HXC Chapter67

After Ji Jue burned the enemy’s rations, the morale of the army was boosted and they pursued the enemy while riding the wave of victory. The Jiang family army subsequently captured three more cities and it had been more than three months since the army was deployed.

 

To better care for his elder brother, Ji Zhen learned bandaging techniques from the Divine Physician Sai. He would check his elder brother’s wounds and change the bandages daily. It only took three days for him to go from being unable to look at the bloody wounds to calmly applying medicine. After half a month, the wound on Ji Jue’s shoulder finally showed signs of healing but his body was still very weak, and he was unable to participate in battle.

 

Ji Zhen tied the bandages, helped Ji Jue sit up and brought over some millet porridge mixed with minced meat and said, “The Divine Physician says you’ll recover faster if you eat more.”

 

Ji Jue took the bowl and looked at the two dark circles under Ji Zhen’s eyes. Since being deployed, Ji Zhen had been exposed to the elements and had lost a lot of weight. The smooth texture of his cheeks was now gone and his body was so thin it looked like he could be blown away by a gust of wind.

 

“You’ve been working hard these past few days.”

 

Ji Zhen shook his head. “Compared to Gege and Jiang Yunyu, what I’m doing is just a small matter.”

 

Ji Jue quietly finished the porridge and took the medicine, and after Ji Zhen helped him lie down to rest, his gaze drifted toward the small table.

 

Ever since Ji Jue was injured, the token he carried with him had been placed on the table. There were soldiers guarding the door day and night and only Ji Zhen and Jiang Yunyu could enter and exit freely so there was no need to worry about outsiders stealing it.

 

It was already Haishi[mfn]9-11p.m.[/mfn], and everything was quiet.

 

Ji Jue said, “Go back and rest.”

 

“I’ll go after Gege is asleep.”

 

The candlewick in the tent flickered, reflecting Ji Zhen’s somewhat uneasy face. He deftly covered Ji Jue with the quilt, moved a small stool over and sat by the bed as his gaze unconsciously drifted toward the small table.

 

Ji Jue looked at Ji Zhen with an unreadable expression, said nothing in the end, and slowly closed his eyes to rest.

 

Ji Zhen listened to the whistling wind outside the tent while his heart felt as if it was being scattered by the wind. He sat in silence, worried that his pounding heart might be heard by his elder brother, and pressed his chest as if to say he wasn’t anxious at all.

 

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but it was probably only about half an hour when Ji Zhen couldn’t hold it in any longer and called out in a low voice, “Gege, are you asleep?”

 

Ji Jue didn’t answer.

 

Ji Zhen waited for a while longer and after confirming that his elder brother was asleep, he tiptoed to the small table.

 

Because he was so nervous, his palms were covered in a fine sweat. Since he was a child, the only time he had gone against his elder brother’s wishes was when he married Shen Yanqing. And now, for Shen Yanqing’s sake, he was about to make another mistake that would disappoint his elder brother once more.

 

He hesitated to reach out, but the image of the frail and weak Shen Yanqing appeared before his eyes.

 

If he delayed any longer, even Divine Physician Sai, famed for bringing people back from the dead, might not be able to save Shen Yanqing from the brink of hell.

 

Ji Zhen gritted his teeth, grabbed the token and walked forward with his head down. When he reached the tent door, he looked back at his elder brother on the bed with a face full of guilt.

 

Once the deed was done, he would definitely beg his elder brother for forgiveness.

 

Ji Zhen turned and left, yet the person he thought was sound asleep slowly opened his eyes and looked at the fallen tent curtain.

 

The military camp was lit with bonfires everywhere, and patrolling soldiers constantly moved about in the shadowy areas. When they saw Ji Zhen, they continued their patrol without a second glance.

 

Ji Zhen’s nerves were taut as he kept his head down and moved forward without pause, the token in his hand pressing into his skin until it hurt.

 

He arrived at a tent with torches burning on either side. A guard soldier, who was yawning with his mouth wide open, looked at Ji Zhen and said in surprise, “Young Master Xiao Qin, why are you here so late?”

 

Ji Zhen felt guilty but still pretended to be calm and held up the token. “Master Qin has ordered that I interrogate Shen Yanqing tonight. Follow me inside.”

