Xing Pingchun stepped forward, eyes blazing with fury. “My father is a general renowned throughout the world! How dare you bind him!”
“Chou’er! Grown-ups are talking. Children shouldn’t interrupt.” Jiaoniang used his nickname and scolded him.
“Mother!”
Feng Yuyan wasn’t angered. She looked at Xing Pingchun kindly. “Do you not understand my good intentions? Do you think it feels good for me to have the marquis bound like this? But I’m thinking of the bigger picture. It’s a fact that the marquis has gone mad. If he hurt you, how could I answer to the ancestors of the Xing family?”
Xing Pingchun was momentarily taken aback by her seemingly kind tone and didn’t know how to respond.
Qian Jiaoniang turned to the maid Qingya and said, “Chou’er was being too rude. Take him out first.”
Qingya answered and reached for Xing Pingchun’s hand.
“Mother…”
“Go on.” Jiaoniang waved him off.
Watching her son be led away, Qian Jiaoniang turned back and said, “Miss Feng, even if the marquis has lost his mind, he is still the marquis—the master of this household. Can we really stand by and let him wither away like this? If you’re afraid he’ll hurt people, how about this—have him moved to my courtyard. I’ll lock the gate. He won’t be able to run out, so no one will be harmed.”
To her surprise, Feng Yuyan would not relent. “Jiaoniang, I know you mean well, but we’ve already tried everything. Nothing worked! Even if you take him, it’ll only be a matter of two days before you end up tying him up again like this. Why bother with the pretense?”
Qian Jiaoniang’s brows drew together. “So you’re saying you won’t release him?”
Feng Yuyan shook her head. “I can’t.” She paused. “I have to consider the safety of the entire marquis household.”
“What if the marquis dies, then what?”
Feng Yuyan’s eyes flickered slightly but she still smiled. “How could that happen? I’ve been exhausting myself for his sake, sending the steward daily to look for miracle doctors. The marquis is blessed—he’ll recover.”
Qian Jiaoniang pointed at the muddled, filthy man inside the room. “From the looks of him, the marquis is about to die.”
Feng Yuyan glanced at him quickly before looking away. “I’ve been injured and haven’t yet recovered—hadn’t gotten around to visiting him. I had no idea the servants were treating him so badly. Outrageous! Don’t worry, I’ll punish them severely.”
As soon as she finished speaking, several servants fell to their knees with loud thuds, crying out that they deserved to die.
Qian Jiaoniang fixed her gaze on Feng Yuyan. “So you’re not letting him go?”
“Jiaoniang, I care for the Marquis even more than you do. You can rest assured—I will definitely handle this matter properly.”
The two were locked in a standoff for a while. Qian Jiaoniang sighed softly and shook her head. Feng Yuyan stepped forward and tried to persuade her, “Jiaoniang, why don’t you return to your courtyard for now…” But she suddenly cut herself off, because she saw Xing Pingchun leading a group of tall, burly soldiers quickly toward them.
Feng Yuyan’s expression immediately changed. “Oh no! Why did your son bring outsiders into the estate? Do you want the Marquis’s disgrace to become public knowledge?”
Qian Jiaoniang turned back and looked toward the newcomers without surprise. Walking beside Xing Pingchun was none other than Li Qingquan, Xing Muzheng’s long-time deputy commander. He had followed Xing Muzheng across battlefields, pacifying chaos across the land, and eventually returned to the fief alongside him.
Li Qingquan and his men came forward, cupped his fists toward Qian Jiaoniang, and asked urgently, “Madam, where is the Marquis?”
Qian Jiaoniang thought briefly, then had Xing Pingchun lead them inside.
“You can’t go in!” Feng Yuyan quickly ordered people to stop them. “The Marquis is violent and could…”
But the ordinary house servants were no match for Li Qingquan and his men. In a few swift moves, the soldiers shoved them aside and barged in.
A stench hit them first—so strong it nearly made them gag—then they saw the Marquis’s miserable state. Their eyes went wide with shock, and they cried out in unison, “Commander!”
These were brothers who had followed Xing Muzheng through life-and-death battles. Seeing him in such a pitiful condition, how could they not be furious?
“Who did this!” Li Qingquan roared. A towering man over eight feet tall, he looked terrifying when enraged. His blood-stained broadsword swept sideways, as if ready for sacrifice.
Everyone around them instinctively stepped back in fear.
Feng Yuyan forced herself forward and snapped, “You’re being outrageous! This is the Marquis’s estate, not a military camp! You cannot act so unruly here!”
Her stern voice might work on house servants, but it had no effect on battle-hardened soldiers. In fact, her words only drew their attention to her. Li Qingquan stepped forward, and without hesitation, placed his broadsword against her neck. “Unlock the shackles.”
Feng Yuyan recoiled in terror but was forced step by step against the wall. The sharp blade, soaked with the scent of blood, pressed against her skin. She had thought herself fearless in the face of danger—but once that cold gleam touched her neck, she finally understood what fear meant.
“If you don’t hand over the key, I’ll kill you and find it myself,” Li Qingquan growled through clenched teeth.
“Slice her face first, so she knows we mean business!” said the bald soldier Ah Da.
Hearing a threat to her face, Feng Yuyan shrieked in panic, “I’ll give it! I’ll give it!”
She handed over the key. Li Qingquan and the others immediately rushed in and unlocked Xing Muzheng’s shackles. Qian Jiaoniang stood by the door, watching.
