After Becoming the Cannon Fodder Live-in Spouse A (GL) - Chapter 50: The Fiftieth Day

Chapter 50: The Fiftieth Day

“Good?”

Su Wanqiu did not expect the little princess consort’s answer to be this, curiously repeating it once, her gaze shifting back and forth between her and Jixiang, her tone carrying a light and floating inquiry: “Why?”

Ye Fuguang said what she had thought earlier: “This way, the one captured would be only me.”

The female lead seemed not to understand her line of thinking very well, and when she spoke again, it carried a bit of the doubt one would have toward someone with wild fantasies, “You don’t think—you alone could escape from under my nose, do you?”

This little waste who had no binding strength on her hands should not hold such unrealistic expectations about herself, right?

Then she saw this Qianyuan, who from head to toe was adorned with the clothes and accessories she had bestowed upon her, even her skin stained with the faint lotus fragrance fumigated by the servants, shaking her head and answering her: “I cannot escape.”

—Very self-aware.

She seemed to know why Shen Jinglan was particularly special toward this little waste, because this woman had a very special feeling that put one at ease.

Su Wanqiu suppressed that feeling, humming once, “It had better be so.”

She warned in a tone that was neither light nor heavy: “You should not want to know the fate of those who betray me.”

Then she acted as if she had forgotten this matter, allowing Jixiang to dutifully arrange the meal for Ye Fuguang by her side, still as considerate as before in the palace.

But after watching Ye Fuguang’s state that seemed to take things as they came for a while, Su Wanqiu felt somewhat displeased again; she seemed unable to tolerate others living comfortably, and when Ye Fuguang was about to finish the bowl of bird’s nest porridge that was the same as hers, this female protagonist spoke again unhurriedly:

“Do you not want to know what Shen Jinglan is doing?”

“She has been stolen away by me for so long; she might be searching the entire city for you.”

After thinking for a moment, she showed a very expectant smile, smiling at Ye Fuguang, “In a few days, we will leave Jiangning; guess, if her people see you here with me eating and drinking well, not even imprisoned, more like you left on your own initiative, what would she do?”

The spoon Ye Fuguang was preparing to scoop the last mouthful of porridge paused.

From the time she woke up until now, she had actually thought about Shen Jinglan in many fragmentary moments, especially yesterday when the female protagonist tied her to the bed; she could not help recalling her previous days in the palace, but merely kneeling for the routine salute to the emperor for too long, Shen Jinglan would have someone help her rub her knees, and later because of Xu Leyao’s matter, she was implicated too much and punished to kneel on the bed, yet it was also padded with thick cotton padding.

It did not even count as corporal punishment.

When she was by Shen Jinglan’s side, she really did not need to suffer hardships; no matter what she made a fuss about in the mansion, even when she fried stinky tofu or made snail noodles and produced very bizarre strange smells that drifted to Yaoguang Pavilion, she had not seen Shen Jinglan say anything about the kitchen.

—Shen Jinglan was indeed very indulgent toward her.

She could even allow Ye Fuguang to quietly take advantage of her when biting her or planting dew water marks for her.

…

When the past events clearly surfaced.

Ye Fuguang only then seemed to recover from the shock of suddenly suffering such a change, as if her previous performance was merely a kind of dullness for self-protection, so that when she first faced Su Wanqiu, she did not show the crying and whimpering appearance that would annoy and disgust her.

Just as this female lead said: hearing herself say it hurt, she would only want to make herself hurt more, so seeing herself cry, she would only want to make herself cry more.

Showing weakness was not a trick that worked every time.

Facing some characters who bullied the weak by relying on strength, weakness would only make people want to bully more.

But in any case, when Su Wanqiu raised that possibility, Ye Fuguang seemed to have already imagined the scene of following the other party’s carriage out of the city, being stopped and questioned, because her identity was suspicious, the soldiers reporting layer by layer, ultimately drawing Shen Jinglan, who rode that horse White Snow, using an indifferent gaze like a god to ask her “why do you want to escape.”

This made the position of her left heart ache without warning.

Like being pricked very lightly by a needle.

It quickly turned into a闷闷 feeling, carrying a peculiar sensation that made her flesh and bl00d tremble lightly and feel lonely, spreading to her limbs and bones, just like she had poisoned herself.

Ye Fuguang was stunned for a long time before she tasted what this feeling was.

