Leaving all the noise behind, by the ti they returned to the official office, it was already close to 9 PM.
The night was getting deeper, but the cheers and jubilation throughout Fufeng continued, possibly through the night. Yet, all of this was now too far removed from them.
Returning to the official office, after dismounting, Shang Ruyi was led by the uninjured hand and walked all the way inside.
Just as they reached the courtyard entrance, they encountered Wo Xue, who was keeping watch by the door.
She quickly stood up upon hearing footsteps and, taken aback, bumped into the two of them. But Yu Wenye proceeded inside without turning back, saying as he went, "Bring a basin of cold water."
"Uh, yes."
Wo Xue hurriedly went away.
Shang Ruyi didn’t even have ti to say a word before being pulled into the room. Yu Wenye lit an oil lamp and sat down by the table.
Her already tingling fingertips, starting to burn painfully, were held in Yu Wenye’s hand. He furrowed his brows as he observed, seeing the fingers all battered and bloody, skinned raw on the city wall, and later kept clutching the drumstick to beat the drum, the wounds kept splitting, worsening the injury, especially the most insensible pinky finger, which bore the deepest wound.
Vaguely, she heard his breath catch.
Shang Ruyi instinctively said, "Actually, it doesn’t—ah!"
Before she could finish, a sharp pain shot through her fingertip, making her cry out in agony.
It was Yu Wenye, deliberately squeezing her finger!
Shang Ruyi nearly let tears fall, tried to yank her hand back, but it was tightly held by him, leaving her no choice but to glare at him with reddened eyes, "What are you doing!"
Yu Wenye said solemnly, "Lying again!"
"..."
"You can lie at other tis, but lying in monts like this, are you comforting or insulting ?"
"..."
For a mont, Shang Ruyi couldn’t tell if she was guilty or angry, so she bit her lower lip and glared at him, not daring to speak further. Fortunately, Wo Xue ca in with the basin of cold water, took a look at the two in the room, and silently set it down before retreating obediently.
Yu Wenye then rolled up his sleeves, imrsed a towel in the cold water, and began to clean her wounds.
Though it wasn’t an injury to the tendons or bones, just skin scratched on the coarse city wall, with fingers connected to the heart, the wounds were mixed with grit, causing intense pain.
Yet, Yu Wenye’s hands were extraordinarily gentle.
His hands, holding the towel, had just cut down countless Longxi soldiers on the battlefield, even forced two galloping warhorses to a halt with a single swipe of his sword, overwhelming the indomitable Xue Xian—so rugged and powerful. Yet at this mont, they were carefully wiping away debris from the wounds’ gaps, cleaning up the bloodstains, and gently drying them.
For so reason, despite the hand being the source of the pain, Shang Ruyi didn’t feel it, only noticed the pounding in her chest, causing a kind of hurt.
Is it because fingers are connected to the heart?
Her face heated up, prompting her to lower her head instinctively.
The room descended into an odd silence, prompting Shang Ruyi to think before softly saying, "But is it really alright for you to bring back like this?"
"Why?"
"The battle has just finished."
"I’ve given the necessary orders, why couldn’t I co back?"
"But so many people are still watching..."
"So what if they are watching?" He remained unfazed, calmly said, "When you were at the city head beating the drum, even Xue Xian was watching, are you afraid of these people seeing?"
"..."
"Moreover, if this injury isn’t treated promptly, it will be troubleso."
Shang Ruyi slightly widened her eyes at him, "How do you know?"
Yu Wenye glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, as if asking—how do you think I know.
Shang Ruyi imdiately blad herself for being foolish. Why else? He fought the battle just now, managing to repel Xue Xian in a single match and encouraging the spirit of the entire Fufeng soldiers and civilians. It was through his real skill, and such skill was not sothing the court’s ennoblent or the second son’s status of the Duke Mansion could grant him.
It was earned through battles fought personally, drenched in blood.
For him, such injuries must be customary, right?
Shang Ruyi sighed softly in her heart but then heard the man across her say deeply, "The first ti I went on expedition with my father, I was not even eight years old. At that ti, I watched him go into battle from the city tower. Just like you, I was worried and afraid, my hands gripping the city wall till my palms were nearly worn through."
"..."
For a mont, Shang Ruyi’s throat was blocked.
Not even eight years old.
After a pause, she softly asked, "And then?"
By now, her wound was already cleaned, Yu Wenye discarded the towel and fetched a box of ointnt, using a needle to apply it carefully onto her injury, then said, "Because I didn’t dress it in ti, it hurt for half a month."
"..."
"I couldn’t even hold chopsticks."
Shang Ruyi gasped softly.
Yu Wenye glared at her again, took bandages and started wrapping her wound, only then did he say, "So your injury must be treated quickly. Now that it’s dicated, just rest a few days and it will heal. Rember not to get it wet these days, delegate any tasks to others."
"I understand."
Yu Wenye packed away the ointnt box, while Shang Ruyi still nervously looked at her thickly wrapped finger, and then looked up at him, softly saying, "Then, about Fufeng—"
Yu Wenye calmly rolled down the sleeves he had just folded up, "Are you wondering if Fufeng’s danger is resolved after this battle?"
Shang Ruyi said, "It’s not that easy, right?"
Yu Wenye looked at her and said, "The reason we won today’s battle is half because Xue Xian underestimated us. His objective today wasn’t to attack the city or kill the enemy, but to focus on , so he didn’t prepare his troops carefully."
"..."
"His capability is not just limited to this."
"..."
"And, although the battlefield isn’t cleared yet, I estimate we eliminated at most more than eight thousand of their troops today, and captured about a thousand."
"..."
"This level hasn’t really hurt Longxi Army’s foundation, and what’s more, they have over a hundred thousand troops still to arrive."
"..."
"Therefore,"
Yu Wenye’s eyes were heavy, he said, "The real test is just beginning."
Hearing this, Shang Ruyi’s breath imdiately grew tense.
The real test?
She was about to ask sothing else, but then heard distant footsteps from outside; it should be the supervisor and other deputy generals returning. Yu Wenye said, "Alright, your wound has been taken care of, rest for a while. I have things to discuss with them."
After speaking, he got up and prepared to head outside.
But just as he stood, he suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded, his tall body swayed and almost fell.
Shang Ruyi was startled, quickly reached out to steady him.
"What’s wrong with you?"
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