Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Rope Pond, County Court.

Li Yi carried a freshly brewed, perfectly warm bowl of herbal medicine, lightly tapped the door with his fingertips, and then tiptoed inside.

Han Fei sat on a stool at the table, holding a scroll of bamboo slips in his hand. He had been keeping watch here all night, and his brows were furrowed with fatigue. He hadn't turned more than a few pages of the scroll; it was merely something to calm his mind.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up and nodded slightly to Li Yi. His gaze lingered on the medicine bowl for a moment before returning to the sleeping figure on the bed, his eyes filled with deep worry.

Beside the bed, Xia Wuqie sat upright with his eyes closed, resting. He had not slept all night, and he and his fellow disciples took turns administering acupuncture to stabilize Zhou Wenqing's heart meridian, which had exhausted a lot of his energy. However, he dared not leave for even a moment. Even while resting, he kept a close eye on the movements of the person on the bed, fearing that something might happen.

Zhou Wenqing was still in a deep coma on the bed, his face still pale, but no longer as bloodless and transparent as before. His breathing was a little more steady than before, and his chest rose and fell slightly with his breath, showing that he finally had some vitality.

Li Yi gently placed the medicine bowl on the small table beside the bed, leaned down and slowly approached the bed, gently helped Zhou Wenqing up, letting him lean on his shoulder, then picked up the medicine bowl, took the wooden spoon, and slowly fed it to his lips, spoonful by spoonful.

Zhou Wenqing was completely unaware, and could only slightly part his lips, letting the thick black medicine slowly seep into his mouth. His Adam's apple moved with difficulty on instinct, and he managed to swallow most of the medicine, but a little still spilled out from the corner of his mouth and slowly slid down his chin.

Li Yi quickly pulled out a clean handkerchief to wipe away the medicine stains, but her heart inexplicably ached and her eyes suddenly stung.

In the past, whenever I asked my husband to take his medicine, I would always find a hundred excuses and ten thousand reasons to refuse for a long time. Even if he finally forced me to drink it, I would pretend to be calm on the surface, but secretly I would grimace and look miserable.

But now, he is unconscious and doesn't even have the strength to refuse his medicine. He is just like this, lifeless, which is heartbreaking.

Li Yi suppressed the sting in his eyes, sighed softly, picked up the medicine spoon again, and patiently and meticulously fed the remaining medicine.

After finishing the bowl of medicine, Xia Wuqie took the patient's pulse and nodded after a moment: "The pulse is more stable than last night. The patient's constitution is weak, but his will is strong. Once my master arrives, he will surely wake up safely and without any problems."

Li nodded, helped Zhou Wenqing back to the bed, carefully tucked the blankets in, then straightened up, turned to look at Han Fei by the table, and spoke earnestly:

"Mr. Han, you've been keeping watch here all night without closing your eyes. Go and get some rest."

Han Fei gently shook his head, his voice a little hoarse but still steady: "It's alright, I'm not tired."

He looked up at Li Yi, his voice lowering slightly:

"But you, Guard Li, have been fighting for half a day, arranging defenses, gathering the wounded, and coordinating with the county magistrate's troops. You haven't slept all night. Now the county court is heavily guarding and surrounding the area, so there's no chance of anything going wrong. You should take a rest."

Li Yi's throat tightened, and he was about to politely refuse when Han Fei gently raised his hand, stopping him from saying what he was about to say.

"With Dr. Xia and I looking after things here, there won't be any problems."

Han Fei's gaze was calm, and his tone was unusually firm: "Even if you only close your eyes and rest for half an hour, it's better than forcing yourself to stay awake like this. You are Zicheng's personal bodyguard. If you collapse from exhaustion, how will you protect him if something unexpected happens later?"

Li Yi was speechless after being silenced by Han Fei's words. Looking at the drowsy master on the bed, and then at the unwavering determination in Han Fei's eyes, he finally nodded heavily, his tense shoulders relaxing slightly.

He was exhausted. Since the attack, he had been like a string stretched to its limit, not daring to relax even a little. But if he continued to hold on like this, he might break.

