Chapter 54 Chapter 54 "After a few months apart, you have nothing...
It was almost noon when Ji Yanlang entered the house - just like when he returned home last September, Fang Ying had been in Li's room since she got up in the morning, waiting with her for the whole morning.
However, compared with last year, her mood this time was very different, and I think her mother-in-law felt the same way.
Ji Yanlang looked almost the same as when he first returned home last year, dark and thin, with rough skin on his face, and his hands were unusually red and swollen when he stretched them out. Mrs. Li had been relatively calm, but when she saw her son like this, her eyes suddenly turned red.
"Why are you so thin? Your hands are red and swollen. Are you frostbitten?"
Ji Yanlang let his mother examine his hands over and over, smiling and reassuring him, "It's okay, just a little frostbite. It'll be fine soon." He flexed his fingers, "Look, they're very flexible. Nothing's wrong with them."
"Have you applied medicine? Chilblains can't be ignored, or they'll come back next winter." Li turned and instructed Yue Qing'e, who was accompanying her. "Send someone to find a doctor and get some ointment for Liu Lang."
Ji Yanlang couldn't stop her, so he didn't say anything. He just helped his mother sit back down and took the opportunity to glance at Fang Ying who was standing silently beside her.
After five months of separation, he felt that he had engraved her appearance firmly in his mind. But when he really saw her now, he felt that the appearance he remembered in his mind was not even one-tenth of her real appearance.
Ji Yanlang couldn't help but smile at Fang Ying.
Fang Ying was stunned by his smile - she still remembered Ji Yanlang's ambitious look before he left, saying that he would make great achievements to win her an imperial decree. Now that Youzhou was defeated after a hard battle, she thought she would see Ji Liulang who was unwilling and forced to smile, but she didn't expect that he would smile at her so sincerely and full of joy as soon as they met.
Mrs. Li took in the young couple's demeanor and stopped talking with concern. She instructed, "Alright, Liu Lang, go back to your room and wash up. You've been traveling so hard and you look like a mess. Come back after you've showered and changed your clothes."
Ji Yanlang was so moved by his mother's words that he couldn't help but pull up his clothes and smell it himself, muttering, "Isn't it decent?"
Li smiled and turned to Fang Ying, "Bring the chilblain cream later. Watch Liu Lang apply it. He also needs to put some cream on his face. The spring wind is strong, and his face will crack if he doesn't apply cream properly."
“…” Ji Yanlang silently touched his face. It was indeed stinging, but his hands were also very rough, and it was difficult to tell which one was pricked and which one was rougher.
Fang Ying agreed with a smile and left with Ji Yanlang.
The sun is shining brightly outside, and the spring breeze is warm. The pomegranates in the yard sway gently in the wind. The new green leaves on the branches are illuminated by the sun, showing a little yellow, which is the tenderness unique to spring.
Ji Yanlang exhaled contentedly: "This is the first time I feel that there is spring in Bianjing."
Fang Ying smiled - those of them who moved to Bian Jing from Shu were not used to the climate here in the first one or two years. It was cold in winter, but after the beginning of spring, it would get a little warmer, and then the late spring cold would come. When the late spring cold was over, the weather would suddenly become hot again, and summer would come in a blink of an eye, so they often said that there was no spring in Bian Jing.
"Is it still cold in the north?" She didn't know whether Ji Yanlang was willing to mention Youzhou, so she asked vaguely.
"It's not cold, but on the way back, there was a snowfall in Zhuozhou. Even though it melted as soon as it hit the ground, it was still colder than in Bianjing."
The two chatted for a while about the winter weather and then returned to their courtyard.
The hot water for bathing had to be carried from the kitchen. It had not been delivered yet, so Fang Ying asked someone to get a basin of warm water for Ji Yanlang to wash his hands and face. She also asked him if he was hungry and if he wanted to eat something.
