Chapter 1334: Chapter 1329: Thoughtful Towards Lin Sisi
Chapter 1334: Chapter 1329: Thoughtful Towards Lin Sisi
But he was always a man.
He had asked his father, “Father, why can women enjoy life, while we, as men, must endure hardships, fight in wars, and go hungry repairing city walls?”
“Father doesn’t know either.” Wu Yue felt helpless. Had he not experienced it himself, everything happening now would have been inconceivable to him.
The women of Qiongzhou City used to be gentle and soft-spoken, abiding by the traditional virtues of obedience. They had always been served and relied upon by the women.
But ever since this princess arrived, everything had changed.
Women could enjoy the highest manners of treatment, while they… in the eyes of this princess, appeared as insignificant as ants.
At Ruo Shui military camp.
Lin Sisi had completed her mission, and Chu Yihan was very relieved, but she had not returned to report, and the person who came back and forth was her deputy. Chu Yihan grew suspicious, “Where is Lin Sisi?”
The deputy replied, “General Lin is injured, and the military doctor is currently dressing her wounds.”
“Military doctor?” Chu Yihan frowned, “Bring Lin Sisi to me, then go and invite the empress over, and fetch a screen.”
The deputy immediately departed, and Lin Sisi was brought over shortly. At the time Chu Yihan’s order arrived, she was about to undress for the military doctor to examine her wounds; Ye Qingru was attentively watching over her. Hearing that Chu Yihan had summoned her, she quickly buckled her belt and ran over to him, still carrying her sword.
Su Yingxue and the screen arrived shortly after. Once the screen was erected, Chu Yihan immediately frowned and pointed to Lin Sisi, “Go behind the screen!”
“Understood, your majesty!”
Lin Sisi went behind the screen. Su Yingxue, who had prepared the medicine and gauze, chided her softly as she pulled her to sit down, “Do you even remember that you’re a girl? Why didn’t you call me to treat your wounds instead of letting a military doctor do it? It was the emperor who called me over, otherwise, who knows if the military doctor would have touched you.”
“But a military doctor is a doctor, too. Do doctors differentiate between men and women when treating injuries?” Lin Sisi found it strange. Su Yingxue used to advocate that medicine should not distinguish between genders, and she had never made this distinction before.
Now…
Su Yingxue gently knocked on her head, “Before, you might have been rugged, but when did a man ever touch your body? I remember, previously in battle, it was Jinling who always followed you and treated your wounds. Now that I’m here, and it’s not like there are no female doctors, why aren’t you more careful about your own body?”
Lin Sisi’s forthright mentality was suddenly reminded by Su Yingxue, “Oh right, I’m engaged to Jinling. The Imperial Consort said before, I shouldn’t be too rough in the military camp and told me to apply more facemasks.”
“Exactly.” Su Yingxue finished preparing the medicine and took the opportunity while chatting to pour it over Lin Sisi’s wounds.
“Hisss!!!”
Lin Sisi drew a sharp breath. She didn’t cry out in pain or scream, but her expression made it clear that it truly hurt.
Su Yingxue knew she was in pain, so she had prepared the medicine with spiritual spring water, “This medicine has spiritual spring water in it, and although it stings when applied, it will ensure the scars left by the wounds will not be too big. You have too many injuries on your body.”
As a woman, Su Yingxue felt a great deal of sympathy for Lin Sisi.
All of these wounds were the result of battles fought.
Sitting and catching her breath, Lin Sisi said, “I’m used to the injuries, I don’t feel them anymore. I’m just worried that Jinling will be heartbroken when he sees them.”
Su Yingxue slowly wrapped her in gauze, and spoke softly, “Sisi, you are a formidable woman, worthy of being a role model for all women.”
“What are you saying! You are the most formidable woman!” Having said that, Lin Sisi pulled up her clothes, ready to get up and report back to Chu Yihan.
Chu Yihan stood just beyond the screen, seeming to understand Lin Sisi very well as he coldly ordered, “Sit down.”
Lin Sisi obediently sat down immediately, like a student who had been schooled by her teacher.
Su Yingxue chuckled, “Such an obedient girl.”
Sitting upright and proper, Lin Sisi maintained the gesture of paying respects with both hands and didn’t dare to tilt her head as she spoke softly, “The emperor is present, how can I not listen?”
Moreover, apart from their monarch-subject relationship, she held Chu Yihan in great esteem. He had always been the God of War she most admired—how could she not heed his words?
Su Yingxue laughed softly. She walked around from behind the screen and whispered to Chu Yihan, “Her shoulder wound is not serious, no tendons or bones are injured. She will just be in pain for a few days. She should not be the vanguard for the next couple of days.”
Chu Yihan nodded, “Mhm.”
Naturally, he would not assign her to battle again in the next few days.
But Lin Sisi became anxious, pleading, “Emperor, your general can still fight! This minor injury is nothing. I don’t need to recuperate. I can take down the West City Gate tomorrow! Your Majesty need not worry about my injury.”
“You are My general; how could I not care? Take care of yourself properly for Me!” Chu Yihan stood beside Su Yingxue and even whispered to her, “Prescribe some tonics for her. Women are frail by nature; after all, they are different from men.”
Su Yingxue nodded, noting, “The emperor is really attentive to Sisi.”
Chu Yihan raised an eyebrow, “Are you jealous?”
Su Yingxue shook her head, “Of course not! Sisi is a female general who fights for the country. I’m not such a petty person.”
Some women with ulterior motives towards Chu Yihan, like Ye Qingyi, for instance—she naturally could not tolerate them!
And then there were ones like Leng Shuqing, with their deep and calculating minds; in her eyes, they were not good people either.
But Lin Sisi was different; she was not only a minister valued highly by Chu Yihan but also a good friend of hers, and the fiancée of her nephew, Jinling. Both Chu Yihan and she cherished Lin Sisi.
Why would she be jealous of Lin Sisi?
Yet, Chu Yihan’s attentive care towards Lin Sisi did reveal something to Su Yingxue, “It seems like you treat Sisi as if she were your own student, cherishing her and teaching her to care for herself.”
Chu Yihan rubbed her head and chuckled, “I never take disciples; the rules of Wu Ya Valley are strict.”
Su Yingxue stuck her tongue out, “Really? Sisi has wanted you as her master for a long time.”
She remembered when she first met Lin Sisi; during a palace banquet, Lin Sisi became excited upon seeing Chu Yihan, saying she wanted to take him on as her master. But back then, just one glance from Chu Yihan was frightening enough that aside from her, he was unapproachable, Lin Sisi had the intention but lacked the courage.
Later, she took her brother as her master. Her brother said that after Lin Sisi followed him to war and returned, she had matured and progressed so much that he had little left to teach her.
Should she seek another master, it would have to be a God of War like the emperor.
So, Lin Sisi’s ambition lingered, wanting to cling to Chu Yihan’s coattails, to earn the title of his disciple and learn from him—a proposition she had longed for. They had both asked him, yet neither of them managed to sway Chu Yihan.
Thus, the matter was not brought to conclusion.
But to Su Yingxue’s eyes, it did not seem completely hopeless for Lin Sisi to become a disciple.
At the very least, aside from her, Chu Yihan would definitely not indulge another woman with so much as an extra word.