.
Only then did she completely relax, gasping for breath and desperately trying to absorb fresh air. After a while, her pale face finally seemed to regain some color.
At the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), the sky outside was pitch black, stretching endlessly. Only the familiar lights under the eaves shone through the darkness. Shi Wan stared at them for a moment, then turned and wrapped herself tightly in the quilt, curling up on the inside of the bed, feeling a bit sleepy.
Outside the door, Jiang Xu stood tall and elegant, blocking the light from the lanterns. He was enveloped in shadow, his eyes lowered, and his silent demeanor gave off a sense of loneliness.
In a flash, he strode away.
*
The night was deep, and the wind whistled incessantly.
Her emotions fluctuated wildly. In her fear, Shi Wan endured for a long time, but suddenly developed a fever again at night. In the dim light, one could only hear a few short shouts.
With the dim light, it felt as if she had returned to the dungeon. The man's sinister gaze was fixed on her, and the blade thrust towards her with incredible speed.
Then, it stopped just inches from my heart and didn't move forward an inch.
A groggy voice came from behind her, as if someone was calling her anxiously.
"Wan'er".
"Wan'er, how are you feeling?"
"Wan'er, wake up."
Shi Wan felt as if she were in a fog, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not see the way ahead. She could only push forward and forward to break through the layers of obstacles.
Although the blade didn't pierce her this time, she had a feeling that it would fall sooner or later. The sharpening sound of the blade, faint yet persistent, seemed to hang tightly behind her, relentlessly pursuing her.
Fragmented images flashed by, probably because of the pent-up emotions in her heart. At this moment, Shi Wan had no extra strength and just kept running forward desperately.
Run further, even further.
Seeing her flushed face and furrowed brows, Jiang Xu couldn't help but speak coldly, "Didn't you say you would wake up in at most an hour? Why has your fever returned?"
Wan'er's recent symptoms were recorded one by one. Excessive worry had made her body even weaker, and she had also caught a cold. She had been taking medicine recently. After Jiang Xu finished reading the records, he couldn't help but sigh at how delicate her body was.
Even a slight breeze aggravated the cold, and the high fever persisted.
He unconsciously reached out to smooth her furrowed brows, but to his surprise, Wan'er still frowned and seemed to be muttering something to herself.
Jiang Xu breathed softly and quietly leaned down to listen. After a while, he could vaguely make out that it was the word "run".
The character "跑" in "逃跑" means to run away.
His expression remained unchanged as he patiently continued to reach out, applying some force until he finally smoothed out Shi Wan's tightly furrowed brows. Her pale face was covered in a lot of cold sweat, which clung tightly to her temples, and her tightly closed black eyelashes trembled nervously.
Just then, the military doctor arrived with the prepared medicine. He had been in charge of the medicine before and was familiar with Shi Wan's physical condition, so he was more daring and adept at administering the medicine.
But repeated occurrences at such a high frequency would be unbearable even for an iron man, let alone a woman whose health was already extremely weak...
Coming to his senses, the army doctor glanced at the stern-faced man beside him and swallowed his words. He then said respectfully, "Your Majesty, the medicine has arrived."
Jiang Xu took the medicine cup, took two small sips to test the temperature, and then tried to feed it to Wan'er.
However, the person on the bed refused to cooperate at all, stubbornly biting their lip. From Jiang Xu's angle, he could vaguely see that their eyelashes were trembling even more violently, as if it were a premonition of a nightmare.
Not-so-pleasant memories surfaced in Jiang Xu's mind. After a moment of hesitation, he glanced to the side and ordered, "You all go out first." A short while later, as footsteps began to sound, he drank the medicine in one gulp, then bent down and forced the entire contents of the medicine down his throat.
Ignoring Wan'er's struggles, he held her firmly with one hand and gently pinched her chin with the other until he was sure she had drunk most of the medicine, then he stopped. A few drops of medicine spilled from the corner of her lips and spread downwards. Jiang Xu stared at them for a while, then suddenly reached out and wiped them away with his fingertip. He then called for the servants to come in and wait.
The army doctor had intended to go inside with the maids, but the king called him alone, so he had no choice but to follow cautiously out. As soon as he entered the private room, he heard the person opposite him ask, "How did her cold cause such a commotion?"
The military doctor dared not be negligent and hurriedly said, "Deep-seated depression and excessive worry will naturally damage the heart meridian. In addition..." He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Have Your Majesty and Your Majesty had any quarrels these past two days?"
Jiang Xu nodded slightly, "There are some... disagreements."
Seeing this, the military doctor continued, "That's it. Extreme emotional fluctuations can bring out many previously unhealed ailments. One thing can affect the whole body, and it's inevitable that it can cause acute illnesses."
