Chapter 107: Imperial Deep Affection

The pain felt like my head was exploding; I closed my eyes and frowned, slowly recalling that I seemed to have leapt off a cliff—was the transmigration a failure or a success? The glaring light entered my eyes; I shut them again and forced them open, and the scenery before me went from blurry to clear.

"Wei Lingfeng?!" I shouted, springing up from the bed. I accidentally slammed into a bedpost, and my already dizzy head now felt like it was spinning with stars.

The brocaded-clad man before me steadied me with one hand, while his other hand helplessly brushed his forehead, his smile so dazzling it could drown a person.

I shook my head, and my thoughts finally cleared a bit. I stared, eyes wide, at the extraordinarily handsome face before me—familiar leisurely smile, deep eyes; aside from a slightly wan complexion, it was indeed Wei Lingfeng.

I looked at him, opened my mouth, paused, then spoke cautiously, "Wei Lingfeng, do you… know me?"

Wei Lingfeng's expression stiffened; he clearly couldn't keep up with my sudden line of thought.

"Then… let's change the question!" I swallowed, a little nervous, "How old are you this year?"

Even though Wei Lingfeng was usually composed, his mouth twitched now, and an unexpectedly delighted smile spread across his already excessively handsome face, exuding innate nobility.

I was momentarily stunned by that rare smile, and before I could react, my body was forcefully pulled into a warm embrace. Wei Lingfeng's deep laugh echoed in my ears, his magnetic whisper, "What shall I do with you, Bing Yi!"

A thrill rose in me, and I ripped myself from his arms, asking, "You know me? Then I haven't transmigrated incorrectly!"

Wei Lingfeng's mouth curved slightly; he turned and gave a faint wave to a nearby palace maid, and the person withdrew.

I blinked, "What did you send her to do?"

"Aren't you hungry?" Wei Lingfeng's slender ten fingers brushed my disheveled hair and clothing, speaking softly, "I just had them prepare some snacks; you can have a bit later."

That made me a little hungry; I nodded gladly, but my smile froze as I looked at Wei Lingfeng, anxiously asking, "Wei Lingfeng, tell me honestly, since we partied in Yueyang, how long have I been away? Did anything happen during that time? Qi... what about the others?"

Wei Lingfeng's deep smile remained unchanged; ignoring my protest, he reached out, lifted me from the soft bed, and walked outward.

"Wei Lingfeng, what are you doing! If you don't put me down, I'll turn hostile…"

"One year…" Wei Lingfeng tightened his grip on my hand, saying lightly, "Bing Yi, you were gone for a year."

"One year?" I was stunned, ceasing my struggle. It matched exactly the time I had spent in the modern world.

Entering a room steaming with heat, I couldn't help my mouth twitch; no way, it's a bath again!

Wei Lingfeng released me, looked at me deeply, and in a low voice said, "I know you dislike it, so I won't have anyone attend to you. After you bathe, I'll take you to eat."

My heart trembled, a gentle yet irresistible pampering; I felt a bit scared. But before I could speak, Wei Lingfeng turned and left the bathroom.

After bathing, I felt completely refreshed; I stepped barefoot on the cool tiles, letting out a long sigh. At last, I had truly returned, but I hadn't expected the first person I saw to be Wei Lingfeng. What should I do now?

From the doorway came the voices of two guards, and they even mentioned the Empress. I suddenly recalled that, in their eyes, I was also the Empress of Qi Kingdom, so I stepped closer and listened intently.

A younger voice, curious, asked, "Lao Li, was the one who just entered really our Empress of Qi Kingdom, the goddess everyone now talks about?"

"Do I even need to say? You haven't seen the Emperor's precious form, yet you specifically ordered us to guard here!" The hoarse, rough voice was unpleasant, clearly belonging to the man called Lao Li.

"But… isn't she just an ordinary girl?"