 

Although the two soldiers were confused, they still followed Ji Zhen’s instructions and entered the tent because he was Ji Jue’s younger brother and had the token.

 

Ji Zhen looked at the locked prisoner’s cart and the iron chains on Shen Yanqing and said, “Unlock his chains.”

 

The soldiers looked at each other but didn’t move.

 

Ji Zhen deliberately raised his voice. “Military orders are as unyielding as the mountain, do you intend to disobey?”

 

Helpless, the soldiers had no choice but to comply and remove the iron chains and other heavy restraints.

 

Ji Zhen nervously approached the prisoner’s cart, met Shen Yanqing’s dark eyes and took a deep breath. “Come out and come with me to see Gege.”

 

Shen Yanqing didn’t move and just looked at Ji Zhen with a clear understanding.

 

Ji Zhen became anxious. “Hurry up and come out.”

 

He glanced over and saw that one of the soldiers had already run out of the tent, presumably to report to Jiang Yunyu, yet Shen Yanqing was still standing there. Left with no choice, he reached out to grab Shen Yanqing’s wrist and said with a trembling voice, “How dare you, a prisoner, not listen to me?”

 

Ji Zhen pressed his lips together, his eyes carrying a silent plea.

 

Only then did Shen Yanqing bend down and get out of the prisoner’s cart. Ji Zhen stood tall while pretending to be brave as he shouted at the soldiers, “This is a matter of secrecy, you are not to follow us.”

 

The hand he was holding Shen Yanqing’s with was shaking, yet he still refused to let go, leading the person directly out of the tent.

 

Shen Yanqing called out to him, “Ji Zhen.”

 

He glared at the other party with his reddened eyes and, without saying a word, led Shen Yanqing through the military camp.

 

In the distance was a hill. Although there were soldiers guarding it, it was the best escape route he had found after days of observation.

 

But after walking for a while, Shen Yanqing refused to go any further. Ji Zhen, who was already on tenterhooks, turned back in both fear and anger and said with a choked voice, “Do you really want to be paraded through the streets?”

 

A glint flashed in Shen Yanqing’s eyes, lighting up his dirt-stained face. As a soldier approached from the front, he pulled Ji Zhen behind a tent to hide.

 

The two hid in the darkness, only their eyes, as they looked at each other, shone as bright as stars.

 

After the soldiers passed, Shen Yanqing asked in a low voice, “Are you letting me go?”

 

“There’s a hill up ahead, and I’ll distract the soldiers,” Ji Zhen said, gritting his teeth and offered the prepared excuse. “Don’t think I’ve gone soft. I just don’t want your parents to suffer the pain of losing their son in their old age.”

 

He swallowed the surge of heartache. “If you don’t go now, it’ll really be too late.”

 

Shen Yanqing simply watched him in silence, with no sign of wanting to move. Meanwhile, a commotion had already started in the military camp, a clear sign that his actions had been exposed.

 

Ji Zhen knew his own limitations and hadn’t expected to be able to stall for much time; it was an expected outcome to be discovered so quickly. He was so anxious that he pushed Shen Yanqing, urging, “Go! Why won’t you go?”

 

“Falsifying a military order is a capital offense.”

 

“What about you?” Ji Zhen retorted hoarsely. “Aren’t you afraid of death? Are you willing to be disgraced in the military camp, to let yourself waste away, and to be cursed by thousands of people in the capital?”

 

The fear and anguish of the past few days overwhelmed him, and Ji Zhen finally broke down, crying out, “But you’re Shen Yanqing…”

 

The Shen Yanqing who was personally selected by the emperor as the top scholar of the court, the Shen Yanqing who was admired and praised by everyone, the Shen Yanqing who risked his life to cure the plague for the common people…

 

“Just go.” Ji Zhen’s fingers were convulsing from the pain. “I’m begging you, go. I don’t want you to die in front of me. Anywhere is fine, just go!”

 

He pushed Shen Yanqing hard and turned to go and distract the soldiers.

 

But Shen Yanqing hugged him from behind tightly so he couldn’t move forward.

 

“Ji Zhen, I’m so happy you still care about my safety. That’s enough.”

 

Shen Yanqing buried his head in the back of Ji Zhen’s neck. He hugged him so tightly that the veins on the back of his hands stood out.

