MCSCPM -Chapter 254 Wave After Wave

Holding the bowl of medicine in her hands, Yin Qingyue took a sip without hesitation. She bent down and kissed him, pressing her lips to Chu Jingcheng’s. Using her tongue, she pried open his teeth and slowly fed the medicine from her mouth into his.

At last, Chu Jingcheng managed to swallow it. Yin Qingyue took several more mouthfuls and continued feeding him until the entire bowl of medicine was finally finished.

Earlier, he had taken the medicine prepared by Shaoyao, but those herbs had been useless, causing them to miss the best time for treatment. Fortunately, Shaoyao had still managed to suppress his injuries somewhat.

When Yin Qingyue put the empty bowl back on the table, she faintly heard Chu Jingcheng seeming to say something.

She turned back and saw his lips moving.

“Prince Jing, what’s wrong?” she asked, stepping closer.

“Yin Qingyue… Yin Qingyue…”

This time, she heard it clearly—he was calling her name.

“Don’t go… don’t go…”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here,” Yin Qingyue said quickly, tightly gripping Chu Jingcheng’s icy hand.

“Yin Qingyue… don’t go…” Chu Jingcheng kept murmuring. What had he gone through, that even while injured he kept thinking of her?

At that moment, Yin Qingyue felt a little flustered. She had never truly faced her own feelings before. Toward Chu Jingcheng, aside from gratitude, what else was there?

Was it love?

Thinking this way, she didn’t feel it was wrong at all. Instead, that deeply buried feeling in her heart suddenly surged forth. Toward Chu Jingcheng, it seemed she had begun to feel something more.

Chu Jingcheng kept calling her name, and she stayed by his side the entire night without leaving—she didn’t even sleep, afraid he might wake up at any moment.

The next morning, just as dawn broke, Ding Ying arrived with freshly decocted medicine. She saw Yin Qingyue tightly holding Chu Jingcheng’s hand, then noticed Yin Qingyue’s bloodshot eyes.

“You didn’t rest all night, did you? Qingyue, you always tell me to take good care of myself—why don’t you know how to cherish your own body?”

“I’m fine. I’m not tired at all.”

“Not tired? I don’t believe that.”

Yin Qingyue smiled faintly and set Chu Jingcheng’s hand aside before standing up. Her head spun, her legs gave way, and her body swayed. Luckily, Ding Ying stepped forward and supported her.

“Look at you—still saying you’re not tired,” Ding Ying scolded, though her tone was full of concern.

Yin Qingyue really was exhausted. Ding Ying helped her sit down and persuaded her, “Go rest now. I’ll take care of Prince Jing. If he wakes up or anything happens, I’ll tell you immediately.”

“No need. I can still manage. Besides, we still have to look for Leng Feng.”

“I’ve already sent the guards out to search, so hurry up and rest. I’ll watch over things here.”

“But…” Yin Qingyue was still worried.

Ding Ying, however, didn’t want to see her push herself any further. She helped her toward her room, saying as she went, “All right, all right, listen to me. If you collapse from exhaustion, what will Prince Jing do? So the most important thing for you now is to rest properly.”

Ignoring Yin Qingyue’s protests, Ding Ying dragged her into the room and pressed her onto the bed.

“All right, leave Prince Jing to me. Sleep peacefully.”

“Ding Ying, promise me—if Prince Jing wakes up, you must tell me.”

“I will, I will.”

Only after Ding Ying’s repeated assurances did Yin Qingyue finally rest, albeit reluctantly.

She hadn’t slept the previous night and had exhausted herself searching for Prince Jing all day. As soon as she lay down, she fell asleep.

She didn’t know how long she slept, but when she woke up, it was already noon.

When she got up, food had already been set out on the table, but she had no appetite. She went straight to Chu Jingcheng’s room, where Ding Ying was keeping watch by the bed.

Seeing this, Yin Qingyue finally felt at ease.

At that moment, a guard suddenly came up to the second floor. Seeing Yin Qingyue, he stepped forward quietly and reported, “Miss Yin, we’ve searched within a hundred-li radius, but there’s still no news of Leng Feng or Leng Yi.”

Yin Qingyue glanced into the room at Ding Ying. Feeling reluctant to hurt her, she instructed the guard, “Don’t tell Miss Ding yet, understand?”

“Yes.”

“Have people continue searching. Don’t give up—two living people can’t just disappear.”

The guard nodded and went downstairs.

Yin Qingyue entered the room. Seeing her, Ding Ying asked worriedly, “Qingyue, are you all right now?”

“Yes, I’ve rested enough. You’ve worked hard,” Yin Qingyue replied.

“You were the one who stayed up all night caring for Prince Jing—that’s real hardship. His complexion looks a bit better now. He’ll definitely be fine,” Ding Ying said.

Indeed, Prince Jing’s color had improved a lot. The medicine was clearly taking effect.

Just then, a voice came from downstairs, “Miss Yin, someone is looking for you.”

It was the inn’s waiter. Someone was looking for her? Who could it be at a time like this?

Yin Qingyue and Ding Ying went out together. Looking down from the second floor, they saw Leng Yi coming upstairs.

“It’s Leng Yi—he’s all right!” Ding Ying said excitedly. If Leng Yi was fine, then maybe Leng Feng was fine too.

