It was also at this moment that Jiang Hanyuan learned that it wasn’t the next day as she had thought.

She had slept for a full two days—this was already the day after next!

Zhuang Shi had the maids support her to sit properly while carefully changing her clothes, avoiding her wound areas, and explained with a smile: “When His Highness entered the Imperial Hunting Grounds, he instructed me to bring several people and an imperial physician to follow behind, in case of need. I brought people and waited at the edge of the Imperial Hunting Grounds, arriving here yesterday. Princess Consort, you slept very deeply and never woke. His Highness was somewhat worried, but fortunately, the Princess Consort had no fever. The imperial physician said it should be due to the Princess Consort’s excessive exhaustion. His Highness didn’t dare forcibly wake you, so for these two days he stayed here, never leaving your side and personally watching over you, just waiting for the Princess Consort to sleep enough and wake naturally…”

Jiang Hanyuan was greatly astonished, not expecting to have slept for so long. No wonder when she first awakened, her mind felt briefly confused and blank.

Thinking that because of her, so many people had been delayed and were waiting for two days, her first reaction was extreme embarrassment. She instinctively leaped up, but not only were her legs weak as cotton, but she also pulled at her wound. In pain, she swayed, and the maids quickly supported her.

At this moment, the tent entrance brightened as someone entered. She looked up—it was Shu Shenhui.

He quickly approached, extending both hands to steady her, looking her up and down. “Princess Consort, you’re awake? How do you feel? Don’t move carelessly—sit back down!”

The maids, seeing him arrive, released their hold. Jiang Hanyuan was supported by him as she slowly sat down again. Looking up, she met his gaze and saw him watching her with concerned expression. She steadied herself and said: “I didn’t expect to sleep so long, keeping you all waiting. I’m fine—we can leave now…”

As she was speaking, she suddenly saw him bend at the waist, raising one arm and reaching directly toward her face. Then a hand with a warm, soft touch gently settled on her forehead and paused.

Jiang Hanyuan’s breath caught, and her words broke off abruptly.

After checking her temperature, he withdrew his hand, appearing quite satisfied and somewhat surprised. He looked at her face again, smiled, and nodded: “No rush, take it slowly. It happens that none of us slept well these past days. Thanks to you, they got to rest for another full day. A good thing.” After speaking, he straightened up and turned to Zhuang Shi: “The Princess Consort should be hungry. Nanny, serve her some food and brew a cup of hot tea with milk and salt added. She slept so long before waking—don’t let her eat too much at once. Small, frequent meals to help the Princess Consort gradually recover her energy.”

Zhuang Shi acknowledged his instructions, and he went out. Jiang Hanyuan finished dressing, arranging her hair, washing, and drinking the tea he had mentioned. Then an imperial physician came in to change the medicine on her leg wound. After everything was arranged, Zhang Bao led two guards carrying a sedan chair inside. They helped her onto it to sit securely and carried her out.

The nearby mountain fire had been extinguished. Though the air still carried faint traces of smoke, outside was bright weather with sunlight streaming down, gentle breezes, and constant bird songs. Jiang Hanyuan felt her spirits lift. Looking back now on those desperate experiences of recent days, it felt like another lifetime.

They were about to break camp and set out. Jiang Hanyuan saw Chen Lun leading people in cleaning up nearby, bustling about. Soon, he approached with a smile to pay his respects to her respectfully, addressing her as Princess Consort. Jiang Hanyuan told him to continue his work and, unconsciously, looked around, spotting Shu Shenhui. He was at another location with fewer people, speaking with Liu Xiang. She withdrew her gaze and waited quietly for departure.

Liu Xiang led men to search the entire valley floor and followed the underground river downstream for dozens of li until the water flow completely disappeared underground. They never found any trace of Chi Shu nor discovered any new valuable clues. Since the man had escaped from his hands, he brought hunting dogs and divided his subordinates into rotating shifts while he searched almost day and night without rest, never giving up. Today, he had returned only after receiving the Regent Prince’s summons. Shu Shenhui asked about the situation, then looked from that fire-scarred mountain toward the nearby stream that had suddenly swollen from the previous night’s rain, saying: “Withdraw the teams. This place is too vast with changing terrain—deep mountains and old forests with countless ravines. Your manpower is limited. Continuing the search would likely yield no results.”

“Please allow this subordinate to call for more personnel from the capital!” Liu Xiang pleaded.