"I'm not hungry, but do you have any fresh fruits?" As an official in Ji Yanlang's position, he never had to worry about having enough to eat when he was on the march or fighting. It was not difficult for him to eat meat, but fresh fruits and vegetables were rare.
Fang Ying hurriedly asked Xing Niang to get it.
After Ji Yanlang washed his face, he took off his outer robe and handed it to the maid, then turned around and sat on the couch. Fang Ying poured him a cup of tea, and then he held his wrist and said, "Don't be busy, sit down and talk to me."
Fang Ying took a look at his hands and asked, "Does it hurt?"
"Hmm?" Ji Yanlang glanced at his red, swollen, and rough hands and said nonchalantly, "It doesn't hurt, just a little itchy when it's hot, but it's almost healed."
At this time, Xing Niang brought up four large oranges that had been peeled into flower shapes, and replied that there were also pears, which would be brought up after they were cut.
The rich aroma of oranges filled Ji Yanlang's nose, and his appetite was greatly aroused. He ate one in three or two bites and praised it, "It's rare to find such juicy oranges at this time of year, and they are quite sweet."
"This was sent from Shu before the New Year. Mother specifically instructed that the best ones be kept for you and carefully stored in the cellar." Fang Ying handed him a silk handkerchief. "I didn't expect that father and third and fourth uncles couldn't come back with you."
By the time she said this, Ji Yanlang had already finished his second meal. Upon hearing this, he sighed, "Yes, father and the others, they will have a tough battle ahead. The Hu people will not give up easily."
Fang Ying didn't want him to talk about the defeat as soon as he got home. Just then, the hot water was delivered, so she asked the maid to carry the bathtub into the inner room and urged Ji Yanlang to take a bath first. After he was done, he could continue eating and it was a good time to dry his hair.
Since Ji Yanlang returned home last year, he no longer needed anyone to help him take a bath. After consummating his marriage, he only asked Fang Ying to help him wash his hair. So after pouring the water, adjusting the water temperature, and preparing bath beans, combs, etc., the maids all retreated to the hall to wait.
"Soak for a while first, and call me when you want to wash your hair." Fang Ying said.
"Are you going out again?" Ji Yanlang tilted his head to glance at the main hall and whispered, "Don't go out. Just sit here. I'll leave the door open. Tell me about what's happened at home in the past few months. The last time I received a letter from home, they hadn't taken Taiyuan yet."
Fang Ying thought about it and realized it was true. She hadn't written to him in three whole months. But, "Isn't it cold with the door open?"
Ji Yanlang rolled his eyes, reached out and pulled her up, and said with a smile: "How about you come in too? It's just right for you to help me wipe my back."
Fang Ying was not very willing - she was already reluctant to wash Ji Yanlang's hair, and had to force herself to do it, so how could she wipe his back?
"Let Xiliu do the back rubbing. She has a good grasp of the strength in her hands."
Ji Yanlang thought she was embarrassed, so he took her hands and held them in his palms, saying with a smile: "I just said it casually, and you took it seriously? How could I bear to give up a pair of hands like this?"
Fang Ying finally realized what was going on—he just wanted her to stay by his side and chat a few more times, right? But she didn't have the habit of watching others bathe. How awkward would it be for him to soak in the tub while she sat beside him?
Just as she was hesitating, Ji Yanlang lowered his head, smiled softly in her ear and asked, "After a few months of separation, don't you have anything you want to tell me in private?"
"No!" Fang Ying pulled her hand away and pushed away the person standing almost next to her. She raised her head and glanced at him. "Stop messing around. Go wash quickly. The water will get cold soon."
Ji Yanlang chuckled twice, suddenly raised his hand to hold Fang Ying's shoulders, leaned over and pecked her lightly on the face, then without waiting for her to come back to her senses, he rushed into the inner room.
"..." Fang Ying stood there for a moment, until the sound of water was heard inside, then she let out a breath quietly.
