There's Something Wrong With My Little White Flower - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Princess of a Weak Nation in a Peace Marriage X Barbarian General

Jiang Peifeng had not expected the little white flower to be so easily teased. After she asked, “Do I look good?”, Ruan Jiyun locked herself in the carriage, too embarrassed to even come out for breakfast.

She stopped and reflected for a moment.

Ruan Jiyun looked too much like her past self. Even the shy and sensitive personality was almost identical. Aside from the different background data assigned by the system, it was truly difficult for her to treat them as two separate people.

And so, without realizing it, she forgot the fact that they had only just met in this lifetime.

Thinking this, she pulled Anjisa aside, gave him a few instructions, and then rode away from the team, heading west alone.

After she had been gone for most of the day, Ruan Jiyun naturally noticed the absence of the familiar figure next to the carriage. At first, she thought Jiang Peifeng had gone ahead to handle some matters. It wasn’t until Anjisa came to deliver her meal that she asked, slightly surprised: “Is General Peifeng… not here?”

Anjisa replied cheerfully: “The General went out.” Ever since Ruan Jiyun complimented his cooking, Anjisa’s motivation to cook had increased. Although resources were scarce in the desert, he still tried his best to make a pie and some rice porridge, which he handed to Ruan Jiyun on a tray.

“When I went to the Jing Dynasty to welcome you, I tasted your food. This is the rice porridge I tried to make. Your Highness can try it.”

The porridge was made from japonica rice, with a layer of soft, glutinous rice oil floating on the surface, indicating it had taken quite a bit of time to prepare. Ruan Jiyun thanked him in a low voice: “Thank you…”

Anjisa smiled and waved his hand: “Please don’t be so polite, Your Highness. You have married far away into our Xiji, so we naturally should take good care of you.”

Ruan Jiyun looked at his still somewhat boyish, smiling face and recalled that because of General Chengen’s pressure, she had been difficult with the envoy and him. She couldn’t help but feel a little more ashamed: “You are all very kind people.”

She then remembered Jiang Peifeng: “It’s almost dark. Is it safe for your General to leave the team alone?”

Anjisa reassured her with a chuckle: “Your Highness, please don’t worry. Our General has excellent skills and will be fine.”

Just as Ruan Jiyun was about to explain a few things, she heard the distant sound of horse hooves. Before she could speak, Anjisa was already waving his arms vigorously, shouting: “General—you’re back? Her Highness the Princess has been worried about you all day—”

Ruan Jiyun: “…” I did not, I have not.

She watched Jiang Peifeng ride her horse up to her carriage. Probably having ridden too fast, her hair bun was a bit loose, and a lock of dark hair slipped down the side of her face. Hearing Anjisa’s words, a hint of a smile flashed in her eyes: “I am touched by the Princess’s concern.”

As she spoke, she took something from her bosom and handed it over.

Ruan Jiyun unconsciously took it and found it was a package made of unknown plant leaves. She opened it and discovered a bunch of fresh, plump grapes inside.

“Where did you get these?” she asked in surprise. It had been nearly ten days since they entered the desert. Dried vegetables were already a rare commodity, and fresh fruit was almost never seen.

Jiang Peifeng smiled at her: “There is an oasis tribe not far from here. I went there and exchanged for them.”

Ruan Jiyun held the grapes dearly, seeing that every fruit was clear and plump. She couldn’t help but gently poke them. Seeing her finally smile, Jiang Peifeng thought, The round trip of dozens of miles was worth it after all.

She said: “The weather is hot, and this fresh fruit won’t keep. Eat it quickly.”

Ruan Jiyun saw that she didn’t leave after handing over the goods but went to the side to water her warhorse. She asked in surprise: “Did you go out for a whole day just to… buy these?”

Jiang Peifeng looked up and smiled at her: “I made the Princess unhappy this morning, so I’m trying to coax you.”

She spoke with such casualness, as if it were the most natural and trivial thing. But to Ruan Jiyun, it held an indescribable warmth.

