Chapter 232 The Capital
"Aheng." Xue Han called out to Qiu Heng, suppressing his panic, but there was no response.
He grabbed Qiu Heng's hand in the dark; her soft hand was burning hot, making his heart pound.
"Aheng, how are you?"
The sleeping girl stirred and mumbled, "Xue Han—"
Receiving a response, Xue Han regained his senses, found the flint based on his memory, and lit the fire.
With the firelight, the cave quickly became bright, allowing him to see Qiu Heng's appearance clearly.
Her eyes were closed, her furrowed brows clearly indicating discomfort, and her cheeks, though unadorned with rouge, were flushed.
Xue Han reached out and touched her forehead, cheeks, and neck; each spot was burning hot, making his heart sink deeper and deeper.
There was still water left in the water pouch, and Xue Han took it and brought it to Qiu Heng's lips: "Aheng, drink some water."
Qiu Heng dazedly opened her mouth and drank a few mouthfuls, with more water dripping down her chin and onto her neck.
Xue Han wiped her forehead with a handkerchief, then completely wet and wrung it out before applying it to Qiu Heng's forehead.
He couldn't use his right hand, so he could only use his left hand. After finishing, a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.
"Aheng, would you like some more water?"
Qiu Heng kept her eyes closed and did not respond.
Xue Han sat quietly, overwhelmed by fear.
Even in a high-ranking family mansion, if the imperial physician is summoned in time, a fever is something that cannot be taken lightly, as it can be fatal, let alone here.
The herbal medicine for clearing heat and detoxifying can be found in the cave. It was picked by Bai Ri Qiu Heng, and Xue Han also recognized it.
He still remembered two prescriptions for clearing heat, which were given to him by Xu Bo, a former imperial physician. They were both common herbs, meant for emergency use when it was inconvenient to seek medical help.
After careful selection, Xue Han began to brew the medicine in the stone pot that had been used to cook fish soup. During this time, he repeatedly wetted the handkerchief placed on Qiu Heng's forehead with cold water to lower her fever.
"Xue Han—"
Xue Han, who was focused on brewing the medicine, felt a tremor in his heart and looked at Qiu Heng.
The girl, her cheeks flushed, kept her eyes closed, her lips moving slightly: "I'm hot."
Xue Han squeezed her hand: "The medicine will be ready soon, and the fever will subside after you drink it."
"Xue Han, is your adoptive father good to you?"
Xue Han was stunned for a moment, then looked closely at Qiu Heng's expression and found that she was not awake.
It turned out that Ah Heng was talking in her sleep.
Could Aheng hear his reply?
Xue Han didn't know, but couldn't bear not to respond: "My adoptive father has been alright to me."
His adoptive father was a eunuch, whose temperament was inevitably unpredictable, and he suppressed him far more than he showed kindness. But Xue Han was not born into a life of luxury; he was born into a poor family and later became a beggar. He knew all too well what it was like to have parents from poor families.
Many parents, whether due to hardship or limited experience, often beat or scold their children, or even starve them. A foster father provided for his child's basic needs and taught him skills to make a living; even if he had ulterior motives, it cannot be said that he treated the child badly.
"Xue Han, if I were to stand against your adoptive father, whose side would you take?"
Xue Han was stunned.
"Xue Han, will you help me, or your adoptive father..." Qiu Heng murmured, finally asking the question that had been weighing on her heart.
Xue Han paused for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Aheng, are you going to kill my adoptive father?"
He wouldn't ask these questions when Ah Heng was sober, but he had kept them in his heart for a long time.
When he realized that Aheng had killed Han Wu, Yuan Chenghai, and Fang Xiang, and that his adoptive father was suddenly inquiring about Aheng, he naturally came to this conclusion.
Xue Han looked at the sleeping girl, both afraid to hear her answer and eager to know.
"Kill Xue Quan? No way—"
Upon hearing this answer, Xue Han subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, only to hear Qiu Heng continue, "We won't kill them for now."
Xue Han: "..."
"When should we kill them?"
"I don't know... let's see."
Upon receiving this answer, Xue Han felt very conflicted.
Does the decision of whether to kill or not need to be made on the spot?
The medicine is effective.
Not being used to his left hand, Xue Han spent a lot of effort scooping the medicine into the bamboo tube. Once it was ready to drink, he called out to Qiu Heng, "Aheng, it's time to drink your medicine."
Xue Han rested Qiu Heng's head on his lap and carefully fed her with a bamboo tube.
Qiu Heng moved her lips and fed some medicine in like water, but more medicine flowed out.
Xue Han stopped.
At this time, clean water is readily available, but decoctions are rare. These medicines should not be wasted, and Aheng's fever should be brought down as soon as possible.
After a slight hesitation, Xue Han took a sip of the medicine and lowered his head.
...
The medicine was successfully administered. Looking at the unconscious Qiu Heng, Xue Han felt no romantic feelings, only worry.
"Aheng, you said that only one person can't leave this mountain range. If you don't get better, we'll all die here together. Aheng, we still have to go back to Great Xia together, don't forget..."
The girl, who was fast asleep with her eyes closed, twitched her eyelids, and a tear rolled down from the corner of her eye.
The news of Xi Jiang's breach of contract traveled by express courier, much faster than Vice Envoy Zhao and his party returned to the capital.
Emperor Jingping slammed the urgent report onto his desk, furious: "Xijiang is going too far!"
A minister with a strong sense of justice stepped forward: "Your Majesty, the Western Jiang's claim that Princess Rongning is not your biological daughter is clearly a pre-planned excuse. From the beginning, they only intended to take advantage without contributing anything. I believe we should dispatch troops to put pressure on the Western Jiang, so as not to tarnish the prestige of our Great Xia..."
Immediately, someone jumped out to object: "Absolutely not! The reason we invited Xijiang to send troops with generous gifts is because the unrest in the southeast has not been quelled, and the Northern Qi is taking the opportunity to cause trouble. If we clash with Xijiang again, we will not only fail to gain any help, but we will also have another enemy. That would be a bad situation!"
"Lord Liu is right. Relations between our two countries are not like a quarrel between neighbors; every action has far-reaching implications, and we must not act impulsively..."
After the ministers expressed their opinions, Emperor Jingping rubbed his temples and asked, "Do you all think it would be more appropriate to send a capable person to renegotiate with Xi Jiang?"
He was naturally angry when he saw the urgent report, but after calming down, he could only suppress his anger.
As most of the ministers said, are we really going to have to fight with Xi Jiang again? Wouldn't that mean we've created new troubles instead of solving the original ones?
"Your Majesty is wise."
The ministers who were unwilling to show weakness to Xi Jiang were already outnumbered, and now that they saw through Emperor Jingping's intentions, they had no choice but to keep their mouths shut.
After that, they discussed who should go to Xijiang, and it took them two days to choose someone.
The newly selected envoy could not travel as quickly as when escorting Princess Rongning; instead, he rode swiftly away from the capital.
Just as Emperor Jingping was feeling frustrated by Xijiang from time to time and wondering where the newly dispatched envoy had gone, another urgent letter arrived in his hands.
How urgent was it? The Privy Councilor brought an urgent report and knocked on the palace gates at night.
Upon hearing the eunuch's report, Emperor Jingping's heart pounded. He met the man with a stern face and asked, "Minister Tao, what brings you to the palace in the dead of night?"
Tao Shumi, a man of composure, spoke with a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, an urgent report from the border: Princess Rongning and her accomplices killed the King of Xijiang on their wedding night and escaped back!"
Emperor Jingping's head buzzed, and his vision went black.
(End of this chapter)
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