113 An unexpected event occurred.
◎Qi Gu, you must wake up!◎
With Song Shi joining them, Fu Lian and A Xiang didn't have to struggle so much.
Li Shi hurriedly stepped forward and asked Qi Gu, "Are you alright?"
The eldest prince's face turned deathly pale with fright, and he looked at Qi Gu with concern.
If it weren't for the woman who suddenly appeared, Qi Gu would probably have already been stabbed by the man in black.
Qi Gu said, "I'm fine, you two hide well."
Suddenly! A dark figure leaped up from nowhere!
He watched as his sword hurtled toward Qi Gu.
Song Shizheng was blocked by two men in black. She turned around and realized something was wrong!
"Princess, be careful!"
"careful!"
Just as Qi Gu turned around, the man turned his sword and headed towards the Crown Prince!
My brother can't get hurt; that was the only thought that flashed through Qi Gu's mind.
The moment the thought crossed her mind, she yanked her hand away. Before the prince could react, he was pulled back several steps by the force, dodging the sword!
Seeing that the eldest prince had dodged the sword, the man in black suddenly turned to Qi Gu again.
Instead of staying in place, he leaped up, moving as fast as a ghost!
Li Shi was standing next to Qi Gu when a sword light flashed past his eyelids. In a flash, the silvery sword light shot straight towards Qi Gu!
Without thinking, he instinctively rushed in front of Qi Gu and used his body to block the sword that pierced down from above!
Time seemed to stand still at this moment!
Li Shi lay on the ground, looking up at the night sky of this era.
The wind dispersed the night's mist, revealing a full moon, just like the moon he had seen in the school laboratory the night before he arrived here.
The students' voices rang in my ears, "Professor Li/Teacher Li/Dr. Li!"
And then there were the voices of parents: "Son, son, wake up!"
"Father!" The piercing cry pulled him back to his last remaining shred of consciousness.
Qi Gu sat on the ground, holding her father, one hand covering the hole in his heart where blood was flowing freely.
Her hands were covered in a slippery, sticky, dark red liquid, but it couldn't stop the bleeding.
Qi Gu's tears fell onto Li Shi's face.
Li Shi forced a smile, a smile tinged with blood and tears, "No, don't cry, Aunt Qi..."
"Father, the physician will be here soon. Sima Hong has brought men to rescue us. We're alright now."
Qi Gu's voice trembled violently, just like her hands.
"Aunt Qi, your father can no longer stay with you."
"No! Father, you can do it! You can do it!"
Qi Gu grabbed his hand tightly, as if trying to transfer the warmth of her body to him.
"Father, please don't leave me. I'm scared. I can't live without you."
"Qi Gu... has grown up and is going to walk her own path from now on."
"Please, Father, don't go."
Li Shi had a premonition that ever since he met the Marquis of Xilin that day, he had been having chaotic dreams every day. Sometimes he would dream that his parents, friends, and students in the modern world were calling out to him.
A moment later, he saw the young Qi Gu holding his hand tightly.
Recalling Xi Linhou's words, he seemed to understand life, but he couldn't bear to part with Qi Gu.
“Aunt Qi, listen, Father isn’t dead, I…” He vomited a mouthful of blood and continued, “I just have to go back to my world. You have to remember, no matter where Father goes, when you look up, I, I, we are under the same sky, just, just… we can’t intersect… that’s all… Aunt Qi, okay, okay… we are all okay…”
The person on the ground slowly closed his eyes, and his hand fell limply from Qi Gu's face to the cold ground.
The moon was obscured by a layer of dark clouds.
"No!" Qi Gu cried out in disbelief, her eyes vacant, murmuring, "Father, please don't sleep... please don't..."
The whole world fell silent; everyone stopped what they were doing and watched Qi Gu in silence.
When Sima Hong arrived, he saw Qi Gu holding Mr. Li's body, weeping silently.
The man in black was quickly brought under control, and Sima Hong gripped Qi Gu's thin shoulders tightly.
Qi Gu frantically tugged at his sleeve: "Quickly, summon a physician! Save my father! Sima Hong, save my father!"
Beside him, Atai checked Li Shi's breath and shook his head at Sima Hong.
