They all thought the lord had been shocked by something, but when they caught up, they saw him quite lucidly bringing over the doctor, his eyes bright as if lit by countless lamps.
“Examine her,” he said.
The doctor was stunned. He nervously checked Taohua’s pulse, first surprised, then sighing: “The lady is quite resilient. This might be her final moments, likely a temporary revival. Her heart pulse has failed; saving her life will be very difficult.”
“Impossible,” Shen Zaiye shook his head. “She’s alive again, breathing. She can be saved!”
“This…” The doctor’s face paled, looking at him fearfully before saying, “If you have any miracle medicine, my lord can try it. As for the result… I truly can’t guarantee anything.”
Miracle medicine? Qing Tai suddenly remembered something and quickly ran to get a bottle of medicine: “That divine doctor said last time this might save the mistress’s life!”
Shen Zaiye paused, immediately took the medicine, mixed it with water, and tried to feed it to Taohua.
The doctor watched, smelling the fragrant medicine, and said in surprise, “This is indeed good medicine!”
“Can it bring the dead back to life?” Qing Tai quickly asked.
“No,” the doctor shook his head. “But if there’s still a breath left, it’s worth trying.”
Shen Zaiye couldn’t hear them at all. His eyes turned red as he held the medicine, unable to get it into her mouth.
It was then that Qing Tai remembered her mistress wouldn’t open her mouth while unconscious. The medicine was right at her lips but couldn’t be administered.
“What should we do?” Qing Tai panicked, but Shen Zaiye didn’t hesitate. He put the medicine in his mouth, held it with his tongue, and forcefully kissed her lips.
“Don’t spit it out,” he said softly. “I won’t harm you. Don’t spit it out.”
The person on the bed frowned slightly, as if she had heard him, and swallowed the pill. After that, she didn’t move again.
Qing Tai sighed in relief, but Shen Zaiye’s expression remained grim. His eyes were fixed on Taohua, watching to see if the medicine worked. However, the person on the bed showed no reaction for a long time, only her complexion improved slightly.
Growing impatient, Shen Zaiye grabbed the doctor and asked, “How is she now?”
Startled, the doctor quickly said, “My lord, don’t be anxious. The medicine takes time to work. But looking at the lady’s complexion… there might be hope.”
The purple tinge completely faded from her face. Taohua’s small face gradually regained its previous rosy color, and her breathing became more evident and strong.
Shen Zaiye’s heart suddenly relaxed, and he almost lost his balance. Han Lu quickly supported him, both happy and anxious: “The lady can be saved. My lord, you must take care of yourself too. Please eat something. Even with your strong constitution, you can’t endure so long without food.”
“Just bring the meal in here,” Shen Zaiye said. “I’ll eat here.”
The room was full of the smell of blood and medicine. Normally, his master would have found it disgusting, but now he could eat in such an environment.
Han Lu felt a lump in his throat. He looked at him once more, then agreed and turned to leave.
He felt his master was both the most heartless and the most affectionate person in the world. They didn’t know, but he knew best.
Long ago, his master had made preparations, asking him to prepare coffins for both the lady and himself. He would send the lady off, and then Han Lu would send him off. Everyone knows the saying that “those who journey alone in this life will have no one in the next.” He couldn’t bear for the lady to be lonely but never considered that he too would have no friends to send him off.
The shrewd and ruthless Shen Zaiye, who had outmaneuvered everyone in the world and achieved great fame, in the end only wanted a simple burial in these peach blossom mountains, not even enjoying ancestral temple sacrifices. It made Han Lu’s heartache.
Fortunately, things had finally taken a turn for the better. As long as the lady survived, he would surely tell her that his master would truly be the person who treated her best in this world.
Jiang Taohua felt as if she had been in a long dream, trapped in darkness with no way out. In a moment of panic, she called out, “Shen Zaiye!”
Her voice echoed around her, and suddenly a small light appeared not far ahead. Taohua was overjoyed and ran towards it, lifting her skirts. As she ran, she realized something was wrong. She touched her belly – it was flat!
“Where’s my child?!” Her heart sank, and Taohua was stunned. She sat down, hugging her belly, searching: “Where did my child go?”
The light ahead floated towards her, but Taohua paid no attention, focused only on finding her child. Suddenly, her body felt heavy, and she jolted awake from the dream.
The first thing she saw was the canopy above the bed, and then she saw the somewhat haggard Shen Zaiye.
He still had a stern face, as if waking her up in the morning, and glanced at her saying, “Awake?”
For some reason, she felt a joy of reunion in her heart. Taohua reached out to him coquettishly, “I want a hug!”
His throat tightened, but Shen Zaiye said nothing and simply embraced her.
Her body was unbelievably light, like dried wood, yet she had truly survived.
“My lord?” Taohua had only meant to hug him briefly, but he held her tightly and wouldn’t let go. Wasn’t he just wearing a wooden expression?
Just as she was about to say something, she felt warmth on her shoulder. Something flowed down her shoulder, warm at first, then cooling, just like the rain in the peach grove that day.
Taohua was stunned, her heart melting with warmth. She hugged him back tightly, pretending not to notice anything, waiting for him to compose himself.
Before, she had always felt unable to sense Shen Zaiye’s care for her. This man had too much on his mind; she thought she probably only occupied a small corner. But now, she truly understood. This man viewed her as his life and loved her very, very much.
It felt wonderful.
When Shen Zaiye released her, his face showed no trace of emotion. He only asked, “Are you hungry?”
Of course, she was hungry! Taohua was about to ask for meat when she touched her belly…
“Where’s my child?” Her heart sank again, and she stammered, “Was that dream real? Did I lose my child?”
Shen Zaiye was stunned, suddenly remembering there was a child. He quickly said, “She’s here. You gave birth to her. It’s a girl.”
“Really?” Tears welled up in Taohua’s eyes. “You’re not lying to me?”
Shen Zaiye nodded and quickly asked Qing Tai to bring the child. Hearing the baby’s cry, Taohua finally relaxed completely. She took the swaddled infant and looked at her carefully.
“She…” Surprised, Taohua blinked. “Why is she purple?”
Qing Tai didn’t dare speak. Shen Zaiye hadn’t asked about it, so he naturally didn’t know what was going on. He could only call the doctor over again.
“The poison in your body is gone, my lady,” the doctor said nervously. “That medicine saved your life. It’s already a blessing in misfortune.”
“And then?” With a bad feeling, Taohua’s face darkened as she looked at him. “What happened to my child?”
The doctor stepped back, bowing repeatedly: “This young miss was born with poison. She saved your life, my lady, but how long she can live… I don’t know.”
Just when they thought they had escaped their troubles, they found themselves in another predicament. Taohua’s face paled, and she held the infant in stunned silence, not knowing what to say.
Shen Zaiye frowned, embracing both mother and daughter and said, “It will be alright. As long as she’s alive, it will be fine. Don’t worry for now.”
How could she not worry?
(End of Chapter)