Chapter 204: Exhortation
Editor: Atlas Studios
Mu Yangling’s medicinal wine was indeed superb. Not only was it effective, but it was also painful.
Mu Yangling poured some medicinal wine into her palm and rubbed it against her palms before applying it on Qi Haoran’s body. With a little force, the medicinal wine seeped into Qi Haoran’s chest, bringing with it waves of pain. Even though Qi Haoran prided himself on being a man who was not afraid of pain, he could not help but bite his fist in a bid not to make a sound.
Seeing the cold sweat on Qi Haoran’s forehead, Fan Zijin couldn’t help but ask anxiously, “Will your medicinal wine work?”
Mu Yangling said as she exerted force, “It won’t hurt after the clotted blood dissipates. Ask Qi Haoran if it’s useful.”
Although Qi Haoran was sweating from the pain, he still took the time to nod at Fan Zijin.
After Mu Yangling finished rubbing, Qi Haoran felt like he had been pulled out of the water. Fei Bai quickly went into the kitchen to get hot water to help him wipe his body.
Seeing her daughter come out of the house, Shu Wanniang hurriedly asked with concern, “Didn’t you go to the General’s Residence? Why did Little General come back with injuries all over his body? Who did this?”
“It’s the general, Mother. Don’t ask anymore. The general was teaching him.”
Fan Zijin snorted and turned to leave. Mu Yangling gave Shu Wanniang a reassuring look before following him.
Fan Zijin stood on the grass unhappily and stared at the wheat field not far away in a daze.
Mu Yangling walked to his side and asked, “Did the general punish you regarding the credits?”
Fan Zijin sneered. “Your guess is quite accurate.”
Mu Yangling sat down on the grass and said leisurely, “It’s not difficult to guess. Tell me, how did the general punish you?”
“He punished me by making me leave the 5th Division for a period of time. Happy to hear that?”
“Whether you leave or not has no direct conflict of interest with me. Why should I be happy? Fan Zijin, has anyone ever said that you’re a problematic youth?”
Fan Zijin turned around and glared at Mu Yangling. However, Mu Yangling patted the grass beside her and said, “Sit down. It’s not tiring for you to stand, but it’s tiring for me to raise my head and talk.”
Fan Zijin stood there for a while before sitting down some distance away from Mu Yangling.
The corners of Mu Yangling’s mouth twitched as she continued, “Apart from Qi Haoran and Qi Xiuyuan, you rarely have anyone else in your heart. Fan Zijin, to put it nicely, you’re lacking in emotions and character. To put it bluntly, you’re lacking in grace.”
Fan Zijin said coldly, “What does it have to do with you?”
“That’s right.” Mu Yangling patted the grass in agreement and said, “It’s precisely because of this that I’m giving in to you in every way. People say that it’s better to offend a gentleman than to offend a petty person, especially a petty person who will seek revenge for the smallest grievance.”
Fan Zijin glanced at her and said, “By saying these words in front of me, aren’t you afraid that I’ll torture you to death?”
“But I kind of treat you as a friend now.” Ignoring Fan Zijin’s cracked expression, Mu Yangling said, “Qi Haoran treats me as a friend, and you’re his brother. We’ve come to know each other in the past year. I consider you to be my friend. If a friend is about to make a mistake, it’s my responsibility to remind him. Fan Zijin, Qi Haoran might not be willing to accept what you think is good for him. What you think is good for him might not necessarily be good for him either. If you continue to be so domineering, no matter how good your brotherly relationship is, it will be worn down one day.”
Fan Zijin looked straight ahead with a dark expression.
Mu Yangling turned to look at him and said, “Fan Zijin, you have to remember that you’re an independent person. You have to live for yourself first. Qi Haoran also has his own life.”
Seeing that he was silent, Mu Yangling didn’t know how much had gone into his head. She could only pat her butt and get up, letting him sit on the grass and think.
The carefree Qi Haoran had already fallen asleep.
It was only when the sun began to set in the west and Yanmo was so anxious that he was about to fray the floor of the Mu Residence that Fan Zijin slowly returned.
Yanmo hurriedly ran over and said, “Master, let’s hurry up and get on the horse. I’ve already packed everything and asked someone to send it back to the prefectural capital. You’re the only one left now. If Young Master Xiuyuan doesn’t see you when he comes back tonight, he’ll definitely get angry.”
Fan Zijin pushed him away and asked, “Where’s Fourth Young Master?”
Yanmo wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, “Fourth Young Master is in the room and was about to get up to send you off when Fei Bai pressed him against the brick bed.” As soon as he finished speaking, Fei Bai’s moans came from the room. Then, the door opened with a bang and Qi Haoran came out.
Fan Zijin suddenly smiled and said happily, “Let’s go. Send me to the horse.”
Qi Haoran lowered his head and sent Fan Zijin out. No longer as gloomy as before, Fan Zijin patted Qi Haoran’s shoulder and said, “Alright, wait for me to come back. You have to apply the medicinal wine a few more times. I’ve placed the silver in your room for you. Go take it yourself. Use the money sparingly. Before Butler Chen comes back, I don’t have any more silver to give you.”
Fan Zijin glanced at the Mu Residence behind him and smiled. “If you’re hungry, come to the Mu Residence to find food. Auntie Mu will welcome you very much.”
“I know. Be careful on the way. If my big brother punishes you, get Yanmo to send me a letter. I’ll go back and save you.”
Fan Zijin nodded with a smile.
Qi Haoran was in low spirits and wasn’t in the mood to stay in the Mu family. So, he let Fei Bai pack his things and returned to the camp.
Mu Yangling packed some medicinal wine for him and handed it to Fei Bai. “Give it to the military doctor and ask him to rub it for him before he sleeps at night. In less than five days, the wound on his chest will recover.”
Fei Bai took the reminders to heart.
Because Qi Xiuyuan and Qi Haoran valued corn very much, Mu Yangling had no choice but to spend half of her attention on the cornfield and record the situation of the corn every ten days.
Just as the corn was about to be harvested, a heavy rain fell from the sky. This made Mu Yangling tense up, afraid that the corn would be blown down and germinate in the ground. However, this rain came and went quickly, stopping in less than 35 minutes.
Great-aunt couldn’t stop sighing when she smelled the soil in the air. “There truly is a drought this year. Finally rain arrived, but it ended so quickly. If the sun continues to shine like this, we won’t even have enough water to drink.”
Mu Yangling said, “I only hope that it will rain properly after we harvest the corn. Let’s forget it for now.”
Great-aunt asked, “Is the corn ready for harvest?”
“In a few days, when it’s a little more ripe.”
Great-aunt muttered, “It won’t taste good if it gets any riper.” For the past few days, Shu Wanniang had been studying the various ways to prepare corn. She could taste that the more ripe the corn, the less pulp there was in it, and the less sweet it was.
Mu Yangling naturally knew, but Qi Xiuyuan planned to keep these 28 acres of corn as seeds, so she naturally had to harvest them when they were more ripe. These few days, Mu Yangling had to go to the cornfield to take a look almost every day.
Great-aunt rejoiced. “Fortunately, it’s staggered from the harvesting time of the wheat and rice. Otherwise, we will be kept so busy by this large area when the corn ripens. In my opinion, it’s better to harvest it early. By the time we finish harvesting the corn, the wheat will be almost ready, too.”
“Don’t worry, Great-aunt. When it’s time to harvest the corn, Little General will send someone to help.”