Chapter 446 : The Struggle (3)

When Yuxi woke up, it was already half a shichen1 later, and the first thing she asked was, “How is Guo Xun?”

Mama Qu replied, “The physician has seen him and given him medicine. His life is not in danger, but he will have to recuperate for a while.” Guo Xun’s injuries were not as serious as Huo Changqing’s, and because he was young, his condition was much better.

Yuxi nodded for a moment and asked, “How is Zisu doing?”

Mama Qu responded, “I talked to her for a while and finally got through to her. She is now watching over Guard Guo!” Mama Qu’s words were not as tactful as those of Yuxi and Zijin. Mama Qu told Zijin directly that although Guo Xun was now handicapped, his status was different from that of an ordinary soldier. Even with his current condition, the General would still take care of him in the future. Therefore, if Zisu still wanted to be with Guo Xun, she would have to take good care of him. If she didn’t want to continue their marriage, then she could make as much trouble as she wanted!

Of course, Mama Qu had also told Zisu about the consequences of divorcing Guo Xun. Although Zisu was Yuxi’s personal maid, the one with whom Yuxi had a deeper relationship than the others, if she dared to break up with Guo Xun, she would definitely be hated by Yun Qing. Even Yuxi could not protect her. After all, Yun Qing had the final say in the Yun Residence. If Zisu was hated by her family master, how could she survive outside? If she wanted to avoid a dead end2, she should live honestly with Guo Xun. But Mama Qu would never tell such a thing to Yuxi.

Yuxi breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s good that she can finally figure it out.” If Zisu still couldn’t get over it, there would definitely be a lot of conflicts by then.

Mama Qu said, “Madam doesn’t need to worry. It will be fine when they have a child.” When a woman had a child, she would become more steadfast.

Yuxi hmmed.

That evening, Yuxi received the news that Da Nainai3 Fu and Fu Qingluo’s party had returned. Upon hearing this information, Yuxi commented, “The others should return as well.” Now that Yu City was safe, those who had left would naturally return.

Zijin bristled as she said, “She talked so big before, but when it came time to ask for her help, she couldn’t even be found. Now that it’s peaceful again, she’s reappeared.” Zijin now despised Fu Qingluo. What Fu Qingluo used to say was all pleasant to hear, but when it came the time to use her, one would be thrown off balance.

Yuxi asked, “If it were you, which one do you think is more important, killing the enemy or protecting your family?” People were generally selfish. If Yuxi were in Fu Qingluo’s position, she would definitely make the same choice.T

/C

Zijin was still scornful of Fu Qingluo. “I know she hasn’t done anything wrong, but I just don’t like her because she doesn’t practise what she preaches.” Of course, if Fu Qingluo hadn’t said anything earlier, Zijin wouldn’t have complained about it.

Yuxi nodded and said, “So, to be a righteous person, it’s better to do more than talk more. People like Fu Qingluo had great ambitions, but they never put them into practice, and all the words they said became empty words and lies.

Da Nainai3 Fu’s trip to the provincial capital with her children was also a thrilling one. Even after returning to Yu City, Da Nainai3 Fu was still in shock. “On the way, we met several groups of robbers. I heard that Tongzhi5 Xia’s wife had been robbed by bandits and had no money left. Fortunately, Qingluo knows martial arts, and those robbers didn’t dare hit us. Otherwise, there’s no telling what would have happened!” It wasn’t as if there weren’t robbers who would have attacked Da Nainai3 Fu and her party, but Fu Qingluo was pretty good at martial arts and had more than ten guards around her who listened to her, so the robbers gave up once they saw that they were tough people. After all, without Grandma Fu, there were other fat sheep6 they could rob, so there was no need to risk their lives fighting them.

Fu Tianlei said, “If I had known, I wouldn’t have let you guys leave.”

Da Nainai3 Fu said with a wry smile, “Who would have known!” The situation was so dangerous that she didn’t dare to stay. Once the city was destroyed, the whole family would have to die together.

Speaking of staying behind, Da Nainai3 Fu asked, “I heard that Han Shi did a lot of things in Yu City during the crisis. What could a woman with a big belly like her do?” Fu Tianlei also wanted to ask Da Nainai3 Fu to take Yuxi with her then, but Yuxi politely refused. Da Nainai3 Fu was actually relieved at the time, as fleeing for her life with a pregnant woman could increase the danger.

Fu Tianlei shook his head and told her what Yuxi had done. “Speaking of which, Han Shi is truly amazing, and now her reputation in Yu City is second to none.” He admired Yuxi in his heart, but for him, such a woman could only be watched from a distance but not approached, or else he would feel timid.

Da Nainai3 Fu’s mouth twitched a few times. She hadn’t expected Han Shi to be so busy, even with her pregnant belly. At that moment, she commented, “She is not afraid of losing the child by being too active.”

Fu Tianlei rebuked her with a somewhat unpleasant expression, “How could you talk like that?” No matter what, Yun Qing was also his good brother, and his wife cursed his good brother for losing his child, causing him to be upset.

Da Nainai3 Fu’s face froze. She had been scared lately, and her temper had flared. Those words were not something she would normally say. Da Nainai3 Fu also knew her husband’s temper, so she quickly changed the subject. “It is God’s blessing that Yun Qing, who has been missing for so many days, has returned home safely.”

This sentence was what Fu Tianlei liked to hear. “Not only that, but he also burned the northern barbarians’ food supplies. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have retreated so quickly, and we still don’t know if Yu City can be saved.”

