Chapter 76 Sharing a Bed Xiao Qiyu: "Are you alright?"
The imperial edict was delivered by express courier, covering 800 li (approximately 400 kilometers), and arrived at the Jiangxi-Southern Camp in just half a month.
The emperor issued an order, and the Ministry of War issued a document, redistributing the responsibilities for suppressing bandits. Chen Fengnian remained the commander-in-chief, mainly responsible for the frontal clearing, guarding key roads, and sweeping away the surrounding areas.
At the same time, Xiao Qiyu was appointed as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Jiangxi Military Affairs, and was specially granted the imperial command flag. All officers, soldiers, garrisons, and local militias along the route were to be under his command, and he was to be in charge of the suppression and conquest. Officials from all provinces were required to cooperate.
At night, the weather was freezing cold, and your breath turned to frost.
Xiao Qiyu returned from the martial arts arena, carrying the chill of winter. His face was more weathered, his skin was rougher than before, and he had lost some of his youthful appearance. However, his dark and cold phoenix eyes were much sharper than usual.
He lifted the heavy windproof curtain, and a warm feeling mixed with a faint fragrance rushed towards him, dispelling some of the chill around him.
The tent was dimly lit, with only a small oil lamp flickering on the table, barely illuminating a corner.
On the simple camp bed, Cui Ying curled up in the quilt, her body covered up tightly, only her fair face showing. She seemed to be sleeping soundly, her breathing even and long. Perhaps because the stove was burning well and the tent was warm, her cheeks were flushed with a warm blush, like a ripe peach.
Xiao Qiyu subconsciously slowed his steps, even his breathing slowed down, as if afraid of disturbing her.
Outside the tent, the north wind howled; inside, the girl slept peacefully, her face as serene as spring.
Xiao Qiyu stood quietly in front of the bed, looking down at Cui Ying for a long time.
After looking for a while, he very quietly reached out and took off his armor, trying not to make a sound, and tiptoed toward the cot.
Winters in southern Jiangxi are damp, cold, and bone-chilling. The thin layer of bedding on the ground is not enough to block the cold air from the ground, and the quilts are as cold as iron all night long. It takes a long time to warm them with body heat before they feel a little warm.
As soon as Xiao Qiyu lay down fully clothed, Cui Ying, still asleep, seemed to sense something. She gently opened her eyelids a little and vaguely noticed Xiao Qiyu's presence. She turned her head and buried half her face deeper into the blanket, rubbed against it, and mumbled something indistinctly, as if wrapped in a ball of cotton.
Xiao Qiyu didn't hear clearly and subconsciously asked, "What did you say?"
“There are bugs,” Cui Ying muttered.
"Insects?" Xiao Qiyu frowned.
Although the tents were simple, they were cleaned and swept regularly. Besides, in the dead of winter, what insects wouldn't freeze to death?
Confused, Xiao Qiyu still sat up and asked her seriously, "Are there really bugs?"
“Hmm,” Cui Ying mumbled, sounding aggrieved, “bugs are biting me, it’s so itchy.”
Xiao Qiyu no longer suspected anything. He got up and walked to the bedside. In the dim light, he bent down and carefully examined the bedding around her neck. His fingers brushed against the bedding and felt only warmth. There was no trace of any insects.
He hesitated for a moment, then reached his hand under the covers.
The girl's forearm unconsciously brushed against his hand, and his fingertips inevitably touched the skin of her wrist, which was soft and delicate, in stark contrast to the thin calluses on his fingertips from years of holding weapons.
Xiao Qiyu was momentarily lost in thought, then lowered his eyes and carefully sensed the movement inside the blanket, searching for traces of insects.
In that instant, Cui Ying suddenly pounced like a hungry tiger, lifting the heavy blanket and covering his head with it like an open fishing net.
"Cui Ying!"
A sweet, feminine fragrance enveloped Xiao Qiyu. His throat tightened, and in his panic, he cried out, his voice almost hoarse, "What are you doing!"
Cui Ying, however, was completely unaware. He patted the bulging blanket and let out a long yawn, saying, "Alright, the bugs are gone. Let's go to sleep, Deputy Commander Xiao."
After saying that, she lay down again and fell asleep with her back to Xiao Qiyu.
So calm as if nothing had happened.