It was longing.

…She missed Shen Jinglan so much.

※

Because of longing, yet unable to see, that was why she felt lonely, like a solitary goose left alone on the tidal flat when flying south, unable to keep up with the main migration troop.

She parted her lips; the pain on her wrist that had not yet subsided kept reminding her rationally that at this time, she needed to hurry and answer Su Wanqiu’s question, so she forcibly endured that bitterness, forcing her eyes wide open and looking toward the female protagonist’s direction, “I-I do not know.”

She looked as if she was about to cry, but this expression was even uglier than crying directly.

As if someone had directly pierced the sky above her head.

Su Wanqiu was so certain of this matter.

She did not like this stubbornness of forcibly enduring and refusing to cry, so she leaned toward the edge of the chair to get closer to her side more, then extended her palm to stroke her cheek.

“Do not worry; I like you so much, how could I bear to let her capture you back?”

When Ye Fuguang’s eyes flickered with her movement, she heard Su Wanqiu narrate in that voice mixed with honey-like sweetness, “Shen Jinglan went to Fufeng County and can no longer return here.”

“You do not know yet, do you? Several prominent families around Fufeng have erupted with very severe plagues; once you left her side, she can no longer leave from there.”

“She did not die in Yancheng but died in such an obscure small place—”

“But Fufeng also counts as Jiangning; she died in your hometown; thinking this way, will you feel a bit better?”

–

Ye Fuguang’s whole person felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

She did not expect that during the time she was in a coma, so many things had happened; if she remembered correctly, in the original work, the Duke of Yongguo who came to Jiangnan was precisely because Jiangning’s officials concealed such a major plague matter, and on the return journey passing through Fufeng, he contracted the illness, later almost bringing the disease back to Yong’an as well.

But the imperial physicians could not cure him.

If she could have avoided getting this illness on the way here, she thought; this way, she could tell Shen Jinglan all the pitfalls in this flood dungeon, even drawing silk and peeling cocoons to combine with the current situation, analyzing all the forces approaching the female lead, letting her avoid these pitfalls.

Anyway, she had previously made up stories about having prophetic dreams and such.

But these… now were all gone.

Shen Jinglan had gone to Fufeng.

Would she be like her royal uncle?

No, Shen Jinglan had fought so many battles before, and she also had a lot of experience in handling plagues; when the male lead Shen Jingming encountered the same situation later, he mentioned it to the female lead once, saying that his arrangements for the army like this were learned from his sister.

Prince Qi, who had encountered countless difficulties and obstacles on the road to success and fame, would not fail because of such a thing; she believed this so firmly.

Ye Fuguang tried to convince herself, but in her ears kept echoing Su Wanqiu’s words, “Once she left you, she can no longer leave from there.”

Why?

She squeezed out a smile, “I… am not that important.”

“You do not know?”

Because her conversation with Jixiang had not satisfied the idea of watching a show, Su Wanqiu had finally obtained pleasure now, appreciating this little dog’s pitiful, feigned strong, heartbroken and despairing expression, as if it was still not enough, she smiled and added the finishing blow, “That is right; how could she possibly tell you such a thing.”

Su Wanqiu tilted her head slightly; the hand that had originally been on her cheek, which had already pinched nail marks on her soft cheek, slowly slid down to her shoulder, and when she stiffened because of this closeness, her hand touched the position of her back neck.

The skin where the acupoint was sealed, causing the information fragrance unable to be released, was somewhat red and had become more sensitive; now being touched by Su Wanqiu through the clothing, it made her involuntarily shiver.

Su Wanqiu suddenly pressed her back neck, pressing her toward her own direction.

Very forcefully, because

Ye Fuguang was completely unprepared and was immediately dragged down from the chair by her, even her feet had no strength, so it looked like she fell sitting on the ground, while her upper body lay at her leg side.

This allowed the female protagonist to look down from above and more conveniently use her fingertip to poke her information gland.

The manicured crescent-shaped nail pressed on that piece of skin that could not tolerate any friction, magnifying even a little pain infinitely, making Ye Fuguang inexplicably tremble.

In this trembling, she heard Su Wanqiu’s merciful explanation:

“She was able to wake up, but the poison in her body has not been completely resolved—”

“Although I do not know how she treated you usually, it seems your information fragrance can help her suppress the symptoms of the remaining poison; without you, she will go mad, perhaps with a splitting headache or loss of senses; do you not know?”

