Xiao Jingcheng's pulse was clearly normal, but for some inexplicable reason, Jiang Mian thought of a sign often mentioned in medical books.
A dying person, just before taking their last breath, would suddenly return to their normal state, and not long after, would close their eyes forever. Ordinary people generally called this phenomenon a "flash of vitality."
Could it be that Xiao Jingcheng was really experiencing a flash of vitality?!
Mo Zhizhang's gaze lingered on her reddened eyelids for a moment. He felt as if a boulder was weighing on his chest.
Her concern for Xiao Jingcheng had indeed exceeded his expectations.
Trying hard to suppress the jealousy welling up inside him, he grabbed Xiao Jingcheng's wrist to feel his pulse. "Don't be anxious, little sister," he said. "His pulse is steady. It's probably because he's been lying in bed for so long and is physically exhausted, which is why he fell into a slumber again."
Jiang Mian then turned to Taoist Yuanzheng.
Taoist Yuanzheng cleared his throat, pinched his fingers to calculate, and said, "Doctor Mo is right. He's not in any serious danger."
Since both of them said that Xiao Jingcheng was okay, Jiang Mian felt somewhat relieved. Looking at Xiao Jingcheng's sleeping face again, she reached out her hand and gently tidied his slightly disheveled hair.
"Didn't the Taoist priest say before that he had to return to the capital city to be nourished by the aura of the dragon vein and the purple aura before he could wake up? Why did he suddenly wake up today?"
Taoist Yuanzheng stroked his goatee and explained, "That's right. But Miss Jiang should know that he's no ordinary person. As a member of the royal family and the crown prince, he is endowed with the purple aura and has great fortune. The purple aura comes from three sources: one is his royal bloodline, the second is the love and respect of the common people, and the third is the recognition of the heavens."
"He depleted his own purple aura during the natural disaster in Cangzhou to save so many common people. In the eyes of the heavens, this was a great deed of merit, so the purple aura around him still remained, which saved his life. At the same time, because he saved the common people and won their love and respect, the depleted purple aura would return to him."
"He was able to wake up today probably because his body was nourished by the purple aura, so his soul was able to return. However, he fell into a slumber again because the purple aura on his body was insufficient, so he could only stay awake for a short while."
As Taoist Yuanzheng explained, Jiang Mian gradually relaxed.
"I see."
"The duration of his wakefulness depends on the amount of purple aura on his body," Taoist Yuanzheng said to them, just as he had said to Xiao Jingcheng. "If you want him to wake up completely, he must return to the capital city."
"Does that mean that he might wake up at any time before that?" Jiang Mian asked.
Taoist Yuanzheng nodded with a smile. "Miss Jiang is so quick to catch on. That's exactly it. However, since he can only wake up with the help of the purple aura and may fall into a slumber at any time, he won't be able to walk around freely like an ordinary person after waking up. He can only continue to lie in bed like this."
Jiang Mian lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment. "That's fine," she murmured.
As long as he could wake up occasionally and talk to others, that would be enough.
However, the purple aura that the Taoist priest mentioned...
It seemed that she had to think of a way.
"Thank you, Taoist priest," Jiang Mian thanked Taoist Yuanzheng, and then picked up the porcelain bowl again.
The porridge in the bowl was still a bit warm. She sighed that he had woken up for such a short time that the porridge hadn't even cooled down completely. After calming herself down, she continued to carefully feed him with a spoon as before.
After she finished all this, she watched Mo Zhizhang knead Xiao Jingcheng's limbs beside the bed.
By the time everything was over, an hour had passed.
"We've disturbed your rest, Taoist priest. Brother and I will take our leave first," Jiang Mian stood up and said goodbye to Taoist Yuanzheng. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something. She looked around the room for a while and then found the yellow dog curled up at the end of the bed, snoring loudly.
"This fellow, Huang, is actually sleeping here," Jiang Mian sighed helplessly. She squatted down and stroked the yellow dog's head, calling out, "Huang, wake up. We're going home."
But the yellow dog was sleeping soundly. No matter how she called it, it didn't respond.
If she couldn't feel its breathing and see its belly rising and falling with each breath, she would have thought that something had happened to it too.
Taoist Yuanzheng said with a smile, "It's okay, Miss Jiang. Just let it sleep here. It's just a dog. I'll watch over it for you."
Well, Jiang Mian pinched its furry ears and left it there. She left with Mo Zhizhang.
The two parted ways at the corner. Jiang Mian reminded him, "Brother, remember to have a good talk with Father."
Mo Zhizhang nodded with a smile. He watched her return to her room before heading back to the room he shared with Li Zhao.
The lamp was lit in the room. Li Zhao was sitting at the table, writing something on a piece of paper with a brush. Hearing the noise, he just looked up at Mo Zhizhang and then lowered his head again, ignoring him.
Mo Zhizhang didn't, as Jiang Mian had expected, start a conversation with Li Zhao as soon as he entered the room to test his reaction. Instead, he sat down on the other side of the table, took out the dagger he carried with him, and slowly wiped it with a handkerchief.
The two of them didn't say a word to each other, so the atmosphere seemed a bit strange.
After a while, Li Zhao finally stopped writing. He put down the brush, and the penholder made a soft "click" sound as it hit the table. This sound finally broke the silence in the room. Mo Zhizhang also looked up at him.
"Aren't you curious, Secretary Li, about what Jiang Mian and I talked about when we went out together today?"
Li Zhao looked up at him and said indifferently, "Mujin knows her boundaries. She won't talk nonsense."
"You really trust her," Mo Zhizhang laughed. His peach blossom eyes narrowed slightly. "She asked me where my parents were and why I'd never mentioned them. This little girl, after finding her own happiness, hopes that others can also have a harmonious family. It's laughable. She has no idea at all what kind of person is walking beside her."
His tone was very relaxed, and his eyebrows were stretched out. He seemed very happy, but Li Zhao subconsciously frowned.
He really couldn't figure out what Mo Zhizhang was up to.
This person's character was as unpredictable as that of the King of Chu back then. He really deserved to be the descendant of that person.
"I'm really curious, Secretary Li. Haven't you ever thought about telling Jiang Mian my identity?" Mo Zhizhang made his intention clear and asked, "After all, if we really calculate it, we're enemies. Don't you want to avenge the blood feud of the Li family?"
Didn't he want to take revenge?
Of course, Li Zhao did.
When the Li family was massacred and he had miraculously survived, he had really thought about killing the King of Chu to avenge them. Later, when the Xiao family rebelled and there were wars everywhere, he had also thought about revealing his identity and joining forces with the Xiao family to destroy the State of Chu.
But when he saw the poor common people suffering from the war, going hungry, and even exchanging their children to eat, he completely gave up the idea.
"What about you?" Li Zhao said. "The Xiao family is your enemy. Why are you willing to be driven by Xiao Tianchi?"