Xu Fengyi lay motionless on the bed. The beautiful woman who had once been so graceful and distinguished had become a white-haired, withered old woman. Hu Xiaotian could scarcely believe his eyes. How had his mother changed so much in just three months? What illness had tormented her into this state?
Huo Shengnan had stayed by Xu Fengyi's side all along. When she saw that Hu Xiaotian had finally returned, her eyes reddened, shimmering with crystalline tears.
Hot tears burst forth like a great river breaching its banks. The sight of his mother nearly broke Hu Xiaotian. He clasped her shriveled left hand and felt that her body was still warm, but her pulse was weak and her breathing as faint as a thread. His loud cry upon entering had failed to wake her.
"What happened?" Hu Xiaotian raised his head to look at Huo Shengnan.
Huo Shengnan bit her cherry-red lip. "Madam fell ill shortly after you left. It wasn't serious at first, but later, just before Lord Hu left, the two of them suddenly had a terrible argument. He left the next day, and from that day onward, she was weighed down with worries. We brought physicians to see her, but she drove every one of them away. She refused to eat or drink, and her health grew worse by the day. We took turns urging her to eat, but she adamantly refused. We watched her hair turn from black to white and her body grow weak and powerless. Left with no choice, I immobilized her through her acupoints and brought in physicians. We invited every renowned physician in the Capital City, but they all said her illness lay in her heart. She had lost all hope and no longer wished to live. Needles and medicine could treat