A fleeting dream
Qin Jiujiu was helped back by Zhang Mobai and Liu Yiwan. Sitting in the hall, she calmed herself before slowly beginning to sort things out. "Mobai, tell me, what exactly did Xiaofeng do before? He never mentioned him again after my godfather died. I only knew that he went to work for the Ninth Prince to find the murderer of Liu Liu. Although I knew these things were dangerous, it shouldn't have ended like this."
Hearing Qin Jiujiu's words, Zhang Mobai couldn't help but think back. Although Tang Feng had private dealings with Li Yunyu, Tang Feng was the Grand Tutor personally appointed by Emperor Yun, so it was inevitable that he would be close to the Ninth Prince. As for the matter of the former Crown Prince, so many years had passed. If this old matter were brought up again during court, exposing the royal family's private affairs would inevitably damage the royal family's reputation, and severe punishment would be lenient. But Tang Feng's entry into the palace was clearly... a private meeting. Although that was the case, the Emperor's mind was unpredictable, and it was possible that Tang Feng's words had angered Emperor Yun. Zhang Mobai shook his head and said gently, "It's hard to say... After all, he's acting for the imperial family, with a knife to his throat... It's difficult to judge right and wrong."
"I know that for His Majesty, in the eyes of the court and the people, Xiao Feng's death is merely the loss of a minister. But for my Tang family, my brother will never return. Xiao Feng was the only heir of the Tang family. If my godfather knew this in the afterlife, how heartbroken he would be." Qin Jiujiu couldn't accept that Tang Feng had died so mysteriously. After all, Tang Feng was buried in secret, and even when he offended the emperor, no news spread throughout the palace. Clearly, the Zhou family didn't know about this either. If it weren't for Zhang Mobai, she would probably still be in the dark.
Even so, I hope you won't get involved in this matter anymore. Originally... my brother didn't want to tell you; he did it simply so that you two could be together.
Qin Jiujiu couldn't help but give a bitter laugh after hearing this. "What good is this family now? How can it still be good? Liu Liu is dead, my godfather is gone, and now even Xiao Feng is gone... What use is it for me to stay here all alone?"
"elder sister..."
Zhang Mobai wanted to persuade her again, but Qin Jiujiu stopped him. "There's no need to persuade her anymore. I understand Xiaofeng's feelings, and I won't interfere in this matter anymore... It's just that I can't stay in this house any longer." Qin Jiujiu tucked a stray hair behind her ear and said softly, "I plan to go to Shanghan... Xiaofeng and Liuliu used to stay there, and I want to go and see them." Qin Jiujiu looked at Liu Yiwan, who lowered her head, somewhat embarrassed. "I... I think I'll stay. Young Master is gone, but at least this house can't be empty. If Young Master comes back for Qingming Festival and sees that there are no two people in the house... how sad he will be."
The three remained silent, the room deathly still. Finally, Zhang Mobai stood up and spoke first, "Sister, wherever you go, please take care of yourself. Otherwise, my brother in the afterlife will surely blame me."
Qin Jiujiu pursed her lips and didn't say anything, only nodded. Seeing this, Liu Yiwan hurriedly followed Zhang Mobai to see him off.
"Why didn't you stop my sister from going to Shanghan?" Zhang Mobai asked Liu Yiwan as they reached the door. He was worried about Qin Jiujiu, a frail woman, going to Shanghan, and the fact that Liu Yiwan wasn't with her made things even more difficult.
"Don't worry... Young Master has connections in Shanghan. I'll ask them to handle Miss Jiu's matter. As for me..." Liu Yiwan smiled, head bowed, "I was taken in by Young Master and have served him for most of my life. Although Young Master is gone, the family cannot fall apart. If even I leave, the Tang family will be gone... Young Master will have no home."
Tang Feng woke up again to a white wall in front of him. He felt a slight stinging sensation all over his body, and the air smelled of disinfectant. As soon as he opened his eyes, his vision was still blurry, when he heard a familiar yet unfamiliar voice, "Little Tang? Oh dear! Little Tang is awake! Old man! Go and call the doctor!"
Tang Feng turned his head to look at the simply dressed woman and called out in a low voice, "Aunt Li."
"Hey! Auntie's here! Your uncle went to call for help. You scared us to death! If the neighbors hadn't told us you fell in the middle of the night, we wouldn't have known! Do you know you fell from the sixth floor? That's so high!" Aunt Li gestured to Tang Feng as she spoke, but Tang Feng's mind was filled with the image of Zhang Mobai's desperate expression before he died. "Auntie... how long has it been since I fell?"
As Aunt Li rocked the bed to sit up for Tang Feng, she said, "Actually, it hasn't been that long, almost two weeks. But you've been on emergency treatment the whole time. One minute you weren't breathing, the next you were breathing again. It scared us to death. The doctor said if you didn't wake up soon, you'd be in a vegetative state."
"Only two weeks? But I've been in Yanyun for ten years..."
Aunt Li frowned as she listened to Tang Feng's incoherent ramblings and said, "Could he have hit his head and is not thinking clearly? The doctor will be here soon, don't panic."
"I just... had a dream... a very, very long dream," Tang Feng said, tears welling up in his eyes, which frightened Aunt Li beside him. "It's all a dream, it's not real, don't take it so seriously! When you feel better in a few days, Aunt Li will find you a wife."
