Chapter 167: Even Earlier, She Was Already Fond...
Xiao Li, overwhelmed by fury and a relapse of old injuries, spat blood. The group promptly returned to the mountain retreat to settle him first.
It was only when Wen Yu saw the attendants carrying Doctor Tao up on a bamboo litter to check Xiao Li's pulse, and Tao Kui weeping by the bedside—alternately calling out to Xiao Li and gazing pitifully at her—that she realized Xiao Li had brought the grandfather-grandson pair along on this journey.
Song Qin explained from the side: "Physician Tao is one of our own. The Governor feared something might happen to the Princess if she fell into the villains' hands, so he ordered Physician Tao to be brought along."
Wen Yu looked at Xiao Li lying on the bed, his face as stern and unyielding as ever, yet his gaze fixed intently on her. She couldn't help but sigh softly inwardly.
She said, "I'll go find paper and ink to write a letter to the Azure Guard."
Only after leaving that side room did Wen Yu feel she could breathe more easily again.
His love and hatred were just like the man himself—reckless, direct, fierce, and leaving no room for retreat.
And she truly wasn't hard-hearted enough to ruthlessly whip her horse and leave after seeing him vomit blood and collapse.
Wen Yu walked some distance away and sat on the "beauty's rest" bench along the covered corridor. There, she let the cold wind blow over her, gazing blankly at the fluttering light snow in the twilight.
"Madam, so you're here! I heard you were looking for writing materials and was just bringing them to you!"
Gongsun Sanniang approached from the other end of the corridor, carrying the four treasures of the study on a tray. After speaking, she seemed to recall Wen Yu's current status and laughed, "Look at me, so used to the old address that I forgot to change it. I should address you as Princess now."
Wen Yu collected her thoughts and said, "It's just a form of address. This isn't the palace; no need to stand on ceremony."
Gongsun Sanniang, originally from the greenwood world, wasn't one for strict formalities. Seeing that Wen Yu remained as approachable as before, she relaxed and said, "Then I'll continue calling you Madam. Where shall I take these writing materials?"
Wen Yu's mind was in turmoil; the cold wind actually helped clear her thoughts. Noticing a pavilion ahead where lanterns were already lit and equipped with a table and chairs, she said, "Let's go to that pavilion ahead."
The two walked side by side.
Gongsun Sanniang noticed her preoccupation and asked with a smile, "Madam, are you still troubled about that handsome gentleman?"
Wen Yu remained silent.
To Gongsun Sanniang, this seemed like tacit acknowledgment. She sighed with feeling, "That gentleman was busy with battle for three days and nights without sleep. The moment he heard you were in danger, he rushed over urgently. Only after you insisted on leaving did he finally collapse. It really makes one's heart ache to see."
Her eyes then drifted toward Wen Yu: "Madam, you previously said he would always have to marry some other young lady. But the way I see it, he probably wouldn't even blink if asked to die for you. So what if he's a Wei general? You're a noble Princess—just take him back with you!"
They had reached the pavilion, where lanterns on all four sides cast a warm, hazy yellow glow in the twilight.
Wen Yu didn't respond. She slightly rolled up her sleeves as if to pick up the brush and write the letter, but when her gaze fell on the smudged bloodstains on her cuffs—transferred from Xiao Li's armor—her eyes lingered for a couple of breaths before she changed the subject: "My people should have reached the vicinity of this mountain. After I finish the letter, may I trouble you, Lady Warrior, to deliver it for me?"
Gongsun Sanniang understood that Wen Yu didn't wish to discuss the matter further and tactfully agreed, not pressing the issue.Wen Yu quickly began writing on the paper. Having been trapped for so long, Zhao Bai and the others must be worried. Although Liang Camp had been barely maintaining appearances using her reputation in Pingzhou, with many affairs being handled by Li Xun and Chen Wei in her stead.
But once the news of Jiang Yu’s death reached Chen, they would not only have to stabilize the internal situation but also deal with pressure from Chen, making their position undoubtedly difficult.
Now that she had obtained leverage over the Jiang Family from Dou Jianliang, she might be able to counter their retaliation for Jiang Yu’s death.
However, two golden leaf tokens alone were insufficient to implicate the Jiang Family. Otherwise, Dou Jianliang wouldn’t have been forced to defect to Pei Song after being discarded as a pawn. Before returning to Liang, she had already managed to turn Fang Mingda, a member of the Jiang faction, into her asset. She needed the Azure Guard to swiftly send a message back to Southern Chen, secretly instructing him to assist in verifying this matter.
