Chapter 84

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Characters:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

The bed curtains were half-drawn.

The person holding the candle stood by the side of the bed, half of their face hidden in the candlelight, their cold and beautiful black brows and eyes covered by the candle flame in a warm hue; he smiled at this moment: "You're awake."

Shaowei propped herself up with her hand and sat up with effort, her thick black hair cascading over her shoulders, making her face look even paler, but her gaze remained sharp, and there was still vigilance left over from her dream between her brows.

She stared at the boy holding the candle, her tone carrying some dissatisfaction as she questioned: "Why haven't you left even at midnight? Do you intend to watch me all the time?"

Anyone who wakes up from a dream to find a not-so-familiar person standing by the bed would feel very uncomfortable.

And Shaowei was seriously injured, prone to falling into nightmares at the slightest provocation, completely unaware of anyone approaching; shouting dream talk was a small embarrassment, but being passive in ignorance and unconsciousness was what Shaowei resisted and tabooed most.

Facing the questioning, Liu Qi's expression and tone were both as usual, unhurried, and he simply explained: "A Ya went to cook medicine for you; I heard you shouting from the outer room, so I came to check."

Hearing this, Shaowei subconsciously turned her head to look outside, as if exploring the "outer room" he mentioned.

Seeing this, Liu Qi said: "You may not know yet; this place is not somewhere else, but my bedroom."

Shaowei was stunned, looked at the quilt covering her and the bed, then looked at whether there was bedding on the ground under the bed.

"Rest assured, I'm not so poor as to sleep on the ground; the outer room is a study and can also be used for lodging." Liu Qi said to her: "During the day there are many eyes; you were seriously injured and unconscious, so for stability and convenience of care, I had no choice but to place you here first."

Shaowei's complexion eased slightly, but she still kept her eyes lowered without speaking.

Then she heard Liu Qi say: "You look better now; if you don't fall unconscious again, there will be no need for someone to watch you all the time. Before you leave, no unrelated person will be allowed to enter this inner chamber without permission, including myself."

His tone was casual and ordinary, even to the point of being nonchalant, but it caused a hint of astonishment to rise in Shaowei's heart.

Shaowei had always had a strong sense of territory; she needed to mark her territory to feel safe, but she was very clear that this was not her turf, and if she marked it randomly it would seem very unreasonable, like an unreasonable quarrelsome cuckoo occupying a magpie's nest. If the goal could be achieved, being a bit bad didn't matter, only fearing that words wouldn't count, appearing to be recklessly mischievous without ability, which would be very embarrassing.

But she didn't expect Liu Qi to actively give this room to her.

Shaowei subconsciously raised her head.

But saw the youth holding a candle in one hand, raising the other hand, gesturing toward her: "Also, this is for you."

Shaowei stared intently, and saw that what he held in his hand was an unsheathed short knife.

Shaowei suppressed the surprise in her heart and asked with a serious expression: "Why give me this?"

Liu Qi answered casually: "The poisoned knife you originally had already has cracks and cannot be used anymore; otherwise, if it breaks at a critical moment, you will suffer a great loss."

"..." Shaowei looked at him, and said again: "I'm asking why you would give me a knife."

"A knife under the pillow brings peace of mind; perhaps you'll have fewer nightmares." Liu Qi casually pushed the knife forward again: "I've always done this before; it works very well; you can try it too."

Shaowei looked at him, as if trying to understand his mind: "However, since the two rooms are adjacent, if I have a knife, I'm afraid tonight it will be your turn to have nightmares."

The youth's thick eyelashes flashed with a smile under the candlelight: "It doesn't matter; I have many more knives under my pillow; if you come to kill me, we'll draw blades and each rely on our own skill."

"Then you absolutely cannot be my opponent." Shaowei said with a somewhat arrogant expression, finally reaching out to take the short knife.

"But I still have other helpers, so I still suggest you draw your knife cautiously." Liu Qi said casually, turning around to put the candle back in its original place.

With a "swish," Shaowei, who had just been advised to draw her knife cautiously, had already drawn the short knife.

The straight, clean blade reflected her bright, shining eyes.

Looking at this rare good knife, Shaowei suddenly thought of Liu Qi's Chi Dragon Sanchi Sword; it seemed to be of the same material as this knife.

Shaowei looked at her own eyes on the blade, smelling the candlewick air lingering inside the curtains.

After a moment, she put the knife back into its sheath, turned her head to look at Liu Qi, only to see that he had already put the candle back on the candle stand, standing before that bronze candlestick as tall as a person, holding a lighter stick, adjusting several crooked candle wicks.

He just stood with his back to her, tending the candle flame, listening to her draw and sheath the knife on the bed.

"Hey." Shaowei called out to him.

Liu Qi, being called "hey" for the first time in his life, turned his head, only to see her sitting there; not knowing if it was because she had a knife in her hand, her shoulders and back were much straighter, and her expression was much more composed; at this moment she said to him with a serious expression: "Arisaema, snake bed seed, half-side lotus..."

