CH 66

The team traveled at night and rested during the day. After walking like this for three days, the dry rations and water had almost been exhausted. The people and horses had been very active during this time and had lost a lot of strength, gritting their teeth to continue forward.

Zhao Yelan looked at the map and said: “We’ll be in Pi County soon, and there will be someone there to meet us. Everyone, take heart.”

“When we return to the capital, the Emperor will be sure to reward us all generously,” Yan Mingting said to boost morale.

Everyone gazed exhaustedly at the endless road. Yin Pinglu was holding onto the reins with her last breath, and Zhao Yelan even moreso. Of the entire team, the two of them with the least physical fitness had reached their limits.

Yan Mingting looked down and saw that he was faint and muddle-headed, having obviously only slept for a while when they rested. He said worriedly, “Mengting, let’s talk about something.”

“About what?” Zhao Yelan asked weakly.

“Tell me about your childhood. I want to know, what were you like when you were young?”

“When I was young?” Zhao Yelan looked up at the sun that was close to setting in the distance. The sun at dusk was like a salted egg yolk, reminding him of a time in his youth when he sat in the courtyard and watched the sunset.

“My father usually liked to recite and compose poems. One time he was reading under a magnificent sunset near dusk. My mother said, ‘the sunset is beautiful, like porridge with egg yolks, let’s eat salted egg yolks tonight.’”

Yan Mingting couldn’t help laughing: “Then do you like salted egg yolks?”

“I don’t.” The corners of Zhao Yelan’s mouth twitched. “So I had to recite one policy theory and ten poems to change to a different kind of food.”

“What food did you end up switching to?”

“….Salted duck eggs.”

Yan Mingting laughed out loud: “That is considered a change?”

“It couldn’t be helped, there were only salted duck eggs left at home. I ate the egg whites and they ate the yolks. They also joked that I wouldn’t eat good food.”

“You are able to eat a lot of good things now.”

“Yes.” Zhao Yelan gazed far into the distance. “I want to taste all the delicious things in the world, and wear all the beautiful clothes.”

Yan Mingting nodded his head.

“What about you?” Zhao Yelan had nearly lost the strength to speak, and just wanted to hear him go on.

“Me, ah, I was a naughty child, and often secretly ran out of the capital. My mother couldn’t control me, and tossed me into the military camp in a fit of anger. Then I regretted it. How nice the capital was, ah, why go to the frontier and suffer? I cried and threw a fit, ah, but my father was indifferent.”

Zhao Yelan had thought he was born with a love for family and country. Hearing this put a smile in his eyes. It turned out that when he was a child, he didn’t know the meaning of life and death, or the principles of the world.

“How did you throw a fit?” Zhao Yelan asked curiously.

“I just rolled around and made a scene. Sometimes my father would summon his subordinates to the big tent to witness how I jumped up and down, it was so humiliating,” Yan Mingting sighed.

Zhao Yelan smiled slightly: “Then why didn’t you give up and run away?”

“Because I couldn’t escape at all, so I practiced hard with them and waited for the day when I could defeat my father and all of them with my own hands, and then return to the capital proudly,” Yan Mingting said.

“And after? Why did you stay on the frontier?”

“My father had a subordinate who looked big and brawny. Every time I tried to escape, he was responsible for catching me, and I couldn’t beat him in a fight. I suffered a lot of losses because of him. Then one time, my father was on the front lines when the rear battalion was ambushed, and several poisoned arrows were shot at me. I was unharmed because that big fellow stood in the way behind me. Not only him, but several people who usually guarded me strictly rushed over to protect me.”

Zhao Yelan didn’t feel that his mind was muddled or drowsy at all, and subconsciously held onto one of his hands.

“I was sitting in front of his tomb, ah, and I thought, was it because I had a good birth? Born in the General’s Mansion, everyone regarded me as a second father to respect and shield, but what could I do for them?”

“Do you know how important the three words “Yan Mingting” are in the hearts of the common people?”

Yan Mingting lowered his eyes to gaze at his side profile. His eyelashes were like crow’s feathers, fanning his heart again and again. He smiled and asked: “Then what is in your heart?”

Zhao Yelan remained silent.

Yan Mingting stopped asking questions and focused on watching the road. Then, he heard Zhao Yelan’s hoarse but determined voice: “In the past, I only had my parents in my heart. From now on, I will only have you alone. What do you think?”

