Тонкая нить привязанности

Глава 48

Han Xiao remained silent for a moment, then said softly, "Actually, I don't want to become an extraordinary person."

“You weren’t always this lifeless.” Lian Qiao’s words made Han Xiao look up quickly: “You think so too? I’ve changed, haven’t I?”

“No one can remain unchanged,” Lian Qiao said. “I have changed, my master has changed, the divine doctor has changed, and the young master has changed. I have never met anyone who hasn’t changed.”

"I've become greedy," Han Xiao said sullenly.

“You must love the young master very much.” Lian Qiao knew about their relationship, but she still didn’t understand: “What’s so good about the young master? He always seems quite fierce towards you.”

"He..." Han Xiaoxiao stopped abruptly, unsure how to explain Nie Chengyan's kindness: "He's not that fierce." This didn't seem to be the reason she liked him. After thinking for a moment, she added, "He's amazing, and he's very good to me. I never dared to imagine anyone being so good to me before."

"Xiaoxiao..." Lian Qiao hesitated, but finally only said, "I'm sorry."

Han Xiao knew that her apology this time referred to her stealing and switching the medicine, but the theft of the medicine wasn't directly related to Nie Chengyan's death. If she hadn't been able to steal Green Snow, Chi Yanxing would likely have used Green Frost, with the same result. Han Xiao suddenly realized that Chi Yanxing didn't want Nie Chengyan to die; he wanted him to struggle in his death throes and be crippled, to cause the Cloud Mist Elder pain. But when she went up the mountain, she heard that Nie Chengyan was beyond saving. How could Chi Yanxing make such a mistake? The dosage of the poison shouldn't have been so severe.

"Lianqiao, who poisoned our master back then?"

Lian Qiao bit her lip: "I don't know. I've been in the mountains the whole time, not there. I just switched the poison and put Master's letter in the medicine box."

Han Xiao stared at her and said sternly, "You're lying. You changed the medicine, so it has to be sent out. The servants in the mountains aren't allowed to come down, so you must have helpers in the mountains. You've been planning this for so long, there's no way you wouldn't have been communicating with each other."

"Xiaoxiao, I really don't know. After I got the medicine, I handed it over to my senior brother, who was working as a medical servant in the mountains. He was responsible for delivering the medicine. I was just observing and waiting to see what the Divine Physician would do, but my senior brother disappeared not long after successfully delivering the medicine. I always thought that Master had summoned him away, and he left in a hurry without telling me. As for the matter of Green Frost, there has been no news. Instead, there are rumors that one of the Divine Physician's disciples stole Green Snow to poison the young master. This is different from what Master expected, and I don't know what went wrong. Originally, when the young master was poisoned, the Divine Physician should have gone to look at the medicine box. After reading the letter, he would have understood everything, but that's not the case. It wasn't until later, when you found Doctor Lin's body at the bottom of the cliff, that I understood. I guess Doctor Lin opened the medicine box, discovered everything, realized my senior brother's problem, and then confronted him with the medicine and the letter. The two of them fought and fell off the cliff."

"Then your senior brother must have an inside man in Baiqiao City. He couldn't have been away from the mountains for too long when he was delivering medicine. Someone must have been there to meet him in Baiqiao City. You couldn't possibly not know that."

“Xiaoxiao, when Master dismissed us, he told us that this matter was caused by him and that he was fully responsible. He told us not to think about pursuing it any further and that he would take full responsibility.”

"So there's still some truth being hidden, isn't there?"

"Xiaoxiao..."

"Lianqiao, if you still have feelings for us from the past, then tell me."

Lian Qiao twisted her fingers, struggling for a long time, before finally saying, "Xiao Xiao, I really don't know the details very well, but I have some guesses. I heard my senior brother say that when Master was in trouble, the old doctor who saved him was surnamed Xie."

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment: "It can't be..."

Lian Qiao continued, "I have never met that old doctor. I only heard that my master helped him cure the emperor and he received a large reward. So he moved his whole family to Xiao Kingdom to do business."

Han Xiao's hands trembled slightly: "This is impossible..."

“A few years ago, after I returned to my master’s side, I heard that not long after the young master’s accident, the old doctor and his whole family returned to Xia Kingdom.”

"Perhaps it's just a coincidence." Han Xiao stood up excitedly. "If Xie Jingyun is the old doctor's granddaughter, and she's sick, she wouldn't be sent to Baiqiao City. She should be sent here to be treated by Doctor Chi. There's no reason to send her to an enemy..." Han Xiao suddenly shut his mouth, his legs went weak, and he sat back down in his chair. She was indeed sick, but it was just right to send her here to act as an inside agent. If she could win over Nie Chengyan's heart, then the opportunity to make a move would be much greater.

