Surviving in the General's Mansion - Chapter 96

“Your Majesty! This subject has been wronged!”

In the great hall, Lin Feng knocked his head against the floor with a series of resounding thuds.

“This subject knew nothing! However much grain the Ministry of Revenue transported, that was naturally how much we received!

“This subject was stationed far away on the Southern Frontier. I could not rush back to verify the figures with the Ministry of Revenue in time!

“I thought perhaps the other regions of Huaxia had enjoyed good harvests this year and the additional grain was a reward for our soldiers!

“This subject has guarded the border for so many years. I harbor absolutely no disloyalty toward Your Majesty!”

Dongfang Wei watched Lin Feng make a nuisance of himself below.

Resting his cheek against one hand, he did not grow particularly angry.

He knew this old fox would never confess easily.

“Go to the Ministry of Revenue today, reconcile the accounts, and return the excess grain that was transported.”

“That… Your Majesty, much of the grain has already been consumed…”

Lin Feng stammered, looking terribly aggrieved.

“Then its value will be deducted from your salary.”

Dongfang Wei had no desire to argue further.

“Yes! This subject obeys Your Majesty’s decree!”

Lin Feng returned to his place and even smiled at Cang Chuli.

After court, he called from behind, “Ah, Mingxu!”

Cang Chuli had been walking ahead and stopped.

“You came back without so much as a greeting. Uncle Lin watched you grow up, after all,” Lin Feng complained.

“Does General Lin need something from me?”

“Ah, I heard you won a great victory on the Northern Frontier! Uncle Lin came especially to congratulate you!”

Then he began reminiscing.

“Mingxu was such a small child in those days. After killing someone on the battlefield for the first time, you came back crying. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Who could have guessed that once a man grew up, he would turn into a wolf?”

Lin Feng deliberately paused.

“A few bites, and you sent those Tujue soldiers fleeing in every direction! Even your uncle felt delighted hearing about it! Hahahahaha!”

As he spoke, he swung a hand down heavily toward Cang Chuli’s shoulder.

Cang Chuli stepped back without expression, leaving Lin Feng to strike empty air.

Lin Feng did not appear embarrassed. He withdrew his hand and muttered, “Once children grow up, they stop being close. Uncle Lin even held you when you were little!”

“If General Lin has no other business, I will return first. There are matters waiting at the mansion.”

Lin Feng waved a hand.

“Oh, you young brat. You haven’t even married. What business could there be at home?

“Ah, speaking of marriage, guess who I encountered on the road back this time?”

Cang Chuli looked coldly at Lin Feng.

“On the road from the Southern Border to the capital, I ran into your aunt by marriage! Her family is returning to the capital as well!

“They had so many carriages and people. Who knows what interesting things they brought?

“I hurried back at full speed, but your aunt is still behind. She’ll probably arrive in a couple of days!

“She also said she would hold a banquet for friends and relatives once she returned.

“Mingxu, we’ll talk more then!”

Lin Feng laughed again and went off to reminisce with other colleagues.

Cang Chuli had not ridden to court these last two days.

After he entered his household carriage, Mo Bai handed him a hand warmer.

“General! Zhuxiao hasn’t been eating properly lately.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know. He ate well before, but his appetite has declined these last two days. No matter how they feed him, he won’t eat much.

“The groom is beside himself with worry. He has come to me several times.”

“We’ll look when we return.”

As they spoke, Cang Chuli caught a faint fragrance and asked Mo Bai, “What is that smell?”

“Hmm? Smell? I don’t smell anything.”

Mo Bai wrinkled his nose and sniffed in every direction.

Mo Qing guessed, “Does the General mean the scent of the hand cream?”

“Hand cream?”

Cang Chuli looked at Mo Bai in confusion.

“Ah, yes! Miss Ah Heng made hand cream and distributed one jar to everyone in the mansion.

“She instructed us to apply it after washing our hands in winter. It prevents chapping and chilblains.