She grew up in the deep palace, unloved. Whether it was palace maids or concubines, no one had ever paid special attention to her feelings. For these sixteen years, she was like a vase or an object, forced to hide all her joys and sorrows in her heart.

This was the first time someone had told her, I’m trying to coax you.

Thinking of this, she lowered her head: “These grapes were hard to come by. Eat them with me.” After saying this, she proactively held the bunch of grapes forward.

Jiang Peifeng was still holding the reins in her hand. Seeing her gesture of goodwill, she walked two steps toward the carriage and looked up at her.

The starlight of the entire sky seemed to have fallen into those phoenix eyes. She stood there quietly, smiling as she met her gaze.

Ruan Jiyun’s heart suddenly began to beat faster again. She felt that if she looked for a few more seconds, she would fall into those eyes. She quickly sat up straight and, trying to cover her embarrassment, put the grapes on the carriage shaft: “What are you looking at me for? Are you going to eat or not?”

Seeing that she was getting annoyed again, Jiang Peifeng laughed softly and sat down beside her.

“The Princess has graciously invited me. Peifeng will naturally… keep you company.”

The group traveled for another four or five days through the desert, and the journey was finally nearing its end.

“We will set off early tomorrow. If all goes well, we should be out of this desert by the afternoon.” Jiang Peifeng looked at the map drawn on the parchment, estimating the distance. “The rest of the way will be easy.”

Unexpectedly, not long after they started the next day, a sudden disaster struck.

The first to notice something was wrong was the most experienced guide in the team. When he reached the sand dune to scout the route, his expression suddenly changed drastically. He shouted loudly and ran back toward the camel train, waving his hands.

In the distance, the bright white daylight suddenly vanished, and a murky, yellowish shadow slowly stretched across the horizon.

“It’s a black wind!” Jiang Peifeng looked in the direction of the guide and immediately shouted an order: “Quickly gather the camel train together! Dig pits!”

The crowd exploded in motion. The well-trained soldiers scrambled to act. One group pulled the camels together, while others immediately dropped what they were holding, grabbed shovels, and began digging sand pits.

Ruan Jiyun had never experienced the sudden weather changes of the desert and was too shocked to say a word. Jiang Peifeng pulled her carriage to the center of the camel train and told her to get down.

“The black wind in the desert is fierce; it can sweep away cattle and sheep,” she grabbed a blanket from inside the carriage and wrapped it securely around Ruan Jiyun’s head, making her hide in the windbreak pit dug behind a camel. “Let alone you.”

The smell of dust and earth in the wind grew heavier and heavier. The camels and horses also neighed nervously, their hooves scraping the ground back and forth. The soldiers raced against time, but they still couldn’t beat the wind’s speed. Following a “rumbling” sound, Jiang Peifeng narrowed her eyes: “Everyone hide in the windbreak pits! Watch out for sand and stones!”

She was the last one to run into a pit. As she ran, she pulled a thick felt cloth, which securely covered the space above Ruan Jiyun’s and her head.

Ruan Jiyun had never known that wind alone could bring such a thunderous, frantic force.

The last thing she saw was a sand wall, high as a mountain, rolling in from the distant dune. The wall was turbid and black, with countless rotating stones, gravel, and unknown animal limbs, aggressively rolling over the dune, swallowing everything on the ground.

A colossal roar, like muffled thunder, trembled and rolled across the earth. The sound was dense and rapid, mixed with the nervous neighing of animals and the sound of wood splintering, crushing past her ears in wave after wave.

Suddenly, a massive crash sounded not far above her head, as if something had been severely smashed. Immediately after, she felt the sand beneath her also tremble.

The noise made her dizzy and disoriented. In a flash of lightning, a pair of hands reached over from the side and covered her ears.

“Little Princess, close your eyes, take shallow breaths.” Jiang Peifeng’s calm voice sounded in her ear, cutting through the wailing wind like a clear stream.

As she spoke, she gently pulled Ruan Jiyun into her embrace.

