Chapter 426: Don’t Go, You’ve Learned to Cry Pain

She was testing him, to see if he had seen through her disguise.

Zhao Mingyan lifted her chin with his left hand and gazed at her face.

His gaze was too intense. Ji Qingwu lowered her eyes and bit her lip. Zhao Mingyan noticed the mark on her lip again, and his expression slowly grew cold.

He enunciated coldly, "A common woman... so you’ve been married."

At his words, Ji Qingwu’s eyelashes fluttered. ’This reaction... could it be he really hasn’t recognized me? Was I wrong?’

’Then why would he bring a strange woman into his tent in front of everyone, and even have Li Yuzong prepare water?’

A bitter taste filled Ji Qingwu’s mouth, and her throat felt as if she had swallowed sand.

His fingers tightened, forcing her face higher. He spoke with deep meaning, "Why take off your clothes? Do I need to teach you why?"

Ji Qingwu choked on her anger at his words, her eyes widening as she glared at him, fuming.

Zhao Mingyan had her jaw clamped in his hand, but his grip loosened when he saw the glint of tears in her eyes.

"I thought you were so capable. Humiliated into a rage so easily?"

Ji Qingwu suddenly bit the web of his hand. It didn’t even leave a mark, but the impact made her gums ache. Her mouth filled with the salty taste of sweat and horse leather.

After biting him, she lowered her head and chewed on her lip in frustration.

Caught off guard by the "attack," Zhao Mingyan withdrew his hand. He arched a brow and let out a low chuckle.

"Stop that. You’re going to bite your lip raw."

With one hand, he unfastened his Great Cloak and wrapped it around her, covering her soaked, coarse-spun dress.

"Do you think just anyone can enter my tent? Since you refuse to take off your wet clothes, wear this for now."

’So that’s why he wanted me to take off my clothes. He was afraid I’d get sick from the cold, wet fabric.’

Ji Qingwu clutched the wolf-fur trim of the Great Cloak, yanked it off, and tossed it aside. Her eyes shone as she stared at him.

Seeing her reject his kindness, Zhao Mingyan’s demeanor grew colder.

’We’ve been apart for a while, and her temper has only grown.’

"You’ll be the one to suffer if you catch a chill." After saying this coldly, he turned to leave.

Ji Qingwu scrambled to sit up on her knees. The pain made her face scrunch up, but she still managed to grab his wrist unerringly.

"Don’t go."

Ji Qingwu’s voice trembled slightly from the pain in her knees.

The forearm she had grabbed twitched. He could feel the surprising strength in her grip.

He glanced down at her red, swollen fingers, and she followed his gaze to her own hand.

From fighting the fire and saving people, her hand was far from its usual fair and clean state. There was dirt and ash under her nails. Clasped around his flawless, jade-like wrist, the contrast was jarring.

But Ji Qingwu didn’t let go. Instead, she tightened her grip.

Zhao Mingyan’s throat worked. Fearing he would actually leave, Ji Qingwu quickly spoke again.

"I want to be held by Your Majesty."

She didn’t want his Great Cloak. She wanted him by her side, wanted him to hold her tight.

Ji Qingwu rarely spoke so bluntly, and a blush crept up her face.

A dark glint flickered in Zhao Mingyan’s eyes. He turned back. As Ji Qingwu watched him with a longing gaze, his eyes first fell to her knees.

Then, without a word, he walked out of the tent.

Ji Qingwu watched his tall figure disappear. The rims of her eyes turned red as a flood of emotions washed over her. She didn’t understand why he had suddenly grown so cold again.

’How is this nothing like I imagined? I think I’ve messed everything up again...’

Ji Qingwu blinked back the tears welling in her eyes and surveyed the tent’s furnishings. A large map was spread across a sandalwood table.

She stared in a daze at the sheepskin map, which was marked with circles drawn in cinnabar ink.

’The battle today was a close call. Luckily, Emperor Wu Su returned unscathed... No, not unscathed. He appeared before me slightly marred.’

’I can’t ask for anything more.’

Ji Qingwu mentally reviewed her own difficult behavior, then gave herself a pep talk. She resolved to be on her best behavior later and not lock horns with him again.

’When on earth is Zhao Mingyan coming back? Didn’t he say there was a war council in the tent in an hour?’

Ji Qingwu was muttering to herself when she tilted her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed someone had appeared at the entrance.

It was Emperor Wu Su, returned. She had no idea how long he’d been standing there, or if he’d overheard her muttering.

Zhao Mingyan held a medicine box, his gaze deep as he looked at her. Ji Qingwu felt her heart flutter with unease.

Remembering her resolution, she immediately put on a smile and called out, "Your Majesty."

Zhao Mingyan’s brow twitched. His tone was glacial as he said, "Don’t smile. That face is ugly when you smile."

Ji Qingwu’s smile vanished.

’Why is he even angrier than when he left?’

’But he’s not wrong. This face certainly isn’t as pleasant to look at as my real one.’

Ji Qingwu said, "Should I change back now, then?"

As she spoke, she fought through the pain in her knees and tried to get up.

Zhao Mingyan strode forward, clamping a hand on her waist to hold her still.

Then, he knelt on one knee. The medicine box clattered loudly against the stone floor, startling the crows on the tent roof into flight.

Shocked to see the Emperor lowering himself like this, Ji Qingwu tried to block his hand. "I can do it myself. Really, I can."

Zhao Mingyan took hold of her sleeve and carefully pushed her hand away. He looked up at her, his expression severe.

"’You can?’ he bit out. ’You can handle it so well that you get yourself injured like this?’"

Ji Qingwu didn’t dare say another word.

Zhao Mingyan took a medicine bottle and gauze from the box. Without giving her a chance to protest, he grasped her ankle and pushed up her pant leg.

Above her long, slender calf, her knee was a mass of dark, ugly bruises, a stark contrast to her fair skin.

Ji Qingwu knew the injury was bad, but she hadn’t expected it to be this severe. The wound looked grotesque.

She flinched and tried to pull her leg back, but his hand held her fast, like an iron clamp.

"Hold still."

His palm was warm, and his movements were surprisingly gentle. Still, Ji Qingwu couldn’t help but flinch when the medicinal powder touched the wound.

"Does it hurt?" Zhao Mingyan asked, looking up at her face.

Ji Qingwu shook her head, then nodded.

She whispered, "It hurts so much."

"The sand on the training grounds is so hard," she explained. "I was running in a hurry and tripped over a bow. It hurt so much when I fell."

Zhao Mingyan’s hands stilled for a moment. His expression softened considerably, and a hint of resignation flashed in his eyes.

"Ah Wu has really matured," he said wryly. "You finally know how to say when something hurts."

Ji Qingwu’s eyes flickered. Seeing that her "plaintive appeal" was working, she continued, "I heard the horn signaling a General’s return to camp and thought it was you. That’s why I was in such a rush."

Zhao Mingyan nodded, the corner of his mouth twitching into a slight smile. "But it was Wei Ting who came back. Did you go to welcome him?"

Ji Qingwu mumbled, "...If I’d known, I wouldn’t have gone. I fell for nothing."

Zhao Mingyan’s movements became even gentler as he applied the medicine.

Ji Qingwu stealthily rested a hand on his shoulder, as if to keep him from leaving.

"Then the granary caught fire, and we went to put it out. Someone was trapped under a red-hot flagstone. It was so heavy, I couldn’t move it. And it was so hot... it burned my fingers."

Ji Qingwu showed him her reddened fingertips. The index finger on her right hand was the worst; a blister had already formed.