104 Sima Hong's Heartfelt Feelings
Don't leave me alone.
As soon as Qi Gu entered the door, she was enveloped in a heavy embrace, making it hard for her to breathe.
Hongyan and Atai stood at the door, only to hear it slam shut with a bang.
Hongyan looked at Atai with suspicion: Isn't Sima Langjun unconscious?
Atai looked up at the sky: I don't know anything.
The room was filled with a faint, almost imperceptible sandalwood scent, but it couldn't mask the subtle, bitter medicinal smell emanating from the embrace.
Qi Gu instinctively tried to push Sima Hong away, but she lowered her hand halfway through the air.
At this moment, smelling the familiar scent, she felt as if she were still the same person from her past life. With her face pressed against his chest, she felt that if time could stop at this moment, it wouldn't be so bad.
Sima Hong held Qi Gu's soft and warm body in his arms. She was no longer the ethereal shadow in his dream. Sima Hong gently kissed the top of Qi Gu's head. Only when the arrow pierced her heart did he truly understand Qi Gu's pain and despair.
"Aunt Qi, you have to keep your word."
Qi Gu asked in confusion, "What?"
"That day you said that as long as I live, I must repay you double." Sima Hong's face was pale as he held Qi Gu tightly, as if Qi Gu would disappear again in the next second.
Qi Gu was a little breathless from his embrace, but she didn't dare to push him away forcefully. "Liar, you weren't unconscious at all!"
Sima Hong chuckled lightly, "I only woke up when you questioned my grandfather."
Qi Gu shoved Sima Hong away: "So you think I offended your grandfather, and that I insulted the Sima family?"
Sima Hong took Qi Gu's hand and made him sit next to him. "Qi Gu, I have never agreed with my grandfather."
His eyes were on Qi Gu, "I just didn't expect that Grandfather would actually... Thankfully you're alright."
Qi Gu pointed to Sima Hong's white undergarment, which still bore Qin Chu's bloodstains, and asked, "Does your injury still hurt?"
Qi Gu was always soft-hearted. His injury was actually not serious after careful treatment, but he would rather suffer a more serious injury than receive Qi Gu's care.
“Qi Gu, that day you asked me whether you liked the current you or the stupid and dull you.”
Sima Hong's face was pale, but when he looked at Qi Gu, his eyes shone like stars, leaving Qi Gu speechless.
“After you died in my past life, I realized that I had fallen in love with you without even realizing it. For eight years after your death, I could only fall asleep in the princess’s mansion, on the bed we slept in together. Only on the bed where we used to make love could I feel a trace of that I was still alive. Countless times I dreamed that you questioned me. I was tormented by regret and pain for eight years before I finally recognized my own heart.”
Why eight years?
"Because whether in my past life or this life, without you, I have lost my love forever. In my past life, I died eight years after helping the Empress and the Crown Prince stabilize the situation."
Qi Gu stared blankly, "This... how is this possible?" She couldn't believe it. Without her, Sima Hong should have gotten everything he wanted, and the Empress Dowager should have ascended to the highest position. But Sima Hong said...
Sima Hong thought of the days in his previous life when it seemed like there was only darkness forever, and felt that the cold was even more bone-chilling than the moment he was shot by the arrow.
"Everyone thinks that Sima Hong devoted himself to the Jin Dynasty and died from overwork, but only I know that I died from my constant longing and guilt for you."
Sima Hong was unwilling to recall those eight dark years. "So, Aunt Qi, your problem is not a problem at all. You are you, and you have always just been you."
Before anyone knew it, Sima Hong was already standing in front of Qi Gu. He squatted down, wrapped his arms around Qi Gu's waist, and buried his head in Qi Gu's stomach. "Qi Gu, don't push me away. Don't leave me alone, okay?"
His tone was pleading, and Qi Gu felt as if she had bitten into a sour fruit, so sour that tears welled up in her eyes.
Sima Hong's gentle tenderness sent a tremor through Qi Gu's entire body, from her tailbone straight to her heart.
