During the commotion happening inside the base, the soldiers were able to apprehend some of the bandits while they took back their camp.
Yuan Fu was able to mend Teacher Zhou Lin's wounds, while the other students were capable of taking care of their minor injuries.
Thankfully, they were medical scholars, so it wasn't much of a problem for them to take care of each other.
"I requested you to bring these herbs to mend the soldiers in the first place before coming here, so it's good that you brought plenty." Teacher Zhou Lin presented to Yuan Fu and the other scholars who bobbed their heads. They all looked disheveled. They borrowed the soldiers' set of clothes.
They all knew that they learned their lesson today. It was more than a book and knowing how to remedy someone of their illness. It was having the fearlessness to stand up and support others when death can come to them. Some of the scholars realized their task, as they did their best to their ability to help the injured soldiers that fought the battle.
"It's all thanks to Su Yi's instruction that we were able to get this much. I didn't expect to get as much as this." One of the scholars explained to Teacher Zhou Lin.
"Yes. Su Yi felt like one of the teachers. After our trip together, I began to admire him! I need to read more books and go out to explore myself, too." Another one praised Suyin.
They all smiled at each other, thankful for the knowledge that Suyin had shared knowledge with them to support each other.
Teacher Zhou Lin lit a small smile, as he tended to the injured soldier.
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It was already dark. The torches and campfire burned around the camp base while the gruesome stench of blood and sweat blended in the base. A few bodies were piled up to dispose of in front of the gates. Soldiers wandered around the base of the camp, making sure that they had disposed of all of the bandits while others relaxed at the campfire.
Weizhe crossed his arms, stowing his sword to his chest as his head slowly dropped, snoozing off in front of the large main tent.
Inside, Suyin had fallen asleep at the side of Qin Fuhua, who never left his side. Her hands were dyed green from the herb that she frequently changed for Qin Fuhua's wound.
Suyin didn't tend her wounds despite Yuan Fu's proposal to switch spots with her. She didn't have the time to worry about anyone else but to mend Qin Fuhua's injuries.
Qin Fuhua was sweating profusely, breathing heavily. His eyes were shut, but he kept moving his head. This awoke Suyin, her eyes opening in a flash. She got up, moving her hands swiftly to touch Qin Fuhua's head with the back of her hand.
"Oh no."
Qin Fuhua was running a fever, fighting off the wound infection from his injury. Suyin was half awake, but got up and grabbed some water from the side, pouring it into a smaller bowl as she wiped his forehead with a small, clean cloth.
Qin Fuhua's breathing was now slow as he calmed down.
Suyin has never seen the vulnerable side of Qin Fuhua before, so she was concerned that he may have been heavily wounded. She continued to wipe his forehead. With every wipe, she would dip it in the water and squeeze out the excess.
Qin Fuhua was wearing a thin layer of his inner garment so that Suyin could easily access his wound if he needed a new change of dressing. Suyin was worried that this was going to happen, so she had prepared ahead of time in case a wound infection occurred.
Suyin continued to wipe his head, neck, and then his body. Each side with a new, clean cloth. Her fingers were smudged green, with a grinder at the side of the table.
Suyin didn't want to disturb Yuan Fu or anyone else, because they were preoccupied with mending the other soldiers. Suyin knew that if Qin Fuhua didn't take the hit, she would have been the one in his stead instead.
Suyin held her stomach, aching in pain. Suyin had been trying the herbs in case they were poisoned, paranoid that someone may harm him.
Although it wasn't much, the stomach pain was a side effect of someone healthy who didn't need this herb. Suyin knew what the consequences were, but the risk of losing Qin Fuhua to others trying to harm him did not compare to Suyin's troubles at the moment.
Suyin had quit testing the herbs once she began grinding the herbs by hand.
"Brother." Yuan Fu was outside of the tent. "May I come in?" Yuan Fu requested.
"Come in," Suyin answered.
Yuan Fu walked in with a tray of food: some rice, stir-fried vegetables, and some cooked meat from the fire. He set it on the table and saw that Suyin had been grinding up the herbs herself.
He noticed Suyin was clasping onto her stomach. The pain was throbbing at her left side, but she held the discomfort in.
Yuan Fu knew instantly what she had done. "You... tried the herbs, huh?" He said, glimpsing at the herbs and then back to Suyin.
Suyin turned to him, nodding. "It was to make sure that it was the right herb."
Yuan Fu sighed, his eyes shut while he shook his head. "You need to take care of yourself too if you want to take care of the Prince." Yuan Fu lectured. "You are my brother*, how could I let you suffer like this if we aren't sworn siblings?" He was lecturing her, but his voice was faint and low so that it wouldn't rouse the Prince.