Xiao Qiyu was taken aback by her sudden action. He struggled to peek out from under the covers, his hair disheveled, his face flushed, and his phoenix eyes filled with anger. He asked in a deep voice, "Cui Ying, what exactly do you want to do?"
Cui Ying shrank back a little further to make room for him, and said lazily, "Sleeping on the floor in this weather will surely turn you into a frozen solid overnight. You should just sleep on the bed. Don't worry, I won't mind."
Xiao Qiyu's ears burned. Looking at her pink and full earlobes, he swallowed and retorted stiffly, "Don't you know what it means for a man and a woman to sleep in the same bed? Cui Ying, I am a man."
The scene fell silent.
The heartbeat was exceptionally clear and intense.
Just when Xiao Qiyu thought Cui Ying had come to her senses and stopped acting up, and he was about to get out of bed, Cui Ying suddenly said, "You might not believe it, Xiao Qiyu, but in my heart, I've always considered you a sister."
Xiao Qiyu: "..."
Xiao Qiyu: Are you alright?
"Stop talking nonsense!"
Cui Ying lost her patience and decided to act tough. She turned her head and glared at him, her almond-shaped eyes sparkling with provocation: "What? You're not even afraid of those vicious bandits, but you're so afraid of sleeping with me?"
She easily stirred up the boy's competitive spirit. Xiao Qiyu raised an eyebrow and almost blurted out, "Who's afraid!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized something was wrong, but looking at Cui Ying's provocative expression, he felt a lump in his throat and forced himself to lie down.
Xiao Qiyu almost instinctively and stiffly lay down on the outermost side of the bed, his body taut like a fully drawn bowstring, trying to stay as far away as possible from the warm and faintly fragrant body.
His heart pounded like a drum in the quiet night.
Xiao Qiyu didn't want her heart to beat so fast.
He suspected that Cui Ying could hear it.
The atmosphere was silent.
The two were separated by the Chu River and Han Border, and the air seemed to freeze.
After an unknown amount of time, so long that Xiao Qiyu thought Cui Ying had fallen asleep, he tried to quietly relax his stiff back.
Cui Ying suddenly said, "Xiao Qiyu."
Her voice was filled with an overwhelming sense of sleepiness, soft and sticky.
Xiao Qiyu's hair tensed instantly, and he subconsciously asked, "What's wrong?"
"You smell bad..." Cui Ying seemed to be talking in her sleep, complaining with her little mouth, "You used to smell very nice."
Xiao Qiyu's body stiffened. He was stunned at first, and then a wave of shame and anger surged into his heart.
He spent his days training and patrolling the camp, and had just returned from the training ground. He was only thinking about going to bed as soon as possible because he had to get up early the next day, so he didn't bother to wash up. He had never been so slovenly before.
He sat up abruptly: "I'm going to take a shower."
A warm, soft hand reached out from under the covers and gently tugged at his sleeve. The force was small, but enough to freeze him in place.
"No," Cui Ying said, her voice growing softer and softer, "the water's cold, you'll get sick, don't wash."
She paused for a moment, then said, "It's okay, I smell bad anyway."
The conditions in the military camp were too harsh; she hadn't had a proper bath in several days.
Xiao Qiyu paused, slowly relaxed his body, and lay down again.
By the dim light, he turned his head and could see Cui Ying's dark hair scattered on the pillow, and a small patch of smooth forehead. Her sweet and warm breath lingered in his nostrils.
"No," Xiao Qiyu said softly, her voice so light it was almost a whisper.
Cui Ying was still half asleep and subconsciously responded with a "Hmm?"
"nothing."
Xiao Qiyu closed his eyes, finally relaxing his tense body. He swallowed hard again and whispered, "Sleep."
Cui Ying responded with an "Oh".
Not long after, her even and long breaths could be heard from the other side, and a faint fragrance rose and fell with her breaths.
The cold wind still howled outside the tent, the chill unique to winter in southern Jiangxi penetrating everywhere.
Xiao Qiyu felt a sense of warmth for no apparent reason.
At the prime of his life, and with so many precedents of nearly losing control.
This time, however, for the first time ever, those lingering distracting thoughts did not appear in his mind; instead, he felt an indescribable peace and comfort.
...
The capital city.
