Yelu Qianqian pondered as she walked toward Situ Haonan’s tent, but the moment she reached the entrance she ran straight into General Dugu coming out from inside!
It was already quite late—hadn’t General Dugu returned to his own tent after the banquet ended?
She had clearly seen him leave. Why was he here now?
When General Dugu saw Yelu Qianqian approaching, a flash of panic crossed his eyes, but he quickly composed himself, smiling as he stepped forward. “Princess Qianqian, why have you come by so late?”
“Then why are you here too?” Yelu Qianqian shot back.
“This lowly general suddenly recalled some practical matters concerning tomorrow, and came to discuss them with Haonan.”
“Haonan? Since when have you two grown so close?”
Yelu Qianqian eyed General Dugu up and down suspiciously, but without waiting for his answer, she went and knocked on the door. “Situ Haonan, may I come in?”
“Mm.” A muffled voice came from within. Hearing it, a flash of coldness crossed General Dugu’s eyes, and he withdrew.
Yelu Qianqian didn’t have that many reservations—she curled her body up and went straight in.
She found Situ Haonan just preparing for bed. Ever since the two of them had eloped and shared a bed in Jun Beiyue’s Glazed Pavilion, Situ Haonan held nothing back, and Yelu Qianqian felt no need to be shy about it either!
Situ Haonan had made up the bed and warmed a spot with his own body. Only then did he beckon Yelu Qianqian over. “Hurry and sleep, it’s almost dawn.”
Yelu Qianqian giggled and scurried over eagerly, burrowing into the warm blankets, pillowing her head on Situ Haonan’s arm, her body and heart both warming until they nearly melted.
Happiness had finally returned!
He put out the oil lamp, and the room fell silent. Situ Haonan didn’t seem inclined to talk—he turned on his side, pulled Yelu Qianqian fully into his embrace, and buried his face against her neck as if to sleep.
Yelu Qianqian was warm, truly warm, but this time the warmth didn’t muddle her thoughts entirely. She spoke up timidly, “Haonan, tomorrow…”
“Tomorrow is none of my concern. Sleep.” Situ Haonan’s words were final, telling Yelu Qianqian there was no need to continue.
Yet Yelu Qianqian suddenly sat up, displeased. “How is it none of your concern! My father the emperor and the entire court are waiting for you to bring the marshal’s order back to Akbachu from Xiliang!”
“Wanyan Lie surrendered days ago. The one he’s waiting for is Han Ziqing.” Situ Haonan was angry, but he didn’t forget to pull Yelu Qianqian back into the blankets with one hand.
Yelu Qianqian calmed down considerably and said flatly, “Haonan, do you know how I got here?”
Situ Haonan said nothing, his weary eyes shut tight. He wanted to sleep but simply couldn’t. The moment he closed his eyes, even though he told himself he didn’t want to think about anything more, his grandfather’s kindly smile immediately surfaced in his mind, refusing to fade, forcing him to open his eyes again. Otherwise, if this continued, he didn’t know what he might end up doing!
“It was Ziqing who came to Akbachu to escort me here. I originally wanted to give you a surprise…” As Yelu Qianqian spoke, she muttered inwardly, “Who would have thought you’d give us a scare instead.”
The hand Situ Haonan had wrapped around her waist tensed slightly, but quickly relaxed again. He still said nothing. In the dim light, his eyes could faintly be seen glinting—no telling what he was thinking.
“Haonan, Ziqing said she won’t stop you from letting the people of Nangong City come for revenge. If they want to come, let them come. But you… in any case, I won’t accept you seeking revenge against Ziqing. You’re the one who told me to cherish the person in front of me!”
Hearing this, Situ Haonan finally reacted, though his voice was cold, laced with impatience. “Enough. Don’t bring this up with me again, understand? I don’t want to hear it anymore, and I don’t want to think about it anymore! Understand?”
Yelu Qianqian was a little startled, and secretly stuck out her tongue. She thought to herself that if he was talking like this, he must have already forgiven Ziqing—it was just that he couldn’t quite save face yet. She’d give him a few more days.
