Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Li Ying did not regain consciousness until ten days later.

When she slowly opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the plain wooden ceiling. Inside the room, a copper brazier burned with dark red charcoal, and the white crane incense burner emitted soothing fragrance from the mouth of the crane. She coughed lightly twice, struggling to prop herself up, causing the brocade quilt to slide off her body. Suddenly, she heard a clear yet cold voice: "Awake?"

Li Ying followed the sound and saw Cui Xun sitting at a desk, holding a sparrow-head brush, his head lowered as he wrote a memorial on white hemp paper.

She realized she was in Cui Xun's study.

Li Ying, still wrapped in the quilt, asked him blankly, "Did you save me?"

Cui Xun responded with a simple "Hmm." Li Ying could hardly believe it and asked hesitantly, "Why... why would you save me?"

Cui Xun paused in his writing and said indifferently, "Consider it repaying the favor for the robe you gave me."

Li Ying was slightly taken aback. When she had given him the robe, she hadn't expected him to remember. She nodded silently, then after some hesitation, ventured to ask, "That day at Xi Ming Temple, the Turkic princess..."

Before she could finish, she noticed Cui Xun's sparrow-head brush tremble slightly. He continued writing in small script and said, "This is not something you should be concerned about."

"I'm not trying to pry," Li Ying said anxiously, her throat feeling dry and scratchy. She coughed a few times and continued, "I just wanted to say that she isn't a good person, and you shouldn't suffer for someone like her."

Cui Xun was writing the characters "sun and moon traverse the sky" when he heard this. He was on the character "moon" and looked up at Li Ying, who was leaning against a low sandalwood couch, her wrists as pale as frost, her face as bright as the moon. He then lowered his head and finished the last stroke of "moon": "You were almost dead yourself, yet you still worry about others."

Li Ying smiled awkwardly. "It was an emergency; I acted rashly and involved you, Cui Shaoqing."

"Don't act rashly again," Cui Xun said. "Otherwise, there won't be another haritaki fruit to save you."

"Haritaki fruit? What is that?"

"It's a fruit that grows by the Nai River in the underworld, capable of healing spirits," Cui Xun paused. "It was found by Yu Fawei."

Li Ying was surprised and apologized, "Yu Fawei is a merchant; surely Cui Shaoqing spent a lot of money on it. I will repay you."

"No need. Yu Fawei didn't charge anything."

Li Ying was taken aback. Yu Fawei was known for being shrewd and never doing business at a loss. Why would he give her such an expensive fruit for free? She thought about it and concluded that perhaps Yu Fawei was thanking her on behalf of the commoners, as her death had changed their fate.

Li Ying felt a mix of emotions, unsure whether to feel happy or melancholic. Cui Xun looked at her and suddenly asked, "Why did you go looking for Wang Ranxi alone? Why didn't you call me?"

Li Ying was stunned. She lowered her head and said softly, "You were in a bad mood that day; I didn't want to disturb you."

This time, it was Cui Xun's turn to be stunned. He lowered his head and remained silent, continuing to write the memorial on white hemp paper. After a while, he said, "Your injuries haven't fully healed; lie down."

Li Ying nodded and lay down on the low sandalwood couch, facing Cui Xun, resting quietly. Cui Xun did not speak further, and the only sound in the study was the scratching of the sparrow-head brush on paper. As Li Ying's injuries had not fully healed, she gradually became drowsy. Her eyelids drooped, and every time they blinked open, she saw Cui Xun's elegant figure, his head bowed, his brows drawn like ink paintings, his eyelashes like black feathers, his almond-shaped eyes captivating. Despite his beautiful features, he possessed a stern and rugged demeanor. Li Ying's eyes closed, then forced open again, watching Cui Xun's handsome appearance reappear before her. Finally, when Cui Xun looked up at her, she turned away guiltily, as if caught doing something wrong. Soon, soft breathing came from the couch, and Cui Xun resumed writing the memorial in neat small script.

-

The winter snow melted, bringing a chill to the air. After a few days of recuperation, Li Ying could finally walk slowly, but the backlash from the spell had weakened her fundamentally, preventing her from leaving the room during the day.

Cui Xun had not returned home for several days, seemingly busy with Prosecutor's Office affairs, staying at the official residence. However, the mute servant still came daily to replenish the charcoal in the brazier and light the soothing incense.

The mute servant couldn't speak, making the large house feel lonely and desolate. Li Ying got off the couch, leaned against the wall, and managed to walk around the study a few times. However, when she reached the black sandalwood bookshelf, she accidentally knocked a scroll off.

Panicked, she crouched down to pick it up, but the scroll had already unfolded, revealing dense small characters: "Cao Wu, from Cao Village in Huayang Township, Chang'an, one mother remaining..."

The scroll contained names and addresses of people, with Cao Wu's name marked with a wobbly red line, indicating the writer's anger and unsteady hand.

