Xie Xun, using Fengyu’s body, moved around the Capital City, connecting with old forces of the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion, stirring public opinion, and leveraging power. Meanwhile, Fengyu, back in Ningzhou, was in quite an awkward situation. Fengyu mainly focused on recovering from her injuries. The wound on her chest was severe, making it difficult for her to get out of bed for five or six days. She could only lie in the tent. As the commander, she couldn’t return to Ningzhou City to recuperate. In the command tent during strategy meetings, several generals would come to discuss military tactics with her. Xie Jue would also talk strategy with her, but Fengyu was only capable of theoretical discussions. When it came to administrative matters, she could converse with Xie Jue for hours, but strategy was not her forte. She ended up feigning weakness, pretending to be ill, and letting Second Brother take charge of everything. Over time, Xie Jue stopped consulting her for detailed discussions. He would decide strategy alongside Fang Chuning and several generals and then implement it. Fengyu breathed a sigh of relief—fortunately, Ningzhou had Second Brother, allowing her to simply lie down! But why hadn’t Xie Xun returned yet! She had many matters to attend to in the Capital City as well. Was Xie Xun deliberately refusing to swap back? She was both anxious and frustrated. After all, Xie Xun was seriously injured in Ningzhou, unable to go into battle. With Second Brother and Fang Chuning taking care of military affairs, and Dugu Jing retreating behind the Sha Ling Tian Mountain, Ningzhou’s battlefield situation had stabilized slightly. Xie Xun could continue using her body in the Capital City while handling his tasks—everything seemed perfectly balanced in his mind. But the tasks she had to address and those Xie Xun had handled were entirely different. Now, all she could do was lie down and recuperate, without knowing what was happening in the Capital City, which left Fengyu feeling exceedingly restless! On top of that, using Xie Xun’s body for such a long time brought a slew of awkward problems. Their swap usually lasted only a short duration—this time was an exception, lasting seven days. She had been stuck on the sickbed for seven days now, feeling as though she herself had gone rancid, emitting an unpleasant odor, her hair hadn’t been properly washed, and her body hadn’t been properly wiped down either. At first, she even refrained from eating and drinking, fearing the inconvenience of having to be tended to for basic needs by others. She couldn’t tolerate the thought. When she could no longer endure the discomfort, Feiying suggested, "If you want, I could knock you out—as if you wouldn’t even remember anything afterwards." Fengyu steeled herself, closed her eyes, and handed everything over to Feiying—after all, it wasn’t her body. But it felt like hers! When Feiying proposed to wipe her down, Fengyu ruthlessly refused. Thus, aside from necessities of daily living, Fengyu avoided troubling Feiying altogether. For seven days straight, she hadn’t washed her hair, nor bathed. After the spring season in Ningzhou transitioned almost directly to summer with its increasingly hot weather, she truly couldn’t endure it anymore. As soon as she could get up after seven days, she eagerly asked Feiying to heat water—she was desperate for a bath. Xie Jue and Fang Chuning had just returned from the frontlines when they saw Xie Xun’s personal guards carrying bucket after bucket of water to Xie Xun’s tent. Fang Chuning raised an eyebrow and asked, "What’s going on?" "The master... is planning to take a bath," Feiying responded with a faint smile plastered onto his face. Xie Jue lifted an eyebrow. "?" Fang Chuning scoffed, "A bath? Is he a young lady now? Don’t tell me he even arranged for a bathtub to be hauled in." Fang Chuning was entirely correct. The bathtub had indeed been arranged on short notice. The Ningzhou Iron Cavalry was stationed in a combat zone with extremely harsh conditions and dire water shortages. Most soldiers went ten or fifteen days without bathing, and even when they did, it was just a quick rinse. Some would settle for washing off in the Shaling River. Heating water for a full bath? Unthinkable! Even Xie Xun had never done anything of the sort; not even the distinguished Xie Jue indulged in such a waste of resources and time. Xie Jue and Fang Chuning exchanged a glance. Fang Chuning couldn’t help but ask, "Has he been acting a bit... odd