Chapter 119

Chapter 119

Aunt Xiao returned to her room, and the inner courtyard became quiet, with only the kitchen emitting a dim light.

Tong Sui said to Xiao Zhen, "You go fetch water, I'll clean the bathtub."

The bathtub was usually stored under the eaves behind the back door, and when needed, it had to be rinsed to remove the dust.

Xiao Zhen tightened his grip and led her towards the kitchen, "I'll do it myself later, come with me."

Tong Sui had no choice but to follow him into the kitchen.

Two buckets were already prepared. Tong Sui stood beside them, watching Xiao Zhen scoop water from the pot into the buckets with a wooden ladle.

There were still a few embers in the stove, and the large pot of hot water steamed, blurring Xiao Zhen's face.

Only then did Tong Sui look at his body, noticing some bloodstains, not many, mostly on the hem of his clothes.

Xiao Zhen suddenly asked, "How is your arm?"

Tong Sui: "It's fine. I slept with my mother last night, soaked in a medicinal bath, and Aunt gave me acupuncture twice. My mother also kept massaging it for me."

Xiao Zhen felt somewhat relieved. Her mother-in-law treated her as kindly as his aunt treated him. With family around, nightmares wouldn't be as distressing at night.

The water was scooped, and Xiao Zhen carried both buckets in one hand each. Tong Sui blew out the candle, and they quickly returned to the East Wing Courtyard.

The north was cold, and daily baths were not advisable. Tong Sui had already bathed last night, and today she had stayed in the old man's study all day. She simply wiped herself with a basin of hot water and climbed into bed. When Xiao Zhen sat in the bathtub, she turned around, looking up to speak to him.

"Setting an ambush in the same place twice, if the rebel king is cautious enough to discover it beforehand, can our five thousand infantry defeat the rebel army?"

The ambush was successful, but it was risky.

Xiao Zhen: "We can, but the casualties will be more severe than in the ambush."

The rebel king had more men, but they were weak in combat strength and equipment. It was like thousands of sheep encountering a dozen wolves; their first thought would be to flee.

Mentioning casualties, Tong Sui straightened her head and looked at the window, "On our side, four hundred plus soldiers and civilians were either killed or severely injured, most of them were city defenders, and some were civilians who came to help."

Xiao Zhen: "War is like this; people will die. The number matters. Using the lives of a few soldiers and civilians to save the majority of the city's population is already our achievement. Don't be too hard on yourself."

Tong Sui nodded, "Our soldiers have compensation when something happens, but the soldiers on the rebel king's side die without any benefits."

Xiao Zhen: "Grandfather will make arrangements, we'll know tomorrow morning."

He washed for a long time. After finishing, he stood up, picked up the remaining half bucket of warm water outside, and rinsed himself from top to bottom before wrapping himself in a towel and stepping out of the bathtub.

After drying off, he went to pour out the water. Soon, Master Xiao Er, carrying the warmth of the bath, squeezed into the bed.

He first pinched Tong Sui's arm, feeling that it was still a bit stiff, but she didn't cry out in pain, indicating it wasn't too serious.

Xiao Zhen then took her hands and examined them carefully in the candlelight.

Her left palm, which held the bow, had a red bruise, and her right hand, which pulled the string, had small wounds on all fingers except the thumb, which wore a finger guard.

Tong Sui: "It's nothing, Grandfather gave me medicine. It will heal in two days."

Xiao Zhen then looked at the back of her hands, where there were a few abrasions from dodging enemy arrows and scraping against the city wall.

Xiao Zhen kissed each wound.

Tong Sui was also examining his hands, "Are you hurt?"

Xiao Zhen lifted his gaze and looked at her, "Yes, but the injuries are on my body."

Tong Sui, anxious, was about to check, but as soon as she lifted the blanket, she saw a chest much paler than his face. Realizing what she had seen, she blushed and punched him.

Xiao Zhen hugged her and turned, holding her wrists, "Don't move, I'm afraid it might hurt your hands."

