Hearing his words, my heart ached. I felt all my previous pretenses had been in vain. I really wanted to tell him, "Don't go find Qi Yuan. I'm not unconscious yet."
But leaning in his warm embrace, I was too weak from the pain to speak. Another wave of pain hit me. My mind went blank, and then I gradually sank into darkness.
Naturally, I didn't get to see Qi Yuan's expression when he saw me faint, nor did I know if it was him who brought me to the imperial hospital. All I knew was that when I woke up, Mother was by my side, looking at me tenderly.
I looked around and found I was back in the Twin Palace. Beyond the bed curtains, Brother and Yu Chi Cheng were standing far away, glaring at each other.
"Xihe, do you feel better?" Mother smoothed the stray hairs on my forehead. There wasn't too much worry on her face. Instead, there was a sense of relief after a narrow escape.
Relief after a narrow escape? Hmm? Why did I think of this phrase? I came back to my senses and moved my body. Finding nothing unusual, I only felt a bit of sweetness in my mouth, so I said, "I'm okay. I'm all better!"
Mother smiled. "Then finish the remaining half - bowl of porridge..."
"Huh?" I was a bit surprised. Mother then asked someone to bring the half - bowl of porridge and said, "The imperial doctor said you fainted because your body is too weak and you were hungry. Eating some porridge will make you better. Also, I want to congratulate my little Xihe for finally growing up."
"What..." I was getting more and more confused.
Mother couldn't help but chuckle and whispered in my ear, "The stomachache you had before was because you got your period. You silly girl, how could you be so stupid not to notice something was coming out?"
I couldn't help but feel a bit wronged. "I was only focused on the stomachache. How could I notice anything? Mother, you never told me that getting my period would cause a stomachache!"
Mother said, "Not everyone has pain. I don't. The imperial doctor said it's because your body is too weak, that's why you're in pain. You need a good tonic recently."
"Ah! That's so scary!" When it came to a good tonic, I suddenly remembered the painful expression on Mother's face when Father forced her to eat all kinds of supplements when she was pregnant with my fourth younger brother. Mother said, "I don't want to. I can't eat." But Father pleaded, "Please, my dear. You can't not eat anything. Be good, my love. Let me feed you one mouthful at a time, okay?"
As soon as Mother heard this, she instantly became obedient. During that time, no matter how busy Father was, he would have meals with Mother on time and then take a walk with her in the palace. Besides, he would play with the three of us. I have to say, Father is really powerful. He has always shielded us from the wind and rain.
"Mother... Can I not have the tonic..." I gave her a pitiful look. She just smiled and shook her head. "This is not okay. When I gave birth to you all, I was reckless and resisted the good tonic. That's why you have this problem of being too weak. Now that I have a chance to make up for it, I certainly won't indulge you anymore. If you don't want to be in pain every month, you'd better be obedient..."
"I..." I didn't want to be in pain every month... But...
"Don't worry. Mother will definitely come up with different dishes every day so you won't get bored. Even if you don't like white fungus, we still have red dates. " Mother slowly took the red - date porridge from the maid who had been standing beside us for a long time and stirred it with a spoon.
I licked my lips looking at the porridge. Suddenly feeling a bit hungry, I said, "Okay."
Mother scooped up a spoonful of porridge, tasted it gently on her lips to test the temperature, and then said, "This porridge is cold. A Cheng, go and get some hot porridge and then feed Xihe. Anyway, she's fine now. I'll go and tell His Majesty not to worry."
I looked up and found Mother smiling slyly. Before I could figure out why she wanted Yu Chi Cheng to feed me, Brother said, "Mother, how can you let the big bad wolf feed the little white rabbit?"
Yu Chi Cheng stared. "How am I the big bad wolf?"
I was still wondering why I was the little white rabbit...
Mother said, "Before I came, it was Yu Chi Cheng who was feeding Xihe porridge. You, as her elder brother, don't take good care of your sister, and you still have the nerve to call others the big bad wolf."
Hearing this, Brother looked quite aggrieved. "What? It's not that I didn't want to feed her. He just snatched the porridge from my hand and went over to show off his attentions!"
I couldn't help but feel a bit dizzy. What was all this? It turned out that Yu Chi Cheng had been taking care of me when I was unconscious. This was just too strange!
Mother said, "Alright. It's all because you didn't let your sister eat before that made her faint. So you don't need to say more. Now go with Mother to apologize to your father. Leave this to A Cheng."
"What?!" Brother instantly looked at her in disbelief, but Mother walked over, grabbed him, and dragged him towards the door. "You naughty boy. You're getting harder and harder to manage. I'm telling you, if you don't be a good boy, Mother will give you the itching powder and tickle you to death!"
"Don't... Mother..."
As Brother's wails faded and the footsteps of Mother and Brother grew softer, I felt embarrassed the moment I locked eyes silently with Yu Chi Cheng.
"Cough, well... I'll go and get some hot porridge." Yu Chi Cheng pointed at the bowl Mother had placed on the table and then went to get it.
I didn't know how to respond. I just gave him a grateful smile.
...
A short while later, Yu Chi Cheng scooped a bowl of porridge from the thermos and sat down beside my bed. Then he forced a calm smile at me. "Do you still need me to feed you this porridge?"
I took it and shook my head. "No. I'll do it myself."
"Okay." After he said that, he looked at me, his gaze fixed. But after just one look, as if thinking of something, he averted his eyes and said softly, "I'd better go back first. Take good care of yourself."
"Okay..." I nodded. Suddenly, I felt the atmosphere was really awkward.
He stood up and took two steps. Then he suddenly turned back. "By the way, you'd better listen to your mother and have a good tonic. It was really scary today."
I couldn't help but cough lightly. He turned around and continued walking. This time it was my turn to call him. "Hey, wait a minute. It was lunchtime at noon. How did you... suddenly show up?"
This time it was Yu Chi Cheng's turn to cough lightly. "Well... I had just finished making a lantern and wanted to show it to you. I didn't expect to run into..."
I noticed the keyword he said and couldn't help but ask in surprise, "A lantern?"
Yu Chi Cheng nodded awkwardly, but his expression was surprisingly serious. "Yes... We came back quite early yesterday. Didn't you see any lanterns in the civilian area? I thought about it and asked a few palace servants and made one for you myself... It's just a pity. It fell where I carried you and I can't find it..."
I smiled. Feeling that my question had made the atmosphere between us even stranger, I scratched my head and said, "If you can't find it, forget it. Make another one for me next time..."
As soon as I said this, I regretted it.
But Yu Chi Cheng broke into a big smile. "Okay..."
Before I could react to his suddenly beaming smile, he stepped over the threshold and walked out.
Suddenly, I didn't dislike him as much anymore. On the contrary, in my eyes, because he knew one of my secrets, he instantly went from being a sworn enemy to a women's friend.
I took a moment to calm down. Suddenly, I was startled by my own thought. I guessed that if Brother knew about the change in my attitude towards Yu Chi Cheng, he would definitely go crazy!
As soon as I thought of this, my stomach started to hurt again. It really came in waves.