Sima Hong... he actually... loves her?
She lowered her head, her hands trembling slightly, her fingertips tracing Sima Hong's jet-black hair. He simply tied his hair up with a jade hairpin, and his hair fell smoothly over his straight back.
Sensing a hint of emotion in Qi Gu, Sima Hong raised his head, took Qi Gu's hand, and placed it on his face.
Qi Gu sat down, while Sima Hong squatted on the ground. His hand covered hers, his face was pale from illness, his eyes were red at the corners, and he looked up at her with a bright gaze, like a dying man seeing a glimmer of hope.
This Sima Hong, without the dazzling, rigid, and cold outer shell, is now a person, carrying a sickly fragility, as if begging for the forgiveness of his loved one, longing for her response.
"Sima Hong, you..."
Qi Gu's head drew closer and closer to Sima Hong. It turned out that Sima Hong only had one person's image in his eyes. It turned out that the image was herself.
She was easily drawn into it, and it made her want to... give him a chance...
"Knock knock knock~" Just as their lips were about to touch, there was a knock on the door.
"My lord, it's time to take your medicine."
Qi Gu pushed Sima Hong away. Sima Hong looked disappointed and then turned to look outside the door, a rare hint of annoyance in his eyes.
Qi Gu chuckled to herself, her legs swinging merrily as she sat on the couch.
The servant, holding the medicine, stood outside the door with his head down, looking at the ground. Sima Hong took the medicine from him and closed the door again.
Sima Hong placed the medicine on the table beside him and walked towards Qi Gu. Qi Gu stood up, raised the medicine bowl, and handed it to Sima Hong: "Drink the medicine."
Sima Hong wrapped his long arm around Qi Gu's soft waist, turned around, and sat her down on the couch.
Qi Gu stared at the medicine bowl, "The medicine has spilled!"
But even as she sat across him, not a single drop of the medicine was spilled.
She then noticed that their posture was far too...indecent.
"Si, Sima Hong, you're getting more and more shameless."
Sima Hong smiled contentedly, "Feed me my medicine."
"Let me down."
"Feed me like this."
Qi Gu tried to struggle, but Sima Hong held her tightly with his clinging hands, making it impossible for her to move. Sima Hong's voice was hoarse, "Qi Gu, I advise you not to move."
Qi Gu didn't dare to look down, but she understood what was going on. Her pale face turned red from the heat, and she was once again the energetic, healthy, and lively Qi Gu.
Suddenly, Qi Gu hissed in pain.
Sima Hong asked anxiously, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"My shoulder and calf are so painful."
Sima Hong hurriedly checked her injuries and then anxiously shouted to the door, "Someone, please summon a physician!"
While he was in a panic, Qi Gu had already stood back on the ground, looking at Sima Hong with a triumphant smile: "You're so easy to fool."
Sima Hong frowned. "Don't be silly. I'll have the physician examine your injuries."
Qi Gu smiled and said, "The imperial physician in the palace examined my injury and said it's nothing serious." She placed the bowl of medicine in front of him and said, "Drink your medicine quickly."
Sima Hong, with a helpless smile, took the medicine bowl, stared at her, and drank it all in one gulp.
Don't you find it bitter?
Sima Hong's eyes flashed with fire, as if he wanted to melt Qi Gu's heart. "It's not bitter."
...
Since the assassination of Sima Hong and Qi Gu involved Sima Taigong and the Gao family, and also seemed to implicate Prince Yi and the Guo family, the Emperor and Empress tacitly decided to handle the matter leniently.
After that day, Sima Taigong announced to the outside world that he would go into seclusion and never see outsiders again, and that all matters of the Sima family would be handed over to Sima Hong.
As for the Gao family, the Crown Prince's wife, Gao Ruyi, once came to Qi Gu to plead for her younger sister, but Qi Gu refused to see her.
However, he later told the Empress, "If dealing with Gao Ruyu will affect the Empress's plans, then you don't need to consider my feelings; the overall situation is more important."
