Кровавое убийство - Глава 13
"If you can't cure it, then leave. What are you doing here pretending to be a god or something?" I clenched my fists, wishing I could punch that old man a few times.
"Ahem, ahem! Young Master Ye, please calm down. Doctor Liu is the most renowned doctor in Jiangling Prefecture. He has cured countless difficult and complicated diseases. Your son's illness can definitely be cured." Steward Li looked at me and Doctor Liu with an embarrassed expression.
"It's alright, it's alright." Doctor Liu waved his hand at him. "Is this young man your son? Then you must know that he was poisoned with a strange poison that should have killed him. I wonder which miracle doctor treated him and allowed him to survive?"
"Was he poisoned? When? How come I didn't know?" I don't have time to explain that to them right now. If they think so, then let them misunderstand.
"Don't you know? In my forty years of medical practice, I've never heard of such a potent poison. However, judging from your son's pulse, he has been suffering from this strange poison for at least five years." Doctor Liu pondered for a moment, then continued, "Strangely, he also has another deadly poison in his body, which seems to have been contracted recently. It was this poison that caused him to fall into a coma. Logically speaking, either of these poisons should be fatal, yet he is suffering from both and is still unharmed. Isn't that truly bizarre?"
"Did he just get infected recently?" A thought flashed through my mind. I thought of the strange little golden snake and the bizarre way Little White died, and I couldn't help but shudder. "Then, is there any hope for him?" That was all I cared about.
"As I said, he's just unconscious; his life isn't in immediate danger." Doctor Liu still looked puzzled. "But logically, someone so young shouldn't have such profound internal energy! Could my diagnosis be wrong? Or did he have some extraordinary encounter? Did he ingest some kind of miraculous elixir to enhance his power?"
"So what's the situation now? Don't you have any way to wake him up?"
"Sometimes sleep is a natural defense mechanism against external disturbances. Letting him rest more will help him recover. I think we shouldn't do anything to him for now. We'll talk about it later."
"So you're just going to do nothing?" I was very dissatisfied with him. If that's the case, and all we're doing is waiting, then what's the point of having him here? Just to stand around and watch?
He was good-natured and ignored my anger. "How about this, I'll prescribe some calming and nourishing medicine for him. If he wakes up, I'll brew it for him to drink."
I'm speechless at these quacks. I could only wave them away helplessly, telling them to leave so I wouldn't have to taint my eyes.
Time passed slowly, and night soon fell. Dongmei brought dinner, and Steward Li also came to check on him, but Huaiyuan remained lying motionless, showing no sign of waking up. The pale moonlight shone quietly through the windowpane, and as I watched his face change from red to white, from white to blue, and then from blue to purple... I couldn't help but shed tears.
I slowly walked to his side, gently took his hand, and sobbed softly, "Huaiyuan, please wake up. Although I'm angry that you deceived me, although I hate that you tested me, although I resent that you didn't trust me, although I've cursed you, scolded you, and left you, Huaiyuan, I don't want you to die! In this distant land, in this unfamiliar Northern Song Dynasty, you are my only friend and family. Although I'm angry with you and hate you, I still love you! So, you mustn't die! Since Heaven arranged for me to meet you across a thousand years, it means we are destined. You must promise me, you mustn't abandon me..."
"Okay, I promise you, I will never abandon you." My hand was suddenly gripped tightly. I was startled and looked up through my tear-filled eyes. Huaiyuan was staring at me intently. He slowly said, word by word, "But, 'Heaven arranged for me to meet you across a thousand years,' what does that mean?!"
"Huh? Did I say that? No, you misheard. Yes, you misheard." I hurriedly avoided his eyes. "Ah, when did you wake up? Why didn't you say so sooner? You made me cry so much my eyes are swollen."
"You won't talk? That's alright, I'll find out the truth sooner or later." Huaiyuan didn't press me, but gently wiped my eyes. "Considering how many tears you've shed for me, I won't pursue the matter of you running away. But don't cry again next time, because you look really ugly when you cry!"
"Who's crying? I just got sand in my eye, I wasn't worried about you." I stubbornly refused to admit it.
But when I met Huaiyuan's bright, star-like black eyes, his gaze that seemed to magnetically draw me in, my face suddenly flushed—damn it, why is he so handsome? He makes my heart race. What will he be like when he grows up?
I turned my head away uncomfortably and said to him in a sullen voice, "Huaiyuan, let me teach you something. In the future, don't stare at girls for no reason, it will make their hearts race."
Huaiyuan was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly burst into uncontrollable loud laughter. "What are you laughing at? What's so funny?" I glared at him angrily.
Then, Huaiyuan stopped laughing, looked at me seriously, and asked me word by word, "So, did I make your heart beat?"
"Wow! What are you saying?!" I felt a rush of heat to my head, and my whole body turned red from head to toe—I jumped up and shouted, "What nonsense are you spouting?! I'm your older sister! Who would be attracted to a little brat? Even though it's nice for an older man to date a younger woman, I still have human feelings! You're not even a young woman, you're a seedling! Do you think I have a pedophilic streak?!"
Listen to what nonsense I've been spouting! Ugh! Who told him to provoke me? But deep down, I can't help but ask myself—do I really not have a heartbeat? This book is first published on Xiaoxiang Novel Original Website. Please retain this information when reprinting!
