Palace Attendant He Cong arrived at Yanmen Prefecture with a grand wedding procession. News that General Changning was to be escorted to the capital for her marriage to the Regent had already spread throughout the Xixing military camp, known to all. However, for the officers and soldiers stationed far away at Qingmu Sai, several hundred li to the north, the news was severely delayed. It wasn’t until this morning, after the early drills had ended, that it finally reached them. Moreover, it was said that in just these few days, General Changning would depart for the capital.

This news caused an uproar throughout the entire Qingmu Sai military camp, like a boiling pot. The mess hall that was usually crowded with soldiers pushing and shoving after morning drills was today cold and deserted. Soldiers gathered in groups everywhere, asking each other for news and discussing endlessly.

From the direction of the mess hall came a man with long arms and legs, broad shoulders, and chest. He held two large steamed buns in his hands and had another clenched between his teeth, eating as he walked and looking around. A lean young soldier who ran like a cheetah—Zhang Jun, nicknamed “Monkey,” the same one Yang Hu had saved during the pursuit of Beidi cavalry—came sprinting toward him, shouting, “Yang Hu! Yang Hu! You’re still eating! This is terrible!”

“What’s wrong? Has the sky fallen? Even if it has, I can’t fight on an empty stomach!”

Yang Hu took a bite of his steamed bun. “What’s wrong with everyone this morning? Not hungry? I rushed over as soon as we were dismissed. Usually you’re all like starving ghosts, but this morning no one’s competing with me for food?”

“No, no!” Zhang Jun waved his hands frantically, his expression terrified.

“What’s wrong with you? Did you see a ghost?”

“The general is getting married!”

“The general is getting married? Which general would get married? Are you out of your mind…”

“It’s our chief! They say she’s marrying the Regent!”

With two splashes, the steamed buns in Yang Hu’s hands fell to the ground. His eyes widened round as copper bells, his feet planted on the ground, motionless.

“Scared, right? Me too! When I first heard it, it was like being struck by lightning!”

Zhang Jun’s expression was extremely dejected.

He had lost both parents as a youth and joined the military to have a meal. Because of his sharp ears and eyes and exceptional cleverness, after enlisting, he was selected by the female general and received special tracking and scouting training. Now he led a small reconnaissance squad. Their ability to quickly catch up with those Beidi raiders who burned, killed, and fled last time depended on their skills. Put it this way—even if he were operating alone and ran into thousands of Beidi troops, it wouldn’t shock and panic him as much as hearing that news just now. It was like having his backbone suddenly extracted—saying the sky had fallen was no exaggeration.

Yang Hu finally reacted. His mouth moved, and the steamed bun he’d been holding between his teeth also fell, rolling in a circle at his feet.

“You’re talking nonsense! Impossible! How could the general get married?” Yang Hu’s face turned green as he yelled strangely.

“It’s true! They say some high official in charge of the wedding procession has already arrived with people! Those at the Xixing camp already knew! Only we were kept in the dark! We’re finished, finished. With our chief gone, who knows where we’ll be shuffled off to…”

Zhang Jun kept muttering.

Yang Hu stood dazed for a moment, then suddenly pushed aside the worried Zhang Jun and strode away.

“Yang Hu, where are you going?” Zhang Jun shouted at his retreating figure.

“To find the general! I need to get this straight!” Yang Hu roared.

Zhang Jun was startled, then took off running after him.

“Wait! I’m coming too—”

With a leader, more and more officers and soldiers quickly gathered, all following Yang Hu as they surged out. Another deputy general who was temporarily managing military affairs in the camp was older and naturally more prudent than these hotheads. Seeing the situation, he came out to stop them, but how could he possibly hold them back? That crowd was fired up, rolling up their sleeves, and had just charged out of Qingmu camp’s main gate when they saw a group of riders approaching on the road opposite. Soon, the riders drew near.

By such coincidence, Jiang Hanyuan had returned.

Seeing her return, the soldiers gradually quieted down.

Fan Jing rode alongside Jiang Hanyuan. They stopped their horses, and his gaze swept over this group of soldiers blocking the gate completely. He shouted, “What’s this? Are you going to fight?”

The crowd had been hot-headed just moments before, but now, seeing their commanding general return, they dared not speak up. They all shrank back and looked toward Yang Hu.

Yang Hu strode forward.

“General! They all say you’re getting married? Is it true?” he shouted at Jiang Hanyuan on horseback.

Fan Jing was furious. “Insolent! Yang Hu, do you have no military discipline? Subordinates challenging superiors! How dare you speak to the general like this!”

“I don’t care! Even if you cut off my head today, I must speak!”

His face flushed red as he turned to Jiang Hanyuan again.

