Fan Changyu hadn’t slept well for two days and one night. After a day of travel and exhausting herself in battle, this sleep was more like passing out than actually sleeping.
When she woke up again, it was already the afternoon of the next day. Besides the bleeding cuts, the muscle soreness throughout her body had reached its peak today. Every movement made her wince in pain. Fan Changyu could barely get out of bed on her own.
The female medic, A’hui, came to change her bandages. Fan Changyu mentioned that her back felt particularly sore.
Looking at the bruises and purple marks on her body, A’hui said sympathetically, “Commander, you have more than just sword and axe wounds. Your entire back is bruised. I’ll massage some medicine for sprains and bruises on it for you.”
Fan Changyu thanked her.
On the battlefield, she had been forced off her horse by those death soldiers, rolling on the ground several times while dodging incoming spears and axes. Such falls and impacts weren’t obvious yesterday, but today the bruises had swollen up, looking frighteningly severe.
To make it easier for A’hui to apply the medicine, Fan Changyu removed her robe and sat on a round stool, half-leaning on the table nearby.
The knife wound on her abdomen wasn’t deep and hadn’t injured any internal organs, but the cut was extremely long, almost extending to her waist. Fortunately, her injured arm was on the same side. When lying flat on her back aggravated the bruises, Fan Changyu would sleep on her other side.
A’hui helped her brush her long black hair to the front and scooped up some medicinal oil to gently massage the bruised areas on her back. As she massaged, her eyes reddened.
Fan Changyu’s skin had a warm white tone, but due to her injuries, she had lost some color, making the bruises and wounds appear even more striking.
When a teardrop fell on Fan Changyu’s back, she turned her head in surprise and saw the young girl’s eyes as red as a rabbit’s. She asked, “What’s wrong?”
A’hui wiped her eyes awkwardly with her sleeve and choked out, “Commander must be in a lot of pain, right?”
Realizing that the young girl was feeling sorry for her, Fan Changyu was slightly taken aback. She then smiled and said, “It’s not that painful.”
She leaned back on the table, her smiling lips slowly pressing into a lonely curve.
How could it not be painful?
In the past, when she practiced martial arts with her father and occasionally injured herself, she was afraid of losing face and stubbornly said it didn’t hurt. But when her mother took her to her room to apply medicine, she would grimace and cry out in pain, while her mother gently scolded her. It all seemed like it had happened just yesterday.
But now she no longer had parents, and there was no one left in this world with whom she could cry out in pain without reservation when she was hurt.
A’hui silently finished massaging the medicinal oil on the bruises on her back, then suddenly exclaimed, “Oh! Commander, you’re injured here too.”
She rubbed the area near Fan Changyu’s shoulder at the back of her neck with her oil-coated hand and said, “It’s red.”
Fan Changyu didn’t pay much attention: “Maybe I was scraped by some stones on the ground when I fell from the horse.”
A’hui stared at the two fingernail-sized red marks for a moment longer. The other scrapes on the Commander’s body were black or purple, but only these two were red as if they had just appeared recently.
She had just come of age this year, and because her father was a military doctor, she had grown up learning medical skills by osmosis. Since Fan Changyu was also a woman, they had specifically asked her to bandage and change Fan Changyu’s dressings.
She had once seen similar red marks on the neck of a flower girl who came for treatment. At the time, when the flower girl noticed her staring, she had covered her mouth with a silk handkerchief and giggled coquettishly.
Her mother had seen this and scolded her with a cold face, later telling her that the woman wasn’t a proper lady and that she shouldn’t associate with such people too much.
A’hui had asked her mother if the woman was sick because of the red marks on her neck, but her mother had scolded her even more severely, saying that a young lady should know shame.
To this day, A’hui didn’t know what those marks meant, but she privately guessed that they weren’t something good.
But now similar red marks had appeared on the Commander’s neck…
A’hui pondered deeply but couldn’t conclude. She could only think to herself that the red marks on the Commander’s body must have also come from the battlefield, different from those on the flower girl’s body.
Fan Changyu was unaware of all this. For lunch, A’hui brought her a bowl of lean meat porridge.
The military doctor had said that since she hadn’t eaten for a long time, she was too weak to handle rich food. For now, she should avoid eating too much at once and instead have small, frequent meals.
