Chapter 43 [VIP]

Chapter Summary: Maltose.

Yu Jing fell asleep quickly, and Xie Xuan, listening to the even breathing beside him, also fell asleep after a while.

"Thank you, Xuan."

Yu Jing's voice was soft. Xie Xuan looked up and was about to respond when he saw the scene before him, and the words instantly stuck in his throat. His breathing became heavy and rapid involuntarily.

Yu Jing lay on the couch, a cotton towel wrapped around her chest and coarse cloth covering her lower body. Her long hair was scattered on the couch and on her body. Her skin was as white as snow, and her long hair was jet black, intertwined, making it impossible to look away.

Xie Xuan only glanced at her before turning his head away, calling out somewhat embarrassedly, "Madam... Madam."

"Come here," Yu Jing's voice rang out.

"Your subject dares not," Xie Xuan replied.

"Come here." Yu Jing's tone became a little more serious. Xie Xuan slowly walked towards her and reached the edge of the bed.

Suddenly, a pair of slender hands grabbed Xie Xuan's hand. Xie Xuan froze, not daring to move. Yu Jing held onto his hand and moved it to the tie of the cotton scarf on his chest.

"Untie it." Yu Jing's voice was calm, but very seductive. Xie Xuan's fingers twitched slightly, moving to the tie and gently pulling it open.

The cotton towel, no longer binding him, instantly came undone. Seeing this, Xie Xuan slightly turned his head. As soon as he turned, he felt a soft warmth on his lips. Looking down, he saw Yu Jing's face right before him. Her eyes were large, filled with a pool of spring water, their swirling light like a whirlpool. Xie Xuan felt his heart stop for a moment; that whirlpool drew him in, slowly pulling him deeper. He felt something different in his body; a warm current seemed to surge within him, making him feel intensely hot.

Looking at Yu Jing again, his last shred of reason pulled him back. Xie Xuan slightly turned his head, avoiding Yu Jing's kiss. He then called out, "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."

Even he himself didn't realize that his voice was terribly hoarse.

Suddenly, he shuddered, and everything before his eyes vanished. Opening his eyes, he found himself in complete darkness; the sky was just beginning to lighten, and the area inside the tent was even darker. Xie Xuan felt a strange sensation beneath him—wet, sticky, and warm. Realizing what had happened, Xie Xuan quickly turned his head to look at Yu Jing; thankfully, she was still asleep. Relieved, he gently lifted the covers, stood up, and grabbed some clean clothes to change into. Opening the door, he glanced at the dimly lit sky and suddenly remembered the clothes he had placed in the wooden tub the previous night.

After Li Yun got up, she noticed several clothes hanging on the bamboo pole in front of the door. Upon closer inspection, she realized they were clothes she had prepared for Yu Jing and Xie Xuan. Hearing a noise, Li Yun looked over and saw Xie Xuan carrying a wooden tub for washing clothes.

"Why are you up so early? And you've already washed your clothes," Li Yun asked casually.

Upon hearing this, Xie Xuan smiled, his ear tips turning a barely perceptible red: "Once I'm awake, I can't fall back asleep, so I might as well just sit here doing nothing."

"Then I'll go pick some mushrooms first," Li Yun said.

"Okay, be careful going up the mountain, elder sister," Xie Xuan replied.

"Yes, she will," Li Yun said with a smile. "Your wife is so lucky to have found such a good husband like you."

Xie Xuan paused, glanced at the room where Yu Jing lived, pursed his lips and said, "Where."

After Li Yun entered the kitchen, Xie Xuan watched her go in, then turned his gaze towards Yu Jing's room.

After Li Yun left, it gradually got light. Not long after, Sun Jun also came out of the house. Seeing Xie Xuan carrying breakfast, he greeted him, "I thought you hadn't gotten up yet, so I was thinking of eating breakfast before coming to wake you up."

Xie Xuan replied, "Brother Sun, please wait a moment. I've already brewed the medicine. I'll feed it to you after I've finished..."

Before he could finish speaking, Sun Jun interrupted him: "It's alright, no rush. Hunting doesn't have to start so early."

When Xie Xuan entered the room, Yu Jing was still asleep. Xie Xuan didn't want to wake her, but if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to prepare breakfast and medicine.

"lady."

Yu Jing slightly woke up, and when she opened her eyes, she saw Xie Xuan.

"Mmm," she responded softly.

"I will go up the mountain with my elder brother in a little while. Let's have breakfast and medicine first."

"good."

Xie Xuan helped her up, and they ate breakfast, drank her medicine, and then he gave her some maltose to suppress the bitterness. Yu Jing sipped the sweet maltose, looked at Xie Xuan, and still somewhat worriedly reminded him, "Be very careful."

"Yes, I will," Xie Xuan replied.

In the past, when he led troops, he usually said these words to his subordinates. Apart from his family, Yu Jing was the first person to repeatedly give him such instructions.

After Xie Xuan finished speaking, he was about to leave. Yu Jing watched his retreating figure and said, "Come back soon."

Xie Xuan paused, turned around, and replied, "Hmm."

Sun Jun and Xie Xuan took some dry rations up the mountain. Perhaps because the weather was getting warmer, many animals came out. They hunted several pheasants, two rabbits, and Xie Xuan even caught a red fox.

"I never expected you to be so powerful for your small frame. I underestimated you," Sun Jun said with a smile to Xie Xuan. Before Xie Xuan could reply, he continued, "This fire fox has glossy fur; its pelt alone could fetch a good price!"

"Brother Sun, where should we sell them?" Xie Xuan asked tentatively.

“There are people in the village who can harvest them.” Sun Jun said happily, having had a good harvest today.