Lao Li spat, cursing, "You kid have no progress, no discernment. If the Empress hadn't descended from the heavens on the battlefield, our General Xuan and the three thousand Xin Yuan soldiers would have been completely wiped out! As for me, whether she's beautiful or not, as long as she can break the siege of Qi Kingdom, I'd even be willing to regard her as an ancestor!"

The younger one mumbled a few acquiescent words, about to continue, when he suddenly shouted, "Your Majesty!"

After a while, the door opened; I saw the two guards' grim faces, and Wei Lingfeng's cold, angry smile, causing me to shiver.

"Go to Xuan Tian Place to receive the Thirty Army Staff," Wei Lingfeng said as he approached me, expertly hoisting me sideways without turning his head, and coldly addressed the two guards.

The two guards, faces full of terror, calmed upon hearing the order, and gratefully bowed and left.

"Wei Lingfeng, what does 'descending from the heavens' mean?" I had no time to attend to the soldiers, looking at him anxiously.

Wei Lingfeng's icy expression faded; he looked at me with a amused face, "Naturally… the literal meaning."

"No way!" I clutched my head and screamed, "Shui Yu Tianze, that idiot, wasn't he deliberately trying to kill me? So now, am I being worshipped as a god or feared as a monster?"

Wei Lingfeng stared at me blankly, then suddenly lowered his head and placed a kiss on my lips, his voice deep and solemn, "What others think of you, I don't care. I will cherish you as my wife for a lifetime."

My whole body jolted; I turned my head away, sighing inwardly, and said lightly, "Wei Lingfeng, stop joking."

I knew he had more to say, but seeing my cold expression and hearing my indifferent tone, he ultimately kept silent. The long corridor stretched on, wordless.

The dishes weren't lavish, but they were exquisite and easy to digest. I thought to myself that Wei Lingfeng probably assumed my transmigration would take ten days to half a month, fearing my stomach couldn't handle richer fare, so he served only light foods. It was funny, yet mostly touching—Wei Lingfeng thought of so much…

"Stop serving me more!" I grimaced, forcing food into my mouth, mumbling, "Don't you eat yourself?"

Wei Lingfeng's gaze repeatedly fell on me, gentle, indulgent, and compassionate; hearing my complaints, he simply replied, "I've noticed you've lost quite a bit of weight this time…"

"Wooo—" Outside, a horn blared suddenly; Wei Lingfeng's voice paused, his handsome brows slightly furrowed, then relaxed as he continued scooping food into my bowl.

I stared at him, unable to find any flaw beyond that brief moment; the question I wanted to ask swallowed back, I feigned nonchalance and said, "If you have business, go handle it first."

Wei Lingfeng rose, paced to my side, his jade-like ten fingers brushing my cheek, his voice gentle yet imperiously unrefusable, "Finish your meal, then read here for a while. Behave and wait for me to return; you must not leave, understand?"

"Fine…" I nodded obediently, silently adding two words in my heart—how absurd.

He turned away satisfied. As soon as his figure vanished, I devoured the food on the table at a speed like autumn wind sweeping leaves, eating until my stomach was truly full, then leapt from the soft chair, changed into a palace maid's attire, put on shoes and socks, and ran out.

A palace maid, her face showing reluctance, blocked me, her voice like a mosquito, "Your Majesty, the Emperor said…"

Her terrified expression and admonishing words froze at that moment; I withdrew my acupoint hand, made a pleading gesture to her, and ran toward the direction of the horn. This year, the year I was away—what exactly happened?

Unfamiliar with the terrain, I turned this way and that, ending up dizzy. The drumbeats were clearly beside me, yet I didn't know how to pierce the layers of high walls.

A faint moan drifted to my ears; I listened closely, surprised, its sound mingled with the endless drums, largely muffled, but I could tell it came from my left front.

I fumbled for a while longer, turned a corner, and suddenly the view opened to… a military camp.

I inhaled a cold breath, stunned by the blood-soaked scene before me: wounded, severed limbs, chest cavities blown open, foreheads bleeding—every kind of injury, the mournful moans intertwining with the drums, creating a chilling terror.

