Seeing the old man looking around as if searching for an excuse, Zheng Wei finally grew impatient.
As Zheng Wei was about to lose his temper, the muddled old man simply closed his eyes and said, "Shen Xiaoyan is no longer in mortal danger. She will surely wake up, and when she does, there might be some unexpected surprises."
Zheng Wei smiled at this.
This was good news.
Then why was the muddled old man dawdling and unwilling to tell him?
Thinking of a possibility, Zheng Wei's face instantly darkened again.
Just then, he heard the muddled old man continue, "However, she won't be able to wake up for some time."
Zheng Wei was stunned for a long time before he finally found his voice.
With a slightly hoarse voice, Zheng Wei asked, "In that case, what do you think is the shortest amount of time needed?"
A flicker of pain crossed the old man's face, but he knew he could not lie. Otherwise, if Shen Xiaoyan did not wake up by then, not only he would be in trouble, but Zheng Wei would also be extremely disappointed.
Therefore, despite his reluctance, the muddled old man spoke the truth, "At the longest, it could be indefinite, and at the shortest, it could be a year."
Upon hearing this, the color drained from Zheng Wei's face.
Zheng Wei silently repeated the old man's words a few times, then asked, "Didn't you just say that Mi Mi is now confirmed to be fine? She will definitely wake up? Why do you say it could be indefinite?"
The old man's face turned serious. "I said she is fine and will surely wake up, but I didn't say when she would wake up. Perhaps..."
Before he could finish, he saw Zheng Wei's ashen face wave a hand at him.
Discreetly closing his mouth, the muddled old man looked at Zheng Wei with a complex gaze.
Knowing that Zheng Wei probably wanted to be alone, the muddled old man turned to leave without being asked.
When he reached the door, he suddenly turned back and said to Zheng Wei, "I have already carefully examined Shen Xiaoyan. That wisp of spiritual energy on her has disappeared. This means there is nothing threatening her life anymore. However, I haven't detected any signs of her waking up. I'm not entirely sure why, but... you should be prepared."
The old man's face was stern, and his words carried a powerful aura.
Especially the last sentence, which was very much like a doctor speaking to a patient's family.
Therefore, as he finished his last sentence and prepared to walk out the door, he was met with several rolls of the eyes.
They had seen people who couldn't speak, but never someone who spoke so poorly.
Could this person be old and therefore mentally unstable?
Yi Zhi Xie and the others glared at the muddled old man, and even Fujiwara Zifei wore a look of disapproval.
However, seeing Zheng Wei on the other side, they ultimately said nothing and ushered the muddled old man out.
As everyone walked out of the main gate of Shi An Yuan, Shen Xiao Ming quickly emerged from behind them and walked directly up to the muddled old man, looking up at him. "What you meant just now, is that my sister will die?"
Although everyone had this suspicion in their hearts, none of them were willing to voice it unless absolutely necessary.
They had not expected that Shen Xiao Ming, who had been silent for the past two days, would now ask such a direct question.
The old man looked down at Shen Xiao Ming in front of him, his chest feeling as if something was blocking it. Even when he opened his mouth, he could not utter a sound.
After a long while, when no answer was forthcoming, Shen Xiao Ming did not back down.
His expression was resolute, as if he would not give up until he got an answer.
He did not sob, appearing strong, but his red-rimmed eyes told everyone that he was merely suppressing his grief.
For some unknown reason, the muddled old man did not say a word to Shen Xiao Ming in the end. He simply patted Shen Xiao Ming's shoulder and quickly walked into the bamboo hut alone.
As they watched the door of the bamboo hut, which could barely be called a door, close, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
At the moment Shen Xiao Ming was waiting for the muddled old man's answer, they were all waiting for that answer as well.
However, they were simultaneously hoping and fearing.
Hoping that the muddled old man would give them the answer they wanted, yet fearing that the muddled old man would say something that would sentence Shen Xiao Yan to death.
Although getting no answer now made them feel a little unsettled, it also made them feel more relaxed.
From that day on, Zheng Wei remained in his room for three days and three nights, not allowing anyone to enter.
Although everyone was extremely worried, they could do nothing about it.
Not only Zheng Wei, but even the muddled old man had not emerged from his bamboo hut since returning. The meals prepared for him were left by the door and had not been touched.
Regarding this, everyone thought that perhaps the muddled old man felt guilty and thus had no face to eat.
This continued until the morning of the fourth day.
On the morning of the fourth day, after breakfast, Yue Qing Xin was preparing to take the four children out to bask in the sun when she saw the door of the main house open.
Immediately, Zheng Wei emerged from inside.
Zheng Wei, at this moment, had shed his last bit of immaturity. The imposing aura he possessed a few days ago seemed to have vanished.
He was still himself, or rather, he felt even more captivating than before, but his former arrogance was gone, replaced by a sense of restraint, maturity, and composure.