Han Xiao shook her head, then thought, "Something still doesn't make sense. If that's the case, why poison Xie Jingyun as well?" The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. Nie Chengyan had said that Xie Jingyun had a twin sister, but what if she didn't? If she faked her death, things would be simpler, but if she really died, what would happen? Would Chi Yanxing really kill the grandson of his savior?

“I really don’t know what happened, Xiaoxiao. But I know that Master wouldn’t harm the family of his benefactor.”

Han Xiao's mind went blank. She sat there blankly for a moment, then suddenly jumped up and ran outside. She ran all the way back to the house where she was staying. It was just getting light. She was anxious and wanted to quickly send someone to find Nie Chengyan and bring him back. But as soon as she entered the courtyard, she stood there dumbfounded.

There were quite a few people standing in the courtyard, including Huo Qiyang and He Ziming. Everyone looked tense. The guards were kneeling on the ground, while Nie Chengyan sat with a livid face. Seeing her return, everyone relaxed, but Nie Chengyan showed no sign of joy. He slammed his hand on the armrest of his chair and shouted, "Where have you been?"

Seeing this, Han Xiao quickly swallowed what she was about to say and cautiously replied, "Let's go for a walk."

"In the middle of the night?" Nie Chengyan was furious. He returned to find her gone and was terrified. He sent people everywhere to search for her, but he was afraid of alerting others and endangering her. He was nervous and anxious, but she came back as if nothing had happened.

Han Xiao didn't want to argue with him in front of so many servants, so she lowered her head and remained silent. This only made him angrier. She had no sense of safety at all in the middle of the night, running around everywhere, and dared to be so disobedient and disrespectful, even giving him attitude.

He shouted at her sternly, "Speak! What's going on?"

Han Xiao trembled in fright, unsure of what to say. Everyone remained silent, none daring to speak up. Seeing that she didn't answer, Nie Chengyan gritted his teeth and glared at her for a while, seemingly unable to vent his anger. Finally, he pointed at her and said, "You stay here and wait until I'm done with my business before I deal with you."

"Going out again?" Han Xiao was startled and asked, "Are you going to find Xie Jingyun?"

Nie Chengyan was still angry and didn't answer. He just said to Huo Qiyang, "Let's go."

"Where are you going?" Han Xiao stood in front of his chair to block him, which made Nie Chengyan furious. "Get out of the way." His expression told her that she had guessed correctly, so she hurriedly shouted, "Master, don't go."

Nie Chengyan ignored her and turned his chair to walk around her, but Han Xiao suddenly pounced on him and pressed herself onto his knees: "Master, please, don't see her again."

"Xiaoxiao, when did you become so unreasonable?" Nie Chengyan said coldly, "Everything I said to you was from the bottom of my heart, but I absolutely cannot ignore Yun'er's matter. She has already passed away, and this is the only thing I can do for her. If you can't even tolerate this, then I must have misjudged you in the past?"

This accusation pierced Han Xiao's heart like a sharp blade. She gasped in pain, stunned and at a loss for what to do. Nie Chengyan then said, "You are not allowed to go out again. Wait for me to come back."

This time, Han Xiao didn't stop him. She was even a little confused about how he left. She stood there dumbfounded, deeply hurt by Nie Chengyan's words that he had misjudged her. She stood there, wondering what was wrong with her. Had she really become so repulsive, or was she never the person she thought she was? The guards who had been kneeling nearby finally got up after Nie Chengyan left and returned to their posts. No one dared to try to persuade Han Xiao; they only knew that this time they had to keep a close watch on the door.

Nie Chengyan felt a heavy weight in his heart. He was indeed going to the Xie family. He had investigated extensively and spent many days feigning friendship with the fake Xie Jingyun, finally uncovering the general outline: the Xie family was Chi Yanxing's savior, and the Xie family was involved in Chi Yanxing's revenge. However, Nie Chengyan couldn't accept why, when poisoning him that day, they were so ruthless as to kill Xie Jingyun as well.

He tried hard to recall when they arrived at the inn where they stayed. Xie Jingyun said she was tired and wanted to stay a couple more days. That day, she seemed uneasy and hesitant to speak. He had always thought it was because of the reprimand and obstruction she had received from the old man in the mist a couple of days earlier. He had even comforted her, saying that the old man couldn't stop them from being together. Now, he realized that she must have known about her family's plan and wanted to warn him. She wanted to save him; only in this way could he explain why the Xie family wanted to kill her as well, because she was a traitor in the entire revenge plan.