"Go help boil hot water! You, I'm talking to you! We're short on manpower and can't spare more, hurry and help!" A middle-aged man looking like a military doctor thrust a blood‑scented empty basin into my arms; seeing my pale, stunned face, he gave me a shove.

I carried the hot water to the doctor, who touched it, nodded satisfied, "The temperature's perfect. Little girl, give me a hand."

I nodded, steadied myself, and handed him the medical instruments in the most time‑saving way. In the past, even without the mobile unit, we had treated terrifying patients, just not on such a massive scale.

"Alright! Next!" The doctor lifted his head; a bead of sweat was about to fall, and a pristine white gauze was promptly pressed to his forehead. He glanced at me and my torn clothes in surprise, but before he could speak, the next patient was already being carried in.

I saw the moaning patients behind me; there were many doctors but even more wounded. I furrowed my brows and said, "Master, let me help!"

Without waiting for his reply, I grabbed a fully‑limbed soldier and went to assist. The soldier thought I was a medical apprentice and didn't doubt it. My speed and treatment quality were clearly far superior to those doctors.

Later, though they looked surprised, they copied me: first inserting anesthetized silver needles into the large points around the wound, then extracting arrows for treatment. The treated wounds were disinfected with alcohol and wrapped in white gauze.

"We're out of gauze!" After treating a soldier's wound, I turned and shouted, "Any gauze left?"

A doctor handed me a roll of the few remaining gauze, his face anxious, "The gauze—and the medicinal herbs—are running low! Where now can we find people to gather wound medicine, and where to get so much gauze?"

I was startled, casually took the gauze, bandaged while thinking how I could gather all of these in the shortest time.

Treating the wounded also lets one grasp the current situation fastest. The Qi Kingdom and Yi Kingdom are being besieged by the Yin Yao Allied Forces; I am now in Xinyuan City of the Qi Kingdom, and the situation in the two kingdoms is dire… sigh, none of it is good news! Strange, where have Qi Ran and Bu Sha gone?

I don't command troops, and my clever strategies for breaking sieges are useless in trying to resolve the present dilemma with my fragmentary modern knowledge. Yet I cannot do nothing! Perhaps I can devise a better way to treat the wounded.

Now the issue is no longer about medicinal gauze, but the obvious shortage of military doctors. Even an ordinary careful person could at least assist with basic tasks and bandage wounds. Yet, in this perilous moment, besides the panic‑stricken civilians who are busy repelling the enemy… wait! A flash of insight struck me as I stood up—of course! The civilians—I couldn't have forgotten such a massive support! The notion of all‑people‑as‑soldiers is the most powerful and terrifying fighting force.

Thinking of that, I couldn't help getting excited about the plan's feasibility, pondering carefully, habitually pacing back and forth, only to forget this isn't an open hall or cave; a rope on the floor tripped me, and I staggered, nearly falling.

A moan reached my ears; I gave an awkward smile, about to apologize, when a familiar voice suddenly shouted, "Ying Ruo?!"

I was startled, looked up, and exclaimed, "Liu Jin Hong?"

Although he now looks gaunt, his eyes vacant, his appearance disheveled, isn't he the old friend Liu Jin Hong from the Lan family? Who else could it be?

Liu Jin Hong stared at me with a strange expression, about to speak but stopping: "Ying... Ying Ruo, how did you end up here? You aren't…"

I smiled and said, "How are second brother and second sister doing?"

Liu Jin Hong's expression darkened, his voice dropping heavily: "Jian Yun is dead, everyone from the Lan family is dead except Ying Yue. Ying Yue… she… went mad."

"What?!" I shouted, "How could this be? When did this happen?"

"A year ago…" Liu Jin Hong clutched his face, crying out in pain, "It was that demonic music a year ago… it was…"

"The Emperor has arrived!!" frantic shouts came from outside.

My heart lurched, thinking "This is bad," I tried to slip away but feared I wouldn't be quick enough; seeing all the soldiers and military doctors, wounded or not, scrambling to kneel, I hurried to kneel too, pleading not to be seen.