"In that case, I'll take a short rest for half an hour, just half an hour." Li Yizhong looked at the couch again, his gaze calm. "Mr. Han, Dr. Xia, I'll trouble you both to take care of me without leaving my side."

Both of them nodded slightly.

Li Yi turned to leave, but after taking only half a step, he suddenly stopped and looked back at Han Fei: "By the way, where is the eldest son? Has he woken up yet?"

Last night, Fusu insisted on staying by the bedside and refused to leave. Li Yi was worried that the eldest son was still young and his emotions were so turbulent that he might collapse before the master woke up.

It was Han Fei who came up with the idea that Fusu should test a sip of the medicine before feeding it to Zicheng, so as not to burn his master. Fusu did so without any precautions.

Xia Wuqie's calming soup was always very effective. After just one sip, the child, no matter how unwilling, could not hold on and closed his eyes.

Li Yi carried him to the next room and tucked him in. As he did so, Fusu was still murmuring, "Sir...Sir..."

Now that a night has passed, I wonder if he has woken up yet.

"woke up."

Han Fei looked towards the backyard, his gaze falling through the half-open window onto the figure in the distance that was still somewhat slender, but was gradually becoming more upright.

"I came to see Zicheng as soon as I woke up. I stayed by his bedside for a while, but when I saw that he was still not awake, I picked up my sword and went to the backyard to practice my swordsmanship."

Li Yi remained silent for a moment, then walked to the window and looked out in the direction Han Fei was looking.

In the distance, a figure of about half a generation could be seen, sword in hand, leaping into the air. The movements were still somewhat immature, but each move was solid. Every swing of the sword was accompanied by a sharp sound of wind cutting through the air, as if to shatter the restless anxiety in his heart into the air.

"Sigh." Li Yi sighed again. "I'll go take a look."

"No need." Han Fei shook his head gently. "Young Master Chang has been holding back his anger, and it's a good thing he's venting it like this. I can tell he knows what he's doing, and the location he chose is secluded and safe. Nothing will happen. You've been working hard these past few days, so you should go back and rest."

"This..." Li Yi hesitated slightly upon hearing this.

He glanced at Zhou Wenqing, who was still unconscious on the bed, and then at Han Fei's face, which, though tired, remained calm.

These past few days, Mr. Han has been ill. If it weren't for his strategic planning, I would have been left to fend for myself. In terms of strategy and composure, Mr. Han is in no way inferior to those important officials in the court. In terms of wisdom, I am far behind. I should listen to him.

Thinking of this, Li Yi no longer hesitated and solemnly clasped his hands in a fist salute to Han Fei: "In that case, I will trouble Mr. Han to take care of things. I will take a short rest."

After saying that, he turned and left, but shook his head slightly after closing the door.

I wonder if the King of Han, who is far away in Xinzheng, is blind or not?

Both my husband and Mr. Han are such learned, wise, and talented individuals who are good at managing the world and benefiting the people. Why are they not given important positions?

Ironically, this blind man managed to win over so many talented individuals who remained utterly loyal to him!

My husband almost jumped off a cliff before he finally came to his senses, and Han Fei is even more perplexing; he still can't see the light.

Han Fei was unaware of Li Yi's thoughts. He simply watched him leave quietly, the door closing silently behind him, and the room returned to silence.

He then turned back to Zhou Wenqing's bedside, lowered his eyes to look at that pale and thin face, and after a long while, sighed softly. He raised his head, looked out the window at the figure still wielding a sword, and murmured:

"Zicheng, you need to wake up soon. Without you, this key piece, I'm afraid even with my brilliant moves, I won't be able to hold out for long."

The person on the bed did not respond.

Outside the window, the sound of swords whistling through the air was muffled and persistent.

Han Fei withdrew his gaze, picked up the scroll that he hadn't turned more than a few pages of, held it in his hand, and steadied himself to read it.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Zhou Wenqing's fingers, hidden under the mattress, twitched slightly.