Shi Ting’s words still seemed to echo in Qian Lan’s ears — that low, melodious voice of a young man, a voice saturated with love and tenderness for his wife.

This was the kind of married life a woman deserved to enjoy.

Though the Commander-in-Chief did as she said in everything, he was already over fifty years old, and no matter his energy or stamina, he fell far short of a truly young man.

Yan Qing could be in perfect harmony with a man she loved — and one so outstanding at that — while she herself could only keep company with a man old enough to be her father, pretending to feel warmth.

She could have lived a normal person’s life, but this unjust world had forced her into this helpless choice.

So what she could not have, no one else should dare to obtain. If she could not be happy, others should not expect to be either.

Watching Qian Lan’s expression grow darker and darker, Magpie had long since been frightened out of her wits, trembling as she shrank to one side, not daring to say a word.

After a while, Qian Lan’s expression finally returned to normal. She turned to Magpie and said, “Where is the Commander-in-Chief?”

“The Commander-in-Chief is taking his afternoon nap.”

“Mm.” Qian Lan narrowed her eyes. “Has he had his tonic soup today?”

“The noon serving has already been drunk. The afternoon portion is still simmering.”

The Commander-in-Chief drank a certain tonic soup every day — a soup brewed solely for the purpose of enhancing that particular ability.

