The Teng Kingdom, which was destroyed by the Ning Dynasty, fought with the Ning Dynasty for decades. At first, the Teng Kingdom was always the one suppressing the Ning Dynasty. Given the strength of the Teng Kingdom at that time, it was indeed possible that the Ning Dynasty could be riddled with holes. Yan Qingli took her to see Xia Chan. Could it be that he suspected that she might also be a spy?
Qiu Lanxi's heart skipped a beat, and she felt completely unwell.
After the original owner of this body suffered greatly after the fall of her country and the destruction of her family, she was not actually in great distress. Because of her good looks, she was likely to be used as a military prostitute or offered to important figures. After all, she was beautiful but did not have a high social status, so she had a lot of room to be manipulated when her country was destroyed and her family was destroyed.
Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to easily get close to someone of Wang Baiying's status, instead of only being able to see ordinary soldiers. After all, if she could only see ordinary soldiers, she wouldn't have any way to use her skills.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this preferential treatment that Yan Qingli was not at ease with her identity. But heavens behold, such operations were not uncommon in war. How many scoundrels were there on the battlefield? Even if the order was given from above, the lower ranks would still dare to operate in secret. Qiu Lanxi, who had the original owner's memories, knew very well that this was really just a coincidence!
what to do?
Qiu Lanxi breathed a sigh of relief as she thought about her expression and behavior after entering the secret room. Even a professionally trained person would find it difficult to suppress their subconscious. She believed that there must be many people watching her from the shadows, so she should have passed the test, right?
But that's not enough...
Qiu Lanxi wondered, what else should she do?
After a moment's thought, she pursed her lips and kept giving herself mental suggestions: This is the first time you've seen such a scene, it's terrifying, you'll have nightmares because of it, lots and lots of nightmares...
After stepping out of the bottomless secret chamber, the moonlight shone on them again. Yan Qingli put Qiu Lanxi down and said, "I still need to take a bath. Qingqing, you should go back first."
Qiu Lanxi was still somewhat dazed, as if she hadn't yet recovered from the shock. She belatedly became frightened and didn't reply immediately upon hearing this. After a while, she nodded slowly.
Yan Qingli's eyes darkened, and after a moment, she casually lowered her eyes and turned to leave.
"girl?"
Qiu Lanxi remained standing there until Chun Su called her. She took a deep breath and a forced smile appeared on her face: "Please help me, sister."
Yan Qingli stood in the shadows watching her being helped away, her fingertips stroking her neck, a dense, itchy sensation seemingly spreading from there, reaching deep into her heart.
Chapter 13
After that day, Qiu Lanxi had nightmares for several days. Yan Qingli saw this but never expected that she would fall ill because of it.
Yan Qingli noticed this in the middle of the night. The person in her arms was burning hot, with a furrowed brow, and seemed to be having a nightmare, uttering a few incoherent murmurs.
Yan Qingli knew that Qiu Lanxi hadn't slept well for the past few days and was plagued by nightmares, but she hadn't expected things to develop like this. In her eyes, although Qiu Lanxi looked weak, she was undoubtedly resilient inside. Even if she was frightened, the effects should have dissipated quickly.
She did indeed suspect Qiu Lanxi's intentions, because the information on her secret guards showed that she had undergone a 'drastic change in temperament,' and since the Kingdom of Teng had just fallen, it was hard to guarantee that she wouldn't do something crazy.
But Yan Qingli was more inclined to believe that this was her true nature. She had only made this final test with the idea of being absolutely certain that nothing would go wrong, but she never expected it to turn out like this.
Due to the great war, both countries were in chaos. Many noble ladies were not unaware of bloodshed. During the most critical time, the Teng Kingdom even launched a surprise attack on the capital. Even setting aside these events, many families had their own private affairs. Since they had not personally witnessed how the other party died, they would not forget it immediately, but at least after a day or two, it would leave no trace in their minds.
