After Becoming the Cannon Fodder Live-in Spouse A (GL) - Chapter 51: The Fifty-First Day

Chapter 51: The Fifty-First Day

Su Wanqiu woke up to find that Ye Fuguang had no idea how long she had been lying quietly beside her.

She still carried the drowsiness from just waking up from a midday nap, gathering up those thorny barbs she usually showed, and showed a rare peacefulness. She lifted her hand to tuck a stray lock of hair behind the ear of the person in front of her.

The afternoon sunlight outside the window was blocked by the window lattice paper, gathering over in a hazy blur, wrapping Ye Fuguang in it. The curled-up figure looked light and floating, giving the illusion that it was hard to grasp.

So Su Wanqiu suddenly felt a bit unhappy again.

Since the fall of the previous dynasty’s Great Xia, though she bore the identity of a wanted princess from the previous dynasty, when the Shen family army attacked Yong’an back then, her identity had been replaced by Aunt Xunfang’s own child, confirmed as dead—

Later, Xunfang took her back to her hometown, serving her as if serving a monarch. Then she took her to the Great Zhi’s old lands in the grassland king’s court, and she happened to bring an auspicious sign, making the king’s court priests revere her as a saintess, becoming the highest status person besides the Great Zhi king and the priests. Even now, Guishuang was the most rising and worst-tempered among all the Great Zhi king’s children, yet she had to be polite to her.

It could be said that though Su Wanqiu was no longer a princess, except for those days of fleeing when young, the rest of the time she still lived like a princess, with people around her obeying her every whim. There was still nothing in this world she could not get, including that Yong’an City that had changed hands, which had once been her familiar home.

Now, feeling this ungraspable sensation on a little waste who obeyed her every whim, Su Wanqiu instinctively wanted to break her hands and feet to make this illusion disappear. But just as her fingertips moved to the back of the little pet’s neck, she heard Ye Fuguang draw in a sharp breath.

Then she lifted her eyelids and said in a dazed voice, “You… woke up?”

Su Wanqiu hummed, but did not let her get up to call someone over. Instead, she lifted her hand to press her head down, and then she saw the reddened skin under her collar, almost like an allergy.

She realized it too late.

She remembered Mi Yun’s earlier reminder, saying that even if this Qianyuan’s gland was incomplete, after sealing her acupoints, one still could not touch too much of the skin near the gland, or it would easily break the person.

Regarding the changes after Qianyuan and Dikun differentiation, even medical books did not have much detailed record, because people in ancient times simply did not have so many genders. It was said that later, in some dynasty, people underwent changes, and only now were medical books slowly summarizing and recording these genders.

In short, current medical books’ strange tales recorded that some Qianyuan and Dikun with strong glands, after their glands were sealed, due to qi and bl00d reversal and emotional instability, went mad or died suddenly, and there were cases of both.

Su Wanqiu initially had not planned to keep this little waste for long, thinking she would soon get tired of her, so she did not care how long she lived. But now she was in the heat of it, thought for a moment, and said, “Let Mi Yun come take a look at you.”

Her fingertips brushed over Ye Fuguang’s cheek. “Anyway, if you do not break the skin, there will be no pheromone scent. You are so afraid of pain, so you should not hurt yourself just to get revenge on me, right?”

Ye Fuguang nodded lightly.

…

Not long after.

Mi Yun was summoned into the hall again. When he arrived carrying his medicine box, he glanced at Su Wanqiu without a trace. Though he had already witnessed her willfulness and disregard for others, thinking of the cost if this saintess had an accident, he pressed his tongue against his back molars.

Still, he showed a very sunny smile, even revealing his two dimples, as if he did not remember the previous friction. After saluting, he suggested mildly,

“Little princess.”

“There are no usable wells left in the city. If we do not leave tomorrow, we will have to stay in Jiangning forever.”

Su Wanqiu’s brows furrowed a bit. Though she really hated this guy’s nagging, she also knew he was right. The only regret was, “The watchers have not sent back any news yet?”

