Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Lu Yuan had been counting the days on her fingers. It was already the eleventh day since Qi Cheng had left home, and he still hadn’t returned.

The humid season still hadn’t passed.

Returning from the night market early in the morning, she immediately closed the door upon entering the house to keep the dampness out.

Since clothes couldn’t be hung outside to dry, they were all placed indoors. Whenever she had a moment, she would take a palm-leaf fan and wave it at them a few times.

Lu Yuan touched the laundry drying indoors.

They had been hanging since the day before yesterday until this morning and were finally dry.

She wished this awful weather would end soon; otherwise, she felt like her whole body was perpetually soaked—never once feeling completely dry.

Lu Yuan took down all the children’s clothes and carried them to their room.

Entering the room, she folded the clothes and placed them in the cabinet.

Qiu Hua put down her pen and tugged at her mother’s hem.

Lu Yuan turned to look at her and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Qiu Hua asked, “Where’s Daddy?”

Lu Yuan replied softly, “I already told you, he’s away on official duty. He won’t be back for a while.”

Qiu Hua opened her palms and began counting the days on her fingers, one by one. After counting all the fingers on both hands, she started again on her left hand.

When she finished counting, she looked up at her mother and said, “It’s been so, so long—ten nights and eleven days.”

Hearing this, Lu Yuan smiled.

At such a young age, she could already count time so clearly—that’s quite impressive.

Chun Hua followed her sister’s question and asked, “Daddy’s been gone for so long. When will he be back?”

Lu Yuan shook her head. “I’m not sure, but I figure he’ll be back in a few days.”

After all, Deputy Magistrate Yang was the County Magistrate’s assistant. Besides dealing with anti-bandit operations, he had other duties to attend to. If he were away for too long, the County Magistrate wouldn’t allow it.

She figured he’d be away at most half a month. By her count, it was about time for him to return.

She just didn’t know how the training had gone.

In the afternoon, Lu Yuan napped with the two children. They slept late, so they got up late too. Seeing that it was almost evening, she hurried to prepare dinner.

As long as she was home, Lu Yuan would cook herself. After all, when the old lady cooked, it was just about making sure the food was cooked through—the taste was neither salty nor bland. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t particularly good either.

While she was cooking, she heard the sound of horse hooves, and everyone ran out into the alley.

In the alley, Qi Cheng stood, dusty from travel, leading his horse.

He had been away, and in the mountains with no comforts, his appearance was just as rough as when he returned on New Year’s Day.

His beard was unkempt, but since they had already seen him looking disheveled during the New Year, and the horse was clearly their own, the two children didn’t suspect a thing. They happily ran toward Qi Cheng.

Qi Cheng just patted the children’s heads. He knew his own condition and didn’t pick them up.

He was still carrying a backpack, and beside the saddle, there was a large bundle wrapped in clothes—no one knew what was inside.

There were also two pheasants and two rabbits hanging from the saddle.

Once they entered the courtyard, Lu Yuan asked, “What’s in your bag?”

Qi Cheng replied, “The weather has been humid these days, so mushrooms sprouted in the mountains. I picked some with the others.”

He stepped forward and untied the bundle, along with two pheasants and two rabbits whose necks he had already slit.

“We can’t eat all of this at once. The rabbits can be made into preserved rabbit.”

Lu Yuan asked him, “Weren’t you supposed to be training? How did you end up hunting?”

Qi Cheng answered, “The training ended yesterday. The Deputy Magistrate had us hunt for a campfire feast.”

“I got up early this morning and went into the mountains to pick some mushrooms. I also managed to catch a few rabbits and pheasants. I gave the rest to Deputy Magistrate Yang and brought these back with me.”

He held up the pheasants and rabbits and said, “Grab me a knife, and heat up some water. I’ll clean these game animals first.”

Lu Yuan hurried into the kitchen to fetch a kitchen knife for him, then went back to heat water.

The two children watched intently from the side.

Having experienced fleeing famine with their mother, they weren’t afraid at all watching chickens and rabbits being slaughtered.

Lu Yuan heated water for Qi Cheng to clean the game with and continued heating more for his bath.

The old woman looked him over carefully and said, “Were you training or fleeing famine? You’re so filthy. Even when you used to go hunting, I’ve never seen you like this.”

Qi Cheng smiled helplessly.

Indeed, these past few days, they had been hiding and moving around, unable to even light a fire. Even though the mountains were full of game, they couldn’t catch any and had to survive on dry rations.

When the dirt became unbearable, they washed in cold water from mountain springs.

After Qi Cheng finished preparing the pheasants and rabbits, Lu Yuan handed him fresh clothes. “Go clean up quickly.”

Once he entered the bathing area, Lu Yuan glanced at the old lady.

She waited for a while but didn’t receive any instructions from the old lady. Puzzled, she asked, “Old Lady, why aren’t you telling me to go check on him this time?”

The old lady was washing the chopped pheasant pieces, planning to make soup. She glanced at Lu Yuan and said, “This wasn’t a bandit suppression—it was just training. Besides, so many people went into the mountains together. What injuries could he possibly have?”

Lu Yuan thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

It was just training—what could possibly go wrong?

Qi Cheng came out of the bathing area, drying his hair as he returned to the room.

Once inside, his hair was half-dry when he called out, “Li Niang.”

Lu Yuan was in the middle of cooking when she heard him call her. She asked the old lady to take over stirring the dish for her while she wiped her hands and returned to the room.

“What is it?” she asked, pushing the door open curiously.

