Chu Lian pressed on the bed with her small hands.

The mattress was very thin, almost sticking to the bed. She casually flipped the mattress underneath and saw that it wasn't made of cotton or fur, but of hay.

Chu Lian frowned. This thin mattress wasn't warm at all. If it was spring, she could make do with it, but in such a bone-chilling winter …

She remembered that she had specially asked the servants to bring He Changdi's mattress. Her gaze fell on Xiao Hongyu's bed. The thick wool mattress that was supposed to be He Changdi's was now on someone else's bed.

Chu Lian wasn't stupid enough to think that He Changdi was being bullied in the tent. That short and fat Xiao Hongyu was one of the people who came to rescue them last time.

Xiao Hongyu probably had some sort of internal injury and couldn't be exposed to the cold, so He Sanlang gave him his mattress …

Chu Lian rolled her eyes. This sick husband of hers was usually cold to her, but he was very nice to others!

But this guy was really stupid. He gave everything to someone else and then covered himself?

Didn't he know to buy another mattress?

For a moment, Chu Lian felt a little disappointed.

Chu Lian stood up and wrapped the gray rat fur coat around her. She let out a breath and gave Wenqing and Wenlan an order.

"Have someone bring the large blanket and mattress from my carriage. Also, bring some needles and thread."

Wenlan blinked and immediately understood Chu Lian's intentions. She rushed off.

Wenlan was a martial artist, so she naturally wasn't slow. In less than the time it took for a stick of incense to burn, she had brought everything over.

Chu Lian took off her cloak and moved He Changdi's blanket to the side. Then, she pulled off the thin bedsheet. There was hay under the bedsheet. The hay was quite smooth, so Chu Lian was just about to pull it all away when she suddenly noticed a small patch of blue under the hay.

Suddenly, she noticed a small patch of blue under the hay. Chu Lian walked over curiously and lifted the hay. She saw an indigo pouch lying flat on the ground.

Chu Lian pulled out the pouch stuck in the hay and waved it in front of her. Wenqing saw it and asked curiously, "Isn't this the pouch that third young mistress often uses to store snacks?"

The pouches that Chu Lian used to store snacks were all made by the servant girls in Songtao Court. They were all plain colored and had similar patterns. Wenqing and Wenlan had also made quite a few, so they could be recognized at a glance.

Of course, Chu Lian could also see it. The pouch was slightly bulging, but it wasn't heavy. The snacks that were originally stored inside should have been eaten long ago. She pulled open the cloth strip on the pouch and found that there wasn't anything else inside, but a neatly folded pouch of the same type.

Chu Lian always threw away these pouches of snacks after she finished eating them. After all, they were very simple and crude, just like the plastic bags of snacks nowadays. However, He Sanlang actually kept them …

Chu Lian felt a strange feeling in her heart, but she couldn't tell what it was.

She tied up the pouch and put it back in its original place.

Just as he was about to get up, he saw a blue-covered book under the gap at the head of the bed.

Out of curiosity, Chu Lian bent down to take the book out.

The cover of the book was made of blue cowhide, and it was a thin volume. There were at most twenty pages of paper, but there were no words on the cover.

Chu Lian was curious and carefully flipped to the first page.

When she flipped to the first page, Chu Lian saw the words "Human Happiness".

Chu Lian frowned. It seemed that this was the name of the book. Why was it so strange? There was no indication of the author.

After flipping to the next page, Chu Lian understood why this book didn't have a cover or an author.

She looked at the crude picture in the book of a half-naked man and woman lying on the bed beside the half-open window, comforting each other.

Chu Lian almost spat out a mouthful of blood. He … He Sanlang was actually reading a pornographic book!

And this kind of crudely made pornographic book …

After Chu Lian recovered from her shock, she calmly flipped through the book. There were only a few dozen thin pages, and she quickly finished flipping through them. There really wasn't anything new. The characters and scenery were too distorted, and some of them had their heads separated from their bodies. The proportions were also very distorted. Why would He Sanlang treat this lousy book like a treasure and hide it so well?

If she randomly brought a pornographic book from the modern era to He Sanlang, wouldn't he find a secret room to hide it?

This sick husband of hers was really too ignorant.

