Jiang Zhiyi looked at Qi Yan across from her in surprise, then turned to meet Shen Yuance’s complex gaze, opening her mouth but finding it difficult to explain.

She truly hadn’t been in contact with the Fourth Prince for many years, especially after he politely declined their marriage arrangement. These past few years, they had only seen each other at palace banquets a handful of times that could be counted on one hand, staying far enough apart that their eyes wouldn’t even meet. Even when they encountered each other by chance, it was just like today—she would say, “Greetings, Your Highness,” and he would reply, “No need for formalities.”

…How would she know that the Fourth Prince still remembered her food preferences?

Seeing Jiang Zhiyi’s changing expression, Shen Yuance suddenly recalled some details. Last winter, when Jiang Zhiyi was drunk at the Princess’s mansion, she had mentioned childhood memories to him—

“I was sitting alone in the dining hall, watching the maidservants reheat the dishes over and over. I don’t know what time it was, but I finally felt a bit hungry and picked up a dumpling to eat. At that moment, the family nanny suddenly rushed in and told me that my mother had taken poison and committed suicide…”

Shen Yuance’s eyes flashed as he looked at the plate of dumplings in front of her and was about to reach out to remove it.

Jiang Zhiyi quickly shook her head: “…No, I don’t dislike dumplings.”

Shen Yuance: “Don’t force yourself if you don’t want to eat—”

Qi Yan: “No need to force yourself if you don’t want to eat—”

Two male voices spoke simultaneously and then stopped at the same time. Jiang Zhiyi suddenly lowered her head to see Shen Yuance and Qi Yan both reaching for the plate of dumplings in front of her, each grasping one edge of the plate, lifting it.

The two hands holding the plate of dumplings froze in mid-air. Shen Yuance and Qi Yan exchanged a glance.

Though the thunder and rain outside had stopped long ago, suddenly there seemed to be a rumble overhead.

Jiang Zhiyi looked at the two men stiffly, realizing that when she and Pei Xueqing had confronted Shen Yuance to demand justice, this must have been how Shen Yuance felt…

Seeing that the plate of dumplings in their hands no longer dared to emit steam, Jiang Zhiyi slowly extended her hand, tentatively grasping another edge of the plate: “No, I’m not forcing myself. I want to try them…”

Both men turned their heads to look at Jiang Zhiyi.

Jiang Zhiyi said to Qi Yan, “Thank you for your concern, Your Highness, but people change. I’m different from before.”

Qi Yan’s gaze stalled slightly, and he slowly released the plate, lowering his hand.

Shen Yuance looked directly at Jiang Zhiyi, remembering the letter she had left in Xingyang.

Jiang Zhiyi turned to Shen Yuance and said softly, “You can let go, too.”

“Can you hold it if I let go?” Shen Yuance put the large plate of dumplings back down.

Jiang Zhiyi looked at the dumplings that had returned to her place, gazed at them for a moment, then picked up her chopsticks and gently lifted one, bringing it to eye level.

Those old memories had passed with the fires of war, and she seemed to truly no longer fear eating dumplings.

Jiang Zhiyi put the dumpling in her mouth and took a bite, finding the taste acceptable. In fact, after not eating them for many years, she even felt a sense of nostalgia. She chewed and swallowed, then picked up another one after finishing the first.

Shen Yuance watched her for a while, then lowered his head with relief and began eating from his plate of dumplings. He had eaten half a plate, one dumpling per mouthful, when suddenly his sleeve was tugged.

“Hmm?” Shen Yuance turned his head.

“Now I am forcing myself,” Jiang Zhiyi pointed to the plate in front of her, still more than half full. Unlike those who were ravenous after battle, she wasn’t very hungry. “These dumplings in your camp are too large, and the filling is too substantial…”

“So you’re forcing me instead?” Shen Yuance’s words sounded reluctant, but the corners of his mouth curved into a smile.

“…It would be a waste, and we can’t force our guest.”

Shen Yuance glanced at the guest across from them, then smiled as he took Jiang Zhiyi’s plate and used his chopsticks to sweep the remaining dumplings onto his plate.

