Pei Jue watched her expressionlessly as he removed his outer robe and untied his sash, stripping down to just his undergarments, with nothing on his body except the dressings and white cloth wrapped around his wounds. Only then did he sigh deeply.

"Feel better now?"

"Not enough." Feng Yun eyed him with a cold voice, "The General surely hasn’t forgotten that I can’t stop taking my medicine."

Pei Jue almost laughed at her exasperation.

Glancing at the tightly bandaged wounds on his body, then at the little wife, who though trying to appear fierce was actually being very careful, lest she hurt him, his expression softened.

"The injury is quite severe. Lady Yun, if you want the medicine, come and get it yourself."

Feng Yun looked at him with a nonchalant air, and with a snort, said, "You wish..."

She tried to pull her hand back, but he caught it and held it in his.

A gentle motion, his long fingers barely touching hers as they slowly caressed.

"All of it is yours."

Feng Yun gave him a sidelong glance, moved the ice basin a bit closer to the bed, and taking out a handkerchief, bent down to wipe the fine sweat from his forehead.

"Still feeling hot?"

Pei Jue shook his head.

Silently, Feng Yun placed a thin, airy silk scarf around his waist, cooler and more comfortable than the clothing he was wearing earlier.

"You have a wound, don’t cover it up."

Pei Jue raised his eyebrows, "So, undressing was all for this reason?"

Feng Yun arched an eyebrow, "What else do you think I wanted to do?"

Pei Jue, recalling her previous words, frowned slightly and uttered four words.

"The medicine can’t stop?"

Feng Yun narrowed her eyes, sizing him up from head to toe, slowly fixating on a certain spot, "Is it okay?"

Pei Jue grabbed her hand, and although Feng Yun tried fiercely to struggle free from his grip, he held her steadily, pulling her firmly into his embrace.

The hardness of his chest, his breathing rising and falling.

"Would you like to try it?" His voice was hoarse and deep, his breath as if alight with fire, the callouses on his palm, through the thin fabric, making her scalp tingle. Yet he couldn’t bear the loneliness, quickly standing at attention, tenting the delicate fabric into a prominent mound...

Was there even a need to try it?

Feng Yun felt as if she had been scorched by a branding iron, suddenly sitting upright.

"Stop it!"

She was not so desperately crazed with desire to start fooling around with him at this time.

Seeing that even injured, he wouldn’t calm down, Feng Yun applied a little more force, slapping the back of his hand.

"General, you haven’t answered me yet. Why return to Andu without a word, sneaking back like a thief?"

Pei Jue looked at her for a long time before saying:

"To deliver the antidote."

Feng Yun’s face turned serious, "Be serious."

Pei Jue straightened his expression, "Originally, I wanted to surprise you."

"What an unpleasant surprise." Feng Yun’s eyes lifted slightly, giving him a sidelong glance, "Are the bandits really the remnants of the Qi Army?"

Pei Jue’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"Hard to say."

He didn’t appear as certain as Zuo Zhong and Jiu You, and after a pause, he added, "It was my haste that exposed me."

Feng Yun said, "Having escaped from Wanning with their lives, they should count themselves lucky just to be alive. Why then attack you on the way? Do they have a death wish?"

Attacking Pei Jue had little to gain for the bandits.

Even if they somehow managed to kill Pei Jue, it would surely provoke a ruthless counterattack from the Northern Yong Army.

Why attract trouble from the Northern Yong Army and bring about their own complete annihilation when they could have lived another day?

"I don’t understand," she said.

Pei Jue fixed his gaze on her eyes that shone like limpid pools, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly.

"Perhaps it was an order from their master?"

"Xiao Cheng?"

Before she could finish, Feng Yun abruptly fell silent.

Pei Jue’s gaze turned icy as if she had mentioned Xiao Cheng on purpose.

"What are you thinking?" Feng Yun asked discontentedly.

Pei Jue spoke slowly, each word deliberate, "I’m thinking, how many people are waiting for Lady Yun to become a widow."

Feng Yun: ...

Whether the bandits were backed by Xiao Cheng made sense either way.

She said, "No need to guess anymore. Once Shentu Big Brother captures the bandit leader, we’ll just have to ask, and we’ll know who is behind this."

"Hmm." Another low sound from Pei Jue, but no further words.

However, his hand was not idle, insistently pulling her close to him in the sweltering heat, not tightly, but hot enough to make her whole body numb.

"Behave." Feng Yun cleared her throat, retreated to sit a bit further away, and then was able to muster the strength to ask:

"With such a commotion stirred up by the king, falling unconscious, then hunting down bandits, how do you plan to conclude this?"

Pei Jue said, "I returned to Andu to build a detached palace, to establish the auxiliary capital. My injury doesn’t delay the important matters; in fact, it provides a good reason to recuperate at home for a while."

Feng Yun stared at him, silent.

The two looked at each other.

Pei Jue then sighed again. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"After many years of campaigning, it’s time for me to rest. It’s inconvenient at Huaxi, but living at the General Residence in Andu is also possible."