He Yunqin laughed and was about to answer when suddenly someone at the door let out a startled “Ah!” It turned out He Zhuyun had just returned from the washroom, having not been in the ward, and pushing the door open just then, she walked in right as she caught her second brother kissing her second sister-in-law’s belly. She froze on the spot; once she came to her senses, both embarrassed and amused, she hastily backed out, pulling the door shut behind her. “Goodness, Second Brother, how could you!”
Hongdou had never imagined being caught by her fourth sister-in-law; mortified beyond words, she smacked He Yunqin’s arm. “This is all your fault!”
He Yunqin deliberately hissed in mock pain — so what if his fourth sister had seen? He and Hongdou were husband and wife; even affection this intimate was only natural. Once the door had shut, he lowered his head again, unable to get enough. “Clearly it’s Fourth Sister who’s in the wrong — why blame me instead?”
Hongdou, well familiar with his shamelessness by now, listened for a moment, then, mindful that this was a hospital ward where not just the He family but medical staff might come in at any time, gently pushed him away. “I’ll let you kiss me again once we’re home — let go of me first, let’s have a proper talk.”
Kiss him again once they were home… He Yunqin laughed. Deliberately furrowing his brow, he reluctantly agreed. “Fine.”
Holding her tight for one more forceful kiss, he slowly released her. “But let me say this in advance — once we’re home, it won’t be this kind of kiss.”
Hongdou put on a stern face, propping him up to help him lie back down properly. “Injured like this and still so wicked.”
He Yunqin’s gaze was reluctant to leave her face even for a moment. Once lying flat, he sighed softly. “Only two days apart, and it felt like a lifetime.”
As he spoke, he raised his other hand, first tugging gently at her earlobe, then pinching her nose, his gaze almost searching, as if trying to confirm whether he was truly dreaming.
His actions were rather childlike; Hongdou’s chest tightened. “A lifetime is nothing — it felt like a thousand, ten thousand years to me. Do you have any idea how worried I was these past two days…”
He Yunqin drew her hand to his lips, saying apologetically, “The war broke out suddenly and we weren’t prepared. In the North District, I thought of home every single moment, and thought of you even more. I only regret not making arrangements before I left — if I hadn’t been able to come back, our parents are already old, and you’re still so young—”
He gazed at her fixedly, his chest aching with both bitterness and pain, and suddenly found he couldn’t continue.
Seeing He Yunqin lose his composure for the first time, Hongdou nearly burst into tears — clearly, these past few days had been just as much an ordeal for him as for her. It was a time of national defeat and family ruin, war and calamity spreading everywhere, Peiping and Tianjin having fallen one after another; if Shanghai fell too, nearly half the country’s rivers and mountains would be lost. When the nest overturns, no egg remains unbroken — should that day truly come, no one could remain unscathed.
Eight thousand gold bars had drawn in several factions of forces; every inch of home soil was worth an inch of blood — in her place, she would have done the same. Yet no matter how strong one’s convictions, when truly facing the moment of life and death, it was an agonizing trial for both him and her.
If he hadn’t come back… she lost herself for a moment — no, no, no, pressing down the desolate thought in her chest, she said angrily instead, “Don’t you dare not come back.”
He Yunqin gave a hoarse laugh, and finally pulled her back into his embrace. “I don’t dare. We’ve only been married for less than three months — I haven’t even seen you become an old lady yet, haven’t waited for our child to grow up. How could I bear to just die like that? Even if I had to crawl, I would have crawled back.”
She buried her tearful face against his neck, not moving. The two of them fell silent together. They’d known each other less than half a year, married less than three months; because both of their tempers were too proud, though drawn to each other, friction had been unavoidable. Yet having weathered the hardest, darkest moment together, this bond of theirs had only grown more brilliant with each trial.
Fortunately, they had made it through the most painful, darkest moment. In this instant, their souls felt perfectly attuned, holding each other close, understanding without a word.
Some time passed before He Yunqin felt something warm trickling down his neck, knowing it was her tears. His heart ached even more, and though he knew these tears sprang from overwhelming emotion, he couldn’t bear it. He reached up to wipe her tears, teasing her with mock seriousness, “This child came at such a special time — I’ve already thought of a name. Let’s call him ‘He Paohuo’ [Cannon Fire].”
Hongdou, as expected, burst into laughter through her tears. “Pah, you’re the one who should be called ‘Cannon Fire.’ This is our first child, at least try to think of a proper name, you as his father.”
He Yunqin cupped her cheeks, smiling. “Then how about ‘Longing,’ or ‘Big Moon.'”
