When Shen Yuning woke up again, she found herself lying in a strange place, an ordinary farmhouse courtyard.
She ached all over, and her mind was in a complete mess. It took her a long time to recall that she seemed to have been on the run, fleeing for her life. Later, it seemed that she had seen Xuanzhi. Maybe it was just an illusion.
Now, had she been rescued?
She moved her aching neck and turned her head slightly. She saw a candle burning on the table, and the person sleeping趴着 on the table seemed to be Dujuan.
She coughed, and Dujuan woke up groggily. Her face lit up with joy. "Is the Lady awake? I'll go and call someone right away."
Shen Yuning opened her mouth but couldn't make a sound. Maybe she was too tired, and her voice was a bit hoarse. By the time she could speak, Dujuan had already run out.
She shook her head with a bitter smile. In fact, she was extremely thirsty and really wanted Dujuan to pour her a glass of water.
But it was also good. Dujuan was safe, and presumably, Yingshanhong was also okay.
She wondered how they had managed to escape. Maybe the officers and soldiers had arrived in time, or maybe Wan Yan had come up with a plan.
While she was in a daze, she heard a noise at the door. She looked up and saw a man standing at the door, holding a bowl in his hand and wearing a silver mask on his face.
Zidu walked quickly and his voice was full of tenderness. "You're awake?"
It wasn't a dream. She had really seen Zidu?
Shen Yuning struggled to get up, but due to the pain all over her body, she couldn't.
Zidu stopped when he was about two feet away from the bed and instructed Dujuan beside him. "Help your Lady up. It's time to take the medicine."
Dujuan quickly stepped forward, helped Shen Yuning sit up against the headboard, then picked up the medicine bowl, blew on it, and carefully scooped up the medicine with a spoon to feed Shen Yuning.
Shen Yuning didn't drink it. After a while, she shook her head. "It's too hot. Put it aside. I'll drink it later."
Dujuan hesitated and had no choice but to put the bowl down and stand there woodenly.
Shen Yuning said again, "Dujuan, go out first. I have something to ask Young Master Zidu."
Zidu looked up at Shen Yuning. Seeing Dujuan obediently go out, he didn't raise any objections. He just poured some warm water and handed it to Shen Yuning. "Drink some water first. Your voice sounds so hoarse."
Shen Yuning obediently drank the water and handed the cup back. A thousand words were swirling in her heart, but she didn't know where to start.
Zidu didn't seem to be in a hurry either. He still sat down about two feet away from the bed, maintaining a proper distance, aloof but not cold, just like his character.
Whenever this happened, Shen Yuning would be a bit confused. Was this really Xuanzhi?
She decided to come straight to the point. "Xuanzhi."
Zidu shook his head with a smile. "How many times do I have to tell you, Lady? I'm not Xuanzhi."
Shen Yuning gave him a cheerful smile. "How could I mistake my own younger brother?"
Zidu still smiled. "I'm twenty - two years old this year. I'm the same age as you, Lady, but half a year older than you."
Shen Yuning couldn't help laughing out loud. "What? Do you think you can stop being a younger brother and become an older brother just by changing your age?"
Zidu's mouth twitched slightly, and a hint of embarrassment flashed across his face, as if his little secret had been exposed. Then he quickly regained his composure and still insisted. "I..."
"Alright, I won't argue with you." Shen Yuning interrupted him and pointed at the medicine. "I want to take the medicine."
Zidu paused for a moment, then helplessly stepped forward, picked up the medicine bowl, and handed it to Shen Yuning.
Shen Yuning pouted. "Look at how weak I am. Do I look like I can take the medicine by myself?"
Zidu blinked his eyes. After hesitating for a moment, he still sat down lightly on the edge of the bed, held the medicine bowl in front of Shen Yuning, and fed her the medicine spoon by spoon.
Shen Yuning wrinkled her face in an ugly way and pouted, whining like a child. "It's so bitter. I can't drink it."
