Waiting for You for a Long Time, But You Haven't Arrived - Chapter 55

“What is wrong with you?”

In all her previous years, Ming Yishu had remained within the Prime Minister’s residence in the capital, rarely traveling abroad. Now that she had visited the Northern Lands and come to the South, she realized how extreme the climates could be.

The North was perpetually covered in snow; pushing open a window revealed nothing but a vast expanse of white. The South, however, was plagued by excessive rain. Even before the plum rain season had officially arrived, the downpour was constant.

Ming Yishu had been here for nearly half a month. Traveling southward, she had hardly seen a single sunny day.

When she escaped from Jiang Qionghua this time, she did not bring He Yi with her; He Yi remained at the Princess’s Residence. She only took Wan’an, whose wounds had not yet fully healed.

Because of the constant drizzle in the South, Wan’an, a falcon, felt damp to the touch, as if its feathers never truly dried.

Ming Yishu did not dare let it out into the rain, so she kept it cradled in her arms. She disguised herself as a common woman, wearing plain white mourning clothes and a white veil to cover her face. She even wrapped Wan’an in a baby’s swaddle to pretend it was a child.

Dressed this way, few people took notice of her appearance, sparing her many needless disturbances along the road.

If anyone approached to inquire, she would simply reply: My lover has recently passed away; I am still in mourning.

Ming Yishu settled into an inn by the water. To prevent discovery by Jiang Qionghua, she rarely left her room. Even when she had to step out, she veiled herself until only her eyes were visible.

After half a month, she finally felt a bit more at ease. On the rare occasions when the sun emerged, she would take Wan’an to a dry spot to sun its feathers.

While Ming Yishu enjoyed her quiet, peaceful days, Jiang Qionghua, on the other hand, felt as though every day lasted a year.

Jiang Qionghua had followed her from the very first day Ming Yishu stayed at the inn. She resided in a nearby tavern at a vantage point that allowed her to observe Ming Yishu’s window. Whenever she spent whole nights unable to sleep, Jiang Qionghua would stand by the window gazing in Ming Yishu’s direction, waiting for the occasional moment the other would open the window. Even if her face was veiled, that slender, elegant silhouette was enough to soothe her longing.

Furthermore, Jiang Qionghua ordered her subordinates to continue protecting Ming Yishu, while also listening to whom she met and what she said each day.

For half a month, the reports from her subordinates were identical—Ming Yishu rarely met anyone and spoke very little when she did. If asked, she would reply that her lover had died recently, her heart was heavy, and she did not care for much conversation.

Jiang Qionghua: “…”

Jiang Qionghua had heard this phrase “my lover died” at least twenty times. In her dreams these past few days, she could even hallucinate Ming Yishu whispering in her ear that she was dead.

This time, as her subordinate returned to report, her expression suddenly soured. The secret guard was startled, unsure whether to speak or not.

“Speak,” Jiang Qionghua said, her tone harsh, as if someone owed her a million taels of gold.

The subordinate reported: “Miss Ming went out to sun her falcon recently and frequently encountered a man who came to talk to her. Your subordinate saw that he had ill intentions, seemingly having taken a fancy to our lady. He even praised Miss Ming for having beautiful eyes, but Miss Ming’s reply was…”

Jiang Qionghua didn’t wait for the rest, subconsciously snapping: “What did Ming Yishu say?”

The subordinate spoke truthfully: “Miss Ming said her lover had died and her heart was stifled. Then, using the excuse of feeling unwell, she left immediately.”

“It’s fine if I’m dead,” Jiang Qionghua muttered after a moment of silence, her heart feeling a bit tangled. She looked down and comforted herself, “She is using me to reject others, proving I am still in her heart. It’s just that I’m already dead to her; it doesn’t matter.”

The subordinate continued: “As that man was leaving, he stuffed a note into Miss Ming’s hand. Miss Ming threw it away without looking at it.”

Jiang Qionghua gave a soft, “Mm.”

“Prime Minister, that person… does your subordinate need to dispose of him?” The secret guard, accustomed to Jiang Qionghua’s murderous habits, asked, “That man is a dandy; his father is the newly transferred county magistrate, and his mother is an unfavored concubine. Even if he dies, no one will investigate, and it won’t disturb Miss Ming.”

“Dispose of him,” Jiang Qionghua replied casually, as she usually did when dealing with someone. But just as the words left her mouth, she suddenly remembered that Ming Yishu disliked her habit of treating human life so cheaply. Thus, she changed her mind: “Wait, I will go meet that man myself and have a ‘friendly’ chat with him, to tell him to give up on this idea.”

The subordinate looked on in disbelief.

This was actually worse than just disposing of him. At least if he were killed directly, the dandy would die quickly without much pain or days spent in fear. To have a “talk” with the Right Prime Minister was never a good thing. If lucky, the Right Prime Minister might “magnanimously” cut off a leg to settle the matter. If the man were unlucky and said something offensive—well, then the matter would become grave.

