Chapter 241: Chapter 241: How Do You Know I’m Troubled?
The weather warmed, and the glaciers began to melt.
In recent days, however, Shen Hua’s mental state has only deteriorated further.
Ni Kang changed his visits from checking her pulse once a day to both morning and evening.
After seeing Shen Hua wiping blood from the corner of her mouth again, his brows deepened even more.
"It shouldn’t be like this, how could it be like this?"
Shen Hua’s pulse appeared consistent as before, never changed.
It remained in line with the diagnosis he made before the end of last year, a prognosis unchanged for five years, a guarantee of safety.
However, Shen Hua’s physical condition clearly did not match her pulse, severely depleted. As if her life were short, the oil lamp drying out, on the brink of departing this world.
The more she vomited blood, the weaker her body became; once weakened by ten percent, vomiting blood twice weakened by thirty percent, particularly at night.
After vomiting blood, Shen Hua fell into a drowsy sleep once again. Ni Kang, upon seeing this, left the East Courtyard and headed straight for the Sui Courtyard.
He hurried into Cui Yun’s study.
"Marquis."
Cui Yun glanced at him: "Why the panic?"
"These days, I fear all the pulses I have felt might have been Fake Pulses!"
"A pulse may be deceptive, but a tongue does not deceive. Miss Shen’s tongue coating already suggests the exhaustion of her five organs and six viscera. I fear..."
Cui Yun’s hand, holding the brush, trembled, a drop of ink falling, splatting and spreading on the document near completion.
The night entices, the moon’s radiance clear and bright.
Lights in the East Courtyard burn bright.
Shen Hua sits on the rooftop, eyes lowered, picking at candied fruits.
"Next time Heir Xie sends more, you mustn’t accept them."
At this moment, her presence clearly contrasts with the one in front of Cui Yun.
"To send once is enough, what’s with sending repeatedly every few days."
She mutters to herself: "Even if I am acquainted with my brother, it doesn’t make sense to go this far."
Yingwu stands guard at one side, holding a lantern and protecting Shen Hua, saying: "I will remind Ningzhu."
Shen Hua nods, spits out the pit, then tilts her head back to gaze at the moon.
When she was young, there was a time she couldn’t speak clearly, Mama would point to the moon to teach her.
"Yangyang, follow Mama and say, ’moon’."
She would say childishly: "Cruel."
"Wrong. It’s ’moon’."
Her little delicate face stubbornly frustrated, trying hard to pronounce.
"Cruel, cruel, cruel."
Shen Zhi would laugh upon hearing this, young as he was, not yet understanding the concept of giving in.
"This girl is so dimwitted. Mama, spare her. Please spare my ears. Look at her, not only does she mispronounce, but she also has the audacity to get angry."
"Who are you calling dimwitted?"
"You."
She felt wronged, her shoulders quivering. Angry and embarrassed. Running away, she bumped into a wooden post, quickly sporting a red mark on her forehead.
The little girl suddenly burst into tears.
"Mama."
She sobbed and hiccupped.
"Brother hit me! He hit me with a stick!"
"He has always disliked me, wishing Yangyang was dead, so he could be the boss!"
Ms. Shen Chun knew all too well that this was Shen Hua’s concoction. Yet she took her almost hiccupping daughter into her arms.
"You wretch! What kind of brother does this."
"I didn’t hit her! How could Mama believe such words?"
"She’s crying like this; even if you didn’t hit her, you must have upset her. Your sister is frail; you should be more considerate of her."
And later, it was Manager Sun embracing her.
"Today’s Mid-Autumn Festival, a day for reunion. Miss Shen, if you miss Madam, whatever words you have, just whisper them to the moon."
"Can Mama really hear?"
"The gods living on the moon will convey your words to Madam."
She once believed.
Night after night, she would speak to the unattainable bright moon above, murmuring away her yearning and desolation, burying them together.
In recent days, she has been sleeping during the day and also at night; her waking moments becoming increasingly brief.
Footsteps approached from behind; upon recognizing the newcomer, Yingwu respectfully withdrew.
"The weather is getting warmer, but the night air is still damp." Cui Yun placed the hand warmer into the girl’s icy fingertips.
Shen Hua clasped it tightly, her delicate features under the hood pale as death.
Shen Hua tilted her head: "Has Doctor Ni said anything?"
Cui Yun: "Have you been taking your medicine properly these past few days?"
Shen Hua pursed her lips.
How can one respond to a question with another question?
Cui Yun, as ever, was reserved: "You’ve been eating quite a lot of candied fruit, but you shouldn’t overindulge. It might keep you from eating proper meals."
Shen Hua continued to purse her lips; she seemed listless.
"Cousin hasn’t come to see me for ten days now."
Her tone concealed a faint, unnoticed grievance of her own.
"Busy times these days."
"Busy, busy, busy, you men always use ’busy’ as an excuse. My Daddy does that, and so do you."
Shen Hua: "I’ve already become like this."
"Despite the affection between us, aren’t you worried that the next time you see me, I may be cold as the dead?"
He rebuked: "Do not speak such nonsense."
"When I return late, you’re already resting. I couldn’t possibly wake you up and disturb your peaceful dreams."
Shen Hua muttered softly, appearing particularly clingy tonight: "It seems the reasoning is always on your side."
She moved closer to Cui Yun, watching as he leaned backwards.
"What are you avoiding?"
Cui Yun paused, then went still, his body rigid. Then, he smelled a faint scent of medicine mixed with the sweet fragrance of a young woman.
His eyes trembled, no longer mindful of the tedious proprieties. He raised his hand to protect the girl’s waist, silently securing her, even indulging his own desire, forcing her to draw near.
Shen Hua bumped into his embrace, softly saying: "Cousin."
Cui Yun’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
His vision and hearing blurred once again, reality clashing with illusion. All the girl could see was a vague shadow.
She tried to clearly see those features that should have been familiar.
"Cousin must truly detest the Third Elder from the Miao Border. That day, when the tea cup was empty, you didn’t refill it; instead, you turned it over countless times."
Shen Hua looked upward, her voice clear and bright: "You don’t need to be so troubled."
"Everyone has their own destiny; when one’s time comes, it comes. Not even the Daluo Immortal can save them. Instead of you fretting over it, you might as well send me more furs."
Cui Yun disliked hearing her talk like this.
"How do you know I am troubled?"
Perhaps the night was too quiet, or maybe the girl leaned in too closely, disturbing his calm.
His voice deep and husky, as if to match her tone: "It’s true I despise witchcraft, but when he cast spells, I wished it were a poisonous insect you had within you. That way, there would at least be a breakthrough. Knowing the root of the illness, we could find a cure."
Rather than the helplessness at hand.
Cui Yun’s gaze traced over the girl’s features inch by inch. She was no longer the radiant flower, nor the tender green buds growing by the path, resembling new branches bursting forth.
"Shen Hua."
"Hmm?"
The man’s voice, carried by the cold wind, reached Shen Hua’s ear: "Since I’ve promised, you won’t lack for furs."
"I’ve had Ji Xin fetch them from the storeroom. If those aren’t enough, I’ll instruct the staff below to buy more. If you need them urgently, during the spring hunt, I will personally go to the hunting grounds."
Shen Hua: !!!
If you do this, I’ll take it seriously!!!
A smile curled at the corner of Cui Yun’s lips.
Such a girl must not be treated carelessly or wronged.
"You’ve enjoyed more than a decade of wealth and comfort. You deserve more now. Therefore, Miss Shen must trouble herself to live a few more years longer."
"What others have, you should have; what others do not, at the very least, I will fight for you to have it."