The earth was still shaking, but Ruan Jiyun’s heart was suddenly less afraid. She obediently closed her eyes. The turbid air, full of the smell of earth, was no longer so unbearable. Instead, she was gently enveloped by the warmth of Jiang Peifeng’s body.

After an unknown period, Ruan Jiyun felt like she was about to suffocate buried underground. Finally, she felt the wind above her head lessen. Jiang Peifeng told her to stay still under the felt cloth, drew her sword, and began to dig out the sand piled up around the pit edge.

After confirming that the black wind had passed, she leaned down again and pulled Ruan Jiyun out.

Ruan Jiyun emerged, startled by the sight before her. Everyone and every animal looked as if they had been washed in dirt, covered in ash and unrecognizable. The roof of her nanmu carriage had been torn off, revealing a bare section of the frame. The lost camels and the injured people and horses created a scene of utter chaos.

Jiang Peifeng directed the uninjured soldiers to temporarily move the wounded behind the sand dune. Fortunately, most of the injuries were superficial. Only Anjisa was particularly unlucky. To protect the supply cart when the black wind arrived, he was hit on the right leg by a rock. The wound was now deep enough to see bone, and blood soaked half his trouser leg.

Ruan Jiyun saw the young officer who had been lively this morning now in this condition. Afraid of frightening her, Anjisa insisted that people carry him onto a trailer at the end of the line, unwilling for her to see him.

Ruan Jiyun felt helpless. Seeing that many people in the team were injured, she decided to discuss with Jiang Peifeng: “I brought a cartload of herbal medicine. I wonder if we can use it for emergencies?”

Jiang Peifeng was a little surprised: “But no one here knows your medicines…”

“I do. I used to visit the Imperial Hospital often when I was a child. I can still identify the herbs and make some topical remedies and decoctions.”

Jiang Peifeng looked at her deeply: “This is your dowry. If you wish to use it here, there is no problem. However, are you sure you are willing to give these herbs to them?”

Her tone was gentle. Ruan Jiyun nodded blankly: “Saving people is the most important thing… Besides, Anjisa made me such delicious food. It’s just some herbs, of course I can.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she felt her head being patted again. Jiang Peifeng withdrew her hand: “They will be grateful to you.”

She waved and summoned a small soldier, ordering him to accompany Ruan Jiyun to find the camel carrying the herbs.

They were quite lucky; the camel hadn’t wandered off. The small soldier untied the dust-covered satchel from the camel. Ruan Jiyun ignored the environment and immediately crouched beside the sand pit to sort the herbs.

“This is Dragon’s Blood, this is Sanqi. Both can be used to stop bleeding.” She pulled out a handkerchief, placed the sorted herbs inside, and asked the small soldier to find the satchel on the other side as well.

Sure enough, they found a grinding mortar, a silver medicine pot, and other tools. Ruan Jiyun suppressed her inner excitement, moved the items to a flat, sheltered spot, and, seeing that everyone else was busy, rolled up her own sleeves and began to prepare the herbs.

Pounding and decocting medicine in the wild desert was a first-time experience for her. Before long, her tender palm was rubbed raw and red by the pestle. Ruan Jiyun pursed her lips, wrapped her hand with a handkerchief dismissively, and continued to pound the medicine.

At that moment, someone appeared beside her and took the tool from her hand.

“Does this need to be ground into a powder?” Jiang Peifeng looked at the herbs in the mortar and asked.

Ruan Jiyun nodded. Jiang Peifeng picked up the pestle and took over the work. She was fast, and soon finished processing the herbs, which she handed to Ruan Jiyun for inspection.

She then naturally took charge of the subsequent tasks of lighting a fire and boiling water. Ruan Jiyun only needed to explain and guide her from the side. She could accurately find the required items and proceed methodically.

The fire rose, and the herbs in the medicine pot heated up, quickly releasing a clean, bitter fragrance.

“Let me see your hand.” Jiang Peifeng suddenly looked up and reached out to her.

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