After a long silence, Yelu Qianqian spoke again.
“Haonan, tomorrow let me go with you to accept Wanyan Lie’s surrender, all right? Take my hand and lead me there! We’ll represent Xijing together.”
Helpless, Situ Haonan kept his eyes wide open in the dark but pretended to be asleep, giving no answer.
“Haonan, how could Ziqing possibly represent Xijing? This battle was also won by Xijing—it was your marshal’s order that led Xijing to victory. If it weren’t for that counterattack of yours, which forced Wanyan Lie into his first retreat, no matter how skilled Ziqing is, it wouldn’t have amounted to anything!”
“Haonan!”
Yelu Qianqian rolled over, wrapped her arms around Situ Haonan, and shook him, acting coquettish. “Haonan, think about it properly. If you’re not the one who receives the marshal’s order, once we return to Akbachu, how many people will gossip!”
…
Yelu Qianqian kept persuading him until Situ Haonan finally couldn’t take it anymore and said flatly, “Fine, I understand!”
Yelu Qianqian, who was herself drowsy from all her own talking, heard this and excitedly hugged Situ Haonan tight. “You agreed!”
Helpless, Situ Haonan pressed her down into the blankets. “Sleep!”
Only then was Yelu Qianqian satisfied. But just as she was about to fall asleep, Situ Haonan suddenly pulled her tight against him. “Girl, honestly, there’s nothing good about being with me, is there.”
Yelu Qianqian was already hovering on the edge of sleep, and answered drowsily, “It’s quite good…”
“No, it’s not good. Not good at all.” Situ Haonan murmured this right against Yelu Qianqian’s ear, as if talking to himself.
That night, he held Yelu Qianqian, held her very, very tightly, yet never fell asleep himself…
Dawn came quickly.
No one knew when the snow had begun falling in the night, but it still hadn’t stopped—the entire camp was blanketed in white!
Ziqing had prepared early and was waiting in the carriage in front of the main camp.
General Dugu arrived first. Yelu Qianqian and Situ Haonan came late. The moment she saw Ziqing, Situ Haonan still said nothing, while Yelu Qianqian breathed out several puffs of white air and laughed with embarrassment, “Sorry to keep you waiting—he was waiting for me, he got up very early!”
Qianqian’s words were clearly meant to hint at something to Ziqing.
But she didn’t realize that everyone present was sharp enough to have become practically mind readers—how could they not notice something was off? Situ Haonan glanced at her but said nothing.
Ziqing also said nothing and got into the carriage. Situ Haonan wanted to ride his horse alongside General Dugu at the front, but Yelu Qianqian clung to him desperately, insisting he ride in the carriage.
He refused at first, but eventually gave in!
There was still some distance between the Xijing army’s encampment and Longxi City. Inside the carriage, Ziqing sat by the window, gazing off toward Longxi City in the distance, while Situ Haonan looked the other way.
Even a three-year-old could see what was going on—there was no hiding it.
Yelu Qianqian sat in the middle, so anxious about the awkward atmosphere she was nearly in tears, and of course she had to find something to talk about.
“Ziqing, has the northern border battlefield wrapped up too? When is Jun Beiyue coming?”
“There should be news in the next few days. It should have wrapped up already,” Ziqing said flatly. The distance between the northern highlands and the western frontier of Xijing was too great, so news traveled slowly, but she could estimate it well enough—besides, Jun Beiyue had promised just one month, and there weren’t many days left!
Satisfied with Ziqing’s answer, Yelu Qianqian turned to ask Situ Haonan, “Haonan, once we get the marshal’s order, we’ll set off for Akbachu right away, won’t we?”
Seeing Situ Haonan turn his head to look over, Yelu Qianqian immediately stepped on Ziqing’s foot in secret, signaling her to speak up.
It would be fine. This man had even agreed to ride in the carriage—that meant things were surely fine. As long as Ziqing gave him a way to step down gracefully, the scolding done, the hitting done, everything explained clearly—after all, he was a real man, and a smile could wipe away old grudges!