Illness strikes like a landslide, and Jiang Xu certainly knew this, but whenever he saw Wan'er in that state, a sense of irritation would always arise in his heart.
Upon hearing this, he waved his hand and ordered someone to leave and go to the small kitchen to brew some nourishing medicinal soup.
It wasn't until dawn, when the sky was just beginning to glow with golden light, that Shi Wan's condition finally stabilized. She had been running a high fever, and when Jiang Xu picked her up to feed her medicine, he felt that her body was completely cold.
Despite being covered with a thick quilt and scorched by a charcoal brazier, his body temperature was still lower than normal, barely higher than an ice cube, which inexplicably made him think of scenes from the battlefield.
When the person slowly awoke, the outside world was already shrouded in darkness again.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw a familiar face guarding her bedside. He looked somewhat haggard, but that only made her feel a little annoyed. A breath caught in her throat, neither able to come out nor go down.
She closed her eyes listlessly, letting him bring another bowl of medicine to her lips. Unexpectedly, this time he was extremely restrained, even coaxing her gently, asking, "Would you like to drink some medicine?"
Good medicine tastes bitter, and Shi Wan wouldn't be willful at this time; she naturally wanted to get better quickly.
Upon hearing this, he subconsciously opened his lips and took small sips. After drinking most of it, his expression grew increasingly unpleasant. Just as his brows furrowed, he stopped drinking.
"Don't you want to drink anymore?" Jiang Xu asked.
Shi Wan was overwhelmed by the bitter medicine and blinked listlessly, which was her way of agreeing.
The next moment, Jiang Xu naturally poured the remaining half of the medicine into his mouth, saying, "Wait until you feel better, then see if you can drink some more."
"This medicine is mild, so you'll need to drink it a few more times." Looking up, she saw Wan'er looking at her and subconsciously said, "That way you'll recover faster."
Seeing him like this, Shi Wan was unmoved for a moment, and only after a while did she realize that Jiang Xu was explaining to her.
She should probably do what she did before: feign compliance, respond with a smile, and then mix in some genuine thoughts with her own, so that she can either achieve her goal or gain some comforting benefits.
Reason told her that this was probably what she should do: go along with Jiang Xu, follow his lead, and slowly plan ahead. After reading these books and learning these skills, she would improve a lot compared to the first time, and there would always be a day when she could use them.
I will... successfully escape from this person.
But such thoughts only lasted for a moment. She was too tired. Her weary body and dizzy head almost drained all the little energy she had left.
She simply closed her eyes in silence, turned her body away from him, and clearly meant to see him out.
Jiang Xu was taken aback, and the concerned expression on his face froze for a moment. Fortunately, he was an old hand at this and quickly regained his composure.
Seeing that Wan'er was curled up and didn't want to pay attention to him, he felt a little unhappy.
Having waited expectantly by the bedside for so long, only to be met with hostility once or twice, even the most self-disciplined person couldn't help but refuse to answer Wan'er three, four, or even more times.
Jiang Xu had never suffered such humiliation from a woman before.
They've really spoiled her, making her even more unruly.
As his thoughts returned, Jiang Xu's voice grew colder. "Since you still have the strength, whether you drink the medicine or not is up to you." He then strode out.
As the footsteps faded into the distance, Shi Wan turned her head and, only after confirming that the person was indeed gone, lowered her guard and fell peacefully asleep.
......
*
In the study, the paper covering the window frame was battered by the howling night wind, and on the desk, the candlelight burned quietly, reflecting the man's somewhat gloomy face.
An oppressive shadow stretched across the wall, swaying gently with the candlelight, one after another.
A moment later, a voice announced from outside.
Upon hearing the familiar name, Jiang Xu sat up straight and instructed, "Let him in."
As soon as he finished speaking, a tall, strong man with a resolute and upright appearance strode in.
This man was none other than Wan Houyi. Previously, Jiang Xu had been busy with the battle on the Turkic side, so he had ordered this man to be stationed in Liang'an City. It wasn't until news came that he had finally found the only daughter left behind by his mentor that Jiang Xu ordered someone to go to the border to join him.
"Your Majesty, I have fulfilled my mission." He bowed respectfully and said, "I brought Miss Lin back safely."
As soon as Jiang Xu came to his senses, he saw a graceful figure approaching from behind Wan Houyi.
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Author's Note: The earliest form of banknotes in the world was Jiaozi during the Northern Song Dynasty. The scene of slipping banknotes here can be understood as a hodgepodge of dynasties, but it won't affect the reading experience.
Also, this story will be updated later; there will be another update tonight. [Hands clasped in prayer]
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