“I’m fine…” Qian Jiaoniang insisted, but her legs had gone weak, and she slumped sideways onto the bed.
Qingya struggled to get her settled. Jiaoniang’s vision darkened as she tried to recover. Qingya turned to call Doctor Bai, then remembered she had come to fetch the medicine kit, then saw the vomit and turned again to clean it up. After spinning around twice, she was so flustered she forgot what she was supposed to be doing.
Doctor Bai arrived on her own, also looking for the medicine box. Qingya grabbed her and had her check on Jiaoniang. Doctor Bai quickly supported Jiaoniang’s head and took her pulse. Thankfully, she was fine. The doctor told her to lie still and not move, then took the kit and went to the west wing.
Qingya brought in some incense ash and cleaned up the mess. “I told you not to move. Don’t even think about going over there!”
“…I wasn’t,” Qian Jiaoniang replied, staring at the shadow on the bed frame, listening to the muffled howls still faintly audible. “How is the Marquis?”
Qingya paused, then took the broom and dustpan outside. After washing her hands, she returned. “Not great. He was particularly crazy tonight. Beat the crap out of Ah Da and the others—and he looked like he was in real pain too.”
“Did something happen these past few days?”
“Who knows…”
“Miss Qingya! Miss Qingya!” Ah Da’s voice called stealthily from outside.
Qingya frowned and raised her voice. “What is it?”
Ah Da immediately knew Qian Jiaoniang was awake, but still asked, “Is Madam awake?”
“She’s asleep. Just fell asleep.”
Ah Da: “…” What kind of maid shouts when her master’s sleeping?
Qian Jiaoniang tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Qingya sat by her bed, tidied the hair on her forehead, and whispered, “I know what this kid wants.”
“Madam, Madam, forgive the intrusion… but would you come see the Commander? He… tonight…”
Qingya clenched her teeth and strode out quickly, shooting Ah Da a fierce glare. “What are you shouting for? Madam just got up and vomited—how is she supposed to come over!”
Ah Da shrank his neck under her scolding. He knew Madam was badly injured this time. “But Miss Qingya, you saw the Commander’s condition yourself—he’s really not right! Last time Madam stopped him from smashing into the wall. Maybe this time too…”
“Last time, last time—have you already forgotten how your great Commander injured Madam so badly she was unconscious for three days?”
Ah Da choked on his words. “But we really have no other way! We can’t just keep him tied up forever… it’s too… pitiful…”
Qingya fell silent for a moment. Dingxi Marquis’s current state was indeed alarming, but Jiaoniang wasn’t in any better shape. “Not today. Madam hasn’t recovered yet. Doctor Bai said she must stay completely still. With her body this weak, going over won’t help anything. The Marquis will calm down after a while—go have Doctor Bai check on him. Maybe something’s hurting him. Let her prescribe something for the pain and try that.”
Seeing how firm Qingya was, Ah Da figured Madam really couldn’t get out of bed. Shoulders drooping, he hobbled off. Qingya returned to the inner room. Qian Jiaoniang’s dark eyes followed her. Qingya opened her mouth but couldn’t get the words out.
The muffled cries from the west wing still hadn’t stopped.
Qian Jiaoniang asked flatly, “What’s going on? Has the Marquis been like this ever since the day he injured me?”
Qingya came over and tugged the thin blanket up over her. “I honestly don’t know. You were unconscious for three days. Feng Yuyan insisted on taking care of him, but Li Qingquan didn’t allow it. They brought the Marquis to the main courtyard.”
“Then how did he end up crying with Chou’er in my room tonight?”
“That I really don’t know. I had just brought you some water to wash your face. When I went out to dump the basin, I saw him charging in with his hair all wild—nearly scared me to death! According to Ah Da, the Marquis came here on his own.”
Qian Jiaoniang was surprised. “He came by himself?”
“That’s right. I heard he even smashed the door of the main courtyard to get out.” Qingya’s eyes glinted as she looked at Qian Jiaoniang with a teasing smile. “Could he be missing you?”
Jiaoniang spat. “A fool can miss someone?”
“Maybe fools are the only ones who truly know how.” Qingya let out a tired yawn. “I really can’t take it anymore. Let’s sleep.”
Qian Jiaoniang paused and said, “Blow out the lamp.”
Qingya, exhausted, felt as if she’d been granted a royal pardon. She turned and blew out the oil lamp, then collapsed onto the bed with a soft groan. After a while, she muttered, “With all this noise, Chou’er still hasn’t stirred.”
“If he’s asleep, not even thunder could wake him.” Qian Jiaoniang curled her lips in the dark.
Qingya didn’t reply. A few moments later, Qian Jiaoniang heard her steady breathing.
Qian Jiaoniang lay there with eyes wide open, staring at the shifting shadows on the ceiling cast by the moonlight. She had no sleep in her at all. What kept her company was the occasional, agonizing cries coming from the west wing.
They lasted until dawn.
Xing Muzheng spent the entire night in torment before finally collapsing into unconsciousness by morning. The four guards watching over him let out a collective sigh of relief. They carefully untied him and tucked him under a quilt. Then they collapsed into chairs like dead dogs. Li Qingquan and Ah Da forced themselves to stay awake and discussed assigning a few more strong guards to take shifts at night, just in case.
Qian Jiaoniang slept through the morning. At noon, she had some lean meat porridge and took the good medicine prescribed by Doctor Bai. Still, she was forbidden to get out of bed for the entire afternoon.
When Li Qingquan heard news that a miracle doctor—renowned among the people—had come to Yuzhou, he immediately dressed and set off on horseback to invite him in person. But the moment he left, Xing Muzheng woke up—and instantly flew into another frenzied fit like the night before. Wang Yong’s arm was still injured, and Ah Da and Wu Shunzi couldn’t hold him down. They called in Wu Jiang and Xu Guoyi from outside, who had been busy stopping Feng Yuyan from barging into the courtyard. Hearing the urgent call, they ran inside. Wang Yong yelled for the door to be closed, and Wu Jiang ran back to bolt it. Seeing that Xing Muzheng had gone mad again through the door crack, Feng Yuyan quickly fled with her nanny to avoid being caught up in the chaos.
Xing Muzheng was tied up once more—this time to a chair. Ah Da padded his wrists and ankles with soft cotton to prevent his skin from breaking during his thrashing. They also stuffed cloth into his mouth because the ghost-thing had started biting his own tongue. Doctor Jian came and performed a thorough examination, but like Doctor Bai, he found nothing wrong aside from some superficial injuries. Helpless, he sighed and wept.
Ah Da, desperate, decided to try Qingya’s idea from the night before. He had Doctor Jian prescribe two pain-relief remedies and asked Qingya to brew and feed the medicine to Xing Muzheng. But even with everyone drenched in sweat from the effort, not a single drop went down. The Marquis not only refused to drink—he even spat it all over himself and the others.
Xing Pingchun had been pushed off to school by Qingya in the morning. In the afternoon, he came running back full speed, drenched in sweat. As soon as he entered the house, he heard hoarse howls from the west wing. He rushed inside and saw his father tied to a chair, something stuffed in his mouth. Furious, he shouted: “Why are you tying up my father?!”
