Chapter 180: Going on a Mission
“Grandpa, we have to share a proper drink today.”
Father Pan had brought along two bottles of special-grade liquor. Since it was strictly a family gathering tonight, he was determined to celebrate the occasion properly.
“Excellent, excellent! Come, take your seats, everyone,” Grandpa Sheng called out warmly, gesturing to the Pan elders.
Sheng Wanyan ladled a hot bowl of soup for each person at the table. She always preferred having soup before the main course, and Gu Tingxiao naturally followed her lead, contentedly eating whatever she set before him.
Fortunately, Pan Yue hadn’t developed any aversion to the greasy aroma of the food yet and ate with a healthy appetite, allowing Grandma Sheng to finally let out a sigh of relief. The elderly woman had been deeply worried that the early stages of pregnancy would ruin Pan Yue’s appetite, but everything seemed perfectly fine for now. Pan Yue particularly enjoyed the spicy and sour pickled cabbage, devouring nearly half the platter by herself.
“Come, let’s raise our glasses together.”
Grandpa Sheng lifted his drink, prompting the other men to follow suit, while Sheng Wanyan and Pan Yue raised their bowls of soup.
“Today is a true day of reunion. My granddaughter is happily married and my granddaughter-in-law is carrying a child. These are magnificent blessings for our family. I pray that everything goes smoothly for everyone in the days ahead, and that our whole family remains happy and healthy.”
Grandpa Sheng’s toast was filled with a deep, radiant joy. He hadn’t felt this genuinely happy in over a month. Experiencing two major family celebrations in such short succession was enough to make him beam every time he thought about it.
“Thank you for the beautiful words, Grandpa,” the Pan elders smiled warmly, clinking their glasses.
The entire table drank to the toast, finishing the lavish welcome feast in high spirits.
Once dinner concluded, Pan Yue stepped toward the kitchen to help clear the table, but Wanyan firmly nudged her away, refusing to let her touch a single dish. “Go on back and get some proper rest. You’ve been traveling for days; the last thing you should be doing right now is housework.”
Seeing this, Mother Pan smiled and quietly slipped into the kitchen to help wash up instead. After all, her daughter and son-in-law were being treated to a magnificent feast by Wanyan, and it would look terrible if she just sat idly by. It simply didn’t sit right with her to let her daughter’s in-laws provide everything for free without offering her own labor in return.
Pan Yue was going to spend the rest of her life as part of the Sheng family. Even though this was a minor domestic detail, if any friction ever arose between the sisters-in-law down the road, these small actions would be remembered. Mother Pan was a realist; she didn’t believe anyone could get through life completely without conflict. Even the most loving couples bickered, let alone extended in-laws.
“Grandpa, Grandma, Brother, Sister-in-law, you should all head back to your flat and sleep,” Wanyan urged, guiding them toward the door. “Come back over tomorrow morning, and we can catch up properly.” She felt incredibly protective of her grandparents after their long journey and kept pressing them to rest.
“Alright, alright, we’re going,” Grandma Sheng chuckled. Before stepping out, she handed over a massive, tightly bound parcel brought all the way from home. It was a care package meticulously put together by the two elders along with Father and Mother Sheng.
“Grandpa, Grandma, remember to bring all your traveling laundry over to me tomorrow, and I’ll wash it for you,” Wanyan called out after them.
Pan Yue was pregnant, and even though she was safely past her first trimester, squatting over a washbasin to scrub heavy garments with a growing belly was an unnecessary risk. It would be a disaster if she slipped or strained herself.
“Absolutely not. Let your brother handle it,” Grandpa Sheng grunted firmly, waving off the offer. How could a married daughter be expected to haul and wash laundry for her parental household? Pan Yue was in no condition to scrub heavy clothes, but Sheng Wanze certainly wasn’t useless. If their grandson wasn’t even willing to wash clothes for his own grandparents after they traveled across the country for his family, then he wasn’t worth his salt.
Wanyan nodded obediently, though she remained a bit worried. She and Tingxiao walked the elderly couple all the way to their apartment doorstep across the lane to ensure they settled in safely.
“Alright, that’s far enough. You two head back now,” Grandma Sheng smiled, waving them off. “You’ve been running around and working hard all day too.”
Once they returned to their own quiet courtyard and unbolted the front door, Wanyan and Tingxiao eagerly cut open the heavy parcel from Chengdu.
As the wrapping fell away, it revealed three thick slabs of home-cured bacon smoked personally by Mother Sheng, two large canisters of premium malted milk powder purchased secretly by Father and Grandpa Sheng using their private pocket money, and two beautiful new skirts paired with two pairs of sturdy cloth shoes stitched by Grandma Sheng’s own hands. Tucked beneath the clothing were two kilograms of unrefined brown sugar prepared by Mother Sheng, two preserved wild pheasants, and two handwritten letters filled with tender updates from her parents.
