Not long after, the door of the emergency room opened, and Shi Ting quickly rose from his seat.

“Miss Yan is already fine.” The doctor removed his mask. “Director Shi, please don’t worry.”

Shi Ting exhaled softly. “Thank you.”

“Fortunately, Miss Yan informed us in advance about her poisoning situation, which helped us avoid many unnecessary detours in the examination.” The doctor smiled. “Miss Yan’s toxic dosage was not large. As long as she rests in the hospital for a few days, there won’t be any major problems, and her health won’t be affected. She can be transferred to a regular ward now.”

Yan Qing had remained conscious throughout. Seeing Shi Ting now, she curved her lips into a gentle smile. “I’m fine.”

After being transferred to the ward, Shi Ting helped Yan Qing sit up and placed a pillow behind her back.

“Is there anywhere that’s uncomfortable?”

“Just a bit of stomach pain — nothing serious.”

He placed his palm gently over her abdomen. The warm sensation was like a healing warmth, transmitted smoothly through the thin fabric of her clothing and her skin.

“These next few days, just rest well in the hospital. As for the case — I’ll take care of it.”

“Mm.” Yan Qing agreed obediently. “Old Hu’s attempt to drive us away actually exposed herself — Hu Sizhu’s death is inseparable from her.”

Shi Ting held her soft little hand and gently brought it to his lips. His deep eyes gazed at her pale face — he seemed to want to say something yet held back.

“Hurry up and go. Cases wait for no one — if Old Hu escapes, catching her again will be difficult.” Yan Qing urged.

“No rush. I’ll leave once your father arrives.” He gently kissed her hand. “Are you hungry?”

Yan Qing’s stomach gave an uncooperative growl. She laughed sheepishly. “You see — it answered for me.”

“I had your father prepare food.” Shi Ting looked at her again. “Bear with it a little longer.”

Yan Qing felt warmth in her heart — for things concerning her, he always thought ahead with such meticulous care.

“Shi Ting.” Yan Qing blinked her bright eyes.

“Mm?” He looked over, puzzled.

Yan Qing raised her hand and gently stroked his lean face. “There’s no need to blame yourself, and no need to feel guilty.”

Shi Ting looked at her, visibly startled.

“It wasn’t because of you that I chose this path.” Her fingers rested on his long, thick eyebrows, tracing them gently as if drawing them. “When you first established the Military Police Directorate, regardless of what the ultimate goal was, the original intention was to suppress violence and bring peace to the nation. As for me — though I don’t have such lofty aspirations, I have a conviction that has never wavered.”

She looked into his deep, clear eyes and said, word by word, “I don’t ask for peace under all of heaven — only that I act with a clear conscience.”

“What a phrase — ‘act with a clear conscience.'” Shi Ting was moved by these words. “Yan Qing, once again you’ve given me a new perspective.”

Overwhelmed with emotion, he opened his arms and held her tightly. “This life, having met you — it is my great fortune.”

“Me too.” Yan Qing’s eyes reddened. “Shi Ting, I’m so glad the person I met was you.”

They had come from different times and spaces — two parallel lines that should never have intersected. But through fate’s many twists and turns, two seemingly unreachable parallel lines had at this moment converged into one, bearing each other’s destiny and hopes.

It was fate — and it was a life-and-death predestination woven into the fabric of the universe.

“Ahem!”

A bout of awkward coughing came from the doorway. Yan Qing was facing the door and saw her father standing there in an instant.

She immediately pushed Shi Ting away, her cheeks flushing slightly.

Shi Ting stood up and strode toward her father. “Uncle Yan.”

“Is Qing’er alright?”

“She’s already out of danger, but will need to stay in the hospital for observation for a few days.”

Her father nodded, first glanced at Yan Qing, then pulled Shi Ting to one side. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “Director Shi, though you and Qing’er are already engaged, you haven’t officially married yet. In some situations… it’s still better to keep some distance.”

Shi Ting accepted her father’s criticism with a look of sincere contrition. “Uncle Yan is right. I’ll be more careful next time.”

“Alright, alright — I don’t mean anything else by it. Qing’er is still a young woman, and it’s easy for people to talk.”

“Mm — Uncle Yan’s guidance is correct.”

Seeing that Shi Ting accepted the correction with a good attitude, her father patted his shoulder in satisfaction. “Then go attend to your business. I’ll take care of things here.”

“Thank you for the trouble, Uncle Yan.”

Shi Ting looked back, and Yan Qing was suppressing a laugh. When their gazes met, she gave him a look of something like sympathy and waved goodbye with her lips forming the words.

Shi Ting said nothing but winked at her as he turned to leave.

Once the ward door closed, her father sat down beside her with concern. “Is there anywhere that’s uncomfortable?”

“I’m fine, Father.” Yan Qing smiled and hugged his arm. “I’m very hungry now — have you prepared food?”

“You girl.” Her father sighed helplessly, and had Axi bring in the food box.

He personally opened the box and laid out the dishes one by one. “Director Shi had someone remind us — these next few days the diet should be light.”

Though it was said to be light, the bird’s nest with ginseng porridge and the mushroom and shark’s fin soup were the finest of what could be called light.