Nie Chengyan clenched his fists. Even a tiger wouldn't eat its own cubs. The Xie family was so cruel; today he would make them pay for their crimes in blood. Xie Jingyun was gentle and kind; how could she rest in peace after being treated like this by her own family? He would avenge her; he couldn't let her die such a pointless death.

The carriage arrived at the Xie family's gate. Nie Chengyan alighted, where the imposter Xie Jingyun was waiting for him. Upon seeing Nie Chengyan, she hurried forward, saying, "You're late! I almost thought you weren't coming!"

"How could that be? We had an agreement."

Xie Jingyun smiled: "You don't look well, are you feeling unwell? The weather has been very unusual these past few days, it looks like it's going to rain today, it rarely rains here, are your feet hurting?"

"It's alright, just a bit tiring with lots of miscellaneous tasks."

"Then let's go in quickly. Have something hot to drink, it'll make you feel better. My grandfather and father got up very early today, they're waiting for you." Nie Chengyan nodded with a smile, Xie Jingyun pushed him inside, and Huo Qiyang followed behind.

The door behind him closed, and Nie Chengyan asked softly, "Are you the older sister or the younger sister?"

Xie Jingyun was taken aback, but quickly regained her composure: "I am the younger sister."

"Your father wants to talk to me about marriage. Is it for Yun'er or for you?"

“It’s Yun’er’s.” Now even the idiot Xie Jingyun realized that Nie Chengyan knew her identity. She said calmly, “My name is Xie Jinghua.”

How did you find out about my relationship with Yun'er?

“We were very close, and she wrote me many letters.”

Nie Chengyan fell silent. Xie Jinghua asked, "Is there anything else you want to ask?"

“I want to ask your father and grandfather directly.” Nie Chengyan had already seen the middle-aged man and the white-haired old man sitting in the main room. The arrangement of the main room really looked like a wedding was about to take place.

Xie Jinghua pushed Nie Chengyan into the house, then walked over to Xie Qing and Xie Jiang, calling out, "Grandpa, Dad." She winked and added, "Brother-in-law is here."

Xie Qing understood that Xie Jinghua's identity had been exposed. Although he was somewhat prepared, he was still a little surprised. He stared at Nie Chengyan for a long time, seemingly lost in thought. Nie Chengyan met his gaze calmly and said, "I'm here to settle things between us."

Xie Qing nodded: "It's time. Yun'er's marriage to you has never been arranged. Yun'er won't be at peace in the afterlife."

Nie Chengyan smiled and said, "You went to all this trouble to have your younger sister pretend to be your older sister just to trick me into marriage?"

Xie Qing nodded and said, "If those two sisters were to deliberately impersonate each other, even we elders often wouldn't be able to tell them apart. How did you manage to distinguish them?"

"Whether a woman loves you or not, you will naturally have a sense of it."

Xie Qing nodded again: "Yun'er is indeed very fond of you." As he said this, Xie Jiang and Xie Jinghua, who were standing beside him, both showed sadness on their faces.

Nie Chengyan said angrily, "You're going to kill her just for this? How can you do this to your own flesh and blood?"

"You killed her," Xie Jiang said, his expression agitated. "It's all because of you."

“I have no grudge against you. You have no conscience. You helped Chi Yanxing poison innocent people, yet you have the nerve to slander me. I have nothing to say about that. But Yun’er was so good and kind. Aren’t you her family? Why did you poison her as well?” Nie Chengyan sat upright, his heart aching. He said, “I could have just killed you heartless bastards to avenge her. But I came here to hear the reason. Yun’er died. She should die with a clear understanding. Otherwise, how can she rest in peace in the afterlife?”

Xie Qing stood up and cursed through gritted teeth: "You little bastard, don't try to say nice things. Yun'er is our family's treasure. If it weren't for you, she wouldn't have suffered this misfortune. I saved Doctor Chi from the brink of death that day, and I saw his miserable state clearly. It's your Nie family that have no conscience. With such a heartless grandfather, you're no better. Doctor Chi wants revenge, and we happen to be in Xiao Kingdom, so naturally we should help him. But Yun'er is too foolish. She actually fell in love with you."

Nie Chengyan closed his eyes, Xie Jingyun's gentle smile appearing before him. So, she actually knew about this revenge plan from the beginning? He put aside his unease and asked, "You just need to tell me, who exactly poisoned me?"

"You're the one who killed her," Xie Jiang accused again.

"Who poisoned him?" Nie Chengyan pressed on with this question.

