It seemed as if a thousand years had passed. Gardenia slowly opened her eyes, moved her tired body, her throat was dry and she couldn't make a sound.
I struggled to get up and out of bed, my center of gravity was unsteady under my feet, and my body fell to one side, knocking over the stool.
The door opened in an instant, and Feng Qing rushed in, saying in surprise: "Gardenia." He anxiously picked up her body, which was as light as duckweed, and put her on the bed. He felt her pulse and then felt relieved.
"Brother Feng, I want to drink water." Gardenia shouted weakly.
Feng Qing poured some more water, helped her up to drink it, and called out: "Zi Yi, bring up the bird's nest porridge."
After a while, Ziyi brought the porridge. Fengqing took it and said, "Ms. Gardenia, you are too weak. Please replenish it quickly."
Gardenia said with tears in her eyes: "Brother Feng, you have done so much for Gardenia, and Gardenia has nothing to repay."
"Silly girl, don't talk like this, come and drink the porridge."
I fed her spoonful by spoonful of porridge and finished it. Just when I was about to help her lie down, I heard her say, "I want to go out and bask in the sun."
Feng Qing hesitated and said, "That's fine."
Ziyi took some clothes and put them on for her, and Fengqing carried her to the yard and lay down on the toffee chair.
The warm sunshine shone on her body, as if she had come back to life from the edge of death. "What are you thinking about?" Feng Qing sat down and asked softly.
Gardenia said calmly: "I feel like I'm still alive."
"Don't think too much, everything is in the past. Face it calmly and don't push yourself too hard." Feng Qing said worriedly, fearing that she would put pressure on herself.
Gardenia turned her head away and looked at the stream flowing not far away. She thought of her home in the Lost Forest and couldn't help but feel sentimental. She remembered that her mother had said that in life, things will be unsatisfactory nine times out of ten. Don't be too persistent, otherwise you will suffer.
Hurt yourself.
Now she is not attached to anything, and she is also hurt. She bitterly recalls everything she has experienced, just like in her past life.
Seeing that Gardenia was silent for a long time, Feng Qing asked anxiously: "Gardenia, are you okay?"
Gardenia looked back at him, a tear slipped quietly down her cheek, and said: "Brother Feng, I remember you once asked me how I met the prince."
Thinking of that day when he went out of the city to pick sweet leaves, he had asked. He wanted to know but was not afraid to know. He nodded silently for a while, but in the end he still wanted to know.
Gardenia slowly said: Two years ago, my father was poisoned to save my mother, and he passed away soon after. In order to find a life-saving medicine - blood residue leaves, my mother and I traveled to the border town for no other reason.
I want my mother to live longer. My father is gone and I don’t want to lose my mother again. We settled in a village outside the border city and got to know the people we met in the bamboo forest that day.
I found a job washing silk threads at the home of Yang Dahu, the richest man in the border town. Soon I found out that the bloody leaves I was looking for were bought by Mr. Yang with a huge sum of money from unknown sources. I thanked God for giving me this opportunity because I saw hope.
, as long as my mother’s illness can be cured, no matter how much suffering I endure, it’s worth it.
That day, I took all my property with me, and even prepared myself to be a slave in the Yang family for the rest of my life. The only purpose was to get the bloody leaves to go home and treat my mother's illness.
At this point, Gardenia had already burst into tears. Fengqing hugged her and said, "Gardenia, if you don't want to say it, don't say it."
"No, let me finish." Gardenia wiped her tears and said, "I don't want the Yang family to ask for any property from me. They only asked me for one condition. It turns out that in order to curry favor with the prince, Mr. Yang wanted to take away her beloved daughter Yang Xiuzhen.
She was sent as a concubine to twenty-three concubines, but Yang Xiuzhen could not keep her loneliness as a young lady, and she broke up with the man she was in love with. But Mr. Yang didn't want to give up this opportunity to climb a high tree, so he said that as long as I agreed to take the place of Yang Xiuzhen's bridal chamber,
In one night, give me blood and residual leaves."
"What? Gardenia, how could you agree to such a thing?" Yue Qing said heartbroken.
Tears kept falling, and Gardenia said: "In this life, Gardenia will have no family except mother. The important thing is that my efforts will be rewarded. For the sake of my mother's life, Gardenia will give up anything.
Innocence is no exception.”
"You are so stupid." Feng Qing said quietly.
"The next day, I married Yang Xiuzhen to the city lord's palace. After a night of humiliation, I finally got the bloody leaves." Gardenia trembled softly, like leaves beaten by rain, "But when I got home, mother... mother...
…My mother is dead.”
Feng Qing's heart throbbed, and she held Gardenia tightly in her arms. She could feel her heart bleeding from the memories, and said, "Okay, Gardenia, stop talking, stop talking..." with tears.
The clothes on his chest were soaked through, and Gardenia's painful voice reached his heart. This poor woman had lost too many things in one night. It's no wonder that everything about her was so indifferent.
There are almost no things that matter to me.
Gardenia kept sobbing, and only then did she realize that she was holding back so much sadness in her heart. In the past two years, she had gained nothing, and what she originally had was lost one by one. She had never been more desperate, and had never been more desperate.
The desolation I had experienced was all vented at this moment.
Years pass by in an instant, what else is left besides irresistible memories?
As her body recovers day by day, Gardenia misses her days in the Lost Forest more and more. She is doomed to be lonely in this life, and now she just wants it all to end soon and not to have any other accidents.
Gardenia held her cheeks and leaned against the window shuttle in a daze. The soft breeze blew past her face, softly and coolly.
"Gardenia, why are you so lost in thought?" Feng Qing walked in gently and looked at it for a while before speaking.
Gardenia looked back and smiled softly: "Brother Feng, you are back."
Feng Qing sat on a stool, poured a glass of water and said, "Looking at your energy, you are recovering well."
Gardenia bowed Yingying: "This is all thanks to you, Lan Yi, and Zi Yi for taking care of me."
"Come on, don't be polite to me. By the way, I went to see Lian Ruoyi. Her condition is basically stable. I believe she will be fully recovered in a short time." Feng Qing asked her to sit down and said with admiration:
"You are really capable of curing such a miscellaneous disease."
Gardenia shook her head and said, "You're flattered."
I wanted to know where her medical skills came from. I just wanted to ask a simple question, but seeing that she really didn’t want to talk more, I couldn’t ask.
"Brother Feng." Gardenia said softly, "It's time for Gardenia to go."
Feng Qing was stunned and said with some reluctance: "Didn't you say half a month? There are still a few days. Besides, your body is not fully recovered yet, so you should rest for a few more days."
Gardenia got up and went back to the window. She looked at the stream flowing in front of the yard and said quietly: "Gardenia wants to cure Miss Lian's illness as soon as possible. On the bank of Wangyue Creek, Gardenia is getting more and more homesick."
"Your home must be very desirable."
Gardenia said: "At least I will feel safe there."
Feng Qing didn't want to force anyone to make things difficult for him, so he said, "Then when do you want to set off?"
"Now."
"Now? At least prepare yourself."
"No need, Gardenia itself has nothing to grow, so there is no need to prepare."
When I arrived at Wangyue Creek that day, I only took a baggage with me. Now that the baggage has been knotted and placed on the bed, I feel a sense of loss. I will leave sooner or later if I have to leave.
Saying goodbye to Lan Yi and Zi Yi, she thanked them for their meticulous care these days. Looking at the two lovely girls, Gardenia's heart was filled with gratitude.