Yan Mingting suddenly felt that death would be worth it. His heart was a burning ball of fire, so hot that it seemed to explode, the flames spreading to all his vital organs.

“Mengting.”

“En.”

“Zhao Mengting.”

“En?” Zhao Yelan turned around hesitantly, and was greeted by a stormy kiss.

He inwardly rejoiced that they were some distance from the line behind them. Perhaps no one had noticed their movements. There was a sudden pain on his lip as Yan Mingting seemed to intend to punish him for being inattentive. This urgent bite made Zhao Yelan bite back vindictively, affection mixed with desire to tear him to the bone.

Without the restraint of its handler, the horse walked casually off to the side, and no one remarked upon them leaving the team. Zhao Yelan feared falling, so he reflexively hugged the other’s waist. His neck felt sore after leaning back for a while, but just as he tried to back out, the other party leaned down and pecked kisses all the way.

Zhao Yelan couldn’t help but laugh out loud: “Do you know what you look like right now?”

“I know.” Yan Mingting looked into his eyes. “A poor man who has a piece of fatty meat but can’t eat it.”

“……” Zhao Yelan glared at him. “Who is fatty meat?”

“Then……no meat?”

“You can shut up, ba.”

While speaking, a drop of water fell on Zhao Yelan’s face. Yan Mingting reached out a hand to wipe it off and was suddenly taken aback, looking at him blankly.

The two of them looked up at the same time and couldn’t figure out what was going on at all. Zhao Yelan couldn’t help stretching out his hand, and several moments later, a few more drops of water landed on it.

“Is it…..raining?” Zhao Yelan looked at him incredulously and put a hand on his face. “Is it rain?”

“Yes, I also got it on my head,” Yan Mingting said happily.

The others seemed to have noticed it too, and stopped one after another, looking up and around until the rain stained their faces. Then they began to shout wildly one after another.

“It’s raining! Amazing, it’s raining!”

Everyone got off their horses. Some hugged each other and screamed for joy, some wept on the spot, and some drank the rainwater with their mouths open.

Zhao Yelan also stretched out his hands, feeling the cold water soaking his clothes, and laughed from the bottom of his heart. He looked sideways at Yan Mingting: “It’s raining.”

“En, it’s raining.” Yan Mingting smiled and embraced him. “How wonderful.”

Everyone yelled in the rain for a while. Yan Mingting asked them to go shelter in the forest for a while, but they wanted to continue on their way. Even if it was raining, it didn’t matter. This was the rain that they hadn’t seen in a very long time.

“Then let’s go,” Zhao Yelan said in a low voice. “Let’s stop wasting time here and arrive earlier so we can rest earlier.”

Yan Mingting had no choice but to order the team to continue marching in the rain, but he glanced at Zhao Yelan from time to time, worried that he would be affected by the rainy weather and catch a cold.

Fortunately, Zhao Yelan seemed to be very pleased with the rain tonight. One hand was stretched out at all times, and the rainwater flowed down his palm to his fingers, then dropped down to moisten the ground.

Half an hour later, they finally arrived in Pi County. The remaining people of Pi County were rushing outside, and some of the residents knelt down to thank the heavens. Seeing someone approaching, they moved out of the way, but someone recognized them and shouted: “Zhao-daren and General Yan are here!”

“The Living Bodhisattvas are here!”

“Zhao-daren and General Yan brought the rain!”

“Thank you, my lords!”

Yan Mingting quickly explained to them: “We aren’t Living Bodhisattvas, and the rain isn’t from us. It is from the heavens.”

“Thank you, thank you.” The people on the sidelines wept with joy. “My children have been safely sent to Quzhou, and we will pick them up in a few days. If it weren’t for you, my children might have long since passed.”

“Heaven helps good people.” As Yan Mingting spoke, he suddenly realized that Zhao Yelan hadn’t said a word. He looked down and saw the other party leaning into his arms with closed eyes and a pale face. Suddenly panicked, Yan Mingting said, “Yelan? Mengting, Zhao Mengting…..wake up!”

The horse neighed as Yan Mingting embraced him with one arm, quickly riding toward the government office.

The people behind didn’t know what had happened, and had to immediately follow.

As soon as they arrived at the government office, they saw Wang Guisheng coming out holding an umbrella, happily telling the servants beside him: “Tell everyone to hurry up and store water.”

