Her high cheekbones propped up a friendly smile, but it somehow looked a bit creepy.
Xiao Yang nodded. "Madam, it's me."
Qu Yue steadied herself with Xiao Yang's support. Just as she was about to push away, a faint fragrance wafted into her nose, intensifying her dizziness.
Instinctively, she didn't want to have too much contact with this person. After giving a distant smile, she took a step back. "Thank you."
But Xiao Yang took the initiative to get closer again, putting her arm around Qu Yue's waist. "Why do you look so pale?"
It was that faint fragrance again. It was like the smell of orange peel but also had a sweet and cloying note. It was overly unique yet somehow familiar.
It rushed into her nose and directly invaded her brain, causing a throbbing pain in her temples. Her vision went black, and the dizziness made her want to collapse.
Qu Yue mustered her last bit of strength and weakly pleaded with Xiao Yang, "Stay away from me for now!"
As the person she was supporting gradually lost strength, Xiao Yang curled her lips into a smile of successful scheming. "Madam! Let me take you to the side to rest for a while, shall I?"
Qu Yue broke out in cold sweat all over her body. Xiao Yang's voice was like the buzzing of a mosquito in her ear, annoying her to the extreme.
The closer Xiao Yang got, the stronger the fragrance became.
"Please... let go of me first!"
Xiao Yang naturally wouldn't comply. Instead, she even brought the sachet pinned to her waist closer to Qu Yue's nose. "What did you say, Madam?"
The fragrance entered her nose and went straight to her heart.
It was as if an invisible hand had tightly grabbed her heart -
The next moment, a violent palpitation made Qu Yue widen her eyes. She couldn't help but let out a groan. All the light in front of her eyes suddenly disappeared, and her consciousness faded away at that moment.
Xiao Yang watched as the person fell limply to the ground like a deflated puppet. A smile flashed in her eyes. After hiding it, she let out a shrill scream. "Madam! What's wrong with you!"
"Someone come quickly! Madam has fainted!"
The woman's voice pierced through the sky, shattering the original calm of the entire procession.
Mu Wang, who was at the front of the procession, was the first to come over. There was anxiety on his still-youthful and heroic face. "What's wrong with her?"
Xiao Yang was sitting on the ground, holding Qu Yue in her arms. Her eyes were filled with innocent shock. "I don't know either. Madam was walking slowly just now. Before I could help her to the side to rest, she fainted!"
Mu Wang stretched out his hand. "Give her to me. I'll carry her to the side."
Xiao Yang looked back at the procession behind her. "Okay."
As the legitimate wife, Qu Yue was in the front middle of the funeral procession. Her stop caused the people behind to stop as well.
To avoid affecting Mu Yuan's burial, the best option was to move Qu Yue out of the procession first.
Unexpectedly, just a few steps away, they heard Song Luo's low growl. "Wang'er! Don't wander around."
Mu Wang frowned in confusion. "Mother, can't you see that Sister-in-law has fainted?"
"Let the servants carry her to the cemetery first," Mu Qing seriously made the decision. "Don't affect your elder brother's burial."
Mu Wang let out a sneer from his chest. "... Hah."
He looked at his three blood relatives in front of the procession. His almond-shaped eyes, which used to be as bright as stars every day, were now only filled with desolation.
For the first time, Mu Wang thought that he had never really understood his close relatives.
He was straightforward by nature and spoke his mind on the spot. "Father, just now at the mansion, you weren't in a hurry to send Elder Brother off for the funeral."
"Why are you so eager to bury him now?"
Mu Qing's eyebrows sharpened. The hand holding the soul-guiding flag suddenly tightened. "When did the Marquis Mansion allow you to talk to your elders like this?"
"Your son is just curious," Mu Wang said, holding Qu Yue, who was as light as a piece of paper. The question blurted out. "If you don't want to delay, you can just set off by yourself."
"I'll take Sister-in-law to find a doctor."
Mu Qing roared angrily. "Rascal! As the general's wife, how could Qu Yue not accompany the procession?"