“And she was right—it really is moisturizing!

“Look at my hands. The places that cracked the last two years are already much better, so I’ve kept using it.”

Cang Chuli glanced once, then pushed away the hand Mo Bai had extended in front of him.

After a moment’s thought, he asked, “How do the places where you previously had chilblains feel?”

Mo Bai answered honestly, “The snake-fat salve you gave this subordinate already healed most of the chilblains.

“It hasn’t reached the coldest part of the year yet, and I’ve used the hand cream these last two days, so they haven’t returned.”

Cang Chuli nodded, then asked, “She gave you only one jar?”

“Huh? No. Mo Qing and I each received one!

“Miss Ah Heng made plenty. She said absolutely no one in our mansion is allowed to get chilblains this year! Uncle Zhao and Chef Xiang have started using it too.”

Cang Chuli leaned back, closed his eyes, and pretended to doze.

Mo Qing looked speechlessly at Mo Bai.

He often wondered how a man like this had managed to acquire a fiancée.

Could Chuqing truly hold a conversation with him?

Then he considered Chuqing’s personality.

Forget it. They were a perfect match.

He had better go back and give Miss Ah Heng a hint.

The three men returned to the General’s Mansion.

After leaving the carriage, Cang Chuli went directly to the stable to see what was wrong with his mount.

He also sent Mo Bai to handle several miscellaneous matters.

After receiving Mo Qing’s hint, Xia Heng nervously carried the two jars of hand cream she had originally reserved for herself toward the stable to find Cang Chuli.

All the while, she wondered whether Mo Qing had misunderstood.

Would the General truly care about a little hand cream from her?

Everything he used was bestowed by the imperial household.

Those products contained precious medicinal herbs and fragrances.

She had assumed something she made could never catch Cang Chuli’s eye, so the thought of giving him any had never even occurred to her.

But since Mo Qing had said something, she might as well try.

If the General refused it, she could simply bring it back.

Before Xia Heng reached the stable, she encountered the General riding through the rear courtyard.

Cang Chuli was about to ask why she had come when Zhuxiao walked directly toward her.

“Greetings, General.”

Xia Heng bowed. Before she could lower herself fully, Zhuxiao caught her sleeve in his teeth.

“Hey! Hey, Zhuxiao, no! This is stuffed with cotton. You can’t eat it!”

Xia Heng rescued her sleeve from the horse’s mouth.

This was now her only wearable padded jacket. If Zhuxiao bit holes in it, she truly would have nothing left to wear.

Zhuxiao did not become angry when his “food” was stolen.

He stepped closer, lowered his head beside Xia Heng, and invited her to pet him.

With Cang Chuli so near, Xia Heng did not dare move.

Watching his mount behave so shamelessly, Cang Chuli was suddenly struck by inspiration and understood why Zhuxiao had not been eating properly.

He dismounted and walked over to Xia Heng.

“What is it?”

“Oh! Right!”

Xia Heng had nearly forgotten why she came. She hurriedly pulled her hands from her sleeves and presented the two jars she had been holding like treasure.

“General, this is hand cream I… this servant made…”

Her words suddenly failed her. Giving a present was surprisingly difficult to phrase.

Various expressions flashed through Xia Heng’s mind before she tried, “Um… would you do me the honor of trying it?”

Cang Chuli held Zhuxiao’s reins in one hand to prevent the horse from moving closer.

With the other, he took both jars from Xia Heng’s palms.

“Is this the same kind Mo Bai received?”

Xia Heng considered her answer.

“Ah, yes. They were made in the same batch…”

Her voice grew quieter. Did the General dislike it because it was not sufficiently luxurious?

Cang Chuli merely gave a soft acknowledgment.

Holding the two small jars in his left hand and leading Zhuxiao with his right, he walked away.

Xia Heng looked at her empty palms, then at the retreating backs of man and horse.

Did that mean… she had successfully given them to him?