Rebirth: Phoenix Riding the Ninth Heaven

Li Ruoyue reached out her fair, delicate hand and gently took the bamboo tube Luzhu had handed her. She brought the tube to her lips and blew carefully, sending wisps of hot steam rising from the inside. She parted her lips slightly, sipping the scalding water drop by drop. The warm liquid flowed slowly down her throat, and instantly a surge of warmth spread through her body, gradually warming her once-cold body.

The moment the hot water entered her body, Li Ruoyue felt as if she had suddenly returned from the bitter cold of winter to the warm and pleasant warmth of spring. Every limb was enveloped in warmth, and her once stiff hands and feet gradually became soft and flexible, brimming with renewed vitality and energy.

Li Ruoyue raised her head and her eyes fell on Luzhu, who was serving her attentively and carefully. She turned her head and said to Luzhu softly, "Lizhu, don't just focus on taking care of me. Go eat something quickly and drink some hot water to warm yourself up. Drinking some hot water will make you feel much warmer. Please don't worry about me. Go!"

Upon hearing this, Luzhu quickly responded, "Miss, you don't have to worry about me. I'm fine. I feel at ease being here with you. Besides, my body has almost recovered. As long as you are safe and sound, I will be very happy." After saying this, Luzhu showed a sweet smile on her face.

Li Ruoyue looked at Luzhu like this, and couldn't help but feel touched. She smiled slightly and scolded: "You silly girl, how come you don't know how to feel sorry for yourself?"

Lu Zhu showed a helpless look on her face and softly explained to her mistress, "My lady, please don't blame me wrongly. How could I not take care of myself? Look, I'm warm now, and I'm eating and drinking as I should. It's just that I've been worried about you. As long as you're safe and healthy, it doesn't matter if I have to endure a little hardship! Oh, my lady, don't mention me for now, let's talk about tomorrow's arrangements. Do you think we should continue to the next safe house, or just return directly to the Protectorate?"

Hearing Luzhu's words, Li Ruoyue couldn't help but smile bitterly. She stared at Luzhu's anxious expression and slowly responded, "Luzhu, we need to visit a few more safe houses. After all, it's freezing cold, which is not conducive to travel and treating patients. There's also a shortage of doctors here, so the situation isn't optimistic. With so many of us working together, there's no need to be too afraid. We can take this opportunity to investigate and see if people in various places are sick or if there are any signs of infectious diseases spreading. We also need to understand whether the orders issued by the Fourth Prince have been effectively communicated and implemented at the grassroots level. Once we have a clear understanding of all this, if we discover any problems such as missing parts or inadequate implementation, as well as any potential conflicts, we will return and report them to the Fourth Prince. This way, he will be able to make more accurate and appropriate decisions based on the detailed grassroots information we provide."

Luzhu pouted her cherry lips and cried out in dissatisfaction, "Oh, I know, I know! Miss, why don't you take care of your body? It's so cold that it can crack stones. You just need to tell your subordinates to take care of it. Why do you have to do it yourself?"

Li Ruoyue looked at Luzhu's adorable face, her cheeks puffed up like two buns, and couldn't help but smile and explain, "Luzhu, I just wanted to see if there were any omissions. You know, if even one plague patient appeared in this closed area, the lives of hundreds of people in the safe house would be hanging by a thread. The consequences would be unimaginable! That's why I wanted to check it out myself so that we can take precautions. If we can save one life, we can save one. After all, there are hundreds of lives here. If we can save one, it counts."

Listening to her young lady's compassionate words, Luzhu couldn't help feeling sad and distressed in her heart, and her eyes instantly turned red. She said in a crying voice: "Okay, okay, my dear young lady, I understand, isn't it? I'm just worried that you will be too tired. In this case, I won't say any more words in the future. I will do whatever you tell me to do!" As she said that, she reached out and gently tugged at Ruoyue's sleeve.

Li Ruoyue gently stroked Luzhu's hair and asked softly, "You've been busy all day today, so you must be exhausted, right? Quickly take out the bedding from the bed, and we'll spend the night here."

