You can’t find the cause? Then wouldn’t the Commander remain this foolish and dazed for life? Li Qingquan panicked. “What do we do now? Are you saying the Commander has just suddenly become an idiot?!” No—he couldn’t accept that.
“The Marquis has always been clear-minded and physically strong. I don’t believe he could suddenly become a fool for no reason,” Qian Jiaoniang said.
Li Qingquan’s eyes lit up again with hope. “Madam is right—there must be a reason!”
“And if there’s a reason, there must be a solution. Lord Li, please send more men out to investigate, ask around—heaven will never seal all paths. There must be a way,” Qian Jiaoniang’s tone was calm, but her faith that Xing Muzheng’s condition was only temporary was unmistakable.
Though no one knew where her confidence came from, both Li Qingquan and Doctor Jian were encouraged. “Yes—heaven always leaves a path. I’ll send men out right away—”
Before he could finish, Xing Pingchun, who had been applying ointment to his father’s wounds, suddenly threw himself into Qian Jiaoniang’s arms, burying his face in her chest and sobbing.
Qian Jiaoniang was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening. She wrapped her arms around her son and gently stroked his back. “Chou’er, what’s wrong?”
Xing Pingchun cried uncontrollably. After a while, he hiccupped through his tears and stammered, “Father… Father is so… pitiful. His body… hic… has so many, so many wounds!”
Qian Jiaoniang looked toward the moon bed. Two men stood in the way, blocking Xing Muzheng’s figure, but even at the foot of the bed, his large feet bore multiple sores and scars—it was easy to imagine what the rest of his body looked like. If they had been just a few days later… Xing Muzheng would likely have been tortured to death.
“Mother, the sores on Father’s body… are even worse than when we were bitten by bugs before!” Xing Pingchun looked up, his young face—so much like Xing Muzheng’s—streaked with tears, his eyes swollen and pitiful.
“Good boy. I know your heart aches for your father. Don’t cry anymore. He still needs you to help apply his medicine.”
Even the men had trouble looking at those injuries—how much worse must it be for a ten-year-old boy? “Young master, if you can’t bear it—”
“Ah—AH—AHHH!” Suddenly, a man’s crazed screaming burst from the bed, startling everyone.
Xing Muzheng had likely been jolted awake by the rough hands applying medicine. He opened his eyes and leapt up. His tall frame smashed straight into the bed’s canopy. He screamed as he repeatedly bashed his head against the bed frame. Though he was thin and weakened, his brute strength remained terrifying. The entire sandalwood moon-bed was nearly lifted off the floor from his thrashing.
“Commander! Commander!”
“Father! Father!”
Li Qingquan and Xing Pingchun rushed forward with the others, trying to hold Xing Muzheng down. But the more they restrained him, the more violently he fought back—as if terrified they would chain him up again. He lashed out blindly, punching and kicking with terrifying force. Several men were hit, and Xing Pingchun was kicked square in the chest, knocked to the floor.
“Chou’er!” Qian Jiaoniang rushed forward.
Xing Pingchun sat up with effort, clutching his chest. “Mother, I’m fine. Just do something—Father can’t take more injuries!”
“I… I don’t know what else to do,” Qian Jiaoniang paced back and forth. They couldn’t keep knocking him unconscious forever. But what else—? Suddenly, she stopped. She remembered something her mother-in-law once said… “Stop fussing. I’ll give you milk in a minute!” she shouted suddenly.
Xing Muzheng froze.
Everyone else also froze, stunned. What did they just hear? Milk? Did the Madam just say she’d give the Commander milk—and that made him stop?
“Goat milk. Goat milk!” Qian Jiaoniang quickly added when she saw everyone’s odd expressions. She couldn’t have them thinking their grown general was some pervert still drinking breastmilk.
Still, goat milk didn’t sound much better. Li Qingquan tried very hard not to let his face look… too curious. “Madam, this…”
“Mother, you’re amazing!” Xing Pingchun’s eyes sparkled with admiration. “Father really listens to you!”
