Chapter 192 – A doll that had been torn apart (1)

Carried on Guibai’s back, Ning Yuxuan half-opened his eyes. There was a hint of a cynical smile in his gaze. However, he closed his eyes a moment later and stayed quiet as he was carried into the main room.

Ji Man distributed facemasks to the imperial physician, Guibai, and Liu Hanyun. She had prepared these masks when she was feeling bored. They were even various decorative flowers embroidered on them, so they didn’t look ugly at all.

Imperial Physician Lin smiled and praised her, “Madam, you’re very thoughtful.”

Other than the facemasks, Ji Man had also prepared gloves. As a pregnant woman, her ability to fight off sickness wasn’t very good. After Ji Man seemed as if she was armed to the teeth in protective gear, she helped Marquis Moyu wash up and wiped his body down with rice wine to help him cool down.

Although she was doing this for ulterior motives, Ji Man was very attentive with her care.

Marquis Moyu woke up again during the night. He looked at her and said, “This must be hard on you.”

Ji Man lightly smiled. “It can’t be helped. Sangyu isn’t willing to abandon you.”

Marquis Moyu seemed touched by her words. He looked around, coughed a few times, and went back to sleep.

Ji Man stayed up the rest of the night. She gradually drifted off to sleep on the cushioned couch as dawn arrived. She didn’t even remember to properly cover herself with a blanket.

The person on the bed, who had gotten a good night’s sleep, opened his eyes, yawned, got out of bed, pulled up the blanket for her, stretched a bit, and sat down at the desk to write something. Suddenly, he heard a sound from the outside and swiftly returned to his bed.

—

When Mu Shuiqing had heard the news that the marquis had also gotten smallpox, she still felt a bit worried for him. She wasn’t really crazy. She had lost her unborn child and future chances at favor, had been forcefully sent here, and the crown prince had also given up on her and hadn’t made any attempts at rescuing her for this place. She had just been speaking without regard for anything because she was feeling too hopeless. This created the false impression of insanity.

Now that Wen Wan, Marquis Moyu, and Nie Sangyu had all come here, this place no longer felt so eerie. She suddenly felt a bit hopeful.

After tidying up her appearance, Mu Shuiqing actually took the initiative to go to the main room. She stood in front of the doors for a while before finally stepping forward and knocking.

Guibai opened the doors and looked at her in surprise. He saw the haggard-looking Mu Shuiqing tugging at her clothes as she mumbled out her question, “Can this servant see the marquis?”

And so, Ji Man, who had only been napping for a little bit, was woken up. Her eyes were bloodshot as she listened to Guibai report Mu Shuiqing’s request. She yawned and said, “I’ll go outside to see her.”

Mu Shuqiqing was dressed as simply as a peasant and didn’t look that good. However, when she saw Nie Sangyu coming outside, her eyes showed emotion, “Madam…”

Ji Man smiled at her. “This is perfect. I stayed up all night and need a break to catch up on sleep. I’ll hand over the marquis to you for care. If you need anything, just call for Guibai.”

Mu Shuiqing was shocked. She was allowing her to care for the marquis, just like that? Everyone had been saying she was a lunatic.

Ji Man seemed as if she hadn’t seen Mu Shuiqing’s stunned look. She went inside, got her pillow, and went to the neighboring courtyard to sleep.

Mu Shuiqing briefly hesitated before entering the main room.

Once upon a time, she had loved Marquis Moyu. But, it was too difficult to get his heart; he had always been guarded against her. In order to fulfill the crown prince’s task, she would only gradually get further and further apart from Ning Yuxuan.

So what if she had a flower-like beauty that was as beautiful as the moon? So what if he had been momentarily mesmerized by her dancing? The moment she lost her value, hadn’t she been reduced to her current ghastly appearance?

Mu Shuiqing knew that she didn’t have the power to do anything right now. She just wanted to see him. This man, who carried the responsibility of countless lives on his back, was he at death’s door now?

Right after she stepped into the room, before her feelings had time to disperse, Mu Shuqing saw Marquis Moyu sitting at the desk. He didn’t look like a sick patient infected with smallpox at all. Instead, he seemed perfectly fine.

He looked at her with a devastatingly beautiful smile. “Qing-er.”

Mu Shuiqing’s pupils contracted. Her feet felt frozen in place. She could only blankly look at him.

—

By the time Ji Man had woken up from a restorative nap, it was already noon. Liu Hanyun had prepared lunch and was placing the dishes on a small table.

“Awake?”

Ji Man nodded. She did feel somewhat hungry. She glanced at Liu Hanyun, who had her usual expressionless look. Ji Man obediently got up, brushed her teeth, and sat down at the table. “Why were you the one cooking?”

“If someone else cooked, would you be willing to eat that food?” Liu Hanyun pursed her lips. Her face, which didn’t have any makeup, felt as familiar as an kindly, older sister figure from a neighboring family.

Her choice of words was pretty interesting. Ji Man picked up a pair of chopsticks and looked at her. “Why should I trust the food that you cooked? It’s not impossible that you would want to harm me too.”

“Don’t eat it then.” Liu Hanyun’s voice didn’t sound angry at all. She calmly said, “Wait and have Guibai cook for you.”

Ji Man hastily stuffed a piece of meat into her mouth and swallowed it down with some rice. “Haha, let’s not bother him.”

Liu Hanyun looked at her oddly, then she placed a food box on the side of the table and said, “Madam, when you visit the marquis later, you can bring this with you. Although this food isn’t as rich as the food in the marquis’s main estate, it’ll be better for him to eat simpler foods while he’s sick.”

Puzzled, Ji Man asked, “Why don’t you go there yourself? It’s usually rare for you to have a chance to see him. There aren’t many people here, and no one is competing for favor right now. Why are you still avoiding the marquis?”

Liu Hanyun paused. She faintly smiled and said, “This servant isn’t avoiding him. It’s just more convenient for Madam to bring the food over. This servant still has work to do.”

This person… Ji Man shook her head. Should she say that Liu Hanyun was just too used to being a servant. Or, was she a person that was able to stay detached from earthly affairs? Liu Hanyun was quite interesting. It was truly rare for a person like her to exist in the marquis’s household.

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