Ice Love Fire
The crackling of the burning charcoal in the hearth resembled the chirping of insects, and the flickering candlelight swayed before her eyes. It was warm and comfortable. Zhong Yujing opened her eyes. The sky was fading into darkness, the snow was still falling, and it was very quiet. It must be late at night. Outside the Xianwang Mansion, there was no sound of people. In the room, there was only her and the person she held tightly in her hand.
Suddenly she felt her palm move slightly. She looked at the big hands in her hands in disbelief. The fingers of those hands really moved again. Her heart beat rapidly and she could hear the thumping heartbeat. She raised her eyes to look at the person on the bed. After his eyelashes trembled a few times, the eyes that had been closed for ten days finally opened again.
His eyes looked up at Zhong Yujing beside him from the ceiling, and he smiled weakly, calling out softly, "Yujing~"
All of Zhong Yujing's emotions burst out like a tsunami at this moment. She threw herself into his arms, buried her head deeply in his chest, and burst into tears...
She had never been so emotional in her life. She had always been calm and composed, but in the past few days she had experienced unprecedented ups and downs, great sorrow and joy.
He was finally back, definitely back by her side. Her hands clutched his shoulders tightly, she sobbed, her sobs the only sound coming through the quilt. She wanted to cry out all her regret, grievance, fear, terror, and relief, so that he could hear them.
His hands gently caressed her head and back, soothing all her emotions.
After a long, long time, she finally let go of him and raised her head. She looked at him with red and swollen eyes, still sobbing like a child, but he looked at her and smiled, "Your face is not pretty anymore because it's covered with tears."
She sobbed, tears still streaming down her face, and said, "I don't want to look good, I just want you to come back."
He was amused and chuckled twice, which pulled the wound and made him hiss. He frowned slightly and gasped a little.
She was so scared that she quickly grabbed him and wanted to check his wound, but he gently held her down and said, "It's okay, don't be afraid."
She then felt relieved and sat back beside him, and heard him say with a smile: "Are you so afraid that I will die~"
When she heard this, she felt wronged again, and tears burst out again, like tears falling on a jade plate, "Why are you so stupid..."
He still smiled, "You forgot, I said, your life belongs to me, no one can take your life except me."
She was stunned for a moment, then continued to sob, "My Lord, I have no way to repay you for treating me so well..."
He interrupted her and whispered, "Do you still want to call me Prince?"
She was startled again, looked at him, stopped crying, her cheeks flushed, and she called softly: "Chen, Qing~"
He smiled, slowly propped himself up, and straightened his upper body. He stroked her cheeks with both hands and gently wiped away the tears on her face.
His eyes were like the deep sea, dotted with stars and flowing with tenderness, gazing at her. She looked into his eyes, lost in them... Her eyes were tightly closed, her eyelashes trembling...
He had dragged her from the peak of a mountain into the depths of the sea. His presence was everywhere, leaving her bewildered... His sudden depredation frightened her, and she felt helpless. She felt as if she had been torn apart, in excruciating pain...
Confused, she couldn't find the direction or the exit, so she could only let herself indulge, swaying to his rhythm...
She finally melted in his deep sea...
Zhong Yujing really wanted to ask him, "Does it hurt?" His wound hadn't fully healed yet... But he didn't give her a moment to think. She could only follow him involuntarily and let him do what he wanted.
In reality, Zhong Yujing knew the answer. He was in pain, definitely very much. She was in pain too, heartbroken, agonized to the point of wanting to die, in agony that brought tears to her eyes...
Love itself is painful, so painful that you can't live without her, so painful that you can't live without him, so painful that you don't want to live alone in the world, so painful that you are willing to live and die with her, so painful that you are willing to accompany him to the underworld, so painful that you just want to cling to her until death... The pain is so heart-wrenching and unbearable, but it still makes people immersed in it and enjoy it.
If ice falls in love with fire, it will melt but it will also bring joy.
When Zhong Yujing opened her eyes again, the first thing she saw was Chen Qing's face. His hair fell on his forehead, his breathing was even, his brows relaxed, his face calm, and his lips slightly raised, like a contented child. Half of his body was draped over Zhong Yujing, making her unable to move. She moved slightly, but found that she couldn't move, so she stopped moving. Only to see Chen Qing open his eyes again. He was so alert, like an animal on the grassland.
"Why are you awake? Are you feeling unwell?" he asked nervously, without moving an inch away from her.
Seeing that he was awake, she suddenly felt embarrassed. She pulled the corner of the quilt to cover half of her face and stammered, "It's just... a little thirsty... I want to get up and drink some water."
He immediately said, "Don't move, I'll get it." Then he was about to get up.
Seeing this, Zhong Yujing hurriedly stopped him and said worriedly, "Don't move. Be careful of your wound!"
Seeing how worried she was about him, Chen Qing's heart suddenly filled with warmth. He lifted the quilt and put it back against her. He supported himself with one arm and wrapped his other arm around her body. He whispered in her ear, "Don't be nervous. I'm fine now. I'll be fine."
Zhong Yujing was still struggling beneath him. She wanted to get up to check his wound, but she saw blood stains on the bandage. She frowned and said nervously, "You're still trying to be brave. The way you were doing last night... The wound must have ruptured!"
His breath came close to her again, covering her forehead and cheek. When it was close to her lips, he only heard her say, "It's okay~" Before Zhong Yujing could open her mouth again, the words she wanted to say were swallowed up by him...
