Chapter 66 Love and Hate "I hate you." "Yes, I love you too."...
The following day was the Spring Equinox, when the grass grew tall and the birds sang, and a gentle breeze blew.
Shi Wan woke up at three-quarters of the hour of Chen (7:45 AM). The warmth of the bed beside her had completely dissipated. Jiang Xu hadn't woken her up as he had before, nor had he insisted on taking her with him. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Last night, the other person's words were so abrupt that she remained quite alert for the rest of the night. She vaguely felt the person beside her breathing softly, remained still, and eventually fell asleep in one position without realizing it.
After a quick wash, even the slightest movement causes aches and pains all over my body.
In the following days, she ate well, rested, and took her medicine as usual, and her health gradually improved. Just as the battle report from the front arrived at the end of March.
On March 24, the Jingbei Army captured four Turkic cities in succession and marched straight to the royal court.
On March 29, the Turks laid an ambush, and the advance troops were caught off guard and trapped.
......
On March 30th, the Turkic cavalry pressed in, tens of thousands of armored soldiers trampling through the camp. Jiang Xu led eight thousand elite cavalry to defend the battlefield to the death. After exhausting their arrows, they hacked and slashed with their swords, refusing to retreat an inch. Blood soaked the battlefield until his deputy, Jing Yan, led reinforcements in a surprise attack from behind enemy lines, turning the tide of the battle.
On the fifth day of the fourth month, his deputy general Wan Houyi sounded the retreat ahead of schedule and led 50,000 personal troops away, suspected of having secretly colluded with the enemy.
On April 14th, Jiang Xu was shot in the left arm with an arrow. At noon, the poison spread to his shoulder, and he fell into a coma at 3:45 PM that day.
......
On April 18th, Jiang Xu was wounded again and led his troops across the mountains. The Turkic royal court was brightly lit, and the banquet around the campfire had not yet ended when the army soaked arrows in oil and set fire to the main tent.
At midnight on the 19th of April, Jiang Xu led his men to capture the Turkic king, and all his other sons, wives and concubines were killed.
After that, no more battle reports came in, but the few hundred words mentioned earlier were enough to reveal the danger involved. Shi Wan stared at them carefully, her gaze pausing slightly at the battles in April.
Before Jiang Xu set off on his campaign, he was determined to completely intimidate the Turkic people. Even though Shi Wan had some reservations about him, she still acknowledged that he loved his people like his own children and was always admirable in his sense of national duty. Now that the war was won, the remaining reorganization and deployment should not take too long. Calculating, he should be able to return by the end of April or the beginning of May at the latest.
The newly arrived maid stood to one side. Shi Wan closed the battle report and asked gently, "Did the scout... reveal any other information?"
Although she wasn't skilled in warfare or leading troops, she knew Jiang Xu's character well. These transcribed battle reports looked rather awkward, and Shi Wan had a vague sense of unease. She unconsciously asked, "For example, how is the King's injury? Did the Turks do something... bad?"
"Otherwise, how could something have happened out of nowhere..." she said, stopping mid-sentence.
Upon hearing this, the maidservant hurriedly knelt down and repeatedly apologized, "Madam, they only handed over the battle report; they didn't inform us of anything else!"
"Please, Madam, understand!"
"Alright, I was just asking, why are you so nervous? Get up." Shi Wan made a move to help her up. The maid was only fourteen or fifteen years old. Upon seeing this, her face turned pale with fright. She quickly got up and stood tremblingly to the side.
Shi Wan glanced at them and knew that this batch had been "trained" in advance, and immediately stopped making any unnecessary movements.
......
*
At the end of April, as spring deepened, the army returned victorious.
As dusk fell, Jiang Xu finished handling many matters and did not return until 7 PM. It seemed that he knew Shi Wan would not come to the gate to greet him. He was very used to this and tacitly did not ask any questions. After he had properly dealt with the matter, he came to find her in person.
At this moment, Shi Wan had just finished bathing and changing clothes. She sat upright on a soft stool, looked up, and saw Jiang Xu enter the room looking travel-worn. She subconsciously said, "I thought you wouldn't be able to come to see me for another two days."
"Unexpectedly, they arrived a few hours later."
His eyes were dark and swollen, and although he looked to be in good spirits, Shi Wan recalled the few words on the battle report about the perilous situation. After hesitating for a moment, she gave him a rare kind look and asked with concern, "I heard you were injured. How are your injuries now?"
"It's alright, it's not serious."
"I'm back safe and sound, aren't I?" Jiang Xu seemed to be in a good mood and joked, "What?"
"You've started talking about me now?" As he spoke, his voice became a little hoarse. Shi Wan, who had been ill for a long time, could tell at a glance that he was recovering from a serious illness and was not fully recovered. After hesitating for a moment, she frankly admitted, "To the people guarding the border, you are a good person. To me, you have also given me a place to live."
She said, half-jokingly, "Humans aren't plants or trees; naturally, I sometimes... miss you too."
As Shi Wan spoke, she pondered questions that she had been thinking about for a long time: she wanted to know if there were any inside stories about the Turkic war that she did not know, she wanted to know why Wan Houyi led his troops away, she wanted to know the situation on the border, and she wanted to know many, many things.
