Yan Qing’s stomach had already been emptied out, yet waves of acid bile still churned upward. Supported by Jing Zhi, she made her way back inside and sat down on the edge of the bed.

Murong had already poured a cup of hot water, and Jing Zhi was gently patting her chest to help settle her.

“Miss, how do you feel?” Jing Zhi asked with concern. “Are you still feeling terrible?”

Yan Qing shook her head and gave both of them a small smile. “I am all right now.”

Her constitution was strong, and she was not particularly delicate. Even her pregnancy symptoms had been minimal.

Today was the first time she had ever retched this badly. And until it happened, she had had no idea that the smell of raw fish could trigger such a violent reaction in her.

Shi Guang had turned up out of nowhere with a fish — it was surely not a deliberate test. If anything, she could only blame her own bad luck.

“When the doctor comes, both of you go out and hold them off. Just say that I have already fallen asleep and cannot be disturbed.” Yan Qing knew Shi Guang was suspicious by nature, and for the moment she could not think of a better plan. For now, all she could do was stall as long as possible.

But a tactic that might work on others would not necessarily work on Shi Guang.

It was not long before Squad Leader An’s voice rang out from outside.

“Young Mistress, the doctor is here.”

Jing Zhi and Yan Qing exchanged a glance. Jing Zhi rose and stepped outside.

“Shh.” Jing Zhi made a hushing gesture. “Miss has just fallen asleep. You must not disturb her.”

“But the doctor has already been brought over,” said Squad Leader An, looking uncomfortable.

“Miss has not been able to sleep for the past two days,” Jing Zhi said. “She did not sleep at all last night. Now that she has finally managed to doze off, if you wake her up, I will not let you hear the end of it.”

Jing Zhi rolled up her sleeve. “Just because you have a gun does not mean I am afraid of you.”

“Look at this maid. Why is her temper so fierce?” Squad Leader An gave a huff. “If it actually came to a fight, you would not last one punch from me.”

“Then go ahead and try.” Jing Zhi tilted her chin up.

“Hey.” Squad Leader An was vexed. “First time I have ever seen a hostage with this much attitude.”

“Move along, move along.” Jing Zhi began shooing him off. “If you wake my mistress, there will be nothing good waiting for you.”

Jing Zhi finished speaking and retreated into the room, slamming the door behind her.

The doctor looked somewhat awkwardly at Squad Leader An and said quietly, “If I am not being let in, perhaps I should just go.”

Squad Leader An clapped the doctor on the shoulder — hard enough that the doctor nearly buckled on the spot. The man fell to his knees in fright, kowtowing repeatedly. “Please have mercy on me, sir. I am just a doctor. I do not know anything.”

The moment the doctor stepped through the gate, he had seen that the entire mansion was full of armed men — all of them bristling with weapons, every face fierce and intimidating. His scalp had crawled.

He understood that these were chaotic times. One wrong step and it would cost him his life. Under these circumstances, all he wanted was to survive.

“Look at what little backbone you have,” Squad Leader An said, curling his lip. “Just stay put over in that side room. When the person inside wakes up, you go in and examine her properly. Understood?”

“Yes, yes,” the doctor said, still sniffling.

Squad Leader An had the doctor wait in the adjacent side room, then went quickly to report to Shi Guang.

Shi Guang had just finished a discussion with his subordinates when Squad Leader An came in, followed by two people dressed as servants — one who appeared to be of middle age, and one considerably younger.

The older woman kept her head lowered the moment she caught sight of Shi Guang, while the younger maid cast a curious glance around the room.

“Second Young Master, as per your instructions — these are the servants from Second Concubine Mother’s quarters. One is in charge of meals, and the other looks after the clothing.”

Shi Guang set down the document in his hands and looked at the two people before him.

“You are the ones who wait on Second Concubine Mother?” Shi Guang’s gaze moved over both of them. “How is Second Concubine Mother doing?”

Just as the young maid was about to speak, the older woman quickly jumped in. “To answer the Second Young Master — Second Concubine Mother is well. She has only been worrying a great deal of late.”

Shi Guang nodded. “Worrying a great deal?”

“Things in the mansion have been busy and unsettled lately, and the people here are restless,” the older woman answered. “Second Concubine Mother misses the Young Commander and is worried about the Young Mistress, which is why she has been so weighed down with worry.”

“Has she been given medicine?”

“A heartache needs a heart’s remedy.” The older woman looked at Shi Guang as she spoke. “I am only a servant and would not dare to say too much.”

“What you mean is — I should let Second Concubine Mother go and see the Young Mistress?”

The older woman lowered her head and said nothing.

Second Concubine Mother worried about the Young Commander, but she worried even more about Yan Qing — after all, Yan Qing was with child.

Second Concubine Mother had been without appetite for these past two days, sighing from morning to night. The older woman was her closest confidante, and naturally she knew where the source of her worry lay.

When Shi Guang suddenly summoned her over, she had assumed he simply wanted to check in on how Second Concubine Mother was doing. And so she had ventured to say what she said.

She did not know whether it would do any good. But saying it was better than saying nothing.

Shi Guang heard this and gave a nod. He glanced at the young maid standing beside the older woman. “What is her relation to you?”

