Chapter 96
Zhao Heng merely instructed Master Chu to enter and swiftly left the crowd, striding towards the study.
Upon returning to the study, she saw a figure standing by the window. He was dressed in coarse linen clothes, a gray headscarf tightly wrapped around him, revealing only his eyes.
Perhaps hearing her footsteps as she rushed back, he happened to look up.
Zhao Heng gazed at those mist-filled eyes and suddenly tears welled up in her own.
She recognized those eyes, the same ones that had looked at her tenderly countless nights.
She remembered those eyes, and in these days, she had not gone a day without longing for him.
The breeze of spring was gentle, and the cold tears cascaded slowly down her cheeks.
"Your Highness," her voice choked with emotion.
The mist in Li Wenjian's eyes deepened, and he struggled to walk towards Zhaoheng. The headscarf was now soaked in crimson blood, the dark stains seeping through, and he silently collapsed on the ground.
"Your Highness, Li Wenjian," Zhao Heng suddenly shouted, "Look at me!"
Li Wenjian's icy hand grasped her wrist, initially hanging his head low, but upon hearing her words, he slowly raised his hand and gently wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes.
Zhao Heng threw herself into his arms, crying uncontrollably, "They bullied me and pressured me when you were not here. Please, get better soon and support me."
Li Wenjian's movement to raise his hand was so difficult, still he laboriously touched the glistening tears in her eyes, but with a hint of stiffness. He spoke, his voice hoarse, "Okay."
Zhao Heng's sobbing grew louder as she held him tightly, as if embracing a retrieved treasure. The suppressed sorrow and despair finally found an outlet at this moment, tears falling heavily on Li Wenjian's shoulders. She dared not contemplate what she would do if he did not return.
She knew the fickleness of life, having experienced numerous separations and farewells from childhood to adulthood. Yet, embracing him at this moment, she realized how truly frightened she was.
Li Wenjian leaned against her embrace, taking a deep breath of the faint fragrance on her. He closed his eyes, mustering all his strength to whisper to her, "Ah Heng, I'm not lying to you."
Listening to his heavy breathing, Zhao Heng knew he must be enduring immense pain at the moment. She leaned close to his ear, her voice hoarse, "Just sleep for a little while, okay?"
He nestled in her arms, offering no response.
Zhao Heng sat motionless on the ground for a while, then, realizing the situation, called out with a quiver in her voice, "Mu Gui, Jian Ning, come quickly."
The waiting attendants immediately rushed in. Seeing Li Wenjian lying on the ground, they quickly helped him up and carried him back to the bedchamber.
Zhao Heng, with Lian Zhou's support, got up from the ground, wiped away the tears on her face, and hurriedly followed. As she was about to enter, Mu Gui stood at the door, blocking her way.
Zhao Heng looked up at him, "Mu Gui, what's the matter?"
"The Crown Prince's face was injured in the courtyard, there was an order earlier. During his treatment, His Highness ordered Lady Liangyuan is not to be present." Mu Gui paused before continuing, "For fear of alarming you."
In the warm, bright light, Zhao Heng's features were serene as she cast her eyes downward, clasping the fabric of her skirt tightly, and nodded gently.
Li Wenjian was as pure as snow, and he probably didn't want her to see his least dignified side.
Therefore, she did not insist.
"I won't go in," Zhao Heng looked through the pearl curtain at the busy attendants inside and sniffled, "I'll wait for him outside."
Mu Gui nodded and went inside.
After twenty days of extreme tension, Zhao Heng's willpower had reached its limit. Knowing that he had returned and was sleeping on a bed only a wall away, she temporarily set aside her worries, letting Lian Zhou assist her to sit on a soft couch.
She just wanted to rest for a moment, assuming she wouldn't be able to sleep, especially since the Imperial Physician was next door treating Li Wenjian. But she never expected to actually fall asleep.
However, her sleep was restless, filled with vague dreams. She dreamt of her village at first, then began to dream of Li Wenjian, and even felt the heart-wrenching sense of loss from when he was absent. Lastly, she dreamt of Li Wenjian lying in her arms, blood streaming down his face.
"Your Highness!" Startled, she woke up covered in cold sweat, sitting up abruptly.
She realized it was already pitch black outside, with just a flickering lamp inside the room.
"Sister-in-law has woken up!"
It was Li Nanxi's voice.
Zhao Heng followed the sound and finally saw Li Wenjian.
He had changed into clean night clothes, his face still covered with a mask, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Their eyes met, and Zhao Heng locked onto his gaze, slowly blinking.
"Your Sister-in-law has awakened. You can rest assured to leave now?" Li Wenjian turned to Li Nanxi, his voice soothing as he asked.
Li Nanxi nodded vigorously and said to Zhaoheng, "Sister-in-law, take care of yourself. I'll come to see you again."
Zhao Heng managed a faint smile and agreed.
Li Nanxi ran out hurriedly, pulling Xue Mama's clothes corner as she left.
As Zhao Heng watched Li Nanxi's figure disappear, Li Wenjian had already stood up and was walking towards her step by step. With each step he took, his clothes fluttered, and his radiance was fully revealed.
