When Zhao Momo heard the noise, she rushed over immediately.
After understanding the whole story, they still cleaned up a guest room for the shopkeeper and let him stay there temporarily.
Now there was no running away anymore, and even the shopkeeper had accepted his fate.
The two young maids each returned to their own rooms, leaving only Ah Zheng alone, sitting by Gu Heng’s bedside.
He carefully held her hand and brought it to his lips, breathing warm air on it in hopes of warming her up.
“Ah Heng, in this world, you’re the only person I truly know. You have to wake up, and be alright.”
That night, he barely closed his eyes, maintaining that same position by the bed the entire time.
Even when the whites of his eyes were streaked with blood from exhaustion, he refused to close them for even a quarter of an hour. The sight was slightly frightening.
At dawn, when Zhao Momo came in with breakfast, this was the scene she saw.
“Young Master Shen, perhaps you should rest for a while? I’ll take care of Second Miss. If she wakes up, I’ll inform you immediately.”
When she finished speaking and saw Ah Zheng didn’t respond, she simply shook her head.
“Your body only just recovered recently. If you exhaust yourself into falling ill again, Second Miss will be heartbroken when she wakes up.”
At those words, Ah Zheng finally moved.
“Leave the breakfast and go. You don’t need to stay here—I’ll look after her myself.”
Knowing how stubborn he was, Zhao Momo had no other choice but to retreat.
And so the wait continued—three full days.
During these days, aside from having the shopkeeper come daily to check her pulse and decoct medicine, Ah Zheng stayed by the bed the entire time.
But after a few doses of medicine, not only did she not wake up—her condition worsened. On the first day she could still swallow the medicine, but by the third day, she couldn’t even drink it—it all dribbled out from the corners of her lips.
He nearly killed the shopkeeper on the spot.
If not for the desperate restraint from the two maids and Zhao Momo, he likely would’ve acted already.
Three days passed. Watching her breathe as faintly as a thread, with no way to help, his hands trembled in fear.
He thought, if it hadn’t been for taking care of him and managing everyone on the zhuangzi, she wouldn’t have fallen ill like this.
If she truly never woke up again, he would slaughter everyone on the zhuangzi—to bury them with her.
***
Ah Heng felt like she had fallen into a very long dream.
Once again, she couldn’t clearly see the face of the person in the dream, only vaguely remembered that she seemed to be in the palace.
The Eastern Palace was like its master—forever dark, damp, and without a single clear day.
One day, she secretly met with Ah Zheng again.
Everyone knew that the current Crown Prince was cruel and bloodthirsty, not allowing anyone to touch what belonged to him.
But to save her, Ah Zheng was willing to risk death and sneak into the palace.
Ah Zheng told her: three days later, it would be the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet. All the nobles of the capital would enter the palace to offer congratulations. The Crown Prince would be there too, and with so many people around, it would be chaotic. They would meet at the west gate of the Eastern Palace, and at that moment, he would take her away.
At that moment, she finally felt she had glimpsed a sliver of light.
These days, she had been imprisoned in the Eastern Palace like a trapped pet with no escape.
The Crown Prince treated her repeated attempts to escape as a game.
Each time she just stepped out of the Eastern Palace, she would be caught and dragged back, then subjected to wanton abuse on the bed.
It hurt—a deep, piercing pain.
Not just physical pain, but humiliating torment that crushed her spirit.
She swore that one day she would leave this place.
This time, she wasn’t fighting alone. She had Ah Zheng—he had promised to help her.
But the moment she parted from Ah Zheng and returned to her hall, a hand reached out and grabbed her throat, slamming her against the wall.
She opened her eyes wide with all her might but still couldn’t see the face clearly.
Then, a chilling voice whispered by her ear:
“Ah Heng, didn’t you promise to stay by my side for life? You’ve tried to escape so many times. Why haven’t you given up yet?”
Ah Heng clawed at his hand, trying to make him let go, but it was useless.
Just when she thought she was about to suffocate, he finally released her, and she collapsed to the floor.
Coughing violently, she trembled from the sheer terror of surviving.
Suddenly, he waved his hand and ordered, “Bring him in!”
Several guards dragged someone in and flung them into the center of the hall.
When she saw who it was, Ah Heng was completely shocked.
“Ah Zheng?! Why are you here!”
That familiar and intimate name seemed to prick the Crown Prince’s nerves. He grabbed her chin furiously.
“You dare call his name like that? All these years, you’ve never called me so affectionately!”
Ah Heng turned her face away in disgust, refusing to even meet his gaze.
“You think you’re worthy? You murdered my entire family and imprisoned me—yet you still expect me to love you? Even in my next life, never!”
Those words struck him deeply. The Crown Prince completely lost control. He yanked her body over and held her in a suffocating embrace.
Ah Heng struggled fiercely, unwilling to let him touch her at all.
In her panic, she slapped him hard across the face.
Smack! The sound rang sharply through the hall.
That slap sent him over the edge.
“So this is it. All these years you wouldn’t love me—because your heart already belongs to someone else, is that it?”
With that, he drew a guard’s sword and placed it against Ah Zheng’s throat.
“If that’s the case, then I’ll kill him and erase this fantasy of yours forever!”
The next second, the blade fell—blood gushed out and sprayed across Ah Heng’s face.
She let out a terrified scream—
****
“Ah—!”
Outside the dream, Gu Heng sat bolt upright.
Her face was covered in sweat.
The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Ah Zheng sitting by her bed.
The terror of losing him still clutched at her chest, throbbing painfully.