Actually, when Qiu Lanxi had nightmares about this, Yan Qingli had a vague feeling that something was wrong. However, Qiu Lanxi was always well-behaved and obedient, and apart from the nightmares at night, she was not much different from her usual self, so she did not pay attention to it.
While waiting for the imperial physician to arrive, Yan Qingli couldn't help but look down at Qiu Lanxi. Qiu Lanxi was already fair-skinned, but now that she had lost her color, her translucent skin made her appear even more ethereal, as if she might disappear at any moment.
Yan Qingli raised her hand and used a silk handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her forehead. She pursed her lips slightly, picked up a book from the side, intending to read while waiting for the imperial physician, but after a moment, she put the book down again.
Her brows furrowed, and she looked at Qiu Lanxi again. After staring at her for a long time, she finally couldn't help but reach out and pull her into her arms. The burning heat seemed to travel from her fingertips all the way to her heart, making her feel a little uncomfortable as well.
When the imperial physician entered carrying his medicine chest, Yan Qingli's expression was already quite unpleasant. Before the physician could even bow, she pulled Qiu Lanxi's hand out from under the brocade quilt, gesturing for the physician to come forward and take her pulse.
"This young lady is not seriously injured, but she is a bit weak and has been experiencing some acclimatization issues since arriving in the capital. Now, the shock has led to the invasion of external pathogens. She will probably have to endure it for a while today, but once she wakes up, she will be fine..."
As the imperial physician spoke, he began writing a prescription, which made Princess Shaoguang's scalp tingle. According to his diagnosis, the other party was indeed not seriously ill, but he dared not make any definitive statements, lest he himself be in trouble later.
He was hurriedly summoned out of the palace late at night, thinking that something had happened to Princess Shaoguang. But when he thought of the rumors that had been circulating recently, he didn't think that the situation was much better than Princess Shaoguang being sick.
Yan Qingli looked down at Qiu Lanxi. What did she mean by saying that if she woke up, it was no big deal? What if she didn't wake up?
She lowered her brows, a fleeting moment of regret crossing her mind. The other person leaned against her, oblivious, as if they could drift away with the wind at any moment.
For a fleeting moment, Yan Qingli truly felt that she was utterly wicked.
Yan Qingli quickly suppressed the slight ripples in her heart. She sent servants to help brew the medicine, and Chun Su came over with a copper basin, wanting to wipe away the cold sweat from Qiu Lanxi.
Yan Qingli stood aside, frowning as she watched. Just as Qiu Lanxi's inner garment was about to be stripped off, she finally couldn't help but tell the servants to leave.
She didn't want anyone else to handle this kind of thing.
Fearing that Qiu Lanxi might be uncomfortable, she didn't dare to take off all her clothes directly. She only slightly pulled open her collar and put the warm face towel inside. The pulled-open collar revealed her snow-white and rounded shoulder blades, with a touch of rosy blush on them, which was worthy of contemplation.
Occasionally, my fingertips would inevitably touch her skin, which was hot and burning.
She quickly changed her into a set of undergarments. Her figure was excessively upright. She subconsciously touched her chest, feeling a little suffocated by the scene she had just witnessed.
Yan Qingli had never seen such a sight before.
When Chun Su brought in the medicine bowl, she noticed that Yan Qingli's expression was a little strange. Without thinking much of it, she whispered, "Your Highness... the medicine is here."
Yan Qingli responded and took the medicine bowl. She looked down at Qiu Lanxi, who seemed unaware of anything and was clearly unable to drink it herself.
So he handed the bowl back. He had intended to dislocate her jaw directly, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he used a more troublesome method to pry open her teeth. The warm, moist breath writhed around his fingers. Yan Qingli's eyes darkened slightly, but he had no intention of appreciating it. Instead, he gestured for Chun Su to feed her the medicine.
Chun Su hurriedly and shakily picked up the spoon, wanting to feed him but hesitant, afraid that the medicine would soil her hands. But since His Highness had chosen to do this, he must have already considered the consequences and didn't care.
