Surviving in the General's Mansion - Chapter 69

It was nearly dawn by the time Cang Chuli finished dealing with official business.

Thinking again of the grain from the plague-stricken region, he pinched the bridge of his nose.

He would not be able to sleep.

The room felt stifling, so he decided to ride for a while.

Without summoning anyone, Cang Chuli walked alone toward the General’s Mansion stable.

As he approached, he saw a round, furtive shadow jumping up and down beside Zhuxiao…

“Achoo!”

Xia Heng rubbed her nose.

She had already taken medicine after returning that afternoon, but she still felt unwell.

She had intended to rest early, yet half the night passed with her eyes as wide as saucers.

She really could not stop thinking about it!

Resigned to her fate, Xia Heng wrapped herself in the new padded coat Zhao Siyan brought her. Under cover of darkness, she sneaked into the stable.

As she struggled to remove the saddle, she despised herself inwardly.

How had she developed this obsession with cleanliness whenever her period came?

Was she truly incapable of sleeping until the matter was resolved?

Once she scrubbed the saddle clean, she could wipe it dry with a cloth.

If she placed it beside the brazier, it should be dry by morning. Then she could return it.

But how was a saddle removed?

Why was it tied down everywhere?

Zhuxiao had endured this person fussing with something on his back for ages without understanding what she wanted.

Was she ever going to let him rest?

He snorted impatiently and shifted his hooves.

Xia Heng hurriedly soothed him.

“Good horse. Stay still! I’m taking your saddle away to wash it. Tomorrow, I’ll bring you back a clean, wonderfully scented saddle. Cooperate with me!”

As she spoke, she took a carrot from a nearby sack and fed it to Zhuxiao, then stroked his head.

“Have a carrot first. When the weather warms and I grow fresh vegetables, I’ll bring you some to taste. Be good!”

Cang Chuli approached just in time to hear this.

Seeing Zhuxiao genuinely settle beneath her soothing, he said, “What a pushover.”

The sudden voice frightened Xia Heng into stumbling.

She barely regained her balance before turning around.

A pitch-black figure stood behind her.

Xia Heng froze.

“What… are you doing here in the middle of the night?”

Only when Xia Heng heard the familiar voice did her scrambled thoughts begin to settle.

She felt her way forward for two steps. In the moonlight, she recognized Cang Chuli’s face and finally relaxed.

Good heavens. She had thought she had seen a ghost.

“I…”

Oh, no. How could she explain this?

Cang Chuli had not heard what she said earlier. He walked to Zhuxiao and looked at the saddle she had pulled into complete disorder.

After a hesitant pause, he asked, “Why are you removing the saddle?”

At first, he thought someone was trying to steal his horse.

Now it appeared she wanted to steal the saddle instead?

Xia Heng was speechless.

When she did not answer, Cang Chuli tried to understand on his own and examined the saddle carefully.

It was old and had been used for many years.

Was there some secret about it that he did not know?

He was about to feel around for anything unusual when the round figure beside him dropped to her knees with a thud.

“General, I was wrong!”

Cang Chuli’s brow twitched at those words.

Xia Heng had no alternative. If she remained silent any longer, he would turn the saddle over and over searching for clues.

“Achoo!”

She sniffled and explained quietly, “It was this maid’s fault. I accidentally soiled the saddle today…

“I wanted to take it back, wash it, dry it beside the fire, and put it on again. I didn’t expect…”

Cang Chuli glanced sideways at her.

She had not expected him to suddenly decide on a midnight ride.

But she had soiled it?

Cang Chuli abruptly remembered her pale face at the training ground and Xiao Yaqing’s cloak wrapped around her on the return journey.

No wonder she had been frightened yet stubbornly refused to dismount…

“Get up.”

Xia Heng slowly rose.

Some people might appear capable of movement, but inside, they had already been dead for quite some time.

Seeing her unable to lift her head, Cang Chuli was momentarily speechless.

How did she manage it?

Every time, she left others unsure whether to laugh or cry.

“You really… Never mind… There is no need…”

Xia Heng’s head sank lower and lower.

*Boss… Please stop talking… Truly…*

“Achoo!”

She sneezed again.

Cang Chuli fell silent too. With several quick movements, he removed the saddle and handed it to her.

“Go back and rest. There is no need to return it… Also, this is leather. You cannot dry it beside a fire.”

Xia Heng did not dare raise her head. She could only mumble her acknowledgment.

Taking the saddle, she saluted Cang Chuli, turned, and ran back to the small courtyard.

Zhao Fu, who was patrolling nearby, watched her retreating back in resignation.

A round shadow had rolled into the stable, then rolled back out…

This was the second time!

Could the girl truly not see any of the patrol guards?

Zhao Fu entered the stable to investigate and discovered his general there too.

Cang Chuli waved for him to continue his patrol.

Then he and Zhuxiao looked at each other.

It seemed there would be no ride tonight.

He would have someone replace the saddle tomorrow.

Cang Chuli stroked the mane along Zhuxiao’s neck, gave a quiet snort, and said to the horse, “She planted only a few vegetables, yet how many people has she promised them to? Whether you’ll ever taste one is another matter.”

* * *

After the previous day’s extreme series of stunts, Xia Heng woke the next morning with an even higher fever and aches throughout her body.

Whether she had caught another chill sneaking out at night or simply fallen ill from sheer humiliation, no one could say.

Xia Heng opened her eyes with difficulty.

Little Wude sat beside her bed, watching her anxiously.

She immediately waved him away and said hoarsely, “What are you doing here? Go outside. I might infect you!”

Little Wude shook his head.

“Sister, I’m fine! I’ve always been very healthy. I won’t catch a cold! And I just drank the ginger soup Chef Xiang made.”

“The other sisters all went to work. Brother Zhao told me to take care of you and make sure you behave.”

“Brother Zhao?”

Xia Heng looked puzzled.

“Brother Zhao Fu!”

Wude answered innocently.

“But Sister, you really can sleep! It’s already the hour of the snake—between nine and eleven in the morning. The vegetable cake Uncle Xiang asked me to bring has gone cold!”

Xia Heng could only direct him to the masks she made when her face had broken out and tell him to put one on.

She wore one herself, just in case.

Fortunately, she had washed and stored them after their last use. She had not expected them to return to service so soon.

“Cough, cough. What do you know? Sister is a patient now. Patients need more sleep to recover quickly.”

“Then drink your medicine, Sister! The mansion physician said you need to take proper care of yourself, or you may suffer from deficiencies of qi and blood in the future!”

Wude pattered over to the table and picked up the prepared medicine cooling there.

Then he pattered back and thrust the bowl toward Xia Heng’s mouth without the slightest tremble in his hands.

Good boy…

Who had taught him to care for a patient like this?

Xia Heng pushed the medicine bowl aside.

“Cough, cough. Wude, pour me some water first. Warm that vegetable cake beside the brazier too… Let me eat something before I take the medicine.”

Wude obeyed.

After finally finishing her morning medicine, Xia Heng recovered enough strength to leave the bed.

She gave Wude a handful of peanuts to take away and snack on.

Only after a great deal of persuasion did she convince Little Wude, enjoying his first experience of caring for someone, to leave.

Xia Heng moved a stool beside the bed and placed a kettle and cup on it so she could drink more easily.

Then she took a fur coat from her dowry and laid it over the blankets.

She could not help it. Whenever she caught a cold, nothing felt warm enough.

After burrowing beneath everything, she finally opened the Check-in System.