Seeing that Sima Hong remained unmoved, Qi Gu became agitated, crying out, "Quickly, save my father!!!"
The eldest prince knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face: "Sister, it's all my fault, it's all my fault!"
Qi Gu pushed Sima Hong aside and stood up. "Someone! Summon a physician! Quickly!"
Her face was covered in blood, and she was trembling uncontrollably. Sima Hong felt a pang of pain in his heart and hugged Qi Gu, "Qi Gu, Qi Gu, Mr. Li is... gone..."
Qi Gu patted Sima Hong: "What nonsense are you talking about? How could Father be dead? He's still alive! Go find a doctor to save him!"
Sima Hong simply held Qi Gu tightly, knowing that Mr. Li was far too important to her.
How could Aunt Qi bear losing Mr. Li?
Qi Gu pushed Sima Hong away, "Let go of me!"
Qi Gu staggered to her father's side and looked at him lying quietly on the ground.
Suddenly, I felt all my strength drain away, and everything went black.
"Qi Gu!"
"Sister!"
"Princess!"
Sima Hong caught the unconscious Qi Gu...
Hongyan wiped away her tears, looking at Qi Gu whose eyes were tightly closed, "Princess, will the princess never wake up again?"
Sima Hong sat by Qi Gu's bedside. "She will wake up."
The Empress, standing to the side, scolded, "What nonsense are you spouting? You all take good care of the princess. If she doesn't wake up, I will hold you all accountable!"
“I have already sent someone to invite Physician Ye,” Sima Hong said.
The Empress looked at her unconscious daughter, her face growing thinner day by day, her eyebrows furrowed, and her lips pale.
The Empress was heartbroken and, behind everyone's back, shed tears in front of the window of the lacquer tree.
People come and go around my bed.
Sima Hong stayed by Qi Gu's side day and night without sleep. Although it was against the rules, the Empress tacitly approved. If he could awaken his daughter, what did etiquette and law matter?
Marquis Qu Zhou and Zhuang'er also came to visit Qi Gu.
Zhuang'er, with tears streaming down his face, asked, "Sister, don't you want Zhuang'er anymore?"
This caused Marquis Qu Zhou to stand aside, tears streaming down his face. Who could have imagined that Mr. Li, that night, would actually... to save Qi Gu?
Mr. Li treated Aunt Qi even better than her own father!
Even the Ninth Princess came to visit Qi Gu, and saw that the arrogant eldest princess, who used rudeness as an excuse, lying lifelessly on the bed.
The Ninth Princess pouted and said, "What are you doing lying here? Get up and start cursing! Go slap Chu Xiang! It's all her fault. You're not going to let her off the hook like this, are you?"
But no matter who came to visit, the person lying in bed did not react at all.
It seemed that losing her father meant losing all hope for life.
The Empress's patience finally ran out, and she roared at the palace physicians, "Why hasn't my son woken up yet? What are you Imperial Physicians doing?!"
The Empress was taking her anger out on the Princess, since everyone knew that the Princess's illness was psychological.
It wasn't that they couldn't cure her, it was that the princess didn't want to wake up, but no one dared to say it aloud.
"The princess is vomiting blood!" Hongyan shouted!
Upon hearing this, the Empress turned pale and rushed to Qi Gu's bedside. She saw Qi Gu being supported by Hong Yan, with bloodstains on her nose, mouth, and chin.
The Empress could no longer remain calm. She swayed and cried out, "Guards! Are they all dead? Quickly, bring in a princess to treat them!"
At this moment, Sima Hong walked in with Doctor Ye. Seeing the blood on Qi Gu's face, Sima Hong stepped forward and put his arm around Qi Gu, his brows furrowed, "What happened to Qi Gu!"
Hongyan said, "Just now, when I was feeding the princess her medicine and helped her sit up, she drank the medicine but vomited blood instead!"
When Doctor Ye saw this, he knew the situation was urgent, so he stepped forward and took Qi Gu's pulse.
A moment later, Sima Hong and the Empress asked anxiously, "How is Qi Gu?"
"Princess, you must have been grieving too much, and it has damaged your heart."
"Then how can she wake up?" Sima Hong asked Qi Gu anxiously.
