Chapter 44. He was the general's wife; he handled all the household affairs...
Hua Lang felt extremely dizzy, her vision was blurry, and she endured the swelling sensation throughout her body. Her consciousness seemed to be pulled to the top of her head, swirling around, as if it would tear apart and burst out of the sky at any moment.
He has always been arrogant and dislikes doing anything that would humiliate him. Such a thing would be too shameful for him, but Zhan Yunmei just happens to like him that way.
While saying no means they are unwilling, they secretly harbor a vague expectation; while saying yes means they are unwilling, they cannot admit it.
Zhan Yunmei lowered her eyes and calmly observed Hua Lang's flushed cheeks and his eyes, which were filled with tears.
He certainly knows how to find loopholes; when asked to find something, he actually looked for her hand.
"Be gentle, you'll get hurt," Zhan Yunmei pulled her hand away, and Hua Lang shifted his weight onto her. As soon as she moved, he was pulled along.
From kneeling, they were pulled to lie face down.
The water in the shower room had not been completely drained, leaving a puddle on the floor. Beneath the clear water were Hua Lang's knees and groin, which were white from kneeling and pressing, and swollen and red when he moved.
His face was reflected in the shallow water; his eyes blinked constantly, and his lips were slightly parted.
"I was wrong," he said tremblingly, his voice low and humble, "General..."
"Where did you go wrong?" Zhan Yunmei got up from the small stool, squatted in front of Hua Lang, pinched and lifted his chin, forcing him to look directly at her.
Hua Lang did not stop making her demands, and her face was lifted up again, her back felt like it was being pressed down hard, and she involuntarily straightened up, her waist arching.
He was about to lose his balance and realized he was about to fall, so he instinctively reached out his free hand and wrapped it around Zhan Yunmei's neck.
Hua Lang lost control of her strength, which caused Zhan Yunmei to lower her neck slightly, forcing her to kneel down on one knee.
"I was wrong, I was wrong to lie to the general," he admitted intermittently, half devoutly, half pleadingly, holding her hand tightly.
“No,” she said, pressing harder, and he trembled, almost collapsing into her arms. “Your mistake was not believing me.”
Hua Lang nestled in her arms, a strange and shy thought swirling around him. Both his body and mind felt light and airy, as if they had already drifted away from his body.
Unable to speak, he could only nod repeatedly.
Zhan Yunmei felt the pressure on her wrist lessen, and he slowly released her wrist. She thought he was going to do something, so she looked down and pulled him out of her arms, only to find that he was unconscious and asleep.
She might have fainted; she wasn't sure.
“Hua Lang,” she patted his furrowed brow, “wake up.”
"Hmm..."
A soft, tiny sound escaped from Hua Lang's lips.
Zhan Yunmei felt a bit rebellious. She hadn't even said she forgave him yet, so how could he have fallen asleep?
Poke his face, pinch his face, hold his head and shake it back and forth.
Why won't he wake up?
Zhan Yunmei frowned.
Even when she touched him with her fingertips again, as if as punishment, he just kept his eyes closed and groaned, showing no sign of waking up.
Zhan Yunmei let go, leaving Hua Lang in the bathroom.
As dawn broke, Zhan Yunmei had to return to the Beijing garrison to arrange the final matters, and Yao Shuniang saw her off at the residence.
As she was about to leave, Yao Shuniang said, "General, my father-in-law hasn't eaten much these days. I reckon he's going to suffer again."
The implication was that Zhan Yunmei should pay more attention to Hua Lang's recent situation.
“…I understand,” she said, feeling a bit awkward.
Could it be that he fainted because he was too weak?
The carriage is about to leave the city.
"Turn around."
There were still water stains in the bathroom. Hua Lang squatted behind the door, looking disheveled and confused, as if he had just woken up and was still disoriented.
Before he could react, Zhan Yunmei squatted down, pulled him into her arms, patted his bare back, and gently coaxed him, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Hua Lang was stunned and blinked.