[Volume 1: Encounter Chapter 13 - Fallen Flowers and a Lone Figure]
Huaiyuan's ambiguous smile left me somewhat flustered. I subconsciously touched the jade pendant on my chest—it seemed to be the only thing I still possessed that connected me to the 21st century. So, whenever I felt lost, I would unconsciously touch it, as if it could grant me magical power.
Clearly, Huaiyuan had also noticed my new habit—he casually asked me, "What is that? It seems important to you."
"Is it important? I can't say for sure whether it's important or not. It just makes me nostalgic for some old friends and some past events—perhaps my whole life will be shaped by it." Thinking of Jona, I couldn't help but feel a little sad.
"Oh, really? It wasn't a love token from your sweetheart, was it?" Huaiyuan's tone was slightly teasing—or perhaps, even a little probing?
I was a little annoyed by the faint disdain in his tone. "Who knows? Maybe it really can help me find my sweetheart? — Perhaps that's why it brought me here? By the way, I see your family is quite well-off. Why don't you help me see if it's worth anything?" Looking at Huaiyuan, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind—maybe he recognizes this jade? Otherwise, why would I have run into him?
Playing with the jade Guanyin I handed him, Huaiyuan's expression was very dismissive. "The jade quality is not bad, it's a piece of Hetian jade, but the carving is not very good—it's a real waste of this jade! I don't know why you treat it like a treasure? I have at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, of these kinds of things at home." He casually tossed the jade back to me.
"Really?" I took the jade, a little disappointed. "Are you sure you haven't seen it before?"
"Why would I have seen your things before?" Huaiyuan looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"Maybe you've seen him before, but you're too young to remember." Although I'm not interested in being someone's stepmother, if that kid is as handsome as Huaiyuan, it seems like a pretty good idea, doesn't it?
"Hehe, Huaiyuan, how old is your father?" I smiled, leaning closer to him with a mischievous grin—this kid absolutely refuses to call me "sister," so if I married his father, wouldn't he have to call me "mother"? The thought of that made me excited. "You look decent enough, so your father probably isn't too bad-looking either. At your age, your father must still be quite young. Didn't people in your time marry and have children very early?"
“My parents have been gone for a long time.” Huaiyuan looked at me expressionlessly. “Why are you asking about his age?”
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know." I was a little disappointed, but after thinking for a moment, I was still a little unwilling to give up. "Then you must have an older brother, right? How old is he?"
“My family has only had one son for five generations, so I’m sorry, I have no older brothers, uncles, cousins, or anything like that.” Huaiyuan crossed his arms, a mischievous smile on his face. “However, I do have a grandfather. Should I tell you his age?”
Oh dear, he saw through my scheme. That brat, why is he so clever? —Grandpa? Being a "stepmother" is already a stretch, being a "step-grandmother"? Forget it! I glared at him resentfully, stubbornly retorting, "Hey, he didn't ask you that many questions! Why are you glaring at me? Is being the only son in five generations something to be proud of?"
"What's going on? Didn't people in ancient times all have three wives and four concubines? How come there's only one son in five generations? What's the point of me having fun then?" I pouted and muttered to myself, feeling very unwilling.
"Don't worry. Although you are a bit ugly, and," Huaiyuan looked me up and down with a smile, then, upon meeting my murderous gaze, he continued slowly and deliberately, "and you are indeed a bit old. However, if you really can't get married in a year, then I'll reluctantly marry you."
"You? Forget it. By the time you grow up, my hair will be all white." I was a little annoyed by his nonchalant attitude. "Besides, if he's not the only one in his life, I'd rather remain unmarried for life! Rich kids like you will never understand what mutual love is, what true lifelong commitment is. Just you wait and see, once I, Ye Qing, make up my mind, there's nothing I can't do—so I will never let anything you worry about happen!"
"The only one in my life? An unwavering love for life?" Huaiyuan gazed at me intently, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Does such a thing really exist? Do you believe it?"
"Maybe, why don't you believe it?" It's ridiculous. What am I talking about with a child about love? It's utterly absurd! Thinking about this, I felt a little disheartened. "Alright, these complicated things, you wouldn't understand even if I explained them. You'll understand when you grow up. Let's talk about something else."
"Tell me how you got poisoned and how you found me." To be honest, I really wanted to know the answer to that question.
"It's not poisoning, it's detoxification, okay? If it weren't for someone's sudden departure, would I have been poisoned?" Huaiyuan glared at me hatefully.
"No way? This has nothing to do with me?" I innocently pointed at myself and shouted, "Then you're blaming me for your own random detoxification? I'll go my own way, it's none of your business..." Looking into Huaiyuan's eyes, I finally realized that I was in the wrong, and I swallowed the words "What's it to you?" and dared not utter another word.
"How are you now? Are you feeling very unwell?" I cautiously glanced at his eyes—not too bad. "I heard from that guy with the goatee that this poison seems pretty potent. Are you alright?"
"What? You know you're in the wrong? Worried?" Huaiyuan rolled his eyes at me. "Don't worry, this little bit of poison is no problem for me. But you, can you explain to me what 'your ancient people' means?" Huaiyuan narrowed his eyes and stared at me. "Don't tell me I misheard—you clearly said 'ancient people' twice."
"What ancient people? I'm talking about old friends." I waved my hand, deciding to end the conversation. "Alright, your condition has just started to improve, so let's not talk about it anymore. Go to sleep early. We can talk about it when you're better."