Chapter 36 [VIP]

Chapter Summary: Taking in.

Both of them had injuries on their faces and bodies, and their clothes were torn by tree branches. Upon closer inspection, the young man was very handsome, and the woman also looked quite young and extremely beautiful. Although their clothes were torn and covered in mud, and very dirty, it was not hard to tell that the fabric was expensive.

Seeing that Yu Jing was injured and posed no threat, the elder brother sheathed his knife and asked, "Where did you come from?"

His accent was quite different from that of the capital. It took Xie Xuan a moment to process what he had just said, and he replied, "We came from the capital."

"The capital!" The elder brother exclaimed in surprise. As he approached them, he noticed a pile of ashes beside them. Next to it lay some firewood he had chopped the day before, piled under the stones. It was immediately clear that they had used his firewood yesterday.

Seeing his elder brother's gaze fixed on the ashes of the fire, Xie Xuan said, "I'm sorry, elder brother. After falling into the water yesterday, Madam was terribly cold. I saw some dry firewood over there, so I took some."

"It's alright, it's alright," the older brother waved his hand and said, "Can you walk?"

Xie Xuan then realized that his elder brother was asking about Yu Jing, and replied, "I will hold her."

"Oh." The older brother nodded in response, then said, "Wait here for a while, I'll get the firewood from yesterday, and we'll go back together."

"Alright, thank you, elder brother." Xie Xuan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing his elder brother's agreement and replied with a smile.

The elder brother went inside, carried out firewood, and Xie Xuan reached out to pick up Yu Jing. Yu Jing's wound aggravated her pain, and she gritted her teeth. Seeing Yu Jing's expression, Xie Xuan whispered to comfort her, "Your Majesty, please bear with it."

"Mm," Yu Jing responded softly, nodding.

The elder brother carried the firewood and led the way. Xie Xuan had fallen into the water during the fight yesterday and hadn't rested or eaten anything all night while watching over Yu Jing. So, carrying Yu Jing was quite strenuous for him. Yu Jing realized this and suddenly felt a little guilty. Xie Xuan would definitely find it much easier to walk on his own.

Xie Xuan carried Yu Jing closely behind the man, afraid of losing her if he wasn't careful. But he was also afraid of touching Yu Jing's wound, so he didn't dare to move too much. After walking like this for a while, Xie Xuan's forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat.

"Young man, do you want to take a break?" the older brother asked suddenly as he walked ahead. He was carrying nearly two bundles of firewood, but he wasn't out of breath at all.

"It's alright," Xie Xuan replied.

The most important thing now is to treat Yu Jing's wound as soon as possible. Yesterday, it was only bandaged with cloth and no medicine was used. Xie Xuan is worried about Yu Jing's wound.

It didn't rain this morning, but it had rained heavily last night, making the forest path slippery and difficult to walk on. Xie Xuan was carrying Yu Jing, and Yu Jing could clearly feel that every step he took was somewhat difficult. The air was very damp and cold, filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees, but Xie Xuan was only wearing his inner garment, and his outer robe was still draped over her. However, Yu Jing could see that his forehead was covered in sweat.

After walking for a while, we saw several houses in the distance, with wisps of smoke rising slowly from their chimneys, mingling with the misty vapor. It was a vast expanse of white, like a fairyland.

"It's just ahead!" The older brother turned around and pointed to a house a little distance away.

"Okay." Xie Xuan replied, panting heavily, his arm aching terribly.

Yu Jing looked at Xie Xuan, wanting to say something, but unsure what to say. But at least they were almost there.

Continuing to follow her elder brother inside, they reached the house. It was a mud house with neat rows of blue tiles on the roof. A bamboo fence surrounded the courtyard, covered in bright yellow forsythia, like a cluster of stars. Chickens and ducks were roaming the yard, searching for food. The people inside were probably cooking; the aroma of food wafted on the breeze, and Yu Jing's stomach growled loudly. A little embarrassed, Yu Jing buried her head in Xie Xuan's arms.

The older brother skillfully reached in and pried open the bamboo latch, then pushed open the small door and carried the firewood inside. The chickens and ducks were startled and quickly scurried to the side, squawking as they went.

The people inside must have heard the commotion. As they came out, they called out, "You're back! Hurry up and put your things down and eat. Looking at the sky, it's probably going to rain again soon. It's been raining non-stop these past few days, and it's been hard to start a fire."

It was a middle-aged woman, dressed in coarse cloth, wearing a dusty apron, her hair held up with a silver hairpin. Though simple, she was clean. The middle-aged woman clearly sensed something was wrong when she came out. She looked at Xie Xuan and Yu Jing standing at the door, then at her elder brother, her eyes full of questions.

"They were merchants passing by. I found them under a cave by the stream when I went to get firewood. I heard that their goods were robbed by bandits, and their wife was also injured by the bandits. They looked quite pitiful," the older brother honestly explained to the middle-aged woman, while nervously stroking the hem of his clothes as he explained.

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman looked at Xie Xuan and Yu Jing, sizing them up.