His fragmented memories told him that he wanted to keep Zhan Yunmei from being angry, so he kept struggling to stay awake until he was too exhausted to throw himself into her arms.
The memories are broken.
Next, Zhan Yunmei, dressed in her official uniform, squatted down and hugged him.
……What's the meaning?
Did he do it all night by himself?
Her cheeks gradually became hot and turned red in the blink of an eye.
Zhan Yunmei breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"I'm asking you, are you feeling unwell?"
He nodded hesitantly, "I feel terrible, my head is spinning... I'm so hungry."
She touched it and found that his belly was flat; she pressed her forehead against it and it was hot.
"Lie down for a while. You probably have a high fever. Eat something and then take your medicine."
Zhan Yunmei took off her official robe. The robe unfolded, revealing a wide and soft fabric that could envelop Hua Lang within it.
Clean him up, take him to the couch, and pull the covers up.
Hua Lang had a high fever and barely had the strength to open her eyes. As soon as she got into bed, she became listless.
Zhan Yunmei tucked the blanket in and looked out the long window. The snow was blinding. It was getting late, and she was late for work again.
It's so late, maybe... we shouldn't go.
She wavered.
Outside the door, Yao Shuniang knocked on the door. "General, the minced meat porridge is ready, and the medicine is also ready."
Zhan Yunmei stood up.
The hem of her clothes was tugged weakly.
She turned around and looked at Hua Lang. "I'm not leaving. I'm just going to get the food and medicine."
Upon hearing this, Hua Lang hesitated for a moment, then let go.
He felt scared when he let go. What if Zhan Yunmei was lying to him and left for another half a month without coming back?
However, this time she didn't lie to him. She really just went to get food and medicine. She said something to Yao Shuniang along the way, but he didn't hear it clearly. He vaguely made out words like "Beijing Garrison" and "not going".
I don't want to hear it.
Hua Lang closed his eyes.
He felt a sudden warmth on his lips and tentatively opened one eye.
"Open your mouth, eat," Zhan Yunmei pried open his mouth and stuffed food into it as if feeding him.
Although Hua Lang was still confused, the corners of his lips curled up on his own.
proud.
Zhan Yunmei thought to herself.
They chewed slowly, bite by bite, then swallowed large mouthfuls, extremely hungry, but exceptionally well-behaved.
If you eat too little normally and then suddenly eat too much, your stomach will easily feel uncomfortable, or even get sick. Therefore, Zhan Yunmei did not give Hua Lang too much to eat.
"Still hungry," he muttered.
"Bear with it," she wiped his mouth clean, then suddenly realized that saying it might make him feel uncomfortable, so she kissed the corner of his lips to soothe him, "otherwise you'll feel uncomfortable."
Hua Lang was flattered and nodded.
It's so good that he's not feeling well; it makes her feel so sorry for him. He can't remember what happened yesterday, and he really is feeling unwell. It turns out that just being uncomfortable once can earn him her company.
That's great, that's really great.
But we can't do this too often, we can't delay her.
"Rest for a while, then drink your medicine," Zhan Yunmei said, taking off her clothes until she was only wearing her undergarments and a thin layer of clothing, before getting into bed.
Hua Lang silently moved closer to the couch and gave her most of the blanket.
Wrapped in a warm, soft blanket, held by the person he considered the best in the world, shielded from the snow falling outside and far from the hustle and bustle, Hua Lang felt incredibly content.
This is definitely not a dream; Hua Lang has never had such a beautiful dream before.
“By the time I finish explaining things to the Beijing Garrison, you should have recovered from your illness. Then we can head to the Northern Yuan,” Zhan Yunmei said, resting her head on Hua Lang’s head and gently rubbing his swollen cheek.
She was somewhat relieved that he was well-behaved at this time and wouldn't move around, otherwise he would have noticed her swollen face.
“Okay,” Hua Lang couldn’t feel the pain on his face, but his whole body ached. A little more or less didn’t matter. He just felt that being sick was good. When he was sick, Zhan Yunmei would treat him very, very well.
.
