Fan Changyu turned around, looking at Xie Zheng whose half-face was hidden in the interplay of light and shadow.
Due to the backlighting, his expression was unclear, but his voice was much lower than usual: “I spoke harshly to you earlier. I apologize.”
He had been proud for half his life, rarely taking the initiative to bow his head.
Fan Changyu still didn’t speak, directly lifting the tent flap and walking out.
Xie Zheng stared at the still gently swaying tent flap, his lips gradually pressing tighter.
A moment later, Fan Changyu returned with a water kettle, steam rising from the spout, clearly filled with freshly boiled water.
Ignoring the momentary confusion on Xie Zheng’s face, she picked up the wooden cup on the table, poured a cup of water, and handed it to him: “Would you like some?”
Xie Zheng took the cup, but the freshly boiled water was scalding hot. He didn’t bring it to his lips, instead holding it in his hand as he offered a belated thanks: “Thank you for finding the cloak.”
Fan Changyu glanced at the red woolen cloak draped over his body, still not responding to his words, only asking: “Have you changed the medicine on your wounds?”
Xie Zheng’s face was half-hidden in the rising steam from the cup, his long lashes fanning out like a fan. He hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. His face was pale with a cold tinge, like a chilly moon hanging in a frosty forest, desolate and aloof. His brows and eyes were etched with a world-weary detachment, looking as if he was ready to fade away right there.
Fan Changyu thought this must be the benefit of having such a handsome face. Seeing him like this, she felt an inexplicable pang of sympathy in her heart.
Assuming there were too many wounded for the military doctors to attend to him, she wordlessly got up to find a doctor and get medicine.
Indeed, after today’s great battle, many more wounded had been added to the mountain. The few military doctors accompanying the army were rushing about the camp. The doctor who had examined Xie Zheng was supposed to change his dressings on schedule, but Xie Zheng had sent him away with a single sentence: “Go see to the other soldiers first.”
The doctors all knew Xie Zheng’s temperament, and his medicine had just been changed last night, so they didn’t insist. Now, seeing Fan Changyu come looking, they felt greatly relieved and quickly gave her the herbal medicine to be changed and the decoction to be taken.
Returning with several packets of medicine, Fan Changyu looked at Xie Zheng leaning against the bed head and said stiffly: “Take off your clothes.”
Seeing the medicine in her hand, Xie Zheng didn’t ask anything, obediently removing his light outer garment.
Compared to when Fan Changyu had first found him, he was now obviously much more robust. The muscles of his waist and abdomen were clearly defined, but the numerous scars, both deep and shallow, were equally eye-catching.
Fan Changyu kept a straight face as she unwrapped the bandages that wound diagonally from his shoulder to his ribs, but her movements were as gentle as possible.
The innermost layer of bandages was stained with herbal juices and fresh blood, and the smell was unpleasant. When she saw the wound, which was slightly better than before but still horrifically ugly, Fan Changyu felt a mix of emotions and looked away.
She was about to apply the herbal medicine when her hand was grasped. The warm touch on the back of her hand made her scalp tingle as if all the blood in her arm was flowing backward. She frowned and looked at Xie Zheng.
There seemed to be many emotions in his eyes, yet none could be discerned. He said calmly: “The wound is a bit ghastly. I’ll do it myself.”
Hearing this, Fan Changyu’s lips turned downward. She applied a little force to her hand, applying the herbal medicine to him. Xie Zheng looked at his hand that had been shaken off, lowering his eyes, lost in thought.
After applying the medicine, as Fan Changyu was wrapping clean bandages around his wound, she finally said in a muffled tone: “I’m not afraid of your wound.”
Xie Zheng was momentarily lost in thought because of Fan Changyu’s words. Before he could say anything, he heard Fan Changyu say: “Brush the hair away from your left shoulder.”
Due to being bedridden for many days, his tied-up hair had long since become messy, with many loose strands falling. To wrap the bandage over his shoulder, the stray hair needed to be brushed aside, and Fan Changyu didn’t have a free hand.
Xie Zheng did as she said, but some loose strands remained.
Fan Changyu wrapped the bandage around, continuing her previous words: “I’m afraid you’ll die.”
Xie Zheng’s long lashes lifted slightly, and there seemed to be a hint of surprise in his eyes, as bright as stars.
The girl before him murmured: “Such a severe wound, almost piercing into your organs. It must have been so painful at the time…”
Xie Zheng stared unblinkingly at her brows and eyes, feeling as if a tree with reversed barbs had sprouted in his heart. With each inch the roots grew deeper into his heart, it brought a sour, swelling pain. Yet the extending branches at the treetop made him feel a delicate tenderness, causing it to grow more wildly, spreading its branches and leaves.
He said: “I won’t die.”
How could he bear to die when he hadn’t married her yet?