Fan Changyu hadn’t felt particularly hungry at first, but after finishing the bowl of meat porridge, she felt no sense of fullness at all. She held the empty bowl and looked at A’hui, who couldn’t bear her puppy-like gaze. A’hui furrowed her brows in distress: “Father said that Commander can only have one bowl of porridge for lunch first…”
Fan Changyu didn’t want to trouble the young girl, so she handed the empty bowl back to A’hui and asked Xie Wu: “How is my brother doing?”
A’hui replied, “He hasn’t woken up yet, but this morning when I was giving him medicine, he was able to swallow unconsciously. Father said that since he can take in food, his life is considered saved.”
This was probably the best news Fan Changyu had heard in the past two days. She held onto the bedpost to stand up: “I’ll go see him.”
A’hui hurried over to support her: “Commander, you’re still seriously injured. Father said you need to stay in bed for a few days to recover.”
Fan Changyu simply said, “I’m tough, it’s not a problem.”
Fan Changyu was tall for a woman, and A’hui was more than half a head shorter than her.
As she supported her, A’hui could see Fan Changyu’s beautifully contoured jaw with just a slight turn of her head. The afternoon sunlight fell on her pale face, still showing signs of her severe injuries, and even the fine downy hair was visible.
A’hui blushed at the sight and said playfully, “Commander is not tough at all. Commander is the most beautiful girl A’hui has ever seen.”
She had once seen a type of orchid in the courtyard of the city lord’s mansion. Its leaves were like swords, sharp and hard, forming a large, iron tree-like plant. But the flowers it bloomed were pure white as snow, blossoming in the center of the layered sword-like leaves, in large clusters, breathtakingly beautiful.
The servants in the mansion wanted to pick them, but the flowers were protected by the sword-like leaves, making them difficult to pluck.
When she saw Fan Changyu, covered in wounds, trembling as she helped bandage her, yet turning around to comfort her instead, A’hui thought of that orchid with sword-like leaves.
She thought that only a world-class hero from storybooks would be worthy of a girl as good as the Commander.
Xie Wu was still unconscious. After visiting him, Fan Changyu personally asked the military doctor about Xie Wu’s condition. The doctor said that given the severity of his injuries, it was already fortunate that he had survived. His left arm had been slashed, and although the arm was still attached, the bones inside were broken. Even after the wound healed, that hand would be useless.
Fan Changyu looked at the young man on the sickbed, remembering how he had led people to rescue her in such a dangerous situation, and felt a deep sadness in her heart.
But the fact that he could keep his life after being stabbed multiple times was already fortunate.
Fan Changyu, with slightly reddened eyes, said, “As long as he’s saved, that’s what matters.”
Worried that the military doctor’s team might be short-handed and Xie Wu might not receive proper care, she thought about assigning two people from the army to help. However, A’hui said that someone had come to watch over Xie Wu last night. She didn’t recognize the person and asked a few questions. The person said they were Xie Wu’s comrade from the army.
Fan Changyu immediately thought of Xie Zheng.
Since he had come to Lu City, his guards must have come with him.
The one who came to watch over Xie Wu last night was most likely one of his original comrades.
After knowing that Xie Wu’s life was no longer in danger, Fan Changyu finally had the peace of mind to slowly ponder the events of yesterday.
She hadn’t expected to see Xie Zheng in Lu City either.
After the Li family and Wei Yan began to compete for control over the military power in Chongzhou and Jizhou, he went to Kang City under the pretext of capturing the remaining rebels and hasn’t returned since.
From Kang City to Lu City was even farther than coming from Chongzhou. For him to arrive in such a short time, his troops must have been on the road early.
Had he received advance information, or was it just a coincidence that his troops were near Lu City?
Fan Changyu had a belly full of questions, and… what did his cold laughter and aggressive questioning mean when he heard her call him “Marquis”?
Thinking of the look he gave her before leaving, Fan Changyu felt increasingly uneasy.
She forcibly stopped her thoughts, not wanting to think about Xie Zheng anymore.
Now that Xie Wu was out of danger, the top priority was how to save Ru Shanshan.
