He had been wronged and shed tears, all because his master was indifferent.
His master was the first person to punish him.
And the first person to make him so wronged that he shed tears.
He held no resentment, only anger. His master was too biased; he was clearly ten thousand times better than that useless person…
—
When Rong Hua woke up again, he was back in his own chambers.
It was night now, and the palace was illuminated by candlelight.
The familiar white curtains caused his pupils to flicker. His dark eyes held nothing but coldness.
Footsteps sounded from beyond the white curtains.
A finger, as white and delicate as jade, lifted the white curtain. She sat by the bed, as if sensing Rong Hua had woken up. She said faintly, “Drink your medicine.”
Rong Hua did not answer her. He merely stared blankly at a point in the void. Gone was his previous ferocity and madness, leaving only numbness and stupor.
“You refuse to drink it?”
Shen Yue knew the man was silently confronting her.
Shen Yue shed her coldness, becoming gentle and serene. “I simmered this medicine for a long time. It would be a waste to discard it.”
The person on the bed ignored her completely, as if regarding her as air. He made no noise, no fuss, his quietness uncharacteristically so.
The medicine was bitter, its scent also acrid.
Shen Yue exhaled a breath of cold air. She made a slight motion with her hands in the air before touching Rong Hua’s hand, which lay on the outside of the bed.
Rong Hua neither dodged nor moved. He showed no emotion. If not for the faint sound of his breathing, Shen Yue would have thought the person on the bed was already dead.
His icy fingertips were colder than the patient on the bed.
“Why have you become more disobedient as you’ve grown?” Shen Yue asked, as if with helplessness.
Rong Hua finally uttered a single word.
“Scram.”
The cold fingertips resting on his hand paused slightly, then slowly retracted. The cool sensation remained, starkly indicating that the owner of the fingers had just been there.
Shen Yue pursed her lips. She was like a lone, elegant white crane in the quiet night, her brows and eyes a cool, detached, and pure clarity.
She spoke softly, “You don’t want to drink the medicine like this. Are you threatening me?”
Rong Hua closed his eyes directly, as if annoyed.
Shen Yue said, “The dead cannot be resurrected. Everything is cause and effect, karma. I cannot interfere.”
The person on the bed remained motionless.
She sighed. The medicine was still hot. She stirred the bowl with a spoon, then scooped up a spoonful and blew on it gently before bringing it to the man’s lips. However, before it could reach his mouth, it was roughly pushed away.
Her wrist faltered, and the medicine bowl slipped from her grasp. More than half of the scalding medicinal liquid splashed onto her.
Her white robe was stained, a large patch of dark green.
Shen Yue paid it no mind, merely saying softly, “This bowl of medicine is wasted.”
Picking up the shattered pieces of porcelain from the floor, Shen Yue went out and fetched another bowl of medicine.
Fortunately, she had brewed a larger batch today; there were two bowls.
This time, Shen Yue did not presume to feed him. Instead, she asked faintly, “Do you want to save her that badly?”
The person on the bed finally showed a slight reaction. His eyeballs rolled, and he looked towards Shen Yue, who was sitting by the bed.
Shen Yue felt his gaze and continued, “I do indeed have a way to save her.”
The man’s pupils trembled slightly. He inadvertently shattered the jade beside the bed. He stared at the white-robed immortal before him, as if trying to discern some clue from her face.
Her brows and eyes were very calm, as if separated by boundless mountains and seas, making her unfathomable and untouchable. She had not yet changed her white robe. Usually meticulous about her appearance, she paid no attention to it at this moment.
She handed him the medicine in her hand.
“Drink the medicine first, and then I will tell you.”
Rong Hua clenched his fist tighter, then slowly relaxed his hand. His fingers touched the bowl of medicine at this moment, stiffly. It was neither hot nor cold, just the right temperature.
The medicine was very bitter. Rong Hua had been most afraid of bitterness as a child. Every time he had to take medicine, he would throw a tantrum, requiring coaxing for a long time before he would drink it. And every time he finished, he would be given a small jar of preserved fruits, otherwise, he would be unhappy for the entire day.
The grown Rong Hua seemed no longer afraid of bitterness. He drank the entire bowl of medicine in one gulp, without even a frown.
As soon as he set down the bowl, a small plate of preserved fruits appeared before him.
Rong Hua paused, his eyes gazing deeply at the preserved fruits.
“Eat them,” the white-robed immortal seemed to smile, a fleeting, faint smile. “Once you eat them, it won’t be bitter anymore.”
It was like coaxing a child.
Rong Hua did not take them, nor did he even touch the preserved fruits. He remained expressionless, his dark eyes fixed on Shen Yue, his clear voice deep and hollow, “How do I save her?”
Shen Yue did not realize Rong Hua had not touched the preserved fruits. She picked up the empty bowl, her back to the man on the bed.
“I have my own methods. You should rest and recuperate here.”
After speaking, Shen Yue left.
Rong Hua watched the slender white figure. For some reason, his heart suddenly ached. He felt as if something precious was stealthily slipping through his fingers, and the more he tried to grasp it, the faster it flowed away.
Shen Yue actually had no particular method. But she knew the female lead absolutely could not die like this, otherwise, the subsequent plot would not be able to develop.
In the original novel, the female lead had also died once before, but it was the male lead who pulled her back from the brink of death.
The problem was that the male lead was not as deeply devoted to the female lead as in the original novel. Shen Yue did not believe Xuan Cheng would risk half his life to save Yin Jing.
As expected, the male lead was unreliable at critical moments.
It was the main villain who was dependable. It seemed the main villain had already fallen for the female lead.
Since that was the case… why not let her help the male lead advance the plot a bit?
Otherwise, the subsequent storyline would not unfold smoothly.
Shen Yue nudged the system: [What do you think I should do?]
The system was watching a TV drama, its entire data structure sobbing uncontrollably: [You, what did you say?]
Shen Yue: […Nothing.]
The system seemed even less reliable.
The female lead had only suffered physical injuries; her soul was still intact.
In the original plot, Xuan Cheng had sought out an immortal physician. This immortal physician was exceptionally skilled and was rumored to possess a treasure that could revive the dead.
Of course, this was merely a legend; no one had ever truly seen it.
Xuan Cheng had tried every possible method to save the female lead back then. He had also gone to Feng Yan Valley, the territory of that immortal physician.
Shen Yue skimmed through it roughly. It was all about how difficult it was, how she had to expend tremendous effort to obtain that immortal elixir.
And then the female lead was indeed brought back from the dead.
Shen Yue held her forehead. She felt like she was truly a busybody, having to manage her own plotline and also help the male lead with his. Truly, not one of them was easy to manage.
If only the male lead understood things better, he and the female lead would have been living in harmony long ago, and there wouldn’t be so many complications.