Upon seeing a pretty, somewhat feminine young face enter, Divine Doctor Huang didn’t take much notice, only glancing once before turning away.
Feeling Su Ran’s pulse, he murmured to himself quietly, "This direction is right, there was a response just now, so why has it weakened again? What is missing in that tremor?"
Lian Musu kept speaking about Lian Hua’s childhood antics, his mother reacted, just wouldn’t wake up, not knowing what was still missing. He suppressed the urgency in his heart, maintaining a calm and steady tone to soothe his mother.
Listening to the conversation between the old man who sounded like a doctor and his elder brother, Lian Bao understood what he needed to do. He placed his hand on Lian Musu’s shoulder, giving him a look.
No matter what, he had to try.
Lian Musu gracefully stepped aside.
Lian Bao leaned down, continuing Lian Musu’s narration in a coaxing tone to the lying figure, "Mother, Nannan is still alive, still alive. Bao knows where she is but doesn’t know how to meet her, which is why he never dared speak up, Mother..."
As he spoke, his throat began to choke up.
It was all his fault, indecisive and fancifully hopeful, thinking his mother had believed him. He hadn’t realized she was just not wanting to worry him, going along with him instead.
Lian Bao, holding back his sorrow, glanced at the old man beside him and whispered into Su Ran’s ear, "Mother, Nannan is in the Imperial Palace, protected by Clan Uncle. Bao hasn’t yet figured out the situation and doesn’t dare to act rashly, fearing harm to Nannan. But Bao has figured out how to meet her, Mother, did you hear what Bao said?"
He knew his mother wouldn’t believe him unless he spoke the plain truth.
After he finished, he anxiously awaited a reaction, with both Lian Musu and Divine Doctor Huang intently watching the lying figure.
After a while, there was no response from the person lying down.
Divine Doctor Huang couldn’t hide his disappointment, thinking this pretty boy was full of secretive tricks but no use after all, the whole family was incompetent.
He sighed, wondering if he would ever be able to repay what he owed to the Marquis of Zhenyuan’s Mansion.
Glancing at the increasingly despairing Lian Bao and Lian Musu, he thought to himself, just as with them, the debt of gratitude always had to be repaid.
Before he retired, he had been coerced, his wife taken and detained, only escaping trouble through the Lady of Marquis Zhenyuan’s rescue. He had not forgotten this favor.
However, as fate would have it, when he received news years later, the Marquis of Zhenyuan’s Mansion had already fallen, and the couple of the Marquis had passed away, with the whereabouts of the others unknown.
He hadn’t expected that the patient he was treating now turned out to be the daughter of an old acquaintance, likely the only orphan left by the Marquis of Zhenyuan.
Years ago, he had visited the Marquis’s Mansion and seen the eldest daughter of the house. Although decades had passed and a great change had overtaken her, he recognized her the moment he arrived.
How unpredictable life is, truly lamentable.
In the Huang Family house, there now stood a Longevity Plaque for the Marquis and his wife. Without the Lady of Marquis Zhenyuan, their family wouldn’t be enjoying their current days.
Divine Doctor Huang felt somewhat dejected. He had done all he could; the rest was up to fate.
Lian Bao, overcome with grief, grasped Su Ran’s hand, sobbing, "Mother, Nannan is waiting for you, we’re all waiting for you. How could you be so cruel to leave us behind? Look at father, look at how much white has appeared in his hair recently. Just now, Bao saw more white strands; without you, what would he do? Father is so stubborn; he only listens to you. Mother, what can father do without you..." as he spoke, his tears flowed uncontrollably.
Lian Musu’s eyes reddened, holding back his grief.
He looked up, blinked his eyes to dispel the tears, and walked outside.
Her father and younger brother were still outside; he wanted to call them in so the whole family could accompany their mother, even if in the end there really was no solution, they wanted to be with her together.
Divine Doctor Huang shook his head weakly, utterly disheartened, after having been up half the night with strands of disheveled hair hanging down.
Even though he prided himself on his medical skills, he could not snatch someone from the hands of the King of Hell; such was fate.
He habitually checked Su Ran’s pulse and suddenly startled, finding that the pulse, which had been weakening, was getting stronger.
He was overjoyed, clapped Lian Bao on the shoulder, and shouted, "Good lad, that shiver brought you back to life, haha!"
Lian Musu, who was about to open the door, suddenly turned back and limped quickly back to the bedside.
The people outside heard the noises inside and quickly ran over, entering as soon as the door opened.
Lian Wanzhen was about to shout, Lian Changhe full of hope, when Divine Doctor Huang raised a hand; they immediately stopped moving, not daring to breathe.
Divine Doctor Huang took out a silver needle, his demeanor solemn, ready to act at any moment should the treatment require a bit more stimulation.
Under the expectant eyes of all, Su Ran’s eyelids trembled, her eyeballs moving rapidly, and the fingertips that Lian Bao was holding twitched.
The spirits of everyone in the room lifted.
Lian Changhe’s legs gave way, and Lian Wanzhen hurriedly supported him, helping him to the bedside while Lian Bao swiftly made space.
Lian Changhe held Su Ran’s hand and gently said, "My lady, it’s me. I’m sorry for disturbing your sleep, but you need to wake up, wake up and just look at me once again before you sleep, will you?" His voice was very light, as if afraid of startling the sleeping person.
The lying Su Ran’s eyelashes moved, and she slowly opened her eyes...
This sleep felt like it had lasted for a very long time; she heard many voices, noisy and unclear.
She heard her husband calling her, her second son calling her, and it seemed she also heard Nannan, her distant daughter, calling her...
She drifted in the air, following the voices; she floated across clusters of houses, past tall red walls, through a garden, and saw Nannan, her young daughter.
Nannan had grown up, turned into a young lady, seeming just awake and crying. Seeing this scene squeezed her heart—her little daughter, her Nannan.
Fortunately, Nannan was not alone; there was a young man with an indistinct face comforting her, finally coaxing Nannan into smiles, and her heart eased at last.
She watched greedily, wanting to get closer, to see more clearly, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t get closer.
She kept trying, but the voices around her were too loud, constantly calling her, trying to pull her back.
A voice near her said that Nannan and Bingcheng would find her soon.
She became anxious, that was not right, Nannan wasn’t with Bingcheng; Nannan was below, and she just needed to get nearer to that room, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get closer.
Her heart cried out in anguish, as if she was in hell, enduring the pain of separation from flesh and blood.
As she suffered immensely, sinking into a dark nightmare, a familiar voice spoke beside her ear about Nannan, like a stream of clear spring water flowing gently into her heart.
The dark dream cracked a sliver open, through the crack shone a light, and in the halo of light was the scene of Nannan playing naughty tricks beside her when she was younger.