Chapter 1: One Year

(One year later)

Another cold winter passed, and spring arrived.

This year, Yunzhong Prefecture had unusually abundant rainfall, saturating the earth with lush greenery and glistening pools of water.

Even along the border regions, constantly trampled by cavalry hooves during military formations and confrontations, patches of green were scattered about. Standing on the hillside and looking out, it resembled broken emeralds—

This was Xie Yanlai’s impression.

Zhong Changrong didn’t see it that way. He had never seen broken gems, but that didn’t stop him from gazing with a face full of joy.

“Those Western Liang dog thieves have been hiding like turtles lately, letting the grass grow,” he said. “They’ve deprived us of the chance to report victories.”

Xie Yanlai replied, “No news is good news.”

This was indeed the case. Zhong Changrong gazed into the distance, where beyond lay territory outside the Great Xia border, neither belonging to Western Liang, considered a no-man’s-land between the two powers.

“This time we must redraw the border!” He pointed forward with his hand. “See there? A hundred li ahead, we could build a city—it’s a perfect defensive position, and the soil is fertile, ideal for growing fodder. Many years ago, General Chu said we should take this land, but unfortunately—” He swallowed the rest of his words, then clenched his fist with determination. “This time, I will fulfill the General’s wish.”

Expanding territory was every soldier’s dream, and hearing such words would normally inspire passionate agreement. Unfortunately, today Zhong Changrong had brought along Xie Yanlai.

“Whether wishes can be fulfilled is not for fighters like you to decide,” the young man beside him said lazily. “It depends on whether the non-fighters want to fulfill them.”

Zhong Changrong’s enthusiasm immediately deflated. He felt blocked in his chest and wanted to curse, but couldn’t bring himself to do it.

When he had said “unfortunately” earlier, he wasn’t lamenting General Chu’s passing, nor was he lamenting that General Chu had been dismissed from service for many years. In truth, even when the General had been in power, it wouldn’t have been possible to fulfill this wish.

What he lamented was that the brave Emperor, intoxicated with the joy of victory, didn’t want to take more risks, and had halted the offensive when the border army’s morale was at its peak.

Zhong Changrong turned and glared at Xie Yanlai. This boy was truly annoying. Would it kill him to stay quiet or say something pleasant for once?

“Times are different now,” he said irritably, pointing toward the direction of the capital. “My lady—”

“Your lady is the Empress, not the Emperor,” Xie Yanlai interrupted, speaking with gravity. “Uncle Zhong, you’ve been a commander for over a year now. Can’t you be steadier in your words and actions? Do you also want to be criticized for being an overbearing royal in-law like me?”

Zhong Changrong laughed angrily. “Who are you lecturing?”

Xie Yanlai raised an eyebrow without speaking, answering with his eyes: you, of course.

“I certainly know that the court isn’t ruled by my lady,” Zhong Changrong snorted, shooting him a barbed look. “Your Xie family is there too.”

He looked forward again.

“But my lady surely shares this wish and will certainly strive for it.”

He turned to look at Xie Yanlai again.

“Besides, expanding territory isn’t something shameful. My lady takes pride in such actions, feels no shame, and certainly won’t fear criticism.”

Xie Yanlai sneered, “Congratulations to Her Majesty and Commander Zhong. May you be unstoppable, serving country and people, leaving a legacy for ages to come.”

The soldiers standing at the bottom of the hillside couldn’t hear clearly what they were saying, but they could time it—these two couldn’t spend more than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense together without starting to quarrel.

“Commander Zhong—” an officer called out.

Zhong Changrong turned with irritation: “Why are you shouting?”

The officer extended his hand, pointing to the sky: “It’s going to rain, Commander. Let’s return to camp.”

Zhong Changrong looked up and saw that the clear sky had suddenly filled with rolling clouds, with a heavy rain gathering.

“Back to camp,” he ordered loudly, ignoring Xie Yanlai as he strode away.

Xie Yanlai also ignored him, following leisurely behind.

The cavalry at the foot of the hill moved in unison.

By the time they galloped into the city, the drizzle had turned into a downpour.

Because they hadn’t bothered to wear rain cloaks, in just a few steps, Zhong Changrong and his men were soaked through.

The soldiers dispersed, and Zhong Changrong plunged into the government office. Immediately, a soldier came running toward him, carrying hot tea in one hand and a towel in the other—

“Sir, please dry yourself quickly—this is ginger tea—as soon as I saw the weather changing, I immediately prepared ginger tea—”

Zhong Changrong felt warmed inside. Although he disdained being served this way, it was still quite nice to be attended to. He reached out to take the offerings.

But the soldier brushed past him, rushing to someone behind him.

“Young Master, I knew you wouldn’t wear a rain cloak. The rain cloaks in our army aren’t well-made.”

Zhong Changrong’s face darkened. He turned and glared fiercely as Xie Yanlai drained the ginger tea in one gulp. The soldier held out the towel to help him dry his head, face, and body—

“—Young Master, spring rain is chilly. Hot water is also ready. Wash and change into clean clothes—”

Xie Yanlai showed no displeasure at his attentiveness, accepting it naturally. After finishing the ginger tea, he commented: “Too sweet. What sugar did you put in this ginger tea?”

The soldier looked distressed: “I was afraid it would taste bitter to you, Young Master, so I added an extra scoop of sugar.” He continued, “I’ll go brew another bowl right away.”

No sooner said than done, he turned to leave, but was immediately kicked aside.

“Squad Leader Xiaoshan!” Zhong Changrong scolded, “Get out of the way.”

