Chapter 57 The Gentleman on the Beam

Yun Chen wanted to kneel down and thank the imperial physician.

She said that in order to avoid touching the wound on her back, she had to bear it for the time being, and asked everyone to keep an eye on her and not rush to take off her clothes and wash. She just had to expose her back with her clothes cut off to heal the wound until it scabbed over.

Although half of her back was bare, the exposed flesh was all rotten and she was covered with herbal cloth all day long, so it was impossible to tell whether she was a man or a woman.

She simply stopped trying to hold on and just lay down on the bed, letting herself faint in and out of the pain.

While she was in a daze due to a high fever, she knew that many people had come to see her.

Everyone comes in with the same process:

He called out "Yun Chen?" twice to test her reaction. Seeing that she didn't respond, he carefully lifted a corner of the herbal cloth on her back, let out a cry of surprise, shed a few tears, and then said a few words of concern before leaving.

She had to endure the pain of her back being lifted up several times every day.

In the blur, she seemed to hear Xiaoliu's voice and saw a rough face that was darker than the bottom of a pot.

Unlike others who only lifted a corner of the herbal towel out of fear of hurting her, Xiao Liu immediately lifted up most of the herbal towel, causing her to faint from the pain while half asleep.

She felt that if people came to see her less often, she might get better faster.

She heard Xiaoyue crying and cursing, saying that Huo Luyu was so worried that she couldn't sleep all night;

She heard Hua Jue crying secretly. When Ye Yan came in, Hua Jue insisted that he had caught a cold and his nose was uncomfortable.

She seemed to hear Bu Yan chanting scriptures for her as if for salvation, from the story of Pangu creating the world to the story of the death of a master archer who was good at shooting hooked arrows in the Yu family.

It is said that Yu Yangji spent seven or eight years to find the descendants of an ancient country who had lived in seclusion for hundreds of years. He selected a sharpshooter from among them and hired him with a large sum of money. For some reason, he was suddenly assassinated. His death was so tragic that the coroner was so scared that he didn't dare to perform an autopsy.

Finally, she heard a "gentleman on the beam" landing quietly beside her bed with the lightness and agility of a swallow.

This was the only one who didn't lift the herbal cloth from her back.

She felt that the person just stood quietly beside the bed for a long time.

She opened her eyes and saw Yan Shijiu staring at her back with a slightly stunned expression.

"How did you get in?"

He was a little slow to react, quickly suppressing all his emotions and showing his signature sunny smile.

He squatted in front of her, took out a candied haws, gently touched her lips, and teased her:

"I came to see you, my poor little Yun'er. Eat something sweet and the pain will go away."

Her face was still pale, but she looked more energetic than a few days ago. She took a few bites of the candied haws, then lay on the couch and cursed weakly:

"Are you really so bold as to sneak into the Huo Mansion without permission?"

He spread his hands and pretended to be helpless. "There's nothing I can do. Your young master is too stingy. I've sent you a visiting card eight times, but he rejected me every time."

She squinted her eyes and said, "You are afraid that the young master will misunderstand me as 'Long Yang' and that I will be kicked out of the Huo Mansion."

He snorted in disdain, and in a rare instance of speaking before his mind, he said with a hint of meaning:

"It's not certain who 'Long Yang' is, otherwise Chen Cang wouldn't have died."

"Who is Chen Cang?" She always felt that she had heard these two words somewhere. It seemed that a few days ago, when she was half asleep and half awake, she heard Buyan mention that Huo Gannian had secretly arranged a high-level assassination a few days ago, which was carried out by the Huo Gang's most mysterious Black Sparrow Team.

Bu Yan was very curious, so he took a quick look while registering and filing. The code name of the operation was "Secretly Crossing Chencang".

The "degree" in salvation.

Before she could ask in detail, Yan Shijiu took out a red-gold porcelain bottle from his arms and changed the subject:

"This is Qinji Jade Face Cream. It's most effective for fresh burns. I've had someone test it. If you use it, it will definitely leave no scars."

Seeing that she didn't seem surprised, he said again:

"This Qinji Jade Face Cream costs ten gold coins a bottle. If it's useless, it wouldn't be sold at such a high price. Why don't you try it? You can't leave scars on a young lady."

Now it was her turn to be proud. She pointed to her back with her thumb and then pointed under the bed, "I use it every day."

Yan Shijiu bent down and looked under the bed. There were densely packed red-gold porcelain bottles, at least forty or fifty of them.

She raised her eyebrows proudly, "So what if a bottle costs ten gold coins? My young master is not a stingy person."

He stared at the empty porcelain vase under the bed, a flicker of jealousy flashed across his eyes, and then he put on a pitiful look and said aggrievedly:

"Okay, Huo Gannian is generous, but I'm stingy, okay? I'm so stingy that I sneaked into the house in the middle of the night, risking being caught and killed, just to deliver medicine."

Although she knew he was pretending, she couldn't help but feel soft-hearted. "Alright, alright, it's my fault. I took your kindness for granted. I'll make amends."

As soon as she finished the last sentence, she regretted it.

Sure enough, his eyes lit up, and he looked like he was asking me to control you again. He smiled wickedly and asked:

"It's good to apologize. I like it. How do I apologize?"

She closed her eyes and pretended to be dead. "I don't know, but I'm going to die anyway!"

He chuckled, raised his hand and scratched her nose, and before she could get angry, he slipped away with ease.

Looking at the empty room again, she wiped her nose, frowned and concentrated for a long time, then munched on a candied haws and muttered to herself:

"Tomorrow, I'll take a closer look at the palace's defense map. I'll make sure to plug any loopholes that could allow anyone to sneak into the palace."