So in the end, she closed her eyes and, as if heading to her execution, fed the medicine to her.
"don't want……"
As soon as the medicine entered her throat, Qiu Lanxi's entire face scrunched up as if she regarded it as poison. After having no choice but to swallow it, she bit Yan Qingli's hand with a fierce sense of revenge.
Chun Su was so startled that she almost dropped the medicine bowl in her hand: "Your Highness..."
"It's alright."
Yan Qingli's eyebrows twitched slightly. She was ill, and even though she looked like she wanted to bite off something, her strength was like a tickle, so she didn't care. Otherwise, she would have pulled herself out for her own safety.
She understood the principle that a wise person does not stand under a dangerous wall.
Yan Qingli glanced down at Qiu Lanxi, and when she felt the pressure on her fingers loosen a bit, she lifted her hand, making Qiu Lanxi open her mouth even wider, before saying, "Keep feeding me."
Perhaps realizing that her resistance had no effect, she wept silently in despair, looking utterly pitiful.
Yan Qingli was stunned for a moment, but she couldn't explain anything to someone who wasn't in a daze. She raised her hand and pinched the back of her neck, signaling Chun Su to quickly pour down the rest of the medicine, while she pressed Qiu Lanxi's acupoints to prevent her from spitting out the medicine.
The other person helplessly shed tears, as if she wanted to cry until she had no tears left, which made people feel a strange sense of guilt. She took a handkerchief and wiped the medicine from Qiu Lanxi's lips. After looking at her eyelashes, which were messy because of her tears, she finally handed her hand.
She's so upset, let her take another bite.
Thinking about how she felt just now, Yan Qingli's eyes darkened slightly.
Little did Qiu Lanxi know that a fine piece of meat was placed in front of her for her to gnaw on. She kept her pearly teeth tightly closed, afraid that she would be forced to swallow more bitter medicine.
Yan Qingli had no choice but to withdraw her hand and wipe her face. After a while, she stopped crying. But perhaps she had been pushed to her limit, because when Yan Qingli put her on the bed, she refused to let anything get close to her.
Catching Qiu Lanxi's kicking foot, Yan Qingli's eyes darkened, and he unconsciously squeezed the sole of her foot.
She was kicked out of bed by Qiu Lanxi. The force of the kick wasn't actually that great. If she wanted to, she could have completely ignored it. But if she did, Qiu Lanxi would probably have to cry again.
Oh well...
She sat on the edge of the bed, her back still straight, and tucked Qiu Lanxi's body tightly into the quilt before picking up a book to read.
Then, Yan Qingli, who was reading a book, was kicked to the ground by Qiu Lanxi in retaliation.
Chapter 14
This night was truly exhausting. Perhaps Qiu Lanxi was well-behaved enough when she was awake, but when she was unconscious, she acted entirely according to her own whims, which was quite different from her usual demeanor.
This forced Yan Qingli to move a chair and stool, as she felt so frustrated that she couldn't even sit on the edge of the bed.
When she was halfway through reading, Qiu Lanxi was caught in another nightmare. She wasn't good at comforting people, so she just raised her hand to pat her back and said a few words of "don't be afraid." Her chest was soaked with water because of this. Qiu Lanxi finally calmed down, but she was far from being well-behaved. She immediately told people to stay away from her, showing her "use and discard" nature.
After being tossed and turned several times, Yan Qingli began to wonder if she had already regained consciousness.
But seeing how energetic she was, Yan Qingli's wavering heart settled down.
When Qiu Lanxi woke up, it was past dawn. As soon as she woke up, she sensed that something was wrong. She felt a strange sluggishness in her body, and her throat was sore. She immediately guessed what had happened.
In recent days, she has been giving herself psychological suggestions, imagining scenes from horror movies from her past life and putting herself in the victim's perspective. As a result, she has nightmares every night. When she takes a bath, she deliberately exposes her body to the air. With such "internal and external troubles", she has indeed caught a cold.
