After parting ways with Li Hua, Gan Qiongying didn't forget to take the food box, which contained the radish cake that Manyue had prepared early that morning—an important prop for her to connect with Gan Lin today.
After taking the food box, Gan Qiongying immediately turned around and urged Eunuch Li, "Please lead the way as soon as possible, His Majesty must be getting impatient."
"Is this for His Majesty? Princess, please give it to this old servant."
After all, it was the imperial palace, so food brought in from outside couldn't be sent in directly. It had to go through the imperial kitchen first and be tested for poison according to regulations.
Gan Qiongying understood this principle and quickly handed over the food box.
Eunuch Li walked beside Gan Qiongying, reached out to take the food box, and handed it to the maid beside Gan Qiongying. He then continued walking briskly ahead of Gan Qiongying, clearly more anxious than she was.
The closer Gan Qiongying got to Gan Lin's palace, the more she couldn't help but think about Gan Lin's expression and reaction when he saw her.
Gan Qiongying was extremely uneasy on the way, as this was, strictly speaking, her second meeting with Gan Lin.
However, because she occupied Princess Duanrong's body, she also possessed Princess Duanrong's memories and feelings. In her heart, Gan Lin had long since become her only family member, her younger brother with whom she depended for survival, and the person she understood and cared about the most besides herself.
Gan Qiongying had been unable to receive any news from the palace for some time. Every time she thought of how Gan Lin had rushed to drink that bowl of medicine in the Empress Dowager's bedchamber and then suffered a painful relapse in front of her, Gan Qiongying felt extremely distressed.
After many twists and turns, we finally arrived at Ganlin's bedchamber.
Gan Qiongying looked up at her with a smile.
She could imagine that Gan Lin would definitely be standing on the steps waiting for her, because in Princess Duanrong's memory, from childhood to adulthood, every time they separated, Gan Lin would always stand under the eaves waiting for her to return.
When I saw her again, I called out softly, "Sister."
At those times, no matter what grievances Princess Duanrong suffered outside, they would melt away in that one call of "elder sister".
However, when Gan Qiongying looked up with a smile, she did not see Gan Lin at the door.
Eunuch Li paused at the opportune moment. Having served Gan Lin for many years, he knew everything about the siblings. Noticing the disappointment in Gan Qiongying's eyes and her slightly hesitant steps, he turned around and bowed respectfully.
He lowered his voice and said to Gan Qiongying, "Your Majesty wanted to wait for the princess at the door, but this old servant insisted that Your Majesty wait inside. Your Majesty has been suffering from a cold since the princess left last time, and has not gotten better. Your Majesty will feel relieved when the princess comes, and will surely recover immediately."
Upon hearing this, Gan Qiongying felt as if her heart had been shattered, and her expression changed.
"What! His Majesty is ill?"
Gan Qiongying almost instantly realized that if Gan Lin had fallen ill since she left last time, it was probably not a cold, but rather that she had drunk too much tonic soup and severely damaged her body.
For the first time in her life, Gan Qiongying experienced what it meant to be heartbroken. She didn't have time to say anything to Eunuch Li, so she quickened her pace and walked ahead of him.
Ignoring all etiquette for meeting the emperor, without waiting for a formal announcement or summons, she lifted her skirt and ran up the steps three at a time, her head full of jingling pearls and jade, but none of it could match the pounding panic in her heart.
Fortunately, no one stopped Gan Qiongying. It was clear that these palace servants had been instructed by Eunuch Li beforehand, and they all stood quietly in the hall with their heads down, like wooden figures.
As soon as Gan Qiongying entered the hall, she could smell a faint medicinal scent permeating the room. All the windows were closed during the day, making the air circulation very poor and the light quite dim.
Gan Qiongying wanted to call out to Gan Lin, but her throat felt blocked, so she could only quicken her pace and walk inside.
After passing through the outer room and around the screen, Gan Lin coughed softly from inside. He had obviously heard the footsteps and thought it was a palace servant coming to announce his arrival.
“Please wait a moment, Princess,” Gan Lin’s hoarse voice came from inside. “I will be out shortly.”
As Gan Lin spoke, he struggled to get up from the bed. He had already dressed himself neatly and applied a lot of powder to his face to cover his pale complexion and make himself look presentable so that his older sister wouldn't worry.
However, his health was deteriorating. If it weren't for wanting to see his older sister today and properly apologize for driving her away last time, Gan Lin might not have had the strength to get out of bed.
His dragon robe hung loosely on his body. When Gan Qiongying went around the screen and saw him, he was hunched over, holding onto the relief carving at the head of the bed, coughing violently while covering his mouth.
"Cough cough cough, cough cough cough cough cough..."
Standing behind him, Gan Qiongying felt the throbbing pain in her heart once again. She pressed her hand to her chest; even from just his back, she could tell how much weight Gan Lin had lost.
Gan Qiongying stared blankly as Gan Lin held onto the relief sculpture, his frail body trembling. It took him a while to finally recover.
After recovering, he slowly straightened up and tidied his appearance. He was somewhat relieved that the cough had at least made his complexion look rosier and prevented his older sister from being frightened.
Then Gan Lin straightened his back and slowly turned around, trying his best to maintain his imperial demeanor, preparing to instruct the palace servants to summon Gan Qiongying.
But when he turned around, he saw Gan Qiongying standing behind him, who had been there for some time.
Gan Qiongying bit her lip, waiting for the pain in her chest to subside, her eyes slightly red as she looked at Gan Lin.
Gan Lin looked bewildered, and for a moment her eyes were filled with panic, like when she was a child and had done something wrong and was afraid of being discovered by her older sister.
The siblings stood at a distance, gazing at each other silently, neither of them speaking for a moment.
Gan Qiongying opened her lips several times, finally enduring the intense pain in her chest, and managed to squeeze out a sentence even more hoarse than Gan Lin's cough: "Chang Sheng Nu, how come you've lost so much weight..."
Gan Lin was initially filled with helplessness and guilt due to being caught off guard, but when he heard Gan Qiongying call him Changsheng Nu and express concern that he had lost weight, he was surprised.
His expression suddenly changed, and for a moment he felt as if he had returned to his childhood, to those years when he and his older sister were inseparable and depended on each other for survival.
At that time, my sister liked to call him "the slave of immortality".
His older sister also gave him this name.
Changsheng Nu, Changsheng Nu, willing to be a servant of immortality. At that time, Duanrong only hoped that her younger brother, who was as thin as a kitten and abandoned by King Hui because of his mother's low status, could live a long and long life.
So Gan Lin grinned, but before he could say anything, tears welled up in his eyes.
The scalding tears melted the thick layer of makeup he had applied to his face to cover up his complexion, leaving two comical white streaks.
He stood unsteadily by the bed, his voice trembling, calling out in a voice that was both a cry and a laugh: "Sister..."
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