Chapter 424 : A Life Is On The Line (2)

Looking at the exhausted Yuxi, Mama Qu said, “Madam, since you’re tired, go and rest!” Usually, when a tired person worked until one got exhausted, one could rest and recover. But Yuxi was currently pregnant, so it would be bad for the child in her belly if she were overworked.

Yuxi nodded her head. “Has everyone else been settled in?”

Mama Qu replied, “Madam, Steward Han will take care of these people. Don’t you trust Steward Han’s work? You should rest now.” For the past few days, she had been on tenterhooks, worrying that Yuxi would suddenly have stomach pain and her child would be born prematurely.

Yuxi also knew what was important and nodded at these words. “Then I’ll go back and rest.” She really couldn’t hold on any longer.

When Zijin brought the medicine to the front yard, the physician Xu Wu requested had just arrived. When the physician saw Huo Changqing’s condition, he didn’t dare to do anything. How could he save a man that was already in this state?

When Xu Wu saw the physician’s reaction, he could only put his hopes on Master Yang. Master Yang was not annoyed seeing the physician’s response. After all, he had never studied medicine seriously. All he knew was what had been passed down through his family.

When Han Ji noticed that Xu Wu had told the physician to return home, he was slightly exasperated. How dumb could this person be? He requested the physician to attend to the other seriously wounded soldiers instead. As for the lightly injured ones, the other residents helped clean their wounds and then administered medicine to them. It was good that a lot of wound medicine had been prepared in residence beforehand, and it all came in handy at this time.

Yuxi did not sleep soundly and woke up at dawn. When she woke up, she asked Mama Qu, “How is Uncle Huo? Has he woken up yet?”

Mama Qu shook her. “Not yet. Madam, you’d better have breakfast before you go over there!” Mama Qu was worried that Yuxi would lose her appetite after visiting the wounded Huo Changqing.

Zijin also urged Yuxi, “Madam, the breakfast is ready. It won’t take you long. Besides, you still have to eat for the child’s sake, even if you don’t want to!”

On this point, Yuxi was very cooperative. Even if she had no appetite, she would still eat to her heart’s content. “Let them bring in the breakfast!”

After finishing her breakfast, Yuxi went to the front yard with her big belly. When she entered the room, she looked at Huo Changqing, whose whole body was wrapped in a white cloth, and asked, “This is?”

Xu Wu responded, “Yesterday, Master Yang cleaned up Yifu1’s wounds and then applied medicine to them.” Because Huo Changqing had so many injuries on his body, he ended up looking like this.

Yuxi asked, “What did Master Yang say?”

Xu Wu replied sullenly, “Master Yang said that if Yifu1 could wake up within three days, he would live.” If he could not, then he would be gone forever.

Yuxi looked at Huo Changqing, who was still lying unconscious on the bed, and said, “I’m sure he wouldn’t leave Yun Qing and you guys behind just like that. He’ll wake up soon.” Yun Qing’s illness was not yet cured. Without Huo Changqing, Yuxi couldn’t even imagine what would become of Yun Qing. So it wasn’t a wind from an empty cave2 that Yun Qing was rumoured to be a murderous devil in her previous life.

Xu Wu nodded. “I also believe that Yifu1 will be able to wake up soon.”

Yuxi said, “The kitchen is boiling ginseng soup, and it will be brought over here when it’s ready. We have to feed it to him then.” If Huo Changqing didn’t eat or drink all the time, his body wouldn’t be able to hold up.

Xu Wu had difficulty proceeding with it as he asked, “Madam, Yifu1 is in a coma. How can he drink it?” They couldn’t force it into him!

Yuxi said, “If he can’t drink it, then just pour it into him. It’s best to find a tube and let the ginseng soup flow down through it. If he eats something, he may be able to wake up faster.” Pouring it through a tube would make the patient suffer a little, but it would not be wasted. Since she had used a little bit of that ginseng, she couldn’t bear wasting it.

Xu Wu also did not think that Yuxi was cruel, and she would only use extraordinary methods in extraordinary times, so he finally nodded. “Yes, I will do as Madam said later.”

Hearing this agreement, Yuxi said, “It’s better to let Yan Yiyi come and take care of Uncle Huo.” As far as she was concerned, an adult man like Xu Wu was usually careless and did not have the attentiveness of a woman.

Xu Wu was a little hesitant. He didn’t trust Yan Yiyi much. Now that his yifu1’s life was hanging by a thread, in case Yan Yiyi had any disturbing thoughts of harming his yifu1, even if there were ten Yan Yiyi, they would not be enough to pay for it.

Seeing this reaction, Yuxi said, “Then, I’ll let Shiliu come and take care of Uncle Huo.” Shiliu had served her for some time and was an attentive maid. Of course, the most important thing was that Shiliu was downright reliable.

Xu Wu would have no more hesitation with this suggestion. It was undoubtedly fine if the person was from the people around Madam. Xu Wu did not trust Yan Yiyi, and it was not that Yan Yiyi had done anything but that her identity was rather sensitive.

Yuxi had studied pharmacology, and although she had little practical experience, she had a lot of theoretical knowledge and explained to Shiliu many things that needed her full attention. Xu Wu, standing on the sidelines, was so busy listening that his head started to spin. How could someone remember so many things at once?

After explaining to Shiliu, Yuxi went to the bedside and said towards Huo Changqing, “Uncle Huo, you must wake up early. If anything happens to you, Yun Qing will go crazy. Even for Yun Qing’s sake, you must wake up, Uncle Huo!” Tears came back to Yuxi’s eyes as she spoke of Yun Qing, who was nowhere to be found. Her tears have been falling even more often lately, and she simply couldn’t control them.

