Chapter 71 "How come I didn't know you had a deceased..."
When Xie Chengyan awoke that day, he found that, just as in his dream, Shen Xi had already arrived at the military camp.
Moreover, her attitude was exactly the same. When she saw him open his eyes, she suppressed the fleeting surprise in her eyes, but her face remained cold. She silently examined him, and without saying a word, she turned and left.
Xie Chengyan, who had been quietly observing her, suddenly realized what was happening and grabbed her hand: "Xi'er..."
But when the words reached his lips, he couldn't say anything.
Five years have passed since they parted ways, and all the resentment from the past has been washed away by time, not to mention the shallow connection between them.
Shen Xi turned around, glanced at him, and clearly still held her breath: "Let go."
Xie Chengyan refused, and instead increased his strength, staring intently at her.
Shen Xi looked at this person who knew he was wrong but refused to repent and sneered: "What are you doing now? Five years ago, you wanted me to leave and I left, but now you want me to stay and do as you say?"
Hearing her recount that incident, Xie Chengyan felt guilty, but still said, "It's different."
"How are they different?"
Xie Chengyan clenched his palm, trying to draw her closer to him. After a long silence, he said, "Even if I had to choose again today, I would still let you leave."
Shen Xi almost laughed out of anger at his words. Five years had passed, and he didn't think he had done anything wrong back then.
She tried to shake him off, but to no avail. Instead, she leaned forward and pressed down mercilessly on his wound, gritting her teeth: "Xie Chengyan, you are truly hateful."
Xie Chengyan frowned instinctively from the pain, but he still wouldn't let go of her hand.
Even as the wound tore open and blood seeped out, staining the bandages red, he still didn't let go.
Suddenly, with a burst of strength, he pulled her down and made her fall to sit beside him. Xie Chengyan took the opportunity to hug her and took a deep breath: "Xi'er, I missed you so much."
Amidst these changes, Shen Xi decided not to further torment his injuries, so she gave a cold snort and remained silent.
He knew Shen Xi was angry, but he wasn't sure what her attitude towards him was at that moment.
After all, if it weren't for the military doctor asking Wen Tingmao to treat his injuries, he and she wouldn't have met again here.
Xie Chengyan hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, "In all these years, have you ever thought of me? Even just a little bit?"
Shen Xi rested her head on his shoulder, her eyes narrowing slightly, and deliberately said, "What, aren't you going to ask me how I'm doing?"
"I……"
Seizing the opportunity, Shen Xi pushed him away: "Xie Chengyan, you should have thought of this day when you forced me to leave."
Xie Chengyan: "I can't drag you into danger. That's an old grudge of mine, and there's no need to involve others."
Shen Xi’s tone was dangerous as she stood up and extended her hand to him: “Fine, give me back the sachet I gave you before, and we’ll call it even.”
Xie Chengyan was stunned for a moment. Seeing that he was about to make excuses, Shen Xi immediately said, "Don't lie to me. The one you burned back then was fake. I wanted to embroider it myself."
Shen Xi was carrying the sachet with her, so Xie Chengyan naturally couldn't take it out. He also didn't know where the sachet was, so he could only suffer in silence for the time being.
Shen Xi was still angry, but he couldn't say anything harsh to a wounded soldier, so he could only use this opportunity to get revenge on him.
Sure enough, Xie Chengyan lowered his eyes and said, "I'm sorry, I've lost that sachet."
Shen Xi readily agreed, saying, "Take your time searching. Stop when you find it."
After saying that, she glared at him again, turned around, and walked away quickly.
Only Xie Chengyan remained on the bed, looking lost and forlorn.
In the following days, except at night, Xie Chengyan really didn't see Shen Xi much anymore; it was Xiao Wu taking care of her.
Shen Xi's special status prevented him from living with the soldiers like other military doctors. Although a separate tent was feasible, Xie Chengyan was unwilling to accept it.
In the end, she could only squeeze into Xie Chengyan's command tent.
