Chương 3: Two Idiot Generals
When morning broke the next day, Lu Qinyi was again called to the room Fei Li was kept in. Fei Li once again wouldn't let anyone near him, still reacting fearfully if anyone got close. And once again, he wouldn't touch the food left at the bedside table for him. Lu Qinyi listened as a servant conveyed this information, before walking over to sit on the bedside once again. Fei Li peered at him from his corner warily.
"Good morning General Fei," he greeted cheerfully as he took up the rice porridge bowl, giving it a stir. He addressed the man by his name again while holding out the previously offered food. "Care for breakfast General Fei?" No reaction.
Lu Qinyi looked between him and the bowl in contemplation. He then testingly ate a spoonful from the bowl before offering it again. This time, Fei Li accepted the bowl, retreating back to his corner before lowering his head to eat the rice porridge.
"Still no trust, hm? After I spent hours fixing you up yesterday too." Although Lu Qinyi was complaining, his voice was light and he didn't at all seem like he was bothered, even the corner of his lip was tilted upward. "I had them sweeten this tea since you seemed to like the one from last night," he commented offhandedly as he traded an empty bowl for a cup of tea he had already poured and sipped from. This time, Fei Li didn't shrink back as far, only shifting back a bit before he sipped at his tea. Just like yesterday, Fei Li finished it quickly and took the initiative to hold out the cup. But before he could take his refilled cup, Lu Qinyi took a sip from a bowl of medicine before pushing it into Fei Li's outstretched hand. The latter's brows furrowed slightly, the corners of his lips turning down almost imperceivably.
"Medicine first, then more tea." Lu Qinyi had an air of prideful arrogance about him as if he had the upper hand, now able to be on the winning side of a bargain with that cup of sweet tea in his grasp. Fei Li downing the medicine in a few mouthfuls only furthered this. Lu Qinyi seemed quite pleased with himself as he handed over the sipped tea. "Alright, as lovely as it is to help you with your breakfast, I have work to do. I'll be back for lunch. Feel free to walk around the room, I had the servants leave out some books and papers for you to amuse yourself with." He was met with the usual blank stares but didn't seem discouraged as he got up from the bed, giving a lazy wave over his shoulder as he left.
As promised, Lu Qinyi returned at lunch time, Zhao Mei and Yang Xun trailing behind him as he entered, his head turned to chat to them over his shoulder. This time, instead of the food being placed on the small table by the bedside, it was laid out on a table in the centre of the room. He sat down at the table, beckoning over Fei Li who hadn't left his corner this whole time. "Come out of that corner would you? Look, there's dumplings for lunch."
"Why do you still bother talking to him? You know it's pointless, General." Zhao Mei commented, looking Fei Li over expressionlessly but her gaze was sharp.
"Loosen up Mei Mei. You're cold enough to chill drinks with." He tilted his head over the backrest of the chair to look at her, his hair dangling down.
"Straighten up General Lu. Can't you at least look the part of a proper general?" She returned without missing a beat. Lu Qinyi only grinned at her.
"Why should I? It's only us three, a servant and a general who you've written off as an idiot."
"Give it up Zhao Mei, there are two idiot generals in this room and it's pointless talking to either of them." Yang Xun added in, instantly earning a scowl from Lu Qinyi who abruptly sat up, turning in his chair to glare at him. Yang Xun had largely ignored Fei Li's existence, refusing to look in the other's direction.
"How dare you speak to your general like that! Where is your respect?" Lu Qinyi fumed but Zhao Mei looked amused, snickering. "Hmph. Hurry and come over General Fei so I can finish my business with these two and be rid of them," he said sulkingly, turning away from his two no good subordinates. Still, Fei Li only stared at them, not moving an inch. So Lu Qinyi picked up a cup, wiggling it with his fingers. "Sweetened tea."
Zhao Mei and Yang Xun looked at their general with mirrored looks of confusion but those two words finally stirred the frozen Fei Li. He slowly crawled out from his corner, avoiding coming anywhere near the other two. His cautious gaze was fixed on them as he sat down at the table across from Lu Qinyi.
Zhao Mei and Yang Xun's astonished gazes turned to ones of caution, each party eyeing each other warily. Lu Qinyi, as per usual, was unbothered. He sipped at the cup of tea, handing it over before picking up a dumpling to take a small bite and handing over the bowl of them as well. Fei Li sipped at his tea, his gaze never breaking. Yang Xun was the first to break this face off, looking away in disgust when Fei Li ate that bitten dumpling. Even Zhao Mei wore a disapproving look. Lu Qinyi was casually reclined, arm laid over the back of the chair as he watched the silent war with some amusement.
