“Young Mistress! Young Mistress!”
Chu Mingxi was in the room flipping through a book when she suddenly heard a chaotic, clamorous noise from outside, mixed with the startled screams of maids.
“Young Mistress, the Heir has been beaten!” A young maid, sobbing and sniffling, burst in with a tear-streaked face. “Sister Jingyun sent me to bring word! Her Highness the Grand Princess has already gone to the study. The people will be here any moment.”
Beaten? Who beat her? How badly was she hurt?
The report was garbled and unclear. The noise from outside surged in. Jingyun hurried into the room, gave Chu Mingxi a hasty curtsy, and swiftly reported, “Young Mistress, the Heir angered the Master. The Master called for family punishment. The Heir may be injured. Her Highness the Grand Princess personally went to the study to bring him back.”
“Slow down, slow down…” Aunt Qi’s voice came from outside, likely following them back.
“Go fetch the medicine.” Chu Mingxi instructed Yining. She casually set her book aside, stood up, and walked out.
The main door of the hall was wide open. Two maids from the Grand Princess’s rooms were supporting the Heir, one on each side. Ruolan was holding open the door curtain from inside. Wei Qingchen limped in. Meeting Chu Mingxi’s unconcealed, concerned gaze, she grinned. But the grin seemed to trigger some pain, and it quickly turned into a grimace.
Chu Mingxi frowned and pointed to the inner room. “Quick, help him inside.”
Yining carried the medicine chest from the side room. Qingdai directed a junior maid to move a low table next to the bed. Ruolan and Jingyun helped the Heir slowly take off her wide formal robe and supported her as she lay face down on the bed. The movement disturbed her wounds, and Wei Qingchen couldn’t help but let out a few low moans. The maids’ eyes reddened. The Grand Princess waved her hand, dismissing them all.
The clothes next to her skin were already stained with patches of blood. Aunt Qi, heartbroken, wiped tears from her eyes. When it was time to remove her inner trousers, Wei Qingchen desperately clutched the waistband. The Grand Princess grew impatient and slapped her hand away. “She already saw you last time. What are you still fussing over?”
Wei Qingchen’s face flushed bright red! This was utterly humiliating!
Chu Mingxi bit her lip, internally arguing: Last time, I didn’t actually see…
The trousers were eventually pulled down. They revealed that on the originally fair skin, there were bruises black and blue, practically no area left unblemished. It must have been harsh for her to struggle all the way back home…
Chu Mingxi’s frown deepened. She pressed her fingers on Wei Qingchen’s pulse for a moment, then opened the medicine chest without a word. Inside, rows of porcelain bottles of various sizes were arranged by height. Her eyes swept over them, then she stood up, lowered her gaze, and said, “I’ll be right back.”
The Grand Princess and Aunt Qi exchanged puzzled glances. But in a moment, Chu Mingxi indeed returned. She held one hand concealed within her long sleeve while the other hand closed the door behind her.
The newly brought porcelain bottle had a crystalline jade color. The Grand Princess’s sharp eyes saw Chu Mingxi casually peel off the yellow label on top. Her eyelids twitched—this was Imperial Medicine!
Yet Chu Mingxi acted as if it were nothing. Her jade-white fingertips dipped into the light brown ointment and carefully, thoroughly, began applying it.
Seeing Chu Mingxi’s expression was frightfully cold, Wei Qingchen shifted her body uncomfortably, about to speak. But Chu Mingxi, holding the ointment, fixed her with icy focus and said, “Don’t move!”
Wei Qingchen held her body still but still said, “Don’t worry. These wounds look bad, but they didn’t actually injure my bones or tendons. In the army, I often received discipline from Father Marshal. I’ve been hit even harder before, really. It’s fine.”
Chu Mingxi’s frown creased even deeper.
The Grand Princess covered her eyes from the side.
This unlucky child still doesn’t understand what part her wife is actually angry about.
Chu Mingxi applied layer after layer of ointment to the wounds. Fortunately, it was early winter, so there was an extra layer of clothing. If it had been summer, who knows how bad the injuries would have been.
