Jing Li felt that his mind might have been disturbed by all those messy things, causing him to become unconscious.
Otherwise, how could he hear Qin Zhao saying to him... saying to him...
Jing Li stared at Qin Zhao blankly. Qin Zhao walked back to him and smiled: "What are you doing stupidly again?"
"I...you..." Jing Li opened his mouth, and his ears started burning, "You, you just said..."
Qin Zhao bent down slightly, gently brushed Jing Li's loose hair behind her ears, and said slowly, word by word: "I just said that except for whether you like me or not, you can think about everything else slowly."
This is the only thing that cannot be delayed any longer.
Even though Qin Zhao had indeed been hesitant in the past, worried about the difference in their identities and that the other party was too naive to understand love, all of this was gone after that kiss that day.
Xiaoyu likes him.
"You understand, right?" Qin Zhao stared into those clear and beautiful eyes and said softly, "I know you understand."
Understand what kind of feeling it is, and understand where the dependence and care come from.
Jing Li seemed to have completely lost the ability to think. Qin Zhao was so close to him that the pleasant herbal scent completely covered the scent of soapberries on his body.
He doesn't understand...
I don’t understand why Qin Zhao suddenly said this. They were clearly... what were they talking about just now
The boy looked a little dazed and didn't even notice that his ears had turned red.
Qin Zhao pinched the soft earlobe and laughed softly: "When you secretly wanted to do something bad to me before, you were not as stupid as you are now."
Unlawful intentions...
Jing Li was in a daze for a moment, and remembered that Qin Zhao was talking about the time when he was interrupted by Li Hongyu when he was still in the village.
Was he awake that day
Jing Li subconsciously dodged backwards, his back hitting the back of the chair, his voice trembling with nervousness: "I, I, I... That day I was just-"
…but what
Jing Li couldn't answer, and Qin Zhao didn't give him a chance to explain.
He held the back of the chair with one hand and the armrest on the other side with the other hand. His tall figure completely shielded Jing Li in shadow.
This is a posture of absolute control.
Qin Zhao lifted Jing Li's chin, lowered his head, and stopped at an almost malicious distance: "Is that so?"
Jing Li's heart was beating rapidly.
He felt the other person's breath spraying on his lips, which was so hot that it almost burned him. But the back of his head was against the hard back of the chair, with nowhere to escape.
"I-"
As soon as she opened her mouth, she was kissed by Qin Zhao.
At that moment, the window was blown open by the wind, and the sound of rain outside the window became extremely distant.
Jing Li's mind went blank for a while. The touch from his lips was warm, gently and carefully tracing and testing his lips.
His thoughts gradually returned, and he could hear the sound of the rain again, the frantic beating of his own heart, and the low, short chuckle that disappeared in his ears.
"Do you understand now?" Qin Zhao let go of him, the smile in his eyes still there.
"I..." Jing Li turned his head away, his voice trembling a little, "why, why are you talking about this suddenly?"
"Who knows." Qin Zhao stood up and leaned against the makeup mirror, his posture was leisurely as if he had just done something very ordinary. "Maybe it's because I see that you are thinking too hard, so I find something else to divert your attention."
Divert attention... How can you use this method
Jing Li's ears were burning red, and he said nothing. Qin Zhao did not explain any more, but picked up a comb to help Jing Li comb his hair.
Even after living here for so long, Jing Li still couldn't learn the ancient way of tying hair, and always had to ask Qin Zhao to help him.
Qin Zhao slowly passed the wooden-tooth comb through his hair. His movements were delicate and gentle, not hurting him at all.
Jing Li quietly looked at Qin Zhao through the bronze mirror.
There is still a little bit of numbing feeling on the lips, and the heart is filled to the brim, as if I have eaten a piece of dessert that I have missed for a long time, the taste is sweet and long-lasting, and it lingers for a long time.
The latter seemed to sense something and suddenly raised his head, and their eyes met in the mirror.
Qin Zhao smiled and lowered his head again: "Now are you willing to tell me what you were worried about just now?"
The rain had not stopped yet, and Qin Zhao and Jing Li walked into the streets holding an umbrella together.
"It's here." Jing Li pointed to the simple little pharmacy deep in the alley.
Before Qin Zhao lost his memory, he probably knew how to interrogate people. He grasped Jing Li's weaknesses accurately and easily made Jing Li tell him everything about his encounter with the old man today.
After learning what had happened, Qin Zhao actually showed some anxiety, which was rare for him, and asked Jing Li to take him to see the old man immediately.
Perhaps because of its poor location, the pharmacy is deserted. I had previously seen the young boy Shuang'er sitting by the door reading.
