Chapter 23 Treat You As a Treasure
2347 Words
In the Royal Prison.
There was a loud noise outside the prison.
"Aye! Young man, are you alright?"
"What happened? Get him up!"
Cheng Wanli scowled. He frowned and yelled at outside,
"Who is making noise here?"
"Chiliarch, it's a young man from the Eastern Depot. He sat on the ground and wouldn't move right after he came in the Royal Prison."
Leng Qingtang was surprised. He pushed Cheng Wanli aside and stormed out of the prison cell.
Under the dim lights gathered some prison guards. In the middle was a small person. The bright purple robe made it clear that he was a guard from the Eastern Depot.
Right now, he was sitting on the dirty and damp stone ground. Under the big flat hat was his sickly pale face.
"Yun Guaner!"
Leng Qingtang pushed the guards aside and squatted by her side. He didn't understand how she would come here all the way from the Eastern Depot.
She was deadly quiet, so quiet that it made people scared. Her clear and bright almond-shaped eyes now had turned cloudy without any expression, fixated on the gate of the prison cell. Behind the gate was Zhong, who had just died and hadn't yet become stiff.
"Yun Guaner? Yun Guaner!"
Leng Qingtang called her name with a shaking voice. His forehead was covered by sweat as he was in such a shock.
He held her in his arms. Her body suddenly collapsed. She fell as if she were melting away.
It turned out that she had already passed out, but her eyes remained open.
"Hey, hey, it's none of your business! Go back to your work. Now! Go carry down the body inside."
Cheng Wanli got rid of the surrounding guards with a harsh voice, pointing at Zhong on the pillar of the prison cell.
Gu Yunxi didn't just arrive at the Royal Prison. She came here on foot based on the guidance of a depot worker who often traveled between the Eastern Depot and the Royal Prison.
Relying on her official robe, she walked into the Royal Prison without any resistance. Yet she was lost afterward, so she asked the guards whether a man named Zhao An was kept here.
To her surprise, after a thorough check, the guards all confirmed that no one whose last name was Zhao was being held here or was taken in in the past three months.
"This is odd. Is Zhan An not in the Royal Prison?"
Gu Yunxi thought over and over, yet she couldn't figure it out. "Did the Master lie to Yunyao? But if he is not here, where would he be?"
Gu Yunxi felt bad because she couldn't fulfill Gu Yunyao's ask. Gu Yunxi was going to go back, yet she suddenly remembered the Master was here. So she asked the guard to lead her to the Master. When she arrived in the prison cell of Minister Zhong, it was just the time that he got excited. Minister Zhong was like a dying beast with a ferocious look.
He sprayed a mouthful of blood into the distance, and it was right in Gu Yunxi's sight. Then, she saw a million stars running around in front of her. After an intense dazzle, she didn't know anything anymore.
When she woke up, Gu Yunxi was lying on a firm and warm chest. The air was fresh and, she could hear the sound of a horse running.
She lost her breath. All she could smell was the unique fragrance coming from Leng Qingtang.
"Master?"
"You finally wake up? Are you feeling better? I'm taking you back to the Eastern Depot."
Leng Qingtang looked down without many expressions. He held the halter tightly with one hand and increased the strength of the other hand that was holding her waist.
The horse wasn't running very fast. It only raised its hoofs a bit up from the ground, running at its possible lowest speed. Yet Leng Qingtang was still worried that this pace would bump off the tiny weak body in his arms.
Cheng Wanli, the Chiliarch, followed the Master's horse closely. He watched the Master and Gu Yunxi riding on the same horse. The sleeves of the light blue robe embroidered with boas flew up and down in the air, making it extra eye-catching under the bright sun.
Leng Qingtang was dreadful and horrifying in the prison cell, swollen with arrogance like a monster ready to dine on human flesh. Yet when he saw Gu Yunxi, he immediately turned kind and gentle like a charming noble.