She was quite surprised by Ji Yanlang's attitude. Although he had only been home for a short time, after talking for a while, she didn't see even the slightest shadow of defeat in him. Seeing her again after five months, he didn't seem to feel strange or uncomfortable at all.
But Fang Ying can't do that.
When she saw Ji Yanlang for the first time in Li's room just now, she felt a little strange, as if she was back in September last year, and she had to muster all her energy to face this husband.
On the way back to the room, after exchanging a few words, the sense of strangeness subsided a little, but when she returned to the room, the feeling of discomfort came back again - after a few months of free and easy life, there was suddenly another person in the room, and she had to serve him. Fang Ying was quite uncomfortable.
She poured herself a cup of tea, drank it, and calmed her thoughts before going into the inner room with the clothes she had found for Ji Yanlang to wear.
"Is the water temperature still suitable?" Fang Ying asked as she closed the lattice door.
"Well, it's neither too cold nor too hot, just right." Ji Yanlang soaked comfortably in the hot water, and his tone of voice was lazy when he answered.
Fang Ying glanced at him and saw that he was completely submerged in the tub, with only his head sticking out. She breathed a sigh of relief and went to put her clothes on the kang in the warm room. At the same time, she said, "In the past few months, apart from the premature birth of Liu that Fourth Uncle brought back last time, nothing serious has happened at home."
When Ji Yanlang suddenly heard this, he was stunned and didn't know what to say.
Fang Ying turned around and saw his stunned expression, so she explained, "The doctor said that premature births happen all the time, and most premature babies are weak and difficult to raise. Fortunately, Fourth Uncle and Sister-in-law already have a child, and Liu has been raising him for three months, and he's fine."
"Hmm..." Ji Yanlang didn't know what to say, so he just responded casually. After he finished responding, he thought, "Fourth brother doesn't know yet, right?"
"It's been inconvenient to communicate these past few months, and it's not good news..."
Ji Yanlang nodded and asked, "How's Third Brother? Has the baby been born?"
"Not yet, maybe another half a month or a month. But the one in my second sister-in-law's room is about to give birth, she said it will be in the next few days."
Ji Yanlang couldn't help but sigh, "Time flies by so fast." Then he looked at Fang Ying standing still in the warm room and asked her with a smile, "Why are you standing so far away? Why don't you come over?"
"Don't you want to soak for a while? What should I do over there?" Fang Ying asked back.
"Ah..." Ji Yanlang pretended to understand something, "Is it because I've been away at war for a few months, and now that we've met suddenly, you're shy and don't dare to look at me?"
Fang Ying didn't answer. He smiled slyly and said, "Madam, what are you afraid of? It's not like you haven't seen it before..."
"If you don't want to talk nicely, I'm leaving." Fang Ying interrupted him and pretended to open the door.
Ji Yanlang hurriedly called her: "Hey, my dear wife, please don't go. Sit down and talk to me. How are your father-in-law and mother-in-law?"
The words came so fast that Fang Ying didn't have time to argue with him about the address. She could only pretend not to hear, sat on the small stool beside the kang, and replied, "Very good."
"Father-in-law, did you encounter any difficulties when handling the Zhang family case?" Ji Yanlang asked.
"No, I just got ridiculed by my uncle during the New Year. Kaifeng Prefecture didn't impose a heavy sentence out of respect for Prince Yan, so why are they making things difficult for me?"
Ji Yanlang picked up the fine cloth from the tub with his right hand, rubbing his left arm while sneering, "I think they've flattered the wrong person this time. Who knows, the government might reprimand them."
"Who to blame? Kaifeng Prefecture? Why?"
"Because they didn't judge the case impartially and only cared about pleasing Prince Yan." Ji Yanlang stopped and said in a low voice, "I'm afraid Prince Yan has lost his heart this time."
Fang Ying was startled and couldn't help but stand up and walked closer to ask, "What happened?"
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The author has something to say: Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution between 2021-03-11 00:32:29 and 2021-03-17 02:48:16~
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: 10 bottles of Chuxia Xianju;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
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