Chapter 351: The Darkness Before Dawn

"Wait until I've figured it out, then I'll tell you." Ye Qingran exhaled a turbid breath. "But, Sir National Master, rest assured, it won't be those heinous, inhumane demands!"

Having said that, she took a deep breath, "I'm tired, I'm heading back first."

She walked step by step toward the outside, moving very slowly.

No matter how faltering her steps, her back remained aloof and proud; even covered in wounds, she stood straight as a pine. It seemed no hardship in this world could crush her!

Fu Hanxiu felt nothing but pity. He stepped forward to support her, but she refused.

By the bath, the master and servants all fell silent.

After a long while, Fu San finally snapped out of his earlier shock, looking at Fu Er with strong dissatisfaction.

Sensing Fu San's gaze, Fu Er glanced his way, then quickly looked away, not daring to meet his eyes.

His heart was filled with guilt.

"How should I even speak to you!"

Fu San pointed his index finger at Fu Er, trembling for a long while, wearing an expression of not knowing what to say, before finally forcing out, "You, you, what should I even say about you?!"

Fu Er kept his head down, lips pressed, saying nothing.

Only now did he realize how outrageously wrong he had been.

He had scolded Ye Qingran for approaching Your Majesty merely out of greed for fame and profit, with ulterior motives, even trying to use money to drive her away from Your Majesty's side. Yet Ye Qingran turned and transferred the Xuan Gu poison from Your Majesty into her own body, and for the rest of her life she would endure hellish torment in His place.

He was wrong!

Outrageously wrong!

"Your Majesty..." Fu San stopped paying attention to Fu Er, walked up to Fu Hanxiu, and called out softly.

Fu Hanxiu knelt beside the bath, watching the direction Ye Qingran had gone, his whole spirit lost, exuding an air of decadence.

"Fu San, carry out my order: at any cost, find a way to eradicate the Xuan Gu poison! Remember, at any cost!" Fu Hanxiu said in a low voice, his tone laced with madness and resolve.

"Yes!"

Fu San's eyes were firm.

Miss Ye took on Your Majesty's torment from the Xuan Gu poison; they ought to spare no effort to find a way to eliminate it!

"Also, follow her and protect her well!"

Fu San received the order and departed.

Ye Qingran stepped out of the room, and the outside sunlight hit her, making her feel both hot and cold, as if caught between ice and fire.

She took some medicinal pills, and after a while she barely regained a bit of strength.

Naturally she dared not return to Ting Yu Xuan in this state; not to mention that Han Xing Leng Yue would spot the problem at a glance, and she also didn't want the two children to worry about her.

Thus, Ye Qingran found a place to rest, intending to recover her vitality before returning.

By the time she woke up, the sky was already turning dark.

Inside Ting Yu Xuan, the two children had played all day; as darkness fell, they began to miss their mother.

"Xing Er sister, Yue Er sister, where exactly did Mother go? Why hasn't she returned?"

Han Xing Leng Yue were left speechless by the question. They also didn't know where Miss had gone. Lately she seemed mysterious—either locking herself in her room to study or running out, never taking the two of them along. It seemed she was hiding something from them.

However, Miss forbade them from asking, and they didn't dare to.

"Xiao Hu, Xiao Chen, wait a bit longer; Miss said she'd be back by nightfall at the latest!"

"But I'm really worried about Mother!" Xiao Hu furrowed his brow.

"Me too—I feel uncomfortable here; is something wrong with Mother?" Xiao Chen clutched his chest, where a dull ache came and went, making him miserable, and he couldn't help thinking of Mother.

Han Xing Leng Yue exchanged a glance; though they hadn't been worried before, they now couldn't help but worry.

This was the first time since arriving in Xiliang that Miss had disappeared without a word for so long.

But before they could worry for long, a commotion came from the doorway.

"Xiao Hu, Xiao Chen."

A familiar voice came from the doorway. The door was pushed open, and Ye Qingran's voice appeared in the last slant of sunset.

"Mother, you've finally returned!"

"Mother, I miss you so much!"

Xiao Hu and Xiao Chen immediately lunged toward Ye Qingran.

Seeing this, Han Xing Leng Yue finally let out a relieved breath.

Ye Qingran's condition at this moment was actually not good—it was somewhat worse than usual. However, because it had grown dark and she had rested for an afternoon, it wasn't very noticeable.

"Mother had some business and came back late, making you worry." Ye Qingran kissed the children's foreheads, feeling their warm touch, and her heart welled with contentment.

The agonies she had endured at the National Master's residence earlier today were no longer important.

As long as the children are well, everything is worth it.

Xiao Hu, Xiao Chen, Mother finally found you after great difficulty; this time she will never allow anyone to separate us mother and child!

Ye Qingran silently said in her heart.

"Mother, why are you crying?"

Ye Qingran blinked her moist eyes, shook her head, "Maybe Mother missed you because she hadn't seen you all day."

"Hehe, Mother, can Xiao Hu sleep with you tonight?"

"I want to sleep with Mother too!"

"All right." Ye Qingran was eager for that.

Leng Yue watched this scene, a warm smile appearing on her face, but Han Xing tugged at her sleeve from beside her.

Han Xing led her inside, then asked carefully, "Yue Er, have you noticed that Miss seems a bit off?"

Leng Yue, usually not as meticulous as Han Xing, was momentarily surprised, "Really? I think Miss is quite normal!"

Han Xing furrowed her brows, her thoughts racing.

She always felt the miss was hiding something from them; besides, given the miss's nature, not seeing the two children for a whole day wouldn't normally bring her to tears—she wasn't that sort of soft person.

"Perhaps I'm overthinking it," Han Xing said, though she kept it in mind.

That night, the two children finally got to sleep in the same blanket with their mother, just as they had wanted.

One child on each side, they slept beside Ye Qingran, nestled in her arms, listening to her tell a bedtime story.

Not long after, they fell asleep one after another.

Even after falling asleep, they still clung to Ye Qingran's arms, refusing to let go.

The night grew deeper.

The sound of the two children's breathing filled her ears, Ye Qingran's lips curved slightly, and a warm feeling rose in her heart.

She looked at the two children, hoping that every day thereafter she could stay by their side and watch them grow up little by little.

The night had grown very deep, yet Ye Qingran kept her eyes open, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

She knew that the Mysterious Gu that had just entered the new host would cause trouble; in the second half of the night, she simply could not sleep peacefully.

Sure enough, shortly after midnight, her whole body began to suffer unbearable pain. To avoid affecting the children, she could only get up and endure that excruciating torment once more on the soft couch beside them.

The Mysterious Gu raged like a mad thing, rampaging through her meridians; wherever it passed, it felt as if a sharp blade had sliced through, the pain piercing her heart.

She gritted her teeth, letting the Mysterious Gu run rampant, yet she made no sound.

This state lasted for several hours, until the east began to whiten, and only then was she finally freed.

The next day, when Fu Hanxiu appeared in the guise of Wuhen at Ting Yu Xuan, he noticed that Ye Qingran had grown thinner.