Tang Feng smiled. "It's not true... but I wish it were... so that at least there would be a trace of my existence in the country of Yan Yun, even if it's just a little."
At this moment, Uncle Li arrived with a voice. When Aunt Li saw the doctor, she quickly got up and said, "Doctor, come and see this child! He's been talking nonsense since he woke up. What's with Yan Yun? What country? Where did this Yan Yun country come from? What happened! A perfectly healthy child doesn't even have a wife. Could he have been scared silly..."
The doctor examined Tang Feng's body, then hung the pen back on his chest and said, "It's alright. After all, he fell from the sixth floor. Although it's not a high fall, he was unconscious for so long, so it's normal for his mind to be muddled." The doctor then pressed Tang Feng's forehead. "The external injuries have almost healed, it's just that he was unconscious for too long. Now that he's awake, judging from his condition, if he recovers by tomorrow, he can be discharged."
After seeing the doctor off, Aunt Li looked at Tang Feng, who was sitting on the bed in a daze, and patted his head. "It's good that you're better. These past two weeks have scared your uncle and aunt to death. I made some soup at home, which was originally for your uncle, but since you're awake, you can have it."
Tang Feng looked at Aunt Li and said in a hoarse voice, "Auntie, I want to be discharged from the hospital..."
"Don't worry! The doctor said to observe him a bit more," Aunt Li said, taking out the soup and handing it to Tang Feng. "Drink it! I'll go check if the doctor has prescribed any medicine. Your uncle is usually careless and forgetful; he'll definitely forget."
Tang Feng held the chicken soup, sipping it slowly. Perhaps because he hadn't eaten in a long time, relying solely on IV fluids, he felt a bit nauseous after a few sips. He picked up the bowl and handed it aside, blurting out, "I can't drink anymore, Ziliang, you drink it for me." After he finished speaking, the room fell silent. No one took the bowl from his hands. Tang Feng paused for a moment, then said self-deprecatingly, "I was so foolish to think I could spend my whole life with you. Now it seems like nothing but a pipe dream. Even though dreams are easy to forget once you wake up, Ziliang… ten years of companionship and memories… how can I forget?" Tang Feng curled up in the blankets, staring blankly at the IV drip hanging on the shelf, until Aunt Li returned with a bag of medicine. "Little Feng, I've brought back these medicines for you. This one is for dizziness, this one is for inflammation, and this one is…"
"I understand..." Tang Feng took the medicine from Aunt Li, glanced at the name of the medicine, and then bowed to Aunt Li. "Thank you, Aunt Li... I will pay you back after I am discharged from the hospital."
Aunt Li glanced at Uncle Li standing outside and smiled. "It's alright! The money isn't urgent. Just focus on getting better. But tell Aunt Li, you didn't jump from the sixth floor on purpose, did you?" When Tang Feng was hospitalized, Uncle Li and Aunt Li had visited Tang Feng's home. The house was a complete mess, with a mess on the floor and a window with a missing screen. Tang Feng had fallen from there. Uncle Li, with a cigarette in his mouth, looked down. "How could this kid fall from the sixth floor?" He then raised his hand and shook the window. "The screen is old, but it shouldn't be enough to cause a fall. This brat, is he thinking of doing something stupid because of the factory?"
Aunt Li tidied up the trash into a bag and then looked at the window again. "Go back and buy Xiaofeng another screen window. I'll ask him about it when he wakes up."
Tang Feng was stunned by Aunt Li's question. He was certain he had considered suicide, but falling from the sixth floor wasn't voluntary. He shook his head, "The window was old and in disrepair. I was drunk that day... and it was leaking, which is why I fell." He then forced a smile, "Thank you, Aunt Li... for caring so much."
Aunt Li sighed, "Silly child..." She raised her hand and ruffled Tang Feng's hair. "I know you're upset, but it's okay. From now on, you can stay with me. I'll introduce you to someone. Once you have a family, you won't think about those things anymore, and you won't have any more wild thoughts... Seeing you settle down and start a family will make me feel like I've done right by your grandmother's wishes."
Tang Feng knew all too well that Zhou Ziliang was the only one for him in this life. Hearing that Aunt Li wanted to introduce him to a girl, his heart ached, but he forced a smile and said, "Aunt Li... wait a little longer... no rush... I... don't plan to settle down and start a family so soon."
Aunt Li, thinking Tang Feng hadn't recovered from work, sighed, "Xiao Feng, cheer up! It's just work! If you can't handle it, your Uncle Li can take you with him when he opens his stall. It's alright." Seeing Aunt Li's words, Tang Feng couldn't explain further. He couldn't very well say that during his coma, he had traveled to a parallel universe and fallen in love with a man he could grow old with. "Well... thank you, Aunt Li." Seeing Aunt Li nod in satisfaction, he hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Can I... be discharged tomorrow?"
Aunt Li paused for a moment, then laughed. "What? In a hurry? Okay, we'll go and handle the formalities tomorrow. I'll have your Uncle Li fix the windows for you. When you go back, see if it's alright, and offer some incense to your grandma. If you're too lonely, rent out the old house and live with us. We've watched you grow up, so we'll take care of you, and your grandma will feel at ease."
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