What she wanted was news that Shen Jinglan was already dead.

Mi Yun paused. “Still not.”

Su Wanqiu irritably tsked. “Really hard to kill.”

She often did not understand what kind of monster Shen Jinglan was. The same Three Spring Life poison, even the strongest Qianyuan in the grassland king’s court would go mad without the antidote, yet she could wake up, and happened to encounter a Qianyuan pheromone scent that could suppress her remaining poison. Now that she had entered that plague city Fufeng, how could she still linger on?

The person below did not answer.

◣

Instead, she herself figured it out quickly. “Got it. We will set off first thing tomorrow morning.”

Then, she waved her hand at Mi Yun, signaling him to quickly go check on Ye Fuguang and not obstruct her view here.

Seeing that she had listened to his suggestion, Mi Yun let out a breath of relief. He also resignedly looked toward Ye Fuguang, thinking that this little princess was becoming more and more like Prince Guishuang, always liking to leave the people around her covered in wounds—

Then he saw the abnormality on the back of Ye Fuguang’s neck and understood. So it was the problem from the earlier sealed gland.

However.

For a Qianyuan with an incomplete gland, did sealing the acupoints cause such abnormality so easily?

Just as the doubt rose in his mind, Mi Yun saw Ye Fuguang biting her lower lip and turning her head away, with fingerprints pinched on her cheek.

He suddenly understood.

It was probably some strange hobby of Su Wanqiu that had tormented her into this state.

Mi Yun’s doubts cleared, but his heart remained very cold. His earlier sympathy for this person did not conflict with now abandoning the other for Su Wanqiu’s safety. He confirmed, “Though it is indeed a symptom caused by gland blockage, it does not hinder the princess from being with her. Or do you plan to bring this person back to the king’s court?”

“Hmm?”

Su Wanqiu tilted her head. “Not a bad suggestion.”

She seemed to think of an idea. “Just right to bring back for Guishuang to see. My little pet is cuter than those she caught, and she is a super obedient Qianyuan.”

Mi Yun: “…”

I think you want to anger Prince Guishuang to death.

–

No matter what, while Ye Fuguang listened to their conversation with her heart in her throat, perhaps it was the effect of that incense stick at Xiangguo Temple. In the end, things still went as she wished. Her sealed acupoints were unsealed, but she pinched her palm hard, using the pain to force herself not to leak even a bit of pheromone scent.

Mi Yun lifted his gaze to look at her, thinking she really was, as Su Wanqiu said, a very pain-fearing little waste.

After the acupuncture session finished, he pulled out his silver needles one by one, wanting to pack up his usual set of tools and leave. But he saw the always quiet Ye Fuguang suddenly speak up. “Mr. Mi, may I… borrow one silver needle?”

Su Wanqiu, who was lazily waiting in the outer room for the maid to peel lychees for her, also turned her eyes.

Mi Yun asked, “How? Do you know medicine?”

Ye Fuguang shook her head, loosening the bandages wrapped around her wrist layer by layer, revealing the partially scabbed wound above, with fragments of previously chafed skin beside it. She tried to say, “She… the princess, should not like me keeping scars. The碎皮 around here, I think I can pick them off with a silver needle?”

Mi Yun: “?”

Say that again, what do you want to use my needle for?

His pupils shook. For an instant, he really wanted to crack open Ye Fuguang’s head to see what was inside, the physical kind of cracking open.

Instead, Su Wanqiu suddenly laughed out, as if amused by her. “I think I did not tell you my identity. Why are you also calling princess?”

Ye Fuguang did not know how to answer, looking at her with a dazed expression of “going with the flow.”

Su Wanqiu inexplicably felt her mood brighten a lot again. She found she really quite liked this little dog that always gave her surprises. So she raised her chin at Mi Yun. “Then give her one. I want to see how she plans to use your needle.”

Mi Yun for the second time: “?”

