After Gongsu Yin left, Xie Zheng acted as if he hadn’t noticed the large bundle, picking up a military book from the table and starting to read.
When an orderly came in to deliver tea, he said coldly, “Take that thing to the rear tent.”
The orderly was stunned for a moment before realizing he meant the large bundle Gongsu Yin had brought. He picked up the package and took it to the rear tent.
Though the items were no longer in sight, Xie Zheng’s brow remained furrowed. His fingers quickly flipped through the book pages, but he couldn’t suppress the restlessness in his heart.
A moment later, he tossed aside the military book. The orderly standing guard at the door heard the sound and was about to enter to ask if he had any instructions. Just as he lifted the tent flap a crack, he saw Xie Zheng get up and head to the rear tent himself.
The orderly quickly withdrew his hand and returned to his post, standing at attention without looking askance.
Xie Zheng’s current identity in the Yanzhou army was known only to Gongsu Yin and a few confidants. The military tent he occupied was that of an ordinary commander, divided into front and rear sections. The front was for official business, while the rear was for living and resting.
The bundle the orderly had taken to the rear tent earlier was placed on a small table next to the camp bed.
Xie Zheng lowered his gaze and looked at it for a while before undoing the ties on the bundle.
Inside were two sets of new clothes and a pair of shoes, all packed by Fan Changyu that day.
When he saw the two packets of dried tangerine peel candy added inside, the tight line of his mouth softened slightly. The inexplicable agitation in his heart that had been bothering him seemed to suddenly melt away as if immersed in hot water.
Xie Zheng’s fingertips brushed over the two new sets of clothes. He picked them up, intending to put them away neatly in the chest, but as he lifted them, the silver notes and divorce paper that had been tucked between the garments fell out.
When he saw the stark, eye-catching characters for “Divorce Paper,” the curve of his mouth instantly froze.
She was… determined to sever all ties with him!
Xie Zheng’s thin lips curled coldly. His innate pride made him want to immediately call someone in and have this bundle thrown far away.
He closed his eyes and took a few calming breaths. In the end, he simply picked up the items from the bundle and locked them all away in the chest beside him.
He sat down nearby, lowering his gaze to look at the chest by his feet, his face devoid of expression.
If he threw it away now, he would always be thinking about it.
Better to keep it for now. When the day came that looking at these things no longer stirred even a ripple in his heart, that would be the time to discard them.
He had been trained by Wei Yan, and speaking of which, the most useful thing he had learned from Wei Yan was to face his desires while also learning to control them.
It was true that he had feelings for her, but that was all.
Meanwhile, after Gongsu Yin left the Yanzhou camp, he truly couldn’t resist the feeling of a cat’s paw scratching at his heart. He meandered over to the recruit camp in Jizhou.
Xie Zheng was tight-lipped, and no matter how much Gongsu Yin pestered him, he couldn’t get much information about his marriage. But Gongsu Yin reasoned that since the girl had her uncle bring things to Xie Zheng, she didn’t seem indifferent towards him. So why did Xie Zheng say the girl was unwilling to be with him?
Harboring these doubts, Gongsu Yin went to ask the junior officer managing the craftsmen in Jizhou. He didn’t have much trouble finding out about Carpenter Zhao.
There was only one carpenter who knew medicine and had treated a captain’s rheumatism with a few plasters, so he was easy to find.
The newly recruited soldiers still needed training and were not participating in actual combat. The craftsmen recruited from among the civilians were assigned to build city defense machinery.
Since there was no need to treat horses, Carpenter Zhao had been assigned to the carpentry tent.
When the soldier in charge of the craftsmen led Gongsu Yin to see Carpenter Zhao, he was using a plane to smooth wood.
The soldier called out, “Carpenter Zhao, are you there? Someone’s looking for you!”
Carpenter Zhao put down his plane and looked up with his aged eyes, “This old one is here.”
The soldier beckoned to him, and Carpenter Zhao briefly excused himself from the foreman supervising the work before walking out.
As craftsmen, they weren’t issued standard military uniforms. Carpenter Zhao was still wearing his dusty gray clothes, his back hunched, looking thin and sinewy.
The soldier was quite polite to Carpenter Zhao: “This official is looking for you.”
Carpenter Zhao hadn’t been in the military camp long, but he had already mastered a set of survival skills. When he saw someone in armor, he called them “General”; ordinary soldiers he called “Military Lord”; and for those without armor but with a distinguished bearing, regardless of their actual rank, he addressed them as “Sir.”