Fan Changyu seemed innately incapable of lying. Her clear apricot eyes looked at this man before her, who, though weakened, was still handsome and fierce. She said: “All people will die.”
Xie Zheng smiled and said: “I know.”
When he truly smiled, it was extremely dazzling. Fan Changyu didn’t know why he suddenly smiled and was momentarily stunned by that smile. She frowned and continued wrapping the bandage.
Xie Zheng asked her: “Are you not angry with me anymore?”
Fan Changyu’s hands paused briefly, and she said: “I wasn’t really angry to begin with. I’m not from the military camp, I don’t understand the rules, and what you said wasn’t wrong.”
Her words were dignified, but Fan Changyu thought of her previous actions and felt a bit embarrassed.
She had indeed been angry, but she didn’t understand why she was angry.
After she went down the mountain to seize salt and solve the most pressing matter on the mountain, when she casually took two cloaks, she had been thinking of Yan Zheng and Chang Ning.
But when she returned full of joy, what awaited her was a barrage of scolding. She knew Yan Zheng’s words made sense, but she couldn’t control the feeling of hurt in her heart, a sentiment similar to grievance.
If it was wrong, it was wrong. What was there to feel grieved about?
Fan Changyu felt she had become very strange, even somewhat unlike herself, which was why she had hurried out.
In the past, she wouldn’t have cared so much about Yan Zheng’s words, after all, it wasn’t the first day or two that Yan Zheng had despised and looked down on her.
Now she would feel hurt because of his words.
Fan Changyu didn’t know where the problem lay, she felt as if she had become worse. Being able to correct mistakes was the right thing to do.
Hearing her words, Xie Zheng was also slightly stunned, then said: “My words earlier were too harsh. Your trip to the back mountain wasn’t reckless at all. On the contrary, you uncovered the rebels’ plot. The merit far outweighs any fault.”
Fan Changyu only smiled shyly, lacking the intimacy and ease of their previous interactions, and even showing some of the polite distance one might have with strangers.
After bandaging him, she stepped back and sat on a round stool, lowering her eyes as she said: “Someone will bring you medicine in the evening, remember to drink it. Tomorrow I’ve also asked Xiao Wu Brother to come help you change your dressings and wipe down. Rest well, if you need anything, just tell Xiao Wu. I heard you were originally in the same squad, it’s good to have a familiar face to look after you.”
Xie Zheng finally sensed something amiss, his handsome brows furrowing, “What do you mean?”
Fan Changyu casually made up an excuse: “The number of wounded soldiers on the mountain has increased, and the military doctors are overwhelmed. I’m going to help out as an assistant, so I won’t have time to come here. I’ve told Ning Niang to stay in her tent these couple of days and not go outside.”
Until Fan Changyu left, Xie Zheng didn’t say another word.
Fan Changyu didn’t feel very good either. She went alone to sit on a quiet, low slope and zoned out for a while.
She knew that with Yan Zheng’s proud nature, he wouldn’t lower himself to ask her to take care of him again, even if he misunderstood that she might be disgusted by his wounds, he wouldn’t ask anything more.
But she was indeed in a messy state of mind right now. Fan Changyu didn’t know what was wrong with herself. The only solution she could think of at the moment was to stay far away from Yan Zheng for now-
Gong Sun Yin spent the entire afternoon accepting the fact that the girl Xie Zheng liked was a freak just like him. When he went to discuss the upcoming battle plans with Xie Zheng, to avoid walking into a minefield, he first asked Xie Wu, who had been standing guard in the shadows, and learned that Fan Changyu had visited Xie Zheng and even changed his bandages. He thought to himself that surely this must have smoothed things over.
But as soon as he entered the tent and saw Xie Zheng’s expression, Gong Sun Yin wished he could turn around and leave immediately.
That face was like death – far from having his feathers smoothed, it was as if his ruffled feathers had been plastered down with glue!
That gaze was so cold it could form icicles!
Gong Sun Yin coughed lightly and asked: “I heard Miss Fan came by?”
As Xie Zheng’s cold, deep gaze turned towards him, Gong Sun Yin suddenly felt that the clothes he wore tonight were far too thin. The spring chill was truly bone-piercing.
He rubbed his arms and asked: “Did you two argue again? No, I went to the Fire Head Camp and said a bunch of nice things about you. Xie Jiuheng, you’re a grown man of eight feet tall, can’t you just swallow your pride and coax her a bit?”
Xie Zheng leaned back in his round chair, with unfinished official documents still laid out before him. His expression was full of gloom and self-loathing: “I apologized.”
Gong Sun Yin said: “With young ladies, of course, you need to humble yourself and coax them gently. Don’t just apologize with that sour face of yours…”
One look from Xie Zheng, and Gong Sun Yin fell silent.
After a good while, Xie Zheng finally said: “I apologized properly, and she said she wasn’t angry, but then she said she won’t be coming by anymore.”