Even so, several areas had split open and bled. The buttocks, with their thicker flesh, were better. The back, however, was hurt even more severely, skin torn and flesh gaping, a sight that stirred up irritation and anxiety in one’s heart.
Chu Mingxi opened yet another jade porcelain bottle. Wei Qingchen pressed her lips together, sweat covering her forehead. It must have hurt terribly, but she didn’t make a sound, just gritted her teeth and endured.
Chu Mingxi’s heart softened. Her touch became even gentler. She made some conversation to distract her. “Why were you punished again today? I heard you say during morning training that everything was fine.”
Aunt Qi used a towel to wipe the sweat from her forehead. Wei Qingchen bared her teeth in a grimace.
The Grand Princess, sitting further away, poured herself some tea and said with a laugh, “What else? The Marquis is going on a campaign. Usually, he takes him along. This time, when he asked, he said he wouldn’t go, that he wanted to stay home and keep watch. His father got angry and gave him a beating.”
Keeping watch at home. Keeping watch over what?
Chu Mingxi, still holding the ointment, felt her face flush slightly.
The Grand Princess’s tone carried amusement. Wei Qingchen hurriedly turned her head, gesturing wildly with her eyes as if killing a chicken to warn the monkey. The Grand Princess pretended not to see. Seeing that Chu Mingxi had more or less finished applying the ointment, she stood up and added fuel to the fire. “Your father also said you’d better heal your wounds quickly. Once the Imperial Edict comes down, you’ll still have to follow the army on the campaign. The Vanguard Army is waiting for you!”
“Mother!!” Wei Qingchen pounded the bed in frustration.
The Grand Princess beckoned to Aunt Qi and walked out calmly, as if nothing had happened.
“Your Highness, the Heir’s injuries…”
“It’s fine. Look, he’s still lively. Besides, isn’t his wife here?”
Chu Mingxi pulled the thin, downy blanket over her, covering her loosely. Then she got up and went to a side table to wash her hands.
Wei Qingchen, hesitant and halting, reached out and hooked her sleeve. “Mingxi…”
Those clear, bright eyes, though still sweating profusely from the pain, reflected a patch of light.
Chu Mingxi sighed, sat down on the edge of the bed, and smoothly pulled her hand away. “You always went on campaigns with the Marquis before. Why did you change your mind today?”
Wei Qingchen buried her face back into the pillow. A muffled voice came out. “When we went on campaigns before, it was mostly against foreign tribes, to prevent enemy soldiers from harming our Eastern Radiance people. This time, it’s just Liao bandits, occupying mountains as kings. Whether I go or not doesn’t make a difference.”
“Whether you go or not makes no difference, so just let the Grand General go alone?” Chu Mingxi caught the flaw in her words and asked with a hint of a smile.
Wei Qingchen said, “Third Younger Brother will definitely be going with him. He’s nearly fifteen; it’s time he learned some real skills.”
Chu Mingxi nodded and made to stand up from the bed without saying more.
“Mingxi!” Wei Qingchen quickly grabbed the hem of her clothes again.
Chu Mingxi looked back at her.
Wei Qingchen hesitated, then finally confessed truthfully, “I… we just got married, and now I have to go so far away. If it takes three or five months, that’s one thing. But if it takes half a year or more, campaigning—who can say when I’ll be back?” She lifted her eyes to look at her, blinking, as if she felt wronged, yet also protective. “I don’t want people to gossip about you…”
I don’t want people to gossip about you—barely a few days after arriving, her husband departs for a long journey, not returning for nearly half a year with no set date.
Next year, Chu Mingxi would turn twenty. She had uncles and relatives from her maiden family eyeing her business, unfamiliar elders and in-laws here in the husband’s family, plus a Prince Consort unwilling to let go of the broken engagement, and the Sixth Princess waiting to find fault. So many people were watching.
How could she let her face all that alone?
