Hibiscus as a Painting

Chapter 128

Zi Jin looked up at the old woman's cloudy eyes with a puzzled expression, her gaze turning cold: "Where is the person who fell with me?!"

The old woman's eyes dimmed again. She slowly stood up, placed a heavy fur cloak on the chair beside her, and glanced back at Zi Jin: "Come with me."

Zi Jin put on her shoes and looked around. She was surprised to find that despite falling from such a height, she didn't even have a scratch.

Seeing that Zi Jin hadn't caught up yet, the old woman turned around and saw Zi Jin's thoughtful gaze: "Come with me and you'll understand."

Zi Jin's expression darkened. She hurriedly put on her fur cloak, raised her head, and quickly followed the old woman, a hint of anxiety flashing in her eyes.

Seeing that Zi Jin had followed her, the old woman stopped talking, took Zi Jin's hand, and slowly walked towards the door.

"How dare you!" Zi Jin's face flashed with anger. She suddenly broke free from the old woman's hand, and then was shocked by her own anger. Seeing the old woman looking at her in astonishment, she realized that she had gone a bit too far, but she didn't know how to explain it, so she simply pretended not to see it.

The old woman glanced at Zi Jin in surprise, a hint of hurt flashing in her eyes, before pretending nothing was wrong and continuing to lead the way.

Stepping out of the room, I looked up and saw a deep, clear blue sky, but the weather was gloomy and cold. In the distance, snow-capped mountains rose in layers, forming a colorful line. Patches of white snow weighed down the branches, and patches of red peeked out from the layers of white snow. Around the room, plum trees were in full bloom, a scene of breathtaking beauty.

Zi Jin pulled her cloak tighter, looking at the distant snow and the plum blossoms in the garden with a puzzled expression. It was the middle of summer, so why were the plum blossoms blooming so early? And where did the snow and ice come from? The weather was also strangely cold.

"There is a glacier beside this valley, where the ice and snow never melt. The mountains block the sunrise from entering the valley, so this valley is called 'Valley of No Sun.' The plum blossoms in the valley bloom all year round, and they bloom even better without sunlight." The old woman spoke in a hoarse voice as she walked, as if talking to herself.

Zi Jin stared at the old woman's back with a puzzled look, a sense of familiarity rising in her heart.

The two walked in silence for a while, and the old man led Zi Jin into a quiet little house. The old woman gently pushed open the door.

Zi Jin clenched her fists, took a deep breath, and then went inside.

The room was simply furnished with only a table, a chair, and a bed.

Zi Jin held her breath and walked step by step to the bedside. She slowly reached out her trembling hand and gently touched the bloodless body on the bed. Fortunately, there was still body temperature, but the breathing was extremely weak.

"How could he be so badly injured?" Zi Jin frowned as she sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to stroke the man's face.

"You both fell off the cliff at the same time, and he held you tightly in his arms, so you were unharmed... But his bones... were mostly broken, and he was also infected with a sinister poison... I'm afraid..."

"What are you afraid of! It's just a few broken bones, how could it not be healed?!" Zi Jin's expression turned cold, her eyes filled with chilling light.

The old woman felt a chill in her heart under Zi Jin's domineering aura, and her knees trembled slightly: "If it were just a few broken bones, it wouldn't be difficult, but falling from a height damaged his internal organs and triggered that insidious poison... Therefore... the fact that he could hold on until now... is already at his last gasp."

"Insidious?... We both fell from a height at the same time, so why am I unharmed while he is..." Zi Jin frowned in deep thought, vaguely smelling a strange fragrance. Could it be that fragrance?

"This poison didn't just appear in his body overnight. According to the physicians in the valley, it has been there for nearly twenty years... Even if he hadn't fallen from that height, he probably wouldn't have lived much longer. This fall only triggered the poison in his body earlier..."

Zi Jin's face gradually darkened, her chest heaving with an unbearable tightness. She reached out and grasped Zi Yingfeng's hand, causing him to cry out in pain, followed by a soft groan.

Startled, Zi Jin quickly released her grip, only to find it limp and weak, as if its bones were broken: "How could this happen?! How could it have become like this?!"

The old woman lowered her eyes slightly and said nothing more.

Zi Jin suddenly stood up, staring intently at the old woman without blinking, her eyes full of wariness: "Who are you?"

The old woman raised her head: "Now that you've remembered the past... why can't you remember me?"

A look of doubt flashed in Zi Jin's eyes. After a moment of deep thought, she stopped talking, turned around and sat back down on the edge of the bed. She carefully pressed Zi Yinfeng's pulse, her expression becoming increasingly solemn.