He wanted to curse, because these fine silver needles had been hard to have craftsmen make back then. Though there were several spares for each length and thickness, after all, these were silver needles used up one by one.

As if guessing what he was thinking, Su Wanqiu chuckled lightly. “Do not be so stingy. I remember that dog emperor rewarded you with a set of pure gold ones.”

Because of her unique curse, Ye Fuguang rarely felt a subtle resonance with her.

Mi Yun had nothing to say, wooden-faced letting her pick, and found she chose a medium-length fine needle. He then meaningfully gestured that she could try now to see if she could even prick off a strand of thin skin from her wrist.

Ye Fuguang pretended not to understand, poking with that fine needle, pricking herself painfully in the flesh, but the needle did not pierce through even a bit of thin skin. And when she gritted her teeth to try harder, the super soft silver needle had already begun to bend.

—This was natural, because this kind of needling required some stored strength in the fingertips, and also a bit of nimble ruthlessness. If one just let the needle poke randomly on one’s surface skin like this, not only would it prick super painfully, but it would also likely be very hard to prick into the flesh.

Mi Yun leisurely extended his hand toward her. “Can return it to me now?”

Ye Fuguang looked at the needle with a puzzled gaze, then at the wound on her wrist, looking reluctant, as if not convinced and wanting to try again.

Mi Yun thus turned to look at Su Wanqiu. “How? You like her so much, but for handling a wound, such a small thing, no one serves her?”

Su Wanqiu answered matter-of-factly, “Of course there is.”

But the Jixiang she ordered to serve Ye Fuguang, the little pet seemed not to like very much.

Just hearing her say that if she did not want that person to serve, then Jixiang was just an extra mouth eating rice in this mansion. Better to bury her in the yard as flower fertilizer, and save having to stuff another useless maid into the carriage when traveling.

Also because of this, Ye Fuguang no longer showed dislike for Jixiang, but was very cold, not as close to her as in the prince’s mansion before.

In short, Su Wanqiu happily hooked her lip, settling it with one hammer. “Just a single needle—”

“Let her keep it to play with.”

Mi Yun looked at her, wanting to say something but stopping.

Finally, after recalling all the fatal acupoints on the human body, and weighing this Qianyuan’s courage and strength, he thought, fine, the little princess deserves to learn a lesson.

…

The little princess seemed extremely generous.

Even without knowing where Ye Fuguang hid that needle, in the evening she still chose to share the bed with her. But in the middle of her continuing the story, as if suddenly remembering something, she smiled while touching her face and asked, “You know a mere needle cannot hurt me, right?”

Ye Fuguang was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

Su Wanqiu pillowed her arm, eyes half-closed, looking very leisurely as she said, “I actually hope you do some stupid things. That way I would have a chance to let you experience the price of making a move on me.”

Though when the little dog did not make mistakes, she could actually torment the other as she wished.

But how to say it, every time she saw those pitiful eyes, it would make Su Wanqiu feel a strange guilt, even though she was not affected by this feeling.

She still looked forward more to—

Seeing this soft face show annoyance, fear, and regret, then weep and beg her, crying like pear blossoms in rain, beautiful beyond measure, constantly admitting wrong, swearing never to leave her again, that wonderful scene.

Moreover, by then, she could righteously and justifiably not let this little pet go. After all, for someone who made a mistake, receiving punishment was proper.

Thinking of this, Su Wanqiu felt she really lacked such an opportunity.

So she held Ye Fuguang’s finger and placed it on the sun acupoint at her temple, telling her, “As long as decisive enough, with the length of the needle you took, fully inserting it here, perhaps could kill me.”

When her words were halfway, actually Ye Fuguang was already pulling her hand back.

Su Wanqiu slowly opened her eyes. Clearly a very pure face, yet because of that bright, red and bewitching little mole, it became extremely seductive.

She carefully examined Ye Fuguang’s brows and eyes, but did not find in them any hatred or killing intent toward her, nor any attachment or indulgence.

Nothing at all.

