“How is he?” Chu Dingjiang asked.
Mo Sigui immediately became defensive. “Let me tell you, you’re not allowed to harm him. Killing someone in my room isn’t what a true hero would do. If you have the guts, wait until he’s better and fight outside.”
Chu Dingjiang sat down on a stool, his expression unchanging. “When have I ever wasted words before killing someone?”
Mo Sigui thought about it and realized this was true, so he relaxed. “Anyway, I won’t let him die in this room. As for the rest…”
“Has his lifespan been shortened?” Chu Dingjiang glanced at the person breathing weakly on the bed.
“Normally, that would be the case. But since he saved An Jiu, I’ll give him a few more years of life,” Mo Sigui sat on the floor, almost buried in piles of medicine. His posture was casual, but after saying this, no one could doubt him.
After speaking, he questioned curiously, “Aren’t you usually concerned about the country and its people? Why aren’t you killing him?”
Chu Dingjiang was known to use any means to achieve his goals. If he wanted to kill someone, nothing would stop him.
“I’ve already left the Crane Control Army and am no longer a subject of the Great Song,” This was just one reason. Chu Dingjiang’s thoughts ran much deeper. He hadn’t taken the opportunity to kill Wei Yuzhi before, and he wouldn’t do it now. Without Wei Yuzhi, the situation in Liao would quickly unify, and that would truly be a nightmare for the Great Song.
Mo Sigui neither agreed nor disagreed with his explanation and didn’t pursue the matter further, as it wasn’t important to him. “Wei Yuzhi will wake up tomorrow, but as for An Jiu… sigh! I can’t say for sure.”
She might wake up soon, or she might lie there for ten days, half a month, or even years. There was also a possibility she might never wake up. This was Mo Sigui’s first attempt at using blood to nourish someone with injured spiritual energy. According to medical texts, it should work in theory, but reality doesn’t always follow theory. Mo Sigui wasn’t one to blindly follow medical texts; he was constantly verifying and refuting the information left by his predecessors, while also accumulating his own experiences.
“It will work,” Chu Dingjiang said, either reassuring himself or speaking to Mo Sigui. His tone was certain as if he had personally experienced it. After a moment of silence, he reminded me, “I won’t harm Wei Yuzhi, but that doesn’t mean others won’t. Don’t forget, this is the Hua residence.”
It was the mansion of a Great Song minister! Hua Rongjian and Mei Jiu often came to see An Jiu.
“I know,” Mo Sigui lit a pipe, and the medicinal fragrance dispersed with the smoke. He leaned against the bed, squinting at Chu Dingjiang. “I never thought we’d be able to sit peacefully under the same roof. It’s just because I’m a good person, otherwise, I would have poisoned you a thousand times over by now.”
Chu Dingjiang replied calmly, “Thank you for your mercy, Divine Physician.”
“Tch!” Along with a sneer, wisps of smoke escaped Mo Sigui’s mouth. “What do you know!”
“I know you’re enduring this to exchange for a favor so that one day you can save Lou Mingyue from danger,” Chu Dingjiang said.
Lou Mingyue had ventured alone deep into Liao territory and would eventually be discovered. When that time came, it would be nearly impossible to escape. Only a master at the Huajing level would have the ability to extract someone from such danger.
Mo Sigui raised his peach blossom eyes. “I don’t understand how two boring people like you and An Jiu ended up together.”
Chu Dingjiang remained silent. Their kind of interest was something others couldn’t understand.
After finishing a pipe, Mo Sigui’s eyes were veiled with a hazy sleepiness. Chu Dingjiang quietly left and returned to lie beside An Jiu. He soon fell into a deep sleep.
In the half-year, since An Jiu had fallen into a coma, Chu Dingjiang had never slept so well. He even dreamed.
In his dream, he was in Zhao. The outskirts were covered in peach and apricot blossoms, a sea of pink and white. The sun was bright, and he was taking a nap on a woolen blanket. Petals were falling, almost burying his form in a pile of flower petals.
He opened his eyes, the light was dazzling, and he vaguely saw someone standing with folded arms, watching him. Even after his eyes adjusted, the person’s features remained blurry.
“Are you awake?” a slightly hoarse voice asked.
Chu Dingjiang’s eyes flew open. Bright sunlight streamed in from the window, and An Jiu stood by the bed with her arms folded, intently looking down at him, backlit by the sun.
Perhaps it was the glare of the sunlight, but a tear suddenly slid from the corner of Chu Dingjiang’s eye.
An Jiu bent down to embrace him.
Chu Dingjiang was deeply moved, thinking that after lying there for so long, An Jiu had finally understood the warmth and coldness of human emotions. That she could now take the initiative to embrace and comfort him was truly precious.
While he was thinking this, An Jiu sighed, “You’ve had it hard these past years.”
“These past years?” Chu Dingjiang asked, puzzled.
An Jiu released him, touching his face and the white hair at his temples. “I must have been lying here for at least ten years or so, for you to have aged like this.”
An Jiu was indeed moved, thinking that for Chu Dingjiang to care for a vegetative person for so many years, it must be true love.
Chu Dingjiang sat up, rubbing his temples with a wry smile. “You wake up and the first thing you do is nearly give someone a heart attack.”
After calming himself for a moment, Chu Dingjiang turned to look at An Jiu. “You’ve only been asleep for less than half a year.”
An Jiu’s eyes widened slightly. “In just over half a year, you’ve gone from looking like an uncle to looking like a grandfather! Why such a rush?”
“…” Chu Dingjiang looked at her speechlessly for a while, then reached out to pull her into his arms.
She was too thin; even with one arm around her, she felt empty.
“Mr. Chu, Madam Hua has come to see An Jiu,” Mei Yanran knocked on the door outside.
“Come in!” Chu Dingjiang was in high spirits.
Mei Jiu was now nine months pregnant and about to give birth, but she still insisted on coming here every day to see An Jiu. She entered, supporting her belly, and was startled to see An Jiu standing by the bed.
Mei Yanran was also stunned.
“How did you get so fat!” An Jiu thought Mei Jiu had become too comfortable as a noblewoman, but then remembered that Mei Jiu was already pregnant before she fell into a coma.
Mei Jiu wept with joy and was about to rush over to hug An Jiu when she suddenly stiffened. “Mother, my water broke!”
Mei Yanran immediately called out, “Someone come quickly!”
A group of servant women rushed in. The lead woman, hearing that Mei Jiu’s water had broken, quickly had people carry her to the delivery room.
Mei Jiu was about to give birth, and because she had been running back and forth every day, Hua Rongtian was worried about unexpected situations. So he had prepared three delivery rooms in the mansion, with one right next to this small courtyard.
“You lie down and rest for a while. I’ll go prepare some food for you,” Chu Dingjiang said.
Hearing the words “food,” An Jiu’s stomach growled. Having been standing since she woke up, she now felt a bit light-headed, so she obediently lay down.
Chu Dingjiang first went to Mo Sigui’s room and found him lying among piles of medicine, reading medical books. In as calm a voice as possible, he said, “She’s awake!”