Now, upon seeing Gongsu Yin, Carpenter Zhao quickly bowed and said, “This old one greets the Sir.”
Gongsu Yin made a gesture of support and smiled warmly, “No need for such formalities, elder. I’ve heard that you have a niece’s husband named Yan Zheng?”
Carpenter Zhao had been trying to get news of Yan Zheng during his days in the camp, but with tens of thousands of recruits, he hadn’t been able to find out anything. By chance, he had unexpectedly treated a captain’s ailment. That captain was a man of his word and told Carpenter Zhao to come to him if he had any difficulties. Afraid that asking about a neighbor wouldn’t be taken seriously, Carpenter Zhao had lied and said he was looking for his niece’s husband, asking the captain to help inquire.
The captain was true to his word and took it to heart. After finding out that Yan Zheng was among the thousand men lent to Yanzhou, he immediately informed Carpenter Zhao. Like most craftsmen, Carpenter Zhao was kept under watch to prevent them from fleeing, and couldn’t move freely around the camp. So Carpenter Zhao entrusted the captain to pass on the bundle prepared by Fan Changyu to Xie Zheng.
After delivering the items, the captain reported back to Carpenter Zhao, who then felt relieved, thinking he had fulfilled his duty to Fan Changyu.
Now, with this well-dressed young man suddenly coming to find him, Carpenter Zhao couldn’t guess the reason. He wondered if he was going to be punished for lying about Yan Zheng being his niece’s husband.
His lips twitched a few times, and finally, with a heart full of trepidation, he nodded.
Seeing that he had found the right person, Gongsu Yin’s fox-like eyes crinkled into crescents. He even went so far as to ask the soldier for a tent, inviting Carpenter Zhao to sit with him for a while.
Carpenter Zhao had never experienced such treatment and felt quite uneasy after entering the tent.
Gongsu Yin smiled politely and amiably, even pouring tea for him, “I heard that you cured Captain Hu’s rheumatism. With your medical skills, why are you in the craftsmen’s camp instead of being a military doctor?”
Carpenter Zhao replied somewhat embarrassedly, “This old one’s medical skills are shallow. I used to treat animals. How could I dare to be a military doctor?”
Learning that the other was a veterinarian, Gongsu Yin smiled and said, “So Captain Hu was your first human patient?”
Carpenter Zhao answered honestly, “Not exactly. I was a veterinarian for over a decade before switching to carpentry. My first human patient was my niece’s husband. He was severely injured at that time, and even the medical clinics in town didn’t dare to treat him. That’s when I took the risk of using medicine to save him.”
Gongsu Yin was stunned at first, then burst out laughing. Seeing Carpenter Zhao’s confused look, he coughed several times to suppress his laughter and said, “He was at the end of his rope when he met you. It must have been his lucky day.”
Carpenter Zhao repeatedly denied this, saying, “My niece carried him back from the wilderness. If she hadn’t picked him up, even if he hadn’t died from his injuries, he would have frozen to death in the icy snow.”
Gongsu Yin thought to himself that a beauty saving a hero was indeed a good story. He couldn’t resist asking curiously, “So he married your niece afterward?”
Seeing him probe so deeply, Carpenter Zhao looked at him more closely, wondering silently why this official was inquiring about Yan Zheng’s marriage.
Gongsu Yin also realized that his intentions were too obvious and had to find a casual reason to cover up: “Your niece’s husband is quite favored by our general. The general always wants to know the background of those he intends to use heavily, so he sent me to inquire a bit.”
Although Carpenter Zhao hadn’t read many books, he had lived for decades and seen all sorts of things. The battle hadn’t even started, and Yan Zheng had already caught the eye of a general. Carpenter Zhao thought, “Oh no, could it be that Yan Zheng is too good-looking and some general wants to take him as a son-in-law? What about Changyu? Surely it won’t be another situation like Song Yan?”
With these thoughts racing through his mind, Carpenter Zhao said, “In response to the Sir’s question, that boy later married into my niece’s family.”
Gongsu Yin, who had been drinking tea, immediately spat it out upon hearing this. The usually silver-tongued man now stumbled over his words: “Ma-married in?”
Even the young emperor wouldn’t dare to speak so boldly about having Xie Zheng marry into a commoner family. What a joke!
