“Any news from Zhayina?” Huo De asked his disciple Zhe Li.
Although Zhe Li could now stand and walk, one of his legs was noticeably lame, and one hand couldn’t even lift a teacup. Nevertheless, he was an extraordinary man. With his right hand useless, he still had his left, maintaining the demeanor of a war god from his prime.
“The message she sent says there’s nothing unusual on Shen Che’s end,” Zhe Li reported.
Huo De laughed wickedly, “Women are unreliable creatures, fickle and shameless.”
Zhe Li didn’t understand Huo De’s meaning.
“Do you think a philandering rake is worth Zhayina hovering around him constantly?” Huo De asked Zhe Li.
Zhe Li frowned, lost in thought.
“What is Zhayina? She’s a wolf drawn by the scent of blood. Now the wolf says there’s nothing unusual, yet she lingers. Why do you think that is?” Huo De asked directly.
“Master, are you saying Shen Che might be the Jing Zhu?” Zhe Li inquired.
“Even if he’s not, he’s a big fish in the Jing Shi Army. And there’s a ninety percent chance that Zhayina woman has already betrayed us,” Huo De said, standing up with his cane.
Huo De’s foresight was truly remarkable. Shortly after he spoke, a subordinate came to report, “People from various tribes are deserting, claiming the God of Light has decreed that autumn is not suitable for warfare, lest they face catastrophe.”
Huo De snorted coldly, “Have you tallied how many have backed out?”
“The Yugur, Kelun, and Yilaruna tribes have withdrawn entirely. Additionally, about ten to twenty percent of other tribes are unwilling to fight,” Zhe Li reported. “Master, what should we do now?”
“No rush. Without the Jing Shi Army, Shen Yu’s troops will be blind on our grasslands, and he’ll have trouble protecting himself,” Huo De said.
“Master, do you have a plan?” Zhe Li asked excitedly.
“Prepare ink and paper. I need to write a letter,” Huo De instructed. “After years of investigation, we can finally confirm Jing Zhu’s identity today. My senior fellow apprentice was so confident in this disciple of his, but he couldn’t even conceal Jing Zhu’s identity. How could he achieve greatness? The Central Plains people excel at infighting. We won’t even need to act; the Shen family will become the target of the Central Plains court.”
Huo De had spent time with the Jing Shi Army over a decade ago and knew well how much the court officials feared and hated them for their covert actions. Once Shen Che’s identity was exposed, even Emperor Jian Ping couldn’t protect him. A Jing Zhu with a leaked identity would turn from a wolf into a lamb.
The recipient of Huo De’s letter was none other than Liang Jinhe, the Minister of the Secretariat, whom Shen Che had always been wary of but couldn’t touch. The Jing Shi Army was like a hidden blade in Emperor Jian Ping’s hand, while Liang Jinhe was the visible instrument. The two complemented yet restrained each other, both wanting to eliminate the other but not daring to act rashly.
Zhe Li said, “I never imagined it would be Shen Che. But the reports say he brought his wife to Tongluo City this time. Why? Isn’t he afraid we might harm her?”
“That’s precisely his cleverness. We all thought Jing Zhu wouldn’t do something so foolish, which is why we only suspected him. Whether that woman is truly his wife is uncertain. Even if she is, couldn’t he just remarry if she died? You’ve dealt with Jing Zhu for years. Do you think he’s the type to bow his head for a woman?” Huo De said, judging others by his standards. In Huo De’s eyes, women were as lowly as weeds, so he naturally didn’t think Shen Che’s wife could hold any significant position.
Huo De sealed the letter and handed it to Zhe Li to seal with wax. “Send this out immediately, without delay. Whether we can defeat the Shen family effortlessly depends entirely on this letter.” Huo De and Liang Jinhe had an agreement: if he could uncover Jing Zhu’s identity and provide evidence, he would strongly recommend that Emperor Jian Ping dismiss Shen Yu. Now that they discovered Shen Yu was Jing Zhu’s brother, it couldn’t be better. Liang Jinhe would surely be more motivated, given his deep hatred for the Jing Shi Army.
Just as Huo De was feeling triumphant, his wax-sealed letter quickly fell into Shen Che’s hands and was swiftly sent back to the Central Plains. However, the recipient was Emperor Jian Ping, not Liang Jinhe.
Ji Cheng witnessed all of this and was deeply grateful that she wasn’t Shen Che’s enemy now. “You knew Huo De would write this letter, didn’t you? That’s why you didn’t care if Zhayina revealed your identity. You were waiting for this letter from Huo De. With it, Liang Jinhe’s great crime of secretly communicating with the Turks is confirmed.” Without internal strife and checks and balances, Shen Yu, as the Great Marshal of the Northern Expedition, could now act freely.
Shen Che smiled modestly, not taking any credit. His smile was truly very arrogant and annoying.
Ji Cheng leaned closer to Shen Che and said, “It wasn’t in vain that you flaunted your masculine charms before Zhayina for so long. You obtained this letter so easily, using Zhayina’s mole in Huo De’s camp, right?”
Shen Che easily pinched Ji Cheng’s cheek. “It’s not good for a woman to be so clever.”
This time, Shen Che had merely used the strategy of hiding his true intentions. On the surface, Shen Che’s collaboration with Zhayina was to turn those three tribes, weakening Zhe Li’s forces. In reality, this was just to conceal his true purpose. Even someone as clever as Huo De fell for Shen Che’s trick.
