Everyone thought Shaoyao was acting recklessly, yet no one stopped her. At this point, any method was worth trying.
Bao Xia truly entered the room, her tone urgent as she knelt by the bedside, speaking with grave seriousness, "Miss, Miss, something terrible has happened! Lady Shaoyao learned of your illness and returned from Xinyu Pass without imperial permission. The Emperor wants to behead her! Please wake up, you must wake up now!"
Unsurprisingly, there was no response whatsoever.
Shaoyao bit her finger, pacing in circles while muttering to herself, "No, that wasn't the right thing to say. Xiao Liu'er was taught by Hua Hua—she would definitely know Xiao Liu'er wouldn't turn heartless so quickly. Yes, I didn't think this through properly."
The Emperor once again: "..."
Shaoyao suddenly stopped pacing and rushed straight into the room. Kicking off her shoes, she climbed onto the inner side of the bed, pulled out a hidden dagger from her person, and before anyone could intervene, swiftly slashed her own arm. Blood immediately gushed out, dripping onto the bedding.
She thrust her bleeding arm before Hua Hua, letting the blood drip onto her body and face. "Hua Hua, can you smell the blood? It's mine, all mine. You care about me the most, don't you? It hurts so much—come quickly and blow on it for me. Get up and scold me now..."
Even while holding back, Shaoyao's voice eventually choked with sobs. She felt utterly devastated, as if her heart had sunk to the soles of her feet, dragging her down with such weight that she could barely breathe.
She had imagined many future lives, but in every version, Hua Hua was there. She dared not imagine what would become of her if this person were gone. Yan Ge would die too—if both Hua Hua and Yan Ge were gone, she wouldn't want to live anymore. She simply couldn't go on!
"Brother-in-law!"
Brother-in-law... Shaoyao lifted her tear-filled eyes and saw that Yan Ge had also cut his arm. His blood flowed much more heavily than hers. She wanted to cry, yet also to laugh—Yan Ge was so petty, always competing with her in everything, even making his wound larger than hers.
Hearing the commotion, the Emperor couldn't resist entering the room. The Hua family had long wanted to come in and no longer held back, following him inside. When they saw the scene before them, everyone fell silent at once—no one knew what else could be said.
Madness? Certainly. Anyone could see the Regent King was on the verge of collapse, capable of any extreme action.
Foolishness? To outsiders, perhaps. But he clearly embraced it willingly.
As for the one who had rushed back from afar—even those previously unaware of her closeness with the Grand Tutor now understood. Yet, could such a method possibly be effective...
"Yan Ge! Did you see? Did you see it?"
Shaoyao's voice rose to a shrill pitch. Gu Yanxi's voice wasn't much better: "Her eyeball moved! Quick, check her pulse!"
Wiping her tears, Shaoyao hurriedly grasped Hua Hua's wrist. But it was no use—her own heart was beating too fast. So she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Master! Master, come quickly!"
Yu Lao had already entered upon hearing the noise earlier but was blocked by the crowd. Now, as he responded, a path immediately opened for him, and he rushed forward to check the pulse.
"The pulse has connected! It's connected!" After a careful examination, Yu Lao pushed through the crowd to write a prescription. "Quickly fetch the medicine! Bring the ginseng soup!"
Fu Dong flew over with a bowl, not spilling a single drop of the soup.
"Try feeding her and see if there's any response."Gu Yanxi lifted the person and propped her against himself, taking a sip of ginseng soup before passing it mouth-to-mouth. His hand rested against A Zhi’s throat for a long while before he finally turned back, his expression caught between laughter and tears. “She’s swallowing! A Zhi is swallowing!”
Though the swallowing motion was weak, she was indeed swallowing!
“Good, very good!”
Madam Zhu immediately burst into tears. Even after her husband’s two-year exile, she had remained largely unchanged, but these past few days had visibly worn her down.
“Miraculous Doctor Yu,” Hua Yizheng stammered several times before finding his words. “What… what should we do now?”
Yu Lao swept his gaze over the room full of people staring at him expectantly. “You can all rest easy now. I stake my decades of medical reputation on this—the eldest young lady will surely wake up!”
“That’s good, that’s truly wonderful.” Hua Yizheng’s eyes reddened as he watched the person still feeding her ginseng soup. Even with Shaoyao weeping and laughing beside them, the scene felt strangely harmonious.
Discreetly wiping the corner of his eye, Hua Yizheng turned to give instructions. “Staying here won’t help. Go back, attend to your duties, and rest well. Don’t let Zhi Er wake up to see you all looking exhausted.”
The crowd murmured assent and dispersed, but the Emperor remained. Without disturbing the three, he approached Yu Lao and asked, “When will the Grand Tutor wake?”
“In about three days.” Yu Lao retrieved silver needles from his medicine chest. “Your Majesty need not worry. Breaking before rebuilding is not a bad thing for the eldest young lady. Though it will take time, I will do everything in my power to restore her health.”
“I entrust her to your care. I hope the Grand Tutor lives a long life.”
Yu Lao bowed and handed the needles to his young apprentice. “Perform the acupuncture.”
“Yes.” Shaoyao beamed, her energy and spirit fully restored.
Three days—everyone coming and going in the Hua family memorized this timeframe.
As the deadline approached and Hua Zhi still hadn’t awakened, their hearts tightened with fear that this might only be false hope.
At daybreak, Gu Yanxi opened his eyes and instinctively glanced at the person in his arms. Seeing her smile at him, he reflexively smiled back before reality dawned. He opened his mouth to cry out, but his body betrayed him, pulling her tightly into an embrace.
He had waited and hoped, and finally, his waiting and hoping had paid off!
His A Zhi hadn’t abandoned him!
Hua Zhi wanted to lift her arms and return the embrace, but aside from her mind spinning a few thoughts, the rest of her body felt alien. She could only surrender to the hug—a bit tight, yet profoundly safe.
“Young Master?” Ying Chun, hearing movement, called out tentatively.
“Please summon Yu Lao and Shaoyao.”
Ying Chun guessed the meaning and dashed out, hand over her mouth.
Shaoyao, who had been sleeping in the adjacent room—where Gu Yanxi had earlier insisted she rest—rushed over without even her outer robe.
Taking Hua Zhi’s pulse and confirming the definite improvement, she could no longer hold back. Burying her face against Hua Hua’s chest, she wept bitterly—she had nearly lost her home again!
Yu Lao arrived, followed by members of the Hua family from every branch, and eventually even the Emperor. Though Hua Zhi still spent most of her time unconscious, knowing she was improving was the most potent reassurance.
Hua Zhi regained the strength to speak after another three days. Her voice was hoarse, but to those who cared for her, it sounded like the most beautiful music."I just slept for a while. Perhaps it's because I haven't been able to sleep so soundly in a long time that I ended up like this." Hua Zhi smiled. "I didn't even have a single dream."
PS: Apologies, I'm polishing this word by word.
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