A cold voice sounded in my ear; I was startled to recognize Cheng You, who said, "The Emperor orders that the wounded need not kneel! The others should carry on with their duties; the Emperor is only here to look for someone."

I shivered, about to slip back unnoticed, when a sudden chill wind brushed my front. The crowd instinctively cleared a path, each face showing uneasy doubt, yet none dared display it before the born emperor.

At the end of the passage, Wei Lingfeng, clad in brocade robes that radiated authority, smiled at me. Yet that smile, no matter how I looked at it, sent waves of cold down my spine.

I thought to myself, "Let the broken pot stay broken." So I slowly rose from the ground, forcing a faint smile at the corners of my mouth.

"Had enough fun?" Wei Lingfeng lifted his hand to wipe the blood and grime from my face; I saw bright red spreading on his snow‑white sleeve. I stepped back a few paces, embarrassed, and said, "No! No need! I'll just go wash up."

A grip on my wrist yanked me back hard; his rigid, scorching breath blew at my ear, "Do you want me to carry you back in public?"

Joke… what joke?! I startled, hurriedly ceased struggling, letting him meticulously tidy my appearance. Warm fingertips gently brushed—perhaps lingered—over my face, and I couldn't help trembling.

Wei Lingfeng examined my face closely, finally offering a faint smile, then sighed and muttered, "I still want to carry you back…" Before I could answer, he stretched out his arm, and my body rose into the air.

Damn! This guy doesn't keep his word. I saw the shocked eyes of the surrounding soldiers, mouths forming an O, cursing inwardly, yet I dared not struggle too much, fearing he'd do something even more outrageous in anger.

"Ying Ruo…" Liu Jin Hong's trembling voice rang from behind. Wei Lingfeng's brows, as solid as distant mountains, twitched slightly, erasing most of his smile.

Cheng You's face turned cold as he shouted, "How dare you! The Empress's name is not for you to call at will!" The soldiers and military doctors below all inhaled a sharp breath of cold, and their gazes toward me…

I rolled my eyes and looked at Wei Lingfeng, "I still have something to ask him."

Wei Lingfeng smiled leisurely, tightened his grip on me, his voice still oddly magnetic, "I permit you to ask."

XD! I wanted to go crazy, this is called "I permit you to ask"? In your arms, in front of so many people, how am I supposed to ask?

"Ying… Empress!" Liu Jin Hong fell to his knees before me with a thud, his voice choked, "I… I know your medical skill is unparalleled. Please… please, save Ying Yue!"

After speaking, he ignored the wound on his arm, pounding the ground in desperate kowtowing, paying no heed to the fresh blood spreading on the floor.

I sighed; everything of the Lan family had truly vanished for me, so why not try to save her? I gave a faint smile, softly saying, "Alright, I'll try, but I can't promise to cure her."

"Thank… thank you, Empress!"

Wei Lingfeng seemed unable to watch any longer, lifted me, turned, and left. I couldn't help turning back, shouting at the stunned military doctor behind me, "Master! Remember, their wounds must not get wet, and anesthetic must not be overused. I'll come again tomorrow."

The military doctor nodded absentmindedly; after I walked away, I could still faintly hear his voice, "Am I dreaming? The Emperor, the Empress… still call me Master… Lao Xu, hit me down and test!"

Leaving the camp, I struggled to jump out of Wei Lingfeng's embrace; he didn't hold on, casually releasing his grip.

I gathered my thoughts and began telling him what I had thought of today, "I want to post a notice recruiting female doctors to increase the number of military physicians."

"Female doctors?" Wei Lingfeng was slightly taken aback, weighed it briefly, then shook his head, "Probably difficult; husbands are away at war, wives stay home caring for the elderly. Moreover, ad‑hoc recruits are inevitably of mixed quality and could cause trouble."

"No." I smiled mysteriously, raised my slender index finger and shook it, "I not only want to recruit female doctors, but also the elders they support. We'll house them together not far from this city, where the doctors rotate daily care, and perhaps they could be useful during war."