Shen Xi still didn't want to talk to him, but Xie Chengyan didn't care. As long as she was by his side, nothing else mattered.
After all, he was content with having a piece of candied fruit that she had prepared for him after he finished his medicine.
Given Xie Chengyan's status, it wouldn't seem unusual to outsiders for him to have a military doctor with him.
Xiao Wu, however, would come and go every day, and if one wasn't paying attention, he would often stare at Shen Xi's face.
Even after the person had left the tent, his gaze remained fixed on that retreating figure.
Finally, Xie Chengyan couldn't hold back any longer.
With a mouthful of the candy Shen Xi had left for him earlier that day, he leaned back and tapped the table with an unhappy expression: "What are you looking at?"
Xiao Wu slowly withdrew his gaze, but still seemed lost in thought: "No... nothing."
Xie Chengyan: "What's wrong? You've been keeping an eye on Doctor Shen all day. You've been very free lately?"
These words struck a nerve with Xiao Wu, who suddenly slapped his forehead and exclaimed excitedly, "I remember now! I remember everything! The one who healed the prince was that fairy lady surnamed Shen from Renfeng Hall!"
Xiao Wu is young and works as a foot soldier under Xie Chengyan. He is used to speaking without restraint and never remembers the principle of speaking less and doing more.
As soon as he said it, he realized he had been too forward. Then, thinking of Shen Xi's identity as a woman, he feared it might bring her trouble, so he glanced at Xie Chengyan sheepishly.
"Uh... no, I misunderstood, it's not a wife."
Fortunately, Xie Chengyan was in a good mood. He neither pursued Xie Chengyan's loss of composure nor blamed the doctor, but instead, with a candy in his mouth, he gently raised his eyebrows.
"That fairy maiden? What makes her so divine?"
Xiao Wu's train of thought was instantly swayed by the question, and he subconsciously revealed everything he knew.
"Madam Shen came to Qingzhou five years ago and has been learning medicine from the old master of Renfeng Hall. She also gives free medical consultations to everyone from time to time. She is beautiful and kind-hearted, unlike people from the mortal world. Everyone praises her as a fairy who descended to earth to help people."
Xie Chengyan listened with great interest, a slight smile playing on his lips, but Xiao Wu unexpectedly changed the subject in his next sentence.
"But that's just to praise Madam Chen. After all, she's not a goddess. She's a mortal and can't escape the mundane affairs of the world."
As Xiao Wu spoke, he sighed softly, with great regret, "This Madam Shen herself said that she had a husband, but he was unlucky and died less than a year after their marriage, making her a widow. She devoted herself to learning medicine and saving lives from the old master, just to find some reason to live."
Xie Chengyan: "..."
With a "crunch," the piece of candy in his mouth crumbled.
Liang Tuo listened with trepidation, glancing at Xie Chengyan every now and then. Their prince's face was growing increasingly ashen, looking even worse than if he had been punched in the face.
Just as I was about to tell Xiao Wu to shut up, that dim-witted thing didn't notice the subtle atmosphere at all, and instead got carried away with his conversation.
“The old lady next door felt sorry for her and wanted to find a good young man to persuade Chen Niangzi to remarry, but she refused, saying that she had once sworn to remain a widow for her deceased husband for five years.”
"Your Highness, what a wonderful person he is, it's just that our fate was too short."
Widow, remarried, widowed for five years.
Fate, destiny, too shallow.
Xie Chengyan squinted and glanced in the direction Shen Xi had just left. He chewed hard a few times and swallowed the candy whole.
One by one, they've really become quite capable.
Xiao Wu finally realized something was wrong, and asked inexplicably, "Your Highness..."
But before he could finish calling out "Your Highness," he was shoved away by his own prince.
He could only stand outside the tent, staring blankly at Liang Tuo: "What's wrong with Your Highness?"
Liang Tuo reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him two heavy pats with a "you're something else" look in his eyes, and then gave him a thumbs up.
