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"I would like to ask the general to take off his clothes."
Song Ling had already taken out her silver needle case, but she noticed that Yu Baizhou was still dawdling and hesitant to speak.
"That day at the Ji residence, the general said he was afraid the plan would be discovered. Upon returning to the camp, he said he would wait until we received the supplies. Now, does the general still have any unspoken difficulties?"
Her question left Yu Baizhou speechless, but after all, they were men and women, so how could he answer?
He was unconscious when she gave him acupuncture, so he didn't feel anything. Now that he's awake, he feels uncomfortable all over.
"How about we call a military medic?"
Song Ling stopped what she was doing and looked at him coldly, a hint of helplessness in her smile. She said, half impatiently and half threateningly, "General, will you do it yourself, or should I help you?"
"I... I'll do it myself." Yu Baizhou didn't know why he was discouraged by her look. Perhaps it was because talented people all have a bit of a temper. He would just bear with it.
After slowly taking off his coat, he glanced at her and saw her staring at him with her arms crossed.
His hands trembled slightly as he unbuttoned his clothes.
"Take off your inner garment and lie face down."
General Yu breathed a sigh of relief when he sensed the woman's gaze shift away.
Song Ling made the necessary preparations, then cut open the white cloth strip on his shoulder and back that was already stained with red. The arrow wound, which had shown signs of healing, had reopened because of his raid on the grain supplies, making it look horrifying.
She noticed something was wrong with him when she applied the medicine. Even before the silver needles touched him, his back was visibly tense, and blood was seeping from his wound.
"Smack—"
"What are you doing!" Feeling the slap on his back, Yu Baizhou was so shocked that he almost flew up. He subconsciously tried to get up, but those hands pressed down on his back and pushed him back down.
The woman's voice grew even colder, "Your wound has reopened. You'd better behave yourself."
They even stopped calling him "General," which shows they were truly angry.
No doctor likes a disobedient patient. Song Ling even suspected that he was deliberately going against her. As soon as the silver needle touched her skin, Yu Baizhou tensed his muscles uncontrollably.
"Is the general afraid of needles?" Song Ling stopped what she was doing and asked him.
"I... um, I guess so." The reply was vague, and it was unclear whether it was true or false.
Without hesitation, Song Ling immediately pulled the person up and pressed several acupoints.
Before Yu Baizhou could even ask, he noticed that within moments the man's body had gone limp and he was unable to move except to speak. "What did you do to me?"
He was so unsuspecting towards this girl, and now this is how he treats her!
"If the general can control his body so as not to interfere with my acupuncture, then I will naturally not have to do this."
As she spoke, she gently inserted silver needles into different acupoints, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on Song Ling's forehead.
"Since you know medicine, how come your health is so poor?" Yu Baizhou felt a warm sensation surging from his back to his surroundings, and couldn't help but feel admiration for this girl.
There are many scholars and strategists, but strategists and scholars who are also skilled in medicine are hard to find.
Unexpectedly, when Song Ling heard his unintentional question, she paused for a moment while holding the needle, and did not say anything.
After a long silence, just when Yu Baizhou thought he had said something wrong again, he suddenly heard her say coldly, "A doctor cannot heal himself."
Yu Baizhou paused for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry."
"It's alright," Song Ling said, glancing at his back after administering the acupuncture. Even though it wasn't the first time she'd seen it, she couldn't help but feel a sense of shock. Old wounds were compounded with new ones; the crisscrossing scars marked the arduous path of a soldier.
Who would have thought that such a dense, hideous scar would appear on the back of a man in his early twenties?
"What was your original intention when you joined the army, General?" she asked casually.
“I don’t know,” Yu Baizhou seemed to be thinking about this question for the first time. “I joined the army because I couldn’t afford to eat at first. Later, I climbed up the ranks step by step, and now I’m not quite sure.”
"All I know is that I want to protect this place and prevent the southern barbarians from harming our people."
Song Ling's lips moved slightly, a hint of doubt creeping into her mind about destiny for the first time. General Yu was suited to be a military commander, a loyal and benevolent garrison commander, but certainly not an emperor. So why did destiny choose him for her?
But Song Ling only wavered for a moment and did not change her mind about assisting him, not only because it was her mission, but also because she had no other choice or opportunity to change.
Defying fate is easier said than done; it only leads to harming oneself and others.
"General, you joined the army eight years ago, and you're twenty-one this year?" Song Ling asked casually, as if they were just having a casual chat.
"What's wrong?" Yu Baizhou had relaxed by now and could move his head, so he looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"It's nothing, I was just asking."
It was that mysterious talk again. Yu Baizhou had always disliked these literati who only said half of what they meant. It was too frustrating to listen to, but it was also unpleasant not to hear the rest.
"Now that the food supply problem is solved, General, you must keep your promise to me that day." Seeing that the time had come, Song Ling took out the needle and also helped him release his acupoints.
“The military camp is not like the county or prefecture; it’s very tough.” Yu Baizhou moved his arms and quickly put on his undergarment. “If you can’t handle the hardship, don’t come crying to me again.”
"In that case, I look forward to your guidance in the future, General." Song Ling knelt on one knee to pay his respects, silently bowing to this lord in his heart.