The Xie family members suddenly fell silent. Nie Chengyan's heart tightened, and he was about to press for more information when a voice came from outside: "City Lord Nie..."

Everyone turned to look and saw that it was Chi Yanxing. Xie Qing seemed surprised that he would come, then snorted and sat down.

Chi Yanxing had his attendant push his chair in, and he addressed both sides, saying, "This matter arose from me, and I have said I would bear the responsibility alone. My benefactor, Lord Nie, the deceased are gone, why not let Yun'er rest in peace?"

“He will immediately perform the wedding ceremony with Yun’er’s memorial tablet, and then I will send him down to accompany Yun’er, so that Yun’er can rest in peace.”

"With the truth still unclear and the great revenge unavenged, how can we have peace of mind?" Xie Jiang and Nie Chengyan replied to Chi Yanxing at the same time. Nie Chengyan was surprised to hear about the Xie family's plan and turned to look at Xie Jiang.

Chi Yanxing pushed a chair next to Nie Chengyan and said to the Xie family, "My benefactor and my worthy brother, I was wrong back then. I caused you all trouble and harmed Yun'er. Over the years, the Xie family is the one I feel most indebted to. But Lord Nie is indeed innocent. I was blinded by hatred and now I really don't want to make another mistake. Please don't..."

"Chi Yanxing!" Xie Qing couldn't help but stand up again and shout, "I saved you that day, and I still don't regret it. I admire your superb medical skills and respect your indomitable will. You brought wealth and honor to my family, which is already a form of repayment. I am willing to help you take revenge. But my Yun'er and this Nie Chengyan are a different matter. I promised you before that as long as this matter was settled, my Xie family would not pursue it further. But now this Nie Chengyan is being aggressive. Since he has come to my door, how can I not fulfill Yun'er's last wish?"

"My benefactor..."

"Shut up, all of you." Nie Chengyan interrupted them sharply. He didn't want to hear any more of this. He only asked, "Who poisoned them?"

The room fell silent. Finally, Xie Jinghua said softly, "It was Yun'er who poisoned him."

Nie Chengyan was shocked, his eyes widening: "Liar, she wouldn't do this to me."

Xie Jinghua looked directly into his eyes, her voice soft, tears welling in her eyes: "It was indeed her who poisoned you, but she didn't want to harm you. She wanted to go with you." Tears streamed down her cheeks, which Xie Jinghua wiped away, and continued: "That day, it was originally one of our servants, disguised as a waiter, who was supposed to poison your cup, but Yun'er said she would do it. It would be less noticeable if she did it, so the servant gave her the medicine, instructing her to only put in half, so that it wouldn't be too fatal, and the other half was just a backup, so that if you didn't drink that cup, there would be medicine to put in again. I didn't expect Yun'er to put in the whole thing, and even drink it with you."

The room was eerily quiet, everyone's face was grim. Nie Chengyan felt the veins on his forehead throbbing, and his ears were ringing. Xie Jinghua forcefully wiped away her tears again and continued, "When the guards felt the time was right, they rushed in and found you still had a breath left, but Yun'er was dead. The guards, as instructed, slashed you, severed your Achilles tendons, and took Yun'er's body away before Nie Mingchen arrived. Afterwards, I received the last letter Yun'er wrote to me before she died. She said she couldn't stop this revenge, and she couldn't tell you that she couldn't bear your contempt, that she loved you very much, and that she couldn't bear to let you live and suffer like this. So, she decided to go with you to the underworld to be a loving couple."

Xie Jinghua looked at Nie Chengyan with tears in her eyes, which were exactly the same as Yun'er's. She looked into his eyes and said clearly, word by word, "Yun'er did die for you. She wanted to be with you and be with you. Her last wish was to be a loving couple with you."

Nie Chengyan's mind went blank. He felt as if a hot iron was stuck in his throat, burning painfully, but he couldn't speak. His eyes hurt, but no tears came. He heard Xie Jiang shout loudly, "You must marry my daughter. She's very lonely down there. She must be waiting for you. You must go and keep her company."

Nie Chengyan was at a loss for words. He was somewhat dumbfounded. How could Yun'er, who would wrinkle her face and look so aggrieved when she was sick and taking medicine, who was so delicate, weak, and timid, dare to do such a thing? She couldn't stop her parents' revenge, so she used her own life to atone for it?

To be a loving couple... Nie Chengyan felt her vision blur. She had such a beautiful idea, but sadly, they were now separated by death.