"Don't like the dumplings? I can have the chefs make something else," he spoke after seeing that Fei Li hadn't eaten another. Fei Li glanced at him, a silent moment passing before he nudged the bowl in Lu Qinyi's direction. The latter stared at the bowl before it clicked. "You want me to take a bite of each of them before you'll trust they're not poisoned?" He asked. Although Fei Li only stared in response, Lu Qinyi took this as his answer and couldn't hold back a short laugh. "You bastard! You're really making me work just to keep you alive," he swore at him but in truth he seemed greatly amused. However, the faces of both the subordinates behind him darkened.
"You think you can just make General Lu taste test all your food for you? Who do you think you are?!" Yang Xun spat.
"Let him starve." Zhao Mei added, her upper lip curling slightly.
"Although I do feel like my kindness is being abused here, I'm not going to let him starve. He's already proved he is stubborn enough to rather starve to death than eat food he doesn't trust." Lu Qinyi sighed, shaking his head slightly. He then obediently took a bite from each of the dumplings.
"General..." Yang Xun strained to get out, looking to be in disbelief.
"General Lu, you really don't need to lower yourself to such a level." As Zhao Mei voiced this, Yang Xun rapidly nodded his head.
"Yes, exactly." He agreed quickly.
"Relax you two. My dignity will survive taking a bite of some dumplings." But his lack of concern only seemed to worsen their expressions. Fei Li was satisfied however, no longer refusing to eat the dumplings. Lu Qinyi sipped at a cup of tea he had poured for himself, although he only took small sips and seemed to purse his lips after each sip. The other two no longer had anything to say, Zhao Mei looking on expressionlessly while Yang Xun looked at anything but Fei Li. That man who hardly gave any reaction suddenly looked surprised as he bit into another dumpling, his eyes widening.
"I had the kitchens make some sweet dumplings for lunch as well." Lu Qinyi explained, watching Fei Li with interest, the cup held idly in his fingers. Fei Li was quick to pick up another one of the sweet dumplings. Then another. Lu Qinyi had an easy smile, paying no mind to the "You treat him too well" and "Spoiling and doting on your enemy" that were grumbled by his displeased subordinates.
As soon as Fei Li had finished his lunch and before he had the chance to return to the safety of the corner, Dr Liang entered. Fei Li stiffened up but Lu Qinyi seemed to have been waiting for this, placing down his still half full teacup. "Dr Liang is here to check on your wounds and change your bandages." Lu Qinyi explained as he sat up in his seat. Dr Liang saluted in greeting then gave a nod, his anxious gaze falling on Fei Li. He paused before stepping forward. It took less than a moment for Fei Li to stand up so abruptly that his chair fell over, immediately on the defensive. Dr Liang looked helplessly at Lu Qinyi who frowned. "You won't let him treat your wounds? He's much better than I am and a thousand times more trustworthy."
But Fei Li didn't relax, narrowing his eyes as if to tell Dr Liang not to take even a step closer.
"Don't tell me you even tended to his wounds, General Lu?" Zhao Mei asked although she didn't need to upon taking notice of the messy bandaging that would bring shame to any respectable physician.
When Yang Xun heard, his brows furrowed. "He must be an idiot to trust you over a physician. I wouldn't trust you with handling so much as a splinter." He jeered, earning a dissatisfied frown from the poor bullied general.
"You were more than glad to be treated by me the time you got an arrow through the shoulder. I'd say those are much harder to remove than a splinter!" Lu Qinyi defended but he was still pouting from the blow to his pride. "Regardless, he won't let Dr Liang near him. For the time being, I'll have to tend to him. I'll do it tonight, leave him be for now." Lu Qinyi stated as he rose from his seat, personally escorting out Dr Jiang who looked as if he'd been walking over nails.
The subordinate duo shot twin disapproving glances at Fei Li as they turned to leave after, leaving only that quiet servant girl Lu Qinyi had chosen for him to clear the table. He really had chosen well, although she wasn't nervous and her movements didn't hesitate, she kept a respectful distance and not one action of hers could be seen as threatening. Thus, Fei Li only watched her cautiously for a few moments before he went to lay back down on the bed. Although he no longer watched her, staring up at the draped fabric instead, he carefully listened still. She hardly made a sound as she moved about so really the only noticeable sounds were the dishes clinking as she cleaned them up and the sound of the door sliding closed.