This suddenly made her a bit unable to understand Ye Fuguang, not knowing what she really planned to do.

But it did not matter. Tomorrow they would leave this city, heading north to rendezvous with Guishuang, preparing afterward to go demand the tribute from the treaty from the Great Dynasty’s emperor. She knew the Great Dynasty definitely could not pay the money.

War would soon start again.

And Ye Fuguang would be the cutest little pet following by her side.

–

All of Su Wanqiu’s earlier conversations with Mi Yun had not deliberately avoided people, so Ye Fuguang could hear everything clearly. Thus she knew that after leaving this city, it would be even harder for her to go to Shen Jinglan.

She had to seize every opportunity—

After finishing the story and coaxing Su Wanqiu to sleep, she also closed her eyes, forcing herself to sleep, even though she had some insomnia in this place. But she needed to conserve physical strength and energy for tomorrow’s journey.

The morning rooster broke dawn, the golden crow leaped out of the clouds.

The entire mansion had already been cleaned up by the servants, leaving no suspicious traces. Ye Fuguang followed by Su Wanqiu’s side, and when walking out the gate, she only then knew they had brought so many soldiers, and each one was a strong and robust Qianyuan.

Great Zhi was different from the Central Plains. When they could not plunder commoners as slaves to help herd cattle and sheep and farm, they could only use their own Zhongjun in the clan to do the work, while fat horses and military merits naturally belonged to the Qianyuan. They were best at mounted combat and attacking cities, not good at defense, so unlike the Central Plains that needed large numbers of infantry, requiring Zhongjun to also enlist.

In other words.

Now all the people here, except Su Wanqiu and the Dikun serving her, plus one Zhongjun Jixiang serving Ye Fuguang, the rest were all Qianyuan.

They also carried the foreign race’s facial features, so each wore a conical hat and scarf, covering their faces.

She withdrew her gaze, looking at Jixiang who stuck close to her without leaving a step.

Then expressionlessly entered the carriage with Su Wanqiu.

Su Wanqiu played with the part of her long hair that still hung down after she had tied it up, saying, “We are about to leave Jiangning. This is your hometown. Do you not feel reluctant?”

Ye Fuguang thought for a moment, then asked sincerely, “Where is Fufeng?”

The person who had been curling her long hair with her fingers suddenly let her hand fall down a bit, tugging her hair painfully, while glancing out the window. “Did not expect you still miss her so much.”

“I thought the princess would want to know what kind of expression I would show when completely leaving her.” Thanks to the many descriptions from Su Wanqiu’s perspective in the original work, even if she exposed some malice never shown in the work, Ye Fuguang could indeed be considered the person in this world who understood her the most.

Su Wanqiu pondered for a moment, then laughed. “You are quite good at guessing my thoughts.”

But later she did not mention anything related to Shen Jinglan again. Instead, she took out a stack of fried beans from the small cabinet beside the carriage and placed it in front of Ye Fuguang. “Because you mentioned a name that displeases me, for these three days, you can only eat this.”

…

The convoy proceeded unimpeded.

Even when leaving Jiangning City, there were commoners lining the roads to see them off, as if Su Wanqiu was the one sent by the court to save them. They did not even know whose corpse was first thrown into the city wells, only knowing that when the saintess came, they had lingered on from near starvation until now.

After traveling who knows how long.

When Ye Fuguang was again jolted until her brains seemed about to shake out, biting those hard beans that hurt her teeth, she heard Su Wanqiu suddenly lift the curtain and look out.

“This place should be the post station closest to Fufeng. Following the river downstream, ten li and you reach Fufeng.”

She glanced at Ye Fuguang. “But you are not good at water, nor can you ride a horse. Even if I let you run a li first, you would be caught back by them.”

Ye Fuguang nodded. “Yes.”

She said, “Can the carriage rest here for a bit? I am about to be jolted to vomit.”

Su Wanqiu showed a disgusted expression, shooing her down while having Jixiang bring people to watch her. Even if she just went to the riverbank to gaze into the distance, behind her there were at least five Qianyuan soldiers eyeing her watchfully.