Such an indifferent person of few words in daily life unexpectedly spoiled and cared Gu Yunxi without any principle. Was it only because she was the daughter of that person?
As soon as they arrived at the Eastern Depot, Leng Qingtang took Gu Yunxi straightly to the Southern Residence.
The depot worker Sun Bing was just sweeping the leaves that were all over the residence with a long broom. When he saw the Master holding his pretty apprentice in his arms and running into the room without saying a word, he was surprised, so he dropped his chore and followed.
"Master, you are back. What happened to her?"
In the residence, the honest and dull Sun Bing was the only depot worker who knew Gu Yunxi was a girl. The first day she came to the Eastern Depot, he gave her the robe himself.
"Her old sickness is acting up again! Have you cooked the medicine?"
Leng Qingtang hurled the question at Sun Bing without looking back while putting Gu Yunxi on the bed.
Leng Qingtang was born with a light skin tone. Now that he was terrified by Gu Yunxi's condition, he looked paler than a ghost.
This serious, pale face shocked Sun Bing. He answered quickly,
"The morning medicine is still there. I'll warm it up!"
"What? She didn't take the morning medicine?" Leng Qingtang was surprised. He turned back and looked at Gu Yunxi. He was angry but he didn't want to throw it at her.
"I woke up late. So I didn't have the time..."
Gu Yunxi felt his anger. She was regretful. She looked down and playfully stuck her tongue out. She then struggled to sit up from the bed.
Leng Qingtang saw it and sat behind her at the bedside, using his upper body as a support for her.
"A little girl shouldn't force herself. I told you not to come, and don't go to the Royal Prison. Did you listen?"
Leng Qingtang scolded her with a soft tone while taking off the outer layer of her clothes.
"You are my Master. Wherever the Master is, the apprentice should follow."
Knowing he was not really angry and was just caring for her, Gu Yunxi pouted and said slowly.
A sentence that was meant to sound coquettish, when coming out of her mouth, sounded rather unyielding.
Leng Qingtang softened his heart.
He knew that this girl had behaved well. Since she came to the Eastern Depot, she had been following every rule and completing every order he gave. Even though everybody knew she was the apprentice of the Master, she wasn't being arrogant for it and never asked him for any better treatment.
It was he who neglected how tough she was.
He brought her to the Eastern Depot, wanting to offer her a safe and quiet space so that she could rest peacefully and cure the sickness of fainting over blood, and eventually live like a normal person. But he didn't think that his little selfish motives and fondly care became such a heavy burden in her heart.
He opened his mouth, yet he didn't know what to say.
He thought carefully and comforted Gu Yunxi slowly,
"Haste makes waste. Yunxi, you have been sick for more than a decade. You can't be easily cured by taking a couple of medicines. Be patient and take care of yourself for another half year. I promise you will be all well by then."
Stretching his slim and pale fingers, Leng Qingtang massaged Gu Yunxi's shoulders and back with just the right strength.
This time Gu Yunxi didn't avoid it. She was just sick. Her body felt so heavy as if made by iron. She really felt terrible.
She closed her eyes, enjoying his massage.
The medicine was warmed up. Sun Bing carried the bowl into the room. He saw Gu Yunxi leaning in the Master's arms.
Sun Bing handed the bowl to the Master quietly and stood by the side. Watching Gu Yunxi finishing the medicine, Sun Bing collected the empty bowl and left the room without a word.
After taking medicine, Gu Yunxi's cold body gradually became warm. Her complexion looked normal. A little sweat formed on her forehead and the tip of her nose.
Leng Qingtang was relived. He exhaled deeply.
"Are you tired?" Leng Qingtang looked down at her, asking her softly.
Gu Yunxi leaned on his chest and shook her head. Suddenly she thought of something. She looked up and stared into his eyes,
"Master, why do I have that kind of strange sickness?"
"..."
Leng Qingtang suddenly got nervous. He didn't know how to answer.
