ODF Chapter 13

When they arrived at the Huo family’s garden, Shen Lingzhen noticed that Huo Shuyi and Huo Miaoling were already there.

Earlier that morning, Yu Wanjiang had brought her two daughters to visit Shen Lingzhen, but she had still been fast asleep and missed them.

As soon as Huo Miaoling saw her, she immediately set aside the picture book she’d been using to choose sugar figurine designs and rushed over. “Sister-in-law, are you feeling better?”

Shen Lingzhen nodded. “Thanks to your Second Brother staying up all night to care for me, the fever’s gone.”

Huo Shuyi cast her a cold glance but said nothing, pretending to flip through the picture book.

Huo Miaoling then looked down at Shen Lingzhen’s injured foot.

“It’s nothing serious,” Shen Lingzhen said with a smile, glancing at Huo Liuxing. “I’m just keeping your Second Brother company in the wheelchair for a few days, so he won’t be bored alone.”

Huo Liuxing looked back at her. “I’ll be in this wheelchair for a lifetime. You’re only keeping me company for a few days?”

Shen Lingzhen paused. “But if I stayed in a wheelchair forever too, who would take care of you?”

Huo Liuxing shook his head and looked away.

Huo Miaoling giggled behind her hand. “Sister-in-law, you’re so honest. Second Brother doesn’t really want you in a wheelchair, he just wants to hear sweet words from you! Just tell him you’ll stay by his side forever!”

Shen Lingzhen let out a soft sigh and turned to Huo Liuxing. “I didn’t expect you to like such flowery sweet talk.”

Huo Liuxing smiled. “I never said I did.”

Huo Miaoling laughed again, but was suddenly interrupted by a crisp “snap”, Huo Shuyi had slammed the picture book shut. “I’m going to train.”

Shen Lingzhen’s smile faded.

Huo Miaoling tugged at her older sister’s sleeve. “Older Sister, the sugar figurines haven’t even started yet!”

“Will sugar figurines save you from an enemy’s blade?” Huo Shuyi sneered. “This isn’t carefree, indulgent Bianjing. This is Qingzhou, guarding the north from Western Qiang, shielding the south from Guanzhong. If you don’t train properly, when the enemy breaks through, you’ll just be a liability with your foolish antics. Wasn’t last night enough of a lesson?”

With that, Huo Shuyi strode away.

Though still young, Huo Miaoling understood the meaning behind her sister’s words. She wanted to chase after her, but when she glanced back and saw Shen Lingzhen’s awkward expression, she hesitated, her feet unsure which way to go. Finally, she struggled to say, “Sister-in-law, you were really brave last night. We all remember and thank you. Older Sister’s just throwing a tantrum, I’ll go check on her.”

Shen Lingzhen forced a smile and nodded for her to go, but her appetite for sugar figurines had vanished. She touched her nose apologetically and looked at Huo Liuxing. “Young Master…”

“You don’t need to take her words to heart,” Huo Liuxing said with a comforting smile. “With her half-baked skills, she wouldn’t last a moment on the battlefield.”

Shen Lingzhen nodded, but her heart didn’t feel any lighter. Choosing designs and eating sugar figurines after that speech felt a bit off.

Just like the unconscious “we” that slipped from Huo Miaoling’s lips, just like Huo Liuxing’s stubborn refusal to confide in her, Shen Lingzhen was always on the outside looking in.

The Huo family, they were kin. She was merely a guest.

From that day on, Shen Lingzhen stayed in her courtyard for several days. Partly because Huo Shuyi’s words had stirred ripples in her heart, and partly because Zhao Xun was still in the residence.

She didn’t know if Zhao Xun had any tricks left up his sleeve. Afraid she might slip up and expose herself, or worse, implicate Huo Liuxing, she chose to avoid him altogether and quietly focused on recovering.

She saw Zhao Xun again on a day when Jian Jia and Bailu persuaded her to get some fresh air, claiming it would help her heal.