Shu Shenhui pondered for a moment: “If he’s dead, then he’s dead. If he’s not yet dead, given this person’s adaptability, by the time reinforcements arrive, it would likely be an empty mountain. Forget it—better to set up checkpoints on the northern routes and see if anything is gained.”

Liu Xiang could only accept the command. After Shu Shenhui finished his instructions, he turned to glance toward the camp, then returned and walked to Jiang Hanyuan’s front. Nanny Zhuang was bringing a woven fur quilted blanket. He took it and personally covered her legs, carefully pressing down the corners, finally instructing the sedan bearers: “Let’s go. Walk slowly and be careful not to jostle the Princess Consort.”

If it were up to Jiang Hanyuan herself, with just these flesh wounds, after sleeping well for two days and eating, she felt her strength had largely recovered. She could manage riding a horse as long as it wasn’t too fast, which would also speed their return. But with his such serious attention, she didn’t know whether he always handled affairs with such meticulous care, or was deliberately trying to make amends, calm her nerves, curry her favor, or just putting on a show for others. She figured that even if she proposed riding a horse, he wouldn’t agree. After thinking about it, she said nothing more and let him arrange things.

Thus, the group set out on their return journey.

The first day they traveled only twenty or thirty li, camping that night. He slept beside Jiang Hanyuan, sharing the same bedding peacefully until dawn.

The next day, slightly faster, but still only thirty or forty li, not even meeting the minimum standard of fifty li per day for large army marches. Jiang Hanyuan was either being carried or lying down, with several pairs of eyes constantly watching her. If she moved even slightly, someone would come to assist. She truly experienced what it meant to have food brought to her mouth and clothes put on her body. She really couldn’t stand it anymore. When she tried to do things herself, Zhuang Shi and the maids would say it was His Highness’s orders. Fortunately, that day, a team sent from the detached palace to meet them finally arrived, bringing a carriage. Jiang Hanyuan was arranged to lie in a carriage padded with seven or eight thick layers. Only then did their speed increase somewhat, and after several days, they returned to Xianquan Palace one evening.

The carriage drove to the stone steps before the palace gate, where it couldn’t proceed further and stopped. Jiang Hanyuan raised her hand to support herself against the carriage wall, not yet having time to stand, when the carriage door was opened and he appeared before her, extending his hand to help her. He grasped her hand, which was still bandaged on the palm, and gently assisted her down. Then, before everyone’s eyes, amid various gazes of surprise, amazement, or envy, the Regent Prince was seen smoothly lifting the Princess Consort entirely from the carriage, carrying her inside, followed by Zhang Bao and a long string of people, finally entering directly into the bedchamber where the Princess Consort had stayed days before.

After a flurry of busy arrangements, only the two of them remained in the room. Jiang Hanyuan sat leaning against the bed platform while he tended a brazier, adjusting the incense. Testing the concentration, a sleep-inducing turmeric fragrance gradually emanated from the brazier’s openings as the fire heated it, drifting and dispersing to every corner of the bedchamber.

“You probably didn’t rest well on the road these past days either. Sleep well tonight, and we’ll return to the prince’s mansion tomorrow. How does that sound?”

As he spoke, he walked over and knelt personally, extending his hand to remove her shoes.

Jiang Hanyuan pulled her feet back, avoiding his hands: “Returning tomorrow was already my thought. I’ll follow Your Highness’s arrangements…”

After such an incident, never mind that he wouldn’t dare leave her alone here again—even she didn’t have the face for it. She would do everything as he said. Counting the days of the three months, the first month was nearly over.

“There’s no one around now—Your Highness needn’t act this way.” She hesitated slightly, then finally spoke these words.

He stopped his hand and looked up at her, his gaze suddenly seeming to carry a sharp edge: “Do you look down on me? Always putting on airs as if wearing a false mask?” His tone carried an undercurrent of aggressive pressure.

Jiang Hanyuan was startled, truly not expecting that her single sentence would offend him to such a degree. She quickly said: “Please don’t misunderstand—how would I dare look down on Your Highness, much less offend you? Given Your Highness’s position, every word and action cannot follow the heart—it’s not for me to judge right and wrong. My meaning just now was only…”

She was naturally someone of few words and poor speech. She paused, momentarily not knowing how to explain.