“General! Same clothes, same robes, living and dying together! Those were your words when you formed the suicide vanguard three years ago! I, Yang Hu, was the first to sign up! Now we’re still here, and the suicide vanguard has become today’s Qingmu camp. Every one of us takes pride in being in Qingmu camp! If you order us to charge, even if there are mountains of blades ahead, we won’t blink! Now you turn around and want to get married!”

At this point, he was almost roaring.

“I don’t care who you’re marrying today! Never mind the Regent—even if it were the Emperor, I’d still say it! Your words still ring in our ears! Yet you’re abandoning us to get married?”

“You’ve betrayed us!”

As his words fell, the area near the gate was deathly silent. Some soldiers felt the same way, and others looked frightened.

Zhang Jun panicked. He never expected that Yang Hu, this fool, truly living up to his nickname “Desperate Qi Lang,” would dare say such things. He quickly looked at Centurion Song Shiyun, who was usually friendly with them, and gave him a meaningful look. Song Shiyun understood, and the two went up, grasping Yang Hu’s arms from left and right, pressing down together to force him to the ground.

“Are you crazy? Hurry up and beg for mercy!” Zhang Jun whispered in Yang Hu’s ear.

But Yang Hu’s eyes were red with fury as he struggled desperately, actually managing to break free from the two men restraining him.

Zhang Jun wasn’t polite anymore. He kicked Yang Hu hard in the rear, sending him sprawling face-first on the ground. He then grabbed Yang Hu’s hair and pressed his face firmly into the dirt to prevent him from making any more noise. Yang Hu’s mouth filled with dry dust, choking him into coughing fits.

“I won’t accept it! General, if you just go get married like this, abandoning us, what does that make us?”

“You promised! Same clothes, same robes, living and dying together!”

This Yang Hu, even while coughing, still refused to submit. He struggled to turn his face and shouted hoarsely.

Those around heard clearly but remained silent.

Fan Jing had guessed before arriving that the people of Qingmu camp would react to this news. But he hadn’t expected their reaction to be so intense. His heart was also moved, though his face couldn’t show it in the slightest. He sternly ordered, “Tie him up, lock him away, and await military justice!”

Several personal guards who had returned with them swarmed forward, joining Zhang Jun and Song Jiushan to tie him up like a pig for slaughter and drag him away. But then they heard Jiang Hanyuan speak: “Release him.”

Since the commanding general had given this order, everyone immediately let go. Yang Hu lay on the ground panting heavily. He lifted his mud and sand-covered face to see Jiang Hanyuan dismount and walk toward him, stopping in front of him and looking down. Zhang Jun, beside him, kicked his rear again, urging him to admit his mistake, but he gritted his teeth and twisted his neck, lying on the ground, refusing to speak. After this standoff for a moment, as everyone held their breath and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, suddenly Jiang Hanyuan bent down and extended a hand toward Yang Hu.

Yang Hu hesitated, then slowly raised his hand. She grasped it firmly and pulled, yanking him bodily up from the ground.

Yang Hu didn’t understand for a moment. Standing still and hesitating, he finally couldn’t help himself. “You promised…” he mumbled, his eyes reddening, his voice seeming to carry a somewhat wronged, crying tone.

“Yes, I promised! Same clothes, same robes, living and dying together! You haven’t forgotten, and neither have I.”

Jiang Hanyuan suddenly replied.

Yang Hu was stunned.

She turned her face, surveying the vast hilly wilderness outside the camp.

“This place, called Qingmu Plain, was once occupied by the Beidi, until three years ago when we finally recaptured it! In that battle, among those who died, the oldest was twenty-six, the youngest barely fourteen! They now lie beneath my feet, turned to white bones. Today, Beidi cavalry still raid our people, our territory remains unrecovered—how dare I forget them!”

As her words fell, she had already drawn a dagger from her boot. Before anyone could see clearly, she had rolled up a sleeve. Where cold light flashed, a long gash several inches long appeared on the inside of her left forearm. Bright red blood quickly flowed from the opened flesh wound.

“General!”

Everyone was shocked and surged forward.

Jiang Hanyuan’s expression remained unchanged. She simply raised her bleeding arm level, slowly turning her body in a half circle, letting the blood from her arm drop by drop into the soil at her feet, then raised her eyes.

“I, Jiang Hanyuan, swear by my blood today—until the barbarian cavalry is completely driven out, Qingmu camp will not be disbanded!”

Her gaze swept over those faces before her.

“If we ever lay down our arms in the future, it will be together, returning our horses to the southern mountains. Though I leave today, I will return!”

“What you must do is guard Qingmu Sai for me and wait for my return to drink enemy blood together!”