In Shen Che’s view, these turned tribes might not attack the Central Plains this year, but next year they would still be tempted by its prosperity. It was merely a delaying tactic.
Removing Liang Jinhe was the most pressing matter at hand. The morale of the troops depended greatly on provisions. Liang Jinhe, holding sway in the Department of State Affairs, had been withholding the Northern Expedition Army’s pay and provisions. This was why Shen Yu had to send people to procure food supplies everywhere, and how Ji Cheng’s childhood friend managed to secure an official position.
Moreover, Liang Jinhe liked to meddle in Shen Yu’s military strategies from the rear and even sent a supervising official to the Northern Expedition Army. All actions had to be reported to this official and await his approval before Shen Yu could act. The consequences of having someone ignorant of military affairs manage military matters were predictable.
Shen Che had been planning with Zhayina for days, even requesting an imperial edict early on, indeed to gain Zhayina’s trust. Otherwise, no matter how capable the Jing Shi Army was, they might not have been able to intercept this crucial letter in time. If this letter had truly reached Liang Jinhe’s hands, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
“But having your identity exposed is still extremely dangerous,” Ji Cheng said.
Shen Che nodded, “That’s why we can’t allow Huo De and Zhe Li to live this time. But there’s no need to worry for now. Information as valuable as Jing Zhu’s identity is something Huo De wouldn’t easily disclose. Besides, he doesn’t know that I’m already aware of this, so he’s still trying not to alert us. For now, there’s no risk of my identity being widely exposed.”
Ji Cheng nodded, “Then how will you find them?”
“I’m the bait now. We don’t need to find them; they’ll come to us,” Shen Che looked at Ji Cheng and said, “So from now on, you must not leave Nan Gui and Lian Zi’er’s sight, and it’s best if you stay with me at all times.”
Ji Cheng lowered her eyes, pondering for a moment before saying, “Actually, you didn’t need to bring me to the grasslands. This way, you wouldn’t have had to consider me while dealing with Zhayina, and now you wouldn’t have to worry about my safety.” Ji Cheng admitted to herself that she had indeed been idle on the grasslands. Even if she hadn’t caused trouble for Shen Che, she was still a burden. She didn’t understand Shen Che’s thoughts.
Shen Che sometimes couldn’t control himself. He knew some things shouldn’t be done, yet he always wanted to see that moment when her eyes suddenly lit up. He always wanted to fulfill all her requests, even those she didn’t voice, and he couldn’t help but make arrangements for her.
“I have more than just one or two enemies in this lifetime. I can’t keep you hidden at home just because there are risks outside, can I?” Shen Che walked up to Ji Cheng, tucking her hair behind her ear. “What I want to ask you is, do you want to stand by my side, facing unknown risks together, or would you rather stay in the inner courtyard, away from both wind and waves?”
Ji Cheng’s feelings were obvious. She had never been content to hide her talents and achievements in the inner courtyard, living a life amid the petty squabbles with her sisters-in-law. She longed to build a career and establish herself like a man, though not necessarily by venturing into the court. She just wanted to have her pursuits, such as making money.
For Ji Cheng, the process of making money was probably like conjugal relations for men – both brought incomparable pleasure and had become an indispensable part of life.
However, Ji Cheng hadn’t expected that one day, Shen Che would extend such an invitation to her. She was delighted and moved. In a moment of impulse, she couldn’t help but stand on tiptoe and lightly peck Shen Che’s lips.
Shen Che was stunned.
This was a treatment he had never imagined or dared to imagine. It was just a kiss, or not even a kiss, just a light touch. Yet it sent huge reverberations through his heart, making his limbs go numb. His heart felt both sour and soft, gradually beginning to swell. He wished for an outlet to express himself, wanting to dance with joy.
Ji Cheng’s light peck, once Shen Che recovered, turned into a passionate exchange of tongues. There was no technique to speak of, just endless desire and more desire.
Ji Cheng felt as if Shen Che was about to swallow her tongue. Her robe was torn open with a “whoosh,” too impatient even to untie it properly.
Shen Che was like a traveler who had been thirsty in the desert for two days, desperately sucking and nibbling wherever he could reach. Ji Cheng cried out in pain, but she didn’t refuse Shen Che. Because she suddenly felt that Shen Che was like a child asking for candy, his behavior was so straightforward. Ji Cheng’s heart softened; she was far from being as hard-hearted as she thought.
Shen Che was no ordinary man. In the past, when faced with such situations, even if Ji Cheng eventually complied, it was only after struggling like a little tiger. Not like now, where she let him squeeze and pinch as he pleased, without a word of protest.
Well, not exactly without a word. Her voice was broken into incoherent sounds, often abruptly cut off by his thrusts.
As a man, after feeling moved, Shen Che’s mind wandered to whether today he might try a less common position that she usually refused to attempt.
Tsk, taking a mile when given an inch is also human nature.
Ji Cheng’s forehead was already sweating as she clung to Shen Che in a daze. But suddenly, he stopped moving. Ji Cheng struggled to open her eyes, and Shen Che lowered his head to whisper in her ear, “Damn it, someone’s eavesdropping. Wait here while I go deal with them.”