Who said the eldest daughter is crazy? She's clearly a woman of high rank and influence in the

He Qingshuang leaned back into Shen Du's arms, reached out and tugged at his sleeve, her voice carrying a lazy air of finally being able to relax: "Help me back to my room, I need to sleep for three days."

Shen Du glanced down at her, then bent down and picked her up from the couch as well: "You certainly know how to pick your sleeping time."

"I'm doing this to regain my strength before she wakes up. When she wakes up and wants to look at the account books, I won't have the energy to help her." She buried her face in Shen Du's shoulder, her voice muffled, like a cat that had finally been relieved of its burden and was starting to feel sleepy.

Outside the side gate, Helian Jing carried Xi Yueli through the corridor back to the main courtyard. Sunlight filled the corridor and fell on her closed eyelids. Her eyelashes trembled slightly in the sunlight before settling back down.

He glanced down for a moment, then pulled her half an inch closer to him and pushed open the door to the main courtyard.

The third day passed, and Xi Yueli still hadn't woken up.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, the sunlight shone through the paper window and fell on the face with her eyes closed by the edge of the bed, making her pale face almost transparent.

Her breathing was still going, steady, long, one breath after another, but she just wouldn't open her eyes.

Helian Jing sat on the edge of the couch, his hand still resting on her wrist. The pulse under his fingertips was steady and normal, but he looked at her repeatedly, yet she remained motionless.

The door to the side hall was pushed open, and Shen Du came in carrying freshly brewed medicine. He placed the bowl on the corner of the table, but before he could speak, Helian Jing had already stood up.

He walked up to Shen Du and stopped. The distance between the two was no more than an arm's length, with something belonging to the Lord of Tian Shu weighing them down.

"You said the fastest would be one day."

Shen Du looked into his eyes, which gleamed dimly in the sunlight, and his Adam's apple bobbed: "...There are cracks in her soul that haven't been filled, and the Nine Heavens Hairpin is mending them for her—"

"She made up for it with four days." Helian Jing interrupted him, his voice half an octave lower than before. "Four days? You said she'd make up for it in two days at the latest."

The side hall was quiet for a moment. He Qingshuang leaned against the door frame, clutching a piece of osmanthus cake she hadn't finished eating. When she heard Helian Jing say those words, she put down the cake, walked over, and pulled Shen Du back half a step.

She stood in front of Shen Du, looked up at Helian Jing, and said, "What's the use of getting angry at him? There's nothing wrong with the prescription he gave, and the Nine Heavens Hairpin is fine too. Her soul is slowly returning to its place and doesn't seem to be moving upwards, which means her body can't take it anymore. She's waiting for her strength to recover before she wakes up again."

Helian Jing looked down at her, his usually aloof and indifferent eyes now resembling two cold stones repeatedly quenched in water. When he spoke, his voice finally cracked slightly: "How much longer?"

"...I don't know." He Qingshuang answered frankly, "But keeping her here won't help. If you're really worried, Shen Du, you should stay and keep her company."

She glanced at Shen Du, who nodded and placed the medicine bowl in Helian Jing's hands: "Feed her this medicine. She needs a change of medicine today. I'll stay here and watch over her. You go and rest."

Helian Jing looked down at the bowl of dark brown medicine in his hand. He didn't say anything, turned around and walked back to the edge of the bed to sit down. He put the medicine bowl on the corner of the table, reached out to Xi Yueli's wrist, put his fingertips on her pulse, counted five breaths, and then released her.

He picked up the medicine bowl, scooped up a spoonful with a porcelain spoon, blew on it, and brought it to her lips. Her lips were slightly parted, and the medicine seeped in along the edge of the spoon. Her Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and she swallowed.

As night deepened, He Qingshuang sat on a low stool by the window, holding an account book in her hand. Her eyelids were already heavy, and her head drooped little by little until she finally leaned against Shen Du's shoulder.

Shen Du didn't open his eyes, but subconsciously shifted his shoulder to make her lean more steadily.

Helian Jing sat alone on the edge of the couch, his hand still holding Xi Yueli's hand, not letting go, his thumb rubbing back and forth on the thin old mark between her thumb and forefinger.

