“Jiang Zhibai!” Shen Ruoyi poked him in the chest and muttered, “You actually nodded?”

“Should I shake my head then?” Jiang Zhibai gave a quiet laugh.

Shen Ruoyi gave him a reproachful glare, then pushed Shen Ruochu’s wheelchair and walked out of the side room.

In the dining hall.

Yan Shiyao was gently wiping the corner of Qi Qingchen’s mouth with her handkerchief.

Yan Yunning snuck a glance at Xuan Yanyu — the man’s expression was perfectly normal.

Hadn’t he said to keep her sister at a distance from Qi Qingchen? The two of them were acting this intimately, and he wasn’t upset?

Wasn’t he the type who got annoyed easily?

“Yaoyao, it hurts.” Qi Qingchen pointed to his own cheek, his eyes brimming with grievance. “Yaoyao, rub it.”

Yan Shiyao’s heart gave a sharp tug. “All right, I’ll rub it.”

Yan Yunning pressed her hand to her head, nearly losing her mind. She truly could not bear a single second more of Qi Qingchen’s soft, coddling tone.

Qi Qingchen squinted contentedly, his lips mumbling, “Yaoyao, I don’t want to drink the medicine. It’s bitter. Don’t make Elder Brother Qi drink it. Elder Brother Qi is unhappy when he drinks it.”

Yan Yunning shot to her feet. “Will you shut your mouth.”

She felt her entire body crawl with discomfort at the sound of it.

Ye Jian’s grin was completely impossible to suppress. Elder Brother Qi is unhappy when he drinks it! If he weren’t mindful that the one tending to Qi Qingchen was the future Crown Princess of Xuanzhao, he would have burst out laughing long ago.

A’Ci pressed his fist to his lips and muffled a low laugh.

Qi Qingchen gave a startled flinch and then, collecting himself, turned to glare at Yan Yunning. “You’re the one who should shut your mouth.”

Yan Yunning took a deep breath. He had lost his wits — what was the point of arguing with him?

“Yaoyao, tell her to shut her mouth.” Qi Qingchen’s voice carried a nasal quality now. He tugged Yan Shiyao’s hand, his lips pursed. “Elder Brother Qi doesn’t like her. Make her go away.”

Yan Yunning went briefly dark behind the eyes.

Yan Shiyao bit her lip and coaxed him. “Elder Brother Qi, we cannot make Ningning go away. Haven’t I told you — Ningning is your little sister, and you must protect her.”

Qi Qingchen fixed his gaze on Yan Yunning, aggrieved. “But she told Elder Brother Qi to shut his mouth. She’s really disagreeable.”

“You’re disagreeable too.” Yan Yunning’s teeth clenched in frustration.

The corners of Qi Qingchen’s eyes drooped. He wiped at his face with the back of his hand and asked in a small, hiccupping voice, “Yaoyao… am I disagreeable…?”

Yan Shiyao’s heart clenched painfully, and she spoke in a gentle tone to soothe him. “No. Elder Brother Qi, you are not disagreeable.”

Qi Qingchen sniffled, his voice choking with tears. “Yaoyao, Ningning said Elder Brother Qi is disagreeable. I don’t want to protect her anymore. Make her go away.”

Yan Shiyao reached up and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.

Qi Qingchen sobbed quietly, tears streaming down unchecked.

Yan Shiyao’s heart was being torn in two directions, and she hesitated before speaking. “Ningning, you…”

The rest of the words lodged in her throat. How could she chase Ningning away just for Elder Brother Qi’s sake?

Xuan Yanyu noticed the mortified look on Yan Yunning’s face. With an exasperated sigh, he stood up. “What’s the point of arguing with someone who has lost their wits?”

At those words, something stung in Qi Qingchen’s chest. He opened his mouth and burst into full, unrestrained sobs — for some reason he couldn’t explain, he had a persistent feeling that being called someone who had lost their wits was not a good thing.

Xuan Yanyu: “…?”

Yan Yunning pressed her hand to her forehead.

Qi Qingchen wept with tears and snot smeared all over his face, while Yan Shiyao rushed about trying to comfort him.

Xuan Yanyu pressed his fingers to his brow, fighting the urge to deliver a swift kick that would send him flying out the door.

Qi Qingchen jabbed a finger toward Xuan Yanyu and Yan Yunning standing together, and mumbled incoherently, “Yaoyao… they’re both disagreeable…”

Yan Yunning: “…”

Xuan Yanyu: “…”

“Young Master Qi, why are you crying?” Shen Ruoyi’s hand tightened on the handle of the wooden wheelchair as she pushed Shen Ruochu in. Such a fine young man, reduced to this state because of her medicine.

