Denghuangtai

"You mean Yun Zheng?"

Pei Qingyan was stunned, and only after recovering did he ask incredulously.

After saying that, she smiled bitterly and said, "You must have misunderstood. The Yun family and the Pei family are sworn enemies. The Grand Marshal himself has said that he wants to kill me to vent his anger. Even though he asked you to treat me now, it's just to prolong my life and torture me for a while longer."

"General, it seems you have misunderstood the Grand Commandant," the old physician advised earnestly, speaking with the wisdom of someone with more experience.

"When people get along, they should look at what they do, not what they say."

"What did you do? You mean the cotton wadding that was specially placed in the trap?" Pei Qingyan asked, pointing to the large pit in the middle of the main room.

"This is a misunderstanding," the old doctor explained on Yun Zheng's behalf.

"Misunderstand?"

"Yes." The old doctor nodded emphatically. "General, to be honest, your health is not very good right now, and you urgently need to rest. If you disregard your health and rashly take strong medicine to stimulate your body's potential, you may be in danger of losing your life in the future."

The old doctor's gaze was deep and his tone was exceptionally serious, as if a thunderbolt had struck Pei Qingyan's heart.

Her throat moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but for some reason she swallowed the words back.

Seeing this, the old doctor patiently advised, "General, please don't worry too much. There is still room for maneuver in this matter."

"I don't care if there's any room for maneuver," Pei Qingyan murmured softly. "I'm just afraid there won't be enough time." Right now, the Xiongnu in the north are still eyeing the land covetously. After she finds out the murderer, she has to rush back to the north as soon as possible. Otherwise, if Shuofang falls, countless more people will die needlessly under the swords of the Xiongnu.

"General." Although the old physician hadn't heard Pei Qingyan's words clearly, he had lived for so many years and seen all sorts of patients, so he could somewhat guess what these wounded people were thinking. He pondered for a moment and continued to persuade him, "I know that you, General, have great ambitions and are unwilling to be confined to this remote place. But if you don't take good care of yourself and exhaust yourself until you're completely worn out, won't your lofty aspirations remain unfulfilled? General, as long as you're alive, you can always rebuild."

The old physician paused, then continued, "I discussed your condition with the Grand Commandant last night, and he assured me that he would ensure you remained in the courtyard to recuperate properly. Although, his methods were somewhat..."

The old physician thought for a moment, then changed his words to a slightly more tactful one, "His methods were somewhat unusual, but the Grand Minister's intentions were good, as he wanted you to recover properly. Back when you were in the imperial prison with a fever and unconsciousness, it was the Grand Minister who sent someone to fetch me late at night, even threatening me to force me to heal you. If he only wanted to keep you alive, he wouldn't have bothered to seek medical help; if he had just left you to fend for yourself, you would have been practically useless in less than six months."

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent. Pei Qingyan lowered his eyes and remained silent.

The old doctor's words kept echoing in her ears. In a daze, she remembered Yun Zheng's words, "Whether you believe it or not, I have never thought of taking your life all these years."

As he spoke those words, Yun Zheng gazed intently into her eyes, his expression sincere and earnest. Indeed, he didn't seem like a liar at all, and including yesterday, Yun Zheng had clearly seen through her intentions several times, yet he had still cooperated with her without showing any emotion.

Furthermore, upon learning that she had been assassinated by Ban Qing and others, she forced the couple to abandon their plans.

Looking back on everything, it seems... she really did misunderstand Yun Zheng.

But back then, Yun Zheng had also said he would kill her, eat her flesh and sleep on her skin; his ruthless tone was something she still couldn't forget...

Forget about that for now.

Pei Qingyan forcibly banished the jumbled thoughts from her mind. She raised her eyes and turned to look at the old doctor. "You just said that there's still room for improvement in my condition. I wonder how long it will take?"

The old doctor pondered for a long time before carefully saying, "Take good care of yourself and recover, and in no more than two..." The old doctor originally wanted to say two years, but after thinking about it, he worried that two years was too short. The word "two" circled in his mouth, and he hurriedly changed his words.

He held up four fingers. "Four years. In less than four years, the general's body will be just like a normal person's. But—"

He then changed the subject, saying, "It will take some more time to recover to the state of a martial artist."

"Could you go faster?"

Four years have passed, and the grass beyond the Great Wall has grown several times over. Who knows if she, in her northern tribe, can withstand the iron hooves of the Xiongnu?

"Old ailments are not easily cured overnight, and it will naturally take time to completely eradicate them," the old doctor said. "General, you should not exert yourself now; you should rest more. I will go and prepare the medicine now, and I will not disturb you any longer."

Pei Qingyan nodded, "Thank you for your trouble."

The old doctor smiled, turned and left.

Later that evening, a beggar brought breakfast, but Pei Qingyan had little appetite. She ate a few bites and then had it taken away. Before noon was over, she drifted off to sleep again.

In his dream, Yun Zheng stood under the eaves, with Princess Yongchang standing before him. The two were a handsome man and a beautiful woman, a perfect match.

Princess Yongchang, her face flushed with a blush and her eyes filled with shyness, asked in a delicate voice, "I recently heard that you and Marquis Yin'an seem to have a romantic relationship. Now that Marquis Yin'an has returned with his troops, are you...?"

Before she could finish speaking, Yun Zheng's voice was cold, filled with murderous intent that seemed to descend like dark clouds, "I have nothing to do with her anymore. Now, I only wish I could devour her flesh, sleep on her skin, and grind her bones to dust."

In the corner, Pei Qingyan, who had witnessed everything, slowly retreated and quietly left...

The dream was bizarre and fantastical; in the next instant, it jumped from the seventeenth year of the Jianyuan era to the winter of the twenty-first year.

Inside the carriage, Yun Zheng gazed into her eyes with sincere sincerity. "Ayan, believe me, I've never intended to hurt you all these years. The one I've always loved is you..."

Pei Qingyan vaguely felt that something was wrong with this part. When did Yun Zheng ever say anything involving the word "love"?

The dream abruptly ended, and Pei Qingyan opened her eyes to see a figure by her bedside. The person seemed to have noticed that Pei Qingyan was awake, and got up to bring the lit candlestick to the bedside.

By the candlelight, Pei Qingyan recognized the person as Yuan Man. Her clenched fist relaxed.

"Why are you here?" Pei Qingyan asked after a moment's hesitation.

Yuan Man leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "It's urgent. Even if it means getting caught, I have to get this message to you."

"What news?"