Tong Sui's hands remained in his grasp.

Until Xiao Zhen sat upright, pulling her into his arms and wrapping her in the blanket, Tong Sui tightly embraced his neck.

Xiao Zhen thought of every charge and battle on the battlefield, while Tong Sui's mind was filled with images of enemy soldiers relentlessly attacking the city walls.

He charged, she defended, determined to fight to the death.

In the middle of the night, Tong Sui, who was not yet accustomed to the brutality of war, woke up again, breathing heavily. Xiao Zhen cupped her face and kissed her.

Last night, it was her mother's gentle lullaby; tonight, it was the passionate fire of a man.

Tong Sui couldn't tell which comfort was more effective. Perhaps Xiao Zhen's actions weren't meant to comfort her; he simply exhausted her until she fell asleep.

The next morning, Tong Sui was woken by a neatly dressed Xiao Zhen, and the window was already bright.

Xiao Zhen smiled at her, "Get up, let's go to the South Gate together. We'll let you sleep in after everything is done."

Tong Sui wasn't particularly attached to the bed but asked curiously, "Do you need me to do something today?"

Xiao Zhen: "Grandfather is going to publicly reward the Acropolis Army. You've earned the top merit, fifteen taels of silver. Don't want it?"

Tong Sui: "..."

Xiao Zhen unfolded her clothes, "I just warmed them up for you. Put them on while they're still warm."

Tong Sui immediately sat up, allowing Master Xiao Er to dress her. She neatly folded the quilt and, turning around, found Xiao Zhen holding both of her shoes.

She moved to the edge of the bed, and Xiao Zhen helped her put on her shoes, holding her as she prepared to get down, "Wait."

He went out and brought in a basin of warm water, wetting a towel to wash her face and hands, saying, "When you're fully healed, you can wash yourself again."

Tong Sui smiled, "Then I really am like a second wife."

Xiao Zhen replied, "You are the second wife."

After applying face cream, the couple went to the main courtyard together.

Xiao Zhen got up early, found something to eat in the kitchen, and spent some time with Mianmian and Qi Yao. At this moment, Tong Sui was sitting among the women, having breakfast, while Xiao Zhen went to the eastern courtyard to see his mother-in-law and aunt.

He's eyes were slightly dark under the eyelids. Looking at Tong Sui’s rosy cheeks, she muttered softly, "Ever since the second son came back, you two have been acting like newlyweds after a long separation."

Her room was closest to the East Wing Courtyard. Because her husband and son were not at home, He Shi had not slept well. Last night, the young couple had been quite lively, and several sounds had reached He Shi’s ears.

Mianmian and Qi Yao were too young to understand, but Aunt Xiao, Xiao Yuchan, Liu Chu, and Lin Ningfang were all experienced.

Xiao Yuchan gave her sister-in-law a suggestive smile and was about to tease her when Aunt Xiao glared over, "Eat your breakfast. Why so many words first thing in the morning?"

Clearly, she was criticizing indirectly.

He Shi: "..."

But she couldn’t argue back because she didn’t have a good reason.

Tong Sui, who had been caught up in the passion last night, didn’t know how she had behaved. When He Shi mentioned it in front of everyone, she felt a bit uncomfortable for a moment. But then she thought that after such a battle, both she and Xiao Zhen were still alive, and if they wanted to act like newlyweds after a long separation, who could stop them?

So, she suppressed the flush rising to her cheeks and continued eating as if nothing had happened.

Lin Ningfang noticed a few abrasions on Tong Sui’s hand and asked with concern, "Does it hurt for you to hold chopsticks, Sister-in-law?"

Tong Sui smiled, "It’s fine, just a little scratch, no blood even. The leather armor my sister-in-law gave me proved useful."

Lin Ningfang said, "I’ll ask the craftsman to make you a pair of leather gloves, for both hands, leaving half the fingers exposed. They will protect you without hindering your movements."

