Chapter 78 : Aying, I’m back

Faer blew a puff of air into the air, grinned foolishly, and said to Song Ying, “Miss, look—I’m breathing out white smoke.”

Song Ying was curled up on a soft couch, wrapped in a quilt and holding a hand warmer.

The weather had changed so suddenly that even talking made her break into a sweat.

Faer rubbed her hands and said, “Miss, Master Yu has been in the palace for four days now.”

Song Ying nodded, “Yes.”

Faer asked, “Will he come back?”

Song Ying looked at the patch where the winter grass was planted. “He will come back, but he needs to stabilize Ruoer’s condition first.”

Faer pouted and shook her head, “Song Ruoer is so petty. Other women don’t go through so much trouble just to have a baby.”

Song Ying poked her mouth with a finger. “She was angry even when she was still in Zhou’s belly. She brought it out from the womb.”

Faer pouted and asked, “Miss, how do you know that? Can people be angry in the womb?”

If she remembered correctly, Zhou hadn’t even entered the household at that time, she had been hidden away by the Marquis.

Song Ying smiled brightly, “Because your lady knows magic.”

Faer said, “Oh! Miss, then can you use your magic to make my purse full?”

Song Ying replied, “Sure. I’ll give you a big red envelope this New Year.”

Faer happily bowed and said, “Thank you, Miss!”

Just then, a servant brought someone in. “Miss, Xiaomi is back.”

After many days on the road, Xiaomi’s face was weathered, but he still looked energetic.

“Miss, this is a reply from your uncle.”

Song Ying took the letter and read it carefully. She shook her head with a smile, “Uncle wrote this while drunk again.”

Faer asked curiously, “What did Uncle say?”

Song Ying replied, “Uncle said, buy a mountain and dig holes all over it. If your future husband misbehaves, bury him in one of the holes, and dig him out again next spring to reuse him.”

Faer scratched her head and said, “Miss, I understand all the words you said, but somehow I can’t understand the sentence.”

Song Ying laughed, “That’s why I said Uncle was drunk when he wrote this.”

She turned to Xiaomi and asked, “Just the letter?”

Xiaomi nodded, “That’s all.”

Song Ying said, “Alright. You’ve had a hard journey. Go rest.”

Xiaomi replied, “I’ll take my leave then.”

Faer grabbed a plate of fruit, sat beside Song Ying, and started peeling melon seeds. “Why didn’t Uncle send any money this time?”

In the past, when Song Ying wrote letters to Han Zhu, he always sent money in return.

Song Ying said half-jokingly, “Because I’ve become poor.”

“Huh?” Faer opened her small purse, counted with her fingers, then finally pulled out two taels of silver. “This is all I have. I can lend it to Uncle in an emergency. I don’t have any more.”

Song Ying put the two taels back into Faer’s hands and said, “Give it to uncle next time he visits.”

Faer: “Okay!”

She handed the peeled melon seeds to Song Ying. “Miss, have some.”

Song Ying casually ate a few and then gave the rest back to Faer.

She looked up at the sky and did a quick calculation in her mind. It seemed that Huo Zhen would be returning to the capital in just a few more days.

That night, a strong wind picked up again. It made a wailing noise like ghosts howling.

Inside it was warm, and Faer was sound asleep.

Song Ying had just turned over when she suddenly heard a clang outside, followed by a pained yelp.

Both master and servant woke up at once.

Faer gasped, “A thief?!”

Song Ying told her to light the lamp quickly, then got dressed and went out to check.

Faer stood by the door and held up the light. “Miss, there’s no one here.”

Just as she said that, another groan came through.

“Someone… hiss…”

That voice…

Song Ying walked toward the wall and called out, standing on tiptoe, “Huo Zhen?”

“…Mm.”

Faer exclaimed in surprise, “General Huo, you’re back!”

“…Mm.”

Something felt off to Song Ying, and she looked up at the flickering light on the wall.

