Li Mu had gone to receive the imperial edict from Luoshen’s emperor uncle. Luoshen didn’t go out to welcome it together but remained in her room.

The maids entered, and several of them together attended to Luoshen, bustling about to finish quickly, with only her long hair still not completely dry.

A’Ju helped Luoshen dry her long hair, and after combing it through, carefully gathered that head of smooth, jet-black hair into a loose bun at the back of her head.

By this time, more than half an hour had passed since Li Mu went out to receive the imperial edict.

He still hadn’t returned to the room.

Luoshen sat before her mirror case, holding a fine-toothed jade comb in her hand, unconsciously fiddling with it while lost in thought.

Even when A’Ju called for her to go to bed and rest, she didn’t respond.

She was truly somewhat distracted.

It wasn’t because Li Mu had been gone for so long, but because her thoughts were still immersed in the feeling he had given her before leaving.

The feeling was quite depressing.

After he left, when Luoshen had calmed herself, she suddenly realized with shock that without knowing it, she seemed to have resignedly accepted this marriage.

Although the door remained closed, she and he were still unrelated to each other. She occupied the bed while he continued sleeping on that couch. As nights grew colder, he merely added another cover.

But apart from this, Luoshen realized that everything during this time had been vastly different from what she had originally imagined.

She had grown close to his mother. The originally awkward address “foster mother” had become almost as natural to say as “mother” in just these few days.

A’Ting had become her follower.

In a moment of impulse, she had stood up for the wife of Li Mu’s sworn brother, with whom she had only met a few times.

Besides them, she had also become increasingly familiar with the neighbors around the Li residence…

Everything she did seemed to naturally fit the identity of Li Mu’s wife.

This would have been fine, but what depressed her most was what had happened earlier.

She had also helped him out, after all. She believed her final handling was quite appropriate—showing both kindness and authority toward the Shen family. In the future, the Jiang couple would presumably never have to worry again.

Everyone, including his mother, was very grateful to her.

Not only did he not offer a single word of thanks, he was even disrespectful to her.

Not only did he speak insolently with words that made her extremely uncomfortable to hear, most annoyingly, he had actually put his hands on her.

Even now, that patch of skin on her neck where he had touched her still seemed to retain a lingering, unsettling sensation.

Luoshen deeply regretted it. She was annoyed at herself for being so foolish earlier, not immediately retaliating.

Now he was already gone!

All the pleasant, relaxed mood this day had brought her vanished completely.

She was so frustrated she wanted to pull her own hair!

A servant woman was looking around at the doorway.

A’Ju walked over, then returned to tell Luoshen: “Young lady, His Majesty’s imperial edict appoints Li Langjun as Provincial Governor with imperial credentials to go north of the river to pacify the rebellion in Liangzhou.”

…

The imperial messenger who came to deliver the edict was Chamberlain Feng Wei.

Following close behind Feng Wei was another visitor—Yang Xuan.

But Yang Xuan wasn’t an imperial messenger, nor had he even come in Xu Mi’s name.

Xu Mi had transferred him back upstream to Jiangling to continue defending Jingzhou.

At this moment, he should have already set out westward.

But instead he had come in the opposite direction, first detouring to Jingkou. Tonight, he appeared here in the capacity of Li Mu’s former superior, or rather, a concerned former superior.

Feng Wei had rushed here urgently and was exhausted from the journey. After delivering the imperial edict, his entire party was extremely tired. Li Mu and the Jingkou magistrate who had come upon hearing the news sent them to the postal relay station. After hosting and settling them properly, it was already late at night when they returned.

He and Yang Xuan sat facing each other.

A candle stand burned at the corner of the table, its flames flickering. Yang Xuan’s expression was grave, his gaze falling on an object before him.

Besides bringing the emperor’s decree, Feng Wei had also bestowed a bronze seal and tiger tally.

The two items placed side by side on the table were the provincial seal and the tiger tally used to command troops.

The heavy bronze, under the candlelight’s reflection, emanated a dark golden luster representing power and authority.

Only one thing was missing—yet it was the most important thing.

The army.

Li Mu’s opponent he was commanded to cross the river and fight was Yuan Jie, who originally submitted to Beixia, became the emperor’s son-in-law, was enfeoffed in Liangzhou, and governed the local area.

After Beixia’s devastating defeat in the battle north of the river against Dayu, the country was tottering. Instead of going to serve the king loyally, Yuan Jie led troops out of Liangzhou, quickly occupied the Hanzhong area, and then launched an attack on the last regime in Shu that still submitted to Dayu—the Ba Kingdom. Ba was no match and its king fled to Dayu, causing the country’s destruction.

The southwestern region north of the river completely fell into Yuan Jie’s hands.

Yuan Jie established a kingdom and proclaimed himself Emperor of Han.

What Emperor Xingping wanted Li Mu to do was assist the Ba king in restoring his kingdom and eliminate Yuan Jie’s so-called Han Kingdom that claimed legitimate succession.

Yuan Jie commanded one hundred thousand troops and occupied vast fertile lands in Ba and Shu, with favorable timing, geography, and strong forces.

Meanwhile, Li Mu had nothing but the title of “Provincial Governor with Imperial Credentials”—the emperor gave him only three thousand soldiers.

These three thousand soldiers all came from the Palