Translated by: etvolare
âYouâre right. Life and death are fated, and your life will surely not end here. You are fated to enjoy luck later in life, and your family as well as His Highness are waiting for you to go home. In the future you will live a blessed life filled with leisure, children, and grandchildren. You will never need to be on the run or suffer again. Those days are not far away, so you must remain confident in yourself.â
Qin Yining listened to Lu Hengâs placating words, but didnât fully understand them. Her ears and mind buzzed, and his words also blended into the chaotic jumble. She only knew that the Lu scion must be trying to comfort her.
Thus, she closed her eyes wearily and softly said, âThank you.â She felt that she spoke quite loudly, but to Lu Hengâs ears, it was almost inaudible.
There was an instant where Lu Heng wished that he could take her out of the desert to find a physician.
However, their route had become more obscured the deeper into the desert they traveled; he almost couldnât tell which direction theyâd come from anymore. This was a hopeless situation that would trap them in the desert forever!
Lu Heng took off his padded robe and tightly hugged Qin Yining, whoâd already fallen back asleep. He used the blanket and padded robe to cover the both of them.
Qin Yiningâs cheeks and hands were as cold as ice blocks. Even when unconscious, her entire body still shivered uncontrollably. Lu Heng wrapped his hand around both of hers, trying to pass on some of his warmth to her. However, after a while, his hands were chilled by hers, but she was still extremely cold.
Anxiety nipping at his heels, there was no sleep forthcoming for the Lu scion. He got up to stoke the campfire higher and adjusted the tent to make it lower. Then, he carried Qin Yining to a spot closest to the fire before lying down again. This time, he cradled both of her hands and wrapped his arms tightly around her, hoping that his embrace would help her warm up.
In actuality, Qin Yining wasnât completely asleep. She could no longer determine where she was, whether it was the mountains where sheâd spent her childhood or the noble residence that sheâd later moved back into.
She was dreaming. In that dream she made a mistake and couldnât learn the rules the mama taught her, no matter how hard she tried. The old dowager and née Sun made her kneel in punishment and even threw her books into the pond. She couldnât bear to lose them, so she jumped into the frozen pond even though it was deep winter and the last month of the lunar year.
The water was so cold!
She was so cold that her bones felt like they would freeze over, and her fingers were stiff and clumsy. No matter how deeply she waded into the depths of the pool, she couldnât catch up to her books. The deeper she waded, the colder it got.
Feeling that she couldnât take it anymore, Qin Yining wanted to give up on those books. However, when she turned around, the buildings of the Qin residence had disappeared, along with everyone else around her. She was stuck in the middle of the frozen pond and couldnât find the shore to climb out!
Almost bursting into tears from fear, she kept muttering, âI shouldnât have come, I shouldn't have come. It would have been better alone in the mountains. I shouldnât have come back.â
Lu Heng had drifted into a groggy, half-awake state. He heard someone muttering by his ear, but could only make out one phrase, âshouldnât have come backâ.
With how much he liked the princess consort, heâd naturally fully investigated Qin Yining and her past. He knew all about how sheâd been switched out when young and adopted by someone outside, how sheâd survived all alone in the mountains, found her way back to the ministerâs residence, and carved out a niche for herself.
Thus, her delirious ramblings hit a soft spot in Lu Hengâs heart. How could such a weak and helpless person be so strong and determined? To his eyes, every bit of Qin Yining shone with hidden qualities awaiting discovery, and she was that distant star to be sealed away for safekeeping.
However, even the most brilliant star would someday dissipate and disappear.
He sometimes really wished that he could turn back time. If he could, he would be the one to find the young Qin Yining first, seamlessly blend into and become part of her life, help her, and nurture her. She wouldnât have had to depend on hunting and foraging for wild fruits to survive at a young age, and wouldnât live such a difficult life.
Unfortunately, there are no âwhat ifsâ in the world. He hadnât been destined to meet her early on in life. Stuck as he was within the wheel of fate, it seemed to be set in stone that Qin Yining would meet Pang Xiao and they would fall in love. As for him, he could only despair that he hadnât met her earlier. If he didnât want to lose her completely, he could only silently watch over her off to the side.