Hearing the footsteps, the boy raised his head and smiled: "It's you."
His eyes fell on Qin Zhao beside Jing Li, and he turned away a little embarrassedly, saying: "Grandpa Xue said that you might come back, so he asked me to wait here."
Qin Zhao said: "I want to meet Mr. Xue."
The young man led them into the inner hall.
Lifting the bamboo curtain, the old man surnamed Xue was lying on the only recliner in the inner hall, dozing off while fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan.
The young man stepped forward and called him, "Grandpa Xue?"
The old man was sleeping soundly and did not respond. The young man gently pushed him and raised his voice a little: "Grandpa Xue, Master Jing and his husband are here!"
Qin Zhao glanced at Jing Li thoughtfully.
Jing Li: “…”
"…Who, who is here?" The old man woke up half asleep and looked around blankly.
Qin Zhao took a half step forward: "My name is Qin Zhao, nice to meet you, Mr. Xue."
The old man looked at him, then looked at Jing Li behind him, and understood: "This is the young master's husband?"
"…" Jing Li's ears turned red, and he said with difficulty, "Yes, I'll bring him here, and I hope Doctor Xue can take a look at him."
"I knew you would come back. Please sit down." The old man sat up. The young man brought him a hand pillow and placed it on the small table. Then he stepped out and closed the bamboo curtain again.
The old man said: "Stretch out your hand, let me take a look first..."
Qin Zhao put his hand on him as he was told. The old man raised his eyes and saw his appearance clearly. He frowned and asked, "Have I seen you somewhere before?"
Qin Zhao's eyes moved slightly, but he did not show any abnormality. Instead, he said truthfully: "My memory is impaired. I don't remember where I met you."
"Memory loss?" The old man thought for a moment but said nothing. He placed his fingers on Qin Zhao's pulse.
He closed his eyes slightly, examined the patient quietly for a moment, and nodded: "It's just as I expected. No wonder you didn't dare to let the clinic know your prescription. But, this prescription can only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. You'd better not take it anymore."
Qin Zhao asked: "Do you have any other prescriptions, sir?"
“Oh, the entire Central Plains and even the emperor of the current dynasty want to know the other recipe. If it really exists, how could it be kept secret until now?” The old man sneered.
Qin Zhao lowered his eyes.
He didn't say anything, and the old man didn't say anything else. Only Jing Li stood behind Qin Zhao, confused.
"What are you talking about?" Jing Li felt something was wrong and asked, "What kind of disease is this?"
Qin Zhao hesitated: "This..."
"Your husband is devoted to you, there is nothing to hide." The old man said leisurely, "Young Master, let me tell you, your husband is not sick, but took a medicine."
“… an addictive, illegal drug.”
"This medicine is called Chen Huan. You may not know it because you are still young. Ten years ago, this medicine was popular in the Central Plains." The old man explained, "After taking Chen Huan, blood and qi will surge up, and the whole body will feel hot and excited. If the dosage is too large, it will even cause hallucinations, as if you are in bliss."
Jing Li was stunned.
Isn't this just another kind of drug
Qin Zhao...why did he take this kind of medicine
Qin Zhao lowered his eyes and said nothing, but the old man smiled gently and continued: "It's nothing to take this medicine. During the decades when this medicine was popular, the people who took it most often were the nobles and rich sons."
Not sure if it was an illusion, but Jing Li always felt that when the old man said this, there was a hint of pride in his expression.
This feeling made Jing Li feel a little uncomfortable. He glanced at Qin Zhao, who still had his eyes lowered and his face pale.
The old man continued, "This drug originally only brings temporary pleasure and is not addictive. But people are greedy and gradually increase the amount they take. The more they take, the more they cannot do without it, and the more painful it becomes after they stop taking it. During the period when Shen Huan was most popular in the capital, people with crazy and unclear expressions could be seen everywhere on the streets. They either had just finished taking the medicine or were rushing to buy medicine."
"During that time, countless people lost their families and reputations."
"Later, the previous emperor died of a serious illness, and the new emperor ascended the throne. The court listed this medicine as a banned drug and promoted a prescription for withdrawal, which is... the medicine that the young master is taking now."
The old man looked up at Qin Zhao and said, "But you should have discovered that the medicine is ineffective for you."
"Yes." Qin Zhao said, "According to pharmacology, it only takes half a year at most to quit Shen Huan, but I..."
Qin Zhao has been taking that medicine for three years.
"That prescription is incompatible with Shen Huan's medicine. It is a method of fighting poison with poison. Although it has a withdrawal effect, it is also toxic. It's fine to take it for two or three months or even half a year, but if you take it for three to five years..."