"Dr. Ye, please save my daughter!"
Physician Ye said, "I will give the princess acupuncture, along with a prescription to protect her heart meridian, but..."
Sima Hong asked, "Physician Ye, please speak frankly."
"This is always a mental burden for the princess. If she doesn't have the will to live, no amount of external force can save her."
The Empress's usually calm and collected eyes finally betrayed a deep panic. "Qi Gu, have you even abandoned your mother...?"
Seeing that the Empress was almost unable to stand, Lu Ao supported the Empress's hand: "Your Majesty!"
"I'm fine." With Lu Ao's help, she said, "I will make those who hurt Qi Gu pay the price!"
The Empress left in a rage. Before leaving, she pleaded with Physician Ye to save Qi Gu and instructed the Imperial Medical Academy to keep a close watch on her.
Sima Hong watched as Doctor Ye administered acupuncture to Qi Gu and then personally fed her medicine, but Qi Gu would spit out every time he fed her a mouthful.
Sima Hong's eyes darkened, and he ordered Hongyan to prepare several more nights' worth of medicine. "Qi Gu, you must wake up!"
And so, after three nights of medication, it took two bowls of medicine to finally feed the patient one bowl.
Sima Hong put Qi Gu back on the bed, bent down and kissed her forehead, reluctant to get up.
A tear fell onto Qi Gu's face. Sima Hong held Qi Gu and kissed her, saying, "Qi Gu, please wake up."
In the darkness, Qi Gu heard many voices, but the voice she longed to hear most never appeared.
She searched anxiously, but no matter what she did, she couldn't find her father.
Suddenly, in the noisy crowd, she saw a familiar figure from behind.
It's her father! Overjoyed, she grabbed him and cried out, "Father!"
But her father pulled the object from her hand.
She was about to chase after him, but only saw his back disappear into the darkness.
It seems she has forgotten something important.
She felt a heat on her face, and when she raised her hand, a crystal-clear tear remained on her fingertip.
"Father!" Qi Gu woke up with a start!
She remembered—her father… had shielded her from harm…
Sima Hong stared intently at Qi Gu, and when he saw that she had really woken up, he pulled her into his arms. "Qi Gu, you're finally awake."
Qi Gu didn't know how many days she had slept. She only felt completely exhausted when she woke up, with no strength left. She asked in a weak voice, "Sima Hong, where is my father?"
"I'm sorry, Aunt Qi, Mr. Li... it's all my fault."
Sima Hong held Qi Gu in his arms, as if she were about to disappear at any moment. During the days she was unconscious, his heart felt like it was being swallowed by the darkness. If Qi Gu did not wake up, he was about to lose control of the violence in his heart. He only wanted to destroy everything and then sink into oblivion with Qi Gu...
Thank goodness, Qi Gu has woken up.
"I'm sorry, it's all my fault for not protecting Mr. Li. Aunt Qi, it's all my fault. You can hit me, scold me, kill me, hate me, anything is fine, but don't leave, and don't stay asleep."
Qi Gu's eyes were numb, and she only asked, "Where is my father?"
She felt the person holding her hug her even tighter. In fact, from the moment she woke up, she knew that her father would never appear by her bedside again.
She remained silent. "Sima Hong, why? Why? Didn't you say you would protect Father?"
"Yes, it's all my fault. I'm the one who killed Mr. Li."
Sima Hong grasped Qi Gu's thin, frail shoulders. "Qi Gu, it's my fault."
Qi Gu suddenly burst into tears, pounding her fists on Sima Hong, crying, "Why! Why!"
Sima Hong let Qi Gu vent her anger. As long as Qi Gu could live and be like before, it didn't matter if she hated him. At least she wouldn't be lying in bed lifeless all the time.
As soon as Qi Gu woke up, the immense grief and emotional turmoil overwhelmed her weakened body, causing her to fall back into a deep sleep.
Doctor Ye took her pulse and breathed a sigh of relief: "Don't worry, you'll be fine once you wake up this time. As long as you keep a good mood and take good care of yourself for a year or two, you'll be fine."
[Author's Note]
Mr. Li is heading back to the modern world, carrying a pot on his head. Although he was cruel to Qi Gu, life always involves separation...
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