Chen Yan looked up, tears sliding down her cheeks and into her temples, leaving a dark tear stain.
"I'm afraid of losing you."
Meng Qingluan's eyes welled up with tears, and she dared not look him in the eye again, shifting her gaze to his shoulder.
"No, I'm perfectly fine now."
Before he could answer, Meng Qingluan stood up and offered her hand, "Get up first, let's wash our faces and talk on the couch."
Shen Yan placed his hand on her palm, exerted force with his legs, and easily stood up.
Meng Qingluan took out a towel, soaked it, wrung it out, cupped his face in her hands, and roughly wiped away the tears on his face.
Shen Yan's eyelashes were still wet, making them appear even more velvety, dark, and long.
He sat obediently on the couch, his eyes following her every move, as if glued to Meng Qingluan.
Meng Qingluan sat cross-legged on the couch. "Stop looking. I'm not that fragile."
"Are you really not feeling any discomfort in your body?"
Meng Qingluan raised her hand and pinched her brow. "I'm not a porcelain doll, how could I feel uncomfortable from the slightest movement? Besides, Zhu Qingan is here now, I'll be fine."
Shen Yan finally felt relieved.
Seeing that he had finally let go of the topic and stopped crying and blaming himself, Meng Qingluan quickly asked.
"Did His Majesty make things difficult for you when he summoned you to the palace today?"
Shen Yan didn't want her to worry, so he naturally held back his original plan to sell himself pitifully.
"No, he just said a few words and assigned me a task."
"What kind of job?"
Meng Qingluan asked, her intuition telling her that the emperor wouldn't assign him an easy task.
“The deficit in the Northern Army’s pay is not a difficult problem.”
Meng Qingluan knew that at this critical juncture, the emperor had assigned Shen Yan to investigate the loss of air force pay, which was obviously an attempt to make things difficult for him and take the opportunity to suppress the Fifth Prince's power.
Although Shen Yan has the protagonist's halo, this incident didn't happen in the original work. What if it creates a butterfly effect and something unexpected happens...?
Meng Qingluan felt a headache coming on, especially since she wanted to learn some self-defense skills.
It seems that Shen Yan doesn't have time to teach her anymore.
Seeing her looking worried, Chen Yan asked, "What's wrong?"
Meng Qingluan shook her head, "I'm worried about you."
Shen Yan was pleased with these words, and a smile finally appeared on his lips. "I know, besides worrying about me, what else is there?"
Meng Qingluan stopped hiding her intentions and simply said, "I originally wanted you to teach me martial arts, but the Emperor has entrusted you with a task, so you have more important matters to attend to."
"You want to learn martial arts? Just because I don't have time doesn't mean I can't have someone else teach you..."
"Then quickly find someone to teach me, so that I won't just stand there and let others bully me if something happens in the future."
Before Shen Yan could finish speaking, Meng Qingluan immediately made a suggestion.
Shen Yan refused outright, "No way. It's easy for me to find someone to teach you, but how can your body withstand such high-intensity exercise right now? Let's talk about it after you recover."
Meng Qingluan disagreed, "If you make me stay at home all day, it will only worsen my condition. If I strengthen my body, maybe my illness will naturally get better."
"..."
Seeing that he didn't believe her, Meng Qingluan continued to deceive him.
"I'm asking you, did my heart start hurting only after I returned to the capital?"
"……yes."
"When I was running a stall in town, I was perfectly fine, healthy and energetic all the time, wasn't I?"
"yes."
"What does this mean? Shen, please answer."
Meng Qingluan reached into the fruit plate on the bedside table, picked up an orange, and started peeling it while waiting for the answer.
"..."
Shen Yan knew perfectly well that Meng Qingluan was fooling him, but even though he had the answer in his heart, he pursed his lips and didn't answer.
Meng Qingluan leisurely ate two segments of orange, then gave the answer as if she were doing something out of kindness.
"This shows that physical fitness and more physical activity will be beneficial to my illness."
“Luanluan…” Chen Yan was still unwilling to give up.
"Alright, I won't practice martial arts." Meng Qingluan placed the remaining oranges on the bedside table.
Before Shen Yan could even catch his breath, Meng Qingluan's next sentence sent him sprawling.
"I'm fine staying home all day. It's just that I'm suffocating. If anyone bullies me, I'll just accept it obediently, just like last time in the dilapidated temple."
Upon hearing the word "dilapidated temple," Shen Yan immediately pictured Meng Qingluan being bullied, and his heart clenched.
He immediately changed his mind and agreed, "No! If you want to practice, then practice. I'll find you a teacher tomorrow, okay?"
Meng Qingluan threw off the covers and sprang to her feet.
"Really? You're kidding me."
“Really?” Shen Yan thought for a moment, “You want to learn some self-defense skills? How about I go to the military camp in a few days and ask around?”
"good!"
Upon hearing this, Meng Qingluan's eyes lit up even more. No matter what, she could learn some basic skills in the army.
"Sweetie, go and rest." Shen Yan pulled the blanket up a little.
Meng Qingluan yawned; she was also feeling sleepy, so she snuggled into the covers and prepared to go to sleep.
After making sure the person next to her was asleep, Chen Yan carefully lifted a corner of the blanket and tiptoed out of bed.
Draw the bed curtains to shut out the outside world.
He lit a small candle, took out a medical book he had finally found, and sat down at the table to read it in the dim candlelight.
…
"Has the young master finished his medicine?"
"Hmm, should we ask the doctor to perform acupuncture on the young master again today?"
"I don't know. Let's ask Madam first, so as not to make a decision on our own and upset her."
"..."
Meng Qingluan opened her eyes and saw the two familiar women from the Western Regions again.
This time, however, the two did not look for anyone. On the tray in their hands, there was an empty medicine bowl with only a thin layer of dregs left.
Meng Qingluan turned her head to look at the tightly closed door, took a step forward, and walked directly into the house.
The room was large and empty, with an antique feel and a touch of Western Region style.
As you walk further in, there is no one on the spacious main couch, but a small figure is curled up on a small soft couch to the side.
"Didn't I already take my medicine?"
The figure curled up on the small couch did not turn around, but curled up even tighter, the childish voice carrying a hint of weariness that did not match its age.
"..."
The boy heard no reply, but the footsteps drew closer. He instantly jumped up from the couch and turned his head.
Turning around, I saw the person who had been gone for a long time.
"Sister...it's you?"
His pupils widened, and he raised his hand to rub his eyes in disbelief. Seeing that the person in front of him had not disappeared, his eyes were filled with undisguised joy.
"Yes, it's me. Don't you want to see me?"
Seeing his delighted expression, Meng Qingluan chuckled and teased him.
No, that's not it.
He hurriedly waved his hand in denial. Then, as if remembering something, he pouted in a huff, sat back on the small couch, turned to the side, and asked in a feignedly indifferent manner.
"You said you would protect me, so why did you leave me there alone last time? My sister is a liar."
Meng Qingluan was stunned.
Recalling the last time, it seemed that she had just promised to protect him, and then disappeared without a trace.
But this wasn't what she wanted.
Meng Qingluan, without blushing or skipping a beat, retorted, "I went to find some suitable tools, and when I came back, you were gone."
"Really?" The little boy turned his head, somewhat disbelieving.
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