Chapter 175: It’s Nice to Rest for a While!
Yuan Ye returned to the rear residence and didn’t rush to find Inu-hime. He planned to check on his foolish son first. After all, he had just returned from a trip, and he had to see him to be at ease. However, he didn’t expect that as soon as he arrived at Meng Ziqi’s residence, he found Inu-hime preparing to leave.
Yuan Ye was a little surprised and felt a slight sense of caution, but he remained outwardly calm. He helped Inu-hime, who bowed to greet him upon seeing him, to stand up and asked with a smile, “Why are you here?”
Inu-hime saw the joy in his eyes upon his return from the expedition, but shyly said, “Sanlang was on an expedition, and I wanted to do something for you, so I came to see.”
“Oh?” Yuan Ye glanced at the room where Meng Ziqi was being cared for, then asked with a smile, “Then why did you think of coming here to see?”
Inu-hime did not hide anything and honestly said, “I heard from A’Naka and A’Shita. They said Sanlang cared a lot about the Tsūna that Lord Yuan Ye Blue Square created for Meng Ziqi, so I thought I’d come every day to check, lest you be away and someone neglects Lord Yuan Ye.”
Yuan Ye nodded slightly. It seemed that A’Naka and A’Shita had extracted the “intelligence” from the maids. However, he thought about it and didn’t intend to pursue it; this level was not considered a leak.
Seeing that he was silent for a moment, Inu-hime became a little worried. After hesitating for a moment, she asked nervously, “Was it… I shouldn’t have come?”
“It’s fine,” Yuan Ye came back to his senses, smiled at her, and said, “I was just worried it would be too much trouble for you.”
Whether she came or not was actually irrelevant. He had arranged for twelve reliable maids to watch over him in three shifts, so there was no possibility of any problems. But it was fine if she was free and willing to come; it was an extra layer of security.
Inu-hime breathed a sigh of relief and became happy again. However, after a moment of happiness, she immediately said with dignity, “It’s not trouble. I should be the one to relieve Sanlang’s worries.”
Yuan Ye was stunned for a moment, couldn’t help but smile, and then went in to visit Meng Ziqi. He took his pulse, and the smile on his face slowly disappeared, replaced by a sigh.
Meng Ziqi’s condition remained grim. Being fed only liquid food for a long time had turned him from a chubby child into a thin one. Moreover, even with daily massages, his muscles began to atrophy. In fact, this situation had worsened over the past year, far worse than when he was in Hibitsu Village.
In a sense, he had only now begun to resemble someone in a long-term vegetative state, appearing weaker with each passing day, as if his life were visibly draining away each month.
The miraculous recovery effect from transmigration seemed to have disappeared from him, or at least mostly disappeared.
Yuan Ye had no solution for this. He couldn’t understand where that miraculous recovery effect came from, nor why it had started to disappear.
Fate seemed to be playing a cruel joke on him.
He sat by Meng Ziqi’s side and stayed with him for a while. He mustered his spirits, asked everyone to temporarily withdraw, and spoke to Meng Ziqi in his hometown dialect for a while. He even tried to scare him a little to stimulate his brain, but as before, it was useless. Meng Ziqi’s breathing rate hadn’t even changed.
He took his pulse again, but felt that there was no possibility of adjusting the prescription further. He called back the on-duty maid and asked about the situation, and once again urged them to take good care of him. He had said this hundreds of times, and no one in the rear residence dared to neglect this matter, but he still had to repeat it over and over.
He had to do his utmost to bring Meng Ziqi back to the Modern Era alive…
If he couldn’t, he wouldn’t let Meng Ziqi suffer any grievances before his death.
This was all he could do, and it was his responsibility. He shouldn’t have agreed to let this kid come to Nagoya to visit him in the first place. Unfortunately, there was everything for sale in this world, except for regret.
After the maid assured him again that there would be no problems, he tucked Meng Ziqi in and got up to leave. He would come again tomorrow morning. As long as he was home, this was his mandatory Yellow Circle Daily Task Green Square.
Inu-hime was kneeling on the corridor waiting. Yuan Ye quickly calmed his mood again, put on a smile, and said to her, “Let’s go. Let him rest well for now.”
Inu-hime nodded obediently, stood up, and followed him. A’Naka and A’Shita then emerged from a distance and followed them from afar.
Yuan Ye ignored the two of them and smiled, asking Inu-hime what she had been busy with lately, if there were any troubles in her life, or if there was anything she wanted. Inu-hime shook her head, saying she was living very well here, everyone respected her, and her food and clothing were impeccable. She didn’t need anything.
Yuan Ye nodded silently, feeling she was too easily satisfied. This made him feel a little embarrassed. He didn’t have much affection for Inu-hime. She was different from A’Qing. A’Qing had shared life and death with him, truly huddling together for warmth in a cave. But they had married for reasons of interest despite the lack of affection. She was so young, well-behaved, and honest, causing no trouble, yet he felt a sense of guilt.
It was a very complex feeling. He wasn’t a psychology major and couldn’t explain the reason clearly, but he did feel a sense of guilt.
He couldn’t help but say, “You don’t have to stay cooped up at home all the time. You can go out shopping or something when you have time.”
Inu-hime hesitated for a moment, stole a glance at his expression, and asked cautiously, “Can I not go?”
“Of course,” Yuan Ye replied directly, then hesitated and asked, “You don’t want to go?”
Inu-hime hesitated and shook her head, saying softly, “I’m fine here. I don’t get bored reading books. So… I won’t go out, okay?”
“Alright then, as long as you’re happy.” Yuan Ye didn’t force her. He had been hesitating about whether to send her to school, but it was probably too much, so he decided against it. After all, sending his wife to elementary school would be too shocking, and she probably wouldn’t be able to handle it.
