On the way there, the servants kept asking Xia Xun where he was going, wanting to show him the way.

He ignored them and walked straight to the study.

He was very familiar with this place, far more familiar than these people.

Walking along the corridor outside the study, he heard Qi Yan’s voice from afar:

“Don’t kneel outside. Better spend your efforts on packing your bags.”

Bypassing the pillar, Xia Xun saw Zhi Gui kneeling outside the study silently.

Qi Yan was in the study and walked to the door with Qi Hui’s help.

Xia Xun looked at them coldly, feeling that Qi Hui’s cautious approach was somewhat ridiculous.

Since when did Qi Yan become so sickly that he couldn’t walk a few steps by himself?

Qi Yan didn’t see him, saying to Zhi Gui:

“I ordered a long time ago that no one is allowed to see Xia Xun except me. You disregarded my order and made such a big mistake, and you still want me not to pursue it?”

There was no sound around. 

Zhi Gui didn’t dare to defend herself, and no one dared to speak for her.

Qi Yan turned to Qi Hui:

“Throw to the pond everything Chen Jingyin brought.”

Xia Xun emerged from the corridor.

“Give it to me if you don’t eat it, don’t waste food.”

Startled, Qi Yan asked, “Why are you here?”

Xia Xun said, “I have tasted her snacks. It’s delicious. If you dislike it, give it to me.”

Qi Yan’s expression changed; he made a few steps towards him, looked him up and down, and said to Qi Hui:

“Go call the doctor immediately. I don’t know what those snacks are made of. It’s okay now, but it doesn’t mean that there will be no problems in the future.”

Qi Hui was about to go out but Xia Xun stood in front of him.

“Why are you so nervous?”

Qi Yan restrained his temper and said seriously:

“Duke Chen and I belong to different camps. I have been at odds with him for a long time. How can the food from his mansion be easily accepted? What should I do if it is poisonous?”

Xia Xun didn’t care.

“I ate it two hours ago. If it were poisonous, I would have been dead a long time ago ——”

Even before he said the word “dead”, Qi Yan stopped him in a deep voice:

“Life and death are important matters, how can you talk nonsense?”

Xia Xun snorted coldly:

“I’m not so weak as to say the word ‘dead’ and be cursed to death.”

“Xia Xun!”

Qi Yan even called him by his full name; he must have been really anxious.

Xia Xun didn’t care and continued:

“Miss Chen heard that you were injured and made blood-replenishing pastries overnight. She visited and delivered them herself. Her affection towards you is true and even if her father wanted to harm you, she would never poison you.”

Qi Yan raised his eyebrows:

“True affection? You’ve just met her and believed her words? How do you know she was not putting on a show? How do you know she didn’t approach me deliberately at the behest of her father?”

Xia Xun was not surprised:

“Just like you did back then? Approached me, concealing your identity, showing kindness to me on the surface and secretly working on your plan step by step?”

Qi Yan was stunned and speechless for a while.

“I——”

Xia Xun’s tone was calm, as if he was talking about someone else’s past:

“I wonder how Lord Qi felt at the time? It was painful to have to be with me, the son of an enemy, in order to take revenge, wasn’t it? You must have been so disgusted every moment that you couldn’t wait to kill me, right?”

Qi Yan’s usual indifference disappeared and he suddenly became excited:

“No! It’s not what you think, I——”

Xia Xun turned his head and stepped aside.

“It doesn’t matter. Times have changed and there is no need to mention the past. It’s your business to beware Chen Jingyin, don’t take it out on Zhi Gui, she didn’t do anything wrong.”

Qi Yan didn’t say anything, looked at him intently and, after a while, asked softly:

“…And what else? You’ve seen Chen Jingyin today and there’s nothing else you want to say?”

Xia Xun wondered:

“Say what? Oh, she seems to be very sincere about you. Maybe you can consider marrying her. When you become the son-in-law of Duke Chen, your contradictions might be resolved.”

Qi Yan’s eyes widened suddenly; he clenched his jaws and his lips flattened into a straight line.

“Are you serious?” He asked Xia Xun, his voice heavy: “Do you really want me to like her? Marry her and take her in as a wife?”

Xia Xun replied:

“Whoever you like, and whoever you love, and whoever you marry has nothing to do with me.”

After saying that, he turned around to leave, but his arm was grabbed by Qi Yan.

Qi Yan suppressed his anger and squeezed out a sentence through his teeth:

“——Don’t you know who I like?”

Xia Xun didn’t look at him at all.

“I don’t know, and I don’t want to know!”

Qi Yan held him tightly, gradually exerting more and more force, clenching Xia Xun’s arm to the point of pain.

“Then I’ll tell you now. From beginning to end, I only like you ——”

Xia Xun was furious and pushed him away abruptly:

“Enough! I said it! Stop lying to me with such stupid words!”

Qi Yan grasped his shoulders and said word by word:

“I don’t lie to you! I know that you won’t believe what I say now. I don’t ask you to believe me so soon, and I don’t dare to expect that you and I can go back to the past. I just hope that when you look at me, you can feel something other than anger! If you calm down, I can explain——”

Xia Xun said furiously: “Impossible!”

He unclasped Qi Yan’s fingers one by one:

“You can throw away the dim sum Chen Jingyin gave you! The things I gave you back then were not worth as much as this box of snacks. You must have hated that you couldn’t throw them away or burn them to relieve your hatred!”

He gritted his teeth in anger:

“Want me to treat you like I did before? It’s impossible in this life! I would never give you even a piece of my heart, I’d better feed it to a dog! Want me to be nice to you? Dream on!!”

