Chapter 64

The lingering light rain accompanied Yiling and Xie Hengzhi on their journey back, drizzling all the way.

They were almost at the capital, but the sky still hadn’t cleared.

Yiling opened a small gap in the window and gazed out at the misty rain, her thoughts seemingly drifting far away.

Xie Hengzhi sat beside her, blatantly holding the prescription written by Meng Qingyun, carefully analyzing it word by word.

This person came from a family of doctors. She had learned medicine from her father since childhood, had never married, and dedicated her life to saving lives and healing the wounded, constantly moving from place to place.

She had written down the places she had stayed, most of which were impoverished areas.

The only exception was when, at the age of eighteen, the Yi family from the capital had invited her into their household to serve, and she only left seven years later.

The Yi family…

A light sigh suddenly came from beside her.

Xie Hengzhi looked up and saw Yiling staring out the window, a faint trace of worry on her face.

“What’s bothering you?”

He casually folded the “prescription” and tucked it into his sleeve as he asked.

Is it obvious?

Yiling touched her face, thinking that it shouldn’t be that easy to tell.

“Don’t you like rainy days?”

He asked again.

Who would like rainy days?

They were escorting prisoners, and the number of people accompanying them had doubled since their departure. The journey was already slow, and with the weather like this, it was almost impossible to move forward.

Fortunately, after one more night, they should reach the capital tomorrow.

Yiling closed the window and casually said, “It’s nothing; it just feels annoyed looking at the rain.”

She then bent down to rub her knee, muttering, “Why does it hurt so much?”

Xie Hengzhi glanced at her. “Isn’t this your old problem?”

Hearing his sudden question, Yiling’s brows twitched slightly.

So, the Shang family has had this problem all along?

However, it wasn’t something that couldn’t be talked about, so she replied casually, “Yeah, it’s especially painful today, maybe because it’s been raining for so long.”

After saying this, she subtly glanced at Xie Hengzhi.

He didn’t press the issue but instead leaned over and extended his hand to massage Yiling’s knee.

Outside, the rain was light, and the carriage felt quite cold.

Yiling wanted to move away, but Xie Hengzhi’s palm was warm, and even through her clothes, it alleviated the ache in her knee.

“You’re in poor health, always suffering from illnesses. This won’t do,” Xie Hengzhi said as he massaged her. “How about I find a doctor to take care of you?”

That did make sense.

No matter what situation she was in, Yiling thought her health should always come first.

But she wasn’t a child anymore, and she wasn’t in such a sickly condition either.

“Finding a doctor to look after me… wouldn’t that be making a big deal out of nothing?”

“Health is never something to be trivialized,” Xie Hengzhi replied. “And in the capital, many wealthy families have doctors on hand.”

Yiling listened to his reasoning and nodded thoughtfully.

“Then let’s wait until we get to the capital.”

“Yes, there are plenty of doctors in the capital, but female doctors are rare. It might take some time to find one.”

Xie Hengzhi said, then suddenly stopped his movement and looked up. “What do you think of Doctor Meng?”

When Yiling heard him mention Meng Qingyun, she froze for a moment, not replying right away.

Xie Hengzhi continued, “Doctor Meng is a woman, and her medical skills are excellent. She is steady and reliable, perfect for the job.”

As he spoke, Yiling studied his expression.

Seeing his clear eyes, it seemed that he truly just admired Meng Qingyun.

“Doctor Meng is very good,” Yiling said slowly. “But she’s not from the capital. It wouldn’t be a long-term solution to keep her here, right?”

Xie Hengzhi nodded in agreement.

“True, then we’ll decide once we reach the Shangjing.”

The persistent light rain finally stopped by noon.

Now, Yiling and the others had to cross the last mountain. To ensure they could reach the inn before nightfall, they decided to skip the afternoon rest and press on through the mountain without stopping.

However, the constant rain had made the path especially muddy.

Having become accustomed to the bumps, Yiling didn’t find it as hard as before. She could even take a nap while leaning against a soft pillow in the carriage.

Before she knew it, it had gotten dark.

Feeling the carriage stop, she sleepily opened her eyes and asked, “Have we reached the inn?”

“Not yet, still descending the mountain.”

Xie Hengzhi replied, then opened the window.

They saw Li Chun approach the carriage and say to Xie Hengzhi, “Sir, there’s been a landslide ahead, and the road is blocked.”

Yiling immediately leaned forward and asked, “A landslide? Is it serious? Are there any injuries?”