“Listen to me? If that were true, I wouldn’t have to spend my days worrying about whether I’ll lose my place as his original wife,” she muttered bitterly. “Your father’s just like you!”
“Huh?”
Qian Jiaoniang looked at Xing Muzheng, who had obediently sat down. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. So her mother-in-law had been telling the truth all along.
“She told me once—when your father was little, he had a high fever and wouldn’t stop crying. She borrowed a little goat’s milk from someone and let him lick some, and he immediately stopped crying. Later, you were the same. Your grandmother fetched goat milk again—and sure enough, you stopped crying too.”
“Ah—really?” Xing Pingchun scratched his head shyly.
“Waaah—” Suddenly, Xing Muzheng on the bed began wailing like a baby, crying just like Pingchun had moments ago.
All the soldiers were shocked again. Their Commander… cried? The same Commander who had once endured cutting flesh to treat a poisoned arrow without even flinching?
“There, there, alright, I’ll have someone get it right away—stop crying,” Qian Jiaoniang said with a headache.
Sure enough, Xing Muzheng stopped crying, only staring at her with large, tear-filled eyes.
Good heavens, what kind of look is that? Qian Jiaoniang poked Pingchun’s forehead. “You really are your father’s son.” She used to complain that Pingchun was too spoiled and whiny. Her mother-in-law had said his father was the same when young. She hadn’t believed it then. But now? Turns out, her mother-in-law hadn’t lied.
Li Qingquan couldn’t bear to look directly—he feared once the Commander regained his senses, he’d kill them all to silence the witnesses.
Steward Zhou, desperate to redeem himself, somehow quickly brought back a steaming hot bowl of freshly boiled goat’s milk. Li Qingquan took it with a cold expression, cursing him as a treacherous servant. Steward Zhou begged for forgiveness, insisting it was all under Feng Yuyan’s orders.
After drinking the milk, Xing Muzheng quieted down. Under the coaxing promise of more goat’s milk from Qian Jiaoniang, he obediently allowed others to apply ointment. Of course, it still hurt—he bit and hit—but at least he didn’t fight with the same deadly ferocity.
Finally, the treatment was finished, and everyone sighed in relief. Xing Muzheng, perhaps tired, no longer thrashed about, but he also didn’t sleep. Instead, he leaned against the bed and stared blankly at Qian Jiaoniang, drooling.
Everyone: “…”
The soldiers all silently averted their gazes and found the weather outside quite fascinating.
Qian Jiaoniang, exasperated, pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth. He’d probably associated her with the goat’s milk. “Go get more milk for the Marquis.”
Xing Muzheng suddenly stood up, looming in front of her like a mountain. Her vision darkened—startled, she looked up and saw Xing Muzheng grinning like a fool, flashing a row of white teeth and clapping his fan-sized hands enthusiastically.
Qian Jiaoniang nearly fainted. It felt like watching a tiger rise on its hind legs to clap its claws—baring its sharp fangs in a smile.
Terrifying.
She had never seen Xing Muzheng smile before. He was a naturally handsome man, even though he now looked worn out. But when he smiled like that, he was… beautiful?
Li Qingquan and the others had their eyes bulging like bronze bells. W-what? Their Commander… looked this charming when he smiled? Li Qingquan had only ever seen the man faintly smirk once, and that was after capturing the Western Li king. He never expected the Commander could smile like this. Though a bit silly-looking, it was… surprisingly attractive.
When Qian Jiaoniang gave the order to get more milk, Steward Zhou ran off again. Li Qingquan came back to himself and suggested that they punish the disloyal servants—perhaps even execute those who had neglected the Commander. Qian Jiaoniang said, “What real say do servants have? No need to kill them—just drive them out of the estate.”