"I'm sorry."
Suyin didn't know what to say. She knew better. She did not need to test the herbs, but Suyin was afraid to lose Qin Fuhua if someone had done something to him. She was paranoid, and she was being unreasonable.
Suyin didn't get sufficient sleep, and because of that, her mind wasn't thinking correctly*. Yuan Fu advised her to rest, but Suyin still didn't want to.
(*Author's note: PLEASE. Getting enough sleep is always good for you! Yes, I'm talking about you readers too!)
"I fell asleep before I got up." Suyin responded, "I will sleep right after I take care of the Prince." Suyin gave him a pleading look.
Yuan Fu was upset at Suyin's stubbornness but then sighed at her. He then darted away, shaking his head. "Fine. But if something happens to you, too, I'm going to tell the Prince." he threatened.
Suyin lowered her head, smiling. "Yes."
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[Next Day]
The pain still lingered on. Despite Suyin eating food to help reduce the intensity of the stomach ache, the throb came from time to time. Suyin's wrist was bruised, the dry blood on her wrist from the ropes being tied to her, and the bruising of her lips were apparent. Suyin felt sore from the day before, feeling worse than ever.
Qin Fuhua woke up in the company of the sunlight coming into the tent. He opened one eye, raising his head to see the sight of Han Suyin resting at the side of the bed. Half of her body relaxed at the side, her hands holding onto a towel with a small, thin blanket covering her shoulders.
Qin Fuhua slowly raised his right arm, going to her as he closed his left eye. He was in pain but wanted to confirm that what he was seeing in front of him was real or he was just dreaming.
His large hand reached to the small, petite Suyin's head. Her hair was in a messy bun, as she slept soundly. As gently as he could, he caressed her head.
It wasn't a dream after all.
Suyin immediately woke up, this time, her eyes staring directly at Qin Fuhua. Before Qin Fuhua could do anything or say something, Suyin clutched onto the towel.
"You're awake."
Her eyes were darting for the bowl of water, but it was probably already too cold. Thanks to the help of Yuan Fu the night before, he offered to help her with the little things such as switching the water, giving her food, and providing aid when needed.
Qin Fuhua nodded his head. He then relaxed his head on the pillow.
"Are you in pain?"
Suyin questioned. Sounding like an imperial Doctor, Qin Fuhua shook his head. His eyes peeked at the sight of Suyin, rushing to squeeze the water out.
Both of her sleeves were tugged back to her shoulders, but it exposed all of the bruises on her face and wrist. Qin Fuhua's eyes couldn't let go of the vision of her wrist.
He reached out to hold her hands, stopping her tracks. "Stop."
Suyin shifted her attention to look at him. Qin Fuhua could see that she had bags under her eyes and the sides of her mouth were dark red and purple.
Suyin shook him off, attempting to wipe his face with the towel.
"I command you to stop." He hauled her close to him, making her fall on top of him.
Suyin's face was close to Qin Fuhua, who was still resting on the ground. "Will you follow my command or will I have to force you?" His eyes followed her eyes to her lips.
Suyin pushed him off, but as she did, she put a strain on his injury, causing him to groan in pain.
"Sorry" She apologized. She had forgotten for a second that Qin Fuhua was injured. Just seeing him and talking to him made her forget about everything for a second.
Qin Fuhua leisurely drove himself up with both of his arms by his side, sitting. "Will you come here, now?"
He positioned his right hand over his left ribs, feeling the cloth. He could feel a strong, immense sense of pain lingering on his ribs, but then it didn't disturb him at all. Qin Fuhua didn't like the sight of Suyin's wounds.
Suyin obediently walked to him, her eyes looking like a puppy that did something wrong.
Qin Fuhua didn't know what to do with this woman. The expression that Suyin had given him made him want to embrace her even more.
He sighed, waving his right hand inward as he rolled his eyes.
Suyin then came closer, to the point where she was dragged to the side of the bed. Suyin was sitting down next to him now.
Qin Fuhua was still holding onto his left rib but had the energy to turn his body to her. He pushed both of Suyin's hands down, which she instantly threw to the side of her hips.
He peeked outside, the wind briefly blowing to reveal Weizhe's back to the entrance to the tent.
"Weizhe, grab me some of my medicine."
Weizhe directly came in, pulling out a round, golden ceramic jar. It was the size of a small compact mirror, designed with a black dragon wrapping the jar.
Suyin could tell it looked expensive, and her eyes widened at the sight of the jar.