Chu Lian casually threw the Fire Avoidance Illustration on the bed and went to clean up the hay on the bed.

Wenqing and Wenlan were curious, "Third Young Madam, what book is this?"

Chu Lian glanced at the book and said calmly, "Look at it yourself."

Wenlan was more lively and curious. Third Young Madam had been flipping through it for a while!

She even snorted disdainfully as she read, which made her even more curious.

She glanced at her sister and took the book over. Wenqing also came over.

However, after flipping through two pages, the two girls screamed and the book fell to the ground.

Chu Lian was curious, "What's wrong?"

Wenqing and Wenlan's faces were red. Their eyes stared at Chu Lian, full of reproach, "Third Young Madam, this is a Fire Avoidance Illustration!"

Chu Lian was surprised, "I know."

Even if I knew, you still looked at it so calmly and even commented on it … Wenqing and Wenlan were speechless.

Chu Lian pursed her lips. It was just a crude pornographic book. If it was in the modern era, most men and women wouldn't be interested in it.

Wenlan picked up the book and quickly put it on the side table. As if it was scalding her hands, she dropped the book and retracted her hand. Her little face was still red.

Chu Lian facepalmed. These two girls were too naive.

Chu Lian instructed Wenqing and Wenlan to put a comfortable mattress on He Sanlang's bed. Then, she placed a blanket on top of the mattress. This way, it was much warmer than before.

After feeling the thickness of the blanket, Chu Lian nodded in satisfaction. She had Wenqing and Wenlan use a needle and thread to trim the edges of the blanket.

Wenlan looked at the sky outside. It was almost noon.

Commandant Guo's adjutant sent a message saying that they would have lunch later. The soldiers of the left wing had returned from the frontlines and were waiting for them.

Wenlan and Wenqing's faces lit up. Third Young Master was back!

The three girls who were washing clothes outside the tent also heard the news. Xiao Yan and the other two girls who were washing clothes suddenly stopped.

Xiao Yan's eyes darted around. "Let's wash slower."

"Ah?

Sister Xiao Yan, we're almost done. Why don't you finish washing earlier and go back to rest? "

Xiao Yan's eyes turned cold. She pulled out her pair of frozen red hands from the cold water and said hatefully, "The general is coming back. I want to let the general see how badly we were bullied when she wasn't around!"

The other two female soldiers were elated. Yes, the general was back. Let's see who would dare to bully them!

Thus, the three girls deliberately placed their hands in the cold water in the wooden basin. It was so cold that it turned purple. It made them look even more pitiful.

Chu Lian didn't have the mood to care about the thoughts of the three girls outside. When she heard the message, she only nodded and asked Wenlan to boil a pot of water.

He Changdi already knew that Chu Lian would come to the barracks today. Thus, when he received the message, he led his bodyguards and set off.

Sima Hui waved the long whip in her hand and led the army behind. The red tassel on her helmet fluttered in the cold wind. She stared at He Changdi's handsome back and asked with a frown, "Why is Commander He in such a hurry today?"

Although He Changdi was young and had a handsome face that could make people fall head over heels for him, he always had a cold expression on his face. He did things swiftly and decisively, and his martial arts were also very strong. He had never lost in the military competition.

He usually did things calmly and introverted. Even when the camp was attacked by the Tuhun soldiers a month ago, he could still deal with it calmly. It was rare to see him so impatient and unsteady, which was surprising for a while.

The general who was traveling with Sima Hui laughed.

"This stinking brat, isn't he still rushing back to the barracks to see his wife?"

This general's words were rough, but there was a hint of intimacy in them. It was obvious that he was familiar with He Sanlang and admired this calm and experienced junior.

Sima Hui was startled. She felt bitter and couldn't speak.

The general who spoke thought that Sima Hui still didn't know about this, so he kindly explained to her, "That brat is the third brat from Duke Jing 'an's estate. I don't know what's wrong with his brain to come to this godforsaken northern territory. If he was from my family, I would have broken his legs a long time ago!

However, this brat is quite lucky to have married a good wife.

That wife is following the Empress Dowager's orders to come to the northern territory to reward the troops. We haven't seen each other for a long time. Look at how anxious this brat is. "