Xing Muzheng was finally freed. He was helped up, dazed and blank.
“Commander.”
“Commander!”
Voices called out to him from all sides. Xing Muzheng’s eyes were vacant, his cracked lips trembled slightly, then suddenly a wild look surged into his gaze. His hoarse voice screamed with all its might. His arms, numb from being bound, thrashed violently. He even tried to run, but his legs, swollen from restricted blood flow, gave way and he fell forward. At the last second, bald-headed Ah Da caught him.
But Xing Muzheng didn’t thank him—instead, he slammed his head against Ah Da’s chest.
“Ahhh—AHHH!” he howled madly.
It was Qian Jiaoniang’s first time seeing Xing Muzheng in this deranged state. She could hardly believe her eyes.
“Commander! Commander!” Ah Da cried out helplessly, not daring to push him away in fear of hurting him.
“Knock him out!” Qian Jiaoniang ordered decisively.
Li Qingquan stepped forward in a flash and struck a precise knife-hand blow to the side of Xing Muzheng’s neck. The weakened Marquis immediately collapsed against Ah Da.
Everyone fell silent, unsure of what to do next.
Feng Yuyan shrieked, “Are you satisfied now—”
“Prepare hot water immediately! While the Marquis is unconscious, we must bathe and clean him. Boil plenty—one or two large tubs won’t be enough. Chou’er, go with Steward Zhou to fetch wound ointment. Your father is injured. He’ll need it after the bath. Steward Zhou, please also find some clean clothes and have them ready.” Qian Jiaoniang’s voice cut over Feng Yuyan’s shrill tone—calm and orderly, giving clear instructions. “Gentlemen, please carry the Marquis to the bathing room. This brother, you should go tend to your injuries.”
After her commands, the men snapped out of their daze and hurried to comply. Even the estate servants didn’t dare dawdle—they scrambled to help.
The hot water was soon ready. Li Qingquan and a few of his brothers, distrusting the estate servants, went in themselves to clean up Xing Muzheng. Qian Jiaoniang waited outside, sending someone to fetch a clean mattress and bamboo mat to be delivered to her courtyard. Feng Yuyan, infuriated, returned to her room, muttering that they could do whatever they liked.
An hour later, Xing Muzheng was finally brought out, fully cleaned. He no longer stank, his beard had been shaved, but his complexion was as pale as paper, and his lips were cracked and scabbed. No one could say what lay beneath the undergarments. Li Qingquan and his brothers had reddened eyes and hoarse voices. “Madam… The Marquis’s body… the wounds are too many to count. We’ll have to trouble you to care for him.”
Qian Jiaoniang looked at Xing Muzheng on the stretcher. Though clean, he was still frail and ghostly pale. She let out a soft sigh. “Understood. Take him to my place.”
Her courtyard was the most remote and smallest of the main residences. It was said to have been built to house concubines who had fallen out of favor. In the palace, it would be called the Cold Palace. But Qian Jiaoniang found it just right—quiet, the perfect size, and rarely visited. She had even dug up a patch of garden and built a small canopy. Normally, she grew melons and fruits. At this time of year, the grapevines had already taken over, with clusters of green fruit hanging down, just looking at them made one’s mouth water.
Li Qingquan had heard that the commander’s wife wasn’t favored, but he hadn’t expected her residence to be like a rural cottage. Was this really the main wife of the Marquis? Wait—was that a chicken crowing?
“Oh, the hens in the back must’ve laid eggs. I’ll go collect some later and make something nourishing for the Marquis,” said Qian Jiaoniang.
Raising chickens… The Marquis’s primary wife not only tended to vegetables but also raised chickens… Li Qingquan wiped the sweat from his brow, thinking to himself: This must be why the Commander didn’t favor his original wife. It’s rather shameful if you think about it.
“Uh, Madam… perhaps… perhaps I should bring the Commander back to camp, and we brothers can take care of him there,” said Li Qingquan, who was currently stationed in Yuzhou training new recruits on behalf of Xing Muzheng.
Qian Jiaoniang tilted her head, thinking for a moment. “No need. The camp is full of men—there will always be things overlooked. Besides, the Marquis likely wouldn’t want the soldiers to see him like this. Let me handle it.”
Li Qingquan fell silent, then nodded behind him, signaling two soldiers to carry Xing Muzheng into the inner room. Xing Pingchun followed closely, clutching a round-bellied porcelain medicine jar.
“Madam… just what did the Commander discover? Why would he suddenly lose his mind like this?” Li Qingquan asked hoarsely.
Qian Jiaoniang looked toward the inner room. “Sir, I’m like a blind person groping through a river right now. Let’s first have a doctor take a look.”
“The physician who was just beside the young master is our military doctor, Doctor Jian. Let him take the Commander’s pulse.”
“Alright.” Qian Jiaoniang stepped into the room.
Xing Muzheng was placed in the west wing. The room had only a moon-gate-style canopy bed and two rosewood armchairs—completely bare otherwise. Doctor Jian carefully took his pulse, his expression growing grave. He instructed the men to apply medicine to the Commander’s wounds and wrote a prescription for herbs to be decocted immediately.
Once Doctor Jian had given his orders, Li Qingquan hurried forward and asked anxiously, “Doctor Jian, how is the Commander? How serious are his injuries?”
Doctor Jian stroked his goatee and sighed with guilt. “Blame my poor medical skill—I cannot determine the root cause of the Commander’s condition. Alas… alas!”