lately?" "Hmm!" Xie Jue murmured in acknowledgment. It was indeed peculiar—Xie Xun seemed entirely unlike himself. The pain from his injury was genuine, but his behavior suggested he might be exaggerating his condition as an act, deliberately feigning serious illness and an unapproachable demeanor, as though wishing everyone would leave him alone. Recent encounters were just skirmishes; they didn’t require Xie Xun’s involvement anyhow. With the toughest battles against the Beiman behind them, Xie Xun’s focus was supposed to be solely on recovery. Yet Xie Jue couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss. Over the past few days, Xie Jue hadn’t interacted much with Xie Xun since he’d been too busy. Once Xie Xun had taken to resting, all military duties were left to Xie Jue to handle. The rıghtful source is 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝘯𝘦𝘵 With internal management, strategy planning, and troop drills to oversee, Xie Jue had been stretched thin and incapable of attending to Xie Xun further. "Considering the wound shouldn’t come into contact with water, I’ll go check on him." Xie Jue’s cautious tendency arose once more—there were simply too many oddities. However, just as he approached the tent’s entrance, Feiying blocked his path. Fang Chuning rubbed his chin and observed Feiying with disbelief. Feiying and Nuanyang, as Xie Xun’s deputy generals, had grown up alongside him and were unwaveringly loyal. However, no matter how loyal they were, neither would dare to take it upon themselves to block Second Young Master directly. It was as if his master were indulging in a dalliance within the military camp, caught in the act, with Feiying playing the lookout. Facing Xie Jue’s icy gaze, Feiying stiffened and said, "Second Young Master, the master has ordered that no one is to enter." "Why? Is there someone else inside besides him?" "No! There’s no one!" The Ningzhou Iron Cavalry occasionally included female generals, but their number was limited, and the military camp maintained a strict and upright atmosphere. Given the Marquis Zhenbei’s stringent governance, there was seldom inappropriate conduct. But Feiying’s attempts at covering up were so conspicuous, it was as if Xie Xun really were engaging in debauchery, and Feiying was stationed outside to guard against intrusions. Xie Jue’s face darkened. "Move aside!" "Second Young Master, please don’t make things difficult for me!" Feiying dropped to his knees with a look of helplessness—inside was a lady taking a bath. If Second Young Master barged in and saw her, she’d surely die of embarrassment! "Second Brother, what’s the matter?" Fengyu pulled the curtain aside and stepped out, her chest still faintly aching, her face pale as she had already heard the commotion between Xie Jue and Feiying. "What’s going on with you?" Xie Jue frowned as he pushed aside the curtain to inspect the tent. He scanned its entirety and found no women except Xie Xun, finally reassured. With the Third Miss’s character that wouldn’t tolerate the slightest impropriety, if Xie Xun dared to engage in indulgences, the Third Miss would undoubtedly kick him out—not just kick him, but she’d thoroughly exact revenge. Xie Jue didn’t want vengeance against their enemies to be overshadowed by internal chaos. "I’m taking a bath!" Fengyu replied without batting an eyelid. In truth, she had been standing in front of the tub, torn for nearly fifteen minutes without removing her clothes. She genuinely didn’t want to see Xie Xun’s body. Just imagining Xie Xun having seen every inch of hers over the past seven days made Fengyu’s face flush with heat. But while she didn’t want to bathe, she couldn’t stand her own odor any longer. Just as she was mentally preparing herself, she overheard Xie Jue and Feiying arguing outside. Thankfully, she hadn’t undressed yet... Otherwise, if Second Brother came in, she’d truly have no face left! "What reason do you have for a bath?" "Second Brother, take a whiff—I stink!" "You’re taking this bath. Why can’t I go in?" Xie Jue asked coldly. He’d seen Xie Xun wash up before—it wasn’t as if Xie Xun’s body was unfamiliar to him. Considering most of the camp consisted of men, everyone had more or less seen one another’s physique, especially since they were siblings. "I’m shy!" Fengyu grasped for an excuse, expressionless. "Second Brother, are you here to help me bathe?" Fang Chuning sneered, "What are you, three years old? Do you need your brother to help you bathe? Didn’t your hands stop functioning?"