Rebirth of a Star General

chapter 4: GOING UP THE HILL

It stopped raining the next day. The morning sun shone brightly in the sky. The blue stones in the courtyard felt warm under the sunlight, and the grass was lush and green.

At the rooster's third call, He Yan woke up. Qing Mei was flabbergasted when she found out that He Yan was not on her bed. She looked for her everywhere and only felt relieved when she saw He Yan sitting on the stone pier in the courtyard.

"Miss, why did you wake up so early? Did you feel cold because of the thin blanket?"

"I'm fine, I just couldn't sleep." He Yan said.

She never had the habit of sleeping. When she had been in the army, she could never let her guard down. Every night, she had to stay alert each moment and be wary of the enemies' raids. Plus, she had been learning the martial arts since a young age and was used to waking up herself at the roosters' calls. After marrying to the Xu Family, she was taunted by others due to this habit. However, she started getting up late after she was blinded, because to her, there was no difference between day and night. She still woke up when the rooster cawed, but only got out of the bed when she heard the others getting up.

Or else, she would seem to be incompatible with the others.

"Where's father?" she asked.

"Master has already left for the drill fields. Young master just woke up too. Miss, please change your clothing and have some breakfast." After finishing the sentence, Qing Mei ran into the kitchen.

There was only one maid and the household had no shortage of work to be done. The little maid could always use a helping hand.

When He Yan arrived in the dining hall, He Yun Sheng was already seated at the table. He had just started eating.

His clothing looked no different from the one he wore the last day. He dressed like peddlers and manservants and was not in the least worried about his clothing. When he heard He Yan entering, he just glanced at her, looked away, then picked up his bowl to eat porridge.

The breakfast lain on the table consisted of some simple congee and a few side dishes. It was obvious that the He Family could not afford exquisite dishes. However, there was always a plate of light refreshments. These were specially made for He Yan by He Sui and were tasty and aromatic.

He Yan picked up her bowl to finish the congee. She finished her meal quickly, which astonished Qing Mei and He Yun Sheng. Before she was bedridden, He Yan used to be a picky eater. She refused to eat simple dishes and would only complete her meal after a long time. They couldn't fathom what was going on with He Yan today. She had finished eating quickly and didn't bother to immediately have the light refreshments which He Sui had specially prepared. Those dishes were solely made for He Yan and neither Qing Mei nor He Yun Sheng could touch them.

He Yun Sheng put the bowl on the table and stood up. He Yan raised her head and asked: "Where are you going?"

He Yun Sheng frowned: "What?" While he stared at her impatiently, he got a glimpse of He Yan's palm and his stance softened.

He was sure that He Yan would complain to He Sui about her torn palm. Nothing had occurred today and it seemed He Yan didn't drive a wedge between him and He Sui. He Yan probably did not let He Sui know about her injury.

His tone had softened as he spoke: "I'm going uphill to chop wood."

He Yun Sheng was positive that He Yan would not be interested in what he had said. She would go back to her room to fiddle with her cosmetics, and then go out for a walk after dressing up beautifully. To his surprise, He Yan's eyes suddenly brightened and she said cheerfully: "Really? I will tag along too."