Xiao Wu was even more confused. Liang Tuo couldn't bear it and gave him some advice: "While the prince's injuries haven't healed yet, you should quickly go and plead with Doctor Shen."
"Why do you need to see Doctor Shen?" Xiao Wu was puzzled at first, then became even more terrified. "Oh no, oh no, I was just talking nonsense. Doctor Shen is really not some Madam Shen!"
If Lady Shen is such a good person, and the prince repays kindness with enmity without mercy and punishes her according to military law, then he would be the culprit.
"No, I have to go and explain things to the Prince."
He was about to rush into the tent when Liang Tuo grabbed him by the back of the neck: "Stop causing trouble!"
He pointed at Xiao Wu and solemnly instructed him, word by word: "If you truly want that Doctor Shen to live in peace, then don't utter a single word more, neither to the soldiers nor to the Prince. Otherwise..."
Liang Tuo silently made a throat-slitting gesture.
Xiao Wu was intimidated by him and quickly nodded, covering her mouth with her hand: "I promise I won't say anything."
That night, after finishing her work for Sun You, Shen Xi returned to Xie Chengyan's place.
Upon entering, she found him lying stiffly on his side on the bed, staring at her with deep, unfathomable eyes.
To outsiders, Shen Xi was a doctor who took care of her at all times, and for her convenience, a simple bed was set up in the tent.
But it wasn't as comfortable as Xie Chengyan's bed. Besides, the nights at the border were freezing cold, and even with a brazier burning, one's hands and feet would still be icy.
With someone to warm the bed, Shen Xi naturally wouldn't let it pass.
Since the couple has already slept together, they don't care about the small details of sharing a bed.
Shen Xi walked closer, but Xie Chengyan showed no intention of making way for her, only staring at her with an inscrutable expression.
Shen Xi was puzzled and finally took the initiative to ask him, "What are you doing?"
"It's come back to life."
After saying that, Xie Chengyan grabbed her hand and pulled her up sharply, flipping her over and pinning her down.
Caught off guard by his antics, Shen Xi quickly stopped him, saying, "Stop fooling around, you're still injured!"
Xie Chengyan covered her up, gritting his teeth as he questioned, "Madam Chen, how come I didn't know you had a deceased husband and were going to remain a widow for him for five years?"
So that's what it was about. Shen Xi finally saw the emotion in his eyes clearly; it was resentment.
Although he didn't know who had told him about it, Shen Xi didn't let him off the hook and reached out to poke his wound.
Hearing Xie Chengyan let out a soft hiss, he took the opportunity to push Xie's shoulder, trying to pull him down.
But when I pushed it, it wouldn't budge.
Xie Chengyan, having given up all hope, assumed the identity of her deceased husband: "Now that I'm dead, I'm naturally more important than the living."
Seeing that he wouldn't give up, Shen Xi explained helplessly, "What else can I do if I don't say that? Should I just let the old ladies introduce me to good young men worthy of my lifelong commitment? If you don't mind, I can go back and mention it to the old ladies, and pick a handsome one to marry as soon as possible."
"You dare?"
"Why wouldn't I dare?"
Shen Xi raised her chin, deliberately provoking him.
However, in just a few words, Xie Chengyan figured out some other meaning, and his eyes flickered slightly.
Her words and attitude clearly show that she still cares about him, but she is deliberately ignoring him because she still harbors resentment over his past actions.
After calming down and carefully analyzing the events of those days together, everything pointed to that one and only answer.
My heart, which had been crumpled by that invisible hand a few days ago, has unfolded and become vibrant again in this moment of certainty.
Xie Chengyan chuckled, but ultimately only uttered a low rebuke.
"This is outrageous!"
-----------------------
Author's Note: Xiao Yan (resurrected version): Tell me, how many good husbands do you actually have?
Xiao Xi (mischievous version): Of course... the more lovers you have, the more impressive you are! [shy]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com