Every single item had been chosen out of a profound worry that she might be struggling or lacking comfort in the distant north.
Wanyan stared at the contents, a soft sigh escaping her lips. She hadn’t even been married for a month, yet her family’s overwhelming love was already threatening to make her tear up. Knowing her parents were managing on their own back in Chengdu, she silently resolved to purchase a large crate of local specialties and fine grains during her next trip to the city to mail back home.
“Wife, the very next time I’m granted a block of leave, I’ll take you back home to Chengdu,” Gu Tingxiao murmured. Sensing the quiet melancholy settling over her, he wrapped his broad arms around her shoulders, offering a low, comforting reassurance.
“Really?” she asked, looking up.
“I promise.”
A bright, genuine smile broke across Wanyan’s face, and Tingxiao let out a quiet breath of relief, glad to see her spirits lift.
“Go carry the bacon and the dried pheasants into the kitchen pantry,” she said, lightly nudging his ribs with her elbow.
Gu Tingxiao’s throat rolled. Looking down at her, his voice took on a deep, resonant quality. “Understood.”
He remained standing directly behind her, leaning forward to gather the heavy provisions from the table. His warm breath brushed softly against the sensitive skin at the crook of her neck. Feeling the sudden, burning tickle of his proximity, Wanyan stiffened, instinctively tilting her head away to create some distance.
Tingxiao let out a low, rumbling chuckle that vibrated deep within his chest.
“Oh, stop it…” Wanyan huffed, bringing her foot down sharply onto his boot. Her weight wasn’t enough to cause any actual pain—it felt like nothing more than a playful tickle to him—but it got her point across. “Move it, go on!”
She threw him a sharp glare, and Tingxiao instantly played the obedient husband, scooping up the meat and retreating to the kitchen with a grin. Wanyan tracked his retreating figure, pressing her lips together as she silently scolded herself. My self-control is getting entirely too weak. A simple breath from this man is enough to give me goosebumps. From now on, I absolutely must stop letting him distract me so easily.
The following morning, Wanyan blinked her eyes open to find Gu Tingxiao still lounging beside her in bed. It was a rare sight, and after questioning him, she discovered he had been granted a full day of rest.
“Why on earth didn’t you mention you had the day off last night?” she asked, propping herself up on an elbow. If he had just told her, she wouldn’t have felt an ounce of lingering guilt about sleeping in so late.
“Wife, did you actually give me a single moment of your attention last night?” Tingxiao asked, his tone laced with a thoroughly aggrieved pout.
Wanyan, who had fiercely sworn to ignore his advances and practice strict emotional distance the previous evening, was suddenly left entirely speechless.
“Ahem…” Her cheeks burned with a trace of embarrassment, and she quickly looked down, missing his amused gaze.
“Wife,” Tingxiao’s tone shifted, turning quiet and serious. “I’m deploying on a mission tomorrow.”
Wanyan’s heart clenched instantly. The sudden wave of understanding hit her; no wonder the command had granted him a full day of rest today. “For how long?”
“At least half a month. A month at the absolute most.”
Wanyan nodded silently. They stared at one another through the quiet of the bedroom, neither uttering a word as a heavy, bittersweet atmosphere settled between them. Taking a deep, steadying breath, Wanyan forced her emotions into check. The very day she had resolved to marry Gu Tingxiao, she had fully prepared herself for the realities of being a military wife.
“I’ll be right here waiting for you,” she said softly.
Tingxiao was currently smoothing down a piece of timber to build her a low courtyard tea table. Hearing her quiet declaration, his hands paused entirely.
“Mmh,” he rasped, his throat suddenly tight. He lifted his head to meet her gaze. Though no further words passed between them, their eyes were filled with an unshakeable determination and an unspoken depth of devotion.
Once they finished breakfast, Wanyan decided to head out toward the foothills. She needed to forage for a few local botanicals to serve as a visual cover for the advanced hemostatic powder she intended to compound. Although she had already prepared a highly potent batch of the blood-clotting medicine inside her pocket dimension, she needed to physically bring back raw herbs so Tingxiao would witness the process.
Uncertain whether the specific wild flora grew in this northern terrain, she grabbed her woven basket. Hearing that she intended to trek into the lower forest, Tingxiao immediately set his carpentry tools down to shadow her.
“Wife, what exactly are you looking for up on the mountain?”
“I just want to explore the paths and see what’s growing,” she replied breezily.
Without pressing for further explanations, Tingxiao shouldered the heavier pack, gripped a sharp sickle, and fell into step beside her as they climbed the trail. Wanyan had no intention of venturing into the deep, dangerous thickets; many basic medicinal herbs thrived right along the outer paths, though the average person simply dismissed them as common weeds. The specialized hemostatic formula she used relied primarily on ordinary, inconspicuous flora, and even though she didn’t locate every single ingredient on the trail, the handful of wild roots and leaves she gathered provided the perfect cover for her work.
