“Yes, Miss.”
A moment later, footsteps could be heard approaching. Han Wei entered and saw Xue Xing Yue sitting on a stone chair in the courtyard. She was wearing a pale blue dress, appearing as elegant as a chrysanthemum. She slowly raised her head, her delicate and beautiful face looking at him coldly, her gaze distant and indifferent.
“Xue…”
“Commander Han, please continue to call me Miss Xue!” Xue Xing Yue said faintly, looking at Han Wei. Her eyes held a hint of indifference and distance.
Han Wei was slightly stunned. A trace of sadness flickered in his eyes. Their past affection had perhaps long since been worn away by a storm of bloodshed, leaving only fleeting memories, all of them painful. If it were him, he might have been even more ruthless.
“Miss Xue, Qi Yu Yuan he…”
“Commander Han…” Xue Xing Yue stood up and walked towards him. Each step seemed to put a gulf of time between them. That year, he was the youngest child of the Han family, a concubine’s son, often bullied and tormented. It was she, this little girl born with unparalleled glory, who had rescued him. At that moment, he realized that some people were truly like goddesses, saving him from a sea of suffering.
He still remembered kneeling fearfully before the late emperor, and the emperor telling him that his sole duty for life was to protect the Princess.
From then on, they grew up together. She called him Brother Han, and in his heart, she was his sister, a sister more important than life itself, whom he would cherish forever.
But everything had changed. When he became the commander of the Imperial Guard, when he encountered Qi Yu Yuan, and when his father threatened him with death, he compromised.
From then on, he lost the promise he had sworn to protect her lifetime, he lost the woman he loved with all his heart.
In one day, he lost the two women most important to him.
“Commander Han, I don’t know any ‘Young Master Yuan’ you speak of. So please go back. I am already engaged to the Prime Minister, and it is inappropriate for me to see you. However, out of consideration for our past feelings, I only wish to make things clear. This is the last time. If there is another time, do not blame me for being impolite. Qin Er Niang, see the guest out.” Xue Xing Yue turned to leave.
“Xue… Miss Xue…”
Xue Xing Yue stopped but did not turn around. “Commander Han, please leave. Do not force us to draw swords against each other.”
“Miss Xue, Qi Yu Yuan did not kill Qi Yu Ze back then. He was manipulated by someone.”
Xue Xing Yue let out a cold snort and turned to look at Commander Han. Her clear eyes were filled with mockery. “Then may I ask, Commander Han, in whose hands was the sword? Did he have that intention? And why did he happen to be there? Was he forced by someone else?”
“Miss Xue, this matter is very strange. Don’t you want to know the truth?”
“Yes, I very much want to know the truth, which is why I haven’t killed him myself. Otherwise, do you think I would have let him live until now?”
“You… you know everything?” Han Wei asked, looking at Xue Xing Yue in surprise.
“What does knowing or not knowing matter? Commander Han, please go back!” Xue Xing Yue waved her hand and walked towards her room.
Han Wei sighed. He knew that getting Xue Xing Yue to believe what he said was extremely difficult.
“Commander Han, this way please.” Qin Er Niang, although unaware of the grudges between Xue Xing Yue and this commander, knew that Ruo Feng and this Commander Han seemed to harbor deep enmity. Therefore, it was better for her to escort this Commander Han out.
Han Wei looked up at Qin Er Niang and said, “Thank you, Miss.”
Qin Er Niang was startled. She hadn’t clearly seen anything special about this legendary Commander Han of the Sword Kingdom before. Now, being so close, she saw that Commander Han was quite refined and did not look like a commander in charge of the Imperial Guard at all; rather, he resembled a scholar with a pale complexion.
“Commander Han, you are too polite,” Qin Er Niang replied.
After escorting him to the main gate, as Qin Er Niang was about to turn back, Han Wei suddenly said, “Miss Qin Er Niang, thank you.”
Qin Er Niang was stunned. “You… you know my name?”
Han Wei smiled, his smile exceptionally bright. “Yes, I heard her call you Qin Er Niang.”
Qin Er Niang’s face flushed. She bowed slightly and then left in a hurry.
Han Wei’s expression turned somber. “Commander, how did it go?” Fan Yan came to Han Wei’s side and asked.
Han Wei shook his head. “We’ll discuss it when we get back.”
Fan Yan nodded. This was indeed not a place to talk.
Returning to the official residence, Han Wei went to Qi Yu Yuan’s room and asked the man in black serving at the bedside, “How is he?”
Hei Yi shook his head. “Your Highness’s fever has not subsided. This cannot continue.”
Fan Yan, standing beside him, said, “Commander, I have already sent Hei Ying and Hei Feng back to fetch Li Xing Qing.”
Han Wei nodded. “That’s the only way.” After all, Qi Yu Yuan’s arrival was not entirely open, so the doctors he could invite were not able to be too ostentatious. However, the truth was that the discreetly invited doctor was not skilled enough, otherwise Zhi Yan would not still be unconscious.
Furthermore, without top-quality medicinal herbs, the recovery would be even slower this time.
“Commander, the Kingdom of Snow has sent an envoy to meet with you,” came Hei Qin’s voice from outside the door.
Han Wei and Fan Yan exchanged a look. Fan Yan said, “Commander, it might be good for you to go and see. Let’s see what the Kingdom of Snow’s attitude is.”
Han Wei nodded, glanced at Jian Nan Xiao on the bed, and said, “Take good care of His Majesty.”
“Yes.” Fan Yan bowed slightly.
Han Wei went to the main hall in the front courtyard and saw a woman wearing robes, her hair tied up with a jade hairpin. Although dressed as a man, he immediately recognized she was a woman. He stepped forward and said faintly, “May I ask why the envoy from the Kingdom of Snow is here?”
The woman turned. She was wearing a light veil that covered her face, but even so, her alluring and beautiful features could still be vaguely seen. It was presumed that beneath the veil, her appearance would be breathtaking. Her peach-blossom eyes slightly slanted upwards, exuding charm. She stepped forward, “Commander Han, I am here for no other reason than to deliver some medicinal herbs to you on the orders of our Prime Minister.”
“A gift without merit cannot be accepted,” Han Wei said coldly, looking at the woman.
The woman smiled and said, “Our Great Snow Kingdom, because of the purity of its heaven and earth, produces many rare and precious herbs. These are merely a drop in the ocean of our Great Snow Kingdom’s tens of thousands of varieties. If Commander dislikes them, you may simply discard them. Farewell.”
After speaking, the woman turned and left.
Han Wei frowned and said, “Bring the medicinal herbs in.”
A full chest of medicinal herbs was brought in. Inside were centuries-old ginseng and lingzhi, precious herbs that were difficult to obtain even in the imperial palace. Yet, the Kingdom of Snow had sent an envoy to deliver them, and these were precisely the herbs Qi Yu Yuan needed.
Thinking of this, Han Wei felt a hint of unease. However, even so, he kept the herbs and waited for Li Xing Qing’s arrival.
Mu Xing Qing arrived at the official residence two days later in the afternoon.
After the medicine was prepared, Qi Yu Yuan drank it and woke up that same evening.