Qi Yan glanced at Shen Yuance’s plate, then lowered his eyelashes and continued eating his dumplings.

After finishing the late meal, Jiang Zhiyi let Shen Yuance focus on military matters and returned to her tent.

Jing Zhe had already prepared the bedding for her and had sprinkled herbs in the corners to ward off insects and snakes. Jing Zhe had been busy with these tasks earlier and hadn’t been able to attend to her meal, otherwise the dumpling incident wouldn’t have happened.

Jiang Zhiyi finished washing up in the tent and asked Jing Zhe to watch for when the Fourth Prince left so she could go explain things to Shen Yuance.

Jing Zhe waited outside, and after a long time, finally saw the Fourth Prince leave the main tent. But when she lifted the curtain to check on Jiang Zhiyi, she found her asleep on the couch, her body tilted to one side.

It was already late into the night with few hours left for rest. Jing Zhe hesitated, then decided not to wake Jiang Zhiyi and instead went forward to cover her with the quilt.

Meanwhile, Shen Yuance saw from a distance that half the candles in Jiang Zhiyi’s tent had been extinguished and knew she had gone to sleep. He took a casual bath and then lay down on his couch, closing his eyes.

As everything quieted down, only the sounds of insects chirping after the summer night’s rain remained. Suddenly, in his ears echoed the words Qi Yan had left before departing—

“I’ve known the Princess since childhood and only hope she finds a worthy person to entrust herself to, living peacefully and contentedly. Just now, I thought that in this marriage she had chosen, she needed to force herself to eat food she doesn’t like, so I spoke up. Since it was my misunderstanding, I hope Young General Shen won’t take offense.”

“One general’s success is built upon the bones of ten thousand soldiers. There are no winners in war. I cannot sincerely join in the congratulations that the imperial envoy offered Young General Shen tonight. Civil war is the result of the greed of generals and the failures of those in power, yet it is the soldiers who bleed and sacrifice. In Young General Shen’s recovery of the inner territories, after the battle of Xingyang, not a single soldier under your command perished, thanks to Young General Shen’s divine military skill. I believe Young General Shen shares my sentiment. May the Great Ye’s soldiers henceforth direct their military might outward as one, and may tonight be the last time in our lifetimes that the capital army and the Xuance Army meet in formation.”

…

His eyelids gradually grew heavy, and some distant, blurry scenes flashed before him one by one—

On a rainy night, he lay sprawled in the mud with his beaten body, looking at two pairs of military boots in front of him.

“General, I can’t fight the young master anymore. I fear he won’t be able to take it…”

“He is not a young master; he is a warrior. When a warrior falls, all that awaits him is the descending blade. Yuance, get up!”

He endured the pain that felt like his entire skeleton was shattering, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and slowly pushed himself up from the ground.

The instructor in front of him waited until he was standing unsteadily, then continued attacking.

He raised his hand to block, once, twice, and soon he fell into the mud again, crying out in pain.

His father’s voice sounded from above—

“Don’t cry out in pain, don’t cry, get up!”

…

The scene changed to a sunny, bustling marketplace where he, wearing a mask, had the rare opportunity to follow his father out. Curiously looking around, he stopped before a stall displaying a dazzling array of jade items.

The vendor smiled and asked him, “Would the young master like to buy a jade archer’s thumb ring? With this, your hand won’t hurt when you shoot arrows.”

He rubbed the old and new scars on his fingers, looking enviously at the various jade thumb rings, then raised his head to look at his father.

But his father waved off the vendor: “He doesn’t need it. How can he shoot good arrows if he’s afraid of pain?”

He couldn’t call him father in public, so he just called out: “General, I’ll buy one, but not wear it. Is that alright?”

The vendor also encouraged: “Oh, General, you’re a general, of course you’re not afraid of pain, but this young master is just a child!”

His father finally relented, paid the silver, and said to him, “If I see you wearing it while shooting arrows, I’ll throw it away. Understand?”

He nodded firmly and only wore the jade thumb ring when he wasn’t shooting arrows after returning home.

The instructor asked him, “Why wear a jade thumb ring when you’re not shooting arrows?”