He looked at her for another moment, then suddenly smiled broadly. The sharp gleam in his eyes disappeared, returning to warmth. Without getting up, he simply settled onto a footstool beside her feet, leaning back against the bed edge. One leg bent with his knee loosely supporting the hand he had been using to remove her shoes, while the other leg stretched out comfortably, as if taking a brief rest.

He grew quiet, and Jiang Hanyuan also stopped speaking. Thus, she sat high on the bed edge while he sat low beside her legs. From the brazier’s openings, wisps of light smoke quietly emerged without cease.

After a moment, she suddenly heard him say: “In my youth, I often traveled outside the palace and once watched several masked entertainers in a brothel perform fire-swallowing tricks for customers. Their masks had smiles and also frightening demon faces, vividly painted in bold colors. For some reason, that day, one smiling entertainer made an error swallowing fire and burned the person opposite him. Flames quickly covered the entire body. Though later extinguished, that person was burned beyond recognition—a horrible sight. Those two usually seemed close friends. I saw the one who caused the accident rush to his companion’s side, weeping bitterly, yet he forgot to remove his false mask. He wore a smiling face while crying ceaselessly—the scene was so bizarre it defied description. I had often gone there for entertainment, but after that time, I never went again…”

He tilted his face slightly upward, meeting Jiang Hanyuan’s downward gaze, and smiled. The smile seemed to carry some self-mockery: “What you said just now was right too. When masks are worn too long, people become accustomed to them and easily can’t easily distinguish true from false. Like that smiling entertainer I saw in my youth—even while grieving, he forgot to remove his smiling mask.”

“Your Highness needn’t force any actions against your heart before me.” Jiang Hanyuan finally spoke the words she had wanted to say earlier.

He gazed at her for another moment, initially saying nothing, only drawing in his legs and rising from the ground. Extending that hand toward her again, he said: “However, I truly do want to exert more care for you. You are a general—how things will be on future battlefields is beyond my control. But you are now the Princess Consort I married. If any misfortune befalls you, it would be my great fault. This time, causing you to encounter such danger was my incompetence—I’m extremely sorry to you.”

Jiang Hanyuan finally didn’t avoid him again.

If he felt that treating her this way could give him more peace of mind, then let him be.

He removed her shoes for her, lifted her injured leg, and gently placed it on the bed, having her lie back. Then he said: “Rest well. After being away for many days, court matters have accumulated and been sent here. I’ll go to the study to handle them. I’ll return early—if it’s too late, I’ll rest there.”

He walked out.

During these past days, Jiang Hanyuan’s feet had barely touched the ground. Day and night, she had only slept and woken repeatedly. At this moment, she was still alert and couldn’t sleep immediately. She closed her eyes to rest, her mind sometimes thinking of his self-mocking words just now, sometimes recalling other things Zhang Bao had said to her during their return journey—how that day the Regent Prince, fearing for her safety, had ignored Chen Lun’s dissuasion and insisted on personally entering the water repeatedly to search for her…

She didn’t know how much time passed. It seemed like deep night when drowsiness finally began to hazily approach. Suddenly, Jiang Hanyuan remembered something.

The stone rubbings and her recent calligraphy practice that she had brought here seemed to still be in the study! She remembered that the night before going on the excursion, after finishing her writing, she had casually placed them on a stand beside the desk.

Jiang Hanyuan’s drowsiness completely vanished, regretting that she hadn’t stored them properly at the time. After hesitating a moment, she decided to go look. If he hadn’t discovered them, best to find an excuse to quietly take them away. If he had already seen them… then she’d deal with it later.

Jiang Hanyuan immediately got off the bed, put both feet on the ground, and tested the pain—it was manageable now. She dressed and belted her robe, opened the door, and went out. The two places weren’t far apart, separated only by a rain corridor, reachable in a few steps.

The study chamber’s windows still showed lamplight, with the door slightly ajar. Knowing he was still working, Jiang Hanyuan gently knocked, and shortly heard a faint response from inside: “Enter.”

She pushed open the slightly ajar door and saw Zhang Bao, who should have been keeping night watch, sitting on a convenient couch in the outer chamber. He had collapsed into the corner, head tilted and drooling, sleeping deeply. Her entry went completely unnoticed.

She passed by Zhang Bao and slowly entered the inner chamber. The writing desk faced the south window. He sat with his back to her, bent over the desk, brush in hand, writing something. Before the desk, a silver lamp stand blazed with bright candlelight, his silhouette completely absorbed.

