Entangled Love GL - Chapter 12
It was the evening of the sixth day when they returned to This Place Pavilion. As soon as the two entered the door, Xue Yuyu came over to greet them, forcibly masking his tired expression, his gaze looking profoundly at Yang Mei, and he softly said, “Miss has returned.”
Yang Mei nodded her head, and before she even had a chance to ask a question, another person rushed over in a hurry—it was Yang Guan.
Yang Guan, however, seemed not to see Yang Mei. He rushed forward, grabbed Duan Min, and roared, “Why did you take so long to come!” Then he pulled her inside.
Duan Min was quite stunned. In just a few short days, Yang Guan’s appearance had changed a lot. He was originally a handsome, high-spirited young master, but now he was disheveled and dirty, looking like a wild, down-and-out man. Duan Min hurried her steps, following Yang Guan, and after a few steps, she looked back at Yang Mei: Yang Mei also showed some surprise, her expression dazed, and she remained silent.
Early that morning, amidst the mountain scenery cleared by the rain, Lin Mo took his leave.
Duan Min said, “We do have a slight connection.” But she didn’t elaborate on what it was. Lin Mo’s attitude towards this was quite subtle, his eyes full of curiosity but he didn’t press for details. Duan Min then said, “I have some matters to attend to right now. You can find me at the Yiwei Hall in the south of the city in a few days.” Lin Mo nodded and bid her farewell.
Yang Mei decided to return to the city. Duan Min’s words about a life worse than death seemed to give her a reason, but returning to the city was ultimately a kind of compromise. It wasn’t until they reached the Jinshui River and rested in the White Stone Pavilion that she recovered her spirits. She asked with a smiling face: “When you saw me here last time, what did you think of me?”
Duan Min thought for a moment and said, “A beautiful girl, but unfortunately with a face full of fake smiles.”
Yang Mei’s smile instantly froze on her face. After a long while, she chuckled again: “How could that be? I waited for a long time that day, and I was genuinely happy to see you.”
Duan Min neither confirmed nor denied. Yang Mei then pestered her with another question: “Did you know from the very beginning that I intentionally came looking for you?”
Duan Min glanced at her: “You didn’t try to hide it either.”
Yang Mei seemed especially happy to hear this. She turned her face away, unable to stop smiling, holding her red-sheathed sword to her chest, the green jade sword ornament swaying back and forth.
The capital city was bustling, with a ceaseless clamor. The few days in the mountains felt like a lifetime ago. Yang Mei paused at the city gate and tugged at Duan Min’s hand: “Let’s go back and stay at your small building for a few more days later. I really like it.”
Facing her ingratiating and hopeful smile, Duan Min took a long time to reluctantly reply, “If there is a chance, of course.” She avoided eye contact as she spoke. She did not wish for such a chance, but entering This Place Pavilion again this time, she feared nothing would be up to her.
Yang Yuansi lay supine on the bed, his eyes tightly closed, emaciated to the point of being unrecognizable.
Duan Min held the candlestick and carefully examined his complexion. She then pried open his eyes and mouth for a close look, and finally took his pulse before retreating to the table to sit down, requesting paper and brush to write a prescription. Halfway through the second watch, the first dose of medicine was brought over. Yang Guan and two close maids carefully fed him the entire dose. Afterwards, another dose was fed at midnight, and the commotion only ceased as the third watch was almost over.
Yang Yuansi remained in a deep slumber, without the slightest reaction.
Yang Mei came once in the middle, saying she had arranged lodging for Duan Min and left a maid waiting for her. From the moment she entered to the moment she left, Yang Mei only quietly glanced at Yang Yuansi, but that single look was enough to know how serious his illness was.
Yang Guan ignored the maid. Hearing Duan Min say that they would have to wait for the patient to wake up before examining him again, he personally escorted her to the courtyard, speaking only one sentence the entire way: “You must think of a way…” Duan Min heard the great difference in his tone from before, devoid of arrogance and mixed with a hint of despair, which she found unbearable. She paused in the courtyard and consoled him: “I will do my best to help him recover.” Yang Guan forced a bitter smile and walked back.
The maid leading the way for Duan Min was about seventeen or eighteen years old, poised and graceful, yet attentive and clever. Duan Min asked her name, and what she usually did in This Place Pavilion. Chatting casually, they quickly turned into a secluded courtyard in the back, which was quiet but brightly lit.
