"Ha, those words were too harsh. The beauty immediately peed herself in fear, truly unbearable.
The entire hall fell silent, the men wishing they could bury their faces in their crotches.
The women, on the other hand, gloated, covering their mouths to snicker.
The Prefect, red-faced with shame, quickly ordered someone to drag the stunned beauty away like a dead dog.
From then on, at any banquet he attended, no one dared to invite dancers. Rumors spread in the border town that the Divine Martial General was cold and cruel, and abstained from women.
Therefore, Qu Linglong truly couldn't imagine who the Divine Martial General's woman was, to have captured his discerning eye?
Xiao Shan did not answer Qu Linglong's question and soon arrived at the foot of the mountain.
Seeing the dilapidated courtyard, Qu Linglong was speechless. Had he truly returned to simplicity and retired to the southern mountains?
Could it be that he had actually married a village girl?
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up!"
"Oh, coming!"
Qu Linglong quickly followed him into the house.
The woman on the bed was beautiful, so beautiful she didn't seem real. This was her first impression.
The second impression…
"Why does she look a little familiar?"
Xiao Shan looked up at her, his brows furrowed, and asked, "You think she looks familiar? Have you seen her before?"
"No! If I had seen such a beautiful woman, I would never forget her."
Even she said so!
He had been in the border town for years, and Qu Linglong had also served as a military doctor there for two years. If they had seen her, it was likely in the border town. But the problem was, neither of them had seen her, which was strange.
"Have you seen her in the capital?"
"No, I really haven't. Also, the thing on her face is likely poison, but it only disfigures that part of her face and doesn't affect her body."
As for what kind of poison, she couldn't tell for a moment.
This was all secondary; Xiao Shan wasn't concerned about it now.
"Quickly examine her body. How should we treat her?"
Qu Linglong took her pulse, her brows knitting tightly.
"How could anyone be treated like this!"
"How? Tell me what you need."
As long as she could be saved.
His words carried obvious tension, causing Qu Linglong to raise her eyebrows in surprise.
"If she were an ordinary person, she would truly be beyond saving. However, she was likely pampered with rare treasures when she was young, so her foundation isn't completely depleted. There's hope!"
There was hope!
Xiao Shan, unaware, loosened his clenched fist.
The tense lines on his face also relaxed.
Qu Linglong took out her silver needles. Just as she was about to remove Xue Niang's clothes, she turned back uncertainly and asked, "Is she really your woman? I need to undress her to administer acupuncture."
"Be careful, her wounds are severe."
Xiao Shan stepped forward to help. Qu Linglong didn't know what "severe wounds" meant until she saw the whip marks all over the woman's body. She gasped, her delicate face showing distress.
"Did you do this?"
"No!" Xiao Shan said with a dark expression, "What do you take me for!"
Seeing that he was unwilling to speak, Qu Linglong didn't ask further. She quickly inserted the needles, performed the trembling needle technique, and then waited for time to pass.
Her mottled upper body was exposed to the air. Although covered in scars, her curves were incredibly graceful. Where there were no wounds, her skin was like snow, fair and radiant, like the finest porcelain. If she recovered, she would undoubtedly be breathtaking.
Being a woman herself, Qu Linglong wondered why others were so exquisitely formed in every aspect.
Especially her breasts, they were simply perfect; she even wanted to reach out and touch them.
"Do not look at what is improper!"
Just as Qu Linglong was marveling, she heard the man beside her speak in a cold, warning tone.
"Ah? Ha!" Qu Linglong touched her nose.
Although she was dressed as a man, she was a woman through and through. Was the Divine Martial General confused!
"How many times will she need to be needled?"
"At least three times! Don't worry, I'll prescribe some medicine to be taken together. As long as she wakes up, she'll recover slowly with care in a year or so. You know my medical skills, don't you? Besides the maid by Princess Lingyao's side, which female doctor can compare to me?"
She was telling the truth, and it was indeed so.
Xiao Shan knew this. If she said so, there would be no problem.
"It's just that I'm afraid I can't do anything about the poison on her face. If we could find Princess Lingyao's maid, it should be fine. That maid researches poisons better than I do. Unfortunately, she went to the Tujue with the princess for a marriage alliance."
As soon as the marriage alliance was mentioned, Xiao Shan's entire demeanor changed, and a cold aura emanated from him.
The King was weak. He had already repelled the enemy and could have pursued them and driven them back to their homeland.
However, he received eight consecutive decrees to retreat. Later, the Emperor even made peace with the enemy and sent the princess for a marriage alliance.
This was a disgrace to Jing Kingdom, and the reason he faked his death in anger. No one could save a weak country. Why should he make a futile sacrifice!
Now, he only wished to be a simple villager. Political instability, changes in imperial power, all had nothing to do with him.
Sensing the pressure emanating from Xiao Shan, Qu Linglong secretly marveled. He truly was the Divine Martial General; his aura was terrifying.
Xiao Shan held Xue Niang's hand on the bed. Her hands were beautiful, long and slender, but they were covered in scars. Her nails were ragged and worn, and some places were scabbed, all from torture.
When the powerful were incompetent, it was the innocent people who suffered.
This country was rotten to the core.
When the time came, Qu Linglong removed the silver needles. Xiao Shan carefully dressed Xue Niang, covered her with a quilt, and checked her forehead.
"My clinic is very poor and doesn't have any good medicinal herbs. You'll need to get them elsewhere. Here's the prescription. Take it three times a day for seven days."
Xiao Shan took it and glanced at it.
"The medicinal herbs used in the first few days are quite expensive. Brother Xiao, do you have money now?"
Qu Linglong looked at the dilapidated house, with drafts everywhere. Wouldn't they freeze to death in winter? It seemed a bit unfair to let a beauty live here.
The issue of money had never been a problem for Xiao Shan before. He didn't care; eating simple food was enough for one person, and he hadn't hunted seriously.
But now it wouldn't do. Xue Niang was a pampered person, and the conditions were too poor. It seemed he would have to build a new house.
These were minor issues; a few valuable large game animals from the mountain would suffice.
"This is for the consultation." Xiao Shan handed Qu Linglong a silver ingot worth twenty taels. "Please take good care of her during this time. If I'm not home, you look after her."
He might go up the mountain a few times. The prescription included lingzhi, which was likely not cheap.
Qu Linglong's eyes lit up as she took it. She had misjudged. No matter how down on his luck the Divine Martial General was, he wouldn't be that destitute. If it were in the past, she wouldn't have cared about this small amount of money, but she had been robbed of everything on her escape route. The remaining money was used to rent a small shop and was all gone. She had almost run out of food for the past two days.
"Don't worry! I will definitely take good care of sister-in-law!"
Sister-in-law?
Xiao Shan was stunned, then cleared his throat. "You should still call her Xue Niang!"
He was afraid that if she heard the term "sister-in-law," she would get angry again.
"Xue Niang? That's a good name, just like her, pure white."
Indeed, it was.