Chapter 121
Chapter 121
As Ji Hanyi walked along with her mother, Madam Gu’s face looked rather pale. She leaned against Ji Hanyi’s shoulder, her steps unsteady.
Ji Hanyi assumed her mother was overcome with sorrow at the thought of leaving tomorrow. She had always been sentimental, so naturally, parting with Ji Hanyi’s maternal grandmother would be difficult for her. Ji Hanyi called a maid over to help support her.
She helped her mother into bed first. Only after watching her drift into an exhausted sleep did Ji Hanyi return to her own room to wash and bathe.
Yet that night, Ji Hanyi dreamed of Shen Si.
She dreamed that he held her in his arms and pinned her beneath him. She dreamed that those deep, aloof eyes of his were fixed intently on her as he slowly leaned closer, as if he meant to kiss her.
An inexplicable heat swept through her body. Something seemed to brush against her ear like a feather, and a husky voice, its breath scorching hot, murmured her name.
The unfamiliar feverishness jolted Ji Hanyi awake. Only a single dim candle burned beside the bed, its light even fainter through the bed curtains.
She stared blankly at one of the bedposts, her heart still pounding in her chest.
The moment Shen Si’s lips had descended on hers in the dream had felt so real, as though she had truly experienced it.
Ji Hanyi pressed a hand to her chest, unable to understand why she would have such a dream. She hardly even dared imagine that someone as lofty and untouchable as Shen Si would kiss her while breathing in such a low, sensual rasp.
In her mind, Shen Si had always been noble, reserved, and solemn. He could never behave as he had in her dream.
Ji Hanyi lowered her head and covered her cheeks with both hands. Her skin was burning. Her loose hair spilled down, concealing her expression as shame washed over her for having dreamed such a thing.
Of all people, she was the last person who should be having dreams like that.
Ji Hanyi ducked her head beneath the covers. She clearly harbored no such feelings for Shen Si, nor would she dare allow herself to.
Reminding herself that they had to set out early tomorrow, she told herself to stop thinking nonsense.
She was just about to lie back down when a flurry of footsteps sounded outside the bed curtains. She froze, then reached out and pulled them aside. Chunju rushed in, her face deathly pale and her expression panicked. The moment she saw Ji Hanyi, she cried, “Miss, something terrible has happened!”
Ji Hanyi’s heart clenched. Seeing the look on Chunju’s face, she quickly sat on the edge of the bed and asked, “What happened?”
Fear filled Chunju’s face. She had clearly suffered a terrible fright. Her mouth opened, but it took her a long while to find her voice.
“Madam vomited blood.”
Ji Hanyi’s expression changed. She snatched a robe from the stand and threw it over herself, then ordered Rongchun to hurry and fetch the doctor. After hastily dressing, she rushed to her mother’s room.
The room was brightly lit. The two maids on duty stood beside the bed, terror written all over their faces. When Ji Hanyi hurried inside, they reacted as though they had finally found someone to rely on and asked frantically, “Miss, what should we do?”
Ji Hanyi strode to the bed and saw her mother lying limp and motionless, her eyes tightly shut. A large patch of blood stained the front of her white nightclothes, and traces of blood remained at the corners of her lips.
The red blood on the soft pillow beside her face looked especially shocking beneath the candlelight, presenting a horrifying sight.
Ji Hanyi swayed. Bending over, she caught herself against a bedpost. Her slender, pale fingers trembled as she held them beneath her mother’s nose. When a faint breath brushed her fingers, she dragged in a deep breath and collapsed backward into a chair.
Her eyes reddened, and panic surged through her heart, but she forced herself to remain calm and began asking what had happened.
Chunju burst into tears beside her and choked out in broken sentences, “Madam was perfectly fine after she went to sleep. She even woke up once and said she was thirsty, so she drank some tea. But in the middle of the night, Madam suddenly called for me again. When I went over, I saw her lying on her side and vomiting blood. She couldn’t get a single word out before she lost consciousness.”