She slapped her forehead, this idiot actually climbed over the wall.

Song Ying told Faer and Xiaomi to go next door and help bring Huo Zhen in.

Seeing the bleeding wound on his palm from a nail, Song Ying quickly grabbed a bottle of medicine and some gauze to clean it.

“Are you stupid? Why didn’t you look before climbing over the wall?”

The liquid soaked into the wound, and Huo Zhen frowned in pain. “I didn’t think much about it. I’m used to climbing like that. I did think it felt a bit harder to get over than usual. By the time I noticed, my hand had already hit the nail. Ow.”

Song Ying didn’t know whether to laugh or scold him. “Climbing walls in the middle of the night, you had it coming.”

Huo Zhen looked aggrieved. “I just missed you. I only wanted to come see you, then head back.”

Song Ying raised her eyes to look at him.

His face was covered in stubble, and he looked rough and tired, but his eyes were still full of life as he looked at her.

“Well, you’ve seen me now. Go back to sleep.”

With both hands wrapped in gauze, Huo Zhen used his wrists to gently trap her hands. “Let me look at you a little longer?”

“Aren’t you tired? I’m still sleepy.”

“You didn’t even ask me why I came back alone.”

Song Ying pushed him out of the room and said, “We can talk about it tomorrow. For now, go sleep immediately.”

Huo Zhen looked a little disappointed. “I came back, aren’t you happy?”

Song Ying replied, “You broke in during the night. You nearly scared me to death.”

Huo Zhen said sheepishly, “I got too anxious. I’ll remember next time.”

But he wouldn’t be able to climb the wall then.

She subconsciously pinched the area on his back. It felt a bit hard and uneven…

Song Ying asked, “Injured?”

“No one walks out of war without injuries,” Huo Zhen replied casually, but the tone made Song Ying feel uncomfortable.

She pulled Huo Zhen back into the room and had him sit down.

“Take off your clothes. Let me check the wound.”

Huo Zhen must’ve rushed back day and night and probably got a few new injuries on the way.

This time, Huo Zhen obediently removed his clothes.

When she saw the wound, Song Ying frowned and pulled out medicine to treat it.

“Why didn’t you return with the army?”

“They were too slow,” Huo Zhen said, tilting his head. “I decided to go ahead on my own.”

Song Ying wiped down the rest of the area with clean water. “You don’t think anything through. What difference does a day make?”

Huo Zhen said, “Well, the sooner I got here, the sooner I could see you. Who wants to hang around a bunch of guys all day?”

Song Ying asked, “Does your father know you came back early?”

Huo Zhen: “Doesn’t matter whether he knows or not. As long as you know, that’s enough.”

Song Ying poked a wound with her finger, and only applied the ointment after hearing him suck in a sharp breath. “If it had gone any deeper, you’d have lost a kidney.”

Huo Zhen: “That’s why I always protect my waist.”

Song Ying: “Turn around.”

Huo Zhen started getting shy again. “I’ll do the front part myself.”

Song Ying rolled her eyes, handed him the medicine, and said as she passed it around his arm, “Suit yourself.”

Huo Zhen took the medicine and applied it as he talked, “You know, the doctor used a lot of your leftover medicine in formulations that really helped the soldiers. That poisonous mushroom? He and the other two doctors actually found a way to control it. Yang Gu and I came up with a plan. In this last battle, we really gave those Xiyue bastards a—”

“Phew…”

It was too quiet behind him. Huo Zhen turned his head slightly and found that Song Ying had already fallen asleep.

He quickly finished applying the medicine, wrapped himself in gauze, put on his clothes, and gently carried Song Ying to the bed.

Looking at Song Ying’s sleeping face and listening to her shallow breathing.

So many days and nights of longing, now turns into tenderness.

Huo Zhen’s heart stirred. He leaned in and gently kissed her forehead.

“Aying, I’m back.”