Gong Sun Yin declared with almost complete certainty: “Isn’t it obvious she’s still angry!”
Seeing that Xie Zheng’s expression still seemed somewhat confused, Gong Sun Yin couldn’t help but say: “Aren’t all women like this, saying one thing and meaning another! When she says she’s not angry, it means she is angry! She even said she won’t be coming by for the next few days, can’t you hear what that means?”
This was the first time in Xie Zheng’s life that he liked a girl, and he didn’t understand the thoughts of young women. He asked: “How can I make her stop being angry?”
Gong Sun Yin thought for a moment and said: “Actually, Miss Fan’s anger isn’t without reason. She has excellent martial skills. Before coming here, when the news about the dam construction upstream of Jizhou was discovered by rebel scouts, she dared to cross Wuling Ridge alone on a rainy night to intercept and kill the scouts. This morning when she went hunting, she single-handedly hunted a bear and brought it back. Such valor, even among your top generals, few could match. According to Xiao Wu, Miss Fan’s decision to pursue the rebels was made after clearly understanding the enemy’s strength. Not only is she both brave and intelligent, but this action also established real military merit. You scolded her without considering any of this. How could Miss Fan not be angry?”
Fan Changyu had previously been afraid of worrying Xie Zheng and had only briefly mentioned her experiences in Jizhou. Xie Zheng didn’t know about her exploits.
Now hearing about them, and learning that she had single-handedly hunted a bear, he was not without surprise but became even more silent.
Seeing this, Gong Sun Yin sighed: “Miss Fan is no ordinary woman. I know your words that day came from concern and good intentions, but in the future, you must not treat a phoenix-like a sparrow. Although I haven’t interacted much with Miss Fan, I can sense that she’s a girl with an extremely soft heart. For now, you might consider showing some vulnerability.”
Xie Zheng’s handsome brows and eyes showed a trace of confusion: “Show vulnerability?”-
The next day, Fan Changyu indeed went to help the military doctors as she had told Xie Zheng yesterday.
The story of her seizing salt and killing a bear had spread throughout the army overnight.
As soon as she arrived at the wounded soldiers’ tent, many soldiers actively greeted her. Discovering that she was a beautiful young woman, they were even more surprised.
The military doctor, knowing Fan Changyu’s identity, didn’t dare let her bandage the wounded and instead sent her to decoct medicine.
A wounded soldier said: “It’s a pity Miss Fan isn’t a man. With Miss Fan’s martial skills, she could earn her way to being a general based on military merit alone!”
In this dynasty, there had been female generals before, but they were all from military families.
For ordinary women, even with excellent martial skills, they couldn’t even enter the military register, let alone talk about going to battle and earning military merits.
A man said: “I wonder which brother will be lucky enough to marry Miss Fan. It wouldn’t just be smoke rising from his ancestors’ graves, it would be a full-on fire!”
Someone immediately elbowed that man and said in a low voice: “What nonsense are you talking about? Miss Fan already has a husband!”
Those who didn’t know asked eagerly: “Miss Fan is married?”
Xie Seventh said he came to help, but he was mainly there to secretly protect Fan Changyu. He entered carrying a newly decocted pot of medicine, just in time to hear a group of people discussing Fan Changyu heatedly. He immediately felt angry on behalf of his master and said: “Miss Fan traveled thousands of miles to come to this mountain just to find her husband.”
A wounded soldier immediately asked: “Who is Miss Fan’s husband? Has she found him?”
Xie Seventh was about to answer proudly when a wounded soldier who had heard some rumors cut in: “She found him, but I heard he’s almost dead, just barely hanging on.”
Xie Seventh: “…”
The crowd first sighed, then began to discuss enthusiastically. Some even discreetly tidied their hair when Fan Changyu came in.
Those eager gazes seemed to be hoping that Fan Changyu’s husband, who was “just barely hanging on,” would stop struggling and pass away soon.
After leaving the wounded soldiers’ tent, Xie Seventh couldn’t resist hurrying to report to Xie Zheng-
Meanwhile, Fan Changyu had just put the medicine sent by the military doctor on to decoct when Xie Wu came rushing to find her: “Miss Fan! It’s terrible! Your husband suddenly started coughing up blood. You’d better go back and check on him quickly!”
Fan Changyu was also startled and hurriedly asked: “How is he coughing up blood?”
Xie Wu didn’t dare look Fan Changyu in the eye, only saying with a mournful face: “I don’t know either. When I went in to deliver medicine, I found him coughing with blood all over his body and bedding!”
Fan Changyu thought to herself that such severe coughing was serious indeed. She quickly called the military doctor who had previously examined Xie Zheng to go back with her to check.
The young soldier who was decocting medicine with her was the same youth she had thrown out of the siege earlier.
The youth watched Fan Changyu and the military doctor hurry away, sighing: ” Is Sister Fan’s husband going to die?”