Xie Jiang and Xie Qing drew their swords, and the servants and guards rushed in with their weapons. Chi Yanxing pushed forward with a chair, spreading his arms to shield Nie Chengyan. Huo Qiyang let out a long howl, and the hidden guards who had been lying in ambush around the house jumped in. The two sides were on the verge of war, swords drawn. Chi Yanxing was sweating profusely with anxiety. It was clear that both sides had come prepared, and if a fight broke out, casualties would be inevitable. But he didn't want either side to be injured.

In this critical moment, Chi Yanxing shouted, "Stop! Stop!" as he lunged at Xie Qing. His legs were crippled and had atrophied considerably over the years; his lunge was aimed at Xie Qing, but his head slammed into the ground. Xie Qing stepped forward and caught him. Chi Yanxing struggled to his knees and kowtowed three times to Xie Qing: "My benefactor, you saved my life that day, yet I have caused you all such suffering. Lord Nie, so young and full of promise, has also been reduced to this state by me. I have suffered misfortune, thinking myself the most pitiful person in the world, but in reality, I have become the most hateful. I... I truly owe you all a debt. If I were to harm anyone else because of this, I would have no face to remain in this world..."

Xie Qing was about to speak when Chi Yanxing kowtowed again forcefully: "Please, benefactor, stop making things difficult for Lord Nie. It's all my fault. I'll apologize to Yun'er when I get to the underworld." Xie Qing felt Chi Yanxing's body tremble as he was supporting him. In shock, he looked down and saw that the sword he had thrown aside was now in Chi Yanxing's hand and was piercing his own chest.

Blood stained Chi Yanxing's clothes. Xie Qing cried out and quickly pressed several acupoints to stop the bleeding. Chi Yanxing smiled with difficulty: "My benefactor, I was saved by you back then. Today's situation is also a cycle of cause and effect."

“Ah Xing…”

The fierce fight was stopped by Chi Yanxing with his life. Nie Chengyan didn't know how he got back to his house. It started to rain, and the rain hit him. He felt very cold, his feet were really painful, and his heart was in a tearing pain. He didn't pay attention to what was happening around him. He asked Huo Qiyang to buy him a lot of wine.

Seeing him like this, Huo Qiyang dared not disobey his orders and quickly sent someone to buy the wine. Nie Chengyan then locked himself in his room and drank it down one gulp after another. Han Xiao, who had been hiding in her room heartbroken and angry, was also startled when she heard about this. She knocked on Nie Chengyan's door, but no one answered. She ran to the window, poked a hole in the paper window, and saw Nie Chengyan with a stern face, drinking as if he had a grudge against her. She called out anxiously a few times, but heard Nie Chengyan roar, "Get out!"

Huo Qiyang came over and pulled her away. At this time, it was better to let him stay by himself. Han Xiao thought that made sense. She stopped bothering him and just sat with her knees drawn up at the door of Nie Chengyan's room, listening to him crying loudly inside, calling out "Yun'er..." Han Xiao stared at the raindrops splashing on the ground in the yard and couldn't help but burst into tears.

After sitting for a while, she suddenly jumped up and pulled He Ziming to take her to find Chi Yanxing. Chi Yanxing was on the verge of death. The Xie family father and son took him home and quietly kept watch over him with his apprentices. Han Xiao's arrival surprised everyone.

"I'd like to say a few words to Dr. Chi," Han Xiao explained her purpose. In the end, Lian Qiao, with red eyes, led her inside.

"Dr. Chi." Hearing Han Xiao call, Chi Yanxing opened his eyes with difficulty. Han Xiao whispered a few words in his ear, and Chi Yanxing's eyes lit up as if he had suddenly regained his spirit. He muttered to himself, "So drinking water is the antidote, no wonder, no wonder... truly brilliant..."

"Dr. Chi..." Han Xiao had said a lot of harsh words before, but now that Chi Yanxing was leaving like this, she felt a little reluctant.

Chi Yanxing smiled slightly and laboriously reached out to pull Han Xiao's hand, which Han Xiao quickly grasped. Chi Yanxing said softly, "Girl, you are a prodigy. You were born to be a doctor. Teaching you medicine is probably the best thing Nie Mingchen has ever done in his life. I can't give you anything, but I'll give you all my books..." He turned to look at Lian Qiao, who hurriedly wiped away her tears and nodded vigorously, "Master, don't worry, I will definitely send all the books to Xiao Xiao's house."

Chi Yanxing nodded weakly, blinking as a response. He looked at Han Xiao, opened his mouth and said almost inaudibly, "You must be a good doctor, you must be a good doctor..." His voice faded away, his mouth was open, his eyes were open, but his hand slipped from Han Xiao's hand.