Chapter 140 - 139: Emperor Taichu and Emperor Chengtian, Severe Mental Blow
Chapter 140: Chapter 139: Emperor Taichu and Emperor Chengtian, Severe Mental Blow
Shi Changying raised an eyebrow, stretching her back and loosening her joints. "What brings you here, Miss Ning?"
"I am a Pharmacist, so saving lives is my duty," Ning Liuyu replied with a smile. "One more pill means one more life saved. I just happened to finish my experiments and ran into this by chance."
Shi Changying gazed at her for a moment before speaking slowly. "Having Miss Ning in Jiuzhou is Jiuzhou’s blessing."
Ning Liuyu froze abruptly. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but she didn’t know where to start.
Suddenly, Shi Changying drawled lazily, "Why is the Young Master here as well? I already asked for leave. Did you come to drag me back?"
Ning Liuyu turned around.
Shaoyuan simply looked at Shi Changying. "How do you plan to spin this?"
Shi Changying lifted her chin slightly. "Why would I need to make anything up? In everything I do, I’ve always—"
Before she could finish her sentence, an unprecedented wave of dizziness washed over her. Her vision went black, and she lost consciousness.
Shaoyuan’s expression changed. In an instant, he stepped forward, catching Shi Changying by the waist and swiftly resting her against his shoulder.
Ning Liuyu gasped in shock. "Miss Shi!"
She hurriedly dug out a pill from her portable medicine kit and slipped it into Shi Changying’s mouth.
Shaoyuan let out an exasperated chuckle. He hadn’t come all this way just to scold her, nor did he truly expect her to explain anything. Why would she choose to just pass out instead?
Medicine and pharmacy were two distinct disciplines. Although they were closely related, when it came to the nuances of traditional diagnosis, Ning Liuyu was indeed not as proficient as the Medical Master Nie Mingchu. She could only identify basic symptoms. Right now, Shi Changying was entirely unresponsive. Even after taking the pill, it had absolutely no effect.
Ning Liuyu began to panic.
"Let’s go over there." Shaoyuan scooped Shi Changying up into his arms and wove his way through the bustling crowd.
Seeing him striding over with a girl in his arms, the elderly man was momentarily startled, his jaw dropping. "This, this, this..."
Shaoyuan laid Shi Changying flat on the bed. "You have three seconds."
The old man snapped his mouth shut and immediately began taking Shi Changying’s pulse.
A dozen seconds later, Shaoyuan remarked lightly, "The older you get, the worse your medical skills become."
The old man fell silent, wondering if he was being insulted.
"Hold your horses, hold your horses," the old man said unhurriedly, stroking his beard. "It’s nothing. The little girl is perfectly fine."
Shaoyuan massaged his temples and spoke slowly. "She is perfectly fine? Yet she passed out?"
"Sigh, what’s the use of taking those pills when she fainted from hunger? She needs food, or at least a glucose drip." The old man sighed repeatedly. "She really is fine. She’s just starving."
At those words, even Grand Ancestor Jing fell utterly silent.
Ning Liuyu had clearly never encountered a situation like this before, leaving her somewhat bewildered. She wondered how someone could faint from hunger and just how starved she must have been.
"Hurry up and prepare some of her favorite foods. She can eat as soon as she wakes up." The old man rolled his eyes and patted his chest. "What’s the rush? Panicking like this is so unlike you. You scared me half to death; my old bones nearly fell apart."
Shaoyuan raised his eyes to look at him with a faint, half-smile.
The old man immediately puffed up with vigor. "Oh, these old bones of mine are actually doing wonderfully! I might just sign up for a dance class tomorrow." As he spoke, he packed up his medicine kit and beat a hasty retreat.
Ning Liuyu was rather surprised. "The Young Master actually believes in traditional medicine?"
Nowadays, Western medicine was highly advanced with numerous precise testing instruments, leaving traditional medicine largely marginalized.
"Yes. I’ll have to trouble Miss Ning to stay here with her," Shaoyuan nodded. "If she wakes up, please notify me immediately."
Watching his retreating figure, Ning Liuyu thought that he was truly a strange young man. He seemed draped in a mysterious veil, making him completely unfathomable. Only then did she have the time to check her phone, where she noticed a message Shi Changying had sent her the day before. She wondered what Shi Changying needed from her. It seemed she could only wait for her to wake up.
Outside, people were bustling about. The number of rescue workers continued to grow, but the most striking among them was a group of young men and women in black uniforms.
"Brother Fan, where did they come from?" someone asked discreetly. "Do you know?"
Xu Yunfan had vaguely heard rumors that there were one or more secretive organizations in Jiuzhou. They were entirely elusive, and no one knew their true identities. He wondered if this group could be one of them, and he shared his speculation with the rest. The crowd exchanged uneasy glances.
"The dam reinforcement is complete," a young man reported, tapping his earpiece. "The flight division has arrived above the mountains and is currently investigating the cause of the landslide."
Shaoyuan cast a glance at the towering mountains in the distance. This mountain was indeed situated upon the dragon vein of Yunzhou. A dragon vein was not a tangible object; it was profoundly mysterious, yet it undeniably existed.
At a time like this, he genuinely missed Wei Yang, the Left Minister who had assisted him in establishing the Jing Dynasty. If Wei Yang were here, he would undoubtedly be able to tell if there was any abnormality within the dragon vein.
Shaoyuan gently brushed his hand over a rock, his voice dropping to a murmur. "Wei Yang, you tell me... Four hundred years ago, the nine dragon veins rioted simultaneously. Was it because Emperor Taichu passed away, leaving no one capable of suppressing them?"
However, there was no longer anyone left who could answer that question.
Shaoyuan looked up. The night sky reflected in his eyes, dissolving into a thick, astonishingly deep ink. The sky was filled with a canopy of stars, and the moon hung high.
By the time Shi Changying woke up, the rain had completely stopped. Ning Liuyu, who had been sitting by her side, instantly noticed the movement from the bed.
"Miss Shi, you’re awake!" she exclaimed, overjoyed. "Are you really hungry? I’ll have someone prepare food for you right away. Just wait a moment!"
Shi Changying sluggishly recalled what had happened earlier, and her face went completely blank. She had actually fainted from hunger in front of so many people. For a former Emperor, this was an absolute and utter loss of face. Fortunately, no one knew her true identity, least of all Shaoyuan.
It wasn’t long before Ning Liuyu wheeled in a cart full of food. "Miss Shi, the Young Master said these are all your favorites. Hurry up and eat; you can’t pass out again."
The cart was loaded with an assortment of steamed buns and pastries. They weren’t high-end delicacies, but they were indeed Shi Changying’s absolute favorites.
What followed was a whirlwind of devouring. Ning Liuyu watched as one steamed bun after another vanished into Shi Changying’s mouth at an eerie speed. Having treated Shi Changying to a meal before, Ning Liuyu already knew she had a massive appetite, but this time...
Ning Liuyu stared intently at the way Shi Changying ate the steamed buns, closely observing her every move. She must have realized something, for her eyes suddenly began to tremble.
After finishing the first round of food, Shi Changying leaned back against the headboard and let out a long, contented sigh, her eyes narrowing in sheer satisfaction. She felt entirely refreshed and deeply comfortable now that she had eaten her fill.
Turning her head, she saw Ning Liuyu staring at her blankly, looking as if she had just suffered some massive mental blow.
Shi Changying gathered her thoughts for a few seconds before speaking. "I just have a big appetite. Actually, last time at the restaurant, I was already holding back—"
Before she could finish, Ning Liuyu suddenly lunged forward and threw her arms tightly around her, bursting into tears with a loud WAAH. "Your Majesty..."