Caressing, gnawing, hot, wet, scorching... Her body, which had been reassembled, was torn apart again, and her consciousness fell into chaos...
After a few days, Zhong Yujing would lock the door every night, and the servants would knock on the door before coming in the morning. When the housekeeper knocked on the door, Chen Qing's voice said from inside: "Put the things on the table outside the door." The housekeeper was overjoyed: "The prince is awake?!" Chen Qing nodded lightly, "There's nothing to do here. The prince needs to rest for a while. You can go and do your work first." The housekeeper nodded: "Yes, I will go and report to the concubine!"
In the future, when servants come, they will do the same and not disturb them. Zhong Yujing thought that everyone in the palace should know that the virtuous prince has awakened. Besides changing and feeding him medicine, she has been inseparable from him for the past few days, truly fulfilling his original words: even on that high platform, he would pull the person he loves to his side, staying by her side day and night, never leaving her side.
But his injuries were so severe that his wounds would burst open as long as she was by his side... How long would it take for him to heal if this continued to happen?
Zhong Yujing woke up again that day, early in the morning, before the sun rose. Chen Qing had fallen deeper into sleep, finally no longer covering her, but his arms clung to her, his head tilted to her side.
Zhong Yujing seized the opportunity to quickly rise, dress, and gently prepare the medicine and bandages he needed to change, along with the medicine he would take today, placing them neatly on the bedside table. Just as she was about to leave, she turned back and gently touched his forehead, fearing to wake him. Finally, she tiptoed to open and close the door, leaving the Xianwang Mansion while the servants were still asleep.
Upon hearing that Chen Qing woke up and couldn't find Zhong Yujing, he flew into a rage in the mansion.
"The prince summoned me and asked where Jing Xiang had been. I said I didn't know, as he hadn't been in his room the entire time. His face darkened, and he ordered me to gather the servants in the mansion and dig deep underground to find Jing Xiang. Finally, I heard from the gatehouse that a woman had been seen leaving the mansion at the beginning of the morning hour. Her silhouette bore a striking resemblance to you, and I vaguely saw her riding in a carriage heading west. I then realized that Jing Xiang had returned to the Zhong Mansion, and I hurried over to look for her."
The housekeeper came from Prince Xian's mansion and told him everything.
Zhong Yujing sat in the main seat in the main hall of the Zhong Mansion, listening with her body slightly tilted to one side. Her expression was as calm as water, as was her usual demeanor, but she felt a mixture of emotions...
He said that he had not been unruly since he was six years old. The boyhood appearance that Zhong Yujing saw in her trance did not show him to be an unruly and mischievous person. But now he was completely different from what he described himself at the beginning and from the man she had seen before. Could it be that after this, he finally found his true nature?
While he was thinking, he heard the housekeeper coaxing him, "How about Prime Minister Jing follow me back to the Xianwang Mansion and stay there for a few more days? After the prince recovers, we can return to the Zhong Mansion."
Zhong Yujing lowered her eyes and said nothing, thinking to herself, if I had known this would happen, I would have delayed it for a few more days, waited until his injuries had healed, and then be honest with him, wouldn't that be the best of both worlds? Alas, now that it has come to this, I really regret it.
The housekeeper continued, "Prime Minister Jing is reluctant to return to the palace. Is it because we haven't been able to take good care of him?"
Zhong Yujing quickly denied it, "It's not...", then hesitated and said, "It's just..."
The housekeeper said with a smile, "In this case, I will dare to tell Prime Minister Jing the truth. If Prime Minister Jing insists on not returning to the palace today, my prince's life will be in danger!" Suddenly his expression became sad, and he sighed continuously, "Alas, the prince has just fought back from the gates of hell, and now he is in this situation... It's a pity that there is no one who can take charge of the palace now. The concubine is the only one left, and she is sick. What should we servants do in the future!" After speaking, he raised his hand to wipe away his tears.
Zhong Yujing's expression grew tense, and she asked anxiously, "What's wrong with the prince now? Isn't he awake and recovering?"
The housekeeper stole a glance at her through the slit of his sleeve, then intensified his sobbing voice, saying, "Ever since the prince woke up and couldn't find Jingxiang, he's been sitting by the bed in just a thin nightgown, refusing to eat or drink, and won't allow his dressings to be changed. Even when the imperial physician arrived, he wouldn't allow him to come forward to treat him, and only kept asking us, 'Have you found Jingxiang?' If this continues, in a few days, our prince will be on the verge of death again... Wuuuuuuu~"
The housekeeper clutched his sleeves with both hands to wipe his tears, while stealing glances at Zhong Yujing through the gap in his sleeves.
Zhong Yujing finally lost her composure. Though she didn't move, she remained like an ice sculpture, her hands constantly fiddling with the fabric on her hem. Her brow furrowed, a look of panic. After a moment, a smile suddenly crept across her face. She addressed the butler sternly, "Tell your prince a message for me. Tell him I have an important matter to discuss with him. The journey to the northwest is long, but I must go with him. There's no time to lose. Please ask him to recover quickly and get well soon so he can come with me."
The housekeeper stopped crying and looked at Zhong Yujing blankly with a puzzled look on his face. But Zhong Yujing smiled and said, "Just tell him this, and he will never again insist on abusing his body, nor will he embarrass you."
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