"No." Suyin refused his offer. Whatever it was, Suyin didn't want it.
"Shh."
Weizhe bit his lips to hide his large smile behind his face. Weizhe felt like a child catching their parents being affectionate to each other.
He observed, as if this was a Chinese soap opera, his hands interlocked together with his feet moving up and down.
Qin Fuhua flashed a look at him, expressing his desire for Weizhe to get out of the room.
Weizhe yielded, stepping backward while he watched the two. He winked at Qin Fuhua and then vanished as the entrance of the tent closed on him.
Qin Fuhua opened the small, ceramic jar, revealing its contents.
Lip balm?
No.
It was medication for Suyin.
"Apply this, and you won't get any scars when it heals." Qin Fuhua declared. He swiped a generous amount on his index finger, his attention to the Suyin's injury on her lips.
"Qin Fuhua, I... uh."
"This was given by one of the village chiefs during a war I once battled when I was young. It has not come to use until now."
Qin Fuhua's longing eyes darted to hers. She could feel herself beginning to fume but tried to stay calm.
The components of witnessing Qin Fuhua face to face made Suyin feel astonished. The pupil of his eyes was perfectly large, dark brown, his eyebrows never wrinkling at her. Tranquil like the waves pushing against the sand softly, his lips were pale due to his injury and fever, but they never cracked a single dryness. His jawline was a beautiful V-line, his hair falling to the sides of his face while Suyin held her breath.
His face was a God-given gift from above!
Her eyes peeked straight to his lips again, while Qin Fuhua slowly grazed the sides of her lips.
Suyin felt stinging pain right as Qin Fuhua touched the bruise, causing her to ache in pain.
"Sst"
Suyin tried to hold in the pain, bouncing a bit as she shut her eyes.
Qin Fuhua was startled. For once, his expression looked like a child who got in trouble. His eyes widened and his hands moved back immediately.
"Was I too harsh?" He asked, his voice faint, yet soft.
"Mn." Suyin shook her head. "I didn't mean to scare you."
Qin Fuhua froze, not moving a single inch toward Suyin because he didn't know his strength. With a female as delicate as Suyin (In Qin Fuhua's perspective), he was afraid of hurting her.
Suyin silently observed Qin Fuhua's behavior, but then chuckled at him, her eyes glancing down at the ground for a second.
Her hair moved down with her head, as she stared back up at Qin Fuhua. She then moved her hair behind her ears.
"I'm okay. If you're afraid, I can do it on my own"
As soon as Suyin told Qin Fuhua that she could mend her injuries, Qin Fuhua directly reached out his hand, holding the side of her jaw with great care.
He softly brushed the side of her jaws with his thumb, his eyes following the line of Suyin's jaws to her lips.
Butterflies were flying in Suyin's stomach, her eyes widened with a surprise on her face.
Qin Fuhua's expression never changed. He was conscious of his actions. He brushed more medication from the jar on his index finger on his left, while he held Suyin's jaw on his right. Qin Fuhua leaned closer to Suyin, near to her lips as he slowly touched the medication on the side of her lips.
As he finished, Qin Fuhua's head steadily inched closer to Suyin's face.
The two sat on a futon bed that was supplied by the soldiers after reclaiming the base. Suyin's heart was beating so fast, it felt like her heart could pop out from her chest at any moment. The butterflies were tingling in her stomach as if they were playing cords of the guzheng.
Suyin couldn't bring herself to move away from this man.
The closer Qin Fuhua's lips inched near to Suyin's lips, the two's hearts were fluttering in harmony.
Time froze as the two felt like they gazed into each other's hearts for years, yearning for each other.
"My brother! Some of the citizens nearby heard about what had happened and wanted to donate---"
Yuan Fu was holding a box of brown paper bags of food, setting foot in the tent before he laid his eyes on the Qin Fuhua and Suyin.
Suyin rapidly got up, patting her hanfu while Qin Fuhua scowled at Yuan Fu from the corner of his eyes, his back still facing Yuan Fu.
Yuan Fu detected the atmosphere and abruptly circled. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. I shall be asking for death if I dare to come in without asking!" He shouted, dashing out of the tent before Suyin could even explain what was going on.
Suyin smiled at the empty space of the entrance to the tent, biting her lower lip with humiliation. How would she face Yuan Fu now? She knew that he was going to tease her for sure about this.
With Suyin's back facing the Prince, he became irked due to the interruption. He pulled Suyin back to him and fell back onto the Prince's lap. Seating up and goggling at the half-naked Prince of Qin, he then lit a smug smile at Suyin.
"Now, where did we stop?"