Xun Luoxia sighed with relief, “In that case, I am at ease.”
Yun Qi looked at her mother with confusion, wondering why her mother’s words today seemed so illogical.
“Qi’er, have some tea first,” Xun Luoxia handed her the tea on the table. Yun Qi waited patiently, holding the teacup but with no intention of drinking.
After a moment of reflection, Xun Luoxia said, “Zhi’er, she is not your wife, but your twin sister!”
With a crisp sound, Yun Qi crushed the teacup in his hand, blood quickly flowing out, but Yun Qi seemed unaware, his eyes full of shock, trying to steady his voice, “Mother… what did you say? Could you repeat that?”
Seeing her son like this, Xun Luoxia was on the verge of tears, “Qi’er, it’s my fault. Don’t hurt yourself!”
When I gave birth to you, enemies happened to come looking for us, and your father and I had no choice but to hide. Circumstances forced us to leave you behind. So, I and Yun Yi exchanged tokens and had you both sent away separately. Unexpectedly, we were separated for nearly twenty years. If the person we entrusted hadn’t died abroad, we might have found you earlier.”
“Tokens? What were they?” Yun Qi still couldn’t believe it.
Xun Luoxia shook her head, “No mistake. The sachet you wear was embroidered by me personally. Doesn’t it have the character ‘Yi’ on it?” Yun Qi instinctively touched his waist, and it was exactly as his mother described.
“And this dagger. That day when the villains broke in, I saw Zhi’er using something Yun Yi had given me.” Xun Luoxia pulled out an exquisitely crafted dagger from her sleeve, carefully drawing it from its sheath, “This dagger is called ‘Cold Moon’, with a blade that shimmers like flowing light, the edge like an autumn river, cold to the touch, made of rare fine steel. Near the hilt, there’s a seal script character ‘Xia’.”
After a long time, Yun Qi finally broke the silence, saying: “Mother, please give me some time to handle this.” Yun Qi’s thousand thoughts tangled in his mind before finally calming down.
Now, he only needed a reason to make a decision, but he still needed time to find this reason; otherwise, his long-standing persistence in love would prevent him from convincing himself to give up.
Xun Luoxia nodded, forcing a slight smile, “Of course Mother believes in you. Not only in you, but also in Rou’er. You can both get through this. Once you pass this hurdle, it will be like seeing the moon after the clouds clear.”
Chapter 3: First Awakening (1)
Ever since hearing about Yun Qi’s accident, Yi Mu’er rushed to Luoxia Palace against her father’s objections, spending three days and nights continuously accompanying and caring for Bing Zhi.
After barely passing the critical period, Xun Luoxia seemed restless these three days; early this morning she had called Yun Qi to her room, with no movement since.
“Oh! Big brother, what happened to your hand? There’s so much blood!” Yi Mu’er hurried over when she saw Yun Qi, noticing his haggard face and somewhat dazed look, as if lost in thought. “Come, let me apply medicine. You must bandage it!” Without waiting for Yun Qi to speak, she pulled him towards Bing Zhi’s room, which was full of healing herbs.
Yun Qi made no objection, allowing Yi Mu’er to lead him, seemingly still deep in thought.
Yi Mu’er brought Yun Qi into the room, made him sit down, and hurriedly found external medicine and bandages before sitting down to carefully treat his wound. “It might hurt a bit.
Yi Mu’er rarely treated wounds and now felt uncertain.
As she opened Yun Qi’s hand, tears almost burst from her eyes. The blood had already coagulated into dark red and black clots on his hand. What had made him punish himself like this?
“Hiss!” Yun Qi unexpectedly inhaled sharply, slightly frowning and turning his gaze to Yi Mu’er.
“Sorry! Sorry! My hands are so clumsy!” Yi Mu’er panicked more, apologizing repeatedly and becoming even more careful.
Yun Qi relaxed his brow and smiled faintly, “You’re doing well. Your hands are quite skilled. If it were me, I might not know how to apply medicine.”
Yi Mu’er looked at his smile, almost entranced. But why did she feel that despite smiling at her, his smile seemed unreal, even carrying a hint of heartbreaking sadness.
As soon as Ice opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Yun Qi’s anxious yet joyful face, calling her name repeatedly, as if trying to confirm that she had truly awakened. Was everything over?
Yun Qi’s face was full of joy, exclaiming, “She’s awake! She really is awake! Ice… Ice…”
Concerned but still calm, Yi Mu’er carefully handed her a glass of water, “She just woke up and must be thirsty. Have some water.”
“Yes, drink slowly, Ice.” Yun Qi nodded and smiled, expressing gratitude to Yi Mu’er, and Ice responded with a slight smile.
Yi Mu’er was momentarily stunned, realizing that siblings were indeed similar, even in their ways of expressing gratitude.
Ice propped herself up, took a sip of water. However, her voice was still hoarse when she spoke: “Fortunately, we’re all still alive.”
Yes, they were all still alive. She had finally not owed Yun Qi any more – a life was something she could never repay.
Just as a smile was about to reach her eyes, it suddenly disappeared. Ice nervously gripped Yun Qi’s hand, asking, “Xiao Jin, how is he? Tell me.” She was truly afraid of hearing bad news.
Yun Qi, with mixed emotions, said, “Don’t worry, he’s not in mortal danger. He just needs rest and recovery and can’t come to see you. He… he said that once he’s feeling better, he’ll come here. Mu’er, when you saw him that day, he didn’t seem to have any major problems, right?” After this ordeal, Ice was physically and mentally exhausted, and Yun Qi had to fabricate a story to help her rest easy.
“He should be fine, don’t worry,” Yi Mu’er understood and, although not entirely approving of the deception, didn’t want to expose it immediately.
Perhaps because she wanted to hear that Xiao Jin was safe, Ice didn’t notice the unnatural look in Yun Qi’s eyes or the reluctance in her conversation with Yi Mu’er. She took a deep breath and felt much more relaxed.
“That’s good, we’ve survived without major incident. Alas, poor Ai Xue, such a foolish person. If she had fallen in love with someone else, her ending wouldn’t have been so tragic.” Ice suddenly remembered Ai Xue’s blood-stained face in the firelight that day and sighed helplessly. Wasn’t that night a heart-wrenching farewell?
Yun Qi softly comforted Ice, not wanting her to grieve for others, “Ice, promise me you won’t think about anything right now. Your health is most important. Rest and don’t overthink. You’re not Ai Xue, and the people around you are not Ning Fei.”
How fortunate she was, not being Ai Xue and surrounded by people who truly cared for her. Ice silently felt grateful and temporarily set aside her sadness. “I will.”
Yi Mu’er watched the scene before her, then turned away, her face already covered in tears. Hearing Yun Qi’s gentle, low voice, she quietly left, gently closing the door.
In this life, no one was truly at fault. Yun Qi, Ice, Xiao Jin, herself, and even Ai Xue – they all selflessly cared for each other, but why couldn’t they obtain the simplest happiness?
Yi Mu’er didn’t understand Cloud Qi’s final sigh and could only nod, “Okay, as long as we can hide this for three days, we’ll deal with the rest later. By the time Bing Zhi recovers a bit more, she might be able to barely accept this reality.”
“If there’s nothing else, please go and accompany Bing Zhi. I remembered some unfinished matters in the palace and can’t go to Bing Zhi’s place. Sorry to trouble you.”
