"It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, my wife wouldn't be like this. It's all my fault..." Shen Xuan leaned softly against Gu Yi's shoulder, his voice choked with sobs, unable to control his weeping.
"No, how can it be your fault? They were too wicked, it's all those bad people's fault. How can you blame yourself for everything?"
"If I had obediently waited for my wife with the dregs of the medicine to return and explain, then none of this would have happened." Shen Xuan cried uncontrollably, leaning against Gu Yi's shoulder.
"You have the right to discover the truth yourself, and this isn't your fault. After all, no one can predict the future, and you didn't know your actions would lead to this."
"Moreover, they were already prepared. Even if you hadn't gone out today because of this, they would have found other ways to lure you out later. They meticulously planned all of this, so how could you have escaped?"
"Don't cry anymore, or Miss Lu will be heartbroken." Gu Yi helped Shen Xuan up from his embrace, gently wiping the tears from his eyes.
"Yi'er, quickly notify Mayor Zheng to go to my mansion and find A Zuo!"
"Don't worry, Zheng Yu has already apprehended A Zuo and is interrogating him over there. And those two women who kidnapped you, rest assured, the truth will come to light soon."
"The most important thing for you now is to recover your health. Aren't you going to have a baby? Drink this ginger soup to warm yourself up, then lie down and sleep. Recover quickly."
"But the doctor said..." Shen Xuan lowered his head instinctively upon hearing this.
"Miss Lu is a renowned physician. Since she could help regulate your body before, she will surely be able to help now. Once Doctor Lu wakes up, she will prescribe medicine for you to get better soon."
Gu Yi said this as he handed the ginger soup to Shen Xuan. "Here, drink it quickly."
Shen Xuan nodded, not refusing. Gu Yi was right; only by taking care of his own body could he lessen his wife's burden.
"I want to see my wife." Shen Xuan quickly lifted the quilt and got out of bed while Gu Yi was turning to put down the bowl.
"What are you doing? You're so weak yourself, get back into bed." Gu Yi, with quick reflexes, caught the swaying Shen Xuan and tried to help him back onto the bed. "Didn't I just tell you to recover yourself first?"
"But I must go and see my wife now, otherwise I can't rest assured. Besides, recovering my health isn't urgent." Shen Xuan was very stubborn and, ignoring Gu Yi's dissuasion, insisted on standing up to go to Lu Yu's room.
"Fine, fine, I'll help you then." Gu Yi couldn't persuade Shen Xuan and finally relented, personally escorting Shen Xuan to see Lu Yu.
Lu Yu lay in bed in the same position as when she returned, her quilt pulled up tightly. Her face was deathly pale, and her lips were devoid of color.
Shen Xuan rushed to Lu Yu's bedside, his eyes filled with heartache and self-reproach.
"Get up quickly, the ground is cold. Your body can't stand the cold now." Supported by Gu Yi, Shen Xuan slowly sat by the bed, looking at Lu Yu.
Gu Yi took the heavy clothes from the servant and draped them over Shen Xuan. Although there was a lot of charcoal fire in the room, it was better for Shen Xuan to wear more, as his body was still cold.
"Will my wife really wake up tomorrow?" Shen Xuan looked at Gu Yi with some doubt, seeing Lu Yu's condition of having more breath going out than coming in.
Gu Yi was taken aback by the sudden question. Wasn't this supposed to be the scene where Shen Xuan collapsed onto Lu Yu, crying, and he comforted him? Why was it different from the stories in the novels?
"This—rest assured! The doctor said she would wake up tomorrow." Gu Yi hesitated, feeling a bit guilty, and decided to cite the doctor.
After all, it was about tomorrow. It wasn't specified whether she would wake up in the morning or in the middle of the night. If she didn't wake up, then tomorrow wouldn't be much different from the day after. Moreover, according to the doctor, Miss Lu's original physical condition was very good, so she should be able to wake up.
"Go back quickly. You can't rest properly here either."
"Yi'er, you go and rest in that room. I want to stay by my wife's side tonight." Shen Xuan shook his head, his gaze never leaving Lu Yu on the bed.
The bed was fortunately large enough for two people to sleep, so Shen Xuan could sleep next to Miss Lu, which would give him some peace of mind.
"Alright, then I'll go to that room and get your quilt and pillow, and bring over a few more charcoal basins. I don't need so many in my room anyway."
As Gu Yi was about to turn, he saw two servants standing behind him holding Shen Xuan's belongings. "You guys..." Their actions were too swift.
"Master ordered us to take good care of Young Master." Those people said solemnly. They had quickly gone to the other room to fetch the items as soon as Gu Yi spoke. Their guiding principle was not to let Young Master Gu get tired.
Everyone was tired after a busy day. After the lights were out in the rooms, Shen Xuan quietly moved from his own quilt to Lu Yu's.
Lu Yu's body was still very cold, colder than Shen Xuan's. Shen Xuan tightly hugged Lu Yu, pressing close to her body to warm her.
Shen Xuan lay quietly on his side, facing Lu Yu, looking at her profile. Tears silently streamed down Shen Xuan's eyes, moistening the pillow, but he tightly suppressed his sobs.
Wife, please get better quickly, wake up quickly.
Wife, Xuan'er was wrong. Wake up quickly, Xuan'er will accept punishment.
Wife, Xuan'er misses you...
Wife, ...
The night was exceptionally long. Shen Xuan waited for a long time, but dawn did not break; it was still dark.
"Wife, it must be the hour of the rat now. The stars outside are so bright. I want to watch the stars with you."
Shen Xuan brought his head close to Lu Yu's chest, pressing tightly against her.
"Thump, thump, thump."
Only the regular heartbeat sound could bring Shen Xuan peace, allowing him to believe that his wife was still by his side, just asleep.
The next morning, A Fu woke up very early. He remembered what Gu Yitong had said yesterday, that she would take him to visit his young master today.
"You're awake, come and eat." Gu Yitong was already seated at the table. Seeing A Fu come out, she stood up somewhat reservedly.
"Thank you." A Fu felt very awkward seeing Gu Yitong again, lowering his head and speaking softly.
Besides breakfast on the table, there was also a plate of preserved fruits. These must have been bought by her this morning.
After breakfast, Gu Yitong saw that the plate of preserved fruits had not been touched at all, so she pushed it towards A Fu. "Aren't you eating?"
Seeing A Fu's confused gaze, Gu Yitong subconsciously explained, "I saw you liked preserved fruits that day, so I bought some for you this morning."
That day? Gu Yitong must have been referring to the day he came to the clinic to drink medicine. But who eats preserved fruits first thing in the morning?
However, A Fu couldn't refuse Gu Yitong's gesture, especially since she had prepared it with care. A Fu nodded and, under Gu Yitong's gaze, picked up a preserved fruit and put it in his mouth.
It was very sweet.
ps: Little cuties, can you give me a five-star review? Mwah!