When Master Yang came in from outside and noticed Yuxi in tears, he told her off with a scowling frown, “Didn’t I tell you not to come over? Why won’t you listen?”

Yuxi wiped her tears and replied, “I couldn’t set my mind at ease.”

Master Yang said, “You’ve done what you should and shouldn’t do; the rest is up to Huo Changqing himself.” Huo Changqing would naturally survive if he were meant to live this life, but if King Yan wanted to take him in, there was nothing anyone could do.

After saying this, Master Yang told Zijin, “Hurry up and help her back. This place is not for her to be.”

Knowing that Master Yang was doing this for her good, Yuxi choked up as she expressed her gratitude, “Master Yang, thank you so much for this time.” If it weren’t for Master Yang, Huo Changqing would have died.

Master Yang started to lose his patience when he heard these words. “Go away! Don’t chatter here. It will only give people a headache!” He preferred to see Yuxi’s shrewd and capable appearance and was not used to seeing such a delicate and pitiful look on her.

When Yuxi had gone out, Master Yang reminded Xu Wu, “When Yun Qing returns, tell him that if he lets Han Girl down in the future, Heavens will not just stand by and watch him get away with it.” Usually, husbands were responsible for protecting their wives from the wind and rain, but Yun Qing did it even better. Not to mention safeguarding his own wife; no one even knew where he was right now! Not only did he make his wife afraid of telling everyone how worried she was, but he also left all the mess to his pregnant wife. Fortunately, Han Girl was a tough one. Otherwise, they would have lost two lives in one body long ago.

Hearing this reminder, Xu Wu promised, “Don’t worry. My General will not let his wife down.” He was confident that his General would not disappoint his wife.

Yuxi went back to the backyard, drank two sips of water, and then instructed Mama Qu, “Please ask the person who led Uncle Huo here yesterday to come in. I have something to ask him.”

Mama Qu was a little hesitant. “Madam, leave these matters to Xu Wu and the others! Madam, you’d better take care of your pregnancy!”

Yuxi shook her head. “Now that I don’t know anything because I can’t see everything with my own eyes, my heart can’t be free from anxiety. Once I know how it has come to this, I can at least feel more at ease.” How could she feel at ease after seeing Huo Changqing return in such a state and Yun Qing was nowhere to be found?

Since Mama Qu couldn’t change Yuxi’s mind, she had no choice but to go out and call for someone.

Shang Da came to see Yuxi half a shichen3 later. He couldn’t help that he hadn’t bathed for more than half a month, and his clothes still smelled strongly of blood. Since he was going to meet with Yuxi, he had to clean himself first. It took nearly half a shichen3 to wash himself up and change into clean clothes completely.

When Shang Da finally saw Yuxi, he gave her a big salute. “I thank you, Madam, on behalf of all the brothers.” All twenty or so of them, whether seriously or lightly injured, were well taken care of. Not only did they get a physician to treat their wounds, but they were also given good medicine for them to use. In addition, a sumptuous evening meal was also served. Therefore, Shang Da was grateful for such thorough care.

Yuxi shook her head. “These are what I should do. You don’t need to be so polite. What I want to know now is what led to the destruction of the 20,000 troops of the Dingbei Army?”

When Shang Da heard Yuxi’s question, a resentful gaze erupted in his eyes. “After our army confronted the northern barbarians, the General realised something was wrong. The northern barbarians’ vanguard army was not 50,000 but 80,000. Moreover, the vanguard army general was Agu, who had led an army of 40,000 to attack our 20,000.”

Hearing this explanation, Yuxi pointed out, “That’s not right either. It’s not as if your General is incapable of being flexible. Knowing Agu had brought 40,000 men to fight his 20,000, it’s impossible that he didn’t retreat.” If they had retreated, it would not have been possible for the whole army to be wiped out.

When Shang Da heard this, a look of grief and anger appeared on his face. “Madam, the General ordered a retreat as soon as he saw that the situation was not right. But when we retreated, we realised that the enemy’s army was also behind us. We, the Dingbei Army, had been surrounded by the enemies.”

Yuxi’s hand shook, and she couldn’t help but grip the arm of her chair. What she feared most had happened. The battle plan and the army’s route had been leaked. It would be strange if the enemy did not wipe out the whole army.

Seeing that Yuxi’s face did not look right, Zijin reminded her, “Madam, you must not forget what Mama Xi said. The child may be prematurely born if you have too many mood swings.” People said a premature baby born in the seventh month could survive, while one born at eight months wouldn’t be easy to do4. Madam’s pregnancy was currently exactly eight months old. If the baby were born prematurely right now, it would not be able to continue to live.

Yuxi put her hand on her stomach and whispered a few words. Even Zijin, standing beside her, did not know what she was saying, not to mention Shang Da, who was far away.

Shang Da was also in a sweat. He was so angry that he had forgotten that Madam was still pregnant! If anything happened to her, it wouldn’t be hard to blame him for her death.

Once Yuxi regained her composure, she asked Shang Da, “When was the last time you saw the General?” Seeing Shang Da’s hesitation, Yuxi said, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.” There could not have been worse news than what she had just heard.

Shang Da answered, “The last time I saw the General was three days ago.” Everyone didn’t realise that Yun Qing had left that night, but they knew as soon as they saw Duan Quan the following day. It was just that everyone didn’t complain about it. Only when the General was alive could he avenge his dead brothers.

Yuxi’s hand squeezed her sleeve tightly as she requested, “Please tell me what you know in detail.”

Shang Da told Yuxi in detail what he knew, and when he had finished, he said, “Madam, the General is very familiar with the terrain in that area, so he will certainly be fine. If not, Huo Daren would not have let the General leave.”

Yuxi nodded at his words. “Yes, I also believe that the General will be fine.” The situation at that time was safer for Yun Qing to take off from his team.