Whether it succeeded or not, it was at least a plan.
Another urgent matter was uncovering the traitor in Chen who had colluded with the enemy…
After finishing the letter, Wen Yu sealed it with wax and handed it to Gongsun Sanniang, teaching her a short, sharp whistle. She explained that if someone responded with two sharp bird-like whistles, it would be her ally.
She said, “Have them wait for me at the foot of the mountain. Once I’ve settled some personal matters here, I’ll go down to meet them.”
Gongsun Sanniang agreed readily, tucked the letter into her sleeve, and left.
Alone in the pavilion, Wen Yu sat by the stone table, staring blankly for a moment at the bloodstains on her sleeve before returning to her room to change into clean clothes.
Before visiting Xiao Li, she stopped by the kitchen. Doctor Tao had already prepared the medicine and asked her to bring it to Xiao Li.
Tao Kui had intended to accompany her, but Doctor Tao held him back.
On her way back, Wen Yu heard that Dou Jianliang, after being carried up the mountain and placed in the front nunnery facing the Buddha statue, had passed away not long after.
As she approached Xiao Li’s door, she overheard Song Qin reporting the matter: “I interrogated him about his purpose in infiltrating the Northern Border, but he didn’t reveal much. In his final moments, he muttered that he was merely following military orders. It seems Pei Song didn’t trust him either.”
Xiao Li was leaning against the headboard. He seemed to have bathed, having washed off the blood and changed into a clean robe. His half-dried hair was loosely draped, and without the bloodstains to obscure it, his pale, handsome face, though weary and ill, still carried a hint of ferocity in the dim candlelight.
Covering his mouth, he coughed softly twice and said, “Such traitors, lured into Pei’s camp by coercion or bribery, are hardly trustworthy—Pei Song must know that himself.”
Song Qin, noticing Wen Yu standing at the doorway with the medicine bowl, cut short his report and said, “The Provincial Governor has already been pursuing the barbarians for several days and successfully eliminated a barbarian troop that had been harassing Yanle Mountain. With Dou Jianliang’s corpse as evidence and your injuries providing a reason to recuperate here, Wei Ang is unlikely to suspect anything. I’ll take my men back now to deliver the report.”
Xiao Li, having also noticed Wen Yu, remained silent, tacitly approving.
As Song Qin left, he nodded respectfully to Wen Yu before departing.
Wen Yu entered with the medicine bowl and refrained from asking further about military affairs. She simply said, “Doctor Tao advised that after drinking this medicine, you should get a good rest.”
Sitting on the stool beside the bed, her slender, pale fingers stirred the dark brown liquid with a spoon. She lifted a spoonful and brought it to his lips.Xiao Li had been staring at her with dark, intense eyes, but now he slightly turned his face away, as if unwilling to let her think he was using his sickly appearance to gain her sympathy. He said, "I'll do it myself."
Wen Yu glanced at him but said nothing more, obligingly setting down the spoon and handing him the medicine bowl.
Xiao Li took it, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one go. Wen Yu took the empty bowl and placed it on the nearby table for him.
Staring at her retreating back, Xiao Li pressed his lips into a tight line and said, "It's just an old injury flaring up. I won't die. You don't need to stay here specially."
Wen Yu turned to look at him, her brow slightly furrowed, and finally replied, "I told you, it's too dark outside. The Azure Guard will come to pick me up tomorrow."
Xiao Li fell silent, his profile appearing stern and unyielding in the candlelight, like a child who had mustered the courage to awkwardly ask for a piece of candy, only to be refused, then stubbornly telling himself he didn't really want it that much after all.
Wen Yu walked over, grasped a corner of the soft pillow behind him, and said gently, "Sleep now. If you keep pushing yourself like this, you'll ruin your health."
Xiao Li was indeed exhausted. Having gone several nights without sleep while relentlessly pursuing enemy forces, enduring multiple fierce battles and forced marches, he had pushed himself to the limit. His entire head throbbed with pain, as if split open by an axe.
The medicine might have had a sedative effect, slowly muddling his thoughts.
Yet he still couldn't bear to sleep. After removing the pillow and lying down, his gaze remained fixed on Wen Yu like a spider's web.
Wen Yu sighed, sat on the stool beside him, and said, "Sleep. I won't leave."
Xiao Li made no sound, turning his face toward the wall, but his hand reached out from the bedside and grasped the dangling sleeve of her robe.
Wen Yu fell silent for a moment.