The two of them chatted all the way back to their residence. Yuan Ye was about to ask someone to order food and have a meal with Inu-hime. After their marriage, he had been busy with the expedition to Mino, settling new immigrants, and defending against Saito Yoshitatsu’s troublemaking. He hadn’t eaten many meals in the rear residence. Today, he had returned and had nothing to do, so he gave himself half a day off. It was a good time to spend with her. They were married now, so he had to take some responsibility and couldn’t always ignore her. That would be inhumane; at least basic respect was necessary.
Inu-hime was very happy to see him stay. A’Naka and A’Shita, her two personal maids, were even happier and eagerly went to prepare the meal. They seemed accustomed to life in the “Yuan Ye Family” and had at least learned how to order food. Inu-hime hesitated for a moment, then went to the side, opened a box, took out a pair of white long leg wraps Blue Square, leg-wrap “socks” used when wearing armor Green Square, and handed them to him with a blush.
Yuan Ye took the leg wraps and unfolded them. He found that they were embroidered with the Yuan Ye Family’s blue gourd pattern. On the sides, there were also Chinese characters: “May your military fortune be smooth” and “May you win every battle.” Overall, the embroidery was quite good, with fine stitches and beautiful calligraphy. It was quite impressive; one couldn’t achieve such skill without talent and hard practice.
He looked them over and asked in surprise, “Are these for me?”
Inu-hime nodded gently, shyly saying, “Please try them on. I don’t know if they fit.”
“Actually, no…” Yuan Ye instinctively started to say. In the past year alone, he had approved six small loans to support Wanjin residents who wanted to start tailor shops and clothing stores. Such clothing could be bought, and buying them would stimulate the local economy, a win-win situation. But he managed to stop himself in time and didn’t mumble the words. He quickly tried them on and said with a smile, “They fit perfectly and are very comfortable to wear.”
He paused and added a polite remark, “It must have taken a lot of time. Thank you so much.”
Inu-hime was surprised that he would thank her and quickly waved her hands, saying, “No, it didn’t take much time. I just… sewed them casually.”
“Uh, is that so…” Yuan Ye was a bit at a loss. After a moment of thought, he couldn’t help but laugh, “To sew so well casually is very impressive. Thank you again.”
A’Naka and A’Shita watched from the doorway, their expressions suggesting they were about to have a stroke. Inu-hime also knew she had said the wrong thing and felt ashamed for a moment, saying softly, “You don’t need to say thank you.”
“I still should,” Yuan Ye said. This was the first time in his life someone had sewn socks for him, a memorable event. Looking at the small Inu-hime, he was sure she was not the type of wife like Princess A’ichi. With her personality, she couldn’t be a “spy” and posed no threat to Xin Wanjin.
Yuan Ye folded the leg wraps and put them away, then asked with a smile, “Do you really like sewing… well, needlework?”
Inu-hime said softly without looking up, “My wet nurse was very skilled at needlework. She could even sew twelve-layered robes. I… learned some from her before.”
“I see!” Yuan Ye thought for a moment and judged that she seemed to like it. He asked A’Naka and A’Shita to bring him a brush and ink and roughly drew a few diagrams for her. “Then, if you want to do needlework to pass the time in the future, sew socks like these!”
He was secretly changing customs and traditions in his territory. If Inu-hime hadn’t mentioned it, he would have forgotten about socks. He could arrange for them later. He figured people would buy them to wear in winter. If not, he would start by issuing them to the Wanjin Army. Once the soldiers in the Wanjin Army got used to them, they would naturally spread among the common people.
Inu-hime took the “blueprints” and looked at them for a long time before understanding what they were. She wanted to say that such leg wraps had no ties and couldn’t be worn, but she didn’t dare. She hesitated and decided to figure it out herself, saying softly, “Yes, please let me… try!”
Yuan Ye was just acting on impulse and let her fuss with it. It wouldn’t matter if it didn’t work. Soon, the food arrived, and they ate together. They ate separately. Inu-hime loved quickly stir-fried fresh vegetables and wild vegetables, like a reincarnated rabbit. His meal consisted mainly of meat with heavy oil and salt. However, he occasionally gave Inu-hime some lean meat, and she would eat it obediently without being picky.
Both of them had calm and quiet personalities. After eating, there weren’t many joyful entertainment activities, so they each picked up a book to read. Yuan Ye was still concerned about how Japan’s “Divine Nation Ideology” was formed, to ensure that his future plans would not deviate. He browsed through various notes from Samurai, scholars, Shinto Priests, and Monks, occasionally copying some notes.
Inu-hime took a Waka Collection and read it beside him. After a while, she stole a glance at him and thought about how gentle his temper had always been, and that he hadn’t scolded her yet. Her courage finally grew, and she secretly switched to a Storybook. As she read, a smile appeared on her face, and she was very happy.
She genuinely felt that this life was very good, stable, and happy. Yuan Ye also increasingly felt that he was very lucky. His political marriage partner was not annoying at all, and it wasn’t an act; she truly had a good personality and was flawless.
For a moment, he couldn’t help but consider bringing her back a gift the next time he went out. After all, she had sewn him socks, so he should at least give her a return gift, otherwise, it would be a bit impolite.
However, apart from his thoughts during conversations, he was quite focused at other times. Soon, his attention returned to his books, and he pondered his important matters.
Occasionally, he would switch his mind and plan his future work, making long-term plans.
Otherwise, he had nothing else to do for the time being. Xin Wanjin was all on track, his territory could not be expanded, and there was no need to develop new technologies or products. He could only be quiet for a while.
Perhaps this was a lull between battles? It was good to be able to rest for a while!
