Ning Yan had never expected that the other woman Xiao Changling brought over was actually there to tend to her injuries.
It was only when her trousers were completely stripped away, a blanket wrapped around her body, and her crippled lower legs exposed, that Ning Yan still found it somewhat unbelievable. She averted her gaze from the bloody wounds and pressed her fingers tightly against the edge of the bed, her fingertips turning white with tension.
She didn’t dare look at the wounds, and she was terrified that she might never be able to stand up again for the rest of her life.
Because of the pain, Ning Yan’s eyelashes fluttered violently, giving Xiao Changling the distinct impression that she was somehow bullying her.
A cool hand gently stroked Ning Yan’s cheek, and Ning Yan unconsciously nuzzled into it.
She raised her eyes, which were already brimming with a mist of tears.
It seemed that this great general was not quite as fearless of pain as she appeared.
Xiao Changling used two fingers to pinch the soft flesh on Ning Yan’s cheek. She said softly, “Rest assured. Doctor Xia Yunxin is the most skilled physician I have ever met; she will definitely heal you.”
The medical woman named Xia Yunxin was adept and experienced in her craft. In just a few swift motions, she cleaned the wounds and applied a layer of ointment over them.
“Please bear with the pain for a moment. Pardon my offense.”
With that, Xia Yunxin tightened her grip. With a crisp crack, the broken bones collided and snapped back into alignment.
A sharp jolt of agony surged upward from her lower legs, leaving her head throbbing with numbness.
Cold sweat trickled from Ning Yan’s temples. She tilted her head to the side, resting her forehead against Xiao Changling’s waist, unwilling to let anyone see her pale face drenched in cold sweat.
Xiao Changling stood beside her, pressing a hand against the back of Ning Yan’s head and gently rubbing her soft hair. “Good girl, it’s over. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
From beginning to end, Ning Yan had not dared to look at the state of her legs.
Just two days ago, she was still able to ride horses, draw bows, shoot arrows, and draw her longsword to fight against the Beidi invaders. Yet at the exact moment of a triumphant victory, before she even had the chance to celebrate, she was ambushed and betrayed by those beside her. Her legs were trampled by horse hooves, and her body was left riddled with several sword wounds.
Ning Yan’s body trembled violently, instinctively seeking out the scent of Xiao Changling.
She reached out her fingers and clutched the white fox-fur cloak Xiao Changling was wearing. With a hard tug, she actually pulled out a few strands of fox fur.
In her agony, Ning Yan wrapped her arms around Xiao Changling’s waist, and Xiao Changling simply stood there, allowing her to hold on as tightly as she wished.
Xia Yunxin had previously heard Shulan mention that there was a deeply favored woman by Her Highness’s side. Her legs were severely injured, and she would likely never be able to walk again in this lifetime.
Xia Yunxin had been skeptical. The Princess had always been a person of foresight and deep strategy; even after being exiled to this frigid and bitter borderland, she had never wallowed in daily gloom, but instead worked tirelessly behind the scenes to plan her return to the imperial court. How could she possibly keep someone around who indulged in mere sensory pleasures day after day?
Yet seeing this scene now, Xia Yunxin immediately lowered her eyes.
Using golden needles, she sealed several acupuncture points on both legs, then used shaved bamboo splints to secure the broken bones in the lower legs. After nimbly setting the bones, she picked up a cloth towel softened in warm water to clean and re-dress the other wounds on Ning Yan’s back.
Throughout the entire process, Princess Xiao Changling stood quietly in place, her fingers continuously stroking the back of Ning Yan’s head, running down her long hair, and softly comforting her: “Good girl, it’s over now. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Once the agonizing pain in her legs gradually turned numb and faded, the remaining hurts on her body felt like practically nothing to Ning Yan.
Yet she did not pull back from Xiao Changling’s embrace, remaining in that overly intimate posture with her head buried against the other woman’s lower abdomen.
She truly is favored, Xia Yunxin thought to herself, quietly elevating Ning Yan’s status in her mind. Her hands grew even gentler, handling her entirely as if she were a piece of fragile porcelain.
It was not until Xia Yunxin carried her medicine chest out of the room that Ning Yan finally released her arms from around Xiao Changling’s waist.
Xiao Changling called out softly, “The medicine has been applied. You should lie back down and rest.”
Saying this, Ning Yan looked up in a daze at the woman wrapped in the snow-white fox fur. The woman’s features appeared remarkably soft under the light streaming through the window, even exuding a touch of the gentle elegance characteristic of a noble daughter from the Jiangnan region.
Xiao Changling tipped Ning Yan’s chin up with her fingers, lightly rubbing her thumb near her lips, and said, “The doctor will come every day to check your pulse and health. For these next two days, stay inside the room obediently. If I catch you stepping foot on the ground without permission again…”
Xiao Changling left the rest unsaid.
The faint color that had just returned to Ning Yan’s cheeks instantly drained away.
That was right. She had stepped onto the ground on her own earlier, and Xiao Changling had not yet settled that score or punished her for it.
Xiao Changling tapped the tip of Ning Yan’s nose with her finger and smiled, “If I catch you running around again, I’ll take a chain and lock you to the bed, so you can’t go anywhere at all.”
As she spoke, Xiao Changling let out a soft chuckle herself.
…
For the rest of the day, Ning Yan did not see Xiao Changling again.
Without even needing to guess, she knew the princess must have other places to spend the night.
Ning Yan remained constantly preoccupied with her armor and broken sword; she had not forgotten her true identity.
Inside the empty room, she used her arms to prop up her body, slid off the bed, and carefully began searching the room.
To the side of the bed was a window frame. Ning Yan managed with great effort to scramble onto the small bench beneath the window. Looking outside, she saw a persimmon tree planted in the yard alongside a red plum tree.
At this moment, bright reddish-orange persimmons hung on the branches like little lanterns. The weight of the fruit pressed the branches downward.
Opposite the persimmon tree was another room with the curtains drawn. It was unclear what it was used for, perhaps a study, a storage room, or quarters for the servants.
…
In the study, Xiao Changling finished reviewing several documents, then rolled up her sleeves and walked into the small kitchen.
“Miss, Miss!” Shulan’s voice called out from behind. “Let me handle this rough work, Miss. Please go and rest.”
As she spoke, Shulan pulled up her own sleeves, preparing to fetch the mutton buried in the snow.
Xiao Changling didn’t stop her. She simply said, “Go ahead. Cut off a portion of the lamb leg meat, wash it clean, and blanch it in hot water. In addition, soak the Chinese yams first to peel them. I also have a few ginseng roots, red dates, and goji berries here; wash them clean as well.”
Xiao Changling rolled up her sleeves and busied herself alongside Shulan.
Seeing this scene, Shulan was so anxious she nearly wept. “You are of noble, golden lineage! How can you perform work meant for servants?”
Xiao Changling raised her eyebrows helplessly and said, “What, you can do this, but I cannot? When we first arrived in Changlin County and times were hard, didn’t you and I sleep in the same room, sharing a single cloak to cover us?”
“But that was different!”
Before Shulan could finish her sentence, tears welled up in her eyes. In her view, there was no one in this world more noble than Princess Yong’an. How could they allow the Princess to personally stew broth?
Inwardly, she couldn’t help but feel a spike of resentment toward Ning Yan again. That person truly lacks any tact or sense. It’s just an injury to her legs; how is she so precious as to drink soup stewed by the Princess’s own hands?
Though she thought this, Shulan didn’t dare say it out loud.
Xiao Changling guarded the stove, placing the blanched mutton chunks into a small clay pot to simmer. She added the Chinese yams, ginseng, red dates, goji berries, and other medicinal herbs, topping it off with clear, crisp water drawn fresh from the well.
She let the broth inside the clay pot bubble and gurgle over the heat of the charcoal fire.
Xiao Changling tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and instructed softly, “The wheelchair should be finished by now. Go push it over for Ning Yan to try.”
“Ah, right away!” Shulan responded instantly. She looked back three times with every step she took, truly uneasy about leaving Her Highness alone in the small kitchen.
What if she gets scalded or burned?!
Looking back, she saw Xiao Changling smiling and waving her off, causing Shulan’s face to flush red as she quickly ran toward the doorway.
The rich aroma of mutton broth wafted through the courtyard.
The bedchamber door was pushed open. Ning Yan, who had just searched the entire room multiple times, was now sitting serenely on the couch. No matter how closely one looked, it was impossible to tell that she had scrambled back onto the bed in a hurry only after hearing the sound of footsteps outside.
“Look at what I brought you! Our Miss cares about you deeply and had someone custom-make a wheelchair just for you.”
Shulan pushed the wheelchair over to Ning Yan.
Just as she stepped forward to help support Ning Yan, Ning Yan shifted slightly to the side to avoid her and said, “I can manage myself. I am deeply grateful for your lady’s kindness. For now, I have no way to repay it. I must bother you, Miss, to convey my thanks to your lady.”
Ning Yan had never expected that what arrived was a wheelchair, not iron chains locking her to the bed frame.
“Do you know how much this wheelchair cost?” Shulan made a hand gesture. “A full fifty taels of silver! It was made on an urgent rush order just for you. Our Miss has placed you in her heart; if you fail to attend to her properly, I certainly won’t spare you.”
Shulan was worried that Ning Yan wouldn’t be able to get into the wheelchair on her own and wanted to step up to assist. Unexpectedly, she watched as Ning Yan propped herself up with both arms, smoothly shifting her entire body from the bed over to the wheelchair.
Shulan parted her lips slightly, a look of astonishment flashing through her eyes.
Inwardly, she felt that the name Ning Yan sounded somewhat familiar, but for a moment, she couldn’t quite place where she had heard it before.
Putting aside her suspicions, Shulan stood behind the wheelchair, pushing it gently while speaking softly, “The persimmons outside are ripe now. How about I pick a few for you? A sick person should eat more fruit.”
“There is no need to trouble you, Miss.”
The woman in the wheelchair had a pale complexion. Her eyes instinctively searched the small yard for a familiar figure.
Instead of finding Xiao Changling, however, she heard the heavy main gate being banged on loudly from the outside, rattling on its hinges.
Shulan’s brows knit together tightly right away, and she muttered in a low voice, “Where did these ruffians come from? So completely devoid of manners!”
Hearing this, Ning Yan remained silent for a moment, thinking to herself that this girl had quite a sharp tongue as well; she was certainly no simple character.
Xiao Changling emerged from the side kitchen.
She unlatched the wooden bolt behind the gate. The moment she pushed the door open, she saw two burly men dressed like local thugs standing outside.
Xiao Changling’s expression turned slightly cold as she asked indifferently, “Is there something you need?”
“Heh heh, perhaps the lady doesn’t know yet, but this entire Changlin County is covered by my boss. Might I ask if the lady has paid her protection fee? If you haven’t, there are plenty of local thugs and bandits on this mountain, and I’m afraid the local authorities won’t be able to guarantee your safety.”
The thug-like men scanned Xiao Changling up and down, their eyes practically glued to the white fox-fur cloak she was wearing.
As one of the men reached out his filthy hand toward the white fur, Xiao Changling took a step back. She said in a cool tone, “Who is your boss? Why don’t you give me a name, and I’ll see if I recognize him.”
The two thugs exchanged a glance.
Someone who could wear such fine clothing in a godforsaken, desolate place like this had to be a favored servant or female official from the Princess’s Manor. However, seeing that she resided outside the manor grounds, they assumed that if anything happened to her, crying out for help would be entirely useless.
A look of greed surfaced on the heavy-jowled face of the man. Just as one of them reached out to grab Xiao Changling’s hand, she took another step back.
A golden whistle slipped down into her sleeve.
Just as Xiao Changling was about to lift the whistle, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air!
Whoosh,!
A section of a plum blossom branch slammed into the door plank, coming to a halt merely a hair’s breadth away from the thug’s neck.
The two thugs were instantly terrified out of their wits, collapsing onto the ground and failing to react for a long moment.
Xiao Changling immediately turned her body, only to see Ning Yan sitting in the wheelchair, her dark eyes staring sternly ahead.
Ning Yan barked out a low command: “Get out.”
A slender, soft branch of a plum tree had actually managed to pierce three inches deep into the solid wooden door plank.
Ning Yan sat in the wheelchair, a blanket covering her knees.
Shulan was so thoroughly stunned by this display of skill that she nearly dropped the persimmons in her hands to the ground.
If a mere plum blossom twig could accomplish such a feat, how much more lethal would it have been had there been a short blade in her hand instead?
Ning Yan leaned sideways, scooping up a pebble from the ground and tossing it lightly in her hand. Her expression was dark and menacing, resembling a vengeful demon clawed up straight from hell.
With her unloosed hair draped over her shoulders and the cold northern wind blowing past, her entire demeanor radiated a chilling sense of murderous severity.