Her consciousness fell into boundless darkness.
In her dream, Qin Xianyue vaguely felt a strong arm encircle her waist, pulling her away from the suffocating mire.
Her head throbbed intensely.
It felt as if something was violently pounding inside, each pulse of her heartbeat sending sharp pain through her.
A burning sensation from drowning lingered in her throat and nasal cavity, each breath carrying a dull hoarseness.
Qin Xianyue laboriously lifted her heavy eyelids.
Her vision was initially a blur, gradually coming into focus.
What met her eyes was the crimson canopy of a soft gauze bed, its intricate twining lotus pattern emitting a gentle luster under the candlelight.
The air was filled with the bitter scent of medicine, mingled with a faint, tranquil aroma of sandalwood.
It was comfortable and peaceful here.
Yet, it was not any place she recognized.
“Miss, you’re awake?”
A crisp voice sounded nearby.
Qin Xianyue slowly turned her head, seeing a strange maidservant dressed in light green, holding a black lacquered tray with a steaming white jade bowl of medicine, looking at her with concern.
Seeing her eyes open, the maidservant’s face showed a look of relief.
She placed the medicine bowl on the small table by the bed and asked softly, “Are you feeling unwell anywhere else? Is your headache severe?”
Qin Xianyue did not answer immediately.
She propped herself up with her soft, weak body, and the maidservant quickly stepped forward to help her, placing a soft bolster behind her.
This series of movements pulled at something unknown, and another wave of dizziness washed over her.
She closed her eyes, fine beads of cold sweat appearing on her temples.
Seeing her face as pale as paper and covered in cold sweat, the maidservant noticed that she kept her lips tightly shut, neither crying out in pain nor complaining.
Apart from the initial confusion upon waking, her eyes held an unusual calmness, which made the maidservant secretly wonder.
An ordinary young lady who had just survived such a near-death experience would likely be terrified and weeping upon waking; this Miss Qin, however, was remarkably composed.
Seeing that she remained silent for a long time, the maidservant tentatively called out again.
“Miss Qin?”
Qin Xianyue slowly raised her eyelids, her dark eyes like ink jade steeped in a cold pool, clear yet unfathomably deep.
She looked at the maidservant, her voice somewhat hoarse and dry from disuse.
“Who are you?”
She paused after speaking, her brow furrowed slightly as if trying hard to recall, but to no avail, a genuine confusion and emptiness finally showing in her eyes.
“I… who am I?”
In another clean room filled with mist.
Xie Jinyuan had just changed out of his soaked clothes, his dark, long hair still damp, falling behind his plain white sleeping robe.
He casually tossed the cloth to Shi Chun, who was serving him, a hint of imperceptible coldness and doubt in his expression.
“What did you say, amnesia?”
The imperial attendant replied from outside the door.
“The Imperial Physician said that Miss Qin was in the water for quite some time, and the lake water was frigid. The prolonged obstruction of her breathing due to swallowing water damaged her spirit. Furthermore, the rapids in the lake led to a small waterfall. When she was swept down, her back of the head likely struck submerged rocks, causing a blood clot in her skull. That’s why… she can’t remember anything.”
Hearing this, Xie Jinyuan’s brow furrowed, lost in thought.
Shi Chun brought in a bowl of freshly brewed soup to dispel the cold, and couldn't help but mutter.
“Your Highness, how could you personally risk danger to save someone? If the Empress were to know about this, she would surely scold you again.”
Xie Jinyuan took the medicine bowl, his throat bobbing a few times as he drank it in one gulp.
“What then? The guards are all men. Should I have let her struggle in the water, or let them pull her out, thus damaging her reputation for no reason?”
Shi Chun was momentarily speechless, taking the medicine bowl back helplessly, a faint smile flashing in his eyes.
At this moment, Bi Wu, the head palace maid who had been attending to Qin Xianyue, also walked in lightly. After bowing, she reported.
“Your Highness, after Miss Qin woke up, she was very alert. She only remembers having a close elder brother. No matter how we persuaded her, she refused to take the calming soup prescribed by the Imperial Physician.”
She cautiously raised her eyes and asked.
“Your Highness, perhaps we should invite Young Master Gu over? Maybe seeing someone familiar will help Miss feel more at ease.”
There was a moment of silence in the room.
Xie Jinyuan lowered his gaze, unconsciously fiddling with the blood amber beads on his wrist, making a very faint clicking sound.
“There’s no need.”
After a long pause, he spoke, his voice devoid of emotion.
“Seal the news. Do not say a single word to anyone in the Dingbei Marquis Manor.”
He then stood up, his wide sleeves brushing past the table.
“I will go and see her myself.”
Qin Xianyue leaned against the headboard, wrapped in a soft, dry brocade quilt, but the chill that seeped from her bones refused to dissipate.
Her scalp still throbbed with pain, but more unsettling than the headache was the blankness in her mind, like a flash of snow.
She didn't know why she was here, nor who she was.
The maidservants and servants attending her, apart from necessary care and a few words of comfort, shook their heads to all her questions, their eyes flickering, only saying, “Miss, please rest well and don’t think too much.”
This feeling of being completely kept in the dark made her instinctively raise her guard.
When a servant again brought the bowl of dark medicinal liquid, gently urging her, “Miss, this is a soup to calm the nerves and settle the spirit. You will feel better after taking it,” Qin Xianyue glanced at the bowl, pursed her pale lips, and turned her head slightly away.
Her refusal was self-evident.
As the servants were unsure what to do, the beaded curtain was lifted by a hand with distinct knuckles.
A tall figure, carrying a hint of cool, clean moisture and a very faint, crisp fragrance of incense, walked in.
Qin Xianyue subconsciously looked up.
The person was dressed in casual wear of black with dark silver cloud patterns, a jade belt cinching his waist, accentuating his tall, pine-like posture, broad shoulders, and narrow waist, with perfect proportions.
However, what was more striking than his physique was his exceptional appearance.
His eyebrows swept towards his temples, his nose sharp as if carved.
His entire demeanor was one of innate nobility, accustomed to being in a position of power. Yet, his eyes held a hint of casual charm, a contradiction that strangely blended together, forming a unique, intensely captivating presence.
The man’s gaze swept over the untouched bowl of medicine in the servant’s hand, then fell upon her pale but tense little face. To his surprise, he wasn't angry; instead, he walked directly to the bedside and sat down naturally.
He took the bowl of medicine from the attendant, scooped a spoonful, and brought it to her lips.
“Why aren’t you taking your medicine? Are you not even listening to your elder brother anymore?”
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