Chapter 306 Suppressing laughter, not daring to laugh

Yao Qingling also shrank into the quilt and buried her head.

That's so embarrassing.

Although she had chosen the person she would spend her life with, the beautiful scene she imagined was her wedding night, where she would be all clean and beautiful, looking stunning in front of him.

How did it end up like this?

She couldn't help but wonder if, on their wedding night, he would think of her now, so dirty and smelly.

Ugh, this is so annoying! She's a mother now, so why does she act like a little girl running wild when she sees such a big forest?

Suddenly, a heavy object pressed down on the bed.

Qingling thought Lin Shiyuan had returned. She kept her head down and refused to come out, shifting her body slightly: "Didn't you go to boil water? Hurry up and let me calm down."

There was no response, only muffled sounds.

"Li Bai?" Qing Ling poked her head out and saw the white wolf tilting its head to look at her.

The wolf insisted on burrowing into the blankets, and Yao Qingling couldn't resist it, so she had no choice but to let it in.

Only then did Qingling understand Bailang's intention.

It felt she was cold and warmed her with its own body.

Qingling sighed with emotion and stroked its soft white fur: "You're so kind."

Lin Shiyuan returned with water. Upon hearing the sound, Yao Qingling immediately shrank back under the covers like a turtle.

Through the curtain, the man couldn't see her; he just kept adding water to the pot.

After finally heating up a pot of water, I was troubled by the lack of a tub for bathing, so I had to use a basin to carry the hot water into the bedroom.

Qingling remained huddled under the covers, refusing to come out: "You can go out now, I can do it myself."

Lin Shiyuan didn't know what she was being awkward about, so he grabbed her with his big hand and pulled her out of the blanket.

The mud dried, smeared on his face and body, making him look like a mud doll that had come to life and was about to be reborn.

"..." The man suppressed a laugh, not daring to laugh.

"Get out of here!" Yao Qingling was furious.

The man went out to fetch the charcoal brazier. Yao Qingling thought he wouldn't come back in, so she took off her cloak and wrung out a handkerchief to wipe herself.

Lin Shiyuan brought in the charcoal fire and saw her holding a cloth, wiping it inch by inch.

Like lotus roots emerging from the water, carefully washed clean, they are white and tender, making one want to pinch them to see if water can be squeezed out.

"Who let you in! Why are you here again!" Yao Qingling was incoherent, both ashamed and embarrassed, clutching a cloth to cover herself, but also flustered and unsure where to hide.

Lin Shiyuan, however, calmed down.

He placed the charcoal brazier at the foot of the bed: "It's cold in the room; the charcoal fire will make it warmer."

Then, he took her cloth, put it back in the basin, scrubbed off the mud, and then wiped her body.

Little by little, solemnly and carefully, without any romantic fantasies in his eyes, he simply wanted to wipe her clean.

"It's my fault. I didn't warn you about the puddle in the woods. I came with you, and now you're suffering like this. Luckily, it was just a puddle..."

What allowed Lin Shiyuan to remain calm in front of the female body was his lingering fear.

Qingling bit her lip.

Actually, she was also at fault. She grew up in the southwest, where there are many mountains and forests. How could she not know that there are water pits in the forest, and there are also many traps dug by hunters. If you accidentally fall in, you will be injured at best, and die at worst.

It was her own momentary indulgence and playfulness that made her forget the danger.

She lowered her head, trying to lessen his guilt with a slightly less severe consequence: "Don't say anything, I... I'm sad that I left you with such a terrible impression... so filthy."

"Qingling, there's nothing to be ashamed of." The man repeatedly scrubbed the cloth, the sound of rushing water filling the quiet air.

“When I first arrived in the capital, I was sitting in a prison cart. I was so dirty that you couldn’t even see my face clearly, but you still spoke up for me, didn’t you?”