The old man paused and said, "You are now weak and sickly, and this is just the beginning. If you continue to eat, the poison may attack your heart and you will not live long."
Jing Li's fingers hidden in his sleeves trembled.
He subconsciously grabbed Qin Zhao's sleeve, and the latter felt it, raised his hand and gently pinched his hand.
Qin Zhao asked again: "Sir, may I ask why this medicine has no effect on me?"
"There are only two possibilities," the old man said, "either you have been taking Shen Huan for a long time, at least more than ten years, causing the toxicity to accumulate in your body and cannot be eradicated. But as far as I know, no one has been able to take Shen Huan for ten consecutive years, because before that, they have died due to the retrograde blood flow. Then there is only one other possibility..."
Qin Zhao: "What?"
"You took an overdose of Shen Huan Powder at one time, causing the poison to enter your lungs. And because this drug can cause hallucinations and damage the brain, your memory loss is most likely due to this."
"It was poison!" Jing Li said, "Someone must have given him a large amount of Shen Huan Powder."
The old man shrugged and said, "I can only explain the pharmacology, and I don't know anything else. But..."
He raised one hand, and pinched his thumb on the tip of his little finger: "Only this little bit of Shen Huan San can make people happy for three days. The damage of excessive Shen Huan San to the body can be imagined. Even if you finally quit, your body will never be able to recover to the state of the past. If someone really drugged you... that person wants to destroy you."
Thunder roared outside the house. In the inner hall, Qin Zhao sat at a small table, and the corners of his lips slowly raised a little arc: "I guessed it."
The old man's eyebrows jumped.
For some reason, he could sense a frightening and dangerous aura from the frail young man in front of him.
But that expression was only fleeting, Qin Zhao raised his eyes, his expression still calm and unsurprised: "Anyway, I just want to know now, sir, have you completely quit Shen Huan's antidote?"
The old man came back to his senses, swaying his palm-leaf fan, and fell back on the recliner: "Didn't I just say that I have no other options?"
Qin Zhao: "If not, why did you ask my husband to lead me here?"
"Sir, you saw my prescription, but you deliberately made it sound so serious. Isn't it just to lure me in?" Qin Zhao said calmly, "Sir, just tell me what you want."
The old man looked at him steadily and laughed: "It's more comfortable to talk to a smart person."
"I have a prescription here that may help you quit Shen Huan."
"perhaps?"
"The medicinal materials are hard to find, and they have never been tested." The old man said, "How about you, are you willing to be the one to test the medicine?"
Qin Zhao and Jing Li walked side by side on the long street paved with bluestone.
The rain was getting heavier and there were almost no pedestrians on the street.
"You see, this is why I don't want to tell you the whole truth." Qin Zhao suddenly stopped and said softly.
Jing Li was startled and said anxiously: "You... don't misunderstand me, I won't think you are a bad person or anything like that... I know you definitely don't want to eat it, someone must have hurt you, you—"
"That's not what I'm talking about." Qin Zhao turned to face him and raised his hand to wipe away the raindrops on his cheek. "I just don't want to see you worry."
"You haven't said a word since you came out of the pharmacy."
"I don't want to see my little fish become like this."
“But I…but I…” Jing Li pursed his lips.
Qin Zhao was right, he was indeed worried.
Knowing so many things, there was no way he couldn't pretend nothing happened.
He was afraid of the addictive drug, worried about Qin Zhao's health, and also... he also hated the person who wanted to harm Qin Zhao.
With so many emotions intertwined, he couldn't just think about nothing.
"It seems that the only way is to divert attention." Qin Zhao brushed Jing Li's cheek with his fingertips. "You haven't told me yet, what does that feel like?"
Jing Li: "What...what do you feel?"
The fingertips slowly fell to Jing Li's lips: "This."
His fingertips felt warm, Jing Li instantly understood what he meant and subconsciously wanted to hide away.
Qin Zhao quickly pulled him back.
"It's raining, idiot." Qin Zhao held the umbrella with one hand and put his arm around Jing Li's waist with the other hand to pull him into his arms.
They moved a little too much just now, and some rain came in and wet the two of them.
The water droplets slid down the outline of Qin Zhao's face, along his pale neck, and into his collar.
It was raining heavily outside, but the temperature was gradually rising under the umbrella.
Jing Li looked up at Qin Zhao and murmured, "I didn't feel it."
Qin Zhao: “Hmm?”
"What happened just now." Jing Li's cheeks were hot, and he said awkwardly, "It was too fast... I didn't feel it."
Qin Zhao laughed softly.
"I really can't do anything with you." Qin Zhao sighed with a smile and said softly, "Open your mouth."
In the misty rain, Qin Zhao lowered his head and kissed those soft lips.