Feng Jin said busily, her aggrieved expression making anyone who saw it think she was a fierce mistress who only bullied her subordinates.
"This servant just wants to serve the young madam and the young master well. I don't want to get married yet."
"Alright... alright, as you wish!"
She couldn't force a young lady onto a sedan chair. A forcefully plucked melon wouldn't be sweet, and forcing it wouldn't help. She had done what she could, and now they could only rely on their own fate.
After receiving Feng Jin's definitive answer, Cai Qing breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't that she didn't want to marry Lu Shi, but she simply felt that getting married now was too early, not the right time.
Besides, she wasn't sure if Lu Shi was truly the person she could spend her life with. What she wanted was the kind of affectionate relationship shared by the young general and the young madam. If not, she would rather remain unmarried.
"The little girl has grown up and has her own ideas. That's a good thing. But if you meet someone you truly like, you must hold on tightly, otherwise, you'll be the one regretting it when it's too late."
It was clear that Cai Qing liked Lu Shi, but she was also somewhat resistant. After all, it was hard to guess the thoughts of a young girl.
She only hoped that Cai Qing wouldn't deliberately ignore her true feelings due to some other factors and end up regretting it later.
"I understand, young madam." Cai Qing nodded earnestly, her lowered gaze hiding complex emotions.
Feng Jin sighed slightly. As expected, even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes. It's a tangled mess, and it's best to let them think it through themselves.
...
Upon reaching the town ahead, the group checked into the post station.
"Young madam, the hot water is ready."
Cai Qing poured the last bucket of hot water into the bathtub. After testing the temperature, she went to call Feng Jin.
"Young madam, you bathe here, and I'll stand guard outside for you."
"No need. You've also had a busy day. Go back and rest."
Cai Qing had also traveled all day and helped her heat a pot of water. Feng Jin felt too embarrassed to ask Cai Qing to continue guarding the door.
"It's fine, young madam. I'll just stand outside. I won't be able to sleep if I go back."
She couldn't sleep alone if she went back now. It was better to stay here and guard, rather than go back and overthink things.
"No, hurry back and rest. We have to travel again early tomorrow morning."
Feng Jin forcefully ushered Cai Qing out, locked the door from the inside, and gave Cai Qing no chance to enter. "Hurry back and rest. We have to travel again early tomorrow morning."
Even an iron person couldn't withstand such exhaustion. Feng Jin was truly worried that if this continued, Cai Qing would fall ill.
When there was no more sound from outside, Feng Jin opened the door a crack to confirm.
She was finally gone. Otherwise, this girl would have stayed here all night and refused to leave.
Now that she was gone, she could finally have a quiet bath.
She hadn't had a comfortable bath for several days, and she felt like she was stinking all over.
As her entire body sank into the hot water, the discomfort instantly subsided. Her whole body felt a little light and airy. Feng Jin was so comfortable that she almost fell asleep.
It wasn't until a knock sounded at the door that Feng Jin was pulled back from her drowsiness.
Feng Jin suddenly woke up, grabbed a nearby piece of clothing to cover herself, and asked warily, "Who's outside?"
After a while, a familiar voice came from outside: "It's me."
Feng Jin immediately recognized who it was and breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Just a moment."
As she spoke, she quickly stood up from the tub, put on her clothes, casually wrapped her wet hair in a towel, and hurried to open the door.
"What are you doing out so late? Wandering around here for no reason? Don't you know about the distinction between men and women? I'll tell Ling Mo Han to break your legs."
Seeing Chu Chenyi standing at the door, Feng Jin said grumpily. Coming to find her so late when she was bathing was purely him having too much time on his hands and deliberately trying to scare her.
"A soldier has fallen ill. You need to come with me quickly and take a look."
"What happened?"
Chu Chenyi's flustered expression didn't seem feigned. Feng Jin immediately realized the seriousness of the situation.
"There's no time to explain. You go and see first."
It was difficult to explain in a few words. The situation was urgent, and Chu Chenyi directly pulled Feng Jin to leave.
"Wait a moment, I'll get the medicine box."
Feng Jin hastily returned to her room to retrieve the medicine box, then hurried to follow Chu Chenyi.
When they arrived, they heard sounds of whimpering and pain. The scene was in utter chaos. Ling Mo Han stood there like a statue, his face extremely grim.
"How is it?" Chu Chenyi asked about the situation.
"Two soldiers have already died, and more than ten are vomiting uncontrollably." Ling Mo Han said in a deep voice, his expression more somber than ever.
"Let me see."
Feng Jin said in a deep voice, took out a specially made mask from her sleeve, and stepped forward to examine the patients.
Their faces were bluish, with dark circles under their eyes, their lips slightly purple, their tongues thick and white, and they were vomiting and having diarrhea uncontrollably. These symptoms were not typical of food poisoning?
"Did you eat anything?"
Feng Jin bent down and asked a patient with milder symptoms.
"I... we... in the forest, ate... ate... *cough*..."
Before he could finish speaking, he collapsed and vomited.
"Do you know what illness it is?"
Ling Mo Han tugged at Feng Jin's sleeve and asked, his tone slightly anxious. Two soldiers had already died, and more soldiers were showing the same symptoms. If it wasn't controlled in time and spread, the situation would be dire.
"If I'm not mistaken, it should be food poisoning."
"Food poisoning?" Ling Mo Han frowned and asked, "You mean someone poisoned the food?"
Feng Jin shook her head. "No!"
She was truly impressed by Ling Mo Han's imagination, thinking of poisoning. It was really tough for him.
"I mean, they might have eaten something unclean or poisonous, which caused this. If I'm not mistaken, it was likely something they ate in the forest."
Throughout the journey, everyone in their group ate the same food. If someone had deliberately poisoned them, then it wouldn't just be these few people lying here.
It was likely caused by them eating something unclean in the forest. Feng Jin looked at everyone and asked, "Think carefully, did you eat anything randomly in the forest? If you don't tell the truth, I can't save you."