Xu Youde could not dissuade his daughter.
As soon as the bowl of ginseng soup settled in her stomach, bringing a sliver of warmth back to her body, Xu Qinghuan struggled to get out of bed.
Slow down! Slow down! Oh, my little ancestor!
Xu Youde casually tossed the empty bowl in his hand onto the table, nearly smashing a Ru kiln teacup, and hurriedly supported Xu Qinghuan's arms with both hands.
Your body hasn't fully recovered yet, why are you moving around? Wherever you want to go, Dad will carry you on his back!
Xu Qinghuan shook her head.
I'm going to see my brother.
Xu Youde's hands paused for a moment.
His eyes darted away, and he forced an unnatural smile onto his stubble-covered face.
Why go see that boy? He has thick skin and coarse flesh. He's sleeping like a log, snoring loud enough to shake the heavens. There's nothing to see.
I want to go see him.
Xu Qinghuan repeated it once more.
She knew this father of hers too well.
If everything were fine, he would have boasted about Xu Wuyou's heroic deeds to the high heavens by now, wishing he could set up a three-day continuous banquet in Jiangning City to celebrate.
Instead of acting like this, dodging the subject.
Looking into his daughter's stubborn eyes, Xu Youde sighed, his previously straight back suddenly slumping.
Alright, Dad will help you there.
The west wing wasn't far from the main house; it was just through a moon gate.
The bluestone path was scrubbed shining clean, with even the moss in the crevices thoroughly scraped away.
The air was filled with the scent of smoldering mugwort and vinegar.
Yet, no matter how strong this smell was, it couldn't cover up the stench of blood.
With every step Xu Qinghuan took, her heart sank a little further.
How was this the Liu Garden?
It was merely a fragile peace forced out after a bloody slaughter.
Arriving at the door of the west wing, before even entering the room, the smell of wound medicine rushed at her face.
The pungent odor made her eyes sting.
Several maids holding copper basins were quietly backing out of the room; the water in the basins was a pale red.
Seeing Xu Youde and his daughter, the maids hastily knelt to pay their respects, but were shooed away by a frustrated wave of Xu Youde's hand.
Get out, get out! Don't block the way!
Xu Youde cursed, but when he turned to look at Xu Qinghuan, his voice became very cautious.
Huan'er, when you go in later... don't cry.
If you cry, that silly boy will definitely get anxious, and if he gets anxious, his wounds will split open.
Xu Qinghuan took a deep breath and nodded.
I won't cry.
Only then did Xu Youde reach out and push the door open.
With a creak, the door opened.
The light in the room was dim. The windows were tightly covered by cotton curtains, leaving only a few lit candles.
At a glance, Xu Qinghuan saw the person lying on the bed.
Or rather, he didn't even look like a person anymore.
From head to toe, he was densely wrapped in bandages, exposing only his eyes, his nostrils, and a cracked, peeling mouth.
His left leg, splinted between two wooden boards, was hoisted high on the bed frame.
Beneath the bandages, patches of dark red blood faintly seeped through.
Those were the marks left behind from being brutally pierced and torn apart in the muddy water, on the broken bridge, all to protect her.
Standing at the doorway, Xu Qinghuan could not take a single step forward.
Was this the big guy with innate divine strength who always smiled foolishly and called her sis?
Was this the brother who promised to catch birds for her and buy her candied hawthorns?
Ugh...
The person on the bed seemed to hear the commotion.
A head completely wrapped in bandages turned over with extreme difficulty, inch by inch.
The movement was very slow; every shift meant enduring agonizing pain.
When his eyes focused on the figure at the door, his originally dim gaze instantly lit up.
Sis...
Xu Wuyou forced his mouth open, pulling at the wounds on his face. The pain made the corners of his eyes twitch, yet he stubbornly squeezed out a smile that looked uglier than crying.
Sis... is your brother... awesome or what?
He was asking for praise, just like when he would run back injured as a child.
In his simple mind, there were only two things:
First, his sister was safe.
Second, the bad guys were beaten away.
As for whether it hurt or if he was crippled, none of that mattered.
Xu Qinghuan felt a sharp pang in her heart, so painful that she couldn't catch her breath.
She bit her lower lip fiercely, barely managing to hold back her tears.
She couldn't cry. Dad had said that if she cried, the fool would get anxious.
Letting go of Xu Youde's hands, Xu Qinghuan walked step by step to the bedside.
Every step was incredibly heavy.
She sat down on the round stool by the bed, looking at the wounded face before her.
Awesome.
Xu Qinghuan reached out, her trembling fingertips hovering in mid-air, not knowing where to land.
There were wounds everywhere.
Even the lightest touch could be a torture for him.