The soldier who woke up with Li Ruoyue turned out to be the Fourth Prince, sent to protect her and Lu Zhu. After everyone finished their meal, they heard a runner from the county yamen hurried in. He bowed respectfully and said, "Dear guests, the yamen has prepared rooms for you to rest. However, the weather is extremely cold, and heating has become a major problem. The county yamen has only prepared three heating items. I hope you will accommodate each other and squeeze together for warmth. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ruo immediately said to the county yamen runner, "Then I'll trouble you to lead the way." Then, the group followed the runner toward the three side rooms. Soon, they arrived at the doors of three adjacent rooms. While not spacious, they were, after all, three separate rooms. Each room also had a kang (a heated bed), meticulously constructed by experienced kang masters specially recruited by the county yamen before the snow fell. Even in the bitter cold, with ample firewood, the rooms felt exceptionally warm.

Li Ruoyue frowned slightly, her eyes slowly sweeping across the three rooms before her. She turned to look at the tall, serious-looking leading soldier and said softly, "Captain Qin, how about this arrangement? You and your fellow soldiers make some concessions and sleep in one room, shoulders squeezed together. And I'll share a room with Lizhu. What do you think?"

Captain Qin, the leader, showed a flicker of hesitation, but quickly responded respectfully, "Everything will be subject to Miss Li's arrangements. Before we left this time, the master specifically instructed us to follow Miss Li's lead in everything and obey her orders."

Li Ruoyue felt a surge of warmth in her heart upon hearing this, and she quickly said to Captain Qin, "If that's the case, then it's settled. You've all worked hard along the way, so hurry up and pack up and go inside to warm up first. Unload the bedding from your horses and place it on the kang; it will be warm in no time. As for Luzhu and me, please don't bother with us. We have to get up early tomorrow morning to head to the next safe house."

Upon hearing this, Captain Qin immediately nodded and said, "Miss Li, just rest assured. We will go to the other two guest rooms to tidy up. If you need any help, just come and find us." After that, he turned around and walked towards the two guest rooms with his soldiers.

Li Ruoyue looked at their departing backs, a faint smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, and then she pulled Luzhu into their room.

Li Ruoyue and Luzhu worked together to carefully make the bed, then they both crawled into the warm quilt. As soon as they lay down, they could clearly feel the warmth coming from the kang beneath them, as if they were immersed in a soft and warm cloud.

Li Ruoyue stretched her body comfortably, then climbed up again. She looked at Luzhu, who was still adding matches to the stove under the kang, and whispered, "Luzhu, stop adding more. The kang is warm enough now. Come up! We're all tired all day, we need to take some time to rest."

After hearing Li Ruoyue's call, Luzhu raised her head and responded, "Miss, you go to sleep first. I'll add some more matches to make the kang warmer. In this way, we won't be woken up by the cold even in the middle of the night. And as long as you burn slowly, there will always be matches burning in the stove, so the temperature on the kang will not drop. This is the method told to me by the old master who built the kang. I'm going to try it today to see if it is as effective as he said." As she said that, Luzhu stuffed a few more matches into the stove, looked at the flames jumping in the furnace, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face.

After Luzhu finished her work, she washed her hands carefully and walked briskly to the kang. With a light leap, she dove into the warm quilt like a nimble kitten. In that instant, comfort and warmth enveloped her, and she couldn't help but hum with pleasure.

Li Ruoyue, who was standing by, saw Luzhu's adorable appearance and couldn't help but joked, "I told you to come up earlier. Now you feel comfortable?" Luzhu felt the warmth on her back, a satisfied smile on her face as she replied, "Miss, it's so cozy to have a kang like this in winter! I think we should get one like this when we go back to our hometown."

Li Ruoyue looked at Luzhu, who was so happy that she was almost bubbling with joy, and her heart softened. She smiled and replied, "Okay, I'll listen to you!" After that, the two of them, perhaps because of the fatigue of the day, or perhaps because they were comforted by the warm quilt, hugged the warm quilt tightly and began to chat casually.

They talked about the day's interesting events, sharing their feelings. Gradually, however, as the topic came to an end, sleepiness gradually set in. Their voices grew quieter, and eventually, they both drifted off to sleep, entering a sweet, dreamless sleep.