…

So that was it.

It turned out to be like this.

In the past, countless times when Shen Jinglan pulled her, or held her in her arms, or pressed her head, requiring her to plant dew water marks, Ye Fuguang had been surprised many times.

She had thought this was the setting, so Shen Jinglan did not allow her to touch her in traditional ways or be intimate with her, but it turned out that what the other party needed from the beginning was her information fragrance, not those so-called intimacies.

At Taiqing Tower, pulling her and saying she could not see, letting her hold her back to the palace, and on the road suddenly could not hear; at that time, Ye Fuguang had thought this was just a little aftereffect after Shen Jinglan woke up, not expecting it was because her remaining poison was not resolved.

Because she had not encountered such things again later, she had not thought about it anymore.

Recalling now, afterward Shen Jinglan would always make time to be with her; this was the reason why that Prince Qi never had such strange symptoms again.

Ye Fuguang felt as if she was a silly goose; no matter what Su Wanqiu said, she would only foolishly answer: “I-I do not know…”

“Why is it so?” she said unconsciously again.

Su Wanqiu liked her appearance of clearly being very afraid of pain yet forcibly enduring and staying by her side; this would make her produce a satisfying sense of control; she discovered she really liked Ye Fuguang’s obedience.

So she was also happy to explain to her, “Why? The Shen family people are like that by nature.”

“Shen Jingming needs her yet fears her; previously afraid she would die, he hastily brought her back to Yong’an; later discovering she could wake up, he did not want a fully capable, healthy Prince Qi who could threaten his throne; how afraid of her he was? He changed the major systems, altering military power, dispatching, and garrisoning systems; Shen Jinglan was clearly already a general without soldiers, yet he still feared her so much; is it not funny?”

The person kneeling and sitting by her leg nodded in a daze.

Then when Su Wanqiu lowered her gaze, she discovered that she had rubbed that piece of her back neck somewhat swollen, not knowing if there would be any other issues, and with some regret, she moved her hand away, continuing to pinch her cheek, “And she treats you the same way—”

“Knowing you are so weak, yet still bringing you to such a place to die; all the Shen family people are like this; for things beneficial to themselves, they always use all means, unscrupulous methods to exploit.”

As if to remind Ye Fuguang, Su Wanqiu very patiently helped her recall, “At Jiming Mountain, did she not tie you on the horse even in the midst of ten thousand troops? Because losing you was like losing her life, so she put you in such a dangerous situation.”

“Moreover, knowing you are in pain, yet still requiring you to cut your information gland to release information fragrance every time, making you hurt so much; how could you be well following her?”

The female protagonist who was good at using gentle voices to bewitch people did not mention at all that Shen Jinglan watched her so closely because she had indeed prepared people to snatch her at that time.

If not for Shen Jinglan’s astonishing practice, Ye Fuguang would have been abducted by her then.

The little princess who had rarely taught the idiot some principles was in a good mood and lightly patted Ye Fuguang’s cheek, “Now do you know whom to follow?”

Ye Fuguang still nodded.

As if having received too much stimulation, she had lost some ability for independent thinking; no matter what she said, she would agree.

But Su Wanqiu was not satisfied; she lifted Ye Fuguang’s chin, narrowing her eyes and slowing her speech with a smile full of intent as she asked: “I have not heard your answer yet.”

“…Following you.”

The light in the little dog’s eyes seemed to have shattered; she could only pitifully please this new master in front of her.

Otherwise, she would be abandoned again.

“Very obedient.” Su Wanqiu was completely satisfied.

–

Fufeng.

Outside the city, there were countless tents temporarily set up, with edges temporarily built with wood into chevaux-de-frise and some wooden fences; there were imperial guards in black armor who used cloth to cover their mouths and noses, patrolling back and forth.

From time to time, one could see some corpses covered with cloth pulled out from the city, brought to the downwind place outside the city for piling and burning; the soaring firelight and crackling burning sounds could not cover the wails in the city.

This was the seventh day since Shen Jinglan imprisoned the county magistrate here and took over the city.

First, she had the soldiers search house by house for the sick, separating the healthy, the ones with colds, the seriously ill, and the dead, then concentrated all the healers and medicinal materials from the pharmacies in the city, letting them quickly research corresponding medicines based on the symptoms, then establish isolated areas around the patients to avoid mutual infection.