He was left with only the pounding of his aching head and the dull ache throughout his body. Those people were all too noisy, aggravating his headache so it was even worse than usual. Although the Lu one that tested his food was the most talkative, the two that followed behind him were more annoying. They not only seemed more dangerous and held some sort of malice toward him, they had annoying voices that pounded against his head and they insisted on arguing, creating even more noise. What were their names again? Lu... Zhao... Yang... They sounded... familiar. General Lu... General Lu... He could feel his thoughts slipping away from him again, the more he fought to hold onto them, the more violent that ache in his head became. Eventually he had to admit defeat, letting the thoughts slip away again.
Fei Li woke with a start as the door to his room was opened. That pain started pounding in his head again, strong enough that he wished he had stayed asleep. He lifted away the arm he had draped over his eyes, tilting his head to look in the direction of the door. Night had already fallen, the only light coming from the warm glow of an illuminated light cube the servant girl held in her hand. Light orbs were a more common design for the luminescent material to be shaped into but it seems cubes were used here, likely to avoid having to use a holder when placing them down.
That light stung his eyes, sending a jolting pain through his head so he had to squint at them. In her other arm she carried a tray of food, a delicious fragrance noticeable even from this distance. Lu Qinyi walked in beside her with medical supplies in his arms, his posture as at ease as usual, he even smothered a yawn as he walked over.
"A-Jiao, lay out the food on that side of the table, I'll use this side," he instructed, already laying out his supplies, steam drifting in the air from the large bowl of water he placed down. The girl did as told, spreading out the food before retreating away. He beckoned Fei Li over with one arm, the other neatly setting out the various cloths and bandages he would need. Fei Li who had watched them carefully but hadn't felt the need to move finally dragged himself off the bed to sit at the table.
Lu Qinyi first took up the bowl of medicine, sipping it. His nose immediately scrunched and he quickly pulled the bowl away from his lips, sticking his tongue out for a moment. "Agh! I didn't think it would be that hot." He complained more to himself than anyone else, blowing at the bowl before holding it out for Fei Li. He also handed him a cup after sampling its contents. This time it wasn't tea but honeywater. Since it was sweet enough to rinse out the bitter medicine, Fei Li didn't complain. Lu Qinyi did his job without hesitation, taking a bite of a dish before laying it in front of Fei Li. It seemed he wasn't keen on wasting time today as while Fei Li ate, he used slow and clear movements to move to Fei Li's side, still able to be clearly seen.
"I'm going to tend to your head while you eat, okay?" After waiting a moment, he took Fei Li's careful gaze leaving him to focus on his food as agreement. He took up Fei Li's hair, this time using a strip of cloth to tie it out of the way before he set about cleaning and tending to the wound. He would pause as Fei Li finished a dish to pick up a new one, sample it and place it in front before continuing his work.
"Prepare yourself, I'm going to put the ointment on now," he warned, met with the usual lack of reply but Fei Li did pause eating, putting the bowl down for the moment. Lu Qinyi worked quickly this time, Fei Li had only just let out a hiss of pain when Lu Qinyi was already pressing a cloth to his head. He wrapped it up, letting out a click of his tongue in satisfaction with the much more efficient and neat bandaging.
"Robes." He instructed while cleaning his hands and dipping a new cloth in the water bowl. But when he glanced up, Fei Li was staring at him blankly, not moving. He frowned at the other. "I know you can understand me. I'd rather you take off your own robes. I'm tending to your wounds, you can surely do that at the very least," he said with an unimpressed tone of voice, the back of his hand on his hip as he waited. He was right, once the medicine took the edge of the pain off, Fei Li could understand and put together some basic thoughts. After a moment, he tugged at his belt, pulling both his outer and inner robes off his shoulders, letting them sit around his waist. Lu Qinyi seemed satisfied with this, handing him another cup of honey water before starting to tend to the wounds with his usual care. Fei Li simply held the cup in his hands, letting Lu Qinyi tend to him while staring blankly ahead. He would only turn his head slightly and watch Lu Qinyi when the other had to make a large movement, such as leaning over to grab another set of bandages.
Lu Qinyi was as gentle as he had been the night before, besides applying the ointment, there was no notable pain associated with having his wounds treated. "All done. How about a bath then? You seem to be able to do things besides cower in a corner today so I can show you to the bath," Lu Qinyi offered as he picked up the dirty cloth, bandages and bloody bowl of water. He waited but seeing as Fei Li didn't move, he merely shrugged his shoulders. "Another day then. Good night General Fei."
With that, he left.
Fei Li wondered if he should have taken up that offer... A bath did sound nice. But that thought didn't remain long and he crawled into bed to nurse the pain in his head once more.
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mehasacupcake
mehasacupcake I believe this is the last chapter that's been graced with my editor's eloquence. If she finds the time to do some more edits and bless us with her magic way with words then I'll do updates.
I'm also terrible at deciding where to split the chapters and how long each should be. Send help.
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