Xiao Li was notoriously stubborn—someone who wouldn't show weakness even with broken bones. Yet tonight... he seemed unusually clingy?
She stared for a while at his hand, scarred and calloused, gripping her sleeve, then gently clasped it with both of hers, intending to tuck it back under the covers.
But the moment she touched it, she realized his entire hand was burning with fever.
Xiao Li also noticed her actively holding his hand, but his body was too weary, his head too heavy. Just as he turned to speak, a cool, delicate hand pressed against his forehead.
He opened his fever-reddened eyes and saw Wen Yu frowning slightly as she said, "You have a fever."
"I'll fetch Doctor Tao." Wen Yu withdrew her hand from his forehead and made to leave.
But Xiao Li tightened his grip on the hand she had actively held, the movement sending another wave of dull pain through his head.
Pressing his throbbing temple with his other hand, he spoke in a stubborn tone, despite his evident weakness: "I'm fine. I'll be better after some sleep."
His voice, however, was already hoarse.
The palm gripping her wrist burned like a branding iron, holding on tightly.
As if afraid she would not return if she left.
Wen Yu's brow furrowed deeply, her tone slightly stern as she said, "I told you I wouldn't leave, and I meant it. Understand? You have a fever now and need to see a doctor."
Xiao Li's grip on her wrist didn't loosen. His eyelids drooped, and on his handsome face—which rivaled even those of aristocratic family scions—finally showed traces of vulnerability from illness. He said, "I just took medicine. Even if Doctor Tao comes, he can't prescribe anything immediately. I'll be fine after resting awhile."Wen Yu had some knowledge of medicine and knew he wasn't wrong, leaving her momentarily at a loss. She glanced at the washstand in the corner and said, "Then let go. I'll wring out a cloth to cool your forehead."
Xiao Li followed her gaze and, realizing she wouldn't leave the room, finally released her.
The copper basin still held clean water prepared earlier for washing him. Though it had cooled, it was perfect for reducing his fever. Wen Yu carried the basin over and set it by the footrest. Rolling up her sleeves, she wrung out the cloth and pressed it to his forehead, only to find he had somehow seized the corner of her sash trailing by the bed.
Genuinely exasperated, she decided to let him be.
After several rounds of cooling compresses, the combination of high fever, medication, and days of exhaustion finally sent Xiao Li into a deep sleep—though he still clutched her sash.
When Wen Yu checked his temperature after the last compress and found it had dropped significantly, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Staring at his fever-flushed cheeks, she recalled when they had been driven off a cliff by Pei Song's Hawk Hounds. Back then, ill in a cave, he hadn't clung to anything like this, but would lean toward any warmth that approached him—as if illness granted him permission to seek solace.
Trapped in nightmares, he first called for "Mother," then later, through gritted teeth and drenched in sweat, whispered only "Wen Yu" repeatedly.
They had been stranded for a full night and most of the next day before Doctor Tao and his grandson passed by while gathering herbs. During the cold hours, they huddled together under a warm cloak, her cheek pressed against his burning chest, listening as her name vibrated through his ribs and escaped his throat.
She had truly believed they might die together there.
Yet she hadn't felt much fear.
She fed him the entire pot of medicine, sip by sip. He would instinctively suck the liquid from her, and when none remained, stubbornly clung to her. At first, she bit him in panic, but eventually yielded—just as she had today when he kept grasping her clothes.
It seemed she could never refuse him.
Or perhaps, she had liked him long before that.
But after deciding to let him go at that inn in Xinzhou, they still ended up entangled like this.
Gongsun Sanniang's words echoed in Wen Yu's ears again.
She watched Xiao Li quietly for a moment, then gently pried his fingers to free her sash, intending to rest on the daybed across the room while keeping him company.
But even in sleep, he seemed to sense it. As his fingers were loosened, they instinctively tightened again—this time firmly grasping her hand.
Having experienced "loss" once before, he now held on desperately.
Wen Yu waited until his breathing steadied before trying to free her hand again, but failed.
Unwilling to wake him, she resigned herself to his grip.
Outside, the blizzard raged. Inside, only the lone lamp on the table burned steadily.
In the stillness, drowsiness slowly crept over Wen Yu. Letting Xiao Li keep her hand, she sat by the bed, leaned against the post, and closed her eyes to sleep.Half-asleep, he probably felt cold, so he squeezed Xiao Li inward and tugged a corner of his quilt over as well.
Author's Note: The plot hasn't reached [frustrated chin-in-hand] yet. Continuing to give out red envelopes for you darlings this chapter. See you next chapter~
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