“What about the Feng girl…” Li Qingquan really wanted to slice Feng Yuyan down, but she was technically the Marquis’s official betrothed—even though the wedding hadn’t happened yet, Xing Muzheng had clearly valued her; otherwise, he wouldn’t have let her manage household affairs.
“Her?” Qian Jiaoniang glanced at the drooling Xing Muzheng, “She’s not my call. Wait till your Marquis recovers and let him decide. But for now, I suggest you leave some of your men here. One, in case the Marquis acts out again, there’s someone to help. Two, to prevent anyone else from trying to harm him.”
Li Qingquan already intended to leave men behind, so he immediately cupped his fists and said, “Madam is indeed thoughtful.”
That whole afternoon was chaos. Li Qingquan stationed a team of elite soldiers at the estate, officially claiming there had been a theft and the Marquis had ordered increased security. Internally, he ordered Steward Zhou to submit a list of all the servants who had ever waited on the Marquis. Each one was apprehended—not executed, as Qian Jiaoniang advised—but locked up in the estate’s dungeon, awaiting the Marquis’s recovery for proper punishment.
Zhou Mu, having reported the situation in time, was spared and temporarily remained steward. But Li Qingquan still resented him for negligence, shackling his hands and feet and appointing a new assistant steward, Ding Zhang, to share authority equally. The two were required to report to Qian Jiaoniang every three days.
While Li Qingquan managed estate affairs, Qian Jiaoniang was alone in Xing Muzheng’s room, watching the man giggling foolishly after another bowl of goat’s milk.
Though husband and wife, she hadn’t spent much time with Xing Muzheng. Nine years ago, she had just gotten pregnant when he left. After giving birth to their son, she raised him while caring for her mother-in-law—enduring hardship through years of war. When her son grew older and life finally stabilized, she heard her husband had returned triumphant.
He hadn’t just returned a general, but also the new master of their hometown. Before she could rejoice, she and Pingchun were brought into the Marquis’s estate, and the first person she saw was a woman so beautiful she looked like she’d stepped out of a painting—graceful, educated, virtuous. Later, she learned that this was the Marquis’s official betrothed.
That was when she finally realized: her husband had not longed for reunion the way she had. He had become a noble lord with a beautiful companion. What could she do besides offer congratulations? She didn’t want to return to a hard life with her son. In times like these, having enough to eat was most important. Since he didn’t divorce her, she shamelessly stayed—quietly picking the most remote and secluded courtyard in the estate, staying out of sight.
But she had never imagined… something so absurd would happen.
Even with the truth before her eyes, Qian Jiaoniang still couldn’t believe Xing Muzheng had truly gone mad.
In her memory, Xing Muzheng was a handsome young man who seldom smiled. In storytellers’ tales, he was a great hero, a man of unmatched valor. The last time she saw him, three months ago, she had gone to ask him to find a good tutor for Pingchun. Then, he had been every inch a commanding man—just like the storytellers said, with sword-like brows and starry eyes. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen.
Qian Jiaoniang still remembered Xing Muzheng’s eyes. Back when he was just a young man, she had been shaken by the depth of his dark gaze. She couldn’t understand the meaning in them—only felt that they were the eyes of a soaring eagle, a gaze that small Gui County could never confine. He belonged to a wider world. Qian Jiaoniang had always known he would accomplish great things—had to. She couldn’t believe that such a man would suddenly lose his mind. Could it be… he was faking madness, putting on an act for someone?
“Marquis?” Qian Jiaoniang called out cautiously, and waved a hand before his eyes.
Xing Muzheng gave no reaction, didn’t even blink—just sat stiffly in his chair, grinning foolishly.
Qian Jiaoniang brought a hand to her lips, bent over, and whispered like a thief, “Marquis, there’s no one else in this room right now. If I’ve somehow gotten in your way, just say the word, and I’ll send you back.”
Still, Xing Muzheng didn’t respond at all.
She stared at him for a long while before slowly straightening up. In a low murmur filled with disappointment, she whispered, “Has he truly gone mad?”