Shaowei said, seeing that Liu Qi had no reaction and just kept looking at her, so she frowned and urged: "The antidote prescription, write it down!"

Liu Qi still stood by the candle stand, with an inexplicable smile in his eyes: "After you finish speaking, I'll write them all down together."

Shaowei snorted: "The prescription is very long."

But seeing Liu Qi unmoved, Shaowei slightly raised her chin and first said: "If you remember wrong, I won't say it a second time."

Then she recited nearly twenty kinds of medicine in one breath, among which were not a few obscure medicinal herbs that sounded awkward.

After Shaowei finished reciting, she stared at Liu Qi's expression and movements, only to see him sit down by the low table, grind ink, lift his brush, and write; his movements were unhurried, but after putting brush to paper, there was no pause.

Then he immediately came to the bedside, pinching up that piece of paper with two fingers to show Shaowei: "If there are any errors or omissions, please instruct me."

Shaowei stretched her neck to look closely, her expression quite serious, preparing to correct errors extensively.

Papermaking existed by this time, but paper had not yet been widely used for writing; at this moment Shaowei stared at what was written on that uncommon paper, first seeing that this person wrote extremely beautiful characters; at a glance it was clear that since childhood he had received the full instruction of a Calligraphy Master, with both technique and style being very perfect, making Shaowei very jealous.

Looking at the content... if one had to find some fault, it would probably be that a few obscure medicinal herbs were not specific to him, so he wrote two homophone characters instead, but the person grabbing the medicine would definitely be able to understand.

Shaowei was not the type to nitpick; she did not bring up this mistake to say it, but always felt the other party was showing off; being as competitive as she was, she couldn't help but say with her mouth: "It's not that remarkable; just never forgetting what one hears; I can do that too."

Liu Qi asked curiously and amusedly: "Then why can't both of us be remarkable?"

Shaowei, failing to gain the upper hand as she wished, didn't want to speak; she simply lay back down by herself.

"Thank you." Liu Qi smiled and threw out this sentence of thanks, then went to the outer room and gave the prescription to Deng Hu.

There was no need to trouble oneself to go outside to grab medicine; A Ya and A He soon prepared the medicine, and after it was cooked, they brought it over together with Shaowei's bowl.

It was a pity that Liu Qi was in the outer study and Shaowei was in the inner chamber; otherwise, if the two drank facing each other, Shaowei would surely gain the upper hand.

Liu Qi was not good at taking medicine, and because of his background, although his eating and drinking were not overly particular, he was accustomed to observing order and decorum.

And Shaowei was swift like a tiger; holding her breath, she gulped down a bowl of medicine in one go, then with the swiftness of thunder too fast to cover one's ears, she grabbed the chopsticks and shoveled a big mouthful of rice into her mouth to surround and clean up the remaining medicine taste.

A Ya, who had just taken the wine ladle intending to feed her, saw this scene and couldn't help but be stunned; she had really never seen a patient recover so quickly.

A Ya couldn't help but think of what she had discovered when diagnosing Shaowei's pulse.

This woman's pulse was strange; the qi within her could be called vast and powerful, but it seemed only half was innate, while the other half was acquired later, and traces of toxic residue were found in her body, though not enough to threaten her life—it must have been the result of extremely meticulous and careful nursing care... In short, this was a body that had endured many hardships and tribulations, and it was probably precisely because of this that she possessed such extraordinary recovery ability.

Apart from this rare recovery ability, Shaowei's current high spirits also had something to do with the blade placed under her pillow; with a blade at hand, her mind was at ease, and she felt more spirited.

After gulping down a few mouthfuls of rice and successfully cutting off the medicinal taste in her mouth, Shaowei gripped her chopsticks and looked outside.

Footsteps fell, and Liu Qi, who had finished his medicine in the outer room, walked to the edge of the bamboo curtain and stopped; he followed his promise not to intrude anymore, standing only outside the half-drawn bamboo curtain.

Shaowei could only see his robe below the waist, and heard him take the initiative to say: "Now that you are much more awake, is there anything you want to ask me?"

Shaowei looked at the bowls, plates, rice, and dishes before her, turned her head, and asked: "Do you have food?"

Outside the finely woven green bamboo curtain, Liu Qi paused for a moment before answering: "I have already had my late meal; you need not share with me, just eat."

Shaowei made an "oh" sound, and then hesitated no more.

With the high fever gone, her physical strength recovered somewhat, and her thoughts became clearer; Shaowei guessed that since Liu Qi could take people to set an ambush at Yundang Mountain and also learn of news from Zhu Zhi's side in time, he must have many people available to him behind the scenes; although some places in the Commandery Prince's Mansion were watched more closely, quietly going out to buy some food and bring it back should still be a simple matter.

