The October wind rolled withered grass across the felt mats.

Chu Zhao held a piece of sliced pear in one hand while shaking off the dried grass with the other, then looked at Xie Yanlai sitting nearby.

Xie Yanlai still sat in his rocking chair, holding a bowl of sliced pears, eating them leisurely.

Chu Zhao stared at him, looking him up and down.

“What are you staring at?” His sharp brows raised as the young man said impatiently, “Never seen a beauty before?”

Chu Zhao laughed and reached out to pinch his shoulder and arm. “How is this beauty’s body? How many injuries did you sustain? You look haggard and your countenance has dimmed.”

After pinching his arm, her hand moved toward his chest.

Xie Yanlai raised his arm to block her. “Your Majesty, show some restraint!”

Chu Zhao frowned. “This is called imperial grace. Kneel and express your gratitude.”

Xie Yanlai rolled his eyes at her and picked up a piece of pear, crunching it loudly.

Chu Zhao noticed a grayish-white coating on his teeth. She knew what this meant—he had been drinking too much medicine.

After learning that Xie Yanlai had captured the Prince of Xi Liang, she immediately wrote two letters—one asking Zhong Changrong, and one personally asking Xie Yanlai, with half the letter inquiring about his injuries.

Zhong Changrong’s reply said the injuries were not fatal.

Xie Yanlai’s reply was two words: boring.

Both refused to tell her about his injuries. Chu Zhao could understand—what use was describing injuries when things were already as they were?

“How could you be so bold?” she said. “Launching a surprise attack on the Prince of Xi Liang was so dangerous. What if you had died?”

“If I died, I died. What could be done about it?” Xie Yanlai raised his brows. “Am I, Xie Yanlai, afraid of death?”

Chu Zhao took a piece of pear from the bowl in his lap, smiling cheerfully. “Yes, if you died, you died. My father died fighting the Prince of Xi Liang too—also very glorious.”

Xie Yanlai deflated like a punctured leather bag.

How annoying, this woman.

He glanced at her. She looked much more haggard than when he last saw her in the imperial capital, her complexion obviously poor.

Campaigning outside must be exhausting.

But sitting in the imperial capital wouldn’t be easy either, having fought with Deng Yi like that, with Deng Yi even joining Xiao Xun.

Other empresses enjoyed fine clothes, rich food, wealth and ease—but she probably hadn’t had a single comfortable day as empress, had she? Had she ever slept peacefully?

“Your luck really isn’t very good,” he muttered.

Chu Zhao turned her head and spat on the ground. “Don’t curse me. My luck is excellent.” Then she smiled. “Look—as soon as I came on campaign, General Xie descended from heaven, allowing me to cross the river smoothly. From now on, I’ll definitely be invincible and unstoppable, capturing and killing Xiao Xun and Deng Yi in the blink of an eye.”

This wasn’t funny at all, but for some reason Xie Yanlai still wanted to laugh.

“Then your luck really isn’t good,” he said, suppressing his laughter. “I haven’t fully recovered yet. This time I’m only here under orders to deliver troops—I won’t lead troops or fight. You’ll have to rely on yourself.”

“Minister Xie, this is my personal campaign,” Chu Zhao said, patting his shoulder. “You just watch how I kill enemies and capture cities, how imposing and mighty I am, and cheer from behind ‘Long live the Empress, the Empress is mighty!'”

Xie Yanlai laughed heartily, then looked down to see Chu Zhao’s hand sliding from his shoulder to take the last slice of pear.

“I peeled that! That was my last one!” he said angrily.

Chu Zhao quickly stuffed the pear slice into her mouth, looking at him with a smile, her cheeks bulging as she chewed—

Xie Yanlai snorted, looking at the girl’s puffed cheeks, suddenly remembering the little rabbit the two of them had caught years ago in Yunzhong Prefecture.

“Go ahead and eat,” he said. “You look like that rabbit. It’s quite plump now—Xiao Shan keeps drooling, wanting to stew it.”

The rabbit—Chu Zhao thought of when she and Xie Yanlai had fought over the snow rabbit. That night, she had heard about her father’s past and seen her mother, and afterward she had forgotten about the snow rabbit—

“You’re still raising my rabbit,” she said.

“Obviously,” Xie Yanlai raised his brows. “That’s this young master’s rabbit.”

Chu Zhao smiled with pursed lips. “I bestowed it upon you.”

Xie Yanlai chuckled twice.

While the two sat talking, the other officers had also caught up, but without being summoned, they all stood to the side waiting, ready at any moment to consult with the guerrilla general Xie Yanlai who had come from Yunzhong Prefecture and personally captured the Prince of Xi Liang, to discuss the current military situation and plan the next steps—

They had been in the prefectures, but they also closely followed the border army’s campaigns, especially major events like capturing the Prince of Xi Liang. Xie Yanlai’s name had spread far and wide.

They knew he was from the Xie family, but this kind of surprise raid to capture the Prince of Xi Liang couldn’t be achieved through birth alone—it required real combat, tactics, courage, intelligence, luck, and more. This was the man’s own achievement.

They also knew this scion was young, but seeing him now, he was even younger than they had imagined.

Truly, the younger generation was formidable.

