Surviving in the General's Mansion - Chapter 81

Cang Chuli entered with bloodshot eyes. When he saw the three women kneeling on the ground, each wearing a different expression, he did not even want to ask what had happened.

“Your Majesty.”

Cang Chuli bowed.

Dongfang Wei waved a hand impatiently. “Take those two from your household away.”

Cang Chuli acknowledged the order.

“Well? Are you coming?”

Xia Heng and Chuqing glanced at Xiao Yaqing, scrambled to their feet, and followed Cang Chuli out.

*Good luck, sister! We support you in spirit!*

Dongfang Wei dismissed everyone else.

Xiao Yaqing was still sulking.

He had said all those cryptic things to her during the day, then met a Tujue princess in secret that very night?

Of course she knew nothing could have happened between them.

The princess’s expression when she came out had not looked particularly pleased, after all.

But why was it that other people could enter his tent whenever they liked, while she had to go through so much trouble?

Remembering how she had dragged two people through the dark woods searching for a suitable spot, then spent ages blowing that whistle, Xiao Yaqing felt thoroughly humiliated.

She pulled out the bird whistle and flung it at Dongfang Wei’s feet.

“I truly beg Your Majesty’s pardon for tonight! Yaqing will certainly go back and reflect properly on her—”

Before she could finish, Dongfang Wei rose, swayed, and collapsed outright.

“Your Majesty? Your Majesty! Dongfang Wei?”

Xiao Yaqing hurried forward to check on him.

Dongfang Wei opened his eyes with difficulty.

“Help me… sit.”

With considerable effort, Xiao Yaqing helped him up and settled him into a chair.

Dongfang Wei leaned against the backrest, struggling for breath.

He had only meant to pick up the bird whistle. He had not expected an attack to strike at that moment.

His insomnia seemed to have grown worse recently. Every night, he slept for less than two hours.

The imperial physicians had prescribed him piles of medicine, but none of it did any good.

Sometimes his vision would suddenly go black. Today, had his body deteriorated so far that he could no longer even remain standing?

*Ha.*

Dongfang Wei mocked himself inwardly. *With a body like this, what exactly are you still hoping for?*

“What’s wrong with you?”

Xiao Yaqing was terrified.

What was happening? He had looked unwell during the day, but she had never imagined he was this weak.

“You… came looking for me just now?”

Dongfang Wei did not answer her question.

Xiao Yaqing pressed her lips together. She knew he was changing the subject. He had been like this ever since they were children.

Whenever she asked something he did not want to answer, he would not refuse outright. He would simply steer the conversation elsewhere.

“Did you take your medicine?” Xiao Yaqing asked.

“Those medicines are useless.”

Dongfang Wei finally felt a little better. He adjusted his position and sat up slightly straighter.

“So you simply stopped taking them?”

Xiao Yaqing’s delicate brows drew together.

Seeing that she was angry, Dongfang Wei could only call toward the outside of the tent, “Sixi, bring the medicine.”

Only after she had watched Dongfang Wei finish it did Xiao Yaqing relax a little.

Dongfang Wei bent down, picked up the bird whistle, and wiped it clean with his hand before offering it back to her.

“What made you think of blowing this today?”

Xiao Yaqing was silent for a moment.

“What… did you mean by what you said today?”

Dongfang Wei froze with the whistle still in his hand.

Xiao Yaqing continued, “What did you say after that? And why did you never send so much as a message all these years?”

Seeing how serious she was, Dongfang Wei knew he would not evade the matter today.

“…When Imperial Father ordered Uncle Xiao out of the capital, I pleaded for him.

“He knew Uncle Xiao had been wronged. It was only because Uncle was too unyielding in those days that he demoted him to the Southern Border.

“At the time, all he wanted was to instill the art of emperorship in me. He taught me that a man destined for great things could not allow himself to be bound by matters of the heart.

“If I contacted you, I was afraid he would move against you…”

Only then did understanding dawn on Xiao Yaqing. No wonder…

“And your health?”

“I’ve suffered from this insomnia for many years. The Imperial Medical Bureau cannot devise a better prescription, but it’s nothing serious. I simply can’t sleep, that’s all.”

Xiao Yaqing stared at him. That lie might fool someone else, but it would not fool her.

Even in modern times, insomnia was a highly dangerous illness.