As for the soldiers who contacted them, they also needed to wash with mugwort water after finishing to dispel the disease qi on their bodies.

Those instructions on epidemic prevention were issued in an orderly manner; Shen Jinglan also dispatched the stretched-thin manpower to the surroundings, wanting to know if there were other towns similarly spread with plague that were concealed and not reported, engaging in ridiculous operations like sealing the city and letting all the people inside die—

“Report, Your Highness, Zhong Luming requests an audience.”

In the small camp where the imperial guards were stationed.

Shen Jinglan had just had someone pacify some people who refused to burn the corpses of their deceased family members and caused trouble, groping to sit at the table in the tent, her fingertips extending out based on memory and feeling to pick up the steamed bun in the bowl, but touching empty air, and Jin Yang, who had long returned to her side, could not help but place the bowl in front of her for her.

Feeling the warm intent coming at her face, her movement paused for a moment.

This was the second day she had lost her vision.

She did not know if it was because the information gland at the back of her neck still retained Ye Fuguang’s information fragrance or what, but this time after losing vision, in the midst of fear, she found that her hearing was maintained for a long time; she felt she must quickly return to Jiangning City and see Ye Fuguang.

However, at this moment, hearing that the leader of the imperial guards left in the city had come to see her, a bad premonition immediately arose in her heart.

“Announce.”

…

The tent curtain was pulled open.

Because the epidemic in the city was too severe, the county magistrate’s residence was also requisitioned as the place to concentrate those patients, so Shen Jinglan temporarily stayed outside the city with the people in her team; this way, it was also convenient to send people to check nearby if there were any hands sent by the prefect to seal the city news.

At this time, Shen Jinglan heard footsteps.

She calmly put down the steamed bun that she could no longer smell, only able to imagine its fragrant softness and white plumpness through the feeling of her fingertips, and said calmly, “Zhong Luming, this prince remembers, before leaving the city, I instructed you to guard the prefectural office; why have you come to Fufeng now?”

Only she herself knew how lacking in confidence her voice was.

Because Shen Jinglan did not dare to think about what had happened in Jiangning City; those prefects dared to pay lip service to her at the previous banquet, and now concealed such a serious plague matter; she did not know if these fellows had greater crimes, and to protect their official hats, whether they would do even more ridiculous things; if they acted recklessly, this Yingtian Prefecture would be like wanting to establish a country.

—How was Ye Fuguang?

Had her illness improved? Had anything happened to her?

In the short time while Zhong Luming was panting roughly and kneeling near her, Shen Jinglan unconsciously crushed the steamed bun in her hand.

“Report, report to Your Highness, the princess consort and her personal maidservant… have both gone missing.” The imperial guard commander reported this in a weak voice.

Shen Jinglan was quiet for a moment.

She seemed to laugh in anger; clearly her eyes could not see, yet that pair of sharp phoenix eyes still turned toward the direction of the voice: “What do you mean by gone missing?”

Zhong Luming hardened his scalp and told her about the situation in the city these few days.

Clearly the plague in Fufeng County was sealed in the city, yet surprisingly in Jiangning, several households’ family water wells discovered some chicken and duck corpses, and then the plague followed and spread out.

Because the princess consort was seriously ill and unconscious, her maidservant worried about her condition and went out multiple times to invite doctors and gather medicine, even bringing doctors to the door to see, but after a long time there was no improvement; later Jixiang also fell ill, unable to go in and out, so she had people use a stretcher to carry her out.

As for the later matters, Zhong Luming probably felt it was embarrassing, so he only said up to here.

Yes, his soldiers worried about being infected, so every time they stayed far away, and when the medical hall apprentices invited by Jixiang carried her out, she liked to cover her face, only saying she was afraid of passing her disease qi to them; in short, on a certain day, when they discovered there had been no movement in the house for a long time, they went in to look and only then discovered—

That so-called seriously ill princess consort had disappeared.

In front of her eyes.

⊙

After listening to the story he told, Shen Jinglan felt her temple throbbing with pain; she originally wanted to suppress this displeasure, but thinking of Ye Fuguang not knowing where she had been taken by Jixiang, that little snowflake just disappearing from her world like this, she could not help her emotions.

“Take him down.” She instructed Jin Yang coldly, “Handle by military law.”