They waited excitedly, their gazes fixed on the young man, watching him speak animatedly and cheerfully with the Empress.

They must be discussing military affairs.

They waited and waited, finally seeing the Empress turn to summon a maid. The maid A’Le came forward to listen, then walked toward them with a smile—

“Miss A’Le,” the officers quickly asked, “what are the Empress and General Xie discussing?”

They wanted to know so they could respond promptly.

What were they discussing? A’Le made a sound of acknowledgment and smiled. “They’re talking about rabbits.”

The officers paused. Rabbits? Was that code for some military matter? Some tactic?

“What are the Empress’s orders?” another officer recovered and quickly asked.

Were they being summoned to join the discussion?

A’Le acknowledged again. “The Empress has ordered food to be prepared and brought over.”

……

……

After a simple meal, Chu Zhao brought Xie Yanlai back to the newly recaptured city, still not summoning the officers.

Instead, she ordered the best room to be prepared, with incense, hot water, and a warm bed—

Xie Yanlai’s rocking chair was also carried inside.

“This incense won’t do,” he immediately complained. “It has jasmine in it. I don’t like jasmine.”

Chu Zhao urged the maids from the original household to change it.

After changing the incense, Chu Zhao handed over a plate of grapes.

“The hot water for bathing—I had them add fresh flowers,” she said. “To help General Xie relieve your fatigue and make you fragrant.”

Xie Yanlai sat in the rocking chair and accepted the plate, tossing a grape into his mouth, then frowning. “Not good.”

Chu Zhao made a sound of acknowledgment. “No wonder I saw them still hanging on the tree when I came in, unpicked.”

Xie Yanlai spat. “You’re deliberately teasing me.”

Chu Zhao giggled and handed him a plate of sliced honeydew melon. “This was found in the kitchen, specially stored. It must be delicious.”

Xie Yanlai took it and tasted a piece, nodding. “Barely acceptable, but not as good as what’s in the Prince of Xi Liang’s tent.”

Chu Zhao continued talking without pause, going to check the prepared bathtub, then pressing her hand on the bed, casually asking what the Prince of Xi Liang looked like, what the two had said after his capture. After just a few exchanges, there was sudden silence behind her. She turned around to see Xie Yanlai in the rocking chair with his eyes closed.

Chu Zhao looked at the young man sleeping with his eyes closed and his pale face, gently shaking her head.

Asleep again.

But she knew why.

Although he said he was only here to deliver troops, he had still traveled rapidly and launched a surprise attack on the rear of Xiao Xun’s forces. His injuries hadn’t healed at all—how could he endure such a rush?

Every time was like this.

Every time he met with her, he came racing forward, utterly exhausted.

And the reason he did this was all to put her mind at ease.

“Miss, should we help him to the bed?” A’Le asked softly at the door.

Chu Zhao said, “Let him sleep first.” She took the thin blanket from the bed and covered him, looking at the young man’s sleeping face, saying softly, “Rest well. Now that you’re here, recover peacefully. Don’t worry about anything else.”

……

……

When news reached the border commandery that the border army reinforcements had joined with the Empress and that the Empress had crossed the Yellow River and recaptured two cities, Zhong Changrong finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Commander Zhong, I told you not to worry,” Xiao Shan said, squatting by the door with his hands tucked in, basking in the sun lazily. “With our young master there, we’re invincible. Just wait—the victory report of Xiao Xun’s execution might already be on its way.”

He shook his head and sighed.

“Alas, the young master didn’t take me along. It’s such a shame not to witness this scene with my own eyes.”

Zhong Changrong glared at him. “Get lost! The negotiations are over—you keep watch and escort the Prince of Xi Liang back to his homeland.”

“Our young master’s defeated enemy—what’s there to watch?” Xiao Shan tossed out another comment and nimbly rolled away in time, avoiding Zhong Changrong’s kick.

Zhong Changrong cursed “little bastard,” muttering that they’d all been corrupted by Xie Yanlai, then looked at the dispatch in his hand, hesitating for a moment.

“Someone come,” he called.

A personal guard standing outside the door immediately stepped forward.

Zhong Changrong handed him the dispatch along with half a command token, instructing in a low voice, “Deliver this to Mu Mianhong.”

The guard acknowledged and left with the items. Zhong Changrong also straightened his robes and called his attendants. “Let’s inspect our newly recovered territory and see the Prince of Xi Liang off.”

The attendants responded in unison and gathered around Zhong Changrong as he walked out of the government office. Outside stood a soldier who, upon seeing Zhong Changrong, immediately stepped forward and saluted.

“General Zhong—”

Zhong Changrong seemed not to notice, stepping past him to mount his horse and galloping away with his soldiers.

Liang Qiang’s knee hadn’t even touched the ground; he could only slowly stand up.

“Colonel Liang,” the guards at the gate advised, “you should return. The general won’t agree, and besides, reinforcements have already reached the Empress.”

Liang Qiang came every day to request an audience with Zhong Changrong. Almost everyone knew he was begging to go kill Deng Yi.

Liang Qiang glanced at the guards, saluted in thanks, but shook his head. “I won’t give up.”

With that, he turned and left, mounting his horse to chase in the direction Zhong Changrong had gone.

Behind him, soldiers gradually began to follow.