My brother is the most awesome.
She said softly, her voice very gentle.
Heh... hehe...
Xu Wuyou laughed happily.
Because he laughed too hard, he coughed a couple of times, and the bandages on his chest instantly seeped a bit of bright red.
Don't move!
Xu Qinghuan panicked and quickly reached out to press down on the back of his uninjured hand.
Don't move around! Do you want to hurt me to death?
Xu Wuyou immediately didn't dare to move.
He blinked at Xu Qinghuan, his eyes revealing a hint of grievance and a desire to please.
I won't... won't move... Sis, don't be mad...
I'm not mad.
Xu Qinghuan took a cotton swab from the nearby shelf and dipped it in some warm water.
She carefully dabbed the makeshift cotton swab on Xu Wuyou's cracked lips, slowly moistening the peeling dead skin.
At this moment, her mind was a mess.
Guilt.
An overwhelming sense of guilt surged up.
All of this was because of her.
It was because she wanted to go home, because she wanted to be exiled.
That was why she had created that damned braised pork brick, and that heat-producing immortal pill.
She thought she was handing leverage to the imperial court, seeking punishment for herself.
But she had forgotten that this was ancient times.
This was a feudal dynasty where human life was treated like worthless grass.
Her unintentional black technology was a divine artifact in the eyes of the emperor, but a death warrant to the noble families.
Especially after the Wang family's textile industry was completely crushed.
The Wang family believed that in order to survive, they had to kill her and annihilate the Xu family.
The logic behind this was cruel and clear.
Without her reckless plans, the Xu family might still be those despised nouveau riche.
But at least...
Her brother wouldn't have to lie here suffering like this.
Her father wouldn't have to stand guard at the door with a knife late at night.
And those dead guards and private soldiers wouldn't have become wronged ghosts in the Qinhuai River.
I'm the one who harmed you all.
Xu Qinghuan said silently in her heart.
She looked into Xu Wuyou's clear eyes, seeing his trust and dependence.
In these eyes, there was no calculation, no political scheming—only love.
And what about her?
She had always treated this world as a stepping stone, and the people here as NPCs.
She thought that as long as her mission was completed, she could just dust off her hands and leave, returning to that modern society with air conditioning and Wi-Fi.
To enjoy her milk tea and scroll through short videos.
Even if the Xu family's home was confiscated and they were exiled, as long as they were alive, it would be fine.
How selfish.
How cold-blooded.
Sis... what's wrong?
Sensing that his sister's mood was off, Xu Wuyou struggled to raise his hand to grab Xu Qinghuan's sleeve.
Did... someone... bully you?
Tell your brother... I'll... use my sword techniques to kill him!
Even in this state, his first reaction was still to protect her.
Xu Qinghuan reached out a finger and pressed it gently against his lips, stopping his words.
"No one is bullying me."
"My brother chased all the bad guys away, so who would dare bully me?"
Xu Qinghuan forced a smile, fighting back her tears.
Just then, the rhythmic thud of a crutch striking the ground came from outside the door.
"Master, Eldest Miss."
Li Sheng limped into the room.
He did not look much better himself.
His head was wrapped in bandages, his left arm rested in a sling, his right leg was splinted, and a wooden crutch was tucked under his arm.
Yet, despite his swollen face, he looked remarkably spirited.
It was the unique fortitude of a man who had just survived a life-and-death bloody battle.
"This humble servant pays his respects to the Eldest Miss."
Li Sheng tried to toss aside his crutch to bow, but Xu Youde was quick to catch and support him.
"Alright, alright! What time is it for such empty formalities!"
Xu Youde glared at him, but his eyes lacked their usual strict boundary between master and servant.
"Sit down and speak!"
Li Sheng did not act coy; he sat on the stool a maid brought over, though his back remained ramrod straight.
He looked at Xu Qinghuan, a newfound awe in his eyes.
"Eldest Miss, Master, everything has been handled."
Li Sheng's voice was steady and his thoughts were clear.
"Five hundred taels of silver have been delivered to the families of the eighteen brothers who died in battle. As you instructed, the Xu family will provide for their elderly and fund their children's education from now on."
"The best doctors have been arranged for the injured brothers, and no one will be left permanently disabled."
"The brothers all said that their lives belong to the Xu family. From now on, at just one word from the Eldest Miss, they will brave mountains of blades and seas of fire without batting an eye!"
Xu Qinghuan listened quietly.
Five hundred taels.
In this era, it was enough for a family of five to live comfortably for a lifetime.
But on that night, it was merely the price of a single life.
She turned her head and looked out the window at the old locust tree, stripped bare by the torrential rain.
A few sparrows were hopping among the branches, chirping merrily, full of vitality.