As soon as she entered, she saw him taking his clothes off. She turned around to close the door, and when she turned back, she saw large patches of bruises covering his upper body.

Lu Yuan’s eyes widened. “You—weren’t you training in the mountains? How come it looks like you were in a fight?”

She hurried forward and circled him—not only his back, but even his beloved pecs and abs were covered in large patches of black-and-blue bruises.

"Or were you bullied by everyone at the Public Office?!"

Qi Cheng lowered his voice and said, "Keep it down, don’t let Grandmother hear."

Lu Yuan: "Then what exactly happened?!"

Qi Cheng replied helplessly, "It was the Deputy Magistrate who did it... It’s not what you’re thinking."

Seeing her suddenly change expression and the anger in her eyes, though he didn’t know exactly what she was imagining, he could tell her mind was going to the wrong place.

"Not just me—Constable Ji and another deputy general from the military all got the same treatment from the Deputy Magistrate."

Lu Yuan frowned slightly: "What, did the three of you team up to rebel?"

Of course, Lu Yuan was just saying that.

Qi Cheng sighed softly and said, "This time, it was a training exercise in the mountains. The three of us each led a team of twenty men, while Deputy Magistrate Yang led thirty men to occupy the mountain as bandits. Our task was to capture the mountain stronghold. The first to succeed would win a bounty of a hundred strings of coin."

Hearing this, Lu Yuan immediately understood.

"So the three of you were completely crushed?" After a moment's thought, she added, "Deputy Magistrate Yang looks fierce—his build and that large blade make him seem like he could take on a hundred men alone. It’s only natural you lost."

Qi Cheng shook his head: "It was a draw."

Lu Yuan said in surprise, "A draw? How can there be a draw in something like this?"

Qi Cheng: "The three of us joined forces, along with several capable helpers, and barely managed to win. But you could also call it a draw because, if it were a real fight, we would have lost our lives."

Lu Yuan looked at his injuries with concern: "But this was just a drill—they went too hard, didn't they? Your arm has only just healed. What if it gets injured again!"

As she spoke, her tone grew increasingly angry.

Qi Cheng reassured her: "I’m still better off. Deputy General Chen and Constable Ji were more seriously injured... There’s some medicinal wine you prepared for me in my bag. Please apply it for me—I can’t reach my back."

Lu Yuan searched for the medicinal wine in his backpack: "The smell of this liniment is so strong. If you apply it, won’t Grandmother find out?"

Qi Cheng said: "No need to worry about that. When I go hunting in the mountains, I often get minor scrapes, let alone this time when it was training. Having some bruises is normal."

"If Grandmother asks why I called you in later, just say I scraped my back and you applied some medicinal wine for me. Downplay it."

Lu Yuan nodded: "Lie face down. I’ll apply the liniment to the bruises on your back first."

Qi Cheng lay face down on the bed. She poured the medicinal wine into her palm and applied it gently to the injured areas, massaging it in gently.

"It might hurt a bit. Bear with it."

Qi Cheng: "It’s fine. I can handle it."

As she applied the liniment, Lu Yuan asked curiously: "So according to the Deputy Magistrate, did you win or was it a draw?"

Qi Cheng said: "We thought it was a draw, but the Deputy Magistrate Yang said we won."

"Since the three teams joined forces, the bounty was split evenly—twenty-one strings of coin per team. The extra thirty-seven strings were given to the Deputy Magistrate Yang’s side."

Lu Yuan said: "That’s actually quite good. After a fight, you can all still be good brothers."

Qi Cheng: "The money is in the bag. You can take it later."

Lu Yuan: "No, keep some for yourself. Don’t refuse—you need to have some money on hand for socializing."

Qi Cheng agreed: "Alright then."

After applying the liniment to his back, arms, and chest, almost half of the medicinal wine was gone.

"I’ll buy another bottle tomorrow."

She capped the bottle and said to him: "Rest for a while. I’ll call you when dinner is ready."

Qi Cheng gave a muffled "Mmm." He was indeed tired and had already been dozing off while she applied the liniment. As soon as he replied, he fell asleep.

Lu Yuan left the room and returned to the kitchen. Grandmother had almost finished preparing the meal.

As soon as she entered the kitchen, Grandmother caught a scent, frowned, and said: "Something’s off—that’s the smell of medicinal wine..."

As if suddenly realizing something, Grandmother turned to her granddaughter-in-law and asked: "What’s wrong with Sheng Geer?"

Lu Yuan replied: "He took a bad fall and bruised his back. It’s covered in bruises. He just called me in to apply some medicinal wine."

Hearing this, Grandmother’s expression tightened, and she quickly asked: "Is it serious?"

Lu Yuan said: "It's a big bruised area. I wouldn’t say it’s serious, but it’s not minor either."

Grandmother immediately began untying her apron: "No, I have to go check on him."

Lu Yuan quickly stopped her and persuaded: "He just lay down to rest. Don’t disturb him. Besides, I’m keeping an eye on him. Please don’t worry too much, Grandmother."

Only then did Grandmother give up on going to see him. Still puzzled, she asked: "How did he get bruised so badly?"

Lu Yuan took over stirring the pot, not daring to look at Grandmother, and replied: "Who knows? Maybe they injured each other during their training exercises."

Grandmother frowned and said: "Then they were too heavy-handed. They’ve beaten him until he’s bruised."

Lu Yuan thought to herself that if Grandmother found out her grandson’s upper body was covered in more than four bruises—all inflicted by his superior officer—she’d probably run to the Public Office and point fingers, calling the magistrate black-hearted.