Squad Leader Xiaoshan rolled to one side, but still tried to continue forward—

“Inspector Xie, your patrol is over. Why are you still hanging around my office?” Zhong Changrong told the other person to leave. “Get out quickly.”

Xie Yanlai laughed coldly: “It’s because you don’t think things through. You call for me whenever something comes up. I’m leaving now, but don’t call for me later. I’m not sitting around with nothing to do in Luo City.”

With that, he turned and strode away.

Xiaoshan chased after him a few steps: “Young Master—” But knowing he couldn’t keep him, “Young Master, let me get you a good rain cloak—”

Before he could finish, Zhong Changrong kicked him again from behind.

Xie Yanlai was already out of sight.

“Commander,” Xiaoshan turned back with slumped shoulders, looking unhappy. “Why did you kick me?”

Zhong Changrong scoffed: “You dare to show me attitude after I kicked you? That Xie Yanlai—” he pointed toward the now-empty doorway, “he beat you to tears last year, yet you still greet him like he’s your father?”

At the mention of last year’s incident, Xiaoshan’s eyes suddenly turned red, as if the pain of being beaten came rushing back.

“Commander, you don’t understand,” he said with a nasal voice. “You only saw that I cried, but you didn’t see that Young Master Xie was crying too. He was beating me while crying himself. What does that mean? It means I disappointed him terribly. He had high hopes for me. When he struck my body, the pain was in his heart—I have no father, but if my father were alive, he would probably treat me just as Young Master Xie does.”

Zhong Changrong was stunned, both angry and amused. What nonsense.

He didn’t know what had happened between Xie Yanlai and Xiaoshan. It seemed that soon after he left, someone reported that Xie Yanlai had beaten Xiaoshan and sent him back.

He hadn’t taken it seriously. Since coming to the border army, Xie Yanlai had gotten into private fights more than once or twice.

With that dog-like temperament, he naturally annoyed people.

Of course, some officers had made comments to him, saying that Xiaoshan was Zhong Changrong’s man, so the Xie family naturally wouldn’t use him, warning him that the Xie family wasn’t of one mind with them, and that he should be wary of this Xie Yanlai.

Zhong Changrong naturally ignored this advice too. The Xie family indeed wasn’t of one mind with him, but as for this Xie Yanlai—

He was simply heartless!

Zhong Changrong drifted slightly in thought while Xiaoshan crouched on the ground muttering: “I wounded Young Master’s heart. I’ve worked hard for a year, hoping Young Master would notice me—”

Zhong Changrong raised his foot to kick him: “You spineless thing! I give you soldiers and horses, make you a squad leader, let you command troops and kill enemies, and instead of thinking about repaying me, you only think about being noticed by Xie Yanlai. What’s so good about him noticing you?”

“Commander, fighting enemies alongside Young Master Xie is exhilarating,” Xiaoshan argued, his face lighting up at the mention. “When Young Master kills enemies, it’s with brilliant strategy, speed, and ruthlessness. The battles he fights leave no Western Liang soldiers alive—he’s fiercely effective.”

This Xie Yanlai was indeed fierce in battle, fighting as if his life didn’t matter, which was why Zhong Changrong couldn’t help but worry every time.

“Fierce, with fierce casualties too,” he muttered.

“That’s not true!” Xiaoshan immediately countered. “Young Master fights the fiercest battles and trains fiercely in private, but he’s also fierce about protecting everyone on the battlefield. Young Master doesn’t recklessly trade lives for military merit. He’s clever, knows how to fight, and can fight well. Many brothers under his command have received his help, or they would have died on the battlefield long ago. Although I don’t have the honor to fight alongside Young Master, that time he beat me, it looked severe, but he avoided vital areas. My buttocks have more flesh, so he only hit my buttocks—”

Zhong Changrong couldn’t listen anymore and kicked him again: “Shut up! You’ve been back for a year and you’re still like this.”

Xiaoshan got up and started to leave.

“Hey, hey, where are you going?” Zhong Changrong called out. “Is there any of that ginger tea left? Where’s the hot water you mentioned? I’m soaked too—”

Xiaoshan didn’t look back: “The hot water is ready in the pot, Sir. You can go scoop some to drink yourself, and after drinking, you can soak in the pot. I have things to do. Today it’s our squad’s turn to patrol the city.”

Zhong Changrong stared in anger. Why was it that when it came to him, just drinking some hot water was enough?

“You rotten kid, so you remember you have city patrol duties, yet you sneak in here to fawn over someone else,” he scolded.

He couldn’t kick him anymore; the boy had already run out in a flash.

Zhong Changrong went to wash himself, grumbling. Just as he changed out of his clothes, a message arrived. When told it was from the capital, Zhong Changrong didn’t bother to dress properly before accepting it. He opened it and read it thoughtfully, pacing back and forth in the room for several steps before finally stopping, seemingly having made a difficult decision.

“Guards,” he instructed, “summon Inspector Xie from Luo City.”

…

…

Xie Yanlai burst in, rain still clinging to him.

“Commander Zhong,” he barked, “I said before, don’t summon me for no reason—”

Zhong Changrong glared at him: “There’s a new mission.”

Xie Yanlai stood in the hall, raising his hand to brush the rain from his brow, his phoenix eyes slanting sharply: “This officer refuses to obey.”

Zhong Changrong laughed coldly: “Go to the capital.”

The cold laugh that had risen to Xie Yanlai’s nose suddenly stopped, his finger freezing at his brow.

The capital.

In that distant capital was she, whom he hadn’t seen for so long.