The October wind rolled dried grass onto the felt mat.
Chu Zhao held a sliced pear in one hand while shaking off the dried grass with the other, then looked at Xie Yanlai sitting beside her.
Xie Yanlai was still sitting in a rocking chair, holding a bowl of sliced pears, eating them leisurely.
Chu Zhao stared at him up and down.
“What are you looking at?” Sharp eyebrows raised as the young man impatiently said, “Haven’t you seen a beautiful man before?”
Chu Zhao smiled, reaching out to pinch his shoulder and arm: “How is the beautiful man’s body? How many injuries did you suffer? You look so haggard that even your complexion has dimmed.”
After pinching his arm, she moved to touch his chest.
Xie Yanlai raised his arm to block her: “Your Majesty, please show restraint!”
Chu Zhao frowned and said, “This is called the Emperor’s deep favor. Kneel and give thanks.”
Xie Yanlai rolled his eyes at her, picked up a piece of pear, and crunched it.
Chu Zhao noticed a grayish-white film on his teeth, and she knew what this meant—he had been taking too much medicine.
After learning that Xie Yanlai had captured the King of Western Liang, she immediately wrote two letters, one asking Zhong Changrong and one personally asking Xie Yanlai. Half of each letter asked about his injuries.
Zhong Changrong replied that the injuries were not life-threatening.
Xie Yanlai’s reply was just two words: “Boring.”
They both refused to tell her about their injuries, and Chu Zhao could understand—what was the use of discussing injuries? Things were already as they were.
“How could you be so bold?” she said. “Ambushing the King of Western Liang was so dangerous. What if you had died?”
“If I died, then I died. What else?” Xie Yanlai raised his eyebrows. “Do I, Xie Yanlai, fear death?”
Chu Zhao took a piece of pear from the bowl in his arms and said with a smile: “Yes, if you died, you died. My father died fighting the King of Western Liang too, which was quite glorious.”
Xie Yanlai deflated like a punctured bag.
So annoying, this woman.
He glanced at her. She looked much more haggard than when he had last seen her in the Imperial City, her complexion noticeably poor.
Marching in the field was certainly difficult.
But sitting in the Imperial City wasn’t any easier either, with things so tense with Deng Yi, who had now joined Xiao Xun.
Other Empresses lived in splendor and luxury with comfort and honor, but has this Empress ever had a single day of peace? Had she ever slept soundly?
“Your luck isn’t that good,” he muttered.
Chu Zhao turned her head and spat on the ground: “Don’t curse me. My luck is excellent.” Then she smiled, “See how General Xie descended from the heavens as soon as I came to lead the campaign, allowing me to cross the river smoothly. Next, I will surely be unstoppable, sweeping through like a storm, and in the blink of an eye, I’ll be able to behead Xiao Xun and Deng Yi.”
These words weren’t funny at all, but Xie Yanlai somehow wanted to laugh.
“That’s still your bad luck,” he said, holding back his laughter. “I haven’t fully recovered yet. This time I was only ordered to deliver troops, not to lead them or fight. You’ll have to rely on yourself.”
“Lord Xie, this time I am personally leading the campaign,” Chu Zhao said, patting his shoulder. “You just need to watch how I kill enemies and capture cities, how majestic I am, and shout from behind, ‘Long live Your Majesty, Your Majesty is mighty.’ That’s all.”
Xie Yanlai laughed, and then, looking down, he saw that Chu Zhao’s hand, which had slid off his shoulder, had taken the last piece of pear.
“I sliced those! That was my last one!” he fumed.
Chu Zhao quickly stuffed the pear slice into her mouth, smiling at him with bulging cheeks as she chewed—
Xie Yanlai snorted, looking at the girl’s puffy cheeks, suddenly remembering the little rabbit they had caught in Yunzhong Commandery years ago.
“Go ahead and eat,” he said. “You eat like that rabbit. It’s quite fat now. Xiaoshan is always drooling, wanting to make stew with it.”
The rabbit, Chu Zhao, thought of how she and Xie Yanlai had fought over the snow rabbit. That night, she had heard about her father’s past and had also seen her mother. Afterward, she had forgotten about the snow rabbit—
“You’re still keeping my rabbit,” she said.
“Of course,” Xie Yanlai raised his eyebrows. “That’s this young master’s rabbit.”
Chu Zhao smiled: “I bestowed it upon you.”
Xie Yanlai chuckled twice.
While the two were sitting and talking, other officers had also arrived, but without being summoned, they all stood aside waiting, ready to discuss the current war situation and plans with the guerrilla General Xie Yanlai from Yunzhong Commandery, who had personally captured the King of Western Liang—
They had always been in the provinces, but paid close attention to the border military affairs, especially major events like the capture of the King of Western Liang. Xie Yanlai’s name had spread widely.
They knew he was from the Xie family, but ambushing and capturing the King of Western Liang wasn’t achieved by family background alone. It was through real fighting, tactics, courage, intelligence, luck, and more—this was the person’s accomplishment.
They also knew this young man was young, but seeing him now, he was even younger than they had imagined.
Truly, the young are to be feared.