Zhao Heng tried to sit up by propping herself against the side of the bed, but she was so tired that she couldn't sit up for a while. She could only raise her hand to tuck away the messy hair at her temples and stare at Li Wenjian without blinking, watching him approach step by step.
Suddenly, she felt a very strange tension in her heart, which stemmed from the dreams that had been haunting her recently. He was always like this in her dreams, walking towards her, but when she reached out to touch him, he would dissipate like the wind.
Li Wenjian bent down, raised his hand to stroke her cheek, and leisurely asked, "Why is Ah Heng acting silly?"
The warmth of his hand against her skin flowed through her veins and circulated through her entire body.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and her throat choked up. She couldn't speak for a while, so she just opened her arms to him, saying, "Hold me."
Li Wenjian bent down, his long arms tightly embracing her.
His embrace was warm and filled with comfort, unlike the ethereal touch in her dreams.
Zhao Heng felt his arms tightening around her, as if he wanted to encase her in his body. This feeling of being held tightly was both hard to part with and hard to give up, making her intoxicated. She pressed against his chest, hugging him back tightly.
This solid embrace was more soothing to the soul than whispering sweet nothings.
"I've taken care of those who have wronged you," Li Wenjian said with a faint smile, but there was a rare shadow in his eyes, "while you were asleep."
"Mm."
Zhao Heng raised her head from his embrace and saw a faint pink mark on his forehead, probably from a healed injury.
She reached out with her cool fingertips and caressed from his forehead to his temple, as if trying to confirm his real existence through this touch. She wanted to touch his face through the veil, but halfway through, her hand stopped.
She was afraid of hurting him.
"Where have you been all these days?" Zhao Heng bit her lip, her eyelashes trembling and glistening with tears.
Li Wenjian took her hand in his palm, holding her close as he said, "When Wang Zhao's gunpowder exploded, breaking through the barriers between the Mansion and Hejiang river, the river surged and swept me into the water."
"When the mansion exploded, Liang Xingyan shielded me, so I didn't receive a fatal injury. I was swept into the river and ended up in the reeds along the roadside." Li Wenjian lowered his head, burying it in her neck, "When I was in the reeds, I happened to overhear Wang Zhao's party plotting. They also have people in the Imperial Guards."
Surprised, Zhao Heng widened her eyes, gripping his hand, "And then?"
"And then I dared not show myself recklessly, so I went to the nearby mountains."
No wonder the Imperial Guards dug up the ground three feet deep at Hejiang Mansion and searched the riverbanks for twenty kilometers up and down, but couldn't find him.
"After spending some time in the mountains," Li Wenjian rubbed her slender shoulders, skipping over his experiences in the mountains and casually said, "My body has recovered somewhat, so I dared to go down the mountain. But when I arrived at the Duke's residence, I found Wang Zhao's spies also stationed there. It's not just the Duke's residence, but also around Mister Liu and General Shen. I'm afraid they could kill me before I get close. To be safe, I had to think of another way."
"Another way?" Zhao Heng opened her mouth, unable to imagine what other way there could be at that point.
"Can you guess what solution I came up with?" Li Wenjian smiled and asked her.
Zhao Heng shook her head, indicating she didn't know.
"I heard at the Duke's residence that the Crown Prince had been found, but he wasn't fully recovered and couldn't meet anyone yet." He slowly pulled his arms closer, embracing her round waist, "I guessed that this was your doing."
"Then I thought, you wouldn't solely rely on finding me for hope. You must have a backup plan. And that backup plan was Ziren. So I waited on the official road outside the capital and sure enough, I found him there."
Wide-eyed and astonished, Zhao Heng couldn't help but turn to look at him, "You met the Second Prince?"
"I did," Li Wenjian nodded, "It was his idea to bring me to the Duke's residence. In the morning, I followed Qinghan and her sisters into the palace, and discreetly returned to the East Palace through a side door."
"How did you guess that?" Zhao Heng asked in amazement.
Li Wenjian said, "I thought about what I would do if I were in your situation. And I arrived at this answer."
Sniffling, Zhao Heng said, "Aren't you afraid I'd be completely lost and couldn't come up with a solution?"
Li Wenjian shook his head, "No, my Ah Heng is always calm, always intelligent and clever."
Pouting, Zhao Heng didn't tell him that she had been scared and sick for three days, unable to get out of bed.
"Ah Heng," his voice trembled as he echoed in her ears, calling softly, "You saved me."
It was late at night, and Li Wenjian's eyes, so close, shimmered with admiration in the dim light, making the dark bruise under his eyes seem handsome.
Turning her body, Zhao Heng gently kissed his eyes and whispered, "I'm so sorry I didn't find you sooner."
I let you wander in the wild, suffer so much.
He didn't like to glorify pain, but his injuries, his emaciated form, all indicated how difficult his days had been.
"You did very well," Li Wenjian leaned in, lightly touching his forehead to hers, and softly said, "Meeting you was a stroke of luck. I always turn adversity into fortune."
"But you almost scared me to death," Zhao Heng said, recalling the events of the past few days, feeling a bit aggrieved.
"Never again," he raised his hand to cup her face, lightly kissing her forehead through the thin veil, "I won't let these beautiful eyes shed another tear for me."
Li Wenjian gazed into her eyes, promising sincerely and deeply.