"Master, you adopted me. Have you met my parents? I really want to see them and ask them. Why fate mistreats me and makes me suffer from this sickness?"
Gu Yunxi's voice seemed unreal like a trail of smoke. She sounded bitter and sorrowful, making people mournful.
Even the worst had a soft spot deep inside their hearts. Let alone Leng Qingtang, who didn't think he was extremely violent and wicked.
The only reason why he used all kinds of means, dirt or fair, was to pay back to those sinners who had brought his and her innocent families uncountable death, using his current position and the power he had.
A tooth for a tooth. An eye for an eye.
Even if this endless path of vengeance would make his heart evil like a ferocious and demonic ghost with blood in his hand, he couldn't care less.
The room was quiet. Leng Qingtang held the girl in his arms without saying a word. His handsome yet pale face didn't have any expression. His shining bright eyes went dark, like a bottomless dry well covered by dust, absolutely lifeless.
She was born as the Commandery Princess in the house of Lord Protector. She was treasured by her parents, enjoying everyone's love and admiration. Like a blooming peony, she should grow into a beautiful and graceful girl who had a bright future.
If it hadn't been for the misfortune ten years ago, at her current age, she should have been admired and adored by a lot of handsome young men. She wouldn't have suffered from the sequelae of fainting over blood and losing all her memories before she was five because of the intense stimulation she received from the overnight b****y killing ten years ago.
How could he tell her that he was the person responsible for the change of her fate and for her being seen as a piece of waste that could be disposed of any time?
Gu Yunxi moved around in his arms. She leaned the side of her face on his chest. Her long and curly eyelashes shook slightly. She looked seriously at him, like a believer with strong faith looking at the god that redeemed her. She was pious and respectful.
All of a sudden, she said to him softly,
"Master, you've been really good to me!"
He was deeply moved and looked down at her immediately.
Her almond-shaped eyes were bright and watery, shimmering like crystal.
What she said was from the depth of her heart.
She was thankful for his kindness and clung to his gentleness. She didn't care how other people saw her. His care and adoration made her heart throbbing. She was so moved that she wanted to cry.
"Yunxi..."
The sorrowful atmosphere made Leng Qingtang's eyes turn red. He controlled himself with all his strength to not let out his emotions. While he was gritting his teeth hard, his temples bulged out, making the thin skin on his forehead go up.
Deep emotions ran through his black eyes. They were countless sorrow and struggle.
"You've been really good to me_"
Why did he treat her so well? Because he was paying back the kindness? Because she was his daughter? Or maybe, this "good" was mixed with some complicated feeling?
Leng Qingtang knew that he shouldn't get distracted now. He should shoulder all these heavy responsibilities like an ascetic monk, living for just one goal. He should abandon all his feelings.
Yet, she was like a saussurea standing on top of the mountain, graceful and charming. There were too many times that he couldn't resist the temptation of holding this pretty little flower in his hands.
There was a fire burning in Leng Qingtang's eyes, lighting them up and making them shine.
He looked straight ahead. His voice was soft and gentle, full of the magic that captivated people,
"Yunxi, no one is born to be alone in this world. Whether you are tough, humble, soft, or insignificant, there would always be a person who would truly care for you, cherish you, and adore you, treating you like a treasure."
"The pain and nightmares you had experienced were long gone. You don't have to be afraid of them anymore. From now on, I'll be here with you. I'll care for you and protect you..."
Gu Yunxi didn't respond. Leng Qingtang was surprised.
"Was I being too blunt and too sudden and scared this innocent little girl?"
He looked down.
It turned out that the medicine had kicked in, and Yunxi fell asleep. She comfortably lay on his warn chest. Blushes of happiness hung on her delicate porcelain-like face. Her red lips curled in happiness.
Her sadness was like showers in summer, coming abruptly and leaving abruptly.
Leng Qingtang stroked Gu Yunxi's hair. He felt her gentle breaths. His eyes were smiling in adoration and satisfaction.
- Writer
