Hu Jingguo had prepared the medicine by midnight. He mixed the powder in the lukewarm water and stood up from the chair. Sheng Li was looking keenly at Hu Jingguo. "Your highness, please lift the Crown Princess slightly and open her mouth," Hu Jingguo humbly requested.

  Sheng Li did what Hu Jingguo had told him. He placed his palm under Ying Lili's head and raised it a little. Hu Jingguo handed the porcelain cup to Sheng Li. He carefully helped Ying Lili in drinking the medicine. He placed her head gently on the pillow and wiped her lips.

  ??

  "When will she wake up?" Sheng Li asked worriedly.

  "It will take time. I cannot tell his highness the exact time," Hu Jingguo replied.

  The Royal Physician, who was standing beside Hu Jingguo, opened his mouth to speak. "Your highness, I think it will take probably twelve hours or more for her highness to gain consciousness." Hu Jingguo nodded his head while Sheng Li looked at Ying Lili, who was still looking pale.

  "Your highness, the Crown Princess will wake up tomorrow. Do not be dejected and do not let anything negative come into your mind." Hu Jingguo looked at the Royal Physician and said, "You shall leave, Royal Physician. I will keep a close check on Her Highness."

  The Royal Physician bowed and left the chamber with the other assistants. Xing-Fu and Court Lady also walked out of the chamber, followed by General Wang and General Xiao. The doors were closed behind them.

  Hu Jingguo rested himself on the chair and observed Sheng Li for some time.

  "I think I should not have agreed with you. I should have stopped myself from getting close to you. Look, what I brought on you!" Sheng Li said while stroking Ying Lili's hair.

  "The Crown Prince shall not speak like this," Hu Jingguo interrupted him. Sheng Li lifted his eyes to meet Hu Jingguo's gaze. "The Crown Princess told me that the Crown Prince fears love. Is it that fear which I am seeing on your face?" He questioned.

  "It hurts when the person close to you ends up in such a state. She told me that love makes a person strong. But look at me. It's my weakness. I cannot see what's right and wrong! If I had not agreed to her, then she would not be lying like this," Sheng Li opined. The tears made their way from his eyes to his cheeks and some even to the side of his nose.

  "Your highness, are you saying that you did wrong by accepting Ying Lili's love for you?" Hu Jingguo asked. "Forgive me for taking the name of the Crown Princess. Let me use her name for today's conversation," he stated.

  "Indeed, I did wrong. That was the main reason I was stopping my marriage with her because I knew that she would become my weakness," Sheng Li affirmed. "I never stopped myself from killing anyone but for her, I think thousands of times. I never-"

  Hu Jingguo cut Sheng Li's words in the middle. "You are looking like a coward!" He remarked and scoffed. "Didn't I tell you why she loves you?" Hu Jingguo started talking informally with Sheng Li and he did not mind it.

  Getting no response from Sheng Li, Hu Jingguo further spoke, "She saved you not to speak like this but because she wants to see you safe. She was crying in front of me the other day. Do you know why? Because there was no one to hold you in your worst times. No one has ever tried understanding you, and everyone saw you as a ruthless, heartless man. I am sure that even today she saved you for those reasons only. She wants to be your shield in tough times like this! Don't speak negatively about her love."

  Sheng Li lowered his eyes and looked back at Ying Lili. "For her, I have become a coward!" Sheng Li accepted.

  "Then, don't become a coward. The day when I was treating you, she was not even beside you. She was in prison, not crying but praying for you. How can you lead a nation with no control over your emotions? Ying Lili does not love a coward. Instead, she loves the strong Sheng Li, who does not let his emotions play with his mind.

  I understand you lost your mother, but that does not mean you will keep other relations at par. Gaining and losing is a part of our life. That makes you grow. Even Ying Lili had lost her father when she was taken here. But she did not let herself vanish in that darkness, instead, she found her happiness with you. Be like her and be her strength."

  Hu Jingguo rested his words and looked at Ying Lili. "I am also scared to see her like this, but I know she will make it. Because she is An-Ying Lili," Hu Jingguo mumbled.

  Sheng Li kept caressing Ying Lili's hair.

  ~~~~~

  Zhilao Mi was done applying the medicine over the burn marks on the arm and the back of Jian Guozhi. She wiped her hands with a clean napkin and placed it on the table. "Jian Ge shall have his dinner," Zhilao Mi said.

  "No, I do not want to! My stomach is full," passing a tiny smile to her, he answered. "Go to your chamber and have your dinner."

  "How can I have my dinner when Jian Ge has refused to eat? I know you are not eating because Sister Lili is still not awake. You are worried about Sister Lili, right?" Zhilao Mi looked for an answer in Jian Guozhi's eyes.

  "I cannot hide the truth from you. Yes, I am worried about her. I just want her to recover quickly," Jian Guozhi said as he pulled up the satin robe over his shoulder.

  "Sister Lili will recover quickly. The Physicians are doing their best," Zhilao Mi affirmed while Jian Guozhi agreed with her. Zhilao Mi leaned closer to Jian Guozhi, stared at his lips for a few seconds, and then kissed them softly. Leaning back, she peered into his eyes. "Take a good rest. I will see you in the morning," Zhilao Mi stated. Jian Guozhi nodded while she left the chamber.