The military doctor and A’hui kept a close watch on Fan Changyu. She used the excuse of wanting to pay respects to He Jingyuan before the doctor reluctantly allowed her to leave the courtyard where the wounded military officers were recuperating. Worried about her severe injuries hindering her movement, he specifically asked A’hui to accompany her.
The funeral hall was filled with white mourning clothes, with a large black coffin in the center bearing an enormous character for “condolence” that weighed heavily on one’s heart.
Fan Changyu, enduring the pain from her abdominal wound, knelt and kowtowed three times before offering incense to He Jingyuan.
Madam He helped Fan Changyu up. Despite the deep sorrow on her face, she still spoke kindly: “You must be Changyu. I often heard my husband mention you.”
She had received the news only this morning and had rushed from Jizhou with her two children, wearing a white mourning dress with black embroidery. Her brows showed signs of fatigue, and silver strands were faintly visible at her temples. But from the moment Fan Changyu saw her, she felt a sense of closeness.
She said in a hoarse voice, “Aunt He.”
Madam He responded with a sorrowful smile, then comforted her: “Good child, don’t cry. Lu City has been defended. If your uncle knows this in the afterlife, he can rest in peace.”
Fan Changyu nodded, strongly holding back the tears in her eyes.
Madam He sighed and said, “I heard you’re also in the army. If you see Wenchang, please tell him for me that neither I nor his uncle blame him. Tell him not to feel guilty.”
Only upon further inquiry did Fan Changyu learn that her blow had been so heavy that Zheng Wenchang didn’t wake up until this morning. Upon waking, he had come to kneel before He Jingyuan’s spirit tablet, refusing to eat or drink, or speak. It wasn’t until Madam He arrived with her two children that he left, feeling too ashamed to face Madam He.
Fan Changyu readily agreed.
Although she hadn’t worked with Zheng Wenchang for long, she knew he greatly respected He Jingyuan. He Jingyuan’s death must have been a tremendous shock to him.
Fan Changyu was planning to go back to the military camp to find someone, but as soon as she left the funeral hall, she saw a person in a secluded spot by the courtyard wall, beneath some climbing vines.
The person was looking at her with a gloomy gaze as if specifically waiting for her.
As Fan Changyu prepared to go over, A’hui grabbed her arm and stammered, “Co-Commander, that person looks fierce. Does he have a grudge against you? You’re injured now…”
Fan Changyu said, “It’s General Zheng, don’t be afraid.”
A’hui finally relaxed.
Supported by A’hui, Fan Changyu approached and called out, “General Zheng.”
Zheng Wenchang was leaning against the wall, with most of his face hidden in shadow. Light blue stubble covered his jaw, and his whole being exuded an air of dejection.
“Has the Commander achieved her wish of playing the hero?” He raised his head, looking at Fan Changyu with a mocking gaze.
Hearing this person disparage Fan Changyu, A’hui forgot her fear and immediately said fiercely, “How dare you speak like that? What do you mean by playing the hero? Don’t you know the Commander was brought back from the battlefield with barely half her life left? If it weren’t for the Commander, Lu City wouldn’t have held out until the Marquis arrived with his army!”
Listening to this rebuke, the mockery and grief in Zheng Wenchang’s eyes only deepened. He stared at Fan Changyu and said, “I wish it had been me who died outside the city! Rather than being knocked unconscious by someone, only to wake up and have everyone tell me the battle was over, with no chance left to avenge my teacher! I’ve become nothing but a laughingstock!”
Fan Changyu had knocked him out at the time because she feared he would, in his excessive grief, rashly rush out of the city and throw his life away.
She said coldly, “If the prized student taught by Lord He was to die senselessly on the battlefield due to impulsiveness, that would truly be a laughingstock!”
Her leaving the city was a tactical move to buy time while waiting for reinforcements. If Zheng Wenchang had left the city, he would have recklessly charged into the enemy ranks to seek revenge on Sui Yuanhuai.
How could one person, no matter how skilled in martial arts, stand against an army of twenty thousand?
One volley of arrows would have turned him into a pincushion.
Zheng Wenchang’s jaw clenched tightly at Fan Changyu’s words. He stared at her intently, suddenly taking a step closer. A’hui was startled and frightened, fearing he might attack Fan Changyu. She hurriedly shouted, “What are you trying to do?!”