If a group of people stood together, one would still be able to pick out Zheng Wei at a glance, but it was not entirely due to his appearance, or rather, not entirely because of his looks.
After Zheng Wei came out, he almost instantly reached Yue Qing Xin and took Zheng He from her arms.
"It's been a few days, have you missed your mother? Do you want to go and see her?"
Zheng Wei lowered his head and said to Zheng He in a light tone.
Looking at Zheng Wei like this and hearing his words, a ray of hope instantly lit up in Yue Qing Xin's eyes.
Had Shen Xiao Yan woken up?
However, Zheng Wei's next words extinguished all her hopes in an instant.
"Your mother has become even lazier. The sun is already high in the sky, and she's still not up. Shall we go and wake her up together? From now on, every morning, all of you will go and wake your mother up until she gets up. What do you say..."
Zheng Wei spoke in a low voice, his feet already turning towards the main house.
Hearing Zheng Wei's words, the two wet nurses holding Zheng Jiang and Ruan Ruan did not dare to delay and quickly followed.
Yue Qing Xin took a deep breath, wiped the moisture from the corners of her eyes, and followed with Si Ma Shui Rong.
As they entered the east wing room, Zheng Wei did indeed hold the three children and called out to Shen Xiao Yan to wake up. He spoke many words to Shen Xiao Yan as if talking to himself.
Finally, Yue Qing Xin carried Si Ma Shui Rong and walked over.
Looking at Shen Xiao Yan's still pale sleeping face, Yue Qing Xin's nose twitched, and her eyes immediately became moist.
Perhaps this was fate playing tricks?
Just the day before, they had met, and she was a perfectly fine person, but on the next day, she had become like this.
The group stayed in the bedroom for about half an hour before leaving together.
Stepping into the sunlight, Zheng Wei said gratefully to Yue Qing Xin, "You've worked hard these past two days, sister-in-law. Otherwise, I don't know how much the three little ones would have cried."
Yue Qing Xin was startled. This seemed to be the first time she had heard Zheng Wei call her sister-in-law.
How strange did that feel?
Despite her strange feelings, she said, "There's nothing I can't help with, but you can rest assured when it comes to the three little ones."
Zheng Wei nodded and made a decision in his heart, but he did not continue the topic.
"Why aren't the others here?" Zheng Wei suddenly asked.
Yue Qing Xin's face changed. After a moment, she said, "Tomorrow is New Year's Eve!"
Zheng Wei seemed to come to a realization. Was it almost New Year?
He still remembered that Shen Xiao Yan had previously discussed with him how they would spend their first New Year in the capital, what dishes they would cook, and that everyone would stay up to see the New Year in, and also...
But with the New Year so close, Shen Xiao Yan was...
Suppressing the sadness in his heart, Zheng Wei looked at Yue Qing Xin.
He hadn't asked that question just now. Why did Yue Qing Xin say something so nonsensical?
Yue Qing Xin then continued, "Grand Princess Zande came early this morning, and she brought a group of doctors..."
Zheng Wei raised his eyebrows at this. This sentence contained a lot of information.
"They are in the front courtyard now. Do you want to go and see them?" Yue Qing Xin asked.
Zheng Wei nodded, handed the child in his arms to the wet nurse, and strode towards the front courtyard.
Yue Qing Xin stood watching Zheng Wei's receding figure, and suddenly, a smile bloomed on her face.
Zheng Wei had indeed not let them down.
They were all deeply saddened by Shen Xiao Yan's accident, but life had to go on. Especially since Zheng Wei had three children, if he couldn't move on, then even with their careful upbringing, the three children would ultimately have some deficiencies.
The moment she saw Zheng Wei emerge from the main house this morning, she knew that Zheng Wei had understood what he needed to do.
As for Grand Princess Zande, who had arrived so early, Yue Qing Xin let out a dismissive snort.
This princess was truly becoming more and more muddled.
She really didn't know if it was due to being treated too harshly, but her recent actions were becoming increasingly foolish.
When Zheng Wei arrived at the front courtyard living room, before he even lifted the curtain to enter, he heard Sima Han inside say, "Princess, you should leave earlier. With time to worry about other people's affairs, why not go back and think about how to safely get through tomorrow night's banquet."
Hearing this, Zheng Wei raised his eyebrows. Did Sima Han's words imply what he thought they did?
Without further delay, Zheng Wei lifted the door curtain and entered.
Upon entering, Zheng Wei took in the situation in the room with a single glance.
Yi Zhi Xie and Sima Han were seated at the head, while Na Mu Zhong, Lu Tao Bao, and Shen Xiao Ming were not present.
Below Sima Han sat the ostentatiously wealthy Grand Princess Zande.
This time, Bai Li Ziyun was not with her, perhaps because she was preparing to attend the palace banquet tomorrow and was spending the day at home getting beautified?
"Zheng Wei is here?"
Grand Princess Zande's eyes lit up the moment she saw Zheng Wei enter. Her tone of voice made it seem as if she and Zheng Wei were very close.