Spring has finally arrived. Knee-high snow has begun to melt, and the sunshine feels warm on the skin. The recruitment process for the Beijing Garrison has begun.
Zhan Yunmei had reviewed Helan Wan's arrangements. Her arrangements were comprehensive and detailed. If nothing unexpected happened, after the emperor reviewed Helan Wan's plans, she would be able to relinquish her position as the commander of the Beijing Garrison.
On the day of Qingming Festival, the emperor dismissed Zhan Yunmei from his position as the commander of the Beijing garrison, and conferred upon him the title of General Zhenbei. He ordered Zhan Yunmei and his mother to guard the northern frontier together, and allocated several provinces and prefectures on the border to Zhan Yunmei.
The General's Mansion in the capital was taken back, and a new mansion was bestowed upon him within the territory.
He took only the servants from his household with him, and carried very little, intending to travel light.
On the day of her departure, Zhan Yunmei was summoned to the palace by the emperor, while Hua Lang packed her belongings alone.
Considering the long journey and the unpredictable spring weather, Hua Lang prepared extra clothing.
After loading all the boxes onto the car, Hua Lang had just stepped one foot onto the vehicle when someone called out to him from behind.
"Eunuch Hua Lang, are you moving away? Where are you going?"
She was the embroiderer from the clothing shop. Hua Lang overheard her conversation with Zhan Yunmei's father that day, so it wasn't hard to guess her identity.
Hua Lang put his foot down and landed back on the ground, his indifferent expression clearly visible. He didn't want to talk to her, but given her superficial relationship with Zhan Yunmei, he patiently asked, "What is it?"
The embroiderer laughed and waved her hand, her tone revealing a desire to get closer to him, "I heard Yunmei is leaving, but I don't know where she's going. Yunmei's father cares about her a lot, but he doesn't know how to talk to her, so he sent me to ask her. We're all family, so let's keep in touch."
Zhan Yunmei's father was absent from her life from beginning to end, and she had a shallow relationship with him. Hua Lang also knew that she did not care about this father.
Hua Lang was perfectly naive about human relationships; what was right in front of him was obvious sycophancy and flattery. This kind of behavior was very common. He used to think the women in his family were useless and didn't care, but after they separated, he belatedly realized their brilliance. There were so many people like this, all of them prejudiced and discriminatory.
Seeing that Hua Lang remained silent for a long time without any change in expression, the embroiderer felt embarrassed. She had heard of Hua Lang and knew that he was not an easy person to talk to, so she did not want to come looking for him.
The embroiderer's fake smile grew increasingly stiff as she raised her hand to touch the tip of her nose.
The bruises on the wrist bones under the sleeve were inadvertently exposed, forming a whole circle, and the shape looked as if they had been pinched and twisted out.
Hua Lang put his hands in his pockets and squinted at the man.
“All matters at home are decided by the general,” Hua Lang paused for a moment, then, seeing that the embroiderer was considering other ideas, continued, “but I am in charge of internal affairs. Please go back and don’t come again.”
The embroiderer was stunned. She raised her wrist, revealing bruises, and cried out in anguish, "Father-in-law, you can't just stand by and watch me die! Zhan Yunmei's father has a terrible temper and beats her at the drop of a hat. I can't get any answers this time, and when I get back, he'll be furious. Please help me!"
"Is that really true?" Hua Lang raised her hand to cover her face slightly and took a half step back, not believing her words. "Back in the clothing shop, you weren't afraid of that man."
The embroiderer was taken aback again, not expecting that Hua Lang still remembered that time.
“I see that your embroidery skills are excellent. You can support yourself and even become wealthy,” Hua Lang said softly, without the aggressive manner she used to be, leaving her some dignity.
Meaningfully, he said, "It's just that some individuals are dragging you down."
Without saying anything more, Hua Lang got into the carriage and lowered the curtain.
Yao Shuniang said that the general would be waiting for them outside the palace. After meeting the general, they could head north to the provincial capital.
Hua Lang was full of anticipation.
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