Shao Mingyuan silently followed Qiao Zhao back to the room.

“General Shao, please sit in the chair.” Qiao Zhao stopped beside the chair and silently lifted it.

Though the beds, chairs, and other furniture on the ship were all fixed to the bulkheads and deck, some small stools and chairs could be moved flexibly.

Because this type of chair was small and lightweight, Qiao Zhao made no sound when she lifted it.

This was Shao Mingyuan’s room, and he was very familiar with the arrangement of tables and chairs inside. Knowing the chair was in this position, he immediately nodded and sat down.

Thus, the general ended up sitting directly on the floor.

The chair wasn’t high, so naturally he didn’t fall hard, but because it was so sudden, the usually calm and self-possessed general looked completely bewildered.

A hand fell on his arm, the voice heavy: “Get up.”

The young general sat motionless, asking dazedly: “You knew?”

Qiao Zhao crouched down halfway, looking at that confused and stunned handsome face. She bit her lip and asked back: “Did you think you could keep hiding it from me forever?”

Shao Mingyuan just sat on the floor without making a sound.

Qiao Zhao was furious: “Shao Mingyuan, say something!”

Did he think he could get away with it by staying silent?

Going blind and not confessing properly—did he think she could cure it?

The more Qiao Zhao thought about it, the angrier she became.

After losing his sight, Shao Mingyuan’s hearing had become especially acute. Hearing the girl beside him breathing more heavily, he knew she must be quite angry, so he hurriedly said: “I was thinking that maybe in a few days it would get better, so why say it now and make you worry—”

“Who said I’m worried?”

Shao Mingyuan was struck speechless.

Qiao Zhao looked at him feeling both angry and heartbroken. Thinking of how he couldn’t see and must be feeling desperate and helpless inside, she swallowed the harsh words that had come to her lips and softened her tone: “If you don’t tell me, that’s when I worry.”

The young general’s mood instantly soared, but thinking of his eyes, his uplifted heart sank again. Not daring to show the slightest hint of affection, he said expressionlessly: “I’m sorry, it was my fault.”

“Get up first, then we’ll talk.” Qiao Zhao reached out both hands to help him up.

Shao Mingyuan stood up and walked to sit on the bed.

Qiao Zhao pulled the chair over to sit beside him and sighed: “Drink your medicine first.”

She scooped up a spoonful of medicine with the spoon and brought it to his lips: “Open your mouth.”

Shao Mingyuan obediently opened his mouth and swallowed the medicine.

With one person feeding and one being fed, the room was very quiet.

After the last spoonful of medicine was finished, Qiao Zhao saw that Shao Mingyuan still had his mouth open, waiting. She sighed inwardly, took out her handkerchief, and wiped away the medicine residue at the corners of his mouth.

Shao Mingyuan didn’t dare move, his whole body tense.

He suddenly felt that being blind did have some unexpected benefits.

“When did you lose your sight?” Qiao Zhao asked, setting down the medicine bowl.

“After I woke up.”

“You’re quite good at hiding it.” Qiao Zhao said irritably, then fell silent again.

He had suffered a head injury that led to blindness—could it also be partly because what she had said had stimulated him too much?

Thinking this way, Qiao Zhao felt her heart grow heavy with regret.

She always forgot that he could also be hurt, could also be vulnerable. He was the renowned Northern Campaign General, but he was also an ordinary man who could bleed and cry.

Why had she gone and stimulated a patient for no good reason?

It was too late to say these things now. The urgent matter was to cure his eyes as quickly as possible.

“Let me look at your eyes.”

Qiao Zhao pulled open Shao Mingyuan’s eyelids and observed carefully, then took out silver needles to stimulate acupoints around his eyes like Cuanzhu and Jingming. Her expression grew increasingly grave.

Shao Mingyuan couldn’t see Qiao Zhao’s expression, but he could hear her breathing.

From the breathing that occasionally held still, he could guess her mood.

His eyes would probably be very difficult to heal.

Qiao Zhao silently withdrew the silver needles and gazed at the man before her.

He had opened his eyes, his long, thick eyelashes quietly curled upward, revealing pupils as pure as water.

Qiao Zhao suddenly felt her eyes growing dry.

Such beautiful eyes—what would happen if they could never see again?

She had learned medicine from Physician Li since childhood, yet she had no confidence at all about whether his eyes could be healed.

“Miss Li, how are my eyes?” Shao Mingyuan broke the silence.

Qiao Zhao opened her mouth, then pressed her lips together: “There’s nothing wrong with the appearance of your eyes. It should be blood clots in the brain compressing and blocking the meridians around your eyes, plus… plus suddenly receiving severe stimulation…”

“That’s not it.” Shao Mingyuan interrupted Qiao Zhao’s words.

Qiao Zhao looked at him.

The young general smiled faintly: “I’m thick-skinned and tough—how could I receive any severe stimulation? I was just unlucky and got knocked down by someone’s rock.”

Hearing this, Qiao Zhao felt even more uncomfortable inside.

“Miss Li, don’t overthink it. If my eyes can be treated, then treat them. Even if they can’t be healed, it doesn’t matter. I’ve discovered it’s not that hard to adapt.”

“Then who was the one who just fell on his butt on the floor?” Qiao Zhao asked.

Even at a time like this, he was still being stubborn. Didn’t he know that crying children get milk?

Uh, what was she randomly comparing?

Miss Qiao’s face inexplicably grew warm.

Shao Mingyuan lowered his eyelids and sighed softly: “Miss Li, please don’t tease me.”

Qiao Zhao raised her hand to gently massage around his eyes: “Do you plan to hide this from Brother Chi and Brother Yang?”

“No, I was planning to find an opportunity to tell them today.”

He had never intended to hide it from his two good friends, Chi Can and Yang Houcheng. He hadn’t said anything at first because he was afraid that if they knew, they wouldn’t be able to hide it from Zhaozhao…

Qiao Zhao was silent for a moment before asking: “So you were actually planning to hide it from just me alone?”

Shao Mingyuan silently lowered his eyelids.

“Shao Mingyuan, isn’t what you’re doing childish? Did you think you could hide it for a lifetime?”

“I didn’t—”

“You’re still making excuses!”

The young general silently thought: He wasn’t making excuses!

After waiting a while and seeing that Qiao Zhao had stopped talking, Shao Mingyuan explained: “I wanted to wait a few days and see first. If my eyes could see again, this matter would pass quietly without alarming others.”

“Others?” Miss Qiao raised an eyebrow.

So this bastard had kissed her, touched her, and held her, yet in his eyes, she was just “others”?

Shao Mingyuan was stunned.

It seemed he had said the wrong thing again.

“What if your eyes can’t be healed?” Qiao Zhao asked word by word.

She wouldn’t stimulate him now—she’d settle these accounts later.

If his eyes couldn’t be healed?

Shao Mingyuan thought to himself: Then, of course, I’d have to hide it from you for a lifetime.

But he said aloud, “If they never get better, of course I would tell you.”

Hearing him say this, Qiao Zhao felt somewhat better, but then her mood grew heavy again.

She had no confidence in being able to heal his eyes.

Rather, whether Shao Mingyuan’s eyes could recover depended more on luck.

Head injuries were truly the most complex situation. Perhaps only if Grandfather Li were still here would there be better methods.

She couldn’t help thinking of the craniotomy method mentioned in the medical book Physician Li had left behind, and cold sweat broke out on her palms.

Compared to the danger of that method, she would rather accept the fact that his eyes couldn’t see.

“Brother Shao, don’t worry. If the blood clots in your brain, disperse, your eyes will recover.”