Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

"They said he had a convulsion at night. We asked the court doctor to see him and he prescribed some medicine, but he is still in a coma." Heng Zhi bowed his head and answered respectfully.

He Lanting's throat choked when he heard this, and regret surged in his heart, but he said calmly, "Don't kneel here with me. Go to my room and get the blood ganoderma and send it to Xunchunyuan."

"This..." Heng Zhi hesitated.

The blood ganoderma was presented by the foreign states at the banquet for foreign vassal states after the new emperor ascended the throne. It was said to have the miraculous effect of bringing the dead back to life and prolonging life. There were five stalks in total. His Majesty kept two for himself, presented one to the empress dowager, awarded one to Concubine Cen, and the last one was given to the most favored Duke Anguo. Duke Anguo originally gave it to Old Lady Lou as a filial gift, but the old lady loved her grandson so much that she gave it to Helan Ting.

Heng Zhi naturally wanted to leave such precious medicinal materials for his own son, but when he was about to persuade him, Helan Ting gave him a cold look and stopped him. He had to accept the offer respectfully and leave.

The solemn and dim ancestral hall seemed particularly quiet at night. The rows of spirit tablets were frequently maintained and wiped, so they were shrouded in a hazy glow under the dim candlelight. He Lanting could only hear the crackling sound of the candle flames, mixed with his own heavy breathing, making this long night seem particularly unbearable.

He Lanting felt a little cold. The hot sweat he had produced when he was punished had long since cooled down, soaking his underwear and sticking to his body. He thought he must have a fever. After all, the bamboo ruler soaked in tung oil was no different from a branding iron. It whipped his hands until they were bleeding, and they were only hastily bandaged. Now he felt pain and itchiness, so it was normal for it to cause a fever.

He had been brought up in luxury and had never suffered such pain. His body was tired after holding out for half the night, but his mind was exceptionally clear. In his mind, there was Lin Xi's sad and tearful face, and then there was Xie's angry eyes, which made his heart surge and he felt agitated for a long time.

It is said that no one knows a son better than his mother, and his mother really does understand him best. He has been intelligent since childhood, proficient in all six arts, and is used to being the center of attention. Although he appears humble and reasonable to others, he is actually quite arrogant inside. So when he learned from the letter that this cousin, who had a weird personality but was well-known for her talent since childhood, was taken home by his mother, in addition to sympathy for her experience, he also had a strange sense of comparison.

You, Lin Xiwen, are talented and capable of defeating the enemy with martial arts. I, He Lanting, am also talented and dare to stand up for justice. If we were to compete with each other, who would be better?

With such a secret thought in mind, he met Lin Xi on the day he returned from his study tour. She was dressed in plain clothes but her beauty could not be concealed. In a quick encounter, she amazed the proud young man. After the snake disaster, having seen how she remained calm in the face of danger, He Lanting became extremely curious about her. He could not help wanting to find out more about her, and his desire to compete with her became more and more urgent.

But he was used to being arrogant, and although he secretly wanted to compete with Lin Xi, after knowing that Lin Xi was worthy of the reputation, he was still unwilling to admit that he had lost to her. That's why he showed disbelief when he heard Lin Xi say on the corridor bridge that she had finished reading so many rare ancient books.

He thought he had done it covertly, but he hadn't expected Lin Xi to be so perceptive. She spoke through his thoughts in one sentence, and her cold words created a huge gap between them. He turned away, but now that he thought about it, he was just angry out of shame.

This anger reached its peak when he heard the servants discussing that Lin Xi had close contacts with the Chu family and that the two families were about to form a friendly relationship. He was angry that she clearly said that she was not the kind of woman who only wanted to get married, but now, after only meeting the second son of the Chu family once, she was so impatient to accept his things and wanted to marry him right away.

So he thought he had caught Lin Xi's handle, and under the banner of being her brother, he broke into Lin Xi's study without regard for etiquette and reprimanded her in righteous words. However, all this was just an attempt to conceal his growing love for Lin Xi.

This reminded him of when he was a child studying in the Imperial College. There was a young man in his class who clearly had a crush on a young lady who was also studying in the academy. But every time the others asked him about it, he denied it flatly and even deliberately made some noise to bully the young lady, either breaking her pen or smearing her paper black. The young lady was so angry that she never came to the Imperial College again.

At that time, he didn't understand why the young man, who obviously liked the young lady, spoke harshly to the person he loved. If one day he had someone he loved, he would definitely speak softly to her and take good care of her. But now, how was his behavior different from that of the young man? They were just unwilling to lower their proud heads.

He Lanting knelt all night without moving, as if he was merging into those black spirit tablets. When the candle burned out and the darkness was about to swallow him up, a ray of morning light leaked in from the narrow window high up in the ancestral hall, enveloping him and separating him from the wood carvings and clay sculptures in two different worlds.

In Xunchun Courtyard, Lin Xi's room was crowded with people inside and outside. Except for the Duke who was on duty early, almost all the masters had arrived. Xie had not slept all night and rushed over early. Yu heard that Lin Xi was seriously ill early in the morning, so she brought Lan Zhi and Lan Xue to visit. Even Old Madam Lou sent a nanny to deliver medicinal materials.

Doctor Li, under the eager gazes of everyone in the room, felt a few more white hairs on his head. He took Lin Xi's pulse tremblingly. Because of his age, he didn't have so many taboos. He carefully examined her complexion and then he breathed a sigh of relief.

"My cousin's pulse is stable and she is fine now."

After hearing this, everyone finally smiled. Only Xie was still worried and asked, "Why hasn't he woken up yet?"

"Don't worry, ma'am. My cousin was originally depressed, and her old illness triggered a relapse. It broke out together yesterday, making her condition more serious. Now that her depression has dissipated, I will give her a few needles to help her strengthen her body. She will wake up in less than half a day." Doctor Li replied, shaking his beard.

After hearing this, Xie finally felt relieved and her body softened. "That's good. Please ask the doctor to give me acupuncture."

"Sister-in-law, don't worry too much. Xixi is a blessed person. Now that she is ill, she will surely have a smooth life, safe and happy in the future." Yu was quick to support her and said softly.

After Doctor Li finished acupuncture, Mrs. Xie wanted to stay with Lin Xi until she woke up, but she didn't sleep well last night and could not endure it any longer, so she was persuaded to go back by Mrs. Yu and Zhenzhu.

Lin Xi also saw that the time was almost up. When the sun began to set, she pulled herself out of the system and slowly opened her eyes.