“I was frightened too. Madam has always been in poor health, but this has never happened before.”
Ji Hanyi tilted her head, staring blankly at her mother’s deathly pale face.
Everything had been fine until now. Why had this suddenly happened just before departure?
Rongchun hurried to the front gate and had someone ride out to fetch a doctor. When she returned, she found Ji Hanyi sitting at the edge of the bed and reassured her softly, “Don’t worry, Miss. The doctor will be here soon. Madam will be all right.”
Ji Hanyi lowered her head and propped her forehead with one hand. Her throat felt so tight that she could not speak.
With tears still in her eyes, Chunju asked, “Should we ask the First Madam to come take a look?”
Ji Hanyi paused, then shook her head.
Before long, the doctor rushed in, bringing a gust of wintry air with him. Ji Hanyi had already instructed the maids to light several more candles. The bright candlelight illuminated the bloodstains so clearly that even the elderly doctor was startled.
He hurriedly rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward with a grave expression to take Madam Gu’s pulse.
The entire room fell silent, every gaze fixed on the doctor.
The elderly doctor spent a long time examining her pulse. At last, he frowned and looked up to ask about Madam Gu’s health.
As the maid who attended her personally, Chunju quickly gave him a complete account.
After hearing her out, the elderly doctor heaved a long sigh and said to Ji Hanyi, “Madam’s pulse is weak and wiry. Her condition appears to be blood depletion caused by stagnation of the liver. A surge of emotion caused the pent-up distress in her chest to erupt, leading her to vomit blood.”
He stroked his beard, looking troubled. “Madam was already extremely frail, and excessive brooding has taken a further toll on her. Naturally, her body could not withstand it. Conditions such as this are usually brought on by too much worry. The root of the illness lies in the heart. Only once that burden is lifted and her spirits improve will she naturally recover.”
He then asked Ji Hanyi, “Has anything been weighing on Madam’s mind lately?”
Ji Hanyi hesitated.
What had been weighing on her mother’s mind?
Before she could answer, the outer curtain was abruptly flung aside. Hurried footsteps approached as the swaying curtain let in a gust of cold air, followed by several people.
Madam Zhang had arrived with her maids.
Rongchun had sent someone from the front gate out on horseback, which meant calling a groom from the stables. Since every matter in the estate required the First Madam’s approval, it was hardly surprising that Madam Zhang had heard the news.
The moment Madam Zhang entered, her face was cold and filled with impatience and disdain. She said to the elderly doctor, “She has plenty weighing on her mind.”
“She gives no one peace, and neither does the person by her side. How could she possibly have nothing to worry about?”
“And now something happens in the middle of the night again. Will this household ever have a single day of peace?”
Ji Hanyi understood perfectly well what Madam Zhang was implying. Pressing her lips together, she turned to the elderly doctor and asked, “What should we do now?”
The elderly doctor sighed. “For now, I can only prescribe something to replenish her vitality. She will need careful nursing afterward. Only by easing both her body and mind can she gradually recover.”
He glanced at the desolate expression on Ji Hanyi’s face and added quietly, “Do your best to talk her through it. There is no hardship in this world that cannot be overcome. Once she comes to terms with it, she will be all right.”
Ji Hanyi stared into space. Could her mother still be grieving over her divorce?
Just as Ji Hanyi had once pretended in front of her mother that she and Xie Yuheng were a loving, harmonious couple, perhaps her mother had only pretended to have accepted the divorce because she was afraid Ji Hanyi would be upset.
Her mother had always been prone to brooding…
The elderly doctor walked past her, but Ji Hanyi remained lost in thought, tears gradually welling in her eyes.
Madam Zhang glanced toward the bed. The sight of all that blood startled even her. She turned to Ji Hanyi and snapped, “Look at what you’ve done. Don’t you know what your mother’s temperament is like?”
“Now you’ve made everyone in this household worry all over again.”