Zheng Wenchang heavily punched the wall beside Fan Changyu and coldly threw out a sentence: “When your wounds have healed, let’s have a match.”
With that, he turned and left without looking back.
However, due to A’hui’s shout, many people who had come to mourn He Jingyuan today had already turned to look in their direction.
As the crowd buzzed with chatter, someone remarked, “Isn’t that General Zheng and Colonel Fan? What’s going on?”
Another person stuttered in a hushed tone, “It… it looks like General Zheng has cornered Colonel Fan against the wall…”
The main reason for this perception was the punch Zheng Wenchang had thrown towards Fan Changyu’s side. Due to the angle, from a distance, it truly resembled a kabedon.
Following that comment, someone else chimed in, “Could it be that General Zheng has feelings for Colonel Fan?”
This statement stirred up a storm of speculation. Given that both were unmarried and worked closely together, even sharing life-and-death experiences on the battlefield, upon careful consideration, some thought it wasn’t so surprising after all.
Fan Changyu hadn’t heard these discussions when she left. She hadn’t given much thought to the incident with Zheng Wenchang either.
It wasn’t until she went to Tang Peiyi for a token to visit the imprisoned Yu Qianqian and her child that she realized how outrageously the rumors had spread.
The incident began after she paid respects to He Jingyuan. She had learned from other military officers about where the rebels’ families were being held. Though she couldn’t rescue Yu Qianqian and her child, she thought she could at least bring them some food and necessities, and instruct the jailers to ensure they weren’t mistreated in prison.
At the prison gates, however, the guards informed her that she needed a token from either Xie Zheng or Tang Peiyi to enter.
Fan Changyu naturally wouldn’t ask Xie Zheng for such a favor.
After fabricating an excuse to obtain a token from Tang Peiyi, as she was about to leave, Tang Peiyi smiled and said, “I hear Colonel Fan and General Zheng are close to tying the knot?”
Fan Changyu was bewildered. “What makes you say that, General?”
Tang Peiyi, assuming she was just being modest, chuckled, “No need to be coy, Colonel Fan. Your relationship with General Zheng is the talk of the military camp. No wonder Lord He assigned General Zheng to Chongzhou to assist you before he left.”
Fan Changyu grew even more confused. “Are you referring to General Zheng’s declaration that he wants to duel me once I’ve recovered? What does that have to do with Lord He assigning him to Chongzhou?”
Tang Peiyi’s eyes widened. “At this point, are you still pretending ignorance?”
Fan Changyu wasn’t pretending; she was genuinely clueless.
Seeing her apparent lack of awareness, Tang Peiyi also became puzzled. He explained, “I heard that you and General Zheng have feelings for each other. Yesterday, when he wanted to leave the city to avenge Lord He, you were worried for his safety and knocked him unconscious, going in his place.”
Fan Changyu felt as if she’d been struck by lightning.
She finally understood the meaning of “lies spread faster than the truth.”
She recounted the actual events to Tang Peiyi, her face full of helplessness. “I feared General Zheng would throw his life away needlessly. Vice General He was there too; you can ask him if you don’t believe me.”
Tang Peiyi hadn’t expected such a misunderstanding. Perplexed, he asked, “Then why did General Zheng seek you out today?”
The rumor he had heard was that Zheng Wenchang, upon learning that she had been severely injured while fighting in his stead, was both touched and angered. He had supposedly confronted her in public, backing her into a corner to “question” her.
Fan Changyu’s eye twitched as she explained, “He resented me for knocking him out that day and nearly fought me. Seeing that I was injured, he said we’d settle it another time.”
Tang Peiyi slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed, “Outrageous! I’ll reprimand him later!”
Fan Changyu felt this was akin to tattling. If Tang Peiyi truly confronted Zheng Wenchang, future encounters would be even more awkward. She said, “Thank you for your concern, General, but it’s best if General Zheng and I resolve this privately. After all… Lord He’s death is truly an insurmountable grief for General Zheng.”
Lord He’s kindness weighed heavily on Tang Peiyi as well. Unable to arrive in time with his troops, he felt guilty and could empathize with Zheng Wenchang’s feelings. He sighed, “Very well, I’ll leave this matter for you two to settle privately.”