The old woman quietly retreated outside the door, and a short while later, someone brought her a bowl of hot porridge.

Looking at the steaming bowl of sweet porridge, Zi Jin felt a surge of inexplicable sadness and bitterness. The poison in his body was an extremely slow-acting and incurable poison, which had now penetrated deep into his bones and lungs… Judging from the current state of affairs, he had probably been suffering from it for at least fifteen years. He must have previously suppressed it with powerful internal energy and elixirs, making it undetectable, but his body was truly at its last gasp…

A hot tear slid down her cheek. What should she do? What should she do? How could she save him? Although she had resented and blamed him before, she had never thought of letting him die... What should she do? Zi Jin leaned over the bedside, sobbing softly, overwhelmed by a deep sorrow, as memories of the past flashed through her mind.

Zi Jia Xiaofeng, this Taiping Pavilion was designed by me... uh... I designed it myself. Every detail inside is the result of my hard work. Do you like it?

The boy raised his eyebrows slightly, his eyes filled with barely suppressed joy: It's alright.

Zi Jia Xiao Feng, only two of these "Green-backed Dragon Fish" were presented as tribute. I secretly had the imperial kitchen cook them for you. To keep my brother's little devil from finding out, I waited outside the imperial kitchen for almost two hours. You have to finish them all. Is it delicious?

The boy tilted his head, squinted his eyes, and smiled contentedly: Okay.

Zi Jia Xiaofeng, look at this military treatise. It's that old man in the Ministry of War's most prized possession, which I forcibly obtained. See if it's useful?

The young man carefully flipped through the military book. After a long while, he noticed someone standing beside him waiting for an answer. He frowned and said, "So-so."

Large swathes of rosewood trees died of disease overnight. The boy stood blankly outside the Taiping Pavilion, his face expressionless.

Zi Jia Xiaofeng...

The boy abruptly turned his face, staring at him with hatred, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "Do you think you can force anything?! Do you think you can force anything?! Don't you see? They're dead! They're dead! All of them are dead! Why do you insist on forcing it?! Why do you insist on forcing it?!"

"Why... are you crying? Cough... cough..." Zi Yingfeng opened his eyes, looked at Zi Jin who was crying unusually sadly, and frowned as he spoke.

Zi Jin suddenly raised her tearful eyes and stared blankly at Zi Yingfeng: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Tears flowed uncontrollably.

Zi Yingfeng endured the excruciating pain, raised his inner hand, and gently wiped away Zi Jin's tears: "It's Father... I'm the one who's sorry."

Zi Jin felt a mix of bitterness and sorrow: "Don't lie to me, it's my fault, it's my fault, I remember, I remember... But... don't die... don't die... I will be good to you... I will be good to you... as long as you don't die, I will slowly make it up to you in the future."

Zi Yingfeng paused for a moment, then smiled slightly: "How can I be good to Father? How can I be a good son to Father? How can I take care of Father in his old age and see him off in his final days? Father also wants... Father also wants to find a good family for Jin'er, Father also wants to see Jin'er live a happy life. Father is not a good father, making Jin'er suffer so much hardship and humiliation with Father. If Father is to leave like this, please don't blame Father, Father has done his best, really did his best."

Zi Jin's eyes were blurred with tears: "Since you want to be a father, then be one. Just don't die... as long as you don't die... I'll do whatever you say, whatever you say... I really will... I'll never leave you alone again, I'll never leave you again. Didn't you say you'd take me to see the borderlands? Didn't you say you'd take me to Rouge Valley? Didn't you say you'd take me to Suiling Town? Didn't you say you'd take me to eat all the pastries in Jiangnan? Get well soon... get well soon... I'm waiting for you... I'll always be waiting for you."

Zi Yingfeng's pale lips trembled slightly: "Father is hungry..."

Zi Jin wiped her face casually with her sleeve, carefully helped Zi Yinfeng sit up, hurriedly got up and picked up the bowl of still warm porridge, slowly feeding him spoonful by spoonful.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Zi Yingfeng's eyes, and his body seemed to be less in pain. He had only eaten half a small bowl of porridge when he felt his chest churning violently. He shook his head with a smile: "I'm full. Jin'er, you should eat some too."

After finishing half a bowl of porridge, Zi Yingfeng's spirits improved considerably, and her face was no longer as pale as before. Zi Jin kept reassuring herself that perhaps she had misread the pulse; when she was seriously ill before, she couldn't detect anything either.