Chapter 43

Chapter 43

After nightfall, I did not go to Tinglan Pavilion.

The next day, Meng Huaiqing still arrived early for the consultation. This time, he brought many supplies, looking as though he intended to perform moxibustion on me.

As was my habit, I took my time washing up and eating. Only after everything was settled did I call Meng Huaiqing inside.

He looked as if he hadn’t slept all night; his eyes were bloodshot, and his voice sounded muffled when he spoke.

Cuinong served tea and asked with a smile, “Is the doctor feeling unwell?”

Meng Huaiqing took a sip of tea. “I caught a cold, it’s no matter.”

He sat on a round stool, neither checking my pulse nor speaking. He merely glanced at me from time to time, looking as if he had something on the tip of his tongue.

I gave Cuinong a meaningful look.

Understanding my intent, Cuinong announced that the Madam was about to begin her moxibustion treatment and assigned a flurry of tasks to the young maidservants.

Once the arrangements were made, Cuinong closed the door to the outer room, leaving only a crack, and stood guard at the entrance.

I stood up and walked toward the inner chamber; Meng Huaiqing followed immediately.

He glanced behind him and asked in a low, worried voice, “Is she trustworthy?”

I gave a soft hum of affirmation.

Meng Huaiqing nodded repeatedly. “Yes, when the matter of Hongyu’s drowning suddenly occurred that day, only you and Cuinong were present. I suppose… she is also reborn?”

Sharp as ever.

I sat on the embroidered bed without saying a word.

Meng Huaiqing pulled up a round stool and sat by the bedside, hurriedly opening his medicine box to take out the mugwort and light it.

“Why didn’t you come last night? I waited for you at Tinglan Pavilion all night.”

I let out a scoff. “Who’s to say that if I had gone, the one waiting for me wouldn’t have been Yuan Heng?”

Meng Huaiqing’s hand paused. He stared at the burning mugwort. Perhaps the smoke was too thick, as it caused him to cough violently until his eyes turned red.

After a moment of silence, he asked in a raspy voice, “Do you hate me intensely?”

I waved away the smoke in front of me and said indifferently, “I don’t.”

Meng Huaiqing looked up at me. “That’s impossible.”

I smiled. “You did betray me, but you also saved me once, didn’t you?”

“At first, I did hate you. But then I thought about it-you had your difficulties, and you had your fears. As it turns out, you made the right choice back then. Yuan Heng said he trusts you completely.”

Meng Huaiqing lowered his head even further. “You still hate me.”

“Believe what you will.”

I glanced at his bandaged right hand. “Did you fall on purpose?”

Meng Huaiqing nodded. “I had been suspicious before-why you suddenly wanted to flee, and who exactly revealed those things to you. The day I was reborn at Qiyun Temple, I understood everything in an instant. I assume you are also reborn, and likely more than once, which is why you knew he intended to harm you.”

“I knew that your next step would surely be to mar your face to escape danger. I caused you so much suffering in our past life that I couldn’t bear to see you hurt yourself again, so I made it look like I had fallen and broken my hand.”

I nodded in understanding and asked, “Then Nanny Lin and her husband catching that red rash-that was your doing as well?”

Meng Huaiqing admitted it. “I had to see you, but your face is currently flawless, and I couldn’t enter the Marquis Manor. I found a way to slip into the Lins’ small courtyard outside the estate and poisoned them. At the same time, I…”

I finished the sentence for him. “Ever since Yuan Heng and I met, I have been using the Jade Beauty Cream he gave me. You made that stuff, didn’t you? You also put poison in the newly delivered batch of Jade Beauty Cream.”

Meng Huaiqing hummed in affirmation, then added urgently, “But believe me, I controlled the dosage. It was only meant to cause a slight rash on your face; it would never have left a scar!”

I smiled. “Tell me then-you’ve gone to such great lengths to see me, what is it you want? Surely it isn’t just to apologize.”