Li Ying suddenly remembered the lute girl at Xi Ming Temple saying, "Cao Wu is dead." Could the Cao Wu she mentioned be the same as the one on the scroll?

She continued reading: "Sheng Yunting, from Dianfang District, Chang'an, one sister named Aman remaining..."

Aman? The lute girl's name was Aman...

As Li Ying pondered, she heard the sound of leather boots on the floor and the door opening. Cui Xun, wearing a black crane cloak, walked in. Everything happened so quickly that she didn't have time to hide the scroll. Cui Xun saw the scroll on the ground, picked it up, and placed it back on the shelf.

Li Ying was flustered and stammered, "I didn't mean to snoop. I accidentally knocked it off and..."

She lowered her head, blushing, and clutched her skirt, feeling embarrassed and uneasy. Cui Xun put the scroll back without turning around and said indifferently, "Never mind."

Li Ying was stunned. "What?"

"I said never mind," Cui Xun turned around, his voice cold.

Hearing the displeasure in his tone, Li Ying felt even more uncomfortable. She lowered her head, clutched her skirt tightly, and looked guilty. Cui Xun saw her weak demeanor, pursed his lips, and asked, "Why did you get out of bed when your injuries haven't healed?"

Li Ying was taken aback and hurriedly explained, "I was feeling suffocated, so I wanted to walk around. But since I can't leave the room, I only walked in the study, which is why..."

She rambled on, explaining how she accidentally knocked the scroll off. Cui Xun picked up an oiled paper umbrella from the shelf and said, "Let's go for a walk outside."

-

Outside, new green sprouted on branches, and grass turned lush. Li Ying, wrapped in a white fox fur, looked frail and delicate. Beside her, Cui Xun, holding the oiled paper umbrella and wearing a black crane cloak, appeared dignified and austere. After a few steps, Li Ying felt dizzy and weak, leaning against a willow tree, panting slightly. Cui Xun glanced at her, and Li Ying smiled bitterly, "Sorry, I'm too weak. I'll disappoint you, Cui Shaoqing."

Cui Xun was silent for a moment, then extended his arm, "If Princess doesn't mind, you can lean on me."

Surprised, Li Ying looked up at Cui Xun, then lowered her gaze and slowly reached out to hold his arm, relying on him as they walked slowly under the oiled paper umbrella.

Under the umbrella, a man and a woman supported each other, Li Ying pausing frequently to catch her breath. Cui Xun said, "Your injuries need more time to heal."

"But what about Wang Ranxi?"

"She's also sick," Cui Xun held the umbrella, his tall frame in deep crimson official robes looking gaunt. "Sicker than you."

Li Ying was unconvinced, "If she dies, where will I find the truth?"

"Rest assured, I'll bring her to the Prosecutor's Office before she dies."

Li Ying was still uneasy, "Wang Ranxi is the wife of a third-rank official, appointed by the Emperor as the Lady of Jincheng. How sure are you that you can bring her to the Prosecutor's Office?"

Cui Xun replied coolly, "She might have been the wife of a third-rank official and the Lady of Jincheng, but after Princess risked her life to uncover the truth, she's now a suspect in the murder of the Empress Dowager's daughter."

"But her husband, the Minister of War Pei Guanyue, will stand idly by?"

A trace of imperceptible ferocity flashed in Cui Xun's eyes: "He had better not stand idly by."

Li Ying didn't understand, but she understood that Cui Xun had promised to capture Wang Ranxi. She sincerely thanked him: "In that case, I thank you, Cui Shaoqing."

Faced with her sincerity, Cui Xun suddenly fell silent. After a while, he said, "We each get what we need; once the matter is settled, we'll part ways. So, there's no need for repeated thanks."

His words were cold and distant. Li Ying was taken aback and couldn't help but glance at Cui Xun. Under his black hat, his features were as cold as ice, keeping everyone at arm's length. For some reason, she felt a pang of disappointment and lowered her head, saying, "Mm."

Cui Xun also remained silent. They walked around the courtyard in silence. Then Cui Xun said, "The wind outside is strong; let's go back."

Li Ying nodded again. She supported Cui Xun's arm, feeling the chill of his body, colder than the spring cold, even colder than her own long-dead body. Li Ying helped Cui Xun into the study, where he helped her onto the couch and then sat down at the desk to handle official business. He glanced up at Li Ying inadvertently and noticed that this time she wasn't lying on her side watching him as she had done in the past few days. Instead, she turned her back to him, quietly facing the red pillars and white walls. After a long while, he still didn't hear her deep, steady breathing indicating sleep. Cui Xun looked at her back, a hint of confusion passing through his eyes, but it quickly turned into an expressionless calm. He indifferently lowered his head and continued to meticulously write on the documents, his brush moving steadily.