“She is my daughter,” the older woman said. “Second Concubine Mother has been very kind to me. She knew my daughter had no work, so she brought her in to manage the clothing. My daughter has skilled needlework.”

“Second Concubine Mother is a good person,” Shi Guang said with a small smile. “When I was young, she was also very good to me. Back then my mother was always going out for social engagements, and there was no one to look after me in the mansion — it was Second Concubine Mother who would keep me company.”

Luo Huaimeng had once been a maid in the Shi household — naturally she had a servant’s bond with the Shi household. In those days, Shi Ting was abroad, and Second Concubine Mother had no children of her own around her, so she had shown Shi Guang particular care.

But after everything that had happened since, Second Concubine Mother had no longer been able to look at Shi Guang through the same eyes as before, and whatever warmth there had been between them had dissolved with time.

When the older woman heard Shi Guang speak this way, she was secretly delighted, assuming he still held some affection for the old days.

“In that case, let Second Concubine Mother go and see Yan Qing,” Shi Guang said. “Since Yan Qing is not feeling well — “

“Thank you, Second Young Master,” the older woman said, expressing her gratitude repeatedly.

Shi Guang looked once more at the young maid. The young maid happened to be looking at him too, and upon meeting his gaze, she quickly cast her eyes down with a hint of shyness.

The older woman and the young maid left Shi Guang’s study. The older woman immediately said, “Hong Hua, we are both Second Concubine Mother’s people. She has been good to us. No matter what happens in this mansion, we must look after Second Concubine Mother and the Young Mistress. You must remember that.”

Hong Hua acknowledged this with an indifferent sound. “I know.”

The older woman said nothing more. “Go back then. Hurry and bring this good news to Second Concubine Mother — she will certainly be glad to hear it.”

~

Yan Qing had no intention of actually sleeping. She was lying there talking with Murong.

Jing Zhi glanced out through the window and happened to see the doctor walk out of the side room. He exchanged a few words with Squad Leader An, after which Squad Leader An waved him off and let him leave.

“Miss, the doctor is gone,” Jing Zhi called out with delight.

Yan Qing and Murong both let out a breath of relief.

But very shortly after, Jing Zhi’s expression fell. “The doctor may have left for now, but he could be called back again. I suspect the Second Young Master will not give up so easily.”

“If he did not suspect anything, naturally he would not send for the doctor again. But the Second Young Master is deeply suspicious by nature — I am afraid he may have noticed that Miss is pregnant,” Murong said.

“This must absolutely not be allowed to reach his ears — otherwise both Miss and the little young master would be in danger.”

With Shi Guang’s twisted state of mind, there was no knowing what irrational thing he might do.

“For now, that is all we can do. We will take it one step at a time.” Yan Qing sighed, her gaze drifting to the picture frame on the table. In the photograph, two people rested their heads close together, smiling at the camera.

Through the thin pane of glass — across a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers — that smile, those eyes, seemed to be right in front of her. She felt she could reach out and touch them.

No news from the outside could come in, and no word from inside could go out. She did not know where he was now, whether he had encountered danger.

All she could do was pray silently that he would come back safely.

~

Inside a southwestern army encampment.

“Commander, we have found traces of Shi Ting’s movements. We are tracking them now.” A subordinate rushed in with the report.

“Noted.” Lei Li’s gaze remained fixed on the map. “Before he reaches Tai Shan, we must intercept him. If we allow him to get there with Li Yongqi to receive him, he will be much harder to deal with.”

Just then, a burst of gunfire and cannon shot sounded from outside.

A subordinate glanced outward and cheered, “Congratulations, Commander — our forces are winning victory after victory. The Bei Di army is in full retreat.”

The Changsheng Bridge area was Bei Di’s weakest defensive point — its Achilles’ heel. But the Commander-in-Chief was no fool. He had stationed troops there and built watchtowers along the border to keep a close eye on the southwestern forces’ movements.

Yet for all his vigilance against outside threats, it was the enemy within his own walls that he could not guard against. He could never have imagined that his own flesh and blood would open this very gate for the enemy, inviting the wolf into the fold.

Now the southwestern army had pushed straight into Bei Di, advancing almost without resistance. The Changsheng Bridge area had long since fallen.

And at this very moment, a civil war had broken out within Bei Di itself. As the saying goes, in order to repel a foreign enemy, one must first pacify internal strife. For Bei Di right now, it was a crisis on all fronts — a landscape of fire and flood.

“Pass the word down — send out the most elite unit. Shi Ting is still transporting the Commander-in-Chief’s body, which means his movements will certainly be slowed. Now that we have found his trail, this is the best opportunity to eliminate him.” Lei Li slapped his hand down on the map. “There is absolutely no room for error.”

“Commander, rest assured,” said the subordinate, snapping to attention. “The mission will be accomplished without fail.”

At that moment, Shi Ting and the contingent he had brought out of Shun Cheng were transporting the Commander-in-Chief’s body away from the Changsheng Bridge area.

The whole group pressed on through the night, driving themselves forward in order to evade the pursuing southwestern forces.

But in the stretch of territory between Changsheng Bridge and Tai Shan, the land was barren and desolate, communications were nearly cut off, and any reinforcements were too far away to be of any use.

Shi Ting sat astride a tall horse. A guard rushed up to report, “Commander, it is bad — we are surrounded.”

%%%

My apologies — late again.