“Wang Guisheng.” Yan Mingting reined in the horse. “Go and call a doctor.”

“General Yan, you’re…..what’s wrong with my lord?” Wang Guisheng hurried forward to help him.

After dismounting, Yan Mingting carried the man down and rushed inside: “Go call a doctor and get some hot water ready.”

Wang Guisheng immediately ordered someone to boil hot water and followed anxiously: “But there are no more doctors in the city, they were all evacuated.”

Wang Guisheng took them to the wing room in the back courtyard, and Yan Mingting put Zhao Yelan on the bed. He touched his forehead and found that it was very hot, but just didn’t know if he had other symptoms of infection.

“General Yan, let me have a look.” Yin Pinglu had run in after hearing the news.

Zuo Ran echoed: “Yin Pinglu used to treat me when I was sick. She has read many medical books.”

“It is up to you,” Yan Mingting said.

Yin Pinglu walked to the side and felt his pulse for a while. She pressed on his chest and observed his face, then said: “It is likely caused by overexertion and the rain. He should take a good rest and stop running about.”

He had just recovered from the heat stroke last time, and was on the road day and night. Then it had rained for so long tonight, making things worse.

“The doctors are gone, but is there still a pharmacy here?” Yin Pinglu asked Wang Guisheng. “Can I go see if there is any medicine I can use?”

“There is, I’ll ask someone to take you there.” Wang Guisheng found a person familiar with the local area to take her to the pharmacy to retrieve medicine.

Wang Guisheng gave orders to his servants while keeping an eye on the situation here. As soon as he turned his head, he saw Yan Mingting crouched beside the bed, holding his hand and staring at him wordlessly, a little too quiet.

Full of doubts, Wang Guisheng didn’t dare disturb them for the time being.

After a while, the water was ready. Yan Mingting closed the door and bathed Zhao Yelan himself. After removing all of his clothes, he carried him to the water and wiped Zhao Yelan’s body with a handkerchief.

Zhao Yelan was so pale. Even in the summer drought when all the men were shirtless, he would wear clothes to preserve a bit of dignity, so his body was as fair as ever.

But Yan Mingting didn’t have any extra colorful thoughts at this time, and bathed him very seriously. While rubbing his back, he stopped suddenly and looked down at it. There was a bumpy imprint above his waist, and after a long pause, Yan Mingting looked up at the unconscious man in disbelief.

Was this why he was never allowed to look at his back?

He started to tremble, and was about to touch the mark, but he stopped abruptly. Thinking that this was the reason for his bad temper and audaciousness, the dignified general’s eyes began to redden inexplicably.

Zhao Yelan began to move again at this time, and opened his eyes with a splitting headache to find himself soaking in a wooden tub. Subconsciously leaning against the side, he looked up in surprise: “What are you doing?”

“Take a bath first and then rest.” Yan Mingting blinked and the mist vanished from his eyes, but there was still a trace of redness.

“What’s wrong with you?” Zhao Yelan asked hoarsely.

“Nothing, I’m just worried for your health,” Yan Mingting answered.

Just as Zhao Yelan wanted to smile, he suddenly noticed that he was soaking naked in the tub. He leaned back a little more, wishing he could stick directly to the side, and cast him a vigilant look: “Did you see something you shouldn’t have seen?”

“You mean…..that?” Intentionally or not, Yan Mingting glanced at his lap. “Then I did see it.”

“……” Zhao Yelan asked uncertainly, “Anything else?”

“I just put you in, and you woke up. I haven’t done anything yet.” As Yan Mingting spoke, he looked wronged.

Zhao Yelan inwardly breathed a sigh of relief and observed his expression carefully. If the other party had seen it, he would definitely be curious and ask him about it. But since Yan Mingting didn’t, he gradually relaxed and rubbed his temples: “You go out, ba, I’ll wash myself.”

“Your head is dizzy, I worry about you being alone.”

“Then you call Xiao Gao in.”

Zhao Yelan confronted him for a long moment, thinking that the other party would come up with something to stay and watch him wash, but Yan Mingting actually agreed, getting up to go outside and ask Xiao Gao to come and serve him.

Yan Mingting stood guard outside the door, silently listening to the sounds of water inside with dark eyes and a stuffy nose.

“General, why are you here? Is my lord asleep?” Wang Guisheng asked, coming over.