Da Nainai3 Fu’s eyes widened in awe. Even under such circumstances, Yun Qing still managed to make a worthy contribution. Before Da Nainai3 Fu could say anything else, Fu Qingluo rushed in.

Fu Qingluo turned to Fu Tianlei and shouted, “Ge7, I heard that Zijin went to the city tower to kill the enemy. Is this true?” Upon hearing this news, she rushed over to Fu Tianlei to confirm it.

Fu Tianlei complained bitterly in his heart. He didn’t know who hadn’t kept their mouths shut and told his meimei8 about it. They had just put him in an awkward position.

Fu Qingluo grabbed Fu Tianlei’s arm and asked, “Ge7, is this true? Tell me quickly, is it true or not?”

Although Fu Tianlei hated to admit it, he did not want to lie to his meimei. “It’s true, at that time, that maid disguised herself as a man and followed her fiancé up to the city platform to kill the enemy.” Fu Tianlei felt that Yu Zhi was really broad-minded, to take his wife to kill the enemy. It was hard not to admire him for that.T

/C

Fu Qingluo’s eyes widened as she asked, “How did they get up to the city platform?” This matter was very important. Not to mention the war, even ordinary people could not get onto the city platform so easily.

Fu Tianlei replied, “It was one of the guards from the Yun Residence who took them up there.” This was tantamount to saying that it had been approved by Yuxi.

Fu Qingluo’s fists were clenched tightly as she asked, “Ge7, I heard from the subordinates that they found out Zijin’s identity that very night. Why did they still let her go up to the city platform to kill the enemy after that?”

Fu Tianlei touched his nose and said, “Because that maid was very skilled in martial arts and had killed sixty to seventy enemy troops by herself in just one day. General Zhao thought she was a talent and decided to keep her around.” As far as Fu Tianlei knew, this Zijin had killed more than four hundred northern barbarians in four days. That was a remarkable feat. Even he might not be able to kill that many.

After saying this, Fu Tianlei looked at Fu Qing Luo. “Speaking of which, the last time you sparred with that person, you had the upper hand, and that was because she gave in to you.” That maid’s martial arts skills were not inferior to his, so how could she have lost to Qingluo.

Fu Qingluo said, “Ge7, in the future, I will also go to the battlefield to kill the enemy.” Since Zijin could go to the battlefield to kill the enemy, she could do the same. With that as a precedent, nothing could stop her.

Her statement gave Fu Tianlei to have a headache.

The day after Guo Xun’s return, General Zhao came to visit. He had come to ask for Yun Qing’s help with things in Yu City, but Yun Qing politely refused.

General Zhao didn’t know what medicine Yun Qing was selling in his gourd10 when he said, “Yun Qing, you can’t just leave those soldiers alone!” Actually, it was not that he was too busy. It was that General Zhao mainly felt that Yun Qing’s attitude was strange and wanted to come over to find out what was going on.

Yun Qing replied, “General Zhao, it’s not that I don’t want to, but my injury hasn’t healed yet. When it does, I will definitely not postpone what I should do.”

Of course, Yun Qing would reject General Zhao so dryly because he also felt that General Zhao’s words were a bit exaggerated. There were indeed many things that needed to be done after the war, but with so many people in Yu City, how could General Zhao be too busy?

General Zhao looked at Yun Qing suspiciously, and asked, “Your injury hasn’t healed yet? Where did you get injured?” There was nothing unusual about Yun Qing’s body when he looked at it.

Yun Qing laughed bitterly. “This is an old injury of mine that has returned, and it hurts like hell. Master Yang said that if I don’t take good care of my body, I will only be able to live for a few more years. General Zhao, I have a family now, and my life is no longer the same. I have to heal this old wound for their sake, not for my own.” With a wife and a child came responsibility, and he could no longer play with his life as he had before.

It was not that Yun Qing was talking nonsense. Of course, it was Yuxi who said those words, not Master Yang. She didn’t mean that he would only live for a few more years, but that his illness had worsened. If he didn’t treat it now, it would be incurable in the future. Yun Qing didn’t want to be a madman. He cooperated very well during this time. Not only did he obey the order to take three medicinal baths every day, he also read various books, talked to Yuxi, and then spent his time chatting with Master Yang and Huo Changqing. Well, it was very boring, but he persisted. After half a month, it was obvious that he felt much more relaxed than before.

As a veteran general, no one knew better than him what kind of pain those old wounds could cause, so he asked joyfully, “That Master Yang in your residence, can he cure even old wounds?” If Master Yang really had this ability, General Zhao would have to ask this master to heal him, even if it would cost him a great deal.

Yun Qing said, “Soaking in the medicinal baths can drive out the hidden dangers buried in the body. Master Yang said that it was lucky that I was still young. If I had waited a few years later, even the medicinal bath would have been useless.” The medicinal baths had been prepared by Yuxi, not by Master Yang. It was just that Yun Qing did not want people to know that Yuxi had such a skill, so he borrowed Master Yang’s reputation. Anyway, those who knew about this were the inner circle, and it wasn’t difficult to hide the news.

General Zhao was a little disappointed, but this was also a personal fate. That Master Yang was eccentric. Even if he had a way, he might not use it to save him. “Then when will you get better?”

Yun Qing said, “For the first month, I soaked three times a day. In the second month, I only need to do it once a day, and there’s still about half a month to go!”

Hearing this, General Zhao’s heart was at ease.