Zhong Luming shockingly raised his head to look at her, “Your Highness, the imperial guards directly belong to the emperor; even if this subordinate has faults, it is not something you, a Prince Qi, can overstep and take charge of…”

The later words were all blocked by Jin Yang calling people.

Shen Jinglan stood up from the chair, looking as if she was still very normal, even the few steps to the tent entrance were like straight lines of someone with normal vision; only Jin Yang worriedly followed her, as if wanting to say something.

She instructed in an orderly manner, just like these days sitting in command at Fufeng with strict discipline: “Uncle Jin Yang, you stay here to watch for me; I need to bring people—”

Halfway through the words.

All sounds disappeared from Shen Jinglan’s world.

The distant wind sounds, crying shouts, nearby soldiers’ patrolling footsteps, all disappeared.

“Your Highness!”

Jin Yang watched with wide eyes as she was tripped by the rope fixing the tent at the door, then fell down.

–

“Hah!”

Ye Fuguang suddenly woke from the nightmare.

Her breathing was particularly heavy, as if just now someone had pinched her neck and made her lose air, and only now could she retrieve her breath; she was dazedly surrounded by that lotus fragrance, looking at the several carved railings on the bed top, and for a long time did not recover her senses.

Until the person holding her unhappily furrowed her brows, even reflexively lifting her hand to pinch her waist, which made her instinctively realize where she was.

She had just used a story to coax Su Wanqiu to take a nap; because telling it was too tiring, she herself had unknowingly fallen asleep.

Then she had a nightmare.

In the dream, it was Shen Jinglan losing vision, smell, hearing those… in Fufeng being attacked by rebelling commoners, betrayed by the imperial guards around her, infected by the sick, finally collapsing in a pool of bl00d.

Everywhere was glaring red.

Even turning the embroidered deep red python-patterned robe with strange expressions that she had worn when she first woke up into a deeper red.

She was pinched very painfully by Su Wanqiu but did not dodge her movement, because this female protagonist with a sadistic tendency liked more when others, after being slapped on one cheek, offered the other cheek as well.

In the short two days following Su Wanqiu—

Ye Fuguang felt as if her whole body was about to have no intact piece of flesh left.

She woodenly lifted her hand and patted Su Wanqiu’s back; seeing the other party gradually relax her furrowed brows under this light coaxing and also loosen the force pinching her, she then lowered her eyelids.

Tears overflowed from the bottom of her eyes one by one.

Only at this time could she completely allow her worry for Shen Jinglan to show, even letting the fear of these two days flow out together in these tears.

But Ye Fuguang did not just want to cry.

After those terrible, sad emotions came out, what remained in her heart was the bedrock washed by these millions of silent tears, symbolizing firm bedrock.

—

—She had to escape.

She realized this point无比 firmly.

She had to leave from Su Wanqiu and return to Shen Jinglan’s side, because she was Shen Jinglan’s medicine, the good medicine for Prince Qi to continue her life.

“As my Qianyuan, the princess consort should not protect me?”

“This prince cannot leave you.”

“As long as this prince lives one day, you live one day.”

…

The words Shen Jinglan had said to her before surfaced in her ears.

Ye Fuguang thought of the times she acted spoiled with her, made requests of her, joked asking her not to leave, every time receiving responses; somehow, only until now did she realize that Shen Jinglan really held her in the palm of her hand; those serious listenings and pamperings, even the occasional mischievous bullying, were all painless and itchless…

Clearly also in a high position, yet different from these power holders who decided others’ life and death fates based on their joys, angers, sorrows, and pleasures; it turned out Shen Jinglan was so special, different from everyone in this world.

Only Shen Jinglan made her heart move, easily pulling her into an emotional vortex.

Making her think of her every moment, really wanting to return to her side.

Ye Fuguang thought and thought, slowly shedding all her tears, very lightly touching the swollen information gland skin at her back neck.

—Although she did not know why Jixiang did not know that her information gland had already healed, letting Su Wanqiu say those words “she knows you are in pain yet makes you in pain every time,” but this was the only information asymmetry that Ye Fuguang grasped.

A congenitally deficient little waste Qianyuan now needed to rely on her own information fragrance to create a miracle for turning the tables.

Before that, she still needed to first unseal this sealed acupoint.

She thought of that man who gave her an extra piece of gauze.