“He’s still taking a bath.” Yan Mingting saw that he was holding a bowl in his hand. “Is the medicine ready?”

“En, this is for Zhao-daren.” Wang Guisheng handed him the bowl. “Miss Yin boiled a lot, so I’ve shared a bowl with everyone. General, do you want some?”

“No need.”

Wang Guisheng saw that he was still stuck in place after taking the medicine bowl, and was a little uncertain about what kind of feelings he bore for Zhao Yelan.

“If there is nothing else, you can go back first. Don’t worry about things here,” Yan Mingting said.

Wang Guisheng left uneasily.

The door opened again, and Xiao Gao came out to say that his lord had already laid down. Yan Mingting just went in with the bowl, and after feeding the medicine to him, he took off his clothes and lay in bed, drawing him into his arms. He rubbed his head against the other’s neck as if to ingratiate himself and show his love.

Zhao Yelan was very sleepy at first, but after being teased by him, he said with a slight smile: “Are you going to let me rest?”

“I will.” Yan Mingting hugged him tightly. “This way you will heal quickly.”

It was still raining, and everyone was busy collecting water and cheering. Yan Mingting asked in his ear: “Are you still afraid?”

Zhao Yelan knew that he was asking if he was afraid of rainy days.

He thought about it carefully, and could only think of his experiences these days in the other party’s company. He shook his head.

“That’s good. Go to sleep, ba.”

Yan Mingting’s whispering voice seemed to have magical properties, and Zhao Yelan fell into a drowsy sleep in an instant.

Yan Mingting stared at his face, then solemnly and devoutly planted a kiss on his forehead.

In the afternoon of the next day, Zhao Yelan’s condition improved. His head was no longer muddled, and he was able to get out of bed.

The others were all sent outside by Yan Mingting to check on the situation after the rain. Yan Mingting came in with food for him, watched over him as he finished eating, and then ran to the kitchen to cook the medicine himself.

After a while, Wang Guisheng snuck into the room and said: “Zhao-daren.”

“What is it?” Zhao Yelan asked with his head propped up.

Wang Guisheng couldn’t help being stunned for a moment at the sight of his sickly yet elegant appearance, and a sentence sprung to mind – a delicate sick beauty.

With a glance outside, he saw that no one was coming and asked in a whisper: “Taking the liberty to inquire, what is the relationship between you and the General now?”

Zhao Yelan raised his eyes: “Why are you asking this?”

“Because I honestly can’t tell.” Wang Guisheng frowned. “Like this morning, he has been guarding your bedside, taking care of you in every possible way. If you moved, he would observe for a long time to see if you were awake, and would wipe your sweat for you and cover you with a blanket.”

Zhao Yelan raised his eyebrows: “What else?”

“He held your hand the whole time without coming back to his senses.”

A smile appeared at the corners of Zhao Yelan’s lips. “En, what else?”

“He still…..” Wang Guisheng quickly stopped. “Wait, I need to tell you another thing. I fear we have been deceived by his illusion.”

“Illusion?” Zhao Yelan frowned slightly. “What do you mean by that?”

“When I left the capital, I heard a rumor that General Yan had an affair with Fu Qian in Jiangnan!” Wang Guisheng said in a hushed tone.

Zhao Yelan: “……”

Wang Guisheng: “This story has been widely spread. Do you know about anything that happened in Jiangnan?”

“It isn’t so, could it be that Fu Qian himself didn’t come out to explain? How could he, a man living in the capital, have anything to do with Yan Mingting in Jiangnan? How could anyone believe such absurd rumors?” Zhao Yelan hadn’t expected this. Had something gone wrong somewhere?

“The thing is, Fu Qian is not in Beijing. He went out to play and came to the south. Everyone was discussing this matter, and it was spread so vividly that the Fu family almost believed it. They were still discussing fiercely whether to send Fu Qian to the General’s Mansion as the second wife.”

“… … … …” Zhao Yelan slowly clenched his fists.

Yan Mingting came in with the medicine and saw that the faces of the two men were each more serious than the other. He asked: “What are you discussing?”

“Hush, we’re discussing your second wife.” Zhao Yelan turned to ask Wang Guisheng for details.

“Second, second wife?!” Yan Mingting turned pale with shock, then scratched his head blankly. “Second wife……what is this about?”