She didn’t know if other n were like this, or if Wei Zhao was just too much.
After all, with things like this, girls haven’t seen others.
But she could confirm one thing.
He wasn’t impotent!
Nor was he useless!
He just looked intimidating.
She suddenly turned around, her face belatedly starting to blush. She looked down at the ground, nervously picking at her fingertips.
A faint chuckle seed to co from behind her.
No need to guess, she knew who it was!
Really.
For the first ti, Yu Tingwan felt like a joke.
It was ridiculous how she had been comforting Wei Zhao these days, afraid that he might lose hope!
No wonder Wei Zhao always had that strange reaction after listening!
Wei Zhao lay on the bed, and Elder Ge checked his pulse first.
Elder Ge also looked at his tongue, his expression heavy, "General, if you really can’t hold on, you must tell ."
Wei Zhao didn’t respond to him.
Elder Ge instructed Shunzi to bring over the brewed ginseng tea for Wei Zhao to drink: "This ti the acupoints have changed drastically, the pain is extraordinary. If you can’t bear it, I will stuff so cotton in your mouth to prevent you from biting your tongue."
Wei Zhao still didn’t speak, glancing at the girl’s stiff back.
So she did have a reaction.
If Yu Tingwan remained unfazed, her heart would be as hard as a clam’s shell, impossible to pry open.
If she wasn’t opened, how would she understand that a husband wasn’t just a title; he was the one to share all intimacies in life with her?
Acupuncture was a task of great concentration.
Elder Ge dared not be distracted, heating the silver needles soaked in strong wine over the candle fla.
Different acupoints required different thods of acupuncture.
So needed to be reddened in the fire before being directly inserted into the points. Very deep ones.
Others needed to be carefully ground.
Wei Zhao was a man of great endurance.
But in less than half an incense stick, he was already drenched in sweat, the veins on his forehead bulging.
Every needle must not err; a tiny mistake would be a mile off, if any fell on the wrong acupoint, it would all have to be redone.
Wei Zhao would have to suffer it all over again.
But how could his body endure that?
Thus, no mistakes could be made.
To prevent him from curling up in pain, Elder Ge instructed Shunzi to hold his hands and feet firmly.
Wei Zhao languidly watched Elder Ge place the needles.
Elder Ge: "Does it hurt?"
Wei Zhao, in a nasal tone, "Mhmm."
Elder Ge was irritable: "Then stop watching!"
"The more you watch, the more it hurts!"
"Can’t you close your eyes?"
Wei Zhao: ??
How... dare he teach him what to do?
Half an hour later, Shunzi timidly asked, "General, are you okay?"
Wei Zhao’s voice was fragnted, "You... try... it..."
Alright, still trying to provoke him at this point.
But not long after, Yu Tingwan could hear the painful groans behind her.
Tired from standing, Yu Tingwan could no longer care about her fluctuating emotions, and quickly turned around.
During those days, when she was avoiding Wei Zhao, she also intentionally learned a lot about the Wei Family.
After General Jing Yuan’s death, it was a major blow to Duke Shun Mansion.
Fortunately, Duke Shun was capable enough to take on the burden.
In the court, Shun was highly revered, not just an ornantal position, he accomplished a lot. Many courtiers, when ntioning him, would gesture towards Duke Shun Mansion out of respect.
But after his death, if Wei Zhao didn’t make achievents, how could he support this large family?
It was said that Duke Shun Mansion had good fortune and all descendants were talented.
But Yu Tingwan could only see the crisscrossing scars on Wei Zhao’s body, all from his repeated brushes with death on the battlefield all these years.
She didn’t dare look casually.
After all, it was frightening.
But... even though she knew Wei Zhao would be okay, upon seeing his complexion, her heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.
His slightly trembling lips were bloodless, body lightly quivering, teeth clenched, hands spasming, breathing weak and erratic.
At this ti, Elder Ge began the second round of needles.
The next needle required the previous one to be removed in order.
