Mistakenly Connected to the Jade Flower Branch

Nanfei reached out to pull her, but only felt the wind stirred by the hem of her clothes.

Yuan Feng ran to the edge of Xianzhou Garden and stopped.

Escape? Where can you escape to?

She was a general; how could she flee in disarray? How could she desert her post in the face of battle? How could the word "escape" ever appear in her life?

Ahead lay the Jingjiang River, behind her stood a crowd of silent observers. Yuan Feng had never felt so humiliated.

She turned and walked towards the backyard, continuing until her figure disappeared behind the gate. Only then did everyone turn their attention to Nan Fei.

Xu Sheng clicked his tongue twice: "Young Master Nan is truly heartless, isn't he going over to take a look?"

Nan Fei said in a sinister tone, "Prince Rui, do you miss the days when you were mute?"

Xu Sheng said, "If Luo An doesn't miss it, then of course I won't miss it either."

Nanfei was filled with anger but had nowhere to vent it, so he reached out and touched the soft sword.

Luo An handed him a folded piece of paper: "Prepare the prescription to help her recover."

Nanfei took it: "What happened to her?"

Luo An said, "He has deficiency of both qi and blood, weakness of the spleen and stomach, poor appetite, shortness of breath, pale tongue with white coating, and a weak pulse..."

Nan Fei looked at Luo An with a pounding heart.

Luo An said, "...If you don't trust him, you can have Song Yuan do a follow-up examination."

Nanfei opened the prescription: "How could I not believe it..."

Nanfei stared blankly at the prescription. Xu Sheng leaned closer and asked, "What's wrong? Is there a problem with the miracle doctor's prescription?"

Nanfei quickly folded the prescription and put it away: "Your Highness, don't you understand the principle of 'don't look at what is improper'?"

Xu Sheng asked curiously, "Is the prescription related to etiquette? Could it be an aphrodisiac prescription?"

Nanfei walked away with a cold face.

Xu Sheng looked at Luo An: "It can't be true, can it? You're prescribing aphrodisiacs for someone with both qi and blood deficiency? I need to go check on him. What if General Yuan has overexerted himself and damaged his health? Wouldn't that make it impossible to join forces?"

How can someone who has absolutely no shame still act so righteously?

Luo An and Yao Chi spoke at the same time:

Yaochi said, "Are you a pervert?"

Luo An said, "Southern Yue is truly shameful."

Xu Sheng sincerely invited, "Let's go together. Nanfei is quite famous in brothels; he should be able to come up with a lot of tricks. You two can learn from him."

Xue Yunting, unable to bear it any longer, reminded him, "Your Highness, please watch your words."

Yaochi then noticed them: "Who are you?"

Xue Yunting said, "Sister, I am Xue Yunting, and he is Qi Yang."

Yaochi looked him over and felt a sense of goodwill: "He's quite polite. I also have the surname Xue, and we were from the same family five hundred years ago."

Xue Yunting: "Sister, we..."

Xu Sheng interrupted him: "What are you standing there for? Come in and sit down, let's talk slowly."

Yaochi said, "Your Highness, with you, General Yuan, and Uncle Xu here, the Great River Gang has no right to speak. You two can continue your conversation; I won't disturb you any longer."

They discussed the alliance on Chongming Island without ever considering her opinion. As a pawn, she should fulfill her role as a pawn.

Yaochi finished speaking and was about to leave when Xu Sheng exclaimed and tried to stop her. Luo An raised his hand to stop him, then turned and went into the tea room to sit down.

Xu Sheng said, "No way? She..."

Luo An said, "Uncle Liu just left. She's not in a good mood, so let her rest."

Xu Sheng said, "Oh, I just thought she looked so tired, like she could fall asleep standing up."

Nanfei tried to open the door but couldn't, so he called out, "Yuan Feng, open the door."

Yuan Feng leaned against the door, her face blank. When she heard Nan Fei's voice, she could no longer hold back her tears.

He even knew to follow us?

Nanfei called out twice, and then silence fell outside the door. Had they left again?

Yuan Feng bit her arm to stop herself from crying out loud, when she heard the window creak.