Burns are not like knife wounds and heal very slowly. Yun Chen stayed in bed for a full half month before he recovered.

Due to his outstanding performance, Xun Xun was promoted to the fifth personal guard and temporarily replaced Yun Chen's daily duty.

Xiaoliu was also transferred back to Yancheng from the Northwest Ranch and became Yunchen's errand runner.

In addition, Yun Chen had to listen to Bu Yan's "reenactment" of Hua Jue bullying Xun Huan almost every day.

Without saying anything, he tinkered with Yun Chen:

"Gou Ge is too good-natured. No matter how Hua Jue curses in public or saves his face, Gou Ge always puts on a smile. You better get better soon and go deal with Hua Jue. Beat him, scold him, or force him to dress up as a woman and parade through the streets. Hahahaha, I really want to see him get humiliated. I think I can be happy for half a year. Hahahaha——"

Yun Chen said: "Brother Gou is naturally a person without temper. Hua Jue can't make a fuss on his own, don't worry."

That being said, Yun Chen knew that Hua Jue was a child and had no bad intentions, but he couldn't bear to see Xun Xuan fawning on him, so he asked Xiao Liu to help her go and take a look.

It has been almost two years since we left the martial arts gym. Xiaoliu used to be skinny and small, full of the mischievous spirit of a boy who has not grown up.

Now, almost two years have passed. After experiencing the majestic mountains and deserts of the Northwest, being baptized by wind, snow and scorching sun, and eating hundreds of fat sheep, Xiaoliu has suddenly become tall and strong, with his skin tanned and shiny.

Originally, Yun Chen was one year older than Xiao Liu and regarded himself as "brother". But now standing next to Xiao Liu, Yun Chen felt like a skinny chick.

Xiao Liu said, "Brother Yun, I'll carry you there. I heard that Brother Gou is about to start a fight with the Flower Guard!"

Yun Chen couldn't help pinching Xiaoliu's face, and then looked at her own fair fingers. She always felt that Xiaoliu would lose color.

"Xiao Liu, with your current size, can you still shrink into a wine jar?"

Xiao Liu was heartless and said, "Yes, but it's hard to get out after retracting it. I need help."

Yun Chen looked up at Xiao Liu, who was already a head taller than him, and pinched his sturdy shoulders, saying earnestly:

"Then don't shrink back. If you can't get out, you'll start crying again. Your current body shape is really not suitable for crying."

"Hehe, Brother Yun, I haven't cried for a long time. I'm a grown man! I won't cry easily!" Xiao Liu said as he carried Yun Chen on his back and walked towards where Hua Jue and Xun Xuan were.

From a distance, Yun Chen saw a large crowd of people gathered in the small field where the guards practiced martial arts every day.

Hua Jue raised his chin arrogantly and glanced at Xun Xun from under his eyes.

Xun Xun stood aside, bowing slightly and smiling ingratiatingly.

Hua Jue said disdainfully: "You're such a fucking coward! You don't fight back when you're beaten, and you don't even talk back when you're scolded! I don't know why the young master would fall for a country bumpkin like you!"

"Guard Hua is right. I will do my best to do my job and strive not to disgrace the young master's wisdom." Xun Yan said as he walked forward, bent down deeply, and used his sleeve to brush off the dirt on Hua Jue's boots.

Only then did Yun Chen see that Hua Jue was stepping on Xun Xun's deflated old purse.

Xun Xun wanted to take it, but Hua Jue kicked his hand away, and kicked dirt in Xun Xun's face.

Xiaoliu almost left Yunchen behind and rushed forward to fight.

Yun Chen held Xiaoliu's shoulders, raised his voice and called out "Hua Jue, Dog Brother".

As soon as they saw Yun Chen coming, everyone dispersed on their own and breathed a sigh of relief.

Everyone felt that with Yun Chen here, there would be no fight today.

Seeing Yun Chen, Hua Jue restrained himself a little, but he couldn't help but spit at Xun Kan and cursed, "You spineless bastard!"

Even though he was insulted like this, Xun Jian still had a kind smile on his face: "It's okay, it's okay, Guard Hua is not wrong."

Hua Jue snorted coldly, no longer paying attention to Xun Yan, and took two quick steps to Yun Chen, saying anxiously:

"The young master has granted you a month's leave. Even if you're well, you should take this opportunity to rest well! Why are you running around? Your back is injured, and it hurts when you walk, sit, or lie down. Come on, I'll carry you back!"

"I'm almost lying like a zombie. I'll get better soon if I come down and take a walk." Yun Chen said with a smile, and did not start to preach to stop the fight.

Hua Jue "snatched" Yun Chen from Xiao Liu without saying a word, and glared at Xiao Liu fiercely.

It was obvious that Xiaoliu had also become the target of Hua Jue's exclusion and hostility.

Xiaoliu was stunned for a moment, then he understood. He clenched his fists and glared, with a mouthful of white teeth bared on his big black face, looking like he was about to get angry.

Seeing this, Xun Jian quickly came up and put his arm around Xiao Liu's shoulders, coaxing him:

"Guardian Hua is going to take Achen back. Xiaoliu, take me back. I have something to tell you."

Xiao Liu held his neck stiff and motionless, staring at Hua Jue fiercely.

Hua Jue sneered, his eyes full of contempt. He didn't even bother to say a word to Xiao Liu, and then helped Yun Chen leave.

Xiaoliu was so angry that his face turned black and red, and the veins on his neck were bulging.

Xun Jian, however, seemed completely unconcerned with Hua Jue's insults. He simply picked up the purse, brushed off the dirt, and said to Xiao Liu:

"Xiao Liu, don't be impulsive. These are Achen's brothers. Don't make things difficult for him."

Xiaoliu gritted his teeth and reluctantly agreed.