They lifted her into a wheelchair and pushed her out for a stroll. As they passed the training grounds, she saw Huo Shuyi showing Zhao Xun around, pointing at a longbow and discussing something with him. They seemed to be getting along quite well, and at one point, even burst into hearty laughter.

Shen Lingzhen’s arrival interrupted their conversation about weaponry. Because of Zhao Xun’s status, she had no choice but to step forward and offer a formal greeting.

Huo Shuyi’s expression visibly cooled.

Zhao Xun looked pale, his right was arm wrapped in thick bandages. He raised his left hand to wave off her courtesy and asked about her injuries.

Shen Lingzhen harbored a deep fear of this cousin. Her reply was dry and stiff: “Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I’m doing well.”

Fortunately, she had never been warm or lively around Zhao Xun, so her demeanor didn’t seem too out of place.

Zhao Xun glanced at her, then at Huo Shuyi, who hadn’t smiled once since Shen Lingzhen appeared, and gave a faint smile. “I’m feeling a bit tired. I’ll go rest. You two talk.” With that, he turned and left.

It seemed that Huo Shuyi found Shen Lingzhen utterly disagreeable. Whatever she said or did, it rubbed her the wrong way. Once Zhao Xun was gone, she snapped: “His Highness graciously showed concern for Second Sister-in-law just now, and yet Second Sister-in-law didn’t return the courtesy. It makes our Huo family look terribly ill-mannered.”

Shen Lingzhen hadn’t thought to ask after Zhao Xun’s health, partly because she knew the assassin she’d arranged couldn’t have injured him seriously, and partly because she had lost all goodwill toward him. She simply couldn’t summon the energy for hollow pleasantries.

To be fair, her performance had been less than flawless. But Huo Shuyi’s barbed remarks were truly unreasonable.

Zhao Xun was, after all, the instigator of the teahouse incident that night. No matter how much Huo Shuyi disliked her sister-in-law, when facing an “external enemy,” she ought to be standing on the same side.

But her attitude suggested otherwise, as if Huo Shuyi had no idea what Zhao Xun had done to Huo Liuxing.

Suspicion stirred in Shen Lingzhen’s heart. She probed gently: “I thought His Highness wasn’t seriously injured. Has his condition not improved?”

Huo Shuyi gave a mocking smile. “Second Sister-in-law really knows how to stay detached. The other day, His Highness’s wound festered and he ran a high fever through the night. And you didn’t hear a word of it?”

Shen Lingzhen frowned slightly.

Zhao Xun’s injury had always been suspect, possibly a ploy to gain sympathy. Now, seeing how long it lingered, it seemed even more likely he was deliberately lingering in the Huo residence with ulterior motives.

Yet judging by Huo Shuyi’s demeanor, she truly seemed unaware of Zhao Xun’s scheming.

Shen Lingzhen found it hard to believe. Huo Shuyi was two years older than her and had spent years in the training grounds, exposed to the harsh realities of the world. How could she be so easily taken in?

Unless… she didn’t know that Huo Liuxing’s legs were actually fine.

After all, Shen Lingzhen wasn’t some genius, she could only deduce Zhao Xun’s plan because she had that one piece of insider knowledge.

So even Huo Shuyi didn’t know Huo Liuxing’s secret? No wonder she had accused Shen Lingzhen of meddling that day.

Something clicked in Shen Lingzhen’s mind, and she suddenly broke into a radiant smile. “I hadn’t heard. That was my mistake. I’ll head back now.”

“…” Huo Shuyi watched in stunned silence as Shen Lingzhen cheerfully wheeled herself away, frozen in place.

Jian Jia was equally surprised. Once they left the training grounds, she grumbled, “Young Madam, you’re far too generous. Miss Shuyi said such harsh things, and you’re not only unbothered, you’re actually happy?”

Shen Lingzhen replied with delight, “Exactly. It’s because she said such harsh things that I’m happy.”

Because Huo Shuyi was Huo Liuxing’s family and even she had been kept in the dark. That meant this secrecy wasn’t born of mistrust.

