Chapter 545 - Pig Banquet (1/2)
“You still have some wounds on your body...how about, you come to my family’s residence to change the dressing on your wounds and also take some pills to heal your inner injuries? In two days, don’t you have to go out to sea to patrol ah? Take the time to carefully nurse your wounds in these two days. Otherwise, how will you be able to protect the country well? In my opinion, you should stay at my family’s residence and I’ll create a special regimen to treat your body and make some medicinal cuisine to nourish you!” Yu Xiaocao was truly worried about Zhao Han’s injuries. If more pirates came over like last year, it would be very dangerous for him to fight him with half-healed wounds!
As she talked, she acted as if she was a child again and pulled on Zhao Han’s sleeve as they went back up the road. Her four maidservants naturally followed her blindly and grouped around the two people as they headed towards the Yu Residence.
“Eh, why did that la.s.s Xiaocao come back?” A bunch of married matrons were currently congregated at the foot of the wall, sunning themselves as they mended shoes. Their expressions changed when they saw a tall and st.u.r.dy man next to Yu Xiaocao.
“It’s Hunter Zhao’s son...no no, now he is a great general. I heard the Zhao Family’s son is also a small official and is in charge of a hundred men now!”
“The Zhao Family’s youngster had a good relations.h.i.+p with the Yu Family’s children in the past. He used to bring Xiaocao and her younger brother all the time into the mountain to trap hares and wild pheasants. When the Yu Family was in difficulty, if they didn’t have the game to supplement their meals, they might not have survived until now!”
“This Zhao Family’s youngster will likely become a high-ranking general in the future. He’s only a few years older than Xiaocao. A general and a royal princess...these two seem quite fit for each other!” There was never a lack of gossip in the village.
“Shhh! Luckily, Royal Prince Yang didn’t come back this time. If he heard you say that, he would sentence you to twenty planks to shut your mouth! Who in the village doesn’t know that Royal Prince Yang treats Xiaocao in a different way. Many people all say that Xiaocao will become Royal Prince Yang’s concubine in the future!”
“Stop speaking nonsense! Xiaocao is now a royal princess that the emperor himself t.i.tled. How could she possibly become the mere concubine of someone? In my eyes, I’m pretty sure she could become his princess consort!”
“What good is it to marry into a prince’s residence? Any of the wealthier men in town, as long as they have a bit of status, have a bunch of concubines in their inner courtyard. Everyday they fight and scheme constantly. Isn’t that so exhausting? In my eyes, it’s better for her to go for the Zhao Family’s son. Their two families are close and they grew up together. The roots are already there. Even if the youth takes in a few concubines in the future, the Zhao Family won’t treat Xiaocao unfairly!”
……
The group of matrons became more and more exhilarated the more they gossiped. They were now divided into two groups. One group approved of Xiaocao marrying into the prince’s estate to become his princess consort, whereas the other group felt that it was better for her to marry into the Zhao Family and live comfortably. Neither side gave way to the other and they all started to quarrel endlessly for a period of time.
When Xiaocao brought Zhao Han home, she found out that it would be hard for him to clean and dress the wounds on his back, so she wanted to help him. However, her maidservants expelled her out. Men and women should not have close contact after the age of seven. Their young miss would be fourteen after the New Years but she still didn’t know how to be even a little bit discreet. Finally, the youngest of the bunch, Yingchun, had been pushed out to treat the wounds on Zhao Han’s back.
Almost half of his back had the criss-cross marks of vicious looking wounds and the sight of it scared the slightly bashful Yingchun. He also had another deep wound that was likely caused by the stab of a sharp sword. It was in the area of his lungs. No wonder Young Master Zhao seemed to be breathing with a bit of difficulty earlier. After being around her master, who was skilled at medicine, Yingchun had naturally picked a few things up and knew the basics of treating injuries.
She used her young miss’s special ‘disinfecting water’ to wash Young Master Zhao’s wounds and then spread a thick layer of the wound balm that her young miss personally made onto his back. Following that, she wrapped him back up with some clean gauze.
Outside the room, Wutong was currently carefully reminding her mistress, “Young Miss, you’ve almost reached a marriageable age, so it’s best if you keep your distance away from men. Although Young Master Zhao was your childhood playmate, he’s still a man…”
“I already know what you speak of! However, there is one thing you need to remember: a doctor must be compa.s.sionate. I’m not only a young girl but I’m also a doctor. Even if my patient is a man, I can’t just let him suffer and not save him, right?” Yu Xiaocao rolled her eyes at the maid and took out a bunch of medicinal ingredients from her medicine box. She wrote down a few prescriptions and gave the ingredients to Wutong and said, “In a moment, you won’t have to come along to view the pig slaughter. Help me concoct this medication for Older Brother Han ah.”
“Eh? Young Miss, didn’t you say earlier that you wanted to bring this servant along to widen my horizons ah? This servant really wants to taste the pig banquet ah!” Wutong revealed a long-suffering expression on her face but still took the medicinal ingredients given to her without any reluctance.
Yu Xiaocao refused to acknowledge her own pettiness and solemnly said, “What’s so interesting about watching them kill a whole pig? It’s so b.l.o.o.d.y and I don’t want you to get scared! When you’re done concocting the medicine and helping Older Brother Han take it, you can come along with him. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to save a seat for you.” As she spoke, she also gave the maid a look that clearly said, ‘How’s that? Isn’t your master quite clever ah?’
At this time, Zhao Han exited Yu Hang’s room with Yingchun following him with the wound balm in hand. Yu Xiaocao came forward and said, “Older Brother Han, it must not be comfortable resting on the s.h.i.+p, right? Drink this cup of honey water and you can take a nap in my older brother’s room. When the pig banquet is just about ready, I’ll have someone come over to bring you guys over!”