Yuan Feng looked up and saw Nan Fei jump in through the window. Nan Fei jumped in and saw Yuan Feng with tears streaming down her face. Both of them were stunned.

Yuan Feng cried? How could Yuan Feng cry! She fought on the battlefield, shedding blood but not tears.

Yuan Feng wiped her face haphazardly with her sleeve, staring at the opposite wall with a stubborn expression. It was the same look Nan Fei knew.

Nanfei walked up to her, reached out and brushed the hair off her face, and said softly, "Ah Feng, I'm sorry."

Nan Fei's soft words instantly shattered Yuan Feng's stubbornness.

Yuan Feng's tears flowed like clear spring water, one by one, in strings...

Nanfei hesitated slightly, then pulled her into his arms. Yuan Feng clung to his shoulders, sobbing uncontrollably, "Nanfei, you're taller than me now."

They were the same height back then.

Nanfei gently patted her back, his voice tender: "Yes, you've grown taller these past few years. A man should always be taller than his wife, otherwise it's embarrassing."

He said "wife" so naturally and smoothly, without the slightest hesitation. Yuan Feng's body went limp, and she hugged him, bursting into tears.

When her mother died, she didn't even have time to cry before being ordered to go to the southern desert. When her father died, she had no close relatives by her side, but she forced herself to finish the funeral arrangements and then volunteered to go to Chongming Island.

Finally, I can cry my heart out. From now on, even in death, I will have no regrets or attachments.

Yuan Feng slept soundly, and when she woke up it was already completely dark. There was a light on in the small hall.

Nanfei turned his back to the door, engrossed in reading. He was a diligent student with excellent grades, and had already gained a reputation for his academic achievements back in the Imperial Academy.

Nanfei finished reading a book, stretched, and stood up to see her standing beside him.

Nanfei was startled and accidentally knocked the book to the ground. As he bent down to pick it up, he remembered something and kicked the book under the table.

When Yuan Feng first saw him panic, she found it both funny and amusing.

Nan Fei forced himself to remain calm and walked towards the medicine stove: "While you were asleep, I went to Wudong County to get you some medicine, decocted it, and kept it warm here. Good medicine tastes bitter, so I bought some candied fruit..."

Nanfei poured the medicine into a bowl and brought it over: "I tasted it, it's not too bitter."

Yuan Feng picked up the bowl and drank it down in a few big gulps: "It's not bitter."

Nanfei opened the box: "What medicine isn't bitter? This candied fruit is quite good; I heard it's a secret recipe from the retired imperial chef of Nanyue. You should try it..."

Yuan Feng picked up a jujube and put it in her mouth.

Nanfei looked at her: "How is it?"

Yuan Feng nodded: "Delicious, sweet."

Nanfei nodded in satisfaction: "Two boxes of candied fruit cost me two taels of silver."

Yuan Feng asked, "Why buy so many?"

Nanfei said, "Young Master said that you have both qi and blood deficiency, which requires long-term conditioning. Look, even buying medicine at half price cost three taels of silver."

Yuan Feng followed his gaze and saw a huge bag of medicine. She had never taken this much medicine in her entire life.

"You keep talking about money?" Yuan Feng said, "I heard you only make five taels of silver a month? You've spent it all?"

Nanfei, used to idle chatter, casually remarked, "You seem to know quite a bit. I originally earned ten taels a month. Young Master told Qin Jiu that we had nothing to do on Chongming Island, and spending so much would invite gossip."

"That young master is a hypocrite. He's jealous of the girls who like me; he's doing it on purpose. Before, I'd pay ten taels and he'd pay twenty, and I'd order eight girls to dance for me at Fengchun Pavilion..."

Yuan Feng watched him silently. Nan Fei gradually fell silent, gently tapping the table with his hand as he looked away.

Yuan Feng said, "Didn't those eight girls teach you anything?"

Nanfei got up, put the candied fruit in the drawer, and then stuffed the medicine into the cabinet.

Seeing that he was looking for something to do, Yuan Feng asked again, "Do you really need to read books in the middle of the night?"

Nanfei turned around and said, "I said, eight girls danced for me..."

Yuan Feng said, "It didn't jump on you?"

Nan Fei's face flushed red: "What nonsense are you talking about? I'm a married... a respectable man..."