Jiang Hanyuan glanced at the object stand and saw the stone rubbing and practice scroll still in their original position. He hadn’t discovered them. Relieved, she said: “I slept too much the past two days and can’t sleep tonight. I came to find a book for entertainment. I’ll take one and leave—won’t disturb Your Highness.”

He stopped writing, turned his head, glanced at her injured leg, and said: “Go ahead and look.”

Jiang Hanyuan walked to the stand, looked around, and casually took a scroll. Then she reached for the stone, rubbing and practicing writing, when suddenly she heard his voice behind her: “You want to practice calligraphy?”

Jiang Hanyuan’s hand paused. She turned to look at him, seeing that he wasn’t looking at her but still had his head lowered, holding his brush and writing what seemed like annotations on some document. She understood in her heart—he must have seen them.

Fine, if he saw them, he saw them. It was no matter.

She simply pulled them out openly and said, “I brought these from the prince’s mansion earlier. I copy inscriptions in my leisure time to pass the hours. I won’t disturb Your Highness further. It’s late—Your Highness should also rest early.”

As she finished speaking and was about to leave, she saw him writing swiftly as if hurrying to finish the last bit, then setting down his brush and saying: “Wait a moment.”

He dried the ink, closed the book, rose, and walked toward her. He took the scroll she held in her other hand as a cover and returned it to the stand, saying: “Go back and sleep—what book are you reading? Come on, I’m finished with my work and returning too.”

Jiang Hanyuan knew he had seen through her disguise and said nothing. He looked again at the stone rubbing and practice writing in her other hand, smiled, and said: “I didn’t deliberately look through your things. I saw them unintentionally when retrieving something.”

Jiang Hanyuan also smiled in return: “It doesn’t matter.”

“If you truly think this calligraphy is passable, I can teach you.” He continued.

Jiang Hanyuan initially didn’t fully understand, then looked up to meet his eyes that gazed at her with a faint smile. Suddenly she comprehended.

She hadn’t expected that the stone rubbing she had been copying was actually from his hand. Thinking again of her earlier concealment, all falling under his notice, she inevitably felt some shame and chagrin toward herself.

“This inscription seems to be something I wrote at sixteen for a founding minister. After so many years, I had long forgotten, but I unexpectedly saw it again. Calligraphy is all about practice. Like me, these past years, neglecting practice, my skills have deteriorated. If you asked me to write it again now, I couldn’t recapture the feeling of those days.”

His tone seemed casual.

Jiang Hanyuan was naturally broad-minded, and that trace of dark embarrassment and annoyance quickly dissipated.

“Your Highness handles countless affairs daily—I wouldn’t dare occupy Your Highness’s time. I’ll slowly copy this inscription—if there are aspects I can’t grasp, I’ll ask Your Highness for guidance then.”

He nodded: “That’s fine too.”

Jiang Hanyuan paused, then added: “Your Highness, that day when searching for me, you even risked danger multiple times entering the water despite dissuasion. I must thank you again. I also want Your Highness to know that hereafter I will be doubly careful and will never again cause Your Highness to risk danger on my account.”

He started, glanced toward the outer chamber, and frowned slightly: “Was it Zhang Bao who told you this? He talks too much!”

Before Jiang Hanyuan could speak, Zhang Bao in the outer room heard his name being called. He shuddered, suddenly opened his eyes, wiped away drool, rolled off the couch, and quickly entered: “What does Your Highness require? This servant listens—” Looking up and seeing Jiang Hanyuan also there, he rubbed his eyes. Confirming he wasn’t mistaken, he quickly addressed her as Princess Consort and bowed in salute.

Jiang Hanyuan suddenly felt a faint urge to laugh, which she immediately suppressed.

Shu Shenhui’s expression was displeased as he scolded: “Fool! Besides talking too much, all you know is sleeping!”

Zhang Bao was now fully awake, frightened into dropping to his knees with a thud: “This servant talks too much and sleeps too much! This servant will never dare again!”

Shu Shenhui left the young attendant and helped Jiang Hanyuan out, returning to the bedchamber. The two rested together.

The bed curtains fell, light dimmed. Jiang Hanyuan closed her eyes, calmly waiting for sleep. After a while, she suddenly heard the man beside her pillow speak: “I had wanted to wait until after returning to the prince’s mansion, when your spirits were better, before saying this.”

Jiang Hanyuan opened her eyes and turned to look at him. He lay on his back, eyes still closed, continuing: “I must apologize to you for that night’s events.”