Moreover, since something had just happened at Yundang Mountain, he should indeed be more cautious while in the mansion.

Thinking of this, Shaowei's chewing slowed by a beat; turning her head, she saw Liu Qi still standing there, so she tentatively asked: "Since Zhu Zhi is not dead, does he know that the events in Yundang Mountain were your doing? If he knows or guesses it was you, he will surely not let it rest."

"He knows it was me," the youth said in a very ordinary tone; "Whether he lives or dies, what happened in Yundang Mountain is destined not to be hidden. Him being alive may not be entirely a bad thing; it can just be used to prove my innocence."

Shaowei did not understand his meaning—using Zhu Zhi, this enemy, to prove his nonexistent innocence?

She pinched another bite of steamed dish and stuffed it into her mouth; Shaowei did not continue to ask Liu Qi about his thoughts in detail, for some things, if asked too closely, seemed like wanting to get involved, and she had not yet decided on her next move.

Since there was no clear intention of cooperation, Shaowei no longer probed any questions, only eating seriously.

Her sense of taste had recovered by thirty percent, and she could smell the aroma of the food; however, it was fine as long as she didn't focus on eating, but the moment she put her mind to eating, Shaowei suddenly thought of that birthday banquet that had never been put in the pot, and the wine Jiang Fu had never brought back.

Not only was the wine not brought back, but the person was also lost.

Shaowei's eye sockets suddenly turned sour, and she felt both resentment and anxiety in her heart; she could only chew and swallow the rice with more force, holding back her tears tightly.

She had already eaten a meal of ice and frost mixed rice during the day; at this time, it was really not good to eat another meal of salty tears mixed rice.

After a long time without hearing any sound from the inner chamber, Liu Qi asked: "May I ask you a few questions?"

While chewing rice, Shaowei thought that she had indeed been right; asking questions was often a matter of exchange; fortunately, she had not asked him anything deeply, so she could now calmly say: "I have not yet made a decision; everything must wait until I see the household slave who is my companion."

This meant that she would not have a deep talk with him before that "household slave" arrived.

Liu Qi guessed she must be waiting for that household slave to bring back some news, and then make a decision based on the news.

Although she had refused his questions, she had also been open and clear.

"Alright, then let's not talk about these for now," Liu Qi said; after thinking for a moment, he still asked: "May I know your name?"

Surely this matter didn't have to wait until her household slave arrived to be said?

Shaowei, however, remained silent for a while before saying: "My surname is Jiang."

As for her given name, she had no intention of telling him.

"Alright, I understand," Liu Qi said, not pressing further; he lifted his foot and left from in front of the bamboo curtain.

Upon receiving Liu Qi's signal, Deng Hu let the half-raised bamboo curtain fall completely.

Shaowei's hearing had recovered quite a bit; she vaguely heard Deng Hu, as he lowered the bamboo curtain, say in a low voice to Liu Qi: "Young Master, it is time to change the medicine; should I go find A He?"

Liu Qi made a sound of assent; his voice was farther away now; presumably, the study was also very spacious, and the place where she stayed should be at the very back of the study; Shaowei's impressions of the furnishings of such wealthy families' houses came from Lu Hou Fu.

Shaowei knew Liu Qi also had injuries, presumably on his left arm, and they seemed not light; when close, one could smell some blood qi and medicine qi, but his robe was wide, so those who didn't know could not easily tell.

Nowadays, eating a meal was also a physical labor for Shaowei; after finishing a meal, her forehead was actually covered with sweat.

However, once this sweat came out, her body felt somewhat clear.

The night was still deep; Shaowei lay down and forced herself to sleep and rest.

I don't know if it was because of that short knife under the pillow, but this time Shaowei did not have nightmares again; however, when she woke up the next day, there was still a bit of tear light at the corner of her eyes.

In her dream, she returned to Taoxi Township and argued a lot with Jiang Fu; this was not a nightmare, but it was not easier than a nightmare either, and could even hurt people more.

Shaowei opened her eyes and rested for a good while before trying to sit up.

That day, Liu Qi did not enter the inner chamber to disturb her all day.

As for Shaowei, besides eating and changing medicine, she just lay there; A Ya and A He came and went from time to time—two people who could not speak, one person who did not speak—and the room was quiet all day.

By the third day, Shaowei felt she could try to get out of bed and walk around.

But before Shaowei could propose it herself, the opportunity to get out of bed suddenly came.

Approaching noon, A Ya suddenly hurried into the inner chamber holding a set of clothes, gesturing to Shaowei with a serious and anxious expression.

Shaowei could not understand at all, but she could see A Ya's anxiety, so she did not ask more or hesitate; she immediately cooperated and let A Ya help her change clothes.

After changing into the clothes, Shaowei moved to sit on the edge of the bed; A Ya shook a small copper bell in her sleeve, and A He quickly walked in; he held a box, hurriedly came to Shaowei's front, knelt on one side, and opened the box.