Ning Chi stared at Ning Ze for a good while. Seeing the earnest expression on his face that revealed a whirlpool of thoughts like, "I can do this, right? I must be capable, right? Big brother has been fighting so hard and has suffered such serious injuries, how could I not let him rest? Even if I am not capable, I must strive to be. I can’t be too useless; if the seventh Miss finds out, what if she doesn’t want me anymore? After all, no one likes a total waste," continuously strengthening his resolve.
Under normal circumstances, at a time like this, Ning Chi would’ve been too tired to care about his brother’s thoughts, yet at this moment, he saw through it all very clearly.
This little brother of his was always like a blank paper in his eyes. In the past, his impressive mother and sister, along with being the Crown Prince’s closest brother-in-law, and so on, shrouded him in an empty facade. But now, with all those layers of packaging peeled away, his true self has finally come to light.
He does have his merits, just as Jiang Zhu described, he is an interesting individual.
For the first time, he discovered that his little brother had quite a few redeeming qualities.
He found that he could both fear him and care about him at the same time.
He let out a light chuckle.
Upon hearing his laugh, Ning Ze felt ridiculed. His face fell; he scratched his head and was about to humbly admit, "I probably can’t do it," but then he saw Ning Chi put away his smile, gesturing to him, "Alright, I’ll leave it to you."
Ning Ze’s eyes widened instantly, "B-brother, you’re...you’re really leaving it to me?"
"Yes, I’m leaving it to you. Didn’t you say you could do it?" Ning Chi indeed was tired; he relaxed and closed his eyes.
Ning Ze scratched his nose, unsure whether to be happy about succeeding in gaining Ning Chi’s trust and vote of confidence, or to worry about his ability to handle such an important task that he’d volunteered for.
He took a deep breath, somewhat conflicted, "I’ll be fine, I’ll get going now."
He turned and walked away confidently, his determination soaring high. He got the men together and left.
Ning Chi opened his eyes, catching a glimpse of his brother’s retreating figure. He smiled softly to himself. He had never thought that his brother could actually be a true sibling who would stand by his side in times of strife.
Jiang Zhu hadn’t protected anyone from getting hurt; his injury was light, and with the Jibei Army falling back and preparing to mount another attack on the city at any moment, he hadn’t returned to his own quarters at the Marquis Nanping Residence but had stayed in Ning Chi’s room, occupying his soft couch.
He had clearly heard the conversation and seen the emotional exchange between the two siblings. Now that Ning Ze had left, he said to Ning Chi, "Your brother, he’s a treasure."
Ning Chi glanced at him, "If you had a brother like him for the past twenty years, you would feel blessed, and you wouldn’t want."
Ning Ze had always been a handful, constantly getting into trouble and continually coming up with one foolish idea after another. There were times when Ning Chi had felt an urge to get rid of him once and for all, but due to his loyalty to the Marquis Nanping, he had never acted on those impulses. Who knew after stripping away every nutty facade, there would still be a worthwhile bit left to him.
Jiang Zhu grew up in the Eighteen Villages, which were located within the Nanping boundary. Naturally, he had heard a lot about the siblings’ grudges. Listening to Ning Chi speak now, he shook his head with amusement, "So we should thank the Crown Prince then."
The Crown Prince had fallen from grace, descending from the skies to the dust in a single day. Subsequently, those who had gained glory by relying on the Crown Prince like the Marquis Nanping, his wife, and the Crown Prince’s concubine Ning Yao among others, all fell with him. Those who Ning Ze had relied on fell away one by one, finally revealing his true self, a man without glittering external adornment.
Only then was his interesting personality discovered.
His appealing soul was finally exposed.
"We should indeed thank him; otherwise, I wouldn’t have had a brother," Ning Chi closed his eyes again, clearly exhausted. "The casualties today might number in the tens of thousands, and we are already outnumbered; we’ll all have to rest as much as we can."
Jiang Zhu fell silent, nodding in agreement, he too closed his eyes.
They indeed needed to recover their strength and prepare for the next stage.
At the top of the mountain, Su Rong and Zhou Gu, bundled in cloaks, had endured the freezing wind all night. When they saw the Jibei Army had stopped the siege, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhou Gu said, "Let’s go, let’s go back. At least we survived the first wave."
Su Rong nodded.
Throughout the night, Fen Ling and Ziye, along with their men, had not rested. While the Jibei Army was attacking the city, they continued to boil the herbal remedy in a large pot. When they ran out of herbs, they sent people to gather more. They brewed pot after pot. Using Su Rong’s method, they were able to make pills without needing Su Rong to supervise. Once the medication was ready, they would covertly add it to the river.
Throughout the night, they had poisoned the water numerous times, hoping it would have an effect.
After Su Rong and Zhou Gu returned to their villa, having been exposed to the cold wind all night, two bowls of ginger soup were brought from the kitchen. Su Rong peered at it disapprovingly. Just when Zhou Gu was about to reject it as well, he saw Su Rong’s aversion to it, immediately changing his own expression. Without any hesitation, he picked up his bowl and drank the entire contents in one gulp.
Once he finished, he placed the bowl back on the table and lifted his chin at Su Rong, prompting her, "Hurry up and drink."
Su Rong: "..." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
She didn’t want to drink.
After days and days of drinking bitter medicine soup, now she had to drink this ginger soup. The spicy brew was different from a hot pepper’s heat; it stung the throat. Her expression openly displayed her rejection.
Zhou Gu wouldn’t let her off. He lifted her bowl, "Should I feed you?"
Su Rong tugged at his sleeve, looking pitiful, "Zhou Gu, I don’t want to drink it. It’s just a small cold. I’m fine; I can just take a pill instead."
Zhou Gu took a mouthful of the ginger soup, brought her face closer, and bent down to kiss her.
Su Rong: "..."
Unable to resist, she swallowed the ginger soup transferred from his mouth. The spicy taste stung her nerves, making them twitch. Her eyes widened, her face flushed, "Zhou Gu, where did you learn this shameless technique from?"
She was certain; she didn’t teach him.
Zhou Gu licked his lips, "Will you drink it yourself, or do you want help?"
Su Rong paused, "I’ll drink it myself."
She consumed the ginger soup very reluctantly with a single gulp. Setting the empty bowl down, her face all wrinkled up, she demanded, "Why didn’t you use this method when you woke me up to drink the medicine the other day?"
Zhou Gu was entirely unapologetic, "I was too embarrassed to feed you then."
Su Rong: "..."
So, now he’s become accustomed to kiss her without any embarrassment, as though it was now routine, like practicing with a sword?
Silently staring at him, Su Rong jutted out her lower lip, "Starting from today, you’re not allowed to touch me for a month. You’re also not allowed in my room at night, nor in my bed."
Zhou Gu’s face changed immediately, "Why?"
Was it because he fed her the ginger soup?
Su Rong was irritated, seeing the suspicious look in his eyes, she nodded affirmatively, "Yes, I hate ginger soup, just because you forced me to drink ginger soup."
Zhou Gu felt a lump in his throat.
Su Rong huffed, "This will teach you a lesson."
Noticing her genuine annoyance, Zhou Gu tried to make reparations, "Well, the kitchen made this soup with great effort. Using small fire and a clay pot, you know all of our pots are being used to cook the herbal medicine. They squeezed out resources just for us, it wouldn’t be right to waste their effort and goodwill, right?"
Su Rong ignored him, "Anyway, you just need to listen to me."
Zhou Gu: "..."
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