Without thinking, she threw herself into his arms.
It wasn’t until she heard the strong, steady rhythm of his heartbeat that she finally relaxed.
Thank goodness—none of it had happened yet. There was still time.
Seeing her awake, Ah Zheng was at first overjoyed. But he quickly noticed something was wrong. She looked like she had just woken from a terrible nightmare.
He gently patted her back to calm her, and at the same time, the hostility he had built up over the past few days seemed to dissolve in an instant.
As long as she could wake up, he could forgive everything.
“What’s wrong?”
At his question, Gu Heng’s nose stung, and she nearly burst into tears again. In the dream, everyone had helped the Crown Prince trap and imprison her—only Ah Zheng tried to save her.
But it was precisely because of that, that he died.
“I had a nightmare. You died in it—there was blood everywhere. I was too scared, so I woke up.”
Hearing that, Ah Zheng pulled her tightly into his arms and comforted her, “Don’t be afraid. Look—I’m here, alive and well. It’s always me killing others, never the other way around.”
At that, Gu Heng finally broke into a teary smile.
Just then, footsteps came from outside.
Gu Heng, embarrassed, slipped out of his arms and tidied her clothes.
The door opened. In came Zhao Momo, Xiao Shu, Xiao Cao—and the town’s medicine shopkeeper?
Before she could ask, the shopkeeper rushed forward in excitement.
“Miss, you’re finally awake! If you hadn’t, I was afraid…”
Afraid this young master would’ve killed someone!
He almost said it aloud, but when he met that young master’s eyes, he instantly swallowed the rest.
Still shaken by the nightmare, Gu Heng was just starting to notice the soreness throughout her whole body—and a gnawing hunger in her belly.
Just as she thought that, her stomach gave a loud rumble.
Her face flushed red.
Beside her, Xiao Shu cheered, “Second Miss, we’ll go prepare food right away!”
The girls darted off like the wind. The shopkeeper chased after them anxiously, calling, “She just woke up—only light food, remember!”
After watching them run off, the shopkeeper turned back and stepped forward to take Gu Heng’s pulse.
A moment later, his expression finally relaxed—at least now, he no longer feared for his life.
“Miss, your illness this time was due to severe deficiency. You must take better care of yourself from now on. Since your condition has been weak since birth, you must always take extra care.”
Gu Heng nodded, and took out five taels of silver to pay the fee.
Truth be told, the shopkeeper had been forcibly dragged here and only wanted to survive. He never expected any payment.
But since Gu Heng offered it, he accepted gladly.
Then he seemed to remember something and finally asked the question that had troubled him for days.
“Miss, I noticed almost no one in your zhuangzi died from the plague. They say it’s because of the medicine you brewed.” He scratched his nose awkwardly, then said thick-skinned, “If it’s possible… could I ask for a copy of the prescription?”
He tightened his hands nervously. “I’m not asking to profit or to make money from it. It’s just that the outbreak in town has gotten out of hand. So many have already died. If your prescription works, I want to try saving as many people as I can.”
Hearing this, Gu Heng nodded repeatedly. “Of course! Your intention is a blessing to our entire town. Besides, this prescription wasn’t even mine to begin with—it was passed down to me by my mother. When she was young, her hometown suffered a similar outbreak. It was by pure luck that I managed to save so many this time.”
Seeing her so willing to share the remedy, the shopkeeper’s eyes welled up. “Miss, your great kindness will never be forgotten. I, Zhao Quan, will make sure the whole town knows this medicine came from your hand—you’re the one who saved them all!”
That day, after Gu Heng handed the prescription to Zhao Quan, he hurriedly left.
The heavy weight on Gu Heng’s heart finally lifted.
Though Zhao Quan had left, he’d given her a nourishing formula and instructed her to take the medicine as prescribed in the coming days.
That night, when she drank the medicine, it was so bitter that she furrowed her brows. After drinking half, she couldn’t take it anymore and set the bowl on the table.
Unexpectedly, Ah Zheng picked up the bowl and started feeding her spoon by spoon.
“Ah Zheng, I know my own body. I’ve already gotten much better. Can I skip it?”
In response, a spoonful of medicine was brought directly to her lips.
“No.”
Seeing him so firm, without any room for negotiation, Gu Heng deflated and had no choice but to obediently finish the medicine.
When Xiao Shu came in to collect the bowl, Gu Heng took out two taels of silver and handed them to her.
Xiao Shu had never received such a large amount before and was so startled that she waved her hands frantically.
“Second Miss, what are you doing? I can’t accept this!”
Seeing this, Gu Heng shoved the silver into her hands. “Alright, it’s not all for you. I’m not well right now, and the medicine is too bitter. I’d like to trouble you to bring back a few bags of preserved fruit from the town tomorrow.”
Hearing this, Xiao Shu finally relaxed a little, but she still looked puzzled.
“A few bags of preserved fruit don’t cost much. Why give me so much?”
Gu Heng had just finished her medicine and was leaning against the bed, feeling sleepy. She yawned and lazily said, “These past few days, you’ve all worked hard taking care of me. Give the rest to Xiao Cao, Xiao Hua, Zhao Momo, and yourself—buy yourselves a new set of clothes. It’s the coldest time of year. Don’t let yourselves get sick.”
Tears welled up in Xiao Shu’s eyes as she took the money.
“But we didn’t really do much… this is too valuable. Maybe you should take half of it back…”
But before she could finish, she realized Gu Heng hadn’t responded. Looking up, she saw Gu Heng had already fallen asleep leaning against the bed.
