ROHYX Chapter 667 : Warmth (1)

As the sky gradually grew darker, Yun Qing still hadn't returned. Yuxi went into the kitchen and told Mama Bai, "Cook the dump...

As the sky gradually grew darker, Yun Qing still hadn't returned.

Yuxi went into the kitchen and told Mama Bai, "Cook the dumplings and pack them up. I'll have someone deliver them to the General." When Yun Qing got busy, there was no telling when he would stop, so it was better to send food to him than wait for him to return for dinner.

Half a shichen¹ later, Yun Qing received the large bowl of lamb dumplings and two small dishes of vegetables that Yuxi had sent.

With a grin, Xu Daniu said, "General, dumplings don't taste good once they get cold. You'd better eat quickly! Now that the Northern Barbarians have retreated, no matter how busy we are, there's always time to eat."

Gao Song looked longingly at the lamb dumplings, but he was already full. Today, the war horses that had fallen in battle were all salvaged and cooked. Usually, just having horse meat would make people grin from ear to ear², but compared to lamb dumplings, the difference was like heaven and earth³.

Watching Yun Qing pop dumpling after dumpling into his mouth, Gao Song felt a bit resentful. Did the General already know that Madam would send him lamb dumplings? Otherwise, why had he refused to eat earlier?

Yun Qing had a hearty appetite and finished the entire bowl of dumplings and both plates of greens without leaving a single trace. After four months of eating army camp food, he longed for home-cooked meals.

Chu Shaoguang handed the casualty list to Yun Qing, his face heavy with grief. "General, we lost 98,656 men in battle this time, with 23,423 severely wounded." The lightly wounded didn't even need to be mentioned.

Yun Qing took the list and remained silent for a while before vowing, "Their blood will not be shed in vain. This blood debt⁴ is one that I will surely repay in the future."

Chu Shaoguang nodded. "General, now that the weather is hot, we must have all the bodies buried by the day after tomorrow."

Yun Qing hummed in reply. "In this heat, the bodies cannot be left out for long. Handle them quickly." In hot weather, leaving corpses unburied could cause a plague. As for the Northern Barbarians, they would be burned in a single great fire.

By the time Yun Qing had finished his duties and returned to the Yun residence, it was already midnight. As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he saw that the lamps inside were still lit. Entering the house, Yun Qing asked, "It's so late. Why are you still awake?"

Yuxi went over and helped Yun Qing remove his cloak, saying, "If you don't come back, I can't fall asleep." She placed the cloak on the table and added, "Take a bath later to wash away the fatigue!" Usually, she wouldn't say anything if he just rinsed off with water, but Yun Qing had a strange odour on him this time, so a mere rinse wouldn't suffice.

Yun Qing chuckled. "So you're like Zaozao, disliking my stench?" The memory of Zaozao wrinkling her nose at him earlier left his heart feeling stuffed⁵.

Yuxi laughed cheerfully. "So you do know you smell! I thought you weren't aware of it." Every time he came back from outside, he stank.

From outside, Mama Qu called, "Madam, the bathwater is ready." They had started preparing it the moment Yun Qing entered the courtyard.

Yuxi followed Yun Qing into the bath chamber, carrying a change of clothes. Yun Qing first washed his hair, and the water that flowed off was pitch black.

Yuxi didn't even dare look. During her postpartum confinement, her hair had never been this filthy when she didn't wash it. She rinsed Yun Qing's head six times before finally stopping.

By the time his hair was clean, the medicinal bath was ready, too. Seeing Yun Qing step in and squat down without even twitching his brows, Yuxi said, "If it's too hot, just tell me and I'll add some cold water."

Yun Qing smiled. "It's not too hot." It was a little hot, but still bearable.

Yuxi didn't argue with Yun Qing, but took a loofah and scrubbed his back instead. As she did so, she said, "This time it's not too bad—you didn't get hurt." Yun Qing's body was covered in hideous, frightening scars. But Yuxi was used to them by now, so they didn't frighten her anymore.