 

Ji Zhen felt a warm liquid slide down his neck and cried uncontrollably, “Shen Yanqing, please don’t die…”

 

The soldiers who had rushed over surrounded them. With a solemn expression, Jiang Yunyu stepped out from the formation that had parted to let him through. Seeing the two figures embracing, he said in a deep voice, “People, escort Shen Yanqing back.”

 

Shen Yanqing slowly let go of Ji Zhen but Ji Zhen held onto his arm in protest while crying, “You always complained about how I’m uneducated and foolish, but you’re the most muddled person in the world.”

 

The soldiers seized Shen Yanqing. He pulled his hand away from Ji Zhen’s grasp and gave a slight smile. “You’re right, but I am willing to be a fool.”

 

The farcical escape didn’t cause much of a stir.

 

The distraught Ji Zhen was brought back to Ji Jue’s tent by Jiang Yunyu. Upon seeing his pale-face elder brother, he didn’t dare nor could he utter a word of plea. He just slowly placed the token back on the small table and knelt down with a thud.

 

Ji Jue, for once, didn’t help him up.

 

Jiang Yunyu was furious. “You’re quite something, to be so brazen as to steal the token. Do you know how others would be punished? Even if they weren’t beheaded, they’d also be lashed fifty times with a military whip. Ji Zhen, military orders are as unyielding as the mountain. Don’t think that I’ll show you mercy for a second…”

 

Ji Zhen knew it was futile but did it anyway. He didn’t argue and stammered, “I-I know I was wrong. Just punish me.”

 

Jiang Yunyu had only intended to scare him. He didn’t expect Ji Zhen to be willing to take a military lashing for Shen Yanqing and for a moment, he was filled with mixed emotions. He huffily lifted his robe and sat down.

 

After a long pause, Ji Jue took the token back and said in an unquestionable tone, “Go and kneel outside. You may only get up at daybreak.”

 

It was already early winter and the weather outside was freezing. There were at least four hours to go until dawn. After kneeling for so long, his legs were not only sore and swollen, but he would surely fall ill as well.

 

In over twenty years, Ji Jue had never punished Ji Zhen this severely. Even Jiang Yunyu was astonished. He glanced at Ji Zhen’s slender frame and couldn’t help but plead, “Brother Ji Jue…”

 

“You said it yourself, military orders are as unyielding as the mountain. We can’t act as if nothing happened just because he is my younger brother. We have to set an example.”

 

In the past, Ji Zhen would have certainly used his charm to talk his way out of the punishment but now he only kowtowed deeply. “I will accept the punishment.”

 

With that, he walked out of the tent without hesitation, pulled his robe aside, and knelt on the ground.

 

Ji Jue’s palm tightened but he showed no sign of heartache at all. He said to Jiang Yunyu, “Go back and rest.”

 

Seeing that Ji Jue had no intention of changing his mind, Jiang Yunyu got up and went outside the tent. Seeing Ji Zhen kneeling rigidly, he was both angry and helpless. He couldn’t hold back and said, “Do you really like him that much?”

 

He used to be so delicate that he would cry if he so much as bumped himself, but now he was willing to kneel all night under the cold winter for Shen Yanqing without even begging for mercy.

 

Ji Zhen lowered his eyes as he acknowledging it.

 

Jiang Yunyu took a deep breath and left with a flick of his sleeve.

 

In the latter half of the night, a light snow began to fall. Ji Zhen shivered from the cold, his limbs feeling like blocks of ice, and his consciousness was hazy.

 

Jiang Yunyu secretly came to check on him several times. Ji Zhen swayed in the cold night as if he could faint at any moment, yet he desperately tried to stay conscious. Even the soldiers who had a good relationship with him couldn’t bear to watch.

 

But from start to finish, Ji Jue, whom everyone believed loved Ji Zhen the most, remained completely unwavering. He didn’t even leave his tent to check on him.

 

When the first light of dawn appeared, Ji Zhen knew the punishment was over, and his body went limp and he fell to the ground with a thud.

 

Jiang Yunyu, who was hiding in the shadows, cried out in surprise, “Ji Zhen!”

 

Ji Jue had stayed awake all night in the tent, his fingers twitching slightly at this moment yet in the end, he never appeared.