They excitedly waited, their gaze falling on the young man, watching him chat animatedly and happily with the Empress.
They must be discussing military affairs.
Waiting and waiting, they finally saw the Empress turn her head to call a maid. The maid A-Le approached to listen, then smiled and walked toward them—
“Miss A-Le,” the officers hurriedly 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 an “oh” sound and smiled: “They’re talking about a rabbit.”
The officers were stunned. A rabbit? Was that a code for some military affair or tactic?
“What are the Empress’s orders?” another officer quickly asked, having recovered.
She must be summoning them to join the discussion, right?
A-Le made another “oh” sound: “The Empress ordered food to be brought over.”
……
……
After a simple meal, Chu Zhao took Xie Yanlai back to the recently recaptured city, still without summoning the officers.
Instead, she ordered the best room to be prepared, with incense, hot water, and a warm bed—
Xie Yanlai was carried in with his rocking chair.
“This incense won’t do,” he immediately critiqued. “It has jasmine in it. I don’t like jasmine.”
Chu Zhao urged the original owner’s maids to change it.
After changing the incense, Chu Zhao handed over a plate of grapes.
“Where’s the hot water for bathing? I had them pick fresh flowers,” she said. “To help General Xie relax and make you smell fragrant.”
Xie Yanlai, sitting in the rocking chair, took the plate and threw a grape into his mouth, frowning: “Not tasty.”
Chu Zhao made an “oh” sound: “No wonder I saw them growing on the tree with no one picking them.”
Xie Yanlai spat: “You’re just deliberately teasing me.”
Chu Zhao giggled and handed him a plate of sliced honeydew: “This was found in the kitchen, a treasured item, definitely delicious.”
Xie Yanlai took it, tasted it, and nodded: “Barely acceptable, but not as good as those in the King of Western Liang’s tent.”
Chu Zhao continued talking without pause, checking the prepared bathtub, then reaching out to press the bed, casually asking what the King of Western Liang looked like, and what they said after his capture. But after just a few sentences, there was sudden silence behind her. She turned around to see Xie Yanlai on the rocking chair with his eyes closed.
Chu Zhao looked at the pale-faced young man sleeping with closed eyes and gently shook her head.
He had fallen asleep again.
But she knew why.
Although he said he was just delivering troops, he had still traveled quickly, ambushing Xiao Xun’s forces from behind. His wounds hadn’t healed at all—how could he withstand such a rapid march?
Since they had met, he had been constantly in the rocking chair, barely able to stand up—
It was always like this.
Every time he met her, he would rush over, exhausted.
And he did this to reassure her.
“Miss, should we help him to bed?” A-Le asked softly at the door.
Chu Zhao said: “Let him sleep first.” She took a thin blanket and covered him, looking at the young man’s sleeping face, saying softly, “Rest well. This time you’ve come here to recover in peace, don’t worry about anything else.”
……
……
When news of the border army reinforcements joining the Empress and the Empress crossing the Yellow River to recapture two cities reached the border commandery, Zhong Changrong finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“General Zhong, I told you not to worry,” Xiaoshan squatted by the door, warming himself in the sun, saying lazily. “With our young master there, they’re invincible. Just wait, perhaps the news of Xiao Xun’s beheading is already on its way.”
He shook his head and sighed.
“Ah, the young master didn’t take me, it’s too bad I can’t witness this moment.”
Zhong Changrong glared at him: “Get lost quickly. The negotiations are over. Keep a close eye on the King of Western Liang and send him back home.”
“The defeated opponent of our young master, what’s there to watch?” Xiaoshan tossed out another line, nimbly rolling away in time, avoiding Zhong Changrong’s kick.
Zhong Changrong cursed the little troublemaker—what had Xie Yanlai turned his subordinates into? Then he looked at the letter in his hand, hesitating for a moment.
“Someone come,” he called.
The personal guard standing outside the door immediately approached.
Zhong Changrong handed the letter to him, while taking out half of a command token, instructing in a low voice: “Take this to Mu Mian Hong.”
The guard acknowledged and departed with it. Zhong Changrong also straightened his robes and called his attendants: “Let’s go inspect our newly reclaimed territory, and escort the King of Western Liang for part of his journey.”
The attendants responded in unison, surrounding Zhong Changrong as he walked out of the government office. Outside stood a soldier who, seeing Zhong Changrong, immediately stepped forward to bow.
“General Zhong—”
Zhong Changrong seemed not to see him, walked past to mount his horse, and rode away swiftly with his soldiers.
Liang Qiang, who hadn’t even managed to kneel on one knee, could only slowly stand up.
“Battalion Commander Liang,” the guard at the door advised, “you should go back. The General won’t agree, and reinforcements have already reached Her Majesty the Empress.”
Liang Qiang came every day to request an audience with Zhong Changrong, and almost everyone knew he was begging to go kill Deng Yi.
Liang Qiang looked at the guard, bowed in thanks, but shook his head: “I won’t give up.”
With that, he turned and walked away, mounted his horse, and followed in the direction Zhong Changrong had gone.
Behind him, gradually, more soldiers began to follow.