Chapter 430
Aunt Liu blamed herself terribly. Meng Ruqing had been coughing on and off for days. But many people in the village were like that. Once winter set in, catching a slight chill often meant a few days of coughing. The villagers were used to hardship — generally, unless it was serious, they didn't see a physician. They'd just tough it out, drink some ginger soup, and it would pass. Nothing serious. Besides, Qin Hengxuan had later sent someone to town to fetch several doses of medicine, and Meng Ruqing had been taking it for days. Aunt Liu had thought there was nothing to worry about.
Meng Ruqing was naturally cold and aloof. In his life, he'd never bent down to ingratiate himself with anyone. He wanted to be closer to Fang Zichen but never knew what to do or what he could do. He seemed unable to do anything right. He wanted to wash a piece of clothing for him, but couldn't even do it as nimbly as Guaizai. When Fang Zichen played with the children, he'd stand nearby, watching him and the children intently.
Aunt Liu didn't know why — he clearly dressed better than her and came from a wealthier family — but whenever she saw Meng Ruqing like that, she always felt uneasy, felt that he was pitiful.
Today she hadn't been able to hold back and said something.
And now she'd caused him to suffer.
Meng Ruqing was seriously ill now, his face pale without a trace of color. Fine beads of sweat kept seeping from his forehead. He didn't seem conscious, murmuring continuously, calling Qin Hengxuan's name in broken fragments, saying he was cold — yet his forehead was covered in sweat.
Fang Zichen was busy running inside and out as well. After two doses of medicine, it was finally near dawn when Meng Ruqing improved. Qin Hengxuan let out a breath, his eyes bloodshot, and said wearily, "It's very late. You two go back and rest first."
Fang Zichen was also exhausted, but he didn't move immediately. He glanced worriedly at the bed.
Qin Hengxuan patted his shoulder. "It's fine. I'm here. You and Zhao Ger go back."
He clearly hadn't done much, yet Fang Zichen felt inexplicably worn out. He tossed and turned, unable to sleep, his mind full of images of Meng Ruqing carefully trying to please him.
He'd get overwhelmed with joy over a single word from Fang Zichen, and feel terribly dejected when Fang Zichen didn't respond because he was distracted.
This wasn't the first time Fang Zichen had been courted favor with. On the contrary, as the third young master of the Fang family, plenty of people flattered him. But those compliments all seemed to harbor unspoken motives, so all the ingratiation seemed impure.
They always wanted to get something from him.
Fang Zichen felt restless, an indescribable feeling spreading through his chest, his thoughts in a tangled mess.
He didn't know how much time had passed. Just as he was drifting in and out of sleep, a short, sharp scream pierced the quiet depths of the night.
The sound was eerily shrill.
It felt like the scream would split Fang Zichen's entire cerebral cortex wide open. He jolted awake.
Hearing a sound like that suddenly cut through the dead of night was truly chilling.
Was this place haunted?
His heart was pounding wildly, and Zhao Ger was clutching his arm, his face full of terror.
"Husband, what is that sound?"
Fang Zichen was just about to say he didn't know when the sound came again.
It was right at...
Fang Zichen and Zhao Ger exchanged a glance, then quickly threw off the covers and jumped out of bed. They fumbled into their shoes, threw on their padded coats, and rushed outside.
Gungun and Dandan had been frightened awake and were wailing loudly. Zhao Ger had already reached the door, but had to turn back.
Outside in the courtyard, Qin Hengxuan was holding Meng Ruqing tightly, trying to carry him back inside. But Meng Ruqing — who was usually proper and refined, with fair skin, and as a ger was always smaller in build, so frail-looking that a single punch seemed like it could send him flying — was now in such a frenzy that even Qin Hengxuan couldn't hold him.
His long hair was loose and disheveled, he wore only a white inner garment, and his feet were bare.
The moment Fang Zichen stepped outside and saw this, he was badly startled, his lower abdomen tightening.
Holy crap.
Thank goodness there was no well in this courtyard — otherwise it would have been straight out of The Ring.
Wasn't he running a fever?
What on earth is going on here?
Did those two have a fight or something?
But Meng Ruqing's behavior was far too abnormal.
Meng Ruqing wanted to run outside. Qin Hengxuan held onto him, and he struggled in Qin Hengxuan's arms like a trapped beast, one hand constantly reaching toward the courtyard gate, as if trying to grab hold of something.
Seeing that Qin Hengxuan was about to lose his grip, Fang Zichen was just about to rush over and help when one sentence from Meng Ruqing stopped him right in his tracks.
"The child..."
With a tearful tone, he said, "I need to find the child... Brother Xuan, I need to go... find the child."
Fang Zichen's body went rigid and his expression changed in an instant. A strange feeling burst open in his chest like a bomb. He clenched his back teeth, forcing down the surge of grief rising within him.
Zhao Ger had stuffed something into the two children's hands. Once Gungun and Dandan had something to eat, they feared nothing in the world. The two little ones wiped their tears while eating. Seeing that they had stopped wailing, Zhao Ger came out of the room. One look at the scene and he instantly understood what was going on:
"Uncle Meng is having one of his fits again. Husband, quick — go call Guaizai."
Back when they were staying at the Qin residence, Meng Ruqing had a fit once before. He lost all awareness of his surroundings and kept trying to rush outside — no one could stop him. But the moment Guaizai called out to him, he stopped.
Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu heard the commotion and came out into the courtyard. Both were stunned by Meng Ruqing's strange behavior and stood at a loss, not daring to step forward to help. It wasn't exactly out of fear.
If it were Qin Hengxuan, Uncle Liu—being kind-hearted—would probably have risked his life to rush over by now. But Meng Ruqing...
He absolutely didn't dare.
Meng Ruqing was crying and shouting. Zhao Ger urged, "Husband, hurry!"
Fang Zichen's thoughts were in a tangled mess, his chest felt like a stone was pressing down on it, and his body felt impossibly heavy. He wanted to do as Zhao Ger said and go fetch Guaizai, but he seemed nailed in place—he couldn't lift his feet at all.
His throat went dry, and he couldn't get a word out. Zhao Ger's words echoed over and over in his mind.
A fit?
That's right.
Back when he and Yang Mutao had gone to Suping Town to see the child, the Qin family army had just returned to the capital.
They had been standing by the roadside at the time, waiting for the Qin family army to pass. Someone — apparently just making conversation — muttered something about the Qin family, saying quite a lot. And Meng Ruqing's name came up.
"I heard that after the Qin family's zhujun lost his child, it took him years to recover. They say something went wrong with his mind."
"No way? What kind of problem?"
"Don't know. They say it's a madness."
"Don't make things up! I went to Hengyang for goods before and had the fortune of seeing the Qin Family's zhujun from afar once. He looked perfectly normal!"
"It's not like it happens all the time. Everyone says so—it can't all be fake."
"So the Qin family didn't divorce him?"
"Divorce him? You haven't seen what the Qin family's zhujun looks like. And the eldest young master of the Qin family isn't that kind of person."
"That's right! I've seen the Qin family's zhujun too—he's unmatched in looks, and his talent rivals any man's. I heard that before he married, the men seeking his hand in marriage could line up from the Left Chancellor's house all the way outside the capital. What a pity—such a peerless beauty, and in the end..."
At the time, listening to the idle chatter, he hadn't thought much of it. He'd just assumed that handsome men tended to have rough lives—after all, his own hadn't been smooth sailing either.
But now, thinking back on it—those pitying tones, those words—pierced him like needles, one by one, making his heart ache.
No comments:
Post a Comment