The hand hidden in the long sleeve clenched slightly, then relaxed. Like a blooming thought, a hint of sweetness unexpectedly arose in her heart.
Chu Mingxi turned her face away under the pretense of tidying the medicine chest. Wei Qingchen was still looking at her pitifully.
“These wounds are only skin deep, but the beating was indeed quite harsh. Those gashes on your back will take at least ten to fifteen days to heal. Are you still planning to go out injured like this?”
“Father Marshal said he’d carry me there on a stretcher if need be.” Wei Qingchen’s face crumpled.
Chu Mingxi pressed her lips into a smile and closed the medicine chest. “Then go.”
“Huh?”
“You said so yourself—it’s just bandits causing trouble. It won’t take too long. I’ll treat these wounds for you. By the time early spring arrives…”
“What about early spring?” Wei Qingchen rested her head sideways on the pillow. The ointment was taking effect, the coolness spreading on her back, already making her feel much better.
Chu Mingxi stood up, putting things away, and looked back at her with a slight smile. “By early spring, come back safe and sound, and spend the New Year with me.”
The door opened and closed. Chu Mingxi had left. The room held only the lingering, crisp scent of medicine, like traces left by a passing goose. Wei Qingchen drifted off to sleep in a daze. She heard sounds from outside. Chu Mingxi was instructing people to take the prescription and brew the medicine, explaining that both external application and internal consumption were needed for a full recovery.
Her voice was distinctively clear and cool, yet when it reached Wei Qingchen’s ears, it seemed to carry tender affection. Wei Qingchen was happy in her heart. She felt this beating had not been in vain after all. Even though she still had to go to the battlefield, she would go with a heart full of joy.
At the imperial court, disputes arose again over who to send on the campaign. The Vice Minister of War recommended his own disciple, a young man with some minor military achievements. The Court Officials immediately split into two factions—some saying his experience was insufficient, others arguing young men should be given chances to prove themselves. The Emperor sat high above, silent. Wei Huaishu understood perfectly; His Majesty was weighing the options. Fortunately, the Governor of Huazhou was holding the borders firmly. Although the Liao people were causing great trouble, the court continued to deliberate.
Finally, for a few days, peace reigned in the Jingyuan Marquis Mansion. The Marquis didn’t force her to train. The little Heir stayed in her own courtyard, nursing her wounds. Chu Mingxi changed her medicine three times a day. Wei Qingchen, huddled under the bedding, tried to be coy and subtly expressed that she could handle the wounds on her rear end herself.
Chu Mingxi gave a faint, amused smile. “Can you even see them?”
“I…”
“Or would you rather have the maids do it?”
“No, no, no!” Wei Qingchen’s resolve crumbled. “You do it, you do it.”
The bedding on the bed had already been changed several times. The newly replaced downy blanket had a silk brocade outer cover, which was less likely to stick to the salve, helping the wounds heal faster. After resting quietly for this period, most of the shallower wounds had healed. Chu Mingxi pressed the blanket down to her lower back, revealing only a strip of snowy white near her waist. Wei Qingchen felt more at ease and started groaning softly, waiting for the ointment to be applied.
Chu Mingxi glanced at her. Wei Qingchen noticed but just smiled, holding the blanket close.
“Heir, Young Mistress.” Ruolan’s voice came from the outer room.
Chu Mingxi told her to wait a moment. She raised her hand and carefully spread the ointment on Wei Qingchen, covered her with the blanket, washed her hands, and only then opened the door.
It turned out the Marquis had sent someone to deliver a message. Word from the palace was that the Imperial Edict for the Huazhou campaign would be issued any day now. The Marquis ordered the Heir to heal her wounds as quickly as possible to avoid delaying the departure date.
After the messenger left, Wei Qingchen couldn’t help but let out a sigh. Chu Mingxi walked over and touched her head. Wei Qingchen turned her head and nuzzled her cheek into her palm, rubbing against it like a kitten.
Chu Mingxi’s hand paused slightly. Thinking of Wei Qingchen’s imminent departure, she ultimately didn’t pull her hand away.