A spark of brilliance flashed in Wei Lingfeng's eyes, clearly seeing the plan's feasibility, yet he couldn't help asking curiously, "What use?"

I chuckled, grasped the railing of the corridor, leapt onto it, and said, "Boiling water."

"Boiling water?... Boiling water!" Wei Lingfeng's eyes lit up, a brilliant smile curving his lips, "I recently considered using scalding water to thwart a siege, but thought the cost outweighed the benefit. Now, Bing Yi, your suggestion makes it seem not impossible."

I clapped my hands and laughed, "Indeed! Heroes think alike. As for those female doctors, I will train them personally until no major mistakes occur. I believe it won't take long."

"Personally?" Wei Lingfeng slightly frowned, his crystal eyes gazing deeply at me, then sighed, "Fine! As long as you're happy. Cheng You, from now on stay by Bing Yi's side to protect her."

"No way!" Cheng You and I shouted simultaneously.

Wei Lingfeng raised an eyebrow, gave Cheng You a cold glance, about to speak. I leapt down from the railing, grabbed his sleeve, and said, "Don't make Cheng You's life difficult; you know he only worries about your safety, and even if he stays by my side he won't protect me wholeheartedly. Moreover, I'm just dealing with ordinary civilians, while you're up against Xiao Yifei!"

So, I steadied myself and concluded, "Cheng You must stay by your side to protect you!"

As soon as I finished, I realized Wei Lingfeng was looking at me, his expression a bit stunned, pure joy gradually rising in his eyes.

"Bing Yi... are you worried about me?" he seized the wrist I had clutched on his sleeve; his fingertips were scorching, his palm slightly sweaty. My heart trembled; when I tried to pull my hand back with force, it suddenly lacked even half its strength.

He leaned close to me, his voice deep with weight and expectation, his breath less than half an inch from my face: "May I... interpret your concern in my own way?"

I abruptly withdrew my hand, my nails leaving two deep red marks on the back of my hand. I stared at the disappointed Wei Lingfeng, not knowing what to say, not knowing how to respond, and suddenly turned and walked away.

In a quiet corner of the palace, I pressed my throbbing temple and said in a low voice, "Cheng You, you let me sense your aura—doesn't that mean you have something to tell me? Come out!"

In an instant, Cheng You appeared before me; his complexion was icy, his gaze could almost kill, yet he bowed respectfully and called, "Empress."

I shook my head and asked, "Lord Cheng You, please tell me, where is Qi Ran now?"

Cheng You lifted his head, glanced at me with a cold, extreme contempt, "Since you can't let go of the past, why did you leave? Since you want to find him, why pretend to stay by the Emperor's side?"

"Pretending?" I forced a wry smile, saying lightly, "Perhaps. But now, I truly can't let go of Wei Lingfeng. In this situation, this circumstance, I'm afraid he won't be able to endure."

I avoided looking at Cheng You's face, my gaze drifting far, "Qianqian once told me that Wei Lingfeng, no matter the circumstance, always pretends to be strong, yet turns away to lick his own wounds alone. So that day by Dongting Lake, when he held me and wept, I couldn't push him away. Wei Lingfeng always says that, no matter the cost, he'll keep me by his side. Yet he has never truly forced me. Even that one time, in the end, he let go. Cheng You, human hearts aren't stone; an emperor's sincere heart is so rare, I know that better than anyone. I've seen his kindness toward me, and I cannot be indifferent."

But…" I lifted my slender finger, tapped my chest, choking out, "It's already full; it was full before I met him, there's no more room. Do you... understand?"

I looked at him, speaking most sincerely, "It's like this: if I now asked you to abandon Wei Lingfeng, his master, could you do it?"

Cheng You stared coldly at me for a long while, finally sighing, "Xiao Qiran and Bu Sha disappeared a year ago, and all contact was lost. After that... the Tomb Poison eradication..."

(End of chapter)