" Ah...arghh…" Zhao Ming groaned in pain and raised her hand to clutch her head that was throbbing as if someone had punched her badly. She whimpers in pain and slowly opens her eyes only to see the pitch-black darkness.
She furrowed her brows to look clearly and thought it must be temporary darkness but she couldn't see anything except darkness. Her body felt so light that she couldn't feel anything, except the sharp pain in her joints and head.
She panicked and looked around while lying on the cold surface and realized that she was in some large enclosed room that was pitch black. There was not a single ray of light. Her body shivered upon finding herself in this icy cold dark room. It was not like her chamber at the palace nor like her room at Jin Villa. It was just a simple empty room where she couldn't even find a single window.
"What...what is this place? Ah...and that dream...it was a dream, right?" she murmured weakly while supporting her body up from the cold floor. She wasn't aware of where she was and what's happening.
All she remembers was that she went to sleep by holding onto that cursed hairpin and after that...all she remembered was seeing a dream...a very dark and bloody dream.
Her body shivers upon remembering the l.u.s.ty and dangerous gaze of Yang Hanying. However, the last thing she remembered was seeing Tan Xiu who jumped into the well and how Yang Hanying was crying while holding her body after rescuing her,
The strange thing was...she remembers everything so clearly as if she had witnessed everything herself. The pain when she saw Yuan Song's body covered in blood, her parent's bloodied hands, and...the fear of being taken advantage of. She remembers everything, very clearly.
She shivered and wondered while trying to find anything when she heard Ji Cheng's voice, " Zhao Ming...why are you sleeping like this? It's been days since I heard your voice. Please wake up. You're now scaring me by being like this." she heard his voice and pursed her lips.
" Ji Cheng?" she called out in worry but she didn't get any response from him. As if she can listen to him, but he can't.
" Ji Cheng? I am awake Ji Cheng. I am here, in this dark room, but where are you?" She shouted, trying to make him hear her words.
" Zhao Ming, do you know that I haven't slept for days properly. How can I? My Empress is in this condition then how can I sleep peacefully." she heard.
Her eyes widened in shock and panic grew inside her realizing that he can't hear her. Condition? What condition? She is in this cold dark room but where is he? She looked around and started to get panic and the suffocation started making her breathless.
If she has woken up like usual in her chamber, then she would have believed that it was a dream. But now finding herself in this dark chamber, she realized it was not a...dream. There was something strange that she didn't notice earlier but now she understands it.
"What is this...place?" she panted while clutching her chest tightly as fear started to envelop her.
-
Ji Dynasty
A pale sickly figure was lying on the bed, with her long black hair spread over the pillow. The window was closed and curtains were covering them to prevent any cold wind from coming inside the room.
Ji Cheng was lying beside Zhao Ming who was sleeping with her eyes closed and her hands were placed on her abdomen. He has put her head on his arm and has pulled her in his embrace, while she slept peacefully.
It's been a week since she has been sleeping like this. A week ago, when he came back to the chamber, he found her sleeping soundly. He thought that she was tired and that's why she went to sleep early. But later, Lu shi came with their dinner and told him that Zhao Ming didn't eat anything before going to sleep.
He tried to wake her up for dinner but she didn't budge or responded to him, even after calling her so many times. He thought that she was in a deep slumber, so he didn't disturbed her.
However, the next day, she didn't wake up in the morning either. This made him worry because she didn't even change her positions in her sleep like her usual self and was sleeping in the same position as last night. She didn't move, nor she made any noises when he tried to wake her up or even slapped her cheeks to get any reaction.
He got scared and called the imperial doctor. The imperial doctor was also bewildered and couldn't find out the reason for her sleeping for so long. He checked her pulse and checked for any medicine or herbs which can result in her being like this but there was nothing that can cause such an effect.
He remembered the time when she went unconscious for three weeks after drowning in the pond and was in a dangerous condition. He was scared that it must be something like that, so he asked Feng Sheng to bring Aunt Shen Jia with him. Even at that time, only she managed to save Zhao Ming when everyone said that she won't be able to hold onto her life for long.
When Shen Jia came and saw the hairpin in Zhao Ming's hand, she clutched her fist tightly and sighed helplessly. She has told her to not act on impulse but she did what she told her to not do so. Although they were pressed on time and needed to know the reason for the curse as soon as possible, going through this dangerous practice can put her life in danger.
That's why she didn't tell her this practice before.
She took a deep breath and turned to Ji Cheng, " Your Majesty, there is something you need to know….However, it shouldn't come from my mouth. You need to know about it, but only Zhao Ming can do that." she said seriously, making him grew worried.
" Aunt Shen Jia, what are you trying to say? What is it that I need to know? And what happened to Zhao Ming? Why isn't she waking up? She is not sick, is she?" he asked worriedly.
He was feeling scared seeing her ashen complexion and chapped lips that were turning purple.
Shen Jia took a deep breath and said hesitantly, " She..she will be fine. I will not let anything happen to her." she turned to look at Zhao Ming and smiled mildly.
" But...you need to remember one thing. Zhao Ming is not sick, but..her life is still in danger until she wakes up. There are things that can't be explained, so you just need to be patient and wait for her until she wakes up. You will find out everything from her." she said calmly.
Ji Cheng pursed his lips as he wasn't satisfied with her response but he couldn't say anything to her. Although he never said anything, however, he knows that there is something that Zhao Ming was hiding from him. There are many times where she looked worried after coming back from Shen Jia's chamber, also, he still couldn't forget the day when she treated Zhao Ming when no other doctor could do that.
There was something mysterious about her,
-
Back to the present, Ji Cheng looked at Zhao Ming who was sleeping soundly in his arms, bit his lower lip, and said in a muffled voice, " Zhao Ming, everything will be alright, right? Why aren't you waking up? It's been a week since you are sleeping like this. I am trying hard to not think about anything bad but...I am scared, Zhao Ming. I hate to see you like this." he said, hoping her to wake up, but his efforts went in vain.
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