In the capital city, the families of the nobility enjoyed more luxuries than common people. Some noble youths would shoot arrows just to show off their might, unable to endure the friction from the bowstring, so they devised special leather gloves for archery. The Xiao family, being a declining household of a thousand households, knew military tactics from books but had never seen such fancy items.

Of course, the same leather gloves would be practical for Tong Sui.

Tong Sui said, "Thank you, Sister-in-law. You can pay for it first, and I’ll reimburse you later."

He Shi said to her daughter-in-law, "If you’re making them, make a few more pairs. Every man in the family should have a pair. It’s cold, and it can keep them warm, anyway. We’ll charge it to the camp’s account."

Aunt Xiao retorted, "So smart, are you? With so many soldiers barehanded, only our family wears leather gloves. Afraid the soldiers will praise us? Aman’s pair is also for future city defense. Ask her if she uses them normally."

Tong Sui nodded in agreement.

He Shi: ...

Xiao Yuchan tried to smooth things over, "Alright, alright, let’s eat quickly."

Just as Tong Sui finished eating, Xiao Zhen returned from the eastern courtyard, estimating the time. He glanced at his nephew, who was said to be able to lift a burly man off a horse with one hand, and kept quiet.

Xiao Zhen bid farewell to the elders and left with Tong Sui.

At the gate, he lifted Tong Sui onto the large black mule, then held the reins loosely.

The couple rode side by side toward the south gate. On the way, Tong Sui gave Xiao Zhen a few reproachful looks.

Xiao Zhen leaned over and asked, "Did I offend you again?"

Tong Sui whispered, "Last night, Aunt heard, and you didn’t even warn me?"

Before, he would help cover her mouth when she needed to be quiet.

Xiao Zhen looked at her and said, "I didn’t think of it either."

It was too enjoyable; she had never been so unrestrained before.

Tong Sui’s earlobes turned red, and she tugged the reins, making the big black mule speed up and leave Xiao Zhen behind.

Xiao Zhen spurred his horse to catch up and promised, "I’ll be careful tonight."

Tong Sui continued to tug the reins.

Xiao Zhen caught up again and teased his second wife with light-hearted banter.

They arrived at the south gate, where the old man was on the city wall.

Xiao Zhen went out to inspect the camp, while Tong Sui took off her cloak and climbed up the wall to find the old man.

Standing high, she saw four thousand surrendered soldiers forming ranks outside the city, and the five thousand infantry of the Acropolis Army had already gathered at the city gate. Only Xiao Yan, Xiao Ye, and Sun Dian, leading the cavalry, were absent, having gone to take control of Huai County.

Before Tong Sui could speak to the old man, she suddenly saw a troop of about fifty riders approaching from the west, surrounding a long convoy of carts pulled by two mules each, carrying what seemed to be bags of grain and fodder.

The leader was dressed as a civil official. As they drew closer, Tong Sui recognized him as He Lianqing.

Xiao Mu smiled and led Tong Sui and others down the wall to greet them.

Upon meeting, Xiao Mu asked, puzzled, "What’s the meaning of this, Sir He?"

He Lianqing said apologetically, "Previously, I was busy recruiting and preparing for the rebel king, neglecting the many lawsuits in the city. Yesterday, upon returning, I discovered that three powerful families had taken advantage of the chaos to harm the people and accumulate wealth. I had those three families locked up and sent all their land, silver, grain, and the military pay and supplies from Ding County to you for your use."

"Additionally, here is the current ledger of unclaimed land in Ding County, and here is the detailed list of rewards we prepared overnight. Please review them."

Xiao Mu pressed down the hands he had raised, "Sir, you are the magistrate of Ding County; you can decide these matters yourself."

He Lianqing replied, "No, the magistrate only handles civilian affairs. Now, sir, you are the commander of seven counties, and all military matters should be handled by you!"

The two began to push and yield to each other again.

Tong Sui glanced at Zhang Wengong, who had witnessed a similar scene yesterday. Zhang Wengong smiled and lowered his gaze.