“This is Yuè Yuán, where the Miss lives. Miss Duan’s room is only a few steps away from the Miss’s bedroom,” Yueting whispered in introduction. “The Miss must be waiting for Miss Duan at this hour.”
Yang Mei was indeed waiting for Duan Min. She stood by the window, watching her approach step by step. When she entered the door, Yang Mei greeted her with a smile: “Why are you so late? You must be tired from traveling so much today. I just came to tell you that if you need anything while you live here, just call Yueting. Please don’t be shy.” She thought for a moment and added, “Yueting is the most experienced maid I have here. With her taking care of you, absolutely no one would dare to slight you.”
Duan Min was truly unaccustomed to this: Yang Mei, on this day, seemed to have returned to the day they first met, full of high spirits, sweet, and clever… no longer showing any strange emotions.
It was easier to deal with this way. Duan Min nodded and said, “Alright, thank you for the trouble.” As she spoke, she handed over a prescription: “This is your antidote. Take one dose daily for three consecutive days, and that will be enough.”
Yang Mei smiled as she took it, seemingly not putting any importance on it, and said, “You should rest.” She was about to leave, but she stopped at the door, eventually turning her face back to ask: “Did you really poison me?”
Duan Min couldn’t help but smile: “If you don’t believe me, you can certainly find a doctor to check.”
Yang Mei’s expression subtly changed, and she said nothing more.
Early the next morning, Yang Guan sent someone to invite Duan Min, saying that Yang Yuansi had woken up.
Yang Yuansi was originally lying with his eyes closed. Hearing that Duan Min had arrived, he opened his eyes to look over. His gaze was slightly tired, yet still sharp. Yang Yuansi slightly raised his hand and extended one finger: “You are one day late.”
Duan Min smiled: “You promised me five days, and I used five days to arrange my trivial matters. Yesterday was precisely the sixth day. I am not late.”
Yang Yuansi also smiled slightly and slowly said, “Good, you are not late. Entangling Love can be suppressed but not undone. You are willing to see me live like this.”
“My will is irrelevant here,” Duan Min raised a hand, and someone immediately presented a brush and ink. “Of course, if Pavilion Master Yang prefers to resent me, that’s also fine.”
Yang Yuansi closed his eyes and said, “How could I not distinguish right from wrong? My whole body hurts terribly. Can you use some medicine to alleviate it?”
Duan Min stopped writing and looked at him: “I was just about to praise Pavilion Master Yang for your great willpower, not having thought of a way to stop the pain these past few days.”
“Only you said you could suppress it. How could I use those quacks again?”
Duan Min said: “All pain-relieving herbs aid the poison’s effect. If you had used them, you would likely be unconscious by now. Pavilion Master Yang, having endured until today, should be prepared to endure it for a lifetime.”
Yang Yuansi let out a deep huff, and then what sounded like a sigh, and gradually drifted back into slumber.
Duan Min left the prescription, saying the medicine should be administered three times during the day, and instructed everyone to call her when the patient woke up again, before taking her leave.
Yang Guan escorted her again, his expression much happier than the previous night. He said, “Father is in much better spirits today. Miss Duan is truly a miracle doctor.”
Duan Min smiled: “The medicine wouldn’t take effect that quickly. Pavilion Master Yang is feeling better because he saw me, or saw that I was able to come.”
Yang Guan’s brow furrowed, then he quickly put on a placating smile and asked eagerly, “Miss Duan, how much do you think my father can recover?”
Duan Min thought for a moment and said, “It’s hard for me to say right now, and there might be relapses later. The poison ‘Entangling Love’ is not entirely about the medicine; how much he can truly recover depends on Pavilion Master Yang’s own fortune.”
The two walked to the central courtyard. Amidst the fragrant trees and flowers swaying gracefully in the courtyard, someone suddenly strode past—it was Military Advisor Xue Yuyu. Military Advisor Xue walked with his back to them and quickly disappeared into a moon gate, his steps light, his spirits shining, no longer looking exhausted as he had the previous night.
Yang Guan’s expression instantly turned cold. He glared hatefully at the moon gate, gritting his teeth: “Such a villain, seduced by women and faithless, should be struck down by thunder!”
Duan Min was secretly surprised, but it was inconvenient to ask more, so she just smiled.