Chu Zhao tilted her head and bumped against the bedside, jolting awake.
The little rabbit in her arms had long since scurried away, huddling under the bed. Startled by her sudden movement, it leaped up and burrowed into a crevice in the bed.
As Chu Zhao regained her senses, she hurriedly knelt up to check on **. Chu Ling lay silent in his sleep—
She grasped her father’s hand to feel his pulse, then sighed in relief and slid down to sit on the floor. He was still here—
The room was dim, and candlelight flickered in the outer chamber.
“Father,” Chu Zhao called softly, shaking Chu Ling’s arm.
Though the physician had said the patient needed more rest, Chu Ling had laughed at this, saying he would soon rest forever. Better to spend time with everyone while he still could.
“So, A Zhao, if I fall asleep, remember to wake me,” he had instructed.
Until the day she could no longer wake him.
As Chu Zhao shook him, Chu Ling opened his eyes. Though he could see nothing, he replied at once, “A Zhao, have I fallen asleep again?”
Chu Zhao nodded, forcing a cheerful tone. “Yes, Father. The stories from my childhood are so dull they’ve put both of us to sleep.”
Chu Ling mused, “So it wasn’t my storytelling skills but my dull tales that made me fall asleep so easily back then.”
Chu Zhao laughed heartily.
Hearing the father and daughter talking and laughing in the inner chamber, A Le entered from outside. “General, Miss, you’re awake. Would you like something to eat?”
As she spoke, she made hand signals to Chu Zhao.
“Miss, as you instructed, the kitchen has prepared simmered chicken soup.”
Chu Zhao acknowledged with an “oh” and first asked Chu Ling if he would eat.
“Yes,” Chu Ling said. “As long as I’m alive, I’ll eat.”
Chu Zhao smiled and said, “Good. Father, I’ll fetch it myself.”
With that, she took A Le’s hand and led her to the outer chamber.
“What is it?” she asked.
A Le said, “A Jiu is looking for you. He says you stole his rabbit and demands you return it.”
Chu Zhao scoffed. “What nonsense! It’s clearly mine—I’ll go talk to him!”
Her footsteps pattered away into the distance.
Chu Ling lay on the bed, smiling faintly. Though his eyes were blind and his body weak, his hearing was exceptionally sharp. He could even hear the patrol of soldiers outside the courtyard and insects crawling along the walls in the corners of the room—
Someone slipped in through the door as lightly as a swallow, footsteps so soft one could imagine their agility.
Chu Ling recalled their previous encounter. This young man had also been tempered by the chaos in the capital and must carry a different aura now.
That aura, sharp and cold as a sword, swept over him.
“A Jiu, what are you looking at?” Chu Ling said.
The person standing by the bed startled and took a step back.
“Has my appearance changed so much that it frightens you?” Chu Ling asked.
Xie Yanlai gazed at the general on the bed. Indeed, it felt like the first time he was seeing him. Compared to his former majesty, or even to how he had appeared just days ago, the general now seemed almost unrecognizable.
Chu Ling had withered entirely.
“No,” Xie Yanlai said.
Whether he meant there was no change or that he wasn’t frightened, Chu Ling chuckled. “After all, you’re a young officer who has fought rebels and slain Western Liang bandits. Nothing should scare you.”
Xie Yanlai lowered his gaze. “That’s not true. I witnessed my mother’s death.”
Chu Ling’s smile faded, leaving only gentleness as he looked in Xie Yanlai’s direction. “We all must bid farewell to our parents one day.”
Xie Yanlai did not respond to this.
“A Jiu, thank you. It’s thanks to you that A Zhao could come to see me off,” Chu Ling said.Xie Yanlai hastily interrupted: "General, please don't say that. This has nothing to do with me. She came of her own accord. I'm here under the Emperor's orders to bring her back. However, with one being the Emperor and the other the Empress, as an official, I can't afford to offend either side and must obey both."
Chu Ling laughed heartily: "Exactly, we officials face such helpless situations. In the future—"
Xie Yanlai cut him off again, glancing outside. He hadn't come to chat with the General. This General's time was limited, so he should speak with the person who truly mattered to him.
"General," he said, "Mu Mianhong asked me to inquire if she could see you."
The withered General fell silent.
