After Fan Changyu took Changning to the tent Gongsun Yin had assigned to the two sisters, she first fetched some water to help Changning wash up.
While tying Changning's hair into small buns, she asked, "Ning Niang, do you still remember how you were captured?"
Changning counted on her fingers, recalling carefully. "Big Sis hid us in the cellar. Later, Aunt Zhao fled with me. We ran into some soldiers on the road, and after a long journey, they took us to an inn. Aunt Zhao said it was Jizhou City and that we were safe."
Fan Changyu realized the inn Changning mentioned was the post station where the Jizhou authorities had temporarily housed them. She quickly asked, "What happened after that?"
The memory of being taken from the post station still frightened Changning, and her eyes reddened again. "Later, a fire suddenly broke out at the inn. A bad man slashed Aunt Zhao with a knife, then tied me up, gagged me, and put me in a chest to carry me away..."
At this point, she couldn't hold back her tears. "Big Sis, Aunt Zhao bled so much. Did Aunt Zhao die too?"
Fan Changyu gently patted her back, coaxing, "Aunt Zhao is fine. She's still in Jizhou right now. You'll be able to see her when you go back."
Only then did Changning stop crying.
Fan Changyu asked her, "Did those villains put you in a chest and take you out of the city in a carriage?"
Changning nodded, then added, "When they let me out, there were mountains everywhere. They threw away the chest and the carriage and took me away on horseback. We arrived at a very large residence, and they locked me in a dark room. It was several days before a very fierce old nanny took me out. That nanny told me to play with Bao'er."
Fan Changyu was a little confused. "Wasn't Bao'er locked up just like you?"
Changning thought for a moment and said, "He was locked up, but those fierce nannies and maids were all trying to coax him to play. They called him Young Master, but Bao'er ignored them. Bao'er said a bad man had locked up his mother, and he had to be obedient to see her again."
The more Fan Changyu heard, the more bewildered she became. The way Changning described being "locked up" sounded more like house arrest.
And the servants called Bao'er "Young Master." Could it be that Yu Qianqian's husband was someone from that residence?
Even if Fan Changyu wasn't the sharpest, she knew this matter was tied to the rebels and was likely not simple.
Changning, however, looked up and asked Fan Changyu, "Big Sis, once Brother-in-law's injuries are healed, can we go rescue Bao'er and Aunt Yu together?"
Fan Changyu said, "Once we get down the mountain, Big Sis will go to Chongzhou to ask around for news."
This made Changning happy again.
Fan Changyu noticed something tied around her neck with a red string and asked, "What's this?"
Changning pulled it out. It was an exquisite little pig jade pendant. She said, "Bao'er gave it to me before I left. The one he gave me last time is at home. He said he always carries the grasshopper I wove for him, so he's giving me this little pig pendant and told me to always wear it too."
The previous jade pendant had been a bit large, and it was shaped like a jade lock. It was fine for Yu Bao'er to wear it over his clothes, but on Changning, it looked somewhat out of place.
To avoid attracting envious eyes and fearing that Changning might damage the jade lock while playing with the neighborhood children, Fan Changyu had told Changning to leave it at home.
She picked up the little pig pendant and examined it closely. Even without any knowledge of jade, she could clearly feel that its texture was warmer and smoother than the previous jade lock. It was likely quite valuable. The character "Bao" was even carved on the bottom of the pendant, as if it had been custom-made.
Fan Changyu guessed it was a gift Yu Qianqian had prepared for Yu Bao'er in the past. As for why it was carved into a little pig, seeing as Yu Bao'er was around the same age as Changning, perhaps he was also born in the year of the pig?
She felt that this pendant might hold even more significance for Yu Bao'er than the last one.
The two children, having met a familiar face in a foreign land, probably saw each other as their only playmate.
Fan Changyu helped Changning tuck the pendant back inside her collar. "Then you wear it properly and don't lose it. When we rescue Bao'er and his mother, you can return this pendant to him. This gift is too valuable, and Bao'er is still young. We can't accept it, understand?"
Changning nodded. "Just like last time, if Aunt Yu agrees to let him give it to me, then I can accept it, right?"
Fan Changyu smiled and stroked her head. "Right."
Changning hadn't slept well for days. That night, staying by Fan Changyu's side, she started yawning after just a short conversation.
After coaxing Changning to sleep, Fan Changyu remembered that when she saw Yan Zheng during the day, some of the bloodstains on him hadn't been washed off. She fetched a basin of water and went to his tent.
He had always been a man who liked to be clean. If he weren't so badly injured, he would never have tolerated the smell of medicinal herb residue and blood on his body.
When Fan Changyu arrived, a light was indeed still on inside Xie Zheng's tent.
Unsure if any new wounded soldiers had been moved here after she left, she called out from the entrance, "Yan Zheng, are you asleep?"
"Not yet," a deep voice came from within.
Fan Changyu entered with the basin of water. As she lifted the tent flap, she saw Xie Zheng, bare-chested, re-wrapping gauze around his waist, layer by layer. On the table beside him were two empty bottles of травма medicine.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. The pain had likely put him in a foul mood, as his expression was somewhat cold when he looked toward the entrance. Only when he saw it was Fan Changyu did his gaze soften. "Why have you come over?"
Fan Changyu said, "I brought you a basin of water to wash up."
She noticed that the bandages he had removed were once again stained with a large patch of fresh blood. Thinking of their earlier embrace, she looked ashamed. "Was it because I pressed on your wound earlier?"
Xie Zheng had already tied the knot on the gauze and was putting on his robe. "No."
Although he denied it, Fan Changyu still felt guilty. Remembering he had been injured while saving Changning made her feel even more remorseful. Seeing him about to tie his robe shut, she said, "Don't put it on yet. Let me help you wipe down."