He also opened his eyes, turning to face her. The two thus gazed at each other on the pillow in the dim night light.

Jiang Hanyuan understood his reference, immediately recalling that night of their entanglement and unpleasant parting. She had preferred never to think of it again, yet unexpectedly, he now brought it up himself. Her heart felt suddenly squeezed, and her heartbeat seemed to skip.

“Your Highness needn’t…”

“It’s necessary.” He interrupted her. “After sobering up, I regretted it. Rest assured—it will never happen again!”

She closed her mouth and said no more, only looking at the man beside her pillow.

In his eyes, gazing at her, his expression was extremely sincere. She felt his regretful mood.

He seemed somewhat unaccustomed to prolonged eye contact with her. After a moment, he turned his head back, closed his eyes, and continued: “You and your honorable father are both trustworthy people. The General is moreover a pillar of the Wei Dynasty. Of this I have no doubt. I know that you and your subordinate officers all hope for the court to send troops north soon. I have also prepared for this for many years. I can promise that at the earliest, as long as this year’s southern autumn grain can be fully stored, next spring will be the beginning of mobilization.”

“I mentioned taking you south to see my mother consort. Actually, besides family matters, I also want to use the opportunity for a southern tour to supervise this year’s spring planting in several important southern prefectures. If grain production in areas north of the Yangtze can achieve balanced income and expenditure to feed the population, that would count as a prosperous year. The southern rice-producing regions have always been the major source of military grain reserves. Current war provisions in storage are still insufficient, so this season’s southern autumn harvest is crucial! Even without your incident, I had originally planned to tour the south soon.”

Jiang Hanyuan looked at his profile, listening to him speak with her.

“I know you long to return day and night. Now that spring has begun, how could I not also wish to set out south early? However, there’s still one matter—”

He opened his eyes again, turning toward Jiang Hanyuan: “Soon, this year’s Chang’an Six Armies spring competition will be. That alone would be fine—my presence or absence doesn’t matter. But this year’s spring competition will have the Great He Eight Tribes Alliance chieftain leading his people to pay tribute and have an audience. They’re already on the road and will reach the capital any day. The documents I was reading tonight were regional reports sent by prefectures along their route, plus reception protocols drafted by the Ministry of Rites.”

“Great He borders Beidi to the west and shares a border with our Great Wei to the south. The Eight Tribes Alliance’s strength is considerable. Now that they’ve fallen out with Beidi, they’re inclined to ally with our Great Wei. If successful, for our future northern campaign, even without active assistance, it would at least remove worries from behind.”

“Princess Consort, after this return, rest peacefully for some days. Once this matter concludes, I’ll immediately take you south. After my mother consort meets you, I’ll continue my tour while you return to Yanmen. How does that sound?”

Jiang Hanyuan gazed at him for another moment, then slowly rose from the pillow, knelt on the bed, and solemnly bowed to this man before her.

“I understand! On behalf of my father and the soldiers, I thank Your Highness for the years of painstaking planning. Your Highness should proceed as planned—no matter how long, I will wait for you!”

He didn’t rise, still lying down, only extending an arm to gently press her back onto the pillow.

“It’s good that you don’t blame me for preventing your northern return. We are husband and wife—why be so formal as to bow to me on the bed? If outsiders knew, wouldn’t we be laughed at?”

He said this with a good mood, his tone even carrying some teasing.

Truthfully, the Regent Prince’s mood was indeed quite good at this moment.

Having finally spoken these words that had been brewing since that night, he felt he had completely emerged from that night’s shadow. He had also achieved mutual trust with the Princess Consort he had married.

The marriage alliance’s effect was surprisingly good, far exceeding his original expectations. Of course, this was related not only to his sincere efforts but also to the Jiang family daughter’s understanding of the greater picture.

His heart’s knot was resolved.

Hereafter, he need not spend much effort thinking about how to maintain good relations with his Princess Consort. He needs only to treat her with mutual respect, continuing harmoniously as now, waiting for the day of the northern campaign to arrive.

“It’s midnight now—I’m disturbing your rest again. Sleep quickly.”

He considerately adjusted the bedding corner for his Princess Consort.

Jiang Hanyuan smiled at this man, then slowly closed her eyes.

No more words that night. The next day, Jiang Hanyuan rose early and returned to Chang’an with Shu Shenhui.