She looked up. Maybe because they were sitting so close, Zidu's ears turned red.
Zidu avoided her gaze and took out two pieces of maltose from his bosom and handed them to Shen Yuning.
When Shen Yuning took the maltose, she accidentally touched Zidu's hand. Zidu jerked his hand back as if he had been burned. In his hurry, he almost knocked over the medicine bowl in his other hand.
Shen Yuning watched his panicked look leisurely. When she had asked him seriously, he had remained unmoved. When she had cried sadly, he had also been cold - hearted and refused to admit it. But now, with just a little bit of teasing, he had lost his composure and revealed himself everywhere.
This Xuanzhi had really grown up. His wings were hard, and he even dared to lie to her?
Zidu calmed down his expression and then handed the medicine bowl over again, but Shen Yuning didn't drink it. He had no choice but to look at her and meet her gaze.
"You're badly injured. You need to take the medicine."
Shen Yuning still pouted. "The medicine is too bitter. Maltose won't do. I want to eat the begonia cakes from Man Yi Cake Shop."
"How can you buy them here? And there are no begonia cakes at this time of the year. When we get back to the capital..."
Zidu suddenly stopped. Man Yi Cake Shop?
Man Yi Cake Shop was a cake shop in Xitian Town. There was no such shop in the capital.
Shen Yuning beamed with a smile. She picked up the medicine bowl and drank it all in one gulp. Then she took the handkerchief beside her and wiped the corner of her mouth. Only then did she look seriously at Zidu in front of her.
Zidu had completely exposed himself and didn't dare to look at her.
Shen Yuning waved her hand. "Come here."
Just like in Xitian Town in the past, Zidu obediently got a bit closer.
Shen Yuning took out the safety amulet from her bosom and handed it to Zidu. "I told you that this safety amulet is for protection. You should never be without it for a moment. Why did you take it off? Put it on."
Zidu stared at the safety amulet for a long time but didn't move. He seemed to be stubbornly insisting, and at the same time, it seemed that he felt all his previous plans had come to nothing.
Seeing that he didn't take it, Shen Yuning glared at him angrily. "Or do you really look down on your former relatives now that you've attached yourself to the Zhu family?"
Zidu subconsciously shook his head. "No, I don't."
"Then why?"
Shen Yuning moved closer. Zidu sat up straight in a daze, tightened his lips, and didn't dare to make a sound, just like when he was in Xitian Town in the past and his sister scolded him after he made a mistake.
Shen Yuning reached out her hand to lift Zidu's mask, but he dodged. So, she just reached out and grabbed his ear and gave it a hard twist.
She had seen Zhang Rong do this to Shen Fugui many times before. Every time, Shen Fugui would grit his teeth in pain and beg for mercy, and Zhang Rong would soften her heart and immediately let him go.
She didn't know if it was really that painful, but Zidu covered his ear and pouted aggrievedly. "It hurts, hurts, hurts... Yuning..."
Shen Yuning let go of his ear, and her face was full of anger. "Do you admit it now?"
Zidu lowered his head and still didn't dare to make a sound.
Maybe after thinking about him for so long and worrying about him for so long, now that Xuanzhi, who had silently admitted his identity, was right in front of her, all the scenarios she had imagined, such as scolding him and beating him, suddenly couldn't be carried out.
Tears rolled down her face. She couldn't stop them, no matter how hard she tried. There was more grievance than anger in her heart. Her Xuanzhi didn't want to recognize her.
Seeing Shen Yuning crying so sadly, Zidu couldn't hold back any longer. He quickly replied, "Yuning, don't cry. I admit it, I admit it..."
He took off his mask, and there was not a single flaw on his face. He was still the elegant young man from Xitian Town, standing under the tree, with a foxtail grass in his mouth, and once he even wove a small flower wreath and put it on Yuanbao's head.
But that young man had grown up. His once - innocent face now carried a cold and fierce look, and his well - defined face exuded an aura of coldness and unapproachability.