“Not at all.”

Li Chun answered, “This mountain road is usually quite deserted, so the local county office probably doesn’t know yet.”

He then informed Xie Hengzhi, “I’ve already sent someone to notify the county office. If they act fast, with their help, the debris can be cleared by tonight, and we can continue tomorrow. But it seems we’ll have to spend the night here in the mountains.”

Li Chun, who often dealt with such situations on missions, wasn’t panicked. He simply informed Xie Hengzhi of the situation.

Only after finishing did he realize this trip was different because they had family members with them. He quickly added, “Or, we could turn back and spend the night at the inn at the foot of the mountain, then come back up once the road is cleared.”

Before Xie Hengzhi could respond, Yiling asked, “Won’t that delay us for two or three days?”

Li Chun nodded. “Yes, but there’s nowhere else to stay. The nearest place is the inn at the foot of the mountain.”

Yiling frowned and glanced back at the caravan.

She would rather go to the inn than stay out in this wilderness.

But if they delayed for a few more days, the three despicable criminals would live longer!

Yiling said fiercely, “Wouldn’t that just let them off the hook?”

Li Chun didn’t immediately understand Yiling’s meaning and looked at Xie Hengzhi in confusion.

Seeing Yiling’s teeth-gritting expression, Xie Hengzhi instructed, “Then let’s set up camp nearby.”

Li Chun gave the order, and the whole group changed direction, stopping in the flattest area of the nearby forest.

He then efficiently organized the camp. Though simple, it was enough to shield them from the wind and rain.

By the time everything was arranged, it was already completely dark.

Yiling sat by the fire, eating dry rations while sighing.

This mountain forest must get plenty of rain. The plants were thick and lush, and there were probably many insects.

Even though they had set up camp, she didn’t dare close her eyes to sleep.

Sigh, but what if she can’t hold on and falls asleep, only to wake up tomorrow morning and find herself covered in bugs?

Thinking of this, Yiling felt truly miserable.

It would be one thing to sleep in a desolate mountain, but she couldn’t even get a bite of fresh food.

If only she had a bowl of hot vegetable porridge at this moment…

The more Yiling thought about it, the hungrier she became, yet the dry rations in her hand were impossible to swallow.

With nothing to do, she listlessly glanced around in the firelight and saw Xie Hengzhi’s back under a large tree.

He was speaking with Li Chun, holding something in his hand and repeatedly feeding it into his mouth.

Yiling squinted to take a closer look, then stood up.

She walked quietly behind Xie Hengzhi, tiptoeing to see what was in his hand.

“What are you eating?”

The sudden voice startled Xie Hengzhi. He turned around, saw it was Yiling, and continued chewing slowly.

“Wild fruit.”

Yiling pursed her lips without saying anything, just staring at the palm of his hand.

Noticing her longing, Xie Hengzhi added, “It’s very sour.”

Yiling didn’t believe him.

She gave Xie Hengzhi a sideways glance, reached out, and said, “Whether it’s sour or not, I’ll decide once I taste it.”

Xie Hengzhi made a sound of agreement, opened his hand, and offered the wild fruit to Yiling.

Yiling picked the roundest, biggest one, wiped it off, and bit into it immediately.

“Hiss!”

Before she could even chew, the sourness hit her head.

“Are you a hungry ghost reincarnated?!”

Yiling spat the fruit out of her mouth, taking a long time to recover. “You eat fruit this sour?!”

Xie Hengzhi didn’t respond but just smiled at her, looking completely unbothered. He then threw another wild fruit into his own mouth.

Yiling felt like he was mocking her, and unable to stand it, she turned to walk away.

After taking two steps, she heard Xie Hengzhi say behind her, “Go catch some wild fowl; someone’s hungry.”

Yiling paused and slowly turned back around.

Less than half an hour later, Li Chun came back with several wild chickens.

The men worked efficiently, quickly killing the chickens, plucking the feathers, and then cleaning out the intestines in a nearby water source.

Soon, the chicken pieces were skewered on branches and placed over the fire.

Their movements were skilled—brushing with oil, applying seasonings, flipping the meat. It was clear they were experienced at this sort of thing.

Yiling watched them for a while, her confidence growing. She really wanted to try it herself.

Perhaps her eager gaze was too obvious, as Li Chun noticed and handed her a chicken.

“Madam, would you like to try?”

“Me?” Yiling glanced at the others, then took the branch. “Alright, I’ll help.”