Xie Zheng's brow furrowed instinctively. "You'll help me?"
Fan Changyu just felt that this wasn't the first time she had done something like this. When she had just found him, she had held him down to apply medicine directly. There was nothing to be shy about. She nodded generously. "Your wound can't get wet, and you can't reach your own back. If you feel awkward, I can go find a young soldier outside to help you."
Xie Zheng had already untied the sash again. "You can do it."
The ink-black robe fell open, casting a deep shadow in the candlelight. His firm and well-proportioned muscles had the luster of warm jade. The gauze wrapped diagonally from his shoulder to his ribs, set against his cool eyes, gave him an air that was both fragile and unyielding.
Fan Changyu wrung out a cloth and began to gently wipe his face.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Xie Zheng seemed not to have expected her to start with his face and was slightly taken aback for a moment.
Fan Changyu's movements were very light. She patiently wiped the bloodstains and dirt from his face, smiling as she said, "When I found you, you were much dirtier than this. Your face was so caked with blood I couldn't even see what you looked like."
Xie Zheng didn't speak, merely watching Fan Changyu's every move in silence.
Her features were exquisite. In the candlelight, her whole person seemed to be covered in a soft glow. Just looking at her seemed to calm all the restlessness in his heart.
After cleaning his face, Fan Changyu wrung out the cloth again and began to wipe his upper body. The cloth paused as it neared the bandaged area. She raised her hand and gently touched the scar that ran across his entire chest through the gauze, whispering, "It must have hurt a lot, right?"
Xie Zheng still only replied, "It didn't hurt."
Fan Changyu fell silent. When she looked up a moment later, her eyes were faintly red.
Xie Zheng raised a hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He looked at her for a while, then suddenly lowered his head and placed a kiss on her eyelid.
It was so light that Fan Changyu felt as if she had been brushed by a feather.
She blinked, a little unaccustomed to it, and stared blankly at Xie Zheng. She was clearly not used to this sudden intimacy, but she didn't reject it either.
When she was in a daze, her eyes were clear and innocent, with a hint of an honest, easily-bullied look.
Xie Zheng's voice was deep in the quiet of the military tent. "What are you staring at me for?"
Fan Changyu was silent for a moment, then said something astonishing. "Did you kiss me?"
The tent flap wasn't completely closed. The mountain wind gusted in, making the candle flame flicker and distorting their cast shadows into a chaotic mess.
Xie Zheng looked at her and gave a soft "Mhm," but the depths of his eyes were startlingly intense.
Another long silence followed.
Until Fan Changyu suddenly straightened up, quickly pecked him on the forehead, and said, "We're even."
Then she picked up the water basin and left the tent.
Xie Zheng stared at her retreating back, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
He had clearly kissed her in a much more forward way before, yet feeling the lingering warmth on his forehead, he couldn't suppress the joy welling up in his heart. The corners of his mouth curled up into a slight smile.
Fan Changyu didn't sleep well that night. For as long as she had known Yan Zheng, she had almost always seen him as family or a friend. That was why she had been so angry when he had taken liberties with her last time.
It wasn't just because of his rudeness, but also because she had always trusted him, and he had betrayed that trust.
But after everything that had happened, that bit of anger had long since dissipated. She only hoped that everyone she cherished would be well.
When she learned his fate on the mountain was unknown, her subconscious urge was to find him.
As for what to do after finding him, she thought they would live as they had before. She could afford to feed one more mouth in her household.
But what happened tonight had thrown her into confusion. He had kissed her again, but she wasn't angry. She had just competitively pecked him on the forehead!
Fan Changyu tossed and turned in bed irritably. Realizing she had pulled the blanket off Changning, she quickly turned back and tucked Changning in again.
She didn't finally drift into a light sleep until the fourth watch.
When dawn broke, Fan Changyu got up with dark circles under her eyes. After helping Changning wash up, she went to the cookhouse camp to get food for the wounded soldiers. She heard the cooks complaining that they hadn't caught any game in the past two days and couldn't make special meals for the wounded soldier camp.
Fan Changyu remembered the Army Doctor saying that Xie Zheng's body needed proper nourishment. How could he recover without eating meat?
She decided that after breakfast, she would join the soldiers in charge of hunting and venture deeper into the woods to see if she could hunt anything good.
As for delivering Xie Zheng's medicine and breakfast, she was afraid it would be even more awkward to see him after last night's events, so she entrusted the task to other soldiers.
Gongsun Yin went to find Xie Zheng early in the morning to report on official business and found him in an unusually foul mood. After some probing, he learned that Fan Changyu hadn't been to see Xie Zheng all morning. Finding this very strange, he wandered off to find Fan Changyu.
Fan Changyu had already prepared her things to go into the mountains and was about to take Changning to Xie Zheng for him to look after. As soon as Gongsun Yin arrived, she asked him to take Changning over.
Gongsun Yin was very surprised to learn that Fan Changyu was going hunting. Worried that something might happen to a young woman like her, he secretly sent two more personal guards to follow her.
As he led Changning to find Xie Zheng, he noticed the two buns on her head were lopsided and crooked, an ugly and jarring sight.
He couldn't help but ask, "Little girl, did your big sis not comb your hair this morning?"
Changning touched her buns and said, "She did! She even re-tied my buns!"
Gongsun Yin was speechless.
How was it possible for her hair to look even uglier after being combed than before?
He endured it all the way, but in the end, he couldn't resist taking down Changning's buns and re-tying them himself.
Facing the confusion of the other personal guards, the personal guard who had been with Xie Zheng the longest explained in a low voice, "Sometimes Gongsun just can't stand things that aren't neat. Like that child's hair being tied one high and one low—it would make Gongsun uncomfortable all day."
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