He happily said, “Because Father bought it for me. Father does worry about my pain.”

…

The scene changed again to a blood-scented bed, where basins of clear water were brought in, only to be carried out as basins of bloody water.

The military doctor, looking at the wound on his back that was deep enough to see bone, asked in shock: “General, how did the young master get injured like this?”

“He couldn’t dodge the sword coming from behind, so of course he got hurt.”

“General, the young master is still young. Please don’t push him too hard…”

The military doctor sighed and withdrew. His father sat on the edge of the bed and asked him, “Does this sword wound hurt?”

He dared not say it hurt, and tightly pressed his lips together while shaking his head.

“If it hurts, remember this—”

“Your birth mother, to protect you and your brother’s safety, worried about people discovering she had given birth to twins. She developed an illness after childbirth but dared not seek medical help… If it weren’t for that person in the deep palace of Chang’an, your mother wouldn’t have died in her prime, and you could have properly been the young master of the Shen family, without having to suffer these hardships, without having to live in the gutter where you can’t see the light of day.”

“When the day comes that you can avenge your mother and yourself, go and destroy that deep palace, destroy all those high and mighty people there.”

After speaking, his father left the bedroom. Outside the door, the military doctor’s voice could be heard: “General, why do you do this? The young master will likely grow to resent you!”

“It’s best if he hates me. The more he hates me, the more he’ll know where to point his blade.”

“But the late Emperor has passed away, and a new Emperor has taken the throne. There’s nowhere to seek revenge for your wife…”

“All the people in that deep palace deserve to die just the same.”

…

The tumultuous scenes gradually subsided like ebbing waves, with the final scene set in the dead of night.

He lay quietly sleeping on his bed, suddenly sensing warmth approaching.

Before his consciousness was fully clear, he knew an enemy had come. This was his father’s training to make him like a wild beast, able to face enemies even in deep sleep.

If he couldn’t wake up, the blade would truly fall.

Before his mind was fully awake, his body had already reacted. Shen Yuance violently flipped over, pinning the intruder beneath him, his hands choking the slender neck.

A cry of alarm rang out, and as he raised his eyes, the dim candlelight illuminated a pure, snow-white face.

All the filth, killing, and pain from the dream suddenly disappeared in that moment. Shen Yuance’s brow twitched as he came to his senses and abruptly released his hands.

Jiang Zhiyi looked up at the person kneeling beside her, clutching her throat and breaking into violent coughs, tears welling in her eyes.

She had simply woken up in the middle of the night and heard from Jing Zhe that the Fourth Prince had left long ago, but she hadn’t been woken because she was asleep, so she came to find Shen Yuance.

Little did she know that the soldiers at the tent entrance wouldn’t stop her, but Shen Yuance would mistake her for an assassin.

Shen Yuance’s fingers trembled as he pulled her hands away from her neck, filled with dread: “…Are you hurt?”

Jiang Zhiyi shook her head while coughing.

Shen Yuance stared at the alarming finger marks on her snow-white neck: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

“…I forgot that you just finished fighting and probably haven’t fully recovered your senses. You told me before not to approach you carelessly when you’re sleeping.” Jiang Zhiyi caught her breath and knelt up, seeing Shen Yuance staring at her intently, his sideburns wet with sweat. She raised her sleeve to wipe his sweat. “What’s wrong? I’m fine now. Did you have a nightmare?”

“You didn’t dream that I ran off with someone because of a plate of dumplings, did you?”

“I knew you were petty. I came in the middle of the night to explain to you that the Fourth Prince and I truly have nothing between us…”

Before Jiang Zhiyi could finish her rambling explanation, she was suddenly pulled into his embrace.

Shen Yuance knelt on the bed, holding her tightly, lowering his head and burying his chin in the hollow of her shoulder: “Jiang Zhiyi, you care if I’m in pain, don’t you?”

Jiang Zhiyi was startled, then slowly raised her arms to embrace him back, stroking the back of his head: “Of course I do. Why are you asking such a silly question?”

“Then nothing else matters—” Shen Yuance closed his eyes, “Nothing else matters anymore.”