Huo Liuxing’s refusal to reveal the truth likely stemmed from two things: first, the fewer people who knew, the safer it was; and second, because deceiving the Emperor was a grave crime. If exposed, the consequences would be dire. He had to protect his family.

And that meant she was one of the people he was protecting.

After days of gloom, Shen Lingzhen’s mood suddenly lifted. Just as Jian Jia and Bailu were about to wheel her back to the inner courtyard, she stopped them with a smile. “Change of plans, I want to see my husband.”

Huo Liuxing was leisurely trimming flowers in the courtyard when Shen Lingzhen appeared, beaming. He gave Jingmo and Kongqing a look that said, “See? This girl’s heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea.”

He’d noticed her melancholy these past few days. At first, he thought it was Huo Shuyi’s harsh words that had wounded her. Later, he realized she harbored resentment toward him as well. But when he asked, she refused to explain, putting on a pitiful face that left him utterly baffled.

Now, seeing her call out “Husband! Husband!” from afar with such enthusiasm, it was clear that whatever had been bothering her was gone.

He hadn’t figured out the “why,” but she’d already decided there was “nothing.” That, in itself, was amusing.

Seeing her so happy she nearly leapt from the wheelchair, Huo Liuxing set down his shears and wheeled himself over to her. “Sit steady. Once you twist an ankle, it’s easier to twist it again.”

Shen Lingzhen obediently gripped the armrests.

“What’s got you so cheerful?”

On the way here, Shen Lingzhen had made up her mind: since Huo Liuxing cared for her so deeply, she shouldn’t keep speaking to him in that sarcastic tone.

But the reason for her joy was a secret she couldn’t share openly. “Oh, nothing. I just wanted to ask if you’re free to take a walk with me.”

A walk? With two people in wheelchairs?

Huo Liuxing nodded. “If you want to, then let’s go.”

“Can it be just the two of us?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You know how to move a wheelchair now?”

“As the saying goes, even if I haven’t eaten pork, I’ve seen pigs run. I watch you roll around every day, I’ve learned just by looking.”

“…” That analogy wasn’t exactly flattering.

Huo Liuxing opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it and let it go.

She was in a good mood, and that made things easier for him too. After all, he’d been juggling the threat of Zhao Xun and the puzzle of her emotions, one less mystery was a welcome relief.

He nodded. “Then let’s go.” With that, he began wheeling himself forward.

Shen Lingzhen dismissed Jian Jia and Bailu, then followed closely behind. As she rolled along, she said with a teasing tone: “Young Master, from now on, if you’re ever hurt, I won’t ask. If you don’t want to tell me, I won’t press. I won’t get upset with you anymore.”

What did that mean? It sounded almost like she was saying that his life or death no longer concerned her.

Huo Liuxing stopped wheeling, momentarily distracted. Shen Lingzhen had been following too closely, and his sudden halt caught her off guard. She panicked, twisted her wheelchair sharply, and nearly tipped over.

Before she could even cry out, Huo Liuxing grabbed her and shoved her aside. But because he was seated and couldn’t balance properly, his own wheelchair lost control and slammed straight into the thick wall nearby.

Thud. His knee struck the wall with a dull, heavy sound, like bone cracking.

Shen Lingzhen was horrified. Forgetting her own injured foot, she hobbled over and crouched down, clutching his knee and rubbing it frantically. “It’s all my fault! Does it hurt?”

With that kind of impact, how could it not hurt?

But Huo Liuxing had spent ten years perfecting his disguise. He didn’t even flinch. He was just about to brush it off with a calm “It doesn’t hurt”, when he suddenly stopped himself.

He had told Shen Lingzhen before: his legs no longer felt pain. So why was she so frantic now?

Huo Liuxing lowered his gaze, staring at the crown of her head. His eyes gradually darkened.

Unless… she had known all along that his legs were fine.

 

Author’s note: Huo scumbag, you better treat my girl right!