Chapter 29: I Know You’re Home

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: I Know You’re Home

With a heavy expression, Ling Qianfan tended to the wound on Ling Qianjun’s neck. He was terrified of hurting his older brother if he applied too much pressure, yet equally worried the medicine wouldn’t be effective if he was too gentle. His heart was in his throat, and cold sweat beaded on the back of his neck. Throughout the entire process, Qianjun didn’t utter a single groan. His expression remained as calm as if nothing had happened. However, the three of them watched the wound BUBBLE with white foam. Having experienced it themselves, they knew exactly how excruciating it was.

To Qianjun, this bit of pain was nothing—just slightly uncomfortable. He had been on the battlefield since he was fifteen and had suffered far worse injuries. He could endure what ordinary men could not.

Once the neck wound was bandaged, Qianjun asked Xu Panqing and Ling Yunge to step outside so Qianfan could apply medicine to the caning wounds on his back. Xu Panqing wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve. She took Yunge’s hand, stood up, and found an excuse to leave. "Yunge and I are going to find the inn attendant for some hot water to wash up." With that, the two women left the room.

Qianfan walked over to the bed. Staring at Qianjun’s mangled, bloody wounds, his heart felt as if it had been struck by a massive bronze cauldron—BANG! The impact made his very soul tremble. He wanted to cry, but he gritted his teeth, refusing to let the tears fall. He knew that if he cried, his tears might drop onto Qianjun’s open wounds, and he absolutely could not let his brother suffer any secondary harm. Sniffling, he gently applied the medicine.

Qianjun lay on his stomach, listening quietly to his younger brother’s sniffles. After a moment, he parted his lips. "Qianfan, the Ling family only has us two men left. Mother has been well-protected since she was young, and Father never let her fall deep into political struggles. Yunge is still young... Also, our eldest sister is all alone in the Capital City, and her husband’s family..."

"Qianjun, I know! Don’t worry, I will grow stronger! I promise I will!" Qianfan choked out. Despite his sobs, his tone was as firm as a rock, his words echoing with resolve.

"Good. I believe in you," Qianjun replied.

Many years later, when this young boy grew up to hold the highest position beneath the emperor—second only to one and above tens of thousands—Qianjun would be filled with deep emotion. He would have never imagined that the sniveling little boy he saw today would one day reach such heights.

Meanwhile.

After Hua Buwan finished her instant noodles, she resigned herself to heading up to the second floor to tidy her ransacked bedroom, deciding to do a deep clean while she was at it. The mere thought of that man touching so many things in her room made her physically nauseous; giving everything a thorough scrub finally put her mind at ease. She cleaned the kitchen as well. When her grandparents were still around, the kitchen had been fully equipped, so there was no need to buy any new pots or pans. However, her personal mini-fridge on the second floor only held fruit, ice cream, and drinks. She needed to go out and stock up on groceries. But after tossing and turning for so long, she was exhausted. She changed her clothes and decided to get a good sleep before heading out to buy food.

At the market, she bought a bit of everything: chicken, duck, pork ribs, pork belly, beef, pork chops, black-bone chicken, chicken legs, and wings. She also grabbed eggs, tomatoes, ginger, scallions, garlic, bird’s eye chilies, potatoes, lettuce, choy sum, pumpkins, and pickled mustard greens. Noticing how fresh the fish looked, Buwan bought one and had the stall owner slice it into fillets and pack it up. Returning home fully loaded with a cart full of groceries, she rested for a moment before stuffing it all into the fridge. Tonight, she decided she was going to make fish with pickled mustard greens!

Buwan’s cooking skills weren’t exactly stellar, but her food was decent enough to eat. She was just usually too lazy, avoiding the kitchen whenever possible. She boiled the fish bones to make a broth, marinated the fish fillets, and stir-fried the ginger and garlic until fragrant. Tossing in the pickled mustard greens, she sautéed them until their appetizing aroma filled the air, then poured in the fish broth and let it simmer. Finally, she dropped in the marinated fish fillets. Once they were cooked through, she transferred everything to a bowl, sprinkled scallions, minced garlic, and bird’s eye chilies on top, and poured a ladle of smoking hot oil over it all—SIZZLE!

Buwan looked at her finished masterpiece with satisfaction. She was just about to carry it out to the dining table when she heard a sudden clamor from downstairs. "Buwan, open the door! I know you’re home!"