Song Luo immediately walked out of the procession to mediate. "Wang'er! There's a doctor in the procession. We'll be at the cemetery soon. It's not too late to ask him to take a look at Qu Yue later."
"Be obedient!" She tugged at Mu Wang. "First, let the servants carry your sister-in-law on their backs to the cemetery."
Mu Wang's wide-open almond eyes stared at Mu Qing in the air without any courtesy. Defiance and anger made the blood vessels in his eyes bulge. His heavy breathing couldn't relieve his anger.
Mu Qing also stared back without fear. His high-combed temples flattened the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. His moustache twitched slightly with the angry breath coming out of his nostrils.
"Wang'er! Be obedient!"
Song Luo tugged at him several times before finally pulling him back into the procession.
"Come quickly and take her over!"
She gave a sharp look around at the bunch of stupid servants.
However, before they could move, two people took the initiative to step forward from the end of the procession.
The smile that always hung on Wen Wuyou's lips flattened. His always charming eyes were filled with coldness at that moment.
In his flippant tone, there was an indescribable seriousness. "Why do we need someone else? Mu Yuan specifically told me to take good care of her before he died."
Beside him, Ning Yanzhi stood upright. One hand was placed across his abdomen. Every step he took was as standard as if measured by a ruler. His tied-up long hair was held by a jade crown, and he looked extremely proper.
He bowed with both hands. "Madam Song, I don't mean to interrupt your decision. But Mu Yuan repeatedly told me to take care of his wife. So I dared to step forward and would like to take Qu Yue with me."
Although their statements were different, their purposes were the same.
Qu Yue should be taken care of by them.
Mu Wang lowered his head and looked at the charming woman in his arms. Her eyebrows were tightly knitted, and her pale lips were completely bloodless. It was obvious that she was extremely uncomfortable.
He gritted his teeth and put her down.
Wen Wuyou and Ning Yanzhi quickly stepped forward and supported Qu Yue's left and right arms.
"Take good care of my sister-in-law."
"Of course."
The funeral procession continued to move forward. Wen Wuyou and Ning Yanzhi, because they had to take care of Qu Yue, fell to the end.
Wen Wuyou supported Qu Yue's left arm. After walking only three steps, he asked coldly.
"Bookworm, aren't you tired?"
Ning Yanzhi replied softly. "Since you want to hold her, and I don't trust you with her, this is the only way."
Wen Wuyou felt inexplicably annoyed and clicked his tongue in warning. "Then don't hold her hand."
The smooth back of the woman's hand was touching Ning Yanzhi's palm. It was as if there were strands of indescribable cotton wool connecting them, going straight to his heart.
His Adam's apple rolled slightly, and he simply explained, "She'll fall."
"Now you're not afraid of hurting her arm?"
Ning Yanzhi countered, "When a person is in a fainting state, their perception will decline."
Wen Wuyou implied, "How do you know she's really fainted?"
Ning Yanzhi looked sideways at Qu Yue. There were still a few drops of sweat on the other person's cute and soft face, sliding down along the smooth lines.
Even with her eyes closed, it couldn't hide the delicacy of her facial features. There were traces of hard work on her skin, but it still couldn't hide her fair complexion.
She was just like a beautiful doll.
A strange silence filled the air between the two of them.
Then they tacitly shut up and continued to support Qu Yue forward.
During the journey, they deliberately slowed down their pace and bent their legs according to Qu Yue's height so that she could maintain a comfortable position.
When they reached the destination, the two looked at each other tacitly and laid Qu Yue down under a tree.
Ning Yanzhi squatted down and observed Qu Yue's complexion. His eyebrows furrowed slightly.
"Her condition is very strange."
Wen Wuyou immediately waved to call a servant over. "Quickly call the accompanying imperial doctor."
Ning Yanzhi remembered the calmness under his palm when he was supporting her. He deliberately lifted Qu Yue's hand and gently placed three fingers on her wrist.
The next moment, the coldness in his eyebrows was replaced by shock. His usually calm voice was tinged with surprise. "Qu Yue, has no pulse."