The Right Prime Minister had manipulated the winds and clouds in the capital for many years; she knew best how to torture people and make them wish they were dead.

Therefore, even though Jiang Qionghua looked pleasant as she prepared to “chat” with the dandy, her subordinates did not think it boded well.

“Where is he?” Jiang Qionghua rose gracefully, appearing as though she held no grudge. She seemed immensely magnanimous, capable of tolerating all the world’s annoyances. She said in a gentle voice, “Lead the way. I am bored tonight; I’ll go find someone to pour my heart out to.”

The secret guards bowed and led the way in silence.

The “leading the way” and “finding the person” resulted in the subordinates, who had received their orders early, having already tied the dandy up and waiting for her. By the time Jiang Qionghua walked in, the man was already terrified out of his wits.

“Why is he tied up? This is quite disruptive to the harmony,” Jiang Qionghua had intended to talk nicely, but she hadn’t expected it to be so inconvenient—the other party’s state didn’t seem quite right.

The dandy was already shaking like a leaf, asking tremulously, “Who… who are you?”

“I am her ‘dead’ wife.” As Jiang Qionghua uttered those words, she gritted her teeth, yet there was no trace of anger—only a sense of helpless indulgence. She approached the man tied on the floor, leaned down halfway, and said calmly: “My wife has abandoned me. Give me an idea: if you can make her change her mind, I shall grant you an official post. How does that sound?”

Any fool could tell what kind of person referred to themselves as “Gu” (the royal/noble ‘I’). Jiang Qionghua’s notorious reputation and the tales of her chasing her wife had long since spread through every alleyway. She never bothered to silence the public; she let the storybooks say whatever they wished.

As so much time had passed, everyone from princes and generals down to peddlers and servants knew what she was doing.

Consequently, when Jiang Qionghua appeared before the dandy with her subordinates, he guessed her identity almost instantly.

—This was the Right Prime Minister.

The legendary god of slaughter, evil to the extreme.

In just a brief moment, the dandy’s mental state collapsed several times. Having finally managed to comprehend Jiang Qionghua’s question with his sluggish brain, he was so frightened by her sudden interrogation that he began to stammer.

“Do not stutter. Wordiness makes me lose my patience,” Jiang Qionghua sat in the chair her subordinate brought over. Her chin was slightly raised, and her beautiful eyes were half-closed in an arrogant manner. She said, “I have a bad temper. Keep your words concise; do not waste time.”

Upon hearing this, the man trembled even more violently. Though it was early summer, he shook as if he were in the depths of winter.

“I heard that dandies like you are very good at making ladies happy. Tell me all your clever tricks; I wish to learn a few,” Jiang Qionghua said. “She does not care for gold or jewels, so do not think of those vulgar methods.”

The dandy knelt with his head pressed against the floor, saying, “The Right Prime Minister possesses celestial beauty and has no need to go out of her way to please anyone. All the people under heaven bow before you.”

“You had better not speak such nonsense,” Jiang Qionghua said. “I told you my patience is limited.”

This time, the dandy learned to be concise: “This lowly one failed to recognize the mountain before me… I inadvertently drugged that lady…”

Jiang Qionghua’s expression shifted instantly. She thought she had misheard: “What did you do? You drugged whom?”

“It… it was that woman in mourning.” The dandy spoke with increasing fear, shaking more violently as he slammed his head against the ground as if to break it. “This lowly one did not know she was the Prime Minister’s wife. This lowly one deserves to die, deserves to die!”

Jiang Qionghua’s vision went dark; she was so enraged she could barely stand.

Under the surveillance of so many secret guards, this man actually managed to drug Ming Yishu? Ming Yishu clearly hadn’t drunk anything unclean, nor had she had much contact with him. How could this be?

“What drug? What are the effects? Is it potent? How do I cure it?” Jiang Qionghua didn’t even have time to blame anyone. Worried for Ming Yishu’s safety, she simply grabbed the dandy by the collar and demanded, “Do you have the antidote?”

The dandy shrank his neck in fear: “There is no antidote. The drug is very strong—it was applied to the paper. Just breathing it in will cause an effect. It can only be resolved through… intimate means. The effects will manifest after one hour and will not dissipate for an entire night.”

One hour! No wonder the secret guards following Ming Yishu hadn’t noticed anything unusual. After an hour, Ming Yishu would have already returned to her room. Once the door was closed, unless they had ulterior motives, the guards wouldn’t continue to monitor her.

Jiang Qionghua was suddenly filled with lingering fear as she leaned against the chair. If she hadn’t had the sudden whim to trouble this man today, wouldn’t Ming Yishu have been in danger alone in her room?

But… without an antidote, how was she to handle this?

Heart in turmoil, Jiang Qionghua rushed toward Ming Yishu’s inn without looking back at the culprit.