“Go back then. Don’t delay the Commander-in-Chief’s medicinal soup.”

~~~

When Shi Ting went to see the Commander-in-Chief, the man had just woken from his afternoon nap.

He was wearing a cotton house garment, his complexion an abnormally sallow yellow. As he sat on the small daybed, his expression was one of listless exhaustion.

This was an entirely different man from the Commander-in-Chief Shi Ting remembered — the one who had been full of vigor, swift and decisive as a young man even in his later years.

Shi Ting felt a faint ache in his heart, yet did not know what to say.

After the Commander-in-Chief had him sit down, he leaned against the daybed and said, “The matter of Hong He — you still remember it, don’t you?”

Hong He was the great river outside Jiuyang Village. On this river there had once been an important dock, and that dock connected many villages along the Hong He banks. Among those villages, Jiuyang Village was abundant in precious medicinal herbs, while Gaoyang Village was rich in clay ore…

If the dock could be reopened, it would bring a bright future to Bei Di’s economy.

The dock matter was something Shi Ting had long had people following up on, and progress had been quite smooth.

“I have already had people handling it.” Hearing the Commander-in-Chief raise this, Shi Ting was in his heart trying to guess what the man meant.

The Commander-in-Chief nodded, picked up his teacup and took a sip. “I want you to go there in person.”

Shi Ting was somewhat surprised. “For that matter over there, I have already arranged capable people.”

Such matters did not require his personal involvement — the people he had arranged could manage everything in perfect order.

Moreover, there were still more important matters in Shun Cheng waiting for him to handle. It was not appropriate for him to leave Shun Cheng at this time.

The Commander-in-Chief said, “The reconstruction of the Hong He dock is the top priority of Bei Di’s development this year. Once the dock is rebuilt, Bei Di’s economic development will make a qualitative leap. I have heard that problems keep appearing with the construction over there. Is that so?”

“Just some minor issues — they can be resolved quickly.”

The Commander-in-Chief shook his head. “A thousand-li levee can be destroyed by an ant’s nest. Small problems can also cause great consequences. So it is still better for you to go yourself. If someone else goes, I would not be at ease.”

The Commander-in-Chief had already spoken this way — Shi Ting clearly had no grounds to refuse.

“Very well, then I will make a trip over there.”

The Commander-in-Chief set down his teacup. “Military development is important, but the economy must not fall behind either. Without economic support, military affairs cannot be built up.”

The Commander-in-Chief went on to say more — roughly that he attached great importance to economic development and wanted to place it ahead of military affairs over the coming years.

After the turmoil of war, this rare era of peace and prosperity meant that apart from Bei Di, all regions were developing their own economies.

The Commander-in-Chief’s determination to develop the economy was plain to see.

Shi Ting spoke with the Commander-in-Chief a while longer, until the Commander-in-Chief showed obvious signs of fatigue. “All right, go and make your own arrangements. I want to sleep a little more.”

“Commander-in-Chief.” Shi Ting rose and walked before him, concern showing in his eyes. “Commander-in-Chief, your complexion has not been looking well lately. Have you had a doctor come to examine you?”

“My complexion isn’t well?” The Commander-in-Chief seemed somewhat surprised. “Lan’er says I look younger than before, and besides…”

In front of his son, the Commander-in-Chief seemed a little embarrassed to say it aloud, but thinking of Qian Lan’s tenderness, he could not help himself. “In that regard, I am not the least bit inferior to you young people.”

Shi Ting frowned, yet did not know what to say. He could hardly advise his own father to be more restrained in those matters — he simply could not bring himself to say such words.

Moreover, the Commander-in-Chief was naturally competitive by nature and would certainly want to not fall behind younger men in certain respects. If Shi Ting tried to persuade him, it would inevitably provoke anger and humiliation. It was not his place to speak of this.

At that moment, Shi Ting noticed a maidservant standing outside, carrying a tray on which sat a blue-and-white porcelain stewing crock.

The maidservant, seeing that Shi Ting was present, dared not enter, and stood outside the doorway with her head lowered, waiting.

Shi Ting saw that the Commander-in-Chief had leaned back against the daybed with his eyes already closed, so he stepped out of the study.

The maidservant, upon seeing him, immediately stepped back two paces to make way.

“Is that for the Commander-in-Chief?” Shi Ting paused, his deep gaze fixed on the young maidservant.

The maidservant said softly, “Yes.”

“What soup is it? Who ordered it made?”

Perhaps it was the intimidating force of Shi Ting’s presence, but the maidservant’s voice trembled with fright. “It — it is the Madam who ordered it, saying it is a tonic for the Commander-in-Chief.”

“What ingredients are in it?”

“Only the finest tonics.”

Shi Ting softened his tone. “Don’t be afraid. The Commander-in-Chief has high blood pressure and cannot take tonics indiscriminately. Since it was the Madam’s instruction, there certainly will not be any problem — she pays more attention to the Commander-in-Chief’s food, clothing, and daily life than any of us.”

Hearing this, the maidservant’s anxiety gradually subsided, though she still kept her head lowered, not daring to look up.

“Hand it to me. I will bring it to the Commander-in-Chief.” Shi Ting placed his hands on the tray. “He was feeling a little drowsy just now — you need not go in and disturb him.”

The maidservant hesitated for a moment, but in the end handed the tray to Shi Ting.

Shi Ting carried the tray inside and pulled the door closed behind him.

The Commander-in-Chief had already fallen asleep — yet he had only just woken not long ago. Seeing him lying there, looking as though he had aged a decade or more, truly looking the part of a man over fifty — whereas before, the Commander-in-Chief had been in the prime of his forties in spirit and vigor.

Shi Ting set the tray on the table, took a handkerchief from his pocket, and used it to soak up some of the tonic soup, then closed his fist around it.

When he left the study, the maidservant from before was outside talking with another maidservant. Seeing Shi Ting emerge, the maidservants immediately fell silent and stood obediently to one side.

Shi Ting did not normally do things to frighten people, yet these servants reacted to him like mice before a cat — likely because of his naturally cold demeanor and his position as Director of the Military Police Bureau.

“The Commander-in-Chief has fallen asleep and has not yet had the soup,” Shi Ting said to the maidservant. “When he wakes later, heat the soup again for him.”

“Yes, Seventh Young Master.”

The maidservant watched Shi Ting depart, quietly letting out a breath of relief.

The Madam had instructed that this tonic soup must be personally watched until the Commander-in-Chief had consumed it — three times a day without fail. She had been nervous when Shi Ting entered to bring the soup, unsure how she would explain herself to the Madam. Now hearing that the Commander-in-Chief had fallen asleep and Shi Ting had told her to reheat the soup, the maidservant finally felt the weight lift from her shoulders.

Shi Ting walked quickly back to Tiao Lan Courtyard. Yan Qing was reading a book. Hearing his footsteps, she immediately looked up.

“Back so soon?” Yan Qing was a little surprised.

Normally when the Commander-in-Chief wanted to speak with Shi Ting, it was at least an hour — sometimes half a day. It was rare for him to return so quickly.

“The Commander-in-Chief fell asleep.”

“Didn’t he just wake up from his afternoon nap? Why is he asleep again?”

“His complexion grows worse by the day, and he doesn’t even realize it. I asked him to have a doctor come, but he said there was nothing wrong with him. If this continues, his body will eventually collapse.”

Shi Ting took out the handkerchief he had been clutching. “This is the tonic soup that Qian Lan just had someone bring. Have a look at what’s in it.”

Yan Qing took it and sniffed. “This should just be ordinary kidney-and-yang tonic medicine. Qian Lan would not be so foolish as to do something so obvious.”

“If someone takes medicine like this every day — three times a day — what would happen?”

“This kind of medicine can intensify a person’s desires in that area and prolong stamina, making one seem in the prime of youth — but taken over a long period, it will have very strong side effects. Though it is called a tonic, medicine is always one part poison. All the more so when the Commander-in-Chief is no longer a young man.”

Shi Ting said, “It is simply inconvenient for me to say anything. Mother’s side would probably not work either.”

“What about the Old Madam?” Yan Qing suggested. “The Commander-in-Chief is still the Old Madam’s son. No matter how much she likes Qian Lan, she still loves her son most. If she knew the Commander-in-Chief’s current condition, she would surely not stand by and do nothing.”

“The Old Madam lives in seclusion in the south courtyard and rarely goes out. If we rashly go and tell her this, she probably would not believe us.” Shi Ting thought for a moment. “We must make her discover it on her own.”

Yan Qing understood the affairs of this inner household far better than Shi Ting. Hearing this, her mind turned quickly. “I do have an idea — it will cause the Old Madam some discomfort, but it will not harm her fundamentally.”

Yan Qing told Shi Ting her plan. Shi Ting considered it for a moment, then nodded. “Then I’ll leave it to you to arrange, my wife.”

The Old Madam did not yet know about this matter, but once she found out, she would certainly not stand idly by.

“Qingqing.” Shi Ting’s voice suddenly took on a slightly somber tone. “I need to make a trip to Qian Guan Cheng.”

“Is it about the coal mine? Or Da Gu Mountain?”

“It is about the reconstruction of the Hong He dock.”

“Wasn’t that something you long ago had people handling?”

Shi Ting said, “Some minor problems have come up over there recently. The Commander-in-Chief is not at ease, so he wants me to go personally.”

Yan Qing’s brow lightly furrowed. “Shi Ting, going to Qian Guan Cheng is probably just a pretense. Their real intention is to lure the tiger from the mountain.”

Shi Ting’s gaze gradually deepened. “You are right. They are indeed luring the tiger from the mountain.”