"If I die, you can't just throw me away. You have to dig a nice grave for me and put up a tombstone..."
Having lived two lifetimes, she couldn't just disappear without a trace. After all, she had come through this world.
The woman's voice grew softer and softer. Finally, when she had no strength left, Huo Qizhou realized something was wrong. It didn't seem like she was just teasing him.
He pushed aside the fox fur beside the woman's head and touched her. Only then did he find that she was burning hot. Her face was completely bloodless and even tinged with a bluish hue. When he found her hand and felt her pulse, he discovered that her fingers were icy cold and her pulse was extremely uneven.
"Damn it!" Huo Qizhou took off his outer robe, wrapped her up, and placed her by the fire. The firelight shone on her face, revealing a large bruise at the corner of her eye. It must have been caused by the jolting on the horseback.
When he saved her today and saw that she didn't show much of a reaction, he subconsciously thought there was nothing serious.
But he had forgotten that she was a well - bred young lady from a noble family. Even after entering the palace, she was treated with extreme care, like a precious object that people were afraid to damage. How could she have endured such hardships? There was probably not a single uninjured part on her body.
She had managed to endure for so long. He had misjudged her. How come he hadn't noticed this side of her before?
Huo Qizhou also felt a bit regretful at this moment, thinking that he had gone too far. Seeing that her once pink and plump lips were now chapped, he couldn't help but reach out and touch them. They were still soft and tender.
Shi Muyuan now seemed like a withering white jade flower.
Huo Qizhou quickly withdrew his hand. What was he doing? How could he touch her?
He cleared his throat, then carefully laid her down to make sure she wouldn't get too close to the fire and burn herself. Then he picked up his sword and went out.
It was quite a while before Huo Qizhou came back with a newly made bamboo tube. He helped Shi Muyuan sit up and fed her some water, then sat down beside her.
After sitting there for a while, he didn't see any improvement in her condition. When he touched her forehead, it was still burning hot, but her body was cold. Considering all her injuries, she probably wouldn't last until tomorrow.
After a brief thought, Huo Qizhou put aside his prejudice and held her in his arms to keep her warm.
After all, she was just a bit bad - tempered. The affairs of the Shi family in the court had nothing to do with her. Her three elder brothers were also talented people. She was probably innocent.
When Shi Muyuan woke up groggily, she felt her body tightly held. When she tried to move, her whole body ached terribly, and she couldn't help but let out a soft groan.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager is awake. Are you feeling better?" A voice came from above. Only then did Shi Muyuan realize that she was actually being held in the arms of this cold, proud, and heartless man. It was really shocking!
Huo Qizhou bent his long fingers and rubbed his thick eyebrows with his knuckles. He had been afraid that something might go wrong last night, so he hadn't dared to sleep deeply. Unexpectedly, after holding her for half the night and hearing her steady breathing as she slept, he had actually fallen into a deep sleep.
It had been a long time since he had slept like this, and it was in the wilds, holding a woman in his arms.
Shi Muyuan saw the man staring at her strangely. Feeling embarrassed, she raised her hand to wipe the sweat on her head that had accumulated after being covered all night. But the movement tugged at her wounds, and she let out a hiss.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager is truly patient. You managed to walk for so long without making a sound yesterday. I'm impressed."
Shi Muyuan was still in his arms at this moment. She felt a bit shy, and a blush crept onto her cheeks.
She had only felt the pain yesterday and hadn't expected it to be so severe. Later, she had even fainted. Before fainting, she had asked someone to erect a tombstone for her. It was so embarrassing.
Shi Muyuan buried her head deeper and deeper: "Maybe I was jolted too hard on the horseback yesterday. The pain numbed me, so I didn't feel particularly uncomfortable. But you, hurry up and put me down."
Huo Qizhou smiled faintly: "Yes."
Before Shi Muyuan's feet touched the ground, her body gave out and she was about to fall. Fortunately, Huo Qizhou was quick - witted and caught her.
Damn it, she was so humiliated.
"Your Majesty, you'd better stay still. I'll go out and see if there's any suitable wood to carve a tombstone."
Shi Muyuan widened her eyes: "I'm fine. I don't need it anymore!" This bastard was making fun of her.
Huo Qizhou still picked up his sword and went out. He planned to scout the surrounding area and then make further plans.
Shi Muyuan didn't feel well. Although the fever had subsided, her body still ached, and she was very hungry. She shouted at Huo Qizhou: "Sir National Teacher, could you bring back some food?"
"No." Huo Qizhou answered crisply. He had already walked out of the dilapidated temple and was out of sight.
"Pah, what a heartless bastard. I thought he was just pretending to be cold, but it turns out he's still so heartless!"
Shi Muyuan was unhappy. She was also afraid that his stubborn nature would make him keep his word and really not bring back any food. Then wouldn't she starve to death here?
She touched her empty stomach. Gritting her teeth, Shi Muyuan propped herself up with a stick and stood up to move around. It was okay. She could walk!
Then she limped out to look for something to eat.
When Huo Qizhou returned with wild fruits and game, he saw the empty dilapidated temple. The fire had obviously been deliberately extinguished. There were no signs of a fight in the temple. It seemed that someone had run out on her own, and she even remembered to put out the fire.
Thinking that she couldn't have gone far with all her injuries and that he had checked the surrounding area and there were no signs of assassins, Huo Qizhou simply sat down, re - started the fire, and began to deal with the game.
The confident Shi Muyuan had to take a deep breath after walking just a few steps. Finally, she saw the fruits on the tree, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't knock them down. The fruits that she did manage to knock down were rotten and covered in dirt.
Shi Muyuan looked at the pile of rotten fruits dejectedly. Just as she was hesitating whether to take a bite, she suddenly felt aggrieved.
She was injured all over, her fever hadn't completely subsided, and she was hungry. All the negative emotions welled up in her heart at once. She opened her small mouth and shed tears. Sitting alone in the woods, she sobbed and occasionally tugged at her dirty clothes.
When Huo Qizhou came looking for her with the wild fruits, he saw the woman's shoulders heaving as she sobbed. He was puzzled as to what had happened. When he got closer, he saw that she was crying.
Her tears were like plump jade pearls, and she was crying quite hard. There was also a pile of rotten fruits in front of the woman. It turned out that she was hungry and felt wronged, so she had started crying.
"Hey, why are you crying?"
Seeing someone coming, Shi Muyuan stopped crying. She didn't want others to see her crying. She wiped the tears on her face messily, but still couldn't help sniffling a couple of times.
"It's none of your business!"
Huo Qizhou held out the fruits in his hand: "Do you want to eat?"
"No!" Shi Muyuan refused fiercely, but her hand obediently snatched the fruits and took a couple of bites.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager really looks in a sorry state." Huo Qizhou laughed at her.
Shi Muyuan hated most of all for others to see her in a sorry state. In her previous life, she had worked so hard just to make a living in the officialdom, but she still tried to live a refined life. At least on the surface, she wanted to look good and not be looked down upon. After she was reborn into the identity of the Empress Dowager, she had been happy for a while.
She, Shi Muyuan, was not a fairy. Of course, she had worldly desires. Living a decent life and being respected was her desire and also her bottom line.