The Empress looked at her daughter and said those words so calmly. In Qi Gu's heart, she was a mother who didn't care about her feelings. Her heart was full of complicated emotions, but she was more upset than anything else.
Growing increasingly resentful of the Gao family, Gao Ruyu was ruthless and determined to kill Qi Gu. She hired an archer.
Most importantly, it's too much of a coincidence! The Gao family insists that they do not know Wu Zhuan or the group that assassinated Sima Hong.
Since they have harbored disloyal intentions, she will not tolerate it.
Qi Gu was unaware of the Gao family's fate in her previous life, but since the Gao family married their eldest daughter to her younger brother, they were naturally on the mother's side.
Now, the most crucial thing is to resolve the issues concerning Prince Yi and the Guo family.
The sudden appearance of Wu Zhuan and Gao Ruyu's people made the whole matter confusing, which gave Prince Yi and the Guo family an excuse to escape punishment and kick them while they were down.
Seeing Qi Gu's worried expression, the Empress rarely explained, "Prince Yi and the Guo family won't be able to cause trouble for long. Your injuries haven't healed yet, so take good care of them and don't think about anything else."
Changyang Palace, which should have been filled with bloodshed, was unusually calm.
In this peaceful atmosphere, Consort Guo was reinstated as a Lady thanks to the Emperor's mercy and the Second Prince's intercession.
At the same time, the Empress planned to strengthen the defense of Changyang Palace by establishing a new Jinwu Guard, with Zhang Jun, the Empress's nephew, serving as the general of the Jinwu Guard.
For a time, everyone in the capital was in harmony, and every family was satisfied.
Once the injuries on her shoulder and calf had healed, Qi Gu received a message from Li Shi asking her to come see him.
Qi Gu slapped the back of her head. She had forgotten that there had been too many things going on lately, and her father must be very worried about her. He hurriedly left the palace and headed straight for the Sima residence.
Li Shi looked at Qi Gu, who was standing in front of him, completely unharmed, and said nothing, only glancing at her with his eyes.
Qi Gu knew that her father was angry. He didn't know about such a big thing until everyone in the capital knew about it.
Qi Gu stepped forward and poured tea for Li Shi, saying, "Father, have some tea."
"Hmph!" Li Shi turned in another direction.
Qi Gu then feigned innocence and said, "Father, I was wrong."
Li Shi sighed, "Qi Gu, since returning to the capital, I feel like I can't help you with anything. It seems that my decision to return to the capital was not a good idea."
"No, no, Father, I know you're doing this for my own good. Besides, only when we return to the capital can our millet and wheat seedlings be sown throughout the entire Great Jin."
Li Shi sat up straight, his eyes filled with worry, "Your injury..."
Aunt Qi walked back and forth in front of her father twice, saying, "I'm fine. The injuries on my shoulder and calf are all healed."
Li Shi was somewhat uneasy. Recently, he had been dreaming about things before he transmigrated, and unknowingly, he had been in this world for almost ten years.
When he heard that Qi Gu had been in trouble and had almost been shot to death by an arrow, he felt as if his heart was about to stop beating.
Even though he knew that Aunt Qi was alright, he couldn't help but wonder, what if something had happened to her? What would he do then?
“Oh, I know I can’t cause you any more trouble right now, but, Aunt Qi, you are my only family in this world. Without you, I can’t go on.”
Qi Gu's eyes reddened, and she leaned on her father's shoulder. "Don't worry, Father, I will definitely live long enough to take care of you in your old age and see you off in your final days."
"You are so filial!"
"Hehe, Father, have the millet and wheat seedlings been planted outside the city? I'd like to go with you to inspect the fields. It's been so long since we went to the fields together."
"No!!!" Li Shi looked around warily. "What if there are still assassins!"
Looking at her father, Qi Gu felt a sense of satisfaction from being cared for by him.
[Author's Note]
Sima Hong: If you've insulted my grandfather, you can't insult me too! [Please!]
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