"When I first went to the battlefield, I couldn't fight on the front lines. Instead, I carried corpses after the battle. The stench on my body was so strong that I couldn't wash it off. On my way home, I would run into the county magistrate's dog, which would follow me and try to bite me."

"Later, I went to the battlefield. There was constant gunfire. My body was often half covered in soot and half in blood. I lay in a pile of corpses. The smell of blood and soot seeped into my body. When I came home, the dog smelled my body again and ran away in fright."

"Qingling, if you had met me back then, would you have been afraid? Would you have thought I was ugly and dirty?"

Yao Qingling shook her head: "No."

As a child, she saw her father returning home from the battlefield.

He had already washed up from the military camp, but he was still filthy, with dark skin, and when he shook his hair, wisps of ash fell down.

But when Xiao Qingling saw her father return safely, the first thing she did was rush over and hug him.

She had also seen her father's wounds repeatedly reopen, all of which were rotten and festering. Her mother would squeeze out the pus and blood with tears in her eyes and cut away the rotten flesh with a knife.

Qingling always remembered that smell; it was the smell of herbs and meat pickled together.

Lin Shiyuan continued, "The south is starting to become unsettled again. I don't know when war will break out again, but if war really breaks out and there are no generals in the court, I will definitely have to go to the battlefield again. When that time comes, you will see me like that. Will you run away?"

Qingling looked up at him blankly: "A war?" She snapped out of her daze, frowning, "How did you know?"

Lin Shiyuan smiled faintly: "The war has never truly stopped. Once the Japanese have tasted the sweetness of victory, they will do it again and again."

Therefore, he has always been a proponent of war, believing that the enemy should be struck hard enough to deter them from fighting for at least ten years.

However, the so-called peace faction in the court did not want to fight. In order to maintain their noble and comfortable lives, they were unwilling to fight, thinking that giving the Japanese some benefits would make them put down their weapons.

Little did they know that if they eat your rice today, they will want your land tomorrow; if they take your silver today, they will want to mine your mines tomorrow.

Desire has no end.

Yao Qingling fell silent.

"I'll go change the water." The man carried the dirty water out, poured it on the ground outside, and then brought in a basin of clean water.

After several attempts, Qingling was finally cleaned.

Finally, the man brought in a large bowl of hot ginger soup: "Drink several bowls; you need to sweat it out."

"Mmm." Qingling nodded obediently.

Lin Shiyuan touched her hair: "Would you like to wash your hair again?"

"want."

So the man brought water again and washed her hair.

His rough fingers ran through her long hair, gently massaging her scalp and calming Yao Qingling's restless heart.

After that, she rested her head on his lap and let him wipe her long hair.

In her dream, amidst the raging gunfire, she ran among armored soldiers, trying to find her father, then grabbed Taoye and fled for her life, endlessly fleeing for her life.

Then, a figure blocked her way. The person turned around, his face was dirty, but his eyes were bright when he looked at her, like the stars in the sky.

He said, "My wife, are you looking for me?"

Yao Qingling laughed and cried at the same time, then threw herself into the man's arms.

Yao Qingling clung tightly to the man's leg, alternating between crying and laughing, and Lin Shiyuan's attempts to pull her arm were futile.

Touching her forehead, it was burning hot.

She still had a fever.

Lin Shiyuan panicked: "Qingling, Qingling..."

Yao Qingling opened her eyes groggily, looked at the man in front of her, and murmured, "Lin Shiyuan, I want to marry you..."

The man felt a surge of emotion, wondering what she had dreamt about that made her say those words.

He smiled and replied, "Yao Qingling, I'm going to marry you too. I don't want anyone else but you."

He took care of her all afternoon, and when Yao Qingling woke up, she was nestled in the man's arms.

He took off his shirt, revealing firm, hot muscles; snuggling against him felt like hugging a furnace.

Qingling kissed his lips, then pulled back, and continued to sleep together, her arms wrapped around his waist, her fingers tracing the flesh of his waist.