Feng Yexuan vomited blood.
He vomited so much that his clothes and the bedsheets beneath him were stained a large patch of red.
Chu Qianli's forehead was beaded with sweat as she changed his IV drip and administered acupuncture to soothe his blood circulation.
After more than an hour of effort, his condition finally stabilized.
There was still blood clinging to the corners of his lips, but at least he wasn't vomiting blood anymore.
He had vomited so much.
Looking at the pool of blood on the bedding, Chu Qianli's heart ached with a sour pain.
Leng Ji's face had turned pale with fright. "Princess Consort, Your Highness... will he...?"
"No!" Chu Qianli's expression darkened, and she immediately cut him off.
He wouldn't! She was still here! How could she let anything happen to him?
Absolutely not!
"Leng Ji, order someone to bring another set of bedding, and prepare a set of loose clothing for him."
"Yes... yes." Leng Ji was also at a loss.
A person who was unconscious and continuously vomiting blood... Leng Ji had never seen such a situation.
If it were any other doctor, they would have given up by now.
When changing Feng Yexuan's clothes and bedding, Chu Qianli and Leng Ji were both extremely careful, fearing that a slight touch might cause him to vomit blood again.
Fortunately, from that night until the early morning hours, Feng Yexuan's condition remained relatively stable.
The vomiting of blood did not occur again.
Chu Qianli glanced at her watch. It was four in the morning. She suddenly stood up.
Leng Ji thought she was going to rest and quickly said, "Princess Consort, I can watch over him here. You..."
Unexpectedly, Chu Qianli didn't speak. She simply took a bottle of IV fluid from her bag and hung it for Feng Yexuan.
Afterward, she began to massage Feng Yexuan's fingers to promote blood circulation.
"Princess Consort, it's already very late... no, very early. Why don't you go rest for a while? I can watch over him here."
She herself was injured and had been taking care of the Prince day and night for the past few days.
Actually, Leng Ji felt a considerable amount of guilt towards her.
No, not just a little, but a great deal.
He knew that the Princess Consort was the one who cared for the Prince the most, yet he had been unable to protect her from the beginning.
Consort Jin disliked the Princess Consort, and everyone in the royal family disliked her. Even Qing Ming, who was once so close, had to harm the Princess Consort for the sake of that woman, Chu Huaiyu.
He had always known that the Princess Consort was the best.
But he was insignificant, and no one was willing to listen to him.
The Princess Consort had suffered so much in their Prince's manor.
Any other woman would have long since been unable to bear it and would have hanged herself.
Only their Princess Consort, capable of bending and stretching, possessed an incredibly resilient heart hidden within her slender frame!
Only such a woman was worthy of their Prince.
He hoped that after this, when the Prince woke up, the two of them could be honest with each other and never cause each other harm again.
Chu Qianli raised her eyes, glanced at him, and said faintly, "There are two points."
"I'm listening, Princess Consort, please speak!" Leng Ji immediately straightened his back.
"No, it's three points."
Chu Qianli smiled, a smile tinged with helplessness. "First, thank you. You've been sincere to me for so long in the Prince's manor."
Leng Ji moved his lips, wanting to say: The Prince is also sincere to you.
But he swallowed the words.
He knew the Princess Consort's grievances.
Although the Prince truly liked her, the harm he had inflicted upon her was not insignificant.
Chu Qianli continued, "Second, don't call me Princess Consort anymore..."
"You are my Princess Consort!" Leng Ji immediately interrupted, very firmly.
Chu Qianli sighed, her gaze falling on an unknown corner, her voice very calm:
"No matter what you think, he and I have indeed divorced. If you continue to call me Princess Consort, and the royal family finds out, it will only bring me trouble. Do you understand?"
"Princess Consort..." Leng Ji clenched his fists and lowered his head.
He understood!
It was just that his heart was unwilling, and he felt sorry for her.
However, Chu Qianli seemed very peaceful.
"Third, you don't know how to treat the Prince, so you should go back and rest quickly. You are not needed here. If there's anything, I will have someone call you."
"Princess Consort..."
"Go back first. When his condition is truly stable and he no longer needs these things, I will call you over."
She gestured to the IV drip.
Leng Ji looked somewhat dejected.
He was indeed not very skilled with these things.
It required that tiny needle to be accurately inserted into the Prince's blood vessel for the so-called intravenous fluid to enter his body.
He truly couldn't do it.
"Then... I'll go back first. Princess Consort, you must call me if anything happens."
Chu Qianli glanced at him.
Leng Ji touched his head and smiled, "Then... when outsiders are present, I won't call you Princess Consort, okay?"
Chu Qianli waved her hand, saying no more.
What did he mean by outsiders? Had she and he become their own people?
This simple-minded guard, while indeed less capable than Qing Ming, at least showed some loyalty to her.
Leng Ji left.
The room immediately fell into silence.
Only Chu Qianli remained, guarding by the bedside.
She continued to hold Feng Yexuan's well-defined palm.
She didn't know how long she had been holding it. Perhaps feeling the room was too eerily quiet, she finally said in a low voice:
"I really don't hate you anymore. Would you consider waking up?"
The person on the bed showed no reaction.
She sighed helplessly, wondering when she had developed this habit of talking to herself.
"Actually..."
After thinking for a moment, she smiled again, a smile of helplessness. "Actually, we've never really had a proper conversation. Like this, I don't even know what to say to you."
It turned out that their interactions had been so, so shallow.
Yet, they had reached a point where they were willing to risk their lives for each other.
"When you wake up, let's get along properly again, okay? You don't know what I like or dislike, and I don't know your hobbies either, do I?"
After the last bottle of IV fluid was finished, exhausted, she leaned by the bed, holding his hand.
She was truly sleepy.
For three days and three nights, she had barely slept.
Her eyelids involuntarily began to droop.
Her hand, however, remained holding his large palm, gripping it neither too tightly nor too loosely.
"In the future, I won't avoid things anymore. The pressure from the royal family, I will face it with you, okay?"
Still, there was no response.
Her heavy eyelids finally fell completely.
Her breathing gradually became even.
Her voice grew increasingly hoarse, sounding as if it came from a very distant place:
"You facing the pressure from your father, your imperial grandmother, and even the entire royal family alone. Actually, I knew all of it, but... I was unwilling to admit... your difficulties..."
"I thought... I could walk away freely, but it turns out that no matter how far I walk, I'm still... back where I started..."
"This time, we'll walk together, hand in hand... go on..."
Her breathing finally became completely even.
Her voice gradually faded away.
What she didn't know was that the moment she fell completely asleep, the large hand she was holding slowly tightened its grip.
Little by little, it enclosed her small hand within its palm...