Leaving Tang Peiyi’s presence, Fan Changyu heaved a frustrated sigh.
A’hui hung her head in remorse, “It’s all my fault for shouting. I’ve caused you to be the subject of gossip, Colonel.”
Fan Changyu patted A’hui’s head, saying, “It’s not your fault.”
A’hui had only shouted out of fear that Zheng Wenchang might attack her. Who could have imagined that such a trivial matter would be blown out of proportion by rumor-mongers?
At the prison, after Fan Changyu showed her token to the guards, she was told that only she could enter. She instructed A’hui to wait outside while she went in with her packages to see Yu Qianqian.
The jailer led her to the innermost cell and respectfully said, “It’s here, Colonel. But there are rules from above, and I’m in a difficult position. You can only stay for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.”
Fan Changyu saw a woman in prisoner’s garb huddled in the darkest corner of the cell, shielding a child. Though she couldn’t see her face clearly, her hair was disheveled, suggesting she had endured much hardship.
With a heavy heart, Fan Changyu managed to keep her composure and told the jailer, “I understand. You may go now.”
After the jailer left, she addressed the woman in the cell, “Qianqian, I’ve come to see you. I haven’t found a way to get you out yet, but I’ve brought some things for you and the child. Here are the pine nut candies that the little one likes…”
The woman inside, hearing her voice, cowered even more, clutching the child tightly and burying her face in her knees, remaining silent.
Fan Changyu found this strange and called out again, “Qianqian?”
The woman still didn’t respond, but the child in her arms, hearing about the pine nut candies, timidly raised his head and looked at Fan Changyu.
As soon as she saw the child’s face, Fan Changyu’s expression changed.
This wasn’t Yu Bao’er!
Realizing the child had lifted his head, the woman looked up in panic and quickly pressed the child’s head back into her chest, seemingly not wanting Fan Changyu to discover they were impostors.
But in that brief moment, Fan Changyu had seen the woman’s face beneath her messy hair – it was a stranger.
Fan Changyu didn’t know whether to feel relieved or more anxious.
If the mother and child brought back weren’t Yu Qianqian and her son, then the one who had been executed probably wasn’t Sui Yuanhuai!
She stared at the woman huddled in the corner for a while, then silently passed all the food and bedding she had brought into the cell before leaving without a word.
Yesterday, after Xie Zheng was called away by his guard, he must have seen this mother and child. Did he not know they were impostors, or did he know but accept them as Yu Qianqian and her child anyway?
If it was the former, then she was the only one who knew that some rebels were still at large.
If it was the latter, what was Xie Zheng’s purpose in accepting that all the rebels had been executed?
As she left the prison, supported by A’hui, Fan Changyu was lost in these thoughts.
Suddenly, A’hui gripped her uninjured arm tightly and stammered, “Co… Colonel.”
“Hmm?” Fan Changyu snapped out of her reverie and turned to look at A’hui.
But A’hui seemed like a choked chicken, using her eyes to signal Fan Changyu to look ahead.
Fan Changyu had an ominous feeling, and sure enough, as she looked up, she saw a group of people approaching.
The leader wore a crimson brocade robe embroidered with cloud and wave patterns, his face as handsome as jade, his eyes like cold stars.
It was none other than Xie Zheng.
He had tied all his long hair up, accentuating his cold and sharp features, suppressing the last trace of youthfulness about him. He looked exceptionally handsome and imposing.
Behind him followed several civil officials, seemingly on their way to interrogate prisoners.
Fan Changyu inwardly lamented the unfortunate timing of this encounter.
Until now, she hadn’t known how to face him or what attitude to adopt, or even how to address him properly.
After a moment’s consideration, she clasped her hands in a military salute and said, “Greetings, Marquis.”
To her surprise, he didn’t even glance in her direction. His handsome face was covered with a layer of frost as he walked straight past her toward the prison as if she were invisible.
Fan Changyu was momentarily stunned.
A’hui gently called out, “Colonel, what’s wrong?”
Fan Changyu came to her senses, suppressing the bitterness rising in her heart, and calmly said, “It’s nothing. Let’s go.”
This, she thought, was how their next meeting was meant to be.