But his eyes were just the same as before, looking at Shen Yuning seriously and obediently. His lips were slightly pursed, looking shy and waiting to be scolded.
Her Xuanzhi had really grown up, very different from the one in her dreams.
Shen Yuning reached out her hand as if to stroke his face but stopped just in time. She turned her head away angrily and didn't look at him.
Zidu quickly coaxed her. "Yuning, it's my fault. You can beat me or scold me, but please don't ignore me, and don't cry anymore, okay?"
Shen Yuning just shed tears silently. After a long time, she choked out, "Why didn't you admit it when I cried and begged you so hard back then? Since you were so heartless and didn't want to recognize me as your sister, you should have just kept it that way and never recognized me again. Why did you come to save me? What does my life or death matter to you?"
Zidu tugged at her sleeve like a little animal and gently shook it, as if acting coquettishly. "I was wrong."
Seeing his appearance, Shen Yuning became even more angry. She wiped away her tears and glared at him fiercely. "Since you don't want our family, from now on, we'll go our separate ways. It's better that we don't have any contact."
Hearing this, Zidu really let go of her sleeve.
Shen Yuning widened her eyes. "You..."
At this time, there was a noise at the door. Zidu quickly put on his mask and walked over to sit at the table.
In an instant, her Xuanzhi had changed again.
Not long after, Wan Yan pushed the door open and came in. He asked softly, "Yuning, are you awake? Are you feeling better?"
Shen Yuning's eyes were still swollen from crying, and her face looked a bit dazed. After a while, she came to her senses and nodded. "Thank you, Master Wan. I'm fine now, but I'm really sore all over."
Wan Yan smiled. "You don't exercise regularly on weekdays. Running so strenuously suddenly, it's natural that you're sore. Not to mention you, even I took a long time to recover after such an experience."
Shen Yuning couldn't get out of bed, so she reluctantly bowed her hands. "Master Wan, we owe you a great debt today."
Wan Yan waved his hand. "I was barely able to take care of myself. It was really thanks to Young Master Zidu coming in time today. Otherwise, I'm afraid we would all have become the souls under the knives of those bandits."
Shen Yuning frowned slightly and then looked at Zidu. There was a bit of pettiness in her eyes as she asked, "So it was like this. What a coincidence that Young Master Zidu happened to come to Qu County and just happened to save us?"
Hearing this question, Wan Yan couldn't find any fault on the surface, but he always felt that there seemed to be a strong sense of sarcasm in her words. But as far as he knew, there didn't seem to be any feud between Shen Yuning and Young Master Zidu, did there?
Zidu calmly explained, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is seriously ill. My cousin heard that there is a kind of herbal medicine here that can treat his illness. But he has to stay on standby in the capital, so I led a group of people here to collect the medicine. Unexpectedly, I happened to meet Master Wan and Lady Shen."
Shen Yuning's expression remained unchanged. Wan Yan felt a bit embarrassed. Maybe this girl was just frightened today, which was why she seemed so out of it.
He quickly thanked Zidu. "This is really a blessing for me and the Lady. It seems that even the heavens pity us. Young Master Zidu, have you managed to collect that herbal medicine? I own some medicine shops and collect rare and precious medicinal herbs from all over. If you need anything, I'll surely do my best."
Zidu pondered for a moment and then nodded. "Thank you, Master Wan. I've sent people to inquire, and it's true that this kind of medicine exists in Qu County. But just a few days ago, a medicine merchant came and bought all of it. That's why I led people up the mountain to look for it. But when I was searching, I found that the mountains had also been picked clean. I've been looking for two days but couldn't find any trace of it. I was going to leave yesterday, but I was still not willing to give up, so I came up the mountain again today to look one more time."
Wan Yan frowned and asked, "Young Master Zidu, do you mean that someone got wind of it in advance and bought all the medicinal herbs, leaving His Royal Highness the Crown Prince without a cure?"