Her voice rang out like iron, reaching every soldier in Qingmu camp. The area near the gate was initially quiet, but after a few moments, it suddenly erupted in thunderous cheers. Yang Hu even jumped three feet high and quickly wiped his eyes.

“You scared me to death! General, why didn’t you say so earlier? I thought you didn’t want us anymore and were going to live with that Regent and have babies! Wonderful! Wonderful! General, you must come back soon!”

Jiang Hanyuan smiled slightly and nodded.

Yang Hu really couldn’t contain his excitement. He turned back and shouted to his companions: “Zhang Jun! Song Shiyun! Cui Jiu! Brothers! You all heard it—the general said she’ll be back soon!”

Zhang Jun and Song Shiyun beamed with joy. The one called Cui Jiu was an archer centurion with a long scar on his face. Usually silent and taciturn, he now stood behind the crowd. Hearing Yang Hu call his name, he twitched the corners of his mouth in response.

After Yang Hu finished shouting, remembering his earlier insubordination, he felt somewhat embarrassed. Suddenly noticing her wrist was still bleeding, he shouted for the military doctor. When the doctor ran over to bandage Jiang Hanyuan’s arm, he stood guard closely beside them, craning his neck to watch anxiously, sighing repeatedly.

“General, you… If you’d just said you were coming back, we would have believed you… You didn’t need to do this… It’s all my fault!”

Such a flesh wound was nothing to Jiang Hanyuan. The military doctor also finished treating it quickly. She arranged her sleeves herself, ignoring his words.

“I… I’ll go receive my punishment with the military rod!”

Yang Hu’s face flushed red. After speaking, he started to leave.

“Don’t let this happen again. The rod punishment is waived this time, but you’re penalized to extend your morning drills by a quarter hour each day until I return!” she spoke up.

Yang Hu breathed a sigh of relief.

“No! A quarter hour is too short! Make it two quarters!” he shouted ingratiatingly.

Jiang Hanyuan glanced at him. “You said it yourself.”

“Two quarters! I will never break my word!” He puffed out his chest with a determined expression.

Jiang Hanyuan nodded. “Then two quarters it is. Don’t slack off while I’m away!”

“Yes! I respectfully obey the general’s command!” Yang Hu roared.

Zhang Jun sidled up, bumping his shoulder and winking. “Tell me, were you crying just now? Lucky the general is coming back, otherwise you wouldn’t have been rolling on the ground throwing a tantrum, and crying?”

Yang Hu’s baby face immediately heated up. He naturally denied it to the death, felt the fresh footprints still on his rear, and kicked back.

“You bastard! Tell me, how many times did you deliberately kick me just now? I was counting! I shouldn’t have saved you last time!”

His companions were drawn by the commotion and gathered around, some jeering, some fanning the flames, hoping the two would fight. It became quite lively for a moment.

Zhang Jun took off running. “Haven’t eaten breakfast yet! Hurry up, everyone, go eat! If we don’t go soon, it’ll all be gone—”

Only then were people reminded and felt hungry, all rushing to compete for food. In moments, the area near the military camp gate that had been packed tight was suddenly empty.

Fan Jing secretly exhaled in relief.

Jiang Hanyuan watched the soldiers’ retreating figures. After a moment, she turned to Fan Jing. “Uncle Fan, I came back this time to say goodbye to them. When I leave, this place is temporarily entrusted to you.”

Fan Jing was originally a retainer of the Yan clan of Yunluo. Because of his courage and loyalty, he had been assigned by the old city lord to stay by her side since she was small, learning blade work and archery, even serving as her archery and horsemanship instructor. After all these years, to him, the female general was both his lord and someone for whom he felt paternal affection. This was her first time going far away alone. Though he believed the female general would certainly return, exactly when was hard to say. After all, this time she was going to the capital and marrying the current Regent. To say he wasn’t worried would be impossible.

He suppressed his worry and reluctance. “General, go with peace of mind. This subordinate will do everything possible and not fail the general’s trust!”

Jiang Hanyuan nodded with a smile.

“General, there’s one more thing.”

Jiang Hanyuan looked over.

Fan Jing looked at her expression and said carefully, “The Grand General says that the Imperial Guard General Liu Xiang in the capital is his former subordinate. Though they haven’t maintained contact over these years due to the rule against inner and outer court interaction, their old friendship should still count for something. The Grand General asked me to tell you that after entering the capital, if you encounter any difficulties, you can seek him out. He should show some consideration for old times and provide assistance.”

Jiang Hanyuan said nothing, only looked once more at Qingmu camp—every plant and tree, every flag and banner—finally withdrew her gaze, mounted her horse, and departed.