Chapter 89 Awakening
How could someone suddenly feel nauseous and fall into a coma when they were perfectly fine?
Is it related to that strange illness?
Or was the person tortured and physically damaged during the abduction?
Thinking of this possibility, Xue Han clenched his fist tightly.
Qiu Heng opened her eyes and saw a young man staring intently at her.
His eyes were slightly red, as if glistening with tears, and when he saw her open them, it was as if starlight bloomed in them.
"Sixth Miss Qiu, you're awake!"
Qiu Heng remained silent.
Are you feeling unwell anywhere?
A hand landed on her smooth forehead, then quickly moved away.
Qiu Heng moved her lips, but it seemed as if all her strength had been drained, and she could barely make a sound.
"What did Miss Qiu say?" Xue Han unconsciously leaned closer.
"Xue Han—"
Xue Han froze.
Hearing her softly call his name from such close proximity felt like a thunderbolt striking his heart, flowing through his entire body.
Xue Han never imagined that one day, simply hearing someone call out his name would lead to this.
"Go on," he said, trying his best to remain calm, his gaze fixed on the girl whose face was as pale as paper.
"I feel unwell..." Qiu Heng said softly.
She was really in pain.
What's even more painful is that there's no one to talk to about this pain, which is suffocating her, leaving her with no choice but to seek help from people she distrusts.
Say something, please save her, she can't hold on much longer.
She was just an ordinary country girl, but because she mysteriously went away for thirty years and was able to return, she was burdened with such a heavy responsibility.
But she also gets tired, feels pain, and doubts countless times that she is powerless and will mess everything up.
But what if you endure everything and move forward resolutely, only to find that the gentleman isn't necessarily right?
The master said that by eliminating the five traitors and rescuing Emperor Jingping, without the chaos of a young ruler's hasty ascension to the throne, Northern Qi would not have acted so quickly. Furthermore, the Great Xia's treasury is full, and it has no shortage of capable ministers and generals; by stabilizing the situation, the nation's fortunes will surely continue.
After killing Han Wu, the commander of the palace guards was replaced by Zhu Qiang, who was skilled in training troops and strict in military discipline. The imperial guards, which were recorded as being easily defeated, will surely change.
At that time, she remained steadfast.
But now, Yuan Chenghai is gone, and Li Liang has gone too.
A ruler, for the sake of his own desires, has caused immense suffering to the people of his region. While Yuan Chenghai could be said to be kept in the dark before his crimes were exposed, after learning of his crimes, the ruler continued to send people to collect rare treasures to satisfy his personal desires, instead of issuing benevolent policies to appease the people of the southeast.
Could such a ruler, by living a few more years, truly avoid the fate of the capital falling and his ministers fleeing south?
It might be even worse; he might not even have had those thirty-odd years of establishing the capital in Linzhou, and instead completely destroy the Great Xia Dynasty.
If that's the case, wouldn't she become a sinner for all time, deserving of eternal damnation?
Qiu Heng knew that her thoughts had changed, and she was beginning to waver in her decision to save Emperor Jingping.
No, that wasn't actually her idea. For ten years, she had been accepting the ideas of the Southern Xia rulers and ministers, and the ideas of her master.
She never had her own ideas.
What does a country girl like her know?
But those ten years of study and experience did change her, making her dare to think about it now.
This caused Qiu Heng even more pain and fear.
Originally, all she had to do was follow the instructions; even if she failed, it would only mean death. But she didn't want to do exactly what her master had told her, fearing that he might be wrong, and even more so, that she might be wrong herself.
That was a man of unparalleled wisdom—
The immense pressure was like a mountain, causing Qiu Heng a feeling of being shattered to pieces; it was the psychological torment caused by the collapse of her beliefs.
It came on like a tidal wave, and was difficult to alleviate.
Her face grew even paler, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead: "Xue Han, I feel unwell..."
Xue Han was also distressed, distressed by his own helplessness.
"The medicine will work quickly. Where does it hurt?"
The doctor said it was a case of sudden internal heat affecting the heart, and that she would be fine after taking medicine upon waking up. Why does she look so unwell?
"Is your old illness acting up again? Should I take you to Qinglian Lake?" Xue Han guessed, having forgotten the proper boundaries between men and women, and held Qiu Heng's hand tightly.
The girl's hands were slender and shapely, but her palms were covered in cold sweat.
"I don't know—" Qiu Heng couldn't utter a word, desperately grasping at the straw before her, "Xue Han, say something, just say anything..."
"I—" Xue Han opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.
But the person in front of me seemed like a piece of glass riddled with cracks, ready to shatter at any moment.
Xue Han suddenly had a premonition that if she continued like this, she might collapse.
Without thinking carefully about his words, the boy blurted out, "Seeing you in pain makes me feel pain too... Tell me how you can make you feel better, and I'll do it."
"You'd do all of that?" Qiu Heng, still dazed, gripped him even tighter upon hearing this. "If I asked you to kill someone, would you do it too?"
"go."
"Would you disregard your duties as the Imperial Envoy?"
"meeting."
"If I asked you to believe that whatever I did was not for personal gain, would you believe me?"
"letter."
Qiu Heng smiled and muttered, "Liar."
But she seemed to have broken free from that suffocating, near-death feeling.
Xue Han noticed that her complexion had improved and smiled, "I'm not lying."
He would be willing to abandon all reason.
And now, if she takes his words as insincere comfort, then he should take them as comfort as well.
"I've made a decision—" Qiu Heng suddenly spoke, "but I'm not sure if it's right or wrong. It's different from what a learned elder I once knew told me. I'm afraid I'm wrong..."
Xue Han saw a plea for help in the girl's eyes.
The Qiu Liu girl he knew was wary, cunning, and mysterious. How helpless must one be to be so vulnerable?
Xue Han felt a slight pang in her heart, but she didn't know why she was so emotionally affected.
"If the words of a wise elder make you doubt them, then he must be wrong."
People only begin to doubt the words of experienced and knowledgeable elders when the error is very obvious.
Qiu Heng felt a jolt in her heart, as if she had been enlightened.
She respected and trusted her husband, and as long as she could convince herself, she would not waver in her husband's explanation.
"Xue Han, thank you so much." The girl's lifeless eyes gradually regained their light, and she said earnestly, "You've helped me so much, I will repay you."
Repay him—
Xue Han's face flushed instantly, and she felt even more embarrassed by this reaction.
Was he crazy? Hearing her words when she was in such distress, his first reaction was to spout nonsense like "I have nothing to repay you with, so I'll offer myself to you."
"No need to repay me." The boy pinched his palm hard to calm himself down. "Just take care of yourself."
Knock, knock, knock—a knock sounded at the door.
"The medicine is ready."
Xue Han rushed to the door as if fleeing, took the medicine soup brought by the apprentice, and returned.
"Sixth Miss Qiu, please take your medicine first."
Qiu Heng nodded and reached for the medicine bowl, but saw Xue Han pick up a spoon, scoop a spoonful, and bring it to her lips.
She pursed her lips and looked at him.
The hand holding the spoon trembled slightly, just like the wavering thoughts in the boy's mind at that moment.
"Drinking it spoonful by spoonful will make it even more bitter." Qiu Heng took the medicine bowl directly and drank it down in big gulps.
(End of this chapter)
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