As the year draws to a close, a heavy snowfall blankets the streets and alleys in white.
Inside the teahouse at the bustling intersection, the place was already teeming with people, and the steam rising with the aroma of tea dispelled the chill outside.
In the center of the hall, the storyteller's spittle flew as if he were witnessing it firsthand:
"Speaking of the seventh son of the Xiao family, he is truly a god descended to earth! Holding the royal command flag bestowed by His Majesty, he is not like those brutes who only know how to attack by force, but uses strategies like a god!"
"But he neither bribed nor coerced, but won people over with virtue, bringing the local militia who were familiar with the mountain paths under his command and turning them into his eyes and ears! And there's more, do you all know? He even managed to turn the bandits in the stronghold against him, promising them a way out, so that they could cooperate from the inside and outside!"
As the man reached the crucial point, his voice suddenly rose, and his eyes gleamed: "Now, here comes the most powerful move!"
"Guess what? The bandit suppression involves four provinces. If we follow the usual bureaucratic procedures, with documents, requests, and approvals... it would take three to five months for the army to even move! But our Deputy Commander Xiao has the authority to act expediently granted by His Majesty! He simply doesn't wait!"
The storyteller slammed his hand on the table, making the teacups rattle: "Where the royal command arrives, it's as if the emperor himself is there! If a certain prefecture needs to send troops, a single handwritten order will be issued immediately; if a certain county needs to supply grain, it must be delivered that very day!"
"Which official along the way would dare to delay, shirk responsibility, or feign compliance while secretly disobeying? Heh! Commander Xiao has the authority to act first and report later! With a single point of his long sword, gods and Buddhas alike are annihilated. Truly, wherever his banner points, none dare disobey! This is what you call swift and decisive action, this is the spirit of an imperial envoy!"
The audience was completely engrossed, some forgetting to eat sunflower seeds, others forgetting to drink tea, as if they themselves were present at the scene of the bandit suppression, and bursts of cheers erupted from time to time.
The storyteller mimicked the posture of drawing a bow and nocking an arrow: "At that time, just like now, on that dark and windy night, Commander Xiao personally led a surprise force, like divine soldiers descending from the sky, climbing up the cliff that even birds could not cross, and piercing straight into the heart of Black Cloud Village!"
"The bandit leader was captured in one fell swoop while he was still dreaming!"
Thunderous applause erupted.
"good!"
"This really brings honor to our capital!"
"Incredible! The Xiao family has produced another military star!"
Outside the teahouse, officials who had just finished court rode by on horseback, their hooves clattering through the snow, their voices mingling with their own hushed conversations.
An official said with a subtle tone, "This seventh young master of the Xiao family is truly ruthless. He single-handedly mobilized the military corps of four provinces, completely eliminating the tedious process of issuing official documents. While this is for the convenience of the war effort, it also..."
He didn't dare say the second half of his sentence aloud, but the meaning was self-evident—
This is extremely unethical and violates the rules of officialdom.
His colleague beside him seemed unfazed, chuckling, "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. His Majesty has granted him the royal decree and the imperial edict, which means he is allowed to act arbitrarily. Besides, the results have been remarkable, haven't they? It's just that this murderous aura has probably frightened many local officials."
Someone said meaningfully, "The merits and demerits, right and wrong, will be judged by the Emperor. Why should we comment? However, after this, Xiao Qilang's prestige in the army will probably be unmatched."
A cold wind blew, carrying these discussions into the snow.
No matter where you go, whenever someone mentions Xiao Qiyu's name, they secretly associate him with the word "power," either out of envy or fear.
...
Inside the Duke of Wei's mansion, lanterns and decorations were everywhere.
Madam Kong was directing her maids to paste newly cut magpie paper-cuts onto the window lattice. Her face was full of smiles, and her expression showed a ease she hadn't felt in months. Even the fine lines at the corners of her eyes had smoothed out.
News of the great victory in southern Jiangxi had already reached her; her daughter and son-in-law were safe and sound and had made great contributions, which made her happier than the New Year.
"Madam, where do you think we should put these 'May you have abundance every year' stickers?" a maid asked with a smile.
"Just stick it next to that screen, make it more eye-catching!" Madam Kong said with a smile, then turned to the old woman beside her and instructed, "Go to the storeroom and get a few bolts of bright Hangzhou silk, and make new clothes for all the servants in each room. Tuantuan will be back soon, and we need to let her see that the house is festive."