Yu Baizhou was so startled by her actions that he jumped off the bed. "What are you doing?"
He instinctively reached out to pull her up, but before he could grasp her wrist, he hesitated and pulled away. Where was the composed demeanor he displayed on the battlefield?
“I don’t have any rules here, so there’s no need to talk about those things you scholars have to say.” Yu Baizhou thought for a moment and then added, “The only rule is that you must abide by military discipline. If you break military regulations, even a general will be punished with a rod, and you women are no exception.”
This was something he had to point out; otherwise, given the girl's physique, she would have been killed in just a few blows.
"Ling knows." Although Song Ling's face was still expressionless, her posture was respectful, and she no longer showed any of her previous impatience.
This made General Yu, who was used to her indifference, feel somewhat uncomfortable. After all, he had seen that this girl was opinionated and had a strong temper, and was also ruthless and heartless.
But the next day General Yu will find that Miss Song is still the same Miss Song, her personality has not changed at all.
next day
"Did you give birth last night?"
Yu Baizhou was so frightened that he dropped his sword to the ground without even noticing. Wang, the deputy general who had been anxiously awaiting Yu Baizhou's punishment, also quietly pricked up his ears, just like the other deputy generals.
“No.” Song Ling’s face turned cold.
"General, what are you saying?" Among the five lieutenants, only the oldest, Li, was the most experienced. Even he couldn't help but cover his face. "Giving birth isn't something that happens in one night."
"No...look at what I'm saying." Although Lieutenant General Li was usually rough around the edges in the military camp and used all sorts of vulgar and crude language, he didn't care in front of a group of grown men.
But now that Song Ling and the two little girls Qi Man behind her were in the tent, he immediately realized something was wrong, so he tried to smooth things over, saying, "General, Military Advisor Song certainly didn't mean that."
Song Ling then explained, "I would like to ask the general if it is possible to raise this child in the military camp."
“That won’t do,” Yu Baizhou frowned. “Conditions in the military camp are poor, and it’s questionable whether this child will even survive. Besides, there are military rules and regulations…”
In fact, the Later Jin military regulations also prohibited women from accompanying the army. Apart from Vice General Wang and Vice General Li, the other three vice generals had not had much interaction with Song Ling because they had recently been ordered to be stationed at the border of the three prefectures. Therefore, they strongly opposed Song Ling entering the military camp.
They even suspected that the general might be bewitched by the woman, as it was a major taboo for women to accompany the army!
However, Yu Baizhou made the serious decision, and the people around him were holding their breath, as if they had caught her by the nose.
One of the most dissatisfied lieutenants stood up and rebuked, "Womanly compassion! This military camp is not a place for women and children. Girl, you should go back to where you came from!"
"Shi Qing!" Seeing that Yu Baizhou was on the verge of losing his temper, Deputy General Li quickly pulled him back. "Control your temper!"
Shi Qing snorted and stopped talking, but Song Ling didn't pay any attention.
Qi Man behind her had already tensed up. She was always protective of her own. Even though her young lady was a bit quiet and bold in her actions, she never did anything useless.
The girl's words and actions must have had some purpose.
Back in Huailai Mountain, those powerful peak masters never looked down on girls because of their age or gender, but here they let these people bully them.
"Girl, we're not staying here. The general isn't the only one!"
"Sigh..." Qi Man's anger hadn't subsided when a little baby was stuffed into his arms, blowing bubbles.
It turned out that Song Ling had placed the child she was holding into Qi Man's arms, saying, "Be careful."
Qi Man couldn't care less about being angry. She could only look helplessly at Wu Sheng beside her with her arms stiff, until he sighed and took the bag.
"This child's background is somewhat unusual. May I ask the general about it privately?"
Everyone frowned, and Shi Qing started picking a fight again, "You're not trying to seduce— Waaah!"
He shook off Lieutenant General Li's hand, "Brother Yin, what are you doing!"
"Shi Qing, if you keep talking nonsense, go and get a beating!" This time it was Yu Baizhou who spoke. He looked at everyone seriously and said, "Without Military Advisor Song, we would have been defeated without the Xiongnu's surprise attack. Put away your ulterior motives."
Having said that, he instructed Wei Yan to continue the debriefing. He then walked towards Song Ling, seemingly casually saying, "Let's go, didn't the strategist want to ask me something?"
However, if Yu Baizhou had known in advance that the fire would burn him, he would never have agreed to step out of that tent.
"Impossible!" General Yu looked at the child in Qi Man's arms and silently took a few steps back.
"I'm not even married yet, what kind of logic is it for a child to suddenly appear out of nowhere?"
"I know that such a request is indeed unfair to the general, and I have indeed said too much."
Song Ling felt a little disappointed and silently took the child from Qi Man's hands. "But this child's father was also a soldier in the Southwest. When I met her, her mother was already seriously ill and entrusted her to me in the end. I really couldn't bear it."
"Not to mention that this child's father also sacrificed his life on the battlefield..."
As she spoke, her eyes reddened, and the little baby in her arms, seeing her tears, raised its little hand to touch her cheek.
"Hey... don't cry..." Yu Baizhou panicked and fumbled around, not knowing what he was looking for.
*
--First published on Jinjiang--
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