She could try that today. She found some poria, atractylodes, astragalus, yams and pearl barley.
Then she washed them and boiled them together. When the herbs were boiled, she picked them out and used the soup to make a stomach-friendly congee.
It was dinner time. She delivered the congee to the king’s room.
Yin Feng was guarding outside. He greeted her.
“Mr. Yin Feng, I made some congee. Would you please deliver it to His Majesty?”
Jing Xi did not want to go inside. But Yin Feng suggested, “Miss Jin, I guess you should deliver it yourself. Otherwise, if His Majesty asks any questions I won’t be able to answer them.”
In fact, Yin Feng had figured out that Jin Xiaoxi was different from other women. She was not greedy or coveted.
She had her own family and child, and knew clearly what she was supposed to do.
It was good to have her attend to the king than anyone else.
“Fine.” Jing Xi agreed and entered the room.
It was a huge, dark and cold room. She could only call it deathly.
Heavy curtains cut off the light and made the room as gloomy as the person who lived in it.
Jing Xi went closer to the bed. Seeing the man still sleeping, she wondered if she should wake him.
While she was hesitating, the man reached out his hands as if he was trying to get hold of something. “No! No…”
He was having a nightmare. He kept calling and seemed as pained as if he were being caught by the throat.
Jing Xi felt worried. She put down the congee and came to check on him.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty…”
She tried to press his arms down. But when she reached his hands he got hold of her immediately.
“Don’t go… Jing Xi, don’t leave me…”
He was trapped in the horrible nightmare again, where Jing Xi was blown into pieces.
But the next moment he saw Jing Xi walking toward him again, smiling.
He ran to her and tried to embrace her, but could only pass through her illusory body and never touched her.
He looked back and saw her walking away. He felt heartbroken and kept calling. Please don’t go, please don’t leave me…
Huo Yunshen suffered from sleeping problems. Or more precisely, he was afraid of darkness and sleep.
Once he closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep, the memories of Jing Xi would come back.
It brought him into a cycle of nightmares and tortured him constantly.
Hearing him calling his former wife again and again, Jing Xi felt for him and was touched by his persistent love. Meanwhile, she felt sorry for them, these people who loved each other dearly but could not stay together.
She wanted to pull back her hands, but for some reason she did not.
She figured that he mistook her as Jing Xi again. But as long as it could calm him down for the time being, she would not mind.
He seemed to be in pain and his eyebrows were deeply furrowed. Jing Xi could not help reaching toward them and trying to smooth them.
When his eyebrows were no longer furrowed and he seemed less tortured, she finally felt relieved.
…
