The General Wants to Hug And Sleep

01 || The General's Weird Illness

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Edited on October 25, 2020.
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Within the center of the Luo Yang province, there was no one who did not know the name of Xiao Zhi Zhi.

Rumors say that he was an orphan who was adopted by monk Hui Wu, and that through his guidance, he practiced and learned martial arts at a frighteningly fast pace.

Everyone knew about his amazing fighting prowess, since anyone who would try to challenge him for honor, glory, or just for plain curiosity would never be able to see the rising of the sun again.

Furthermore, they say that when he was only twelve years old, he already joined the army and continuously made many honorable military services. So it wasn't a surprise when the court kept on sending him out to the battlefield.

While doing his duty, his administrative position continuously rose from a mere second rank officer to the great general.

Maybe the achievement of going from a second rank administrator to the great general wasn't considered that big of a deal for some people.

But with a third (1/3) of the whole country's military force in the palms of his hands, it was more than enough for people to tread carefully around him.

Recently, the most interesting rumor that was hovering around the twenty-five year old Xiao Zhi Zhi, was the fact that he didn't have a single wife or a concubine.

Not only that, he also didn't have a single scandalous relationship with any beautiful lady or popular entertainer in the city.

In order words, he was extremely 'clean'.

Oftentimes, the people of the city of Luo Yang would use this rumor as a conversation starter during their leisure time, and they would also speculate and debate about the reason why the general was so 'clean'.

That was the daily life inside of the city.

———

A slender but powerful body was sitting on a chair, the refined and handsome face that showed intelligence was currently showing no expression.

Xiao Zhi Zhi is reading a book.

After finishing one page, his slender finger would gently stroke the paper and turn it to the next page, while the other hand rested on top of the table, allowing the imperial doctor to examine his pulse.

The imperial doctor trembled when he drew his hand back. He looked at the great general's dark eyebags, and sighed inwardly.

He grumbled and complained about how unlucky he was today, and why the Xiao mansion's head housekeeper asked him to come here.

If he knew that this would happen earlier, he would have asked for a sick leave and took a short rest at his home.

"How is it?" A very calm voice asked.

The imperial doctor was stunned for a moment, and when he regained his senses, he realized that the great general was speaking to him.

"General, this doctor is afraid that you're too concerned about this country, so this doctor is not surprised that you have no energy. As long as the general takes care, I believe you will...."

"I'm asking you, when will I be able to sleep?" Xiao Zhi Zhi impatiently cut off the imperial doctor's words.

"This...Since the general hasn't slept for three days now, this doctor will prescribe sleeping medicine. Maybe it would help."

"Is it something similar to ginseng, green tangerine peel (qing pi), bark of the cork tree (philodendron), angelica, radix, sheng ma herb, zhi cao, these kind of medicines?" Xiao Zhi Zhi raised his eyebrows.

The imperial doctor felt his sweat drip down from his forehead. Inside the imperial court, everyone, from the highest ranked officials to the lowest ranked officials, knew that making the general sleep is harder than passing the imperial examination.

The general's body itself consists of different varieties of poison, so it's not an exaggeration to say that it's impossible to make him unconscious, even while using potent drugs.

"Does the general have another wise opinion?" the imperial doctor asked in a very 'humble' way.

According to his past experiences, if the dark circles underneath the general's eyes deepened, it meant that his temperament would worsen.

Now that the dark circles under his eyes are so deep, it meant that this situation will be very ugly depending on what his mood would be.

"Are you asking me for my 'wise' opinion?"

His cold eyes swept over the doctor and the tone of his voice deepened. Once the imperial doctor heard it, his body staggered and he took three steps back.

This General Xiao ... Could it be that because he's in a bad mood, he is contemplating on whether to slaughter this insignificant imperial doctor or not?!

Desperately, the imperial doctor tried to rack his brain for more immediate ideas, and with his smile almost faltering, he said,

"This lowly one has a method, maybe the general could give this a try. The general's body temperature is somewhat cold, making it difficult to for him sleep properly. Perhaps by letting the general's body temperature be the same with average people, the general might easily fall asleep."

Pausing for a moment, the imperial doctor tried to see if Xiao Zhi Zhi's expression changed or not, and continued to say,

"Since a long time ago, people who had warm body temperatures often had the ability to warm others as well, maybe the general could give it a try?"

"...Imperial Doctor Zhang, are you saying that you want someone to warm the general's body?" The head housekeeper of the Xiao Residence who was standing not so far away, finally spoke out.

The imperial doctor's old face suddenly turned red, "The general can find some young maid to hug and then he might attain warm temperature..."

All of Luo Yang's people knew that General Xiao is notoriously abstinent, he is not attracted to women.

If the general wouldn't go according to this method, then it wouldn't be his responsibility anymore if the general still couldn't sleep.

While thinking about it, the imperial doctor's mood dramatically improved, he only thought about escaping this troublesome problem and leaving the Xiao Residence as soon as possible.

Suddenly, Xiao Zhi Zhi stood up from his chair and walked towards a maid that was serving them tea.

While the maid was doing her task, she was actually looking at the general quite obssessively since a while ago. He grabbed her, embraced her to his chest, and tried to close his eyes.

Jaws.... are dropping to the ground!

Will that actually work?

The imperial doctor and the head housekeeper, Xiao Ren, were dumbstruck after seeing the scene in front of them. They felt as if their heads were struck with lightning.

Both of them knew that the general was not someone who cared about the proper conduct between men and women, but his current actions were too...

"Am I hallucinating?" the imperial doctor turned to look at Xiao Ren and asked him.

"I... No..." Xiao Ren strugglingly shook his head.

Shortly after, Xiao Zhi Zhi opened his eyes, released the maid from his arms, and spoke to Xiao Ren with a serious face,

"Next time, change her with a fatter one. This one is so thin, she's too loose when hugging."

"Yes sir..." Xiao Ren's mouth twitched.