Hongdou didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “‘Longing’ is one thing, but where does ‘Big Moon’ come from?”
A dazed look crossed He Yunqin’s face; after a moment he laughed. “While the bomb was exploding, I passed out for a while. I remember I was woken by the moonlight — I kept feeling like you were watching me, thinking you were still waiting for me to come home, and suddenly I had the strength to go on. If you hadn’t told Wang Bide and Eldest Brother that we might be searching for the gold in another district, they wouldn’t have found us so quickly. By the time Xiang Qisheng’s men found Peiying Primary School, we might not have been ready yet.”
Hearing the first part, Hongdou’s eyes stung and she nearly cried again; hearing the latter part, she asked in surprise, “So the Peng couple were enemy agents — which side is Mr. Xiang really on?”
He Yunqin was about to answer when suddenly a knock sounded at the door. Mrs. He could be heard outside, speaking to someone: “Your second brother is already fine. Since Mingjing has urgent matters, why rush over here?”
Just then He Zhuyun called out, “Brother, Eldest Sister’s here.”
Hongdou and He Yunqin exchanged a glance — it was eldest sister He Lanzhi.
Hongdou hastily rose and went to open the door. “Eldest Sister’s here.” He Lanzhi, draped in a black otter-fur shawl, clicked in on high heels, an urgency to her expression, still turning back to speak to Mrs. He as she entered. “The moment I heard Second Brother had been hit by a stray bullet and needed surgery, Mingjing and I immediately had the car readied to come to the hospital — but before we could leave, the government called Mingjing away, saying something major had happened and they needed him to rush over for discussions.”
She turned first to smile at Hongdou. “Second Brother’s hurt — you must have been worried sick, little sister.” Without waiting for Hongdou to reply, she walked straight to the bedside, bent down to examine He Yunqin’s expression closely, then let out a breath of relief. “Good, as long as you’re all right.”
She poked He Yunqin’s forehead in mock anger, then straightened up. “All that, just to see a few foreign friends off from Shanghai, and you had to go all the way to Hongkou — now look, you’ve come back limping.”
He Yunqin corrected her with a smile. “Not limping. I can still walk.”
He Lanzhi glared at him. “Lucky you’re not limping.” She fanned herself with her handkerchief, and once Mrs. He and the other elders had sat down, she took a seat on the sofa beside the bed.
He Yunqin picked up her earlier thread. “Is Eldest Brother-in-law’s government business urgent?”
Once the unrelated people had left, He Lanzhi slipped off her black silk sleeve guards, saying worriedly, “They say some secret has been leaked — the government’s turned everything upside down right now. Mingjing’s in the Finance Bureau, and he’ll especially be held accountable. I don’t know what’s happened, but ever since the fighting started, they’ve been in meetings around the clock—”
At this, she recalled her husband coming out of his study after taking a phone call, wiping cold sweat from his forehead, saying only that this time was different, that he might be demoted or even dismissed.
Sighing, she suddenly recalled something, her expression changing; she pondered uneasily for a moment, her face growing darker and darker. Could this matter be connected to that day’s affair? She had overheard Mingjing’s phone call without meaning to, and knew the government was searching for the gold — at the time she’d spoken carelessly, and trusting the other person completely, had let slip a word in front of Duan Mingyi without thinking. If not for what had happened to her husband, she would have nearly forgotten about it entirely.
But how could it be? The Duan family was a century-old prestigious house — even if their business had been failing again and again, surely they wouldn’t—
She rose abruptly, glancing around the room. “Where’s Duan Mingyi?”
Everyone froze. He Lanzhi had always been on close terms with her sister-in-law; every time she mentioned Duan Mingyi, she only ever called her “Mingyi.” To address her by full name like this — it had almost never happened before.
Hongdou glanced at He Yunqin in surprise; he gazed silently at He Lanzhi, as if he already knew what had happened.
Mrs. He frowned. “Her two brothers were injured — she just went back to the Duan family with Ningzheng.”
He Lanzhi picked up her sleeve guards, rising hastily. “Mother, Second Brother, sister-in-law, Fourth Sister — I have an urgent matter to attend to. I must go now.” Her voice unmistakably carried a towering fury.
Author’s Note: He Lanzhi and Duan Mingyi’s conversation was detailed in Hong Dou Sheng Min Guo – Chapter 90 — some of you may have skipped that update and missed it, feel free to go back and take a look. Also, this chapter’s title is taken from a book by Mr. Chiang Hsun — noting that here~~