Her father ladled the porridge and soup and handed them to Yan Qing. “Qing’er, Director Shi treats you well — that I know. But men and women are different; you two are not yet officially married. As a young woman, there are times when you still need to keep some distance, so as not to give people cause to gossip.”

Yan Qing thought to herself: her father had already received a great shock just from seeing them embrace. If he knew they had slept in the same bed the previous night, he might charge straight to Shi Ting’s home.

“What are you smiling about?” Her father put on a stern face. “Don’t treat what Father says as words to the wind.”

“I understand.” Yan Qing answered obediently. “I’ll be sure to be careful from now on.”

“That’s more like it.” Her father smiled in satisfaction but quickly asked again, “What caused your poisoning this time — is it related to the case again? Though Father won’t interfere in your involvement with the Military Police Directorate, you’re just helping out. There’s no need to risk your life. If something this dangerous happens again next time, I absolutely won’t allow you to get involved with the Military Police Directorate’s affairs again.”

“This time was an accident. Father, don’t worry — there won’t be a next time.” Yan Qing was starving and picked up a spoon to eat in large mouthfuls.

“Eat slowly, eat slowly.” Her father admonished helplessly.

“By the way, Father.” Yan Qing swallowed her porridge. “What did my mother die of back then — why did she take her own life?”

Her father’s expression suddenly froze, and after a moment he said, “What made you think to ask this?”

Yan Qing had never before inquired about her mother Wen Wan. But at the time she was still small, with few memories of her birth mother, and growing up she had such a personality — she could barely manage her own affairs, so how would she go asking about her mother.

“I encountered a spirit medium today. She said there is someone among our family’s ancestors who died a wrongful death. I wondered if it might be my mother.”

Her father sighed softly. “Actually, I’ve long been wanting to find a chance to tell you.”

“Did my mother really die a wrongful death?”

Her father shook his head. “This matter goes back more than ten years. In those days, warlords carved up territory — people had no peace, and Shun Cheng was contested by multiple warlord factions, far less peaceful than today. After inheriting the family business from my father, I was unwilling to stay as I was, so I went into the medicinal herb trade. As the business grew bigger and bigger, the Yan Family entered the ranks of the wealthy merchants. I was purchasing medicinal herbs in another area when I met your mother, Wen Wan — it was love at first sight.”

Speaking of Wen Wan, her father’s eyes were full of warm light, as if recalling those sweet times.

“When I brought her back to Shun Cheng, she knew I already had a family and didn’t blame me. She willingly became a concubine. She was truly a remarkable woman — well-read and courteous, talented in many arts. A year later she gave birth to you. We were both very happy at the time. She said you were naturally a fine person, so she named you Yan Qing.”

Yan Qing hadn’t expected that her own name had been given by her mother.

“And then?”

“When you were two years old, Wen Wan went to a friend’s home to watch an opera performance. It was there that she encountered the second son of the Min warlord faction — Min Tianyuan. Min Tianyuan took a liking to your mother and tried everything to court her, but was rejected.” At the mention of Min Tianyuan’s name, her father spoke with something close to grinding teeth. “This Min Tianyuan, relying on his power and influence, threatened me to hand over your mother in exchange for the Yan Family business.”

“And you agreed?”

Her father shook his head. “How could I agree? Lose the family business and I can earn it back, but if I lost Wen Wan, I’d regret it for the rest of my life. At the time I flatly refused and had prepared to go head-to-head with Min Tianyuan — even if it came to mutual destruction, so be it. I’d rather take Wen Wan and wander to the ends of the earth. But what I never expected was that your mother… she actually hanged herself.”

“Did my mother find out about Min Tianyuan threatening you?”

“I always kept it from her and still don’t know how she found out.” Her father’s eyes held a glimmer of tears. “Your mother was such a fool — even if she wanted to protect me, she should have asked whether I agreed. She left just like that, leaving me, the one still alive, to suffer for a lifetime.”

Yan Qing reached up and wiped the tears from the corner of her father’s eyes. “Did my mother leave a will or any final words?”

“No — she left just like that.”

Yan Qing thought: in this world there was a man she loved, a child she cherished — she could die willingly for this family’s sake. But on the verge of death, she should surely have left at least a few words to explain herself.

She was a woman who was deeply principled and extraordinarily wise. She should not have died so rashly.

Who told Wen Wan about Min Tianyuan’s threat to her father?

Why did Wen Wan leave no final words when she died?

In Yan Qing’s years of experience, there was surely something suspicious here.

Perhaps the spirit medium had been right — Wen Wan truly had died with grievances, and her death was by no means as simple as it appeared on the surface.

Thousands of thoughts tangled in her mind, yet her expression showed nothing. She gently patted her father’s hand as comfort.

Now she truly understood her father’s determination to stand against Madam Shi. For the sake of the family business, he had already lost the woman he loved most. He could not continue to make the same mistake and let his most beloved daughter go off to suffer.

Looking at the few strands of silver hair at her father’s temples, Yan Qing silently vowed: she would make her father’s life better and better, and make the Yan Family better and better.