Once she said this, Li Chun made a gesture, and everyone stepped aside, their attention turning to Yiling.

Yiling: “…”

It didn’t need to be so formal.

She cleared her throat, looked around, and then said, “I’ll go roast it over there; don’t crowd me.”

With that, she walked off with the wild chicken in hand.

About half an hour later.

Mallow came over with a water bag.

“Madam, I went to fetch some water. Do you want—” She stopped when she saw what Yiling was holding, cautiously stepping back. “Madam, what… what is that?”

Yiling looked at the blackened, overcooked chicken in silence for a moment. Then she easily twisted the two branches apart, tearing the whole chicken into two halves.

“Although it’s a bit burnt, the inside should be cooked. Here, let’s share.”

Is that… roast chicken?

This poor chicken really died unjustly!

Mallow took two more steps back. “N-No, I’ll go fetch more water!”

With that, she turned and left, unable to be stopped.

Yiling felt very frustrated and muttered under her breath, “Yes, yes, I poisoned it! Really…
there’s food, and still, she’s picky.”

“Isn’t it your fault for spoiling her?”

A voice dropped from above.

Yiling looked up in surprise, and in that instant, her right hand was empty as the half-roasted chicken was taken by Xie Hengzhi.

Before Yiling could react, he had already sat down beside her, peeling off the burnt skin of the chicken to reveal the yellowish-white meat.

As she watched him about to eat it, Yiling suddenly felt nervous and grabbed it back.

“Who told you to eat it?”

With that, she bit into it herself.

Hmm… Why is it so hard? It really is overcooked.

Seeing her awkward and stiff expression, Xie Hengzhi smiled. “What, did you really poison it?”

“Yeah.”

Yiling forced herself to chew, thinking to herself that it felt no different from poisoning.

“That’s fine.”

Xie Hengzhi said, “Didn’t you say that if we die, we die together?”

“I didn’t—”

Yiling’s words suddenly faltered midway.

He… did he just say that?

Die together?

The background noise of the forest seemed to disappear in that instant, and Yiling’s ears rang with his words, Die together?

Wasn’t that something she had said in that dream?

Could it be…

That it wasn’t just a dream?

Yiling’s whole body froze in that moment, her head slowly turning toward Xie Hengzhi.

His movement halted as well, and his gaze was momentarily frozen, as if he hadn’t expected to blurt that out.

“That night I… I… you…”

Yiling stuttered for a long time but couldn’t finish a single sentence.

Instead, Xie Hengzhi seemed to lose patience with hiding, turning his head toward her, the corners of his eyes lifting. His gaze was sharp and direct, almost as if to say:

“Yes, it’s not a dream. I kissed you. So what?”

His face was filled with an air of justification.

Yiling suddenly stood up.

She lowered her head to look at Xie Hengzhi, paused for a moment, and managed to say, “I was sick at the time. How could you take advantage of me?!”

Xie Hengzhi seemed to find it amusing, letting out a light scoff, and also stood up.

“Take advantage of you? We were married in the proper way. What can’t we do?”

Yiling was left speechless, unable to think of a rebuttal. Her shoulders trembled slightly.

Then Xie Hengzhi added fuel to the fire. “The second young master of the Qin family, who married at the same time as us, is about to have a child. What does this count as for us?”

“You… you—”

How could it be getting more outrageous?!

Yiling’s face flushed red, both anxious and angry, pointing at him and saying, “How can you be like this?”

At that moment.

Li Chun suddenly shouted from not far away, “Master!”

His voice was like a cold splash of water, instantly extinguishing the tense atmosphere between Yiling and Xie Hengzhi.

Xie Hengzhi turned to look, and Li Chun held up a message tube, indicating that there was news for him.

Xie Hengzhi’s mood eased, and he nodded to Li Chun. “I’ll be right there.”

Upon hearing this, Yiling lowered her head and let out a long sigh.

Her mind was a mess, and she needed to be alone to calm down.

Thankfully, Li Chun appeared just in time and called Xie Hengzhi away.

But the next moment.

Before she had fully relaxed, her chin was suddenly grabbed.

Forced to lift her head, Yiling was still stunned when warm lips pressed against hers.

It felt the same as that night, but this time, it carried a dominant force.

Yiling held her breath in an instant, her eyes wide open.

In the bright light of the fire, she saw Xie Hengzhi raise an eyebrow, his eyes full of arrogance.

“So what?”