It seemed like a long time had passed, yet also just a breath.
"Did she follow you all the way here?" Chu Ling asked.
Xie Yanlai replied: "Not the entire way. She rescued Miss Chu during the attack, then traveled with us until the commandery city, where she departed."
After a moment of silence, Chu Ling said: "I'll see her."
Without further questions, Xie Yanlai acknowledged and turned to leave.
Chu Ling called after him: "Don't let A Zhao know."
Without looking back, Xie Yanlai said: "I understand."
Then he gritted his teeth. What was he saying? One was her father, the other her mother—what business was it of his to claim understanding!
He strode out quickly, then hurried back just as fast. Without a word, he retrieved the little rabbit from the bedside crevice and rushed out again.
Chu Ling didn't question his sudden return, merely smiling faintly.
The room returned to quiet, but Chu Ling's ears remained alert—listening to the fading footsteps, then detecting delicate footsteps approaching—
The delicate footsteps paused at the doorway, as if afraid to take another step forward.
"Come in," Chu Ling said. "At this point, there's no need to dwell on the past with regret or approach with hesitation and unease."
At his words, the stalled footsteps pattered like sudden rain as she rushed from the doorway to the inner chamber—
Mu Mianhong stood by the bed, her slender figure swaying in the dim light as she gazed at the lying man. Over a decade of memories instantly flooded her heart—
She covered her face with her hands and knelt down.
"I don't know when it began," she murmured through sobs.
Chu Ling's expression remained calm, devoid of joy or anger: "What would knowing change? Could you bring the dead back to life?"
Mu Mianhong wept: "General, your words remain as harsh as ever."
Chu Ling fell silent.
Within the quiet room, the past resurfaced.
After what felt like an eternity yet also an instant, Chu Ling broke the silence, suppressing the memories.
"The reason I agreed to see you,"
"is because you saved A Zhao's life."
"Whoever saves my A Zhao is my benefactor."
"Since my benefactor has a request, and all she asks is to see me, I naturally consented."
Just a benefactor. Solely because she saved his daughter. Nothing more.
Kneeling beside the bed, Mu Mianhong looked at the man who felt both familiar and strange, tears streaming down like rain.
......
......
"He said he'd be waiting for you in the kitchen."
A Le circled inside and outside the kitchen, asking maids and guards, but they all shook their heads, saying they hadn't seen Xie Yanlai.
"Never mind him," Chu Zhao said, having tasted the chicken broth and begun ladling it, when Xie Yanlai reappeared from outside.
"Where did you go?" Chu Zhao asked.
Without a word, Xie Yanlai patted his chest—
Chu Zhao immediately spotted the little rabbit bulging from his chest and lunged forward: "That's mine! How sneaky—you used a diversion!"Xie Yanlai turned to dodge, raising an eyebrow as he said, "It's mine. I found it first."
Chu Zhao paid no heed, reaching into his arms to snatch the little rabbit.
Xie Yanlai pressed a hand against her forehead. "I'll give it to you, but on one condition. I've already spoken with your father about it, and he agreed there should be terms."
Her father? Had he really gone to speak with her father just now? Chu Zhao chuckled. "What sweet talk did you feed my father this time?"
Xie Yanlai replied, "General Chu is fair and strict. He agreed to let me take the rabbit, but you have to make me a bowl of soup. Do that, and the rabbit is yours."
Chu Zhao laughed. "Fine by me. I'll make it—just see if you dare to eat it." With that, she went to wash her hands and prepare the soup.
A Le curled her lip, ignoring their bickering as she stepped outside to stand by the door. Xie Yanlai leaned against the doorframe, waiting for his soup while half-listening to Chu Zhao's chatter.
"Is my father still awake?" "What did you say to him?" "You've been on patrol all night—why aren't you asleep?" "When you have time, come talk with my father more often."
He answered intermittently, his attention divided. Just then, a commotion erupted outside, loud as a thunderclap.
"—What are you doing here! Guards—"
It was Zhong Changrong's voice.
Xie Yanlai's expression shifted abruptly. Chu Zhao, meanwhile, dropped her bowl with a clatter and bolted for the door.
"Chu Zhao." Xie Yanlai reached out and stopped the girl as she rushed toward the doorway. "Wait a moment."
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