The river water rolled.

As if it could carry people’s thoughts downstream too.

Ye Fuguang stood for a long time, easing that heavy-headed light-footed feeling, the sensation of still jolting even after getting down from the carriage. Then Jixiang behind her reminded very lightly, “Wangfei, it is time to return.”

Actually, the maids by Su Wanqiu’s side never addressed Ye Fuguang this way, because in their view, as long as she came to Su Wanqiu’s side, Ye Fuguang was no longer the Great Dynasty prince’s side consort from then on.

Only Jixiang seemed not to know how to change.

Calling the river in front actually just because the recent floods were too fierce. Before, this place could only be called a wetland, now it was flooded with rushing waters. And the woman in pink-white clothes was reflected by the water light as if a floating petal.

Looking at the grass leaves by the riverbank washed to lean east and west, she suddenly spoke. “Jixiang, do you know why I never asked deeply about your difficulties?”

The person standing behind her was silent.

Jixiang actually wanted to say she had no difficulties.

She was simply born to serve the princess, taking over her mother’s work, that was all.

But after a while, she said softly, “No matter what, if wangfei this time came out not bringing this slave, but bringing Ruyi, it would not have come to this state.”

“Right—”

Ye Fuguang finally looked at her again, showing a smile with very complex expression. “I always remember, so you should remember this too.”

–

When Ye Fuguang lifted her hand to stick the needle into her own head, the Qianyuan guarding her had not reacted yet.

Because they were only guarding against this person escaping, and when a flash of light appeared in her hand, they thought she was overreaching to attack them. Who knew this little girl just wanted to prick herself. For a moment, no one thought to stop her.

The closest Jixiang stared dazedly at her. “Wangfei…”

She never remembered Ye Fuguang as someone with such self-destructive tendencies.

Or was it that being by the princess’s side was so unbearable for her that she chose to die?

During Jixiang’s stunned moment, Ye Fuguang finished the first prick, unhesitatingly pulled out the needle, and went to prick the next acupoint. Intense pain spread, and with it, thoroughly, was the instantly released sharp pheromone scent—

In the original work’s later period, when Great Zhi’s soldiers could not confront Great Dynasty’s, Mi Yun had used some methods to make Great Zhi’s Qianyuan soldiers extremely powerful, like puppets that knew no death or pain, invincible on the battlefield. Moreover, their pheromone scents once made the Qianyuan in Shen Jingming’s army unable to move, like scarecrows on the battlefield, watching helplessly as blades came.

Of course Ye Fuguang could not get the soaking liquid needed to make such puppets, but she had memorized all the acupoints that could enhance the pheromone scent, because back then she had asked her Chinese medicine friend about this, whether these acupoints really had that effect.

Friend: “…First, we do not have ABO setting. Second, the eight extraordinary meridians are already mysterious enough. The author can make up anything, and no fool would try it.”

Now, the fool preparing to try was staking everything in a world that fit the setting!

Just in the second before those Qianyuan soldiers tried to close in to stop her, Ye Fuguang, unhesitatingly needling up and down, already had several small bl00d beads floating on her skin.

At the same time.

In the eyes of all Great Zhi soldiers, the June sky seemed to suddenly turn overcast. Thick clouds gathered in large patches, white snowflakes drifted down, and just being touched by a piece of snow made them as if plunged into an ice cave, unable to move a bit, including the pheromone illusions they released, which were frozen into ice by the snow.

They stiffened, unable even to lift their linked hands, only able to let layer after layer of snow fall.

Repeatedly covering their heads, shoulders, piling into thick snow heaps, in an instant, submerging them.

And they were not sturdy pine branches. In the blizzard, they could not bear the heavy pressure of snow on their shoulders, one knee uncontrollably half-kneeling down.

Even Mi Yun, who was the strongest among them, looked at Ye Fuguang with shock and uncertainty. “…How could she possibly have such a powerful pheromone scent?”