Qi Yan froze and the hand that was unclasped by Xia Xun stayed in the air, trembling.

He was at a loss, and his original determined expression disappeared, leaving only emptiness and confusion.

His eyelashes fluttered slightly, the corners of his eyes turning red, his dark pupils covered with mist.

He looked at Xia Xun blankly, and after a long time, he took a deep breath:

“…good, good.”

He turned around and walked back to the study, his steps unsteady. He sat down at the table, turned his back to Xia Xun and said indifferently:

“…You go, I won’t drive her out, she may still serve you.”

He hung his head, his shoulders hunched. He no longer looked energetic as before but tired and depressed, as if Xia Xun’s words had deeply hurt him.

The outline of his thin shoulder blades was visible under his exquisite brocade robe, making him look almost gaunt.

Xia Xun didn’t understand.

Why did he have to act like that?

From beginning to end, wasn’t Xia Xun the only one who had been deceived and harmed?

He turned and walked out.

Qi Hui suddenly cried out:

“My lord——!”

He sounded anxious and worried, as if something had happened.

Xia Xun didn’t look back, for fear that this was a trick played on him by the master and servant.

In the corridor, people were also in a hurry.

Some of them ran into the study with hot water, while others  told the guard to ride to the doctor quickly.

Xia Xun stopped involuntarily; he’d just take a look, he told himself.

In the study, Qi Yan clutched the clothes on his chest tightly, half kneeling on the floor.

He was breathing hard, his expression agonizing, as he leaned weakly in Qi Hui’s arms, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

If it hadn’t been for Qi Hui, he would have fallen to the ground a long time ago.

Qi Hui took out a medicine bottle from his sleeve, shook out a pill and skillfully fed it to Qi Yan.

Qi Yan was used to the bitterness of the pill, swallowing it dry; he didn’t even need to drink any water.

Blood was gone from his face, his lips pale and bluish. He didn’t seem to be pretending.

By the time Xia Xun regained his senses, it turned out he had already walked back to the study.

Qi Yan hung his head weakly: “…you can go.”

His breath was as thin as a gossamer, shallow and uneven.

Xia Xun asked Qi Hui: “What happened to him?”

Qi Yan wouldn’t let him say, propping his hand on the ground, trying to stand up:

“I don’t need pity… and I don’t need your sympathy…”

He could not breathe well and it took all his strength to say a few words:

“You can go…”

Then his hands softened, his eyes closed and he fell heavily to the ground. The jade guan on his head was knocked askew and a few strands of hair scattered and fell over his eyebrows.

Qi Hui immediately helped him to the couch and pulled open his collar to let him breathe easier.

Then he opened all the windows and let in as much air from outside as possible.

Qi Yan’s chest was rising and falling rapidly.

It didn’t take long for the doctor to arrive.

He was very familiar with Qi Yan’s condition. After checking his pulse, he took out a bundle of needles and stuck a few on Qi Yan.

After the silver needles entered his body, Qi Yan’s complexion quickly improved. His lips were no longer purple but he still hadn’t woken up.

The doctor wrote down the prescription and gave it to the servants.

Xia Xun stood by and asked Qi Hui coldly:

“What’s the matter with your lord?”

Qi Hui replied in a low voice:

“It is a heart disease… When my lord learned that the young master had passed away, he had the first attack. After that, it recurred now and then. Later, fate allowed him to meet a famous doctor who managed to regulate it. My lord hasn’t had an attack for a few years. Who knew that as soon as he saw the young master, he would just ——”

Xia Xun recalled that when he met Qi Yan by chance in the cemetery a month ago, he did look like that.

——His face was pale, his lips were livid, he was staggering and unsteady on his feet, unable to take a breath.

He thought that Qi Yan regarded him as a ghost and was shocked and scared half to death.

It turned out to be a disease.

Qi Hui continued:

“Ever since my lord fell ill, the house always keeps all kinds of herbs prepared. When the doctor writes a prescription, we do not have to go to the pharmacy to get medicine, the kitchen can directly decoct it.”

Xia Xun stood up:

“If that’s the case, take good care of him.”

Qi Hui would not let him go.

“Master Xia, this subordinate has a favor to ask, can you stay with the lord? It is not necessary for you to stay too long, as soon as the lord wakes up, you can leave at once.”

Xia Xun categorically refused:

“I’m not a doctor, so what’s the use of staying?”

Qi Hui was silent but insistent.

Xia Xun said again: “Aren’t you afraid that he will die? I am the son of his enemy, with me staying by his side, he will be only more reluctant to wake up.”

Qi Hui said faintly:

“With all due respect, my lord’s sickness is all because of you. It is reasonable to ask you to stay for a while.”

Xia Xun gave up, sighed and sat down heavily on the chair.

“I can’t argue with you, I’ll just stay. But I’ll leave as soon as he opens his eyes and no one is going to stop me.”

After one stick of incense, the doctor took off the silver needles. The patient’s condition was stable, and he was ready to leave.

Before leaving, he repeatedly instructed Qi Hui, saying that Qi Yan’s mental state demanded him to avoid emotional excitement, so he had to calm down, stop taking everything to heart and remember not to be overjoyed or too sad.

Qi Hui listened, looking at Xia Xun from time to time, as if these words were addressed to him.

Xia Xun ignored them.

Sitting at the table, he opened the food box sent by Chen Jingyin and ate all the dim sum there in front of Qi Hui.

? ? ?

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