Jiang Xingyan’s heart skipped a beat.
Back in Qingzhou, she had already noticed something was off with Xin Zhui. She never expected this kid to be serious about it!
“Xin Zhui, pull yourself together.”
Jiang Xingyan felt a headache coming on.
In this lifetime, aside from Brother Yun, she would never open her heart or fall in love with anyone else.
One bout of youthful recklessness was enough.
But right now, Xin Zhui was on the verge of death. If she rejected him harshly, she was afraid he might get so emotional that he’d die right then and there.
“Xin Zhui, since ancient times, alcohol has given cowards courage. Who confesses their feelings while they’re sick and injured?
This time, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything.
If your feelings are truly that deep, then grit your teeth, get through this, and we’ll talk about it then!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Xin Zhui’s eyes suddenly flew open.
His eyes, as big as brass bells, were bloodshot, a terrifying,猩红 red.
“A Xing, wait for me. I can definitely make it through.
It’s just a minor injury—hiss!”
Imperial Physician Sun made the final cut. His beard and hair were completely drenched, as if he had just been caught in the rain.
“Hurry, bring the medicine!”
Jiang Xingyan forcefully pried Xin Zhui’s hand off and brought over the powdered medicine that Imperial Physician Sun had prepared earlier.
“Sprinkle it on. Make it even. Make it thick.”
Imperial Physician Sun leaned to the side, gasping for breath after every few words. He had clearly expended a tremendous amount of energy.
Jiang Xingyan looked down and saw at a glance that there wasn’t a single patch of good skin left on Xin Zhui’s back. It was all bloody, freshly carved flesh.
She was horrified, her heart pounding with fright.
“Hurry up! If you dawdle any longer, all this work will have been for nothing!”
Jiang Xingyan jolted with alarm. Her hands moved without delay. As Imperial Physician Sun had instructed, she carefully sprinkled the medicine powder over his wounds.
“Ahhh!”
Xin Zhui let out a piercing scream.
The pain of the medicine corroding his flesh was twice as cruel as the pain of the knife cutting it.
The first layer of medicine powder was quickly soaked through with blood. Jiang Xingyan gritted her teeth and applied a second layer.
Xin Zhui couldn’t even manage a second scream. He lay face down on the bed, his complexion as pale as funeral paper, his body shaking like a sieve. It looked like he might breathe his last at any second.
Jiang Xingyan shouted his name, but it did no good.
Just as his life force seemed to be fading away, in her desperation, she blurted out:
“Xin Zhui, aren’t you in love with me?
If you die right now, I’ll find a new deputy commander immediately!”
Those words actually worked. Xin Zhui’s grip on the bed frame tightened instantly.
The veins on the back of his hands and arms bulged one by one.
“No!”
Crack!
Just as she saw his vitality returning and was about to breathe a huge sigh of relief, Jiang Xingyan heard the sound of wood snapping from directly in front of her.
She looked up. Yun Chunfeng had broken the wooden box in his hands with his bare hands.
A pitch-black pill rolled out of it.
Imperial Physician Sun ignored everyone else and quickly snatched it up.
Any medicine brought by the Imperial Preceptor was bound to be top-notch!
He was going to make a killing this time!
Jiang Xingyan panicked. “Brother Yun, wait, let me explain—”
Yun Chunfeng forced a smile, but no matter how you looked at it, it was bitter. “No need, Miss. Brother Yun understands everything.
Brother Yun just came at the wrong time.”
He turned and staggered outside, revealing Xiao Mi standing frozen behind him.
Jiang Xingyan didn’t have time to worry about him right now. She hurried after Brother Yun.
Xiao Mi’s world had just collapsed.
Xiao Mi: ?
Deputy Commander Xin… is in love… with General Huo?!
Am I the crazy one, or have they all lost their minds?
Imperial Physician Sun, however, couldn’t care less about that.
He was deaf when he needed to be deaf and sharp-eyed when he needed to be sharp-eyed. He had never accidentally overheard a single thing he shouldn’t have.
He called out to Xiao Mi, “Hey, you big lug, come over here and help wrap the bandages around him.
Yes, you.
Wrap them tight. It’d be best if you could wrap him so tightly you can’t even make out his human form.”
——-
Yun Chunfeng stumbled along as he walked.
His cultivation was deteriorating day by day. Now, he couldn’t even fully restore his eyesight. He had to rely on instinct and memory to find his way back.
Thud!
His foot caught on something, and his body pitched straight forward.
“Watch out!”
Jiang Xingyan, who had been following behind him, caught him just in time.
If she were in her own body, she would definitely pull Brother Yun into her arms and comfort him properly.
But right now, she couldn’t.
All she could offer was a feeble explanation.
“Brother Yun, he—”
“Brother Yun understands. His life was hanging by a thread. Miss had no choice but to handle it that way.
Brother Yun understands everything.”
Jiang Xingyan lowered her gaze.
Brother Yun wasn’t angry at her for saving Xin Zhui. He was hurt that she had used that particular method.
“I’m sorry, Brother Yun. I was desperate and not thinking clearly…”
Yun Chunfeng smiled bitterly. “Brother Yun dares not blame Miss in the slightest.
But may I ask Miss, from now on, could you try to rely on Brother Yun a little?”
Jiang Xingyan stood there, stunned.
It felt as if some hidden, secret part of her heart had been discovered. She was flustered, uneasy, and had no way to deny it.
“Not just him. Even the Second Prince—Brother Yun has ways to heal them all.
Brother Yun has been waiting for Miss to ask. Even if it were a command, Brother Yun would accept it gladly.”
Yun Chunfeng paused, trying to control the involuntary tremor in his voice.
“Brother Yun wasn’t here before. Miss suffered because of it.
But Brother Yun will be here from now on. Please, Miss, truly accept Brother Yun into your heart.”
Yun Chunfeng’s eyes reddened, and he turned and walked away.
This time, Jiang Xingyan didn’t chase after him.
She thought back to when she had been with Huo Ci. No matter how small the matter, the first thing she thought of was asking him for help.
Even if it was just a stray cat that had wandered into the yard, she would act cute and ask him to chase it away.
In the beginning, when her mother-in-law had made her life difficult, she had written letter after letter to Huo Ci, placing all her hopes on him, expecting him to save her from her troubles a thousand times over.
But after one disappointment after another, Jiang Xingyan learned to be independent.
If she could solve a problem herself, she would never trouble anyone else.
If money could solve a problem, she would never call in a favor.
That was why she kept such clear accounts with Imperial Physician Sun, paying every consultation fee in full.
And why she treated the soldiers well—there was always an element of winning their loyalty.
It was the same even with Brother Yun.
She never asked him to perform divinations for her. Whenever something difficult came up, she never thought of asking him to take over completely and solve it for her.
She knew Brother Yun had already done more than enough for her.
Any more, and she would never be able to repay him.
She had always thought she had hidden this well. But had Brother Yun seen through her after all?
Huo Ci’s solemn vow to her grandfather, promising to treat her well for a lifetime, still seemed to echo in her ears.
“I, Huo Ci, swear that if I ever wrong A Yan, may my face be covered with yellow sand, and my bones scattered. May I descend to the eighteenth level of hell after death, never to reunite with my family.”
Jiang Xingyan lowered her eyes and pinched her fingers until they turned white.
“I just don’t want to make the same mistake again.”