But looking into Jiang Xu's weary eyes, I suddenly wanted to know even more...
His feelings.
"What you said makes me feel much better." Jiang Xu skillfully changed his dressing, his movements were exceptionally quick as if he was afraid Shi Wan would see. After a moment, seeing that she was still staring at him, he smiled gently.
"I heard... that you took it upon yourself to release the two maids who had previously served you?"
When he suddenly mentioned Hua Lan and Hua Hui, Shi Wan was taken aback and nodded, "They're almost of marriageable age, so it wouldn't be a problem if they were a year or two older, would it?"
Anyway... the people serving her are replaced every now and then.
In the past, she was barely able to take care of herself, but now that she can use others' power to her advantage, she hopes that they can live a better life.
Consider it fulfilling her own wish.
For a moment, Shi Wan even thought of Liu Ying, and sighed inwardly. Coming back to her senses, she suddenly felt a familiar figure approaching.
Jiang Xu walked over and sat down beside her, taking a couple of sips of tea. The warm tea seemed to dispel some of the weariness he felt. "It's up to you."
Seeing him say that, Shi Wan felt a little relieved. The next moment, she heard Jiang Xu say, "I have won a great victory over the Turks this time. For the next few years, they will not dare to invade again."
Shi Wan thought for a moment and asked him, "If you do this, Luoyang will definitely get the news." During the month or so that Jiang Xu was away fighting, she had spent a lot of time with Lin Feiran and read a lot of books. Naturally, she could now chat with him about it.
Jiang Xu glanced at her, seemingly lost in thought. After a moment, his tone carried a hint of warning, "Within the territory, in the south, the imperial capital Luoyang is a place of extravagance and debauchery. Yet, right under the emperor's nose, the people suffer greatly, and riots frequently break out. It's just that some people in the court are quite shrewd and use this to whitewash the situation."
"In the central and northern regions, the situation was even more chaotic, with constant uprisings and conflicts."
Seeing that Shi Wan's face grew paler and paler as she listened, as if she were frightened, he chuckled softly to himself, his goal achieved. He raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "You're a young lady; you shouldn't be running around like this."
Was this a warning about her actions over the past month? Shi Wan retorted, "I'm bored staying indoors all day, so it's inevitable that I'll go out occasionally. Besides... even if I'm just going for a stroll, it's all within the neighborhood. I wouldn't go that far."
After speaking, she thought of the numerous battles, large and small, that had taken place over the past few years, and gave a bitter smile. "According to you, there's no safe place left in this world now."
Jiang Xu replied indifferently, "Who knows?" He probably didn't want to talk about these topics with her at this moment. Seeing that Shi Wan was about to bring it up again, he suddenly called out to her, "Wan'er." As he spoke, he reached out and played with her knuckles.
The soft murmur instantly transported Shi Wan back to the night before that person left.
A faint, strange feeling resurfaced in her heart. Forget about probing for a moment, she replied seriously, "Mm." Then, as if realizing that her expression was too serious, she forced a smile and tried to cover it up.
When the two of them are alone together right now, she seems a little... too comfortable?
This is not a good sign.
Focusing her mind and calming her breath, Shi Wan's voice turned slightly cold as she continued, "What's wrong?"
Jiang Xu's expression remained unchanged. Seeing her series of actions, he blinked his dark eyes. In the dim candlelight, his pupils were round and bright. When he spoke, his soft breath was like a snake flicking its tongue. Long-suppressed, sticky thoughts lingered in his eyes, hidden by his thick eyelashes. In a moment, they transformed into a gaze.
The gaze was no different from any other day.
It quietly wrapped around her neck, then moved upwards, spreading silently throughout Shi Wan's body. "Now, as time goes by, it's almost May."
Time really flies.
Shi Wan felt that the tone of these words was a bit strange, but since she was under someone else's roof, she had to bow her head and replied with a couple of words, "Being busy every day, time naturally passes quickly."
“Yes.” Jiang Xu’s tone was unreadable. “Come to think of it… we’ve known each other for over a year now.”
He seemed dissatisfied, his dark eyes sweeping over her face. Shi Wan's unease intensified, and she subconsciously tried to pull her hand away, but Jiang Xu grabbed it tightly as soon as she made a move.
The man's strength was much greater than before, not yielding an inch, but his tone was somewhat pitiful, "The Turks insulted my father, and I swore that I would not be a human being if I did not avenge this."
"Now that my revenge is complete, I still feel a void in my heart..."
The pain in her wrist mingled with the other person's gentle gaze, and Shi Wan was suddenly struck by a sudden realization. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. She looked at him calmly and said, "...Aren't you afraid I'll hate you for doing this?"
But when these words reached Jiang Xu's ears, they made him want to burst into laughter. Fortunately, Shi Wan said it again.
very nice.
Ideally, you should be able to repeat it over and over again.
Tell him that she hates him.
Otherwise, he would always be suspicious, afraid that she would hate him.
Shi Wan's voice trembled slightly, "Jiang Xu." Seeing the person opposite her gently brush a strand of hair from her ear and get closer, she said through gritted teeth, "...I hate you."
But because of this almost non-existent distance, it's like an intimate whisper, word by word.
Jiang Xu stared at her for a long time, and after a while, he smiled.
"Yes, I love you too."
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