"I thought we were going to take it to town," Xie Xuan chuckled.

“Hey, you don’t know, our village is really remote, it’s fifteen miles away from the town! And to get to the town, we have to cross that mountain.” Sun Jun said, pointing to the towering mountain in the distance.

Seeing the mountain, Xie Xuan felt a pang of worry. He had originally planned to make arrangements with the town's government officials first, and then have them come to fetch Yu Jing. But… it was fifteen li away, and there was still such a high mountain. It wasn't that he was afraid of the difficult journey, but if he wanted to get to town, it would take him at least three days. Sun Jun and Li Yun were good people, but he still couldn't bear to leave Yu Jing alone there for three days. He decided to wait until Yu Jing felt better before discussing it with her.

As Xie Xuan walked with Sun Jun, a faint floral fragrance suddenly wafted by. He looked up and saw trees of red and white flowers in the distance. Sun Jun saw Xie Xuan looking at the flowers and said, "These are magnolia flowers. They're delicious when coated in flour and eggs and deep-fried."

"Let's pick some to take back," Xie Xuan said, suddenly curious about the smell of the flower.

“Okay.” Sun Jun readily agreed, and the two of them casually picked some more before heading towards the village.

When they arrived at the place in the village where wild game was collected, Xie Xuan, who knew nothing about buying and selling or about market prices, let Sun Jun talk to the shopkeeper. After a while, Sun Jun came out, carrying a plump pheasant in his hand.

Xie Xuan, holding flowers in his hands, noticed the pheasant in Sun Jun's hand. His brow twitched, thinking the shopkeeper didn't want it, and he asked, "What's this?"

"Oh." Sun Jun held up the pheasant in his hand. "I was thinking, your wife is still injured, right? Anyway, we caught a lot, so let's keep one to make soup."

"Thank you," Xie Xuan said. No sooner had Xie Xuan finished speaking than Sun Jun handed him two silver ingots.

Xie Xuan didn't accept the money and looked up in confusion: "Brother Sun?"

"The fire fox sold for two and a half taels, and with the pheasant and rabbit, it sold for a total of four taels. This silver is yours." Sun Jun was very happy, with a smile on his face, and excitedly held up four fingers to Xie Xuan.

"Brother Sun, please accept this money. We've been eating and staying at your house, which has already been a lot of trouble for us. If you don't accept it, we'll feel bad." Xie Xuan was infected by Sun Jun's smile and replied with a smile.

Sun Jun was a straightforward person. Seeing that Xie Xuan refused to accept the money, he put the silver away and replied, "Consider it as keeping it for you."

Xie Xuan suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, Brother Sun, is there anywhere in the village that sells maltose?"

Sun Jun was taken aback at first, then suddenly laughed and said, "Of course there is, I'll take you there."

"Alright," Xie Xuan replied. "Thank you for your trouble, Brother Sun."

"Don't be so polite with me. I'm tired of hearing you say thank you and trouble yourself all the time," Sun Jun said impatiently.

Xie Xuan understood Sun Jun's meaning: "I understand."

Walking along the path with Sun Jun, they encountered several uncles and aunties returning from herding cattle and sheep. Every time they met someone, they would stare at Xie Xuan for a while, and then say to Sun Jun, "Old Sun, is this the child you picked up? He's really handsome."

Xie Xuan greeted them with a smile, marveling at how quickly Aunt Pang spread the news.

After walking around for a while, we finally arrived at a thatched hut. Before we even entered, we could smell a sweet, cloying aroma.

"Aunt Yi!" Sun Jun called out as he pushed open the small door.

"Hey, come in!" a cheerful voice responded, and a middle-aged woman came out from behind. Xie Xuan continued to follow Sun Jun inside. The thatched hut was small, with many things, but it was not messy and was very clean.

Pile of snow-white maltose coated with soybean flour was piled in the basket. Next to it stood a straw target, with sugar cubes skewered on bamboo sticks, and some bright red, unidentified fruits coated with a layer of sugar.

"Come to buy candy?" The middle-aged woman, called Aunt Yi, came out of the inner room wiping her apron and said to Sun Jun.

“Mm,” Sun Jun replied.

"How many do you want?" Aunt Yi asked Sun Jun, picking up a piece of cut oil paper.

Five coins are enough.

"Okay." Aunt Yi replied, scooped a bucketful with a bamboo tube, poured it onto oil paper, and skillfully wrapped it up.

Xie Xuan stared at the cluster of bright red wild berries on the target and asked, "What's that?"

"Plum candies," Aunt Yi replied. "Would you like a skewer?"

Xie Xuan was taken aback for a moment, but Sun Jun spoke up: "Two skewers, please."

"become."

Xie Xuan held two strings of bright red candies in one hand and a large bunch of magnolia flowers in the other. The faint fragrance of the flowers mixed with the sweet taste of the candies, and Xie Xuan felt as if he had fallen into a honey pot.

Around noon, Li Yun returned and stir-fried some fresh mushrooms. They tasted delicious mixed with rice, and Yu Jing even ate two extra bowls of rice. Feeling a bit full, and feeling cooped up inside all day, and worried about Xie Xuan, Yu Jing asked Li Yun to help her move a chair and sit under the eaves.

When Xie Xuan returned, this was the scene he saw.

Yu Jing leaned back in her chair, her gaze fixed on the doorway. After two days of rest, Yu Jing's complexion looked much better than before. Her long, dark hair was styled into a simple bun, secured with a wooden stick. Her coarse cloth dress was rather large for her, long and trailing on the ground, making her appear petite and graceful.

A sentence suddenly popped into Xie Xuan's mind: "Even in simple clothes and a plain hairpin, her beauty cannot be concealed."