Welcoming the Xie family

Chapter 43

The result of Yuanzi taking me to the hot springs to heal my wounds was that I ended up being even more injured.

Not only that, but Lan Feiyu, who was not seriously injured, was also brought along. By the end of the hot spring trip, she almost couldn't even get on the horse.

As I emerged from the pool, I realized why I hadn't seen the monkey Zhizha who had actually "soaked" in the hot spring with me. It was sitting on the horse I had ridden on the way here, its paws gripping the reins, its head held high, looking ahead. Behind it followed several burly men I had seen at the inn, carrying bows and arrows and wielding large swords, lined up neatly at the entrance to the hot spring.

I knew something was wrong the moment I saw them. Putting aside the group of people, the horses they were riding were all large and had shiny coats, clearly well-maintained. They were neatly lined up in rows and columns, and none of them were impatient enough to lower their heads to graze or kick their hooves and neigh. These were not horses used by civilians; they were clearly well-trained warhorses.

Warhorses are loyal to their masters and do not usually allow strangers to ride them. Does that mean these men are knights who live with their horses day and night?

They are...

The leading knight, seeing that Iris had led me and Lan Feiyu, two defeated soldiers, to appear, dismounted, stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Master!"

Iris gestured to stop him from speaking further, and calmly instructed, "For some reason, that 'medicine man' has followed us here. Take your men and carefully patrol the surrounding area. If you find anything unusual, make your own decision."

Just as the knight was about to take his orders and leave, Iris said sharply, "If anything unexpected happens again, let your lieutenant come back with your head."

Although the threat wasn't directed at me, it still sent a shiver down my spine.

After the large group of people left one after another, Yuanzi turned to me and Lan Feiyu and said, "Hang in there, we'll ride back to the village."

I nodded, but couldn't help but chatter, saying sarcastically, "I know, but I didn't expect a grand sedan chair to come and pick me up."

Iris glanced at me, then at Lan Feiyu, and surprisingly, a smile appeared on her lips: "Isn't it your Han custom to use a sedan chair to welcome the bride? You really want to ride in a sedan chair?"

What does this have to do with anything?

I wanted to argue, but Lan Feiyu secretly tugged at my sleeve, so I had no choice but to shut up, taking it as a sign of my magnanimity and not wanting to argue with Yuanzi.

There were three horses. I still rode with Monkey Chirp because my hands were really sore. On the way back, Chirp pulled the reins for me. We were sandwiched between Kite and Blue Flying Rain. No one looked at each other or spoke.

I've been thinking about the identity of the kite, and I feel that my guess is pretty close to the truth.

Thinking back to when "Mu Qing" first turned into a monster, I was worried that Yuanzi, who had come into contact with her, and Lan Feiyu, who was splattered with her blood, might be harmed and turn into that terrible "medicine person." As a result, the next day I myself was also drenched in "her" blood. If something really happened, probably none of the three of us would escape this calamity.

I returned to the village in a daze. I spent my time healing my wounds, bathing and changing, and even offering some food to my stomach. Only after I had finished taking care of myself did I belatedly realize that neither Lan Feiyu nor Yuanzi had disappeared.

At this moment, a question I had previously forgotten came back to my mind: How did Lan Feiyu end up there?

Did Yuanzi ask her to go together, or did she go by herself?

When we returned, none of the three of us said a word, but I always felt that Lan Feiyu had something to say to me. She looked at me several times, but perhaps because Yuanzi was there, each time our eyes met, it was very brief.

But now I've been sent back to my room, and the door is locked. I grit my teeth, regretting that I took care of my bodily functions before going upstairs. It hasn't even been the time it takes to drink a cup of tea yet, so using that as an excuse is a stretch.

Just as I was racking my brains trying to come up with a good excuse to scare people into opening the door, the door opened first, and Yuanzi came in, carrying a medicinal soup with an extremely unpleasant smell.

“I won’t drink,” I said first, “unless you let me see Lan Feiyu.”

"If you don't drink it, I'll make sure you never see Lan Feiyu again." Yuanzi wasn't buying it; she was even more ruthless.

Speechless with frustration, I reluctantly picked up the medicine bowl and, with the air of a wine connoisseur, drank the indescribably unpleasant-tasting soup.

Iris narrowed her eyes slightly, a hint of a smile appearing on her face: "You should get some sleep first, and you'll see her tonight... and your eldest brother from the Xie family too."

Then I remembered what happened that night. Iris took me to the hot springs so that I would look radiant. Who would have thought that such a disaster would happen?

The sudden arrival of the Xie family members occupied my entire mind after Yuanzi left. I lay on the bed in a daze for a while, and soon, drowsiness came over me. It wasn't just because I was exhausted; I think it was also related to the medicine Yuanzi gave me. I vaguely thought that I would never be so obedient as to drink the medicine next time.

With this in mind, I once again kept my promise to the Duke of Zhou.

When I woke up, there were two young girls dressed as maids standing quietly not far from the foot of the bed, which startled me so much that I almost rolled off the bed.

"This servant will help Miss comb her hair and change her clothes." The two girls ignored my shock, clasped their hands in a bow, and said in unison.

Hearing this, my heart skipped a beat, and I quickly asked, "Is...is someone here?"

Neither of the girls paid any attention to me. They remained in the same position and repeated what they had just said in the same tone. I figured I couldn't get anything out of them, so I didn't want to make things difficult for them. I got out of bed and obediently let them do my hair and dress me.

When I was in the capital, I didn't like wearing makeup. My mother and Aunt Xian indulged my willfulness. Who would have thought that after running to the border region, I would lose my freedom? The two girls fussed over me for a long time before finally dressing me up in my finest clothes. However, my hands still couldn't be concealed, so after applying medicine, they could only wrap two brand-new white cloths around them.

Then I was ushered out of the room and downstairs.

What puzzled me was that Yuanzi and Lan Feiyu sat calmly in the hall, surrounded by a group of burly men with swords, but neither of them seemed to be dressed much differently from their morning attire; at most, they had just changed into clean clothes.

What about me?

The flower crowns, jewels, gold and silver hairpins made my scalp itch. I glared at Yuanzi and Lan Feiyu, but they returned my gaze with obvious joy, as if they were misers who had seen a shiny gold ingot!