Seeing her leave, the dandy suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and asked the man in black who had brought him there, “Can you untie me now?”

The two secret guards looked down at him silently.

—The Prime Minister had not given specific orders for his release, so he should be handled according to custom.

“Yes.”

One guard went to untie him, while the other walked behind him with a blade drawn.

Jiang Qionghua truly didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t just appear out of thin air before Ming Yishu. If she arrived now, Ming Yishu would surely believe she was the one who had administered the drug.

She already had a bad reputation in the other’s heart; if she pulled this stunt, wouldn’t she sink into the mud forever?

But if she didn’t go, Ming Yishu would suffer greatly. The drug was potent; if she couldn’t pull through… Jiang Qionghua didn’t dare think about it. She was too afraid of losing Ming Yishu; she couldn’t allow Ming Yishu to suffer even a bit of harm.

Just as she was frantic with worry, Bo Lu heard of the matter and hurried over.

Bo Lu took a bottle of medicine from his sleeve and handed it to Jiang Qionghua, saying, “Prime Minister, this is the aphrodisiac you once used on Miss Ming. Now, you should take it yourself before going to see her. Claim that you were ambushed and had no choice. Miss Ming will only think you are a fellow victim and won’t believe you were the one who drugged her.”

This was also a clever plan, Jiang Qionghua thought. As long as she could clear herself of suspicion, it was for the best. She could admit she had been relentlessly pursuing Ming Yishu, but she couldn’t take the blame for a crime she didn’t commit. She was not the kind of despicable person who drugged people in secret; she couldn’t allow Ming Yishu to harbor such a suspicion of her.

“I’ll drink it.” Jiang Qionghua took the bottle and walked all the way to Ming Yishu’s door.

Jiang Qionghua didn’t dilute it with water; she tilted her head back and swallowed a large amount. She had it all planned out—after entering, she would say she had gone to deal with the person who drugged her, only to be caught in the trap herself, and could only come to find Yishu.

Jiang Qionghua took a deep breath, and the medicine took effect instantly. Her ears turned red, and her eyes burned like fire. She felt like a piece of firewood that had been lit; if she didn’t find that touch of coolness, she would burn to death in front of Ming Yishu’s door.

“Yishu.”

She whispered the name in her heart and pushed the door open with force.

“I—”

Jiang Qionghua only uttered one word before freezing in place.

Ming Yishu was standing by the table caring for the falcon, completely fine, without a single trace of being drugged.

—That wasn’t right. An hour had already passed; why was it like this?

Jiang Qionghua felt her brain was about to be scorched. She looked at Ming Yishu hesitantly, her eyes burning red, every blink dry and hot.

“What are you doing here? Have you found me again?” Ming Yishu set down the cloth in her hand, continuing to wrap the “sick” Wan’an. She took a few steps toward Jiang Qionghua, not at all surprised. “As expected, I still couldn’t escape. So what are you going to do, barging in so suddenly…”

Jiang Qionghua couldn’t hear her words clearly. Feeling aggrieved and helpless, she leaned against the doorframe, her fingers painfully pinching herself. “Nothing. I just missed you. If you’re fine, I’ll leave.”

Ming Yishu found it somewhat strange. Tonight, she had first seen Wan’an fall ill, acting restless as if in heat, and then Jiang Qionghua suddenly barged in, also looking scorched and pained. It was hard not to be curious.

“Jiang Qionghua, what’s wrong with you? If you’re sick, go find a doctor yourself. Don’t die in my room.” Though Ming Yishu spoke heartless words, she still walked closer out of curiosity. “What are your subordinates doing? Why didn’t they stop you, letting you come out to see people in this state?”

Jiang Qionghua struggled to avoid her, terrified she might do something irrational. “Yishu, stay away. I… I’m feeling a bit unwell.”

Seeing her condition was truly terrible, Ming Yishu asked one more question: “I’ll help you out and let your subordinates take you to a doctor, how about that?”

Ming Yishu wasn’t forgiving Jiang Qionghua. She had expected the other to find her door eventually, but she hadn’t expected her to have such a severe illness. It looked like a fatal ancient disease—once contracted, one would develop a high fever, and perhaps even their brain would be scorched.

After all, the two had a seven-year history. Ming Yishu certainly couldn’t let the other burn to unconsciousness in her room. There was a clinic very nearby; she wouldn’t personally support her to see the doctor, but she could help Jiang Qionghua over to her secret guards.

Jiang Qionghua said she was affected because she went near that man; Ming Yishu certainly believed it. After all, Wan’an had also fallen ill because it came into contact with that person during the day. Perhaps Jiang Qionghua had the same ailment and, having nowhere else to turn, came here in a daze while sick.

Ming Yishu didn’t want to owe her anything, so she spoke: “Stand up, I’ll help you—”

Before she could finish, her sleeve was suddenly grabbed by Jiang Qionghua.

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