Chapter 480 – Aixin (1)
A nearby person kindly reminded, “General, the medicine is ready.”
Ning Mingjie felt somewhat embarrassed. He put the handkerchief away, hastily took the small pot of medicine off the fire, and poured the herbal medicine concoction into a bowl.
Discomfited by everyone’s silent staring, he raised his head and burst out in anger, “Why are you all just standing here? Go train or patrol.”
They had only come here to salute and planned on leaving right afterwards, but they had been distracted by the suspicious blush on their general’s face.
A displeased or expressionless Ning Mingjie looked quite terrifying, but when his face flushed red, it looked as if he was going to fly into a rage out of sheer embarrassment.
And so, the soldiers stifled their laugher and retreated.
—
Ning Mingjie brought the bowl of medicine to Pengxin. Pengxin had originally been feeling unwell and was clutching her stomach. But, as soon as she saw him looking like this, she almost couldn’t muffle her laughter.
“If you keep laughing, I’ll have guards send you back to the capital for the rest of your pregnancy,” Ning Mingjie threatened her with a red face.
Pengxin immediately stopped laughing. She covered her lips and shook her head.
A teasing joke spread in the army camp that the general would go out to fight on the battlefields and come back to dotingly cook for his wife. It made the soldiers around them very envious.
In order to correct the soldiers’ attitudes, Ning Mingjie gathered them up to admonish them. The general gist of his speech was: Do you guys have too much free time? Are the training drills too short? Is that why you guys have time to concern yourself with my family matters? Which one of your eyes saw me doting on my wife? I’m not doting! I’m totally focused and busy with the ongoing war! If we don’t win this war, you guys can go home to eat chaff!
After angrily making this declaration, General Ning turned around and went to brew medicine for Pengxin. A solider came forward wanting to help him, but General Ning shook his head and refused the offer. Ning Mingjie said, “Men are never careful enough. It’s better for me to do it myself.”
The solider looked at his general in alarm. He scrutinized Ning Mingjie for a long time before leaving.
It didn’t take long before the soldiers started guessing if General Ning was a man or woman.
—
Pengxin wasn’t delicate like other women, and the baby in her stomach was well-behaved and hardy. After that one episode of pain, the baby’s condition remained stable the following times she rode a horse.
She could accompany Ning Mingjie onto the battlefield and beat on a drum to cheer him on. When she beat on the drum, it always made the most resounding and powerful sounds. She could also quietly lean against his chest after the daily battle was over. She could also guess with him if their baby was going to be a boy or girl and what name to call him or her.
During this time, she had Ning Mingjie all to herself.
“If it’s a boy, let’s call him Ning Aipeng. If it’s a girl, let’s call her Aixin!” Pengxin slapped her thigh. She felt that her literary talent was truly improving after spending so much time with Ning Mingjie.
(T/N: Pengxin means holding up/offering a heart. Aipeng means holding/offering up love. Aixin meaning a loving heart.)
“A child’s name has to include a generational character with its siblings of the same gender*. More importantly, its name can’t have the same characters as its mother.”
* (T/N: For example, Pengxin and Pengyue have the character Peng in their names.)
“Don’t you think those names sounds nice though?” Pengxin widened her eyes. She felt very incredulous. “They both mean you love me. Isn’t that meaning wonderful?”
Ning Mingjie blankly stared at her.
Love?
In this life, he had achieved rank, fame, and fortune. But, the word love felt like an extravagant luxury to him.
—
The rebel insurgency besieged a city. Ning Mingjie led elite troops to intercept them, but he ended up falling for the rebels’ scheme and got trapped in the middle of the mountain. Cut off from contact from the rest of the army, Ning Mingjie and his troops were pursued by rebels. They found a mountain cave to hide in. But, if the reinforcements didn’t arrive before dawn, their hiding spot would inevitably be found by then. Even if they engaged in a fierce battle, it was unlikely for them to successfully escape.
While Ning Mingjie was deeply worried, Pengxin led troops up the mountain. On the way to the mountain cave, there were fierce battles that continued even as the morning sun rose.
When the sky was light enough, he saw her in the distance with her three-ring sword as he stood on the mountainside. Her eyes were curved into crescents from her big smile.
“Husband!”
Though she was wearing armor, she looked as beautiful as a woman garbed in a celestial immortal’s rainbow-colored clothing.
Ning Mingjie slightly froze in surprise. By the time she brought the soldiers over, he finally returned to his senses and asked her, “How did you know I was trapped?”
“I didn’t know. I just came out to look for you since you didn’t come home after the sun set. They said it wouldn’t be safe for me to go out by myself, so I brought two army units with me in consideration of the baby.”
A husband hadn’t come home, so his wife came out looking for him. In the passing, she had taken his place to fight off the enemy troops and saved him from his predicament? Ning Mingjie couldn’t help laughing.
“What’s wrong?” Pengxin curiously looked at him.
“Let’s go home.” In front of everyone, Ning Mingjie got onto her horse and held her in his arms.
Pengxin blushed and turned to hug him back. Completely ignoring everyone’s gazes, she snuggly nestled her head against his chest.