Chapter 20

Chapter 20

At the hour of Mao, the first light of dawn was just beginning to touch the horizon.

Upon hearing the news that Xia Ximo had awakened, Ren Fengjue did not dare delay. He rushed over immediately, his feet moving as if driven by the wind.

Physician Zhang was waiting at the door, his face etched with anxiety. Seeing him return, the physician hurriedly stepped forward to report the situation.

“I had just finished administering the Nine Needles of Yang Revival when Miss Xia suddenly woke up…”

Yu Lang, following behind, couldn’t help but marvel. “As expected of the Nine Needles of Yang Revival; it truly has miraculous effects.”

Despite the praise, Physician Zhang showed no joy. Instead, he looked even more distressed.

“I am ashamed to say that although she is awake, her pulse is extremely strange. For a moment, even I cannot tell if this is truly the result of the Nine Needles of Yang Revival.”

Ren Fengjue remained silent and walked straight to the bedside.

He possessed some knowledge of medicine himself. Seeing that Xia Ximo was still as pale as a ghost, he knew the situation was not optimistic.

He lifted her sleeve and felt her pulse point. The icy touch and the faint, almost imperceptible pulse sent a jolt through his heart.

Only those on the verge of death possessed such a pulse…

The thought flashed through his mind, but before he could dwell on it, an icy hand grabbed his wrist with surprising strength.

“Miss Xia?”

Staring at her hand, Ren Fengjue was momentarily at a loss, unsure if he should pull away.

Xia Ximo, who was clearly still in a state of semi-consciousness, murmured something, her lips trembling slightly.

He couldn’t hear her clearly, so he patiently leaned down and pressed his ear closer.

“Miss Xia, what did you say?”

Being so close, her weak voice drifted directly into his ear, but the content made his entire body shudder.

“Hold me.”

Ren Fengjue thought he had misheard until she repeated it: “Hold me.”

“…”

Even though Lord Ren had solved many shocking cases and heard many absurd things, this was the first time he had been rendered speechless by two simple words.

He froze, one hand suspended in mid-air, caught in a dilemma.

Unexpectedly, this woman was quite bold. She didn’t give him much time to hesitate before reaching out with her other hand and grabbing his lapel with force.

Everything happened too suddenly. Before he could react, Lord Ren fell forward awkwardly onto her.

Yu Lang, who had been waiting anxiously by the door, couldn’t resist stealing a glance inside.

That one look was enough to make him gasp.

What was going on with Lord Ren?

How did he end up rolling onto the bed out of nowhere?

Vice Minister Yu didn’t have time to think. He grabbed Physician Zhang, who hadn’t yet noticed anything amiss, and pulled him away from the room, closing the door behind them.

Physician Zhang looked confused and was about to look back, but Yu Lang forcibly straightened his head.

“Don’t look. I suspect Lord Ren has found a way to treat Miss Xia.”

“…”

Physician Zhang’s neck went stiff, and he was even more bewildered. The words at the tip of his tongue were forced back down.

Inside the room, Ren Fengjue’s thoughts were in total disarray.

To avoid crushing her, he quickly braced his hands against the bed. However, his frame was too tall and the bed was somewhat narrow. No matter how he tried to dodge, physical contact was inevitable.

They were so close that their noses almost touched. Ren Fengjue instinctively held his breath.

Naturally, he did not hold Xia Ximo as she requested. He considered such behavior beneath a gentleman, even if the two of them were betrothed.

Yet, the woman showed none of the modesty expected of a lady from a noble household. When she received no response, she actually reached out and forcibly wrapped her arms around his waist.

Ren Fengjue’s entire body went rigid, as if his pressure points had been struck.
The two of them remained huddled together on the narrow bed in a rather strange posture, half-pressed and half-embraced.

Lord Ren had lived for twenty years, but when had he ever been in such an embarrassing predicament?

In an instant, a chaotic mix of thoughts swirled in his mind. The woman’s body was soft, and she was currently burrowing into his chest without the slightest restraint.

This scene didn’t look like an intimate embrace between a man and a woman; she seemed more like a fragile little beast, appearing somewhat pitiful.

Thus, he couldn’t bear to push her away, and he couldn’t bring himself to utter a word of reprimand. He could only let her hold him.

However, after an unknown amount of time, he was surprised to find that her originally icy body was beginning to regain its warmth.

Then, her deathly pale face gradually regained a hint of color.

She was like a flower on the verge of withering that had suddenly come back to life.

Ren Fengjue’s first reaction was that he was hallucinating. He reached out to check her pulse and was shocked once more.

At this moment, beyond her outward recovery, even her pulse had stabilized.

It wasn’t a hallucination at all.

She truly had “come back to life.”

Outside the window, the sky was fully bright. A ray of morning sun passed through the eaves and shone upon the corridor.

The long night had finally passed.

Yu Lang raised a hand to shield his eyes and couldn’t help but yawn.

“It’s finally light out.”

Suddenly hearing the movement of the door behind him, he immediately perked up. “Lord Ren, how is Miss Xia?”

Ren Fengjue stepped out from inside, but his expression looked somewhat strange.

He seemed distracted, only giving a low grunt of acknowledgement from his throat, clearly not intending to elaborate.

Physician Zhang, unaware of the situation, remained anxious and stepped forward to ask, “Young Marquis, regarding Miss Xia’s condition, do we still need to make a trip to the Imperial Medical Office?”

“No need.”

Ren Fengjue replied briefly, his tone devoid of emotion.

Physician Zhang’s heart sank. After a moment of hesitation, he braced himself and said, “If that is the case… I hope the Young Marquis can restrain his grief and accept this change.”

“…”

Silence fell over the air.

This left Vice Minister Yu, who was clearly an outsider to the room’s events, uncertain about the situation inside.

But just then, a figure was silhouetted against the early morning sunlight. Xia Ximo walked out of the room completely unharmed and asked out of the blue, “Restrain what grief?”

Hearing her voice, Physician Zhang looked as if he had seen a ghost.

His mouth hung open as he silently swallowed his shock. Then, with a thud, he knelt on the ground.

“Young Marquis, please forgive me! This lowly one was reckless with his words and deserves to be slapped…”

Ren Fengjue witnessed the scene but found himself unable to explain how a “dying person” could recover in such a short time.

“Get up. Miss Xia is blessed by the heavens; even the King of Hell didn’t dare take her yet.”

As he spoke, his gaze involuntarily drifted over Xia Ximo again, his eyes flickering with deep meaning.

He wondered just how many more secrets this woman was hiding…

Beside them, Yu Lang patted his chest and let out a deliberate, long sigh of relief, attempting to lighten the atmosphere.

“Didn’t I say Lord Ren would have a way?”

As he spoke, he pointedly arched an eyebrow at Physician Zhang.

Though Physician Zhang was slow to react, he had no choice but to be impressed. He quickly chimed in, “Vice Minister Yu is right. This lowly one is truly full of admiration…”

Ren Fengjue listened to their back-and-forth and noticed the suggestive look in Yu Lang’s eyes, surmising that the man must have seen something.

However, he didn’t care in the slightest, nor did he offer any explanation. He simply gave a slight nod, turned, and walked away.