Qi Qingchen’s body heaved with sobs, his whole frame shuddering in a pitiable way.

Yan Shiyao pressed her lips together, which had turned dry. “Lady Physician Shen, is there any way to restore Elder Brother Qi?”

She ached to see Elder Brother Qi like this.

Shen Ruoyi pushed Shen Ruochu forward. “Elder Sister, please take a look at Young Master Qi.”

“Young Master Qi, hold out your wrist — let me have a look, all right?” Shen Ruochu spoke to him in a gentle, warm voice.

Qi Qingchen shrank behind Yan Shiyao, tilted his head to cast a timid glance at her, then retreated back behind Yan Shiyao again.

“Elder Brother Qi, be good and listen.” Yan Shiyao drew his arm forward.

Qi Qingchen pouted with sulky reluctance.

Shen Ruochu rested her fingertips on his wrist and felt the pulse. Her brow drew together. This was clearly a case of excessive dosage.

“Elder Sister, can he be healed?” Shen Ruoyi was even more anxious than Yan Shiyao.

Shen Ruochu looked at Qi Qingchen with a complicated expression. He truly was unlucky.

“He can’t be healed?” Yan Shiyao’s lips trembled.

Was Elder Brother Qi going to remain like this for the rest of his days?

“Yaoyao.” Qi Qingchen wrapped both arms around her from behind, tipping his head up with a beaming, vacant smile as he looked at her.

Yan Shiyao’s eyes turned red. Her trembling hand rose and smoothed over his ink-dark hair. Looking at Qi Qingchen’s guileless, blissful smile, she felt such a weight in her chest she could barely breathe.

Yan Yunning pressed her lips together and sent a message. Fafa, what’s going on with Qi Qingchen? Can he be healed?

Fafa: Not sure. In the original story, Qi Qingchen falls into a coma in Pingshi Town, Yan Shiyao begs Xuan Yanyu for help, and Xuan Yanyu proposes that she marry him. Yan Shiyao reluctantly agrees, and Xuan Yanyu has Imperial Physician Wen heal Qi Qingchen. After he wakes up, Yan Shiyao cries and says she doesn’t love Xuan Yanyu and can’t marry him.

Fafa: But now, Yan Shiyao did go and beg Xuan Yanyu, yet Xuan Yanyu never proposed that she marry him — and then he followed you to Cha Xi Town. The plot has veered off course again, so there’s genuinely no telling whether Qi Qingchen can recover.

Yan Yunning raised her eyes slightly and met Xuan Yanyu’s gaze. The man’s dark brows and eyes carried a trace of softness.

Yan Yunning gave a quiet cough. That’s not right — why is it that Elder Sister can compromise for Qi Qingchen, but not compromise for her own little sister?

Fafa: Because Yan Shiyao genuinely didn’t believe Xuan Yanyu would act. And at that point, Yan Shiyao was in Xuanzhao — once she agreed, she would have no way out.

Yan Yunning: …

“Let’s try a few doses of medicine first and see.” Shen Ruochu sighed.

She could not guarantee he would recover.

Shen Ruoyi’s heart sank. The way Elder Sister spoke, it was likely Young Master Qi could not be healed.

Yan Shiyao held back her tears with effort. “All right. Thank you for your trouble, Mistress of the Manor.”

Shen Ruoyi gave a nod, cast a guilty glance at Qi Qingchen, then pushed Shen Ruochu out of the dining hall.

The side room.

“Yiyi, please stop blaming yourself.” Jiang Zhibai scooped Shen Ruoyi up with one arm and held her against him.

“A’Bai, no wonder Mother and Father had Elder Sister inherit the charitable hall — I am truly not suited to be a physician.” Shen Ruoyi felt a prickling sensation rise in her nose.

The girl pressed close to his chest, tears pooling in her eyes, and Jiang Zhibai tightened his arms around her, his heart aching.

“Yiyi, it’s not your fault — the problem was with Elder Sister’s prescription.”

Shen Ruoyi wiped her tears and lifted her gaze to look at him. “A’Bai, don’t blame Elder Sister either.”

“All right, no blaming, no blaming.” Jiang Zhibai gathered her a little closer and pressed his lips gently to her hair.

Shen Ruoyi drew a small packet of medicinal pills from her pouch, her voice still faintly nasal. “These are the ones Elder Sister gave me today. A’Bai, take them.”