Bright red lanterns had already been hung on the eaves, their vibrant colors standing out even more against the backdrop of white snow.
People came and went in the corridors, and maids pasted up brand-new peach wood charms. The sweet aroma of pastries wafted in the air, warmly melting the frost flowers on the window frames.
After finishing all this, Kong went to the storeroom to select festival gifts in preparation for visiting relatives and friends after the New Year.
But her thoughts couldn't drift to the New Year; her mind was filled with thoughts of her daughter.
"My heart is pounding so hard. I hope nothing bad will happen to Tuantuan on her way back?"
Kong covered her chest with her hand, turned to ask Cui Jin with a worried expression.
Seeing this, Cui Jin quickly smiled and comforted her, "Madam, please don't worry. Your son-in-law is such a capable man. He protected you well in southern Jiangxi. Now he is just returning to the capital in triumph. With so many soldiers guarding you, what trouble could possibly happen? You will definitely be safe and sound. Please put your mind at ease."
Mrs. Kong sighed, her gaze fixed on the snow-covered treetops, her hand still pressed against her chest: "That's what I say, but I still feel uneasy. I hope God will protect us and prevent any more trouble, so that my Tuantuan can return home safely."
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside. A gatekeeper came running up to the courtyard gate, panting, and shouted over the threshold, "Madam! Great news! The troops that went to southern Jiangxi to suppress bandits have returned, and the vanguard has reached the city gate! They are about to enter the city!"
Kong's eyes lit up instantly, and the gloom on his face vanished in a flash. After a moment of stunned silence, he urged, "Quick, call people! Open the side gate now, and everyone come with me to greet them!"
The entire Jixiu Pavilion was instantly abuzz with excitement. Servants ran around spreading the news, and Madam Kong and her two sisters-in-law were surrounded by people. They practically ran to the gate of the mansion, their feet barely touching the ground, eagerly waiting. They didn't feel the cold wind blowing on their faces at all, their hearts pounding with excitement.
As the sun rose high in the sky and gradually began to set in the west, the weather grew increasingly cold, and Kong added charcoal to his hand warmer several times.
After waiting for half a day, the procession finally came into view, but the first thing that appeared in Kong's sight was Chen Fengnian riding a horse, and a line of soldiers escorting boxes.
Chen Fengnian dismounted, stepped forward, and bowed to Madam Kong and her family with a smile, saying, "Congratulations to all the ladies. Vice Envoy Xiao has made great contributions in suppressing the bandits and has returned in triumph with the Third Miss. They are a little slower than you, and I was afraid that you would be anxious waiting. So I specially ordered me to send the special products from southern Jiangxi that they brought to your residence as a token of my filial piety."
He turned to the side and pointed, revealing several heavy boxes behind him.
Kong's fervent enthusiasm seemed to have been doused with cold water. Although she maintained her smile, the light in her eyes dimmed, and her tone betrayed her disappointment: "Thank you for your trouble, Lord Chen."
Even if you pluck the stars and moon from the sky and give them to her, what would she have to be happy about if she didn't come back?
Thinking this, Kong's interest waned, and he turned to order the servant to carry the box.
"Madam, please wait!"
Chen Fengnian quickly added, "The Third Miss specifically instructed that the contents of the first box are extremely important, and you must open and inspect them yourself."
At this moment, Kong was in no mood for anything but disappointment. He simply waved his hand and said, "Never mind, whatever is important, move it into the storeroom first. I can look at it later."
As soon as she finished speaking, she turned away, not wanting to be distracted by the matter.
Just then, one of the boxes suddenly made a loud noise, and the next moment, the lid was pushed up sharply—
Cui Ying, wearing the black fox fur cloak she had given to Xiao Qiyu, leaned her arms on the edge of the trunk, tilted her head, her eyes crinkling into crescents, her cheeks flushed from the warmth inside the trunk, and spoke in a clear, sweet voice, calling out in a coquettish tone:
"Are you really not going to take a look, Mother?"
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Author's Note: I've managed to fill in the remaining thousand or so words for tomorrow's update, but after squeezing in a bit, I realized I'm completely out of words.
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