It even made him feel fear in his heart!

Not to mention

Su Wanqiu, who was a Dikun in the carriage, and the maid by her side, almost fainted under the impact of this powerful Qianyuan pheromone scent. Even Su Wanqiu had signs of being forced into heat.

…

Ye Fuguang stopped the needle at the last acupoint without pulling it out.

Only with this needle in, could her pheromone scent maintain this sweeping-thousands-of-troops posture. As soon as she pulled it out, the infinite potential just squeezed out would instantly disappear.

This needle would follow her movements, slowly sinking into the acupoint, wandering in her meridians, supporting all her actions, until it reached her heart position, killing her, before completely stopping.

But she had no other way.

Ye Fuguang stood by the river, looking at the soldiers near at hand whose faces had turned sauce-purple from holding their breath, yet unable to lift a finger to grab her, and at Jixiang who from start to end could not sense her pheromone scent, but watched her complete all these actions.

Jixiang seemed to already know her choice, calling her with a very complex expression. “Wangfei.”

Ye Fuguang looked at her. “You cannot stop me.”

“…You cannot escape. You do not know how to ride a horse. Running on foot, you also cannot get away.”

“I am not riding a horse.”

“…Then you will drown in this river.”

“Perhaps such is my fate.”

After saying this, Ye Fuguang did not look at her again, unhesitatingly throwing herself into the turbulent river in front. Not long after, the mud and sand rolled in from upstream, broken trees, also poured down following.

When the water color submerged over her head, the pheromone scent she left behind had not yet dissipated.

In the other Qianyuan’s view, she was like a fish diving into the ice-sealed water surface, disappearing without a trace.

After a long time.

The soldiers originally standing by the riverbank finally moved, turning back to ask Mi Yun whether to send people to jump down and search. But Great Zhi’s soldiers were also not good at water, while the remaining people drew arrows from the quivers on their backs.

Mi Yun hurriedly pulled his horse to the carriage side. “Princess?”

Su Wanqiu’s face was flushed red, already showing signs of heat, yet she endured strongly, pressing the area near the gland on the back of her neck, anger almost igniting her pupils.

“Shoot arrows!”

She said, “Since she must die to leave my side, then I will fulfill her. Let her corpse float to keep Shen Jinglan company!”

Mi Yun knew her temperament of destroying what she could not get, expressionless as he lifted his hand to the people around. Then, dozens of long arrows with tail feathers pierced the clear sky, rustling into the water, yet saw no traces, nor any floating bl00d color.

He did not let the soldiers waste more arrows, just thinking of Ye Fuguang’s few actions earlier, pondered and said, “Little princess, you did not say this wangfei knew that kind of sorcery.”

How exactly did she do it?

To make a Qianyuan with incomplete gland erupt with that kind of energy?

If they were still in the city at this moment, perhaps all the Qianyuan and Dikun in Jiangning would think it was snowing in June.

–

Su Wanqiu did not speak.

She was recalling the way Ye Fuguang looked at her last night.

Thinking now, she had already made a decision, so she was so single-minded, with no room for anything else in her eyes.

…What exactly did Shen Jinglan have that was so good? To make that little dog prefer death to not returning to her side?

She was quiet for a moment, a bit of sarcasm appearing in her eyes. “Have Jixiang roll over here.”

And the person she called had already walked to the carriage side.

Jixiang was still thinking of the look in Ye Fuguang’s eyes before jumping into the river. Compared to her decisive action, that look carried apology, as if saying to her, sorry, knowing you might die, I still have to go.

She finally understood wangfei’s words.

In the sound of the turbulent river flow, she calmly accepted her fate of betrayal, abandonment, and now possibly being killed for failing to guard properly.

—Perhaps could only blame fate.

If she had been born a Great Dynasty person, that would be good. Then she could always stay by wangfei’s side.

She actually was willing to exchange one life for one. If her death could let Ye Fuguang live on in that river, then was she not considered a betrayer?