Seeing his loss of composure, Carpenter Zhao became more certain of his guess.
He quickly added, “Yan Zheng was carried back from the snow by my niece, barely surviving. Later, he was bedridden with injuries and couldn’t even get up. It was my niece who didn’t mind his condition, let him stay to recover, and earned money by butchering pigs to buy medicine for him… As time went on, they naturally developed feelings for each other.”
Gongsu Yin had just wiped the tea from the corners of his mouth when he heard this. His expression became extremely peculiar: “Your niece… is a butcher?”
He had been wondering earlier how an ordinary woman could easily carry Xie Zheng.
Afraid that he might look down on Fan Changyu, Carpenter Zhao explained, “That girl has had a hard life. Her family used to make a living by butchering pigs and even ran a meat shop in town. Their life was quite prosperous. Who would have thought that her parents would die at the hands of mountain bandits, leaving only her and a five-year-old younger sister? To make a living, she had no choice but to rely on pig butchering to support the family.”
As he spoke, he secretly glanced at Gongsu Yin’s face and felt a bit smug when he saw Gongsu Yin’s complex expression.
He said all this to tell the official that Fan Changyu’s kindness to Yan Zheng was as heavy as a mountain. If they forced Xie Zheng to marry some general’s daughter, it would be immoral.
Even if, by some remote chance, Yan Zheng agreed to marry a general’s daughter, his character would be considered low. After all, if he could abandon a wife who had saved his life, these officials should think twice about marrying their daughters to him.
Little did he know that after hearing Carpenter Zhao’s words, Gongsu Yin had imagined a stout woman with thick arms, holding a butcher’s knife, with a face full of rough features.
He let out a sharp hiss, then remembered Xie Zheng’s words “She’s unwilling to be with me,” and quickly rubbed his arms.
No wonder that fellow wasn’t interested in women. So this was his taste?
Gongsu Yin, holding onto his last bit of hope, asked with a complex mood, “So Yan Zheng married into your niece’s family out of gratitude?”
Carpenter Zhao immediately bristled, “How could it be just out of gratitude? That young couple is very much in love! When some local ruffians went to make trouble at my niece’s home, it was my niece’s husband who drove them away. He’s literate, and when he saw my niece working so hard, leaving early and returning late to butcher pigs to earn money for his treatment, even before he was fully recovered, he asked me to help him get work writing essays at the town’s bookshop. During the New Year, he even wrote Spring Festival couplets for all the neighbors in the alley! When my niece was too busy at the pork shop, once he was a bit better, he went to help sell pork…”
As Carpenter Zhao continued to enthusiastically describe the young couple’s loving daily life, Gongsu Yin imagined Xie Zheng selling pork and couldn’t help but shudder again, feeling goosebumps rise on his arms.
What on earth had that fellow gone through during his days of misfortune?
Marrying into a butcher girl’s family?
He drew in a sharp breath — it was too shocking.
From what he knew of Xie Zheng, if Xie Zheng didn’t want to do something, not even the Jade Emperor coming down from heaven could force him. So Xie Zheng must have willingly married into the family.
It was precisely because he understood this point that Gongsu Yin found it even more outrageous.
Could it be that fellow truly liked stout and fierce women?
Gongsu Yin thought that if the noble ladies of the capital knew about this, they would probably cry their hearts out…
Seeing the official’s expression changing unpredictably, Carpenter Zhao feared they might still have some designs on Xie Zheng, so he added, “By the time this war is over and my niece’s husband returns home, their child might already be running around.”
The expression on Gongsu Yin’s face could only be described as horrified, “Your… your niece is with child?”
Carpenter Zhao stammered, “That’s hard to say for sure. In our village before, there were cases where soon after the men were conscripted, their wives at home discovered they were pregnant.”
But in his heart, he was thinking that even if those high-ranking families could tolerate their son-in-law having concubines and serving maids, they certainly couldn’t accept him having illegitimate children before the wedding.
Gongsu Yin, who was always elegant and refined in public, truly lost his composure this time. His mind was in turmoil.
The usually arrogant Xie Zheng had fallen for a butcher’s daughter.
Gongsu Yin couldn’t help but pinch his thigh hard. The pain made him grimace, confirming this wasn’t a dream. His expression became increasingly disbelieving. After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Carpenter Zhao, he left with a look of doubting life itself.