Leng Yi reached the second floor. Seeing Yin Qingyue and Ding Ying, he had never felt such warmth. He stepped forward and said, “Miss Yin, it really is you.”

Yin Qingyue looked at him. His arm was injured, wrapped thickly in bandages, but judging by his condition, it seemed to be a minor wound.

“Leng Yi, it’s good that you’re all right. Where have you been?” Yin Qingyue asked.

“I got separated from the prince in the chaos. When I returned to that place, His Highness was already gone. I searched for him for a long time. Today I heard some news and came here—never expected it would really be you. Where is the prince? Where is he?” Leng Yi asked anxiously.

“Don’t worry. Prince Jing is fine. He was badly injured, but he’s out of danger now.”

“Then where is His Highness now?”

Yin Qingyue knew Leng Yi was worried, but she couldn’t hide it from him. She said directly, “Prince Jing hasn’t woken up yet. He’s inside.”

Leng Yi’s expression changed abruptly. He rushed in to see Chu Jingcheng. Seeing his master still lying on the bed, the regret on his usually cold face was unmistakable.

“This is all my fault. I should have protected His Highness. Even if it cost me my life, I shouldn’t have let anything happen to him.”

“It’s not your fault. You did your best,” Yin Qingyue comforted him, then asked, “Leng Yi, what exactly did you encounter?”

“I don’t know. They were all masked, and each of them was highly skilled. Judging by their moves, I couldn’t tell who sent them.”

Ding Ying had no interest in who the assassins were. She hurriedly asked, “Leng Yi, where is Leng Feng?”

At the mention of Leng Feng, Leng Yi frowned. Yin Qingyue immediately shot him a look, signaling him not to say anything that would upset Ding Ying.

Understanding her signal, Leng Yi said, “We couldn’t find him. We got separated during the chaos.”

The moment Ding Ying heard this, she burst into tears. “Separated? Then how is Leng Feng now? Will something happen to him?”

“Miss Ding, Leng Feng has great luck—he’ll be fine. Maybe, like me, he’s been searching for Prince Jing all this time. Once he knows you’ve found His Highness, he might come here too. Don’t worry,” Leng Yi said.

Hearing this, Ding Ying finally had something to cling to. Her eyes red, she ran out.

“Ding Ying, where are you going?” Yin Qingyue called after her, but she didn’t stop. Turning to Leng Yi, Yin Qingyue said, “Take care of Prince Jing. I’ll go check on her.”

“I understand. Go ahead,” Leng Yi replied.

Yin Qingyue chased after Ding Ying. Ding Ying had run to the inn’s backyard, crying softly, wiping her tears as her shoulders shook.

Yin Qingyue walked up beside her and said, “Ding Ying, trust Leng Yi. Maybe Leng Feng really is fine and is searching for Prince Jing too. You’re so upset—if he knew, he’d be heartbroken.”

“Qingyue, do you know? I never realized before that loving someone could make you worry about them this much. I used to think that the only one in my heart was Prince Jing—that it was impossible for Leng Feng. But after spending those three days with him, I finally understood my own feelings.”

“I’ve only just come to realize this, and I don’t want to lose him. Even though Leng Yi says that, I’m still worried. I’m afraid something might happen to him—I’m really scared.”

This wasn’t the first time Ding Ying had used the word “afraid.” Yin Qingyue understood what was in her heart.

She didn’t say much, knowing that words were useless right now. She could only hope that Leng Feng was safe and would appear soon.

She stayed with Ding Ying in the backyard for a while. Thinking of Leng Yi’s injured arm, she then left, taking the crushed herbs she had prepared earlier to apply to Leng Yi’s wound.

Only then did she realize that Leng Yi’s injury was far more serious than she had thought. In his haste to find Prince Jing, he had only given it cursory treatment. After several days without changing the dressing, the wound had already become inflamed.

“Your wound is already infected. If you leave it like this for a few more days, your arm will be ruined. Even if you’re anxious to find your prince, you can’t ignore your own injuries,” Yin Qingyue said carefully as she applied the medicine, explaining the seriousness of it.

Leng Yi didn’t care at all. With a cold face, he said, “Even if this arm is ruined, it’s worth it—as long as His Highness is safe.”

“Your prince is truly fortunate to have you by his side,” Yin Qingyue said.

“The prince meeting Miss Yin is his real good fortune,” Leng Yi replied.

“How so?” Yin Qingyue asked in surprise.

“I can tell that Miss Yin cares deeply for the prince. If anything had happened to him, you would be the most worried. Even though you didn’t show it, I understand,” Leng Yi said firmly.

Yin Qingyue looked at him. “I didn’t expect that beneath your usual cold expression, you’d be so perceptive—especially about matters of the heart.”

Leng Yi felt a little embarrassed and waved it off. “Miss Yin jokes. I only hope Miss Yin will be more attentive to Prince Jing.”

Yin Qingyue didn’t refute him. Changing the topic, she asked seriously, “Leng Yi, who do you think was behind this assassination attempt?”

At the mention of who it might be, Leng Yi frowned. He thought for a long time but couldn’t figure out who would want Prince Jing dead at this point.

“Miss Yin, the attackers were extremely skilled. Among them, there was one whose martial arts were exceptionally high—I only exchanged two moves with him.”

“And they came in wave after wave. That’s how His Highness and I were separated,” Leng Yi explained further.