Seeing Wei Zhao’s poor condition, with drooping eyelids, showing signs of falling asleep, Elder Ge felt sothing was wrong.
"You must not sleep, soone talk to him."
If he closed his eyes, he might never wake again!
Shunzi thought he could!
"General, do you rember last ti on the frontier, when you alone..."
Wei Zhao didn’t want to listen.
Shunzi: "The first ti I saw you back then..."
Wei Zhao grew sleepier.
Elder Ge was furious: "Shut up!"
"Why reminisce with him, a big guy like you?"
Shunzi had no choice but to look at Yu Tingwan.
The girl, without disturbing Elder Ge’s needlework, offered him a handkerchief to wipe his sweat.
Recalling the past, she could do that!
Her voice was soft and gentle.
"The first ti I saw you, I knew we were going to get married."
This was the truth.
But it sounded different to the others.
Shunzi wasn’t surprised.
After all, the general’s charm was strong. Even severely injured, he appealed to young ladies.
Elder Ge rubbed his sore wrist and placed a piece of ginseng in Wei Zhao’s mouth.
He had no other thoughts.
But he quite admired Yu Tingwan.
The Wei family was so poor, and the general looked inhuman at the ti; it was like jumping into a fire pit, yet Yu Tingwan chose to jump in.
Her feelings for the general had surpassed life and death.
If the general safely returned to Shangjing, who would dare say Yu Tingwan wasn’t worthy of a Wei family son?
He’d use a bottle of poison to send that fool to Yama Hall.
Wei Zhao looked at Yu Tingwan with a deep gaze.
Perhaps she didn’t even notice, when she lied, her eyes blinked faster than usual.
But this ti...
Wei Zhao was a bit surprised.
She was telling the truth.
Even her expression wasn’t hollow.
Yu Tingwan didn’t realize how powerful one simple sentence could be.
She thought of sothing else: "Every year after the New Year, the village goes fishing, but since we’re not there this ti, we probably won’t get any share."
"But after you’re better, I still want to go back once. The things from back then have been hidden for so many years, they need to be resolved."
The girl pursed her lips, "In a month, it will be my parents’ death anniversary."
"Every year, I make so paper money and burn it under the old locust tree at the foot of the mountain."
As she spoke, Wei Zhao endured the pain, his eyes drooping, but he was listening.
He couldn’t bear to die.
He couldn’t even speak right now.
But even if he could, he wouldn’t argue with Yu Tingwan.
The girl chatted away, her voice light and lodious.
Elder Ge started the third round...
Fourth round...
As the light dimd, the Luminous Pearl in the room shone like daylight.
The incense line in the cloisonné beast-shaped incense burner on the sandalwood stand had long gone out, leaving only a lingering aroma.
Elder Ge held his breath and administered the last needle.
Wei Zhao was barely conscious, but still aware.
"It’s done!"
Elder Ge’s eyes filled with tears as he suddenly stood straight, but having been bent over for a long ti, his legs were stiff and numb, causing him to fall to the ground.
Yet even so, he burst into laughter.
"Go, bring the ward ginseng tea to the general."
Shunzi: "Got it!"
Elder Ge climbed up, "I’ll go prepare the prescription and brew dicine."
As the two left, the space around grew empty.
Yu Tingwan leaned over the bed to look at Wei Zhao.
From morning till night, her throat had turned hoarse from speaking.
Yu Tingwan wanted to speak.
— Didn’t I say you’d be fine, how could I lie to you?
Yet, she didn’t know why, but it turned into a simple sentence.
"When are the needles coming out? You lying there is really improper."
And covering him with a blanket wasn’t good either.
Wei Zhao was extrely tired, but his gaze towards Yu Tingwan was more intense than ever before.
He couldn’t make a sound.
But Yu Tingwan could read his lips.
"What?"
And a bit more smugly, he mouthed.
"Ultimately, it’s you who will need it, just giving you a heads-up."
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