Carpenter Zhao watched his shocked and bewildered retreating figure, feeling quite pleased as he drank a cup of tea.
He had successfully warded off some unwanted attention for the young couple-
As Gongsu Yin was leaving the military tent, he happened to run into the captain from the Jizhou army who had come to ask Carpenter Zhao for more medicinal plasters.
The man recognized Gongsu Yin and respectfully clasped his hands in greeting, “Mr. Gongsu.”
Gongsu Yin, still in a daze, nodded in acknowledgment and asked, “That carpenter who used to be a veterinarian, is he the one who cured your rheumatism?”
Captain Hu was a rough man and didn’t have any reservations about Carpenter Zhao being a former veterinarian. With his rheumatism no longer causing pain, he had been feeling quite comfortable these past two days. He immediately grinned and nodded, “That’s right. Does Mr. Gongsu have business with him?”
So he hadn’t found the wrong person.
The carpenter’s niece’s husband was undoubtedly Xie Zheng.
Gongsu Yin said, “Just asking casually.”
After returning to the Yanzhou camp with a look of doubting life itself, he called over an orderly and whispered some instructions before saying with a complex expression, “Don’t disturb that woman, just keep an eye on her movements.”
Once the guards received their orders and departed, Gongsun Yin stared at Xie Zheng’s military tent for a moment. Recalling Xie Zheng’s earlier despondent demeanor, he shivered and muttered, “Could it be that guy hasn’t seen a woman in a long time?”
Feeling out of sorts, Xie Zheng had just returned from a patrol, riding back on his jet-black stallion, which still puffed white steam from its nostrils. Hearing Gongsun Yin’s comment, he coldly remarked from a short distance, “Haven’t seen a woman in a long time? Should I have someone throw you into the Yihong Courtyard tonight?”
In the past, Gongsun Yin would never have dared to respond, but after the jolt he received from encountering Zhao the Carpenter today, he was too affected to hold back. Meeting Xie Zheng’s icy gaze, he seriously considered the suggestion for a moment before replying, “Jiu Heng, neither of us has ever been to a brothel. Why don’t we go take a look?”
He mainly wanted to confirm whether there was something wrong with Xie Zheng’s perception.
Xie Zheng paused, his hand that was curling the horsewhip momentarily still. He raised his eyes, and the casualness in them had vanished: “If you were one of my martial generals, a hundred military whips would be a light punishment.”
Gongsun Yin realized he had misspoken. However, if he simply accepted the punishment to appease Xie Zheng, their friendship would be strained. He shrugged and smiled, “Unfortunately, I’m not.”
Handing his warhorse over to a personal guard, Xie Zheng brushed past him toward the military tent, leaving behind a parting remark: “Don’t disrupt military discipline.”
Gongsun Yin watched his retreating figure and clicked his tongue in intrigue. “I’m increasingly curious about what sort of extraordinary woman could awaken your senses.”
Lin’an Town.
Under the night sky, a thick layer of snow blanketed the eaves and treetops, casting a silence over the town, where not even a single bark from a dog could be heard.
“Bandits are here!”
“They’re killing people! Run for your lives!”
Fleeing from the county town, the villagers screamed in panic, their cries piercing the stillness of the snowy night. Those asleep in the town were jolted awake, hastily wrapping themselves in clothing and clutching their children as they rushed outside.
However, as soon as they opened the door, a gleaming sword was thrust into their chests.
A man, whose eyes were wide open in death, was kicked aside by the bandits outside, while a woman inside clutched her child and sought refuge in a corner. Yet, the child was forcibly snatched away by the invading bandits, who laughed cruelly as they dragged the woman by her hair toward the bed…
Before long, the entire Lin’an Town was engulfed in flames, with the cries of children and the bandits’ roars creating a terrifying cacophony.
Amidst the inferno, one man sat atop a towering horse, coldly observing the chaos as the bandits slaughtered and plundered. He glanced down at the County Magistrate of Qingping County, who was being held like a dead dog in his grasp, and lazily asked, “Where does that woman live?”
Magistrate Liu, having learned that the bandits attacked Qingping County after conscripting the able-bodied men, had fled with his entire family without a second thought. He believed the bandits would be satisfied with slaughtering the townsfolk.
Yet, despite having traveled over ten miles in his cart, he was still pursued by this man on horseback.
Now, drenched in blood and jostled along the way, he was thoroughly frightened, pleading, “I don’t know! I truly don’t know…”