Long-term insomnia in particular could cause irritability, depression, and weakened immunity, and might even trigger other diseases.

When she said nothing, Dongfang Wei continued, “Many people in the imperial court still harbor disloyal intentions. Once they have all been dealt with, I’m sure I’ll improve.”

What he did not say was that the court now faced troubles both within and without. One misstep could send everything tumbling into an abyss beyond redemption.

If he fell, then Mingxu, Uncle Xiao, Grand Secretary Li, and all the rest—including her—would be purged. Not one of them would escape.

So, at the very least, he had to endure until the court had been cleansed and that thorn named Cheng Zhesong had been pulled out.

Tears were already streaming down Xiao Yaqing’s face.

Whatever questions remained in her heart, she could no longer bring herself to ask.

How could the romantic concerns of one woman be compared with the safety of the nation?

Although only one of her questions had truly been answered, Xiao Yaqing still felt that coming tonight had been the right decision.

Neither spoke again. Dongfang Wei simply leaned back in the chair and looked at her, feeling a peace he had never known before.

His eyelids slowly lowered. Xiao Yaqing sat down beside him and made no sound, afraid of disturbing this rare moment of rest.

As she studied Dongfang Wei’s features, she thought of the little boy he had once been. In the end, he had grown into the very image of a sovereign.

She remembered what that boy had told her long ago.

“No matter what happens, I will always protect you. Whenever you need me, I will be there.”

Xiao Yaqing smiled bitterly. What if breaking his word had also been meant to protect her?

He had not only needed to protect her, but also to safeguard Huaxia.

The last decade and more had truly been unkind to her boy.

Sitting beside the sleeping Dongfang Wei, Xiao Yaqing silently made a decision.

* * *

Cang Chuli led the two dumplings from his household back to his tent.

The moment they returned, both women nimbly dropped to their knees by his feet with thoroughly cowed expressions.

“…”

The fact that all three of them had appeared together in Dongfang Wei’s tent, combined with the conversation he had overheard that day, was enough for him to guess most of what had happened.

Xia Heng wanted to say something to salvage the situation. Then she looked up, saw Cang Chuli staring at her as though she were a troublesome child, and obediently shut her mouth again.

“Go on. Why have you stopped talking?”

Xia Heng could only pout and confess honestly, “I was wrong, General.”

“Ha.”

Cang Chuli had lost count of how many times he had heard those words.

No one was better at pretending to behave than she was. He could not even be bothered to look at her any longer and turned his gaze to Chuqing instead.

Mo Bai’s childhood sweetheart…

Was it because he had not interacted with her much in the past?

Why did he remember her as being quite well behaved before?

Under the pressure of Cang Chuli’s gaze, Chuqing considered how she ought to explain this to her General.

They had accompanied Miss Xiao in the middle of the night to meet her lover. She had failed to meet the lover, and then the Emperor had caught them instead…

If such a humiliating story got out today, how could Miss Xiao ever show her face again?

Ah, well. Miss Xiao called her Fourth Sister, after all. She would take this secret to the grave.

And so Chuqing pressed her lips tightly together, resolved not to say a word no matter what her General asked.

Cang Chuli glanced at Mo Bai beside her.

The man’s expression plainly said that if Cang Chuli punished Chuqing, he would drop to his knees and plead for mercy at once.

Cang Chuli looked away in disgust.

*Tsk… A hopeless romantic.*

“We’ll discuss this after we return to the mansion. For now, get back to your tent and sleep. If you dare run out again, I’ll break your legs.”

“Yes. Thank you, General!”

“Yes. Thank you, General!”

Hearing this, the two women knew they had escaped punishment for the moment. They hurriedly thanked him, then fled.

“Ah Heng, how do you think the General will punish us when we get back?”

Chuqing was too honest. The day was not even over, yet she had already begun worrying about her future.

Xia Heng, however, thought little of it.

She had heard similar threats more times than she could count, including but not limited to:

“We’ll discuss this later.”

“I can’t control you.”

“You’ll bear the consequences yourself.”

And so she said calmly, “Don’t panic. We still have two days, don’t we? We’ll work hard and find a chance to earn some merit over the next two days. Once the General forgets all about this, we’ll be fine.”

Chuqing nodded, thoroughly convinced.