Xie Xuan held Yu Jing and felt inexplicably nervous, afraid that the woman would disagree.

"Come in quickly!" The woman said, gesturing for Xie Xuan who was standing there in a daze. Xie Xuan breathed a sigh of relief when he heard her say that, and then carried Yu Jing inside.

"Let's put her in this room." The middle-aged woman saw Xie Xuan carrying Yu Jing in and quickly led him to the east wing. The middle-aged woman opened the door to the east wing first, and Xie Xuan carried Yu Jing in and placed her on the couch.

The room was very clean, but at first glance it looked brand new, and no one seemed to live there. Yu Jing was placed on the couch, and because of the pain, she tightly gripped Xie Xuan's clothes.

"Don't be afraid." Xie Xuan didn't know how to comfort Yu Jing, so he could only repeat those two words softly.

Hearing Xie Xuan say this, Yu Jing felt much more at ease.

"I'll go heat some water and find two clean sets of clothes," the middle-aged woman said, touching her dusty apron.

"Okay, thank you." Xie Xuan nodded in response.

"Are you alright?" Xie Xuan asked worriedly.

Yu Jing nodded in response.

"Knock, knock, knock." The door was knocked on quickly. Xie Xuan got up and went to open it. The middle-aged woman came in carrying two sets of clean clothes and a pot of steaming water. She put the things on the wooden table and then turned and left.

When he came back in, he was carrying a copper basin, and in his hands were steaming hot rice porridge and two or three steamed buns.

"You probably didn't eat last night, so let's have something to eat first."

"Alright, thank you." Xie Xuan replied, then, recalling Yu Jing's injuries, said, "Elder sister, could you please get a few towels? Madam has been wounded by an arrow, and I'm still worried about the wound..."

Xie Xuan was interrupted by his eldest sister as he spoke: "Wait a moment."

The older sister went out, and a moment later turned back, holding several clean cotton towels in her hand: "These are new, they were just exchanged in town a few days ago, and haven't been used yet. You can use these."

"I'll go find some ointment that old men use to treat their wounds."

"Thank you for your trouble." Xie Xuan took the cotton towel and turned to look at Yu Jing. He had been too hasty earlier and only now realized something was wrong. He couldn't possibly wipe Yu Jing's body. Tearing open her clothes to bandage her was already a great disrespect. But they had already accepted them as husband and wife, and if he refused, it might arouse their suspicion.

Xie Xuan stood in the room hesitating for a while, just as he was thinking, his eldest sister had already found the ointment and brought it over. Seeing that Xie Xuan was still in a daze, his eldest sister was also a little surprised.

"Elder sister, could you please help me with this? It breaks my heart to see Madam so badly injured..." Xie Xuan said with a sorrowful expression. The elder sister glanced at Yu Jing lying on the couch and nodded in agreement, "Alright."

"Thank you," Xie Xuan said, then turned and left, closing the door behind him.

The eldest sister walked to the bedside and sat down. Yu Jing had just heard Xie Xuan speak to her and knew why she had come. She wasn't afraid and weakly said to her, "Thank you!"

The eldest sister was about to explain, but upon hearing Yu Jing's words, she nodded and reached out to help Yu Jing undress. The bloodstains on Yu Jing's clothes had been washed away by the stream, leaving only faint red marks. The clothes had also been dried over a fire the previous night, so now only mud stains remained. The eldest sister helped remove the clothes, revealing the wound on Yu Jing's right chest. The wound was wrapped with strips of Xie Xuan's maroon outer robe, and blood seeped out, a dark red patch that looked particularly gruesome against Yu Jing's snow-white skin.

The eldest sister took a deep breath and reached out to untie the bandage on Yu Jing's wound: "Please bear with it, young lady."

"Hmm." As Yu Jing responded, her older sister's hand had already touched the strip of cloth, and Yu Jing's voice immediately changed.

She had tried her best to grit her teeth and not make a sound, but the bandage on her wound was probably too tight and clung to the flesh, causing excruciating pain with every movement. Yu Jing gritted her teeth, large drops of sweat dripping from her forehead, her hands gripping the bed sheet tightly.

"Girl, hang in there a little longer," the older woman said gently to Yu Jing, pulling back the dark red strips of cloth. The cloth was finally completely torn open. The older woman stood up, soaked a cotton towel in hot water, and wrung it out.

The warm steam from the cotton towel spread out and touched my face, feeling cozy.

"Please bear with it a little longer, young lady. I'll clean your wound and apply some medicine."

"Okay." Yu Jing responded very weakly, the sound coming from a breath rather than her throat.

When the warm cotton towel was applied to the wound, it stung with pain, but also brought a strange sense of relief. Yu Jing endured it, but couldn't help it any longer and let out a soft cry.

Xie Xuan stood outside and heard the sounds inside. His heart tightened, his brows furrowed, and even his breathing became lighter.

Then it started raining again, not heavily, just a fine, dense drizzle in the air. The distant mountains were indistinct, shrouded in heavy mist.