It was fortunate that Qiu Lanxi didn't like having her maids do things that were too private for her, and that she didn't have anyone by her side when she bathed, otherwise the plan wouldn't have been so easy to carry out.
"water……"
Her barely audible voice was noticed by Yan Qingli almost the instant she opened her mouth. She had been unconscious for nearly a day. Yan Qingli did not want anyone to touch her, so she did everything herself. However, she had no experience in taking care of people and only realized at this moment that she had not eaten or drunk anything.
Qiu Lanxi did not open her eyes. Perhaps her illness had made her somewhat lazy, so she was too lazy to even open her eyes. However, she slept with Yan Qingli every day, so she would not be unaware that she was sick. There would definitely be maids left behind, so she was not afraid of delaying her treatment.
Feeling herself being helped up, Qiu Lanxi smelled a faint medicinal scent on the person, who must be a maid left behind by Yan Qingli. She sipped some warm water to soothe her throat and finally felt a little better.
Yan Qingli lowered her head and looked at Qiu Lanxi, who was pale and bloodless in her arms. Her cool hand covered Qiu Lanxi's forehead. Qiu Lanxi was startled. Such a gesture was not something a maid should do. She immediately opened her eyes alertly.
She looked up and saw Yan Qingli's cold face. Her slightly hoarse voice couldn't hide her astonishment: "Your Highness?..."
She didn't hide the surprise in her eyes, because she really hadn't expected it to be Yan Qingli. When their eyes met, Yan Qingli felt a little uncomfortable and subconsciously looked away.
For once, a slight blush appeared on her usually expressionless face. After a moment's pause, she said, "It seems like you're alright. Is there anything else that's bothering you?"
Qiu Lanxi's stunned gaze was still fixed on her. Upon hearing this, she shook her head: "No."
A smile appeared on her pale face: "How long has Your Highness been here?" As she spoke, Qiu Lanxi glanced at the window, "I don't know how long it has been. I hope I won't delay Your Highness's business."
Yan Qingli wanted to say that she had just happened to run into him, but then felt that there was no need to say such a lie that could be so easily exposed, so she remained silent.
Her silence seemed to startle her; her bright eyes widened slightly in confusion, and she stammered, "I was wrong..."
“…No.” Yan Qingli lowered her eyes, her dark gaze fixed on her pale face, and after a long while she said, “It was I who was rash. I did not expect Qingqing to be so timid.”
Her tone was calm and even. Those who knew her would understand that she was simply reiterating the facts to express her apology. Those who didn't would think she was complaining that Qiu Lanxi was useless.
Regardless, Qiu Lanxi would solidify this impression, because she really didn't want to see any more restricted scenes in the future. Only by keeping herself in unfamiliar territory could she make the other person wary because of this "special" situation.
She blinked, her slender fingers entwining around Yan Qingli's hand, making her fair hand appear even whiter. She whispered, "Your Highness, I've already told you, I'm stupid. Don't tease me anymore, I'll take it all seriously. You know I'm terrified of dying."
As Qiu Lanxi spoke, she looked at her with a wronged expression, her eyes welling up with tears.
Yan Qingli looked away impatiently and sneered, "Do you think you can just go to a place like that whenever you want?"
"That's good then," Qiu Lanxi said, her eyes crinkling as she pressed her cheek against her shoulder, as if she were the only person in the world she could rely on. "Your Highness, I'm hungry."
Yan Qingli smoothed the stray strands of hair around her ears and said to Chun Su, who was standing at the door, "Go and get the porridge."
Chun Su withdrew immediately.
Qiu Lanxi didn't speak, and the surroundings immediately quieted down. But she was sick after all and didn't have the mood to maintain a harmonious atmosphere. Because she had been having nightmares lately, she inevitably sweated and had to take a bath every morning. At this moment, however, she felt unusually refreshed.