Just after midnight, he felt the hand in his palm move slightly.

It was a very light touch, like someone unconsciously curling their fingertip while dreaming. He froze for a moment, then abruptly lowered his head. Her closed eyelashes were slowly trembling, once, twice, and then her eyelids lifted.

The sunlight had long since faded, and only the flickering candlelight filled the room.

When she opened her almond-shaped eyes, they were initially unfocused and blank. It took her a while to focus her gaze and she saw the face so close to hers.

"Your Highness," her voice was hoarse, "your face is even darker than He Qingshuang's account book..."

Helian Jing tightened his grip on her hand, so much so that she felt a slight pain in her knuckles from the pressure.

"You slept for four days." His voice trembled. "Four days."

Looking at him like this, Xi Yueli raised her other hand and gently rubbed her fingertips on the taut curve of his jawline.

Warmth seeped up from his chin and spread along her fingertips, like a small piece of warm jade that had been warmed for a long time.

"I'm awake," she said. "Your Highness, stop glaring at Shen Du. I heard you interrogating him. If I hadn't woken up, you would have killed him."

Shen Du and He Qingshuang both woke up. Shen Du took three steps at a time to walk to the bedside, put his fingers on Xi Yueli's wrist pulse, took five breaths, and carefully looked at her complexion before letting out a long breath and a gentle smile appeared on his lips.

"Your pulse has stabilized. The Nine Heavens Hairpin has already pressed all three layers of fragments back into place. All that's left is to let it heal slowly; you won't faint again."

He Qingshuang rubbed her eyes, stood up and walked to the edge of the bed. She looked down at Xi Yueli, the candlelight flickering in her eyes. She reached out and touched Xi Yueli's forehead, then withdrew her hand.

"You are indeed awake." He Qingshuang's voice was still slightly hoarse from being woken up, but a suppressed softness rose at the end of her words. "I slept for three days, and you slept for four days—we were practically hibernating together."

Xi Yueli leaned back on the couch, looking at He Qingshuang's face, which was slightly flushed from just waking up, and smiled slightly: "How are things on your end?"

He Qingshuang tucked the stray hairs that had fallen across her cheeks behind her ears and sat down on the edge of the couch, her tone light and resolute as if the fragments had been removed.

"I've already sorted out all the account books. While you were asleep, I cleaned up the last two loose ends at the dock for you. The people from the Dark Pavilion also took down those middlemen who had dealings with Silver Shuttle. Once you've finished reviewing that stack of secret reports, the He family in the south will truly be clean."

Xi Yueli nodded, her gaze lingering on her face for a moment: "After the fragments leave your body, can your body withstand it?"

"I've been taking care of Shen Du's prescriptions, and I haven't felt weak yet." He Qingshuang glanced at Shen Du standing behind her, a smile curving her lips. "He even knows how many bowls of soup I should drink each day. I can't escape him."

Shen Du stood beside her, his ears turning slightly red when he heard those words, but he didn't say anything. He just took another half step closer to He Qing Shuang.

He Qingshuang took out a slender brocade box from her sleeve and placed it next to Xi Yueli.

"This is the complete record of all the secret accounts of the He family, along with shipping routes at the docks and records of rice price fluctuations in various regions. If you want to know which city in the south sells grain for three copper coins more than the one next door, just flip through this book."

Xi Yueli took the brocade box, opened it, and glanced at it. The papers were neatly stacked, and each page was marked with the date and category. The handwriting was neat and tidy.

She closed the box and looked up at He Qingshuang: "How much do you remember about the thread on the back of the silver shuttle?"

"I remember." He Qingshuang sat on the edge of the couch, her fingertips tapping lightly on her knee. "Of the seventeen lines handled by Silver Shuttle, seven went through my network. I've replaced all the people on those seven lines, but there's one—"

"The last one is through a narrow gap in the hold of the night-voyage ship. The man would head north after receiving the letter each time."

Xi Yueli leaned back on the couch, her gaze shifting from He Qingshuang's face to the faint light of dawn outside the window.