Yun Qing smiled faintly. He knew Yuxi had followed him in just to check if he was injured. "This medicinal bath has a faint fragrance! The previous ones smelled far too strongly of medicine."

Yuxi smiled. "Momo prepared this. Not only do her medicinal baths have a delicate fragrance, but even the medicinal food she makes tastes delicious."

Yun Qing had once tasted the medicinal food that Yuxi had made, and he never wanted to try it again. So even though Yuxi said Momo's cooking was good, he wasn't interested. "Have you been using the thing I had Gao Song send back?"

Yuxi gave a small 'mm' and replied, "I started taking it the day you sent it back. This stuff is really a treasure. I've only been eating it for a few days, and I already feel much lighter and refreshed. He Rui, where did you get this treasure?" She had already been to the toilet three times that day, which showed just how effective it was.

Yun Qing's expression eased considerably. "As long as it works, that's all that matters. This item originates from the Huang family of Haocheng. When I took Haocheng, the head of the Huang family said he would offer me their ancestral treasure, the Taisui, if I were willing to spare their clan." The Huang family was also an influential lineage in the Northwest, on a par with the Xie family. However, they had latched onto Ji Xuan and committed many cruel acts over the years. The Huang patriarch had heard the rumours that Yun Qing had risen in rebellion after being driven to fury by the assassination of his wife, Han Shi. He reasoned that, if the rumours were true, Yun Qing must cherish his wife and children deeply. So he took a gamble, using the Taisui as his bargaining chip and asking Yun Qing to spare the Huang clan.

Had it been anything else, Yun Qing would never have been moved. But this Taisui was said to be a sacred tonic. Since Yuxi and Liu-er were in poor health, they could recover quickly if they had this treasure. Breaking his usual rule, Yun Qing agreed with the Huang patriarch that, except for the truly heinous criminals who had to be executed, the rest of the Huang family would be spared. Of course, all of their property was confiscated.

Yuxi's hands paused. No one understood Yun Qing's nature better than she did. However, expressing gratitude to her husband would seem too formal. So she simply said, "When the Yu City matter is settled, you should also take some of it to nourish yourself." After all, Yun Qing had suffered countless injuries over the years — who knew how many hidden problems remained in his body?

Yun Qing shook his head. "My body is fine. What would I need this for? It's Uncle Huo whose health is weak—you should give some to him!"

Yuxi would not agree. "Of course I won't shortchange Uncle Huo, but you must eat some too." Seeing Yun Qing's reluctance, she continued, "You've sustained so many injuries; there must be countless hidden ailments in your body. If you don't take this treasure now, you'll regret it when you're older."

Yun Qing honestly didn't want to eat that thing—just the thought of that fleshy mass made his stomach turn. "Let's talk about it later!"

After finishing the medicinal bath, Yun Qing carried two more buckets of warm water to rinse himself off. Then he got dressed and returned to the bedroom.

Seeing the bloodshot veins in Yun Qing's eyes, Yuxi urged with heartache, "Go to sleep." She herself couldn't sleep yet, as she had to dry Yun Qing's hair.

Yun Qing hadn't had a proper night's sleep for days. After today's bath, his whole body finally relaxed, and now he felt unbearably drowsy. "Mm, then you should go to sleep early too."

After drying Yun Qing's hair, Yuxi told Gancao, "You should go and sleep too!" Yuxi never had the maids keep night watch when Yun Qing was around.

She climbed into bed, nestled into Yun Qing's arms, and felt especially at peace. The storms of the past few months had finally passed.

Morning came. Sunlight streamed through the windows, and birds hopped joyfully among the trees. Yet the main courtyard of the Yun residence was unusually quiet.

Mama Bai lowered her voice as she asked, "The General and Madam still haven't woken?" Madam usually slept in and got up late, but Mama Bai remembered that Yun Qing always got up early. Today, however, he broke the rule.

Mama Qu nodded. "I just asked Guard Xu—he said the General hasn't closed his eyes for ten days." Ten days without sleep—fortunately, the General was strong; otherwise, an ordinary person would have collapsed long ago.

Mama Bai was startled. "This can't be kept from Madam. The General may not show it while he's still young, but he'll suffer for it when he gets old." She had heard of many old soldiers who suffered from various aches and pains, all because they had worn themselves down too much in the past, leaving them to live in hardship.

Mama Qu shook her head. "It's better not to mention it. Saying it would only make Madam worry, and nothing else." If the General were in Yu City, Madam could still manage him. But once he was out leading troops, even if she wanted to, Madam couldn't intervene.

After a moment's thought, Mama Bai suggested, "Then while the General is at home, let's prepare more nourishing dishes for him to help him regain some strength."

Mama Qu nodded and advised, "But we'll have to ask Physician Bai first. Tonics can't be taken carelessly—you need a physician's approval."

By the time the sun had risen three bamboo poles high⁶, Yuxi woke up. The moment she did, she felt something was off—her hand was heavily pressed down and had gone a little numb. Lifting her head, she saw a bearded face.

Yuxi knew that Yun Qing must be utterly exhausted; otherwise, how could he still be lying in bed at this hour? She didn't move; she just turned her head and quietly watched Yun Qing sleeping soundly. Mm, even with his face full of beard, Yuxi couldn't take her eyes off him.

As noon approached, Yuxi saw that Yun Qing still showed no sign of waking, so she didn't stay in bed either. If she kept lying there, she'd be so hungry she couldn't even walk.

When Mama Qu saw that Yuxi had freshened up and was ready for lunch, she softly asked,  "Madam, aren't you going to wake the General?"

Yuxi shook her head. "Let him sleep. He probably hasn't slept properly for days. Otherwise, he couldn't possibly still be asleep at this hour."

After lunch, Yuxi went to the front courtyard and told Xu Wu about Yun Qing's condition. She added, "If nothing urgent comes up, don't wake him—let him rest properly." Yuxi knew that Yun Qing carried far heavier burdens than she did. But he never spoke of them; he just bore everything alone.

Xu Wu said, "Other than the fact that the Northern Barbarian army has retreated, there's nothing urgent to report to him. Let the General have a good sleep!" Since following the General, this was the first time he had ever seen him sleep for so long. He must truly be worn out.

Yuxi nodded, then asked, "Since the Northern Barbarian forces have withdrawn, why haven't Zijin and my Er Ge⁷ returned? What has happened to them?"

Xu Wu's heart suddenly jolted, but he didn't show it on his face. He replied, "Madam, Han Daren⁸ is injured and currently recuperating at the Marshal's residence, so he couldn't come. As for Miss Zijin, she's helping to clean up the battlefield—she'll probably return tonight." Zijin's injury was only minor and just needed bandaging.

Yuxi herself couldn't leave at that moment, so she said, "Then I'll go and visit him in a couple of days." Had there not been an assassination attempt, she would undoubtedly have asked Xu Wu to bring Han Jianye to the Yun residence. However, if she did so now, Xu Wu and the others would surely be displeased. It would be better for Han Jianye to recuperate at the Marshal's residence than to stay at the Yun residence and endure everyone's unpleasant looks.

Footnotes Full List

1. 时辰 shíchen: 2 hours
2. 笑开颜了 (xiàokāiyán le) – idiom meaning extremely happy
3. 一个天一个地 (yígètiān yígè dì) – idiom meaning an enormous contrast
4. 血债 (xuèzhài) – metaphor for the lives lost in war, treated as a debt to be avenged
5. 心塞 (xīnsāi) – modern slang metaphor meaning "feeling stifled, uncomfortable, or aggrieved"
6. 日上三竿 (rìshàngsāngān) → Idiom; literally "the sun has risen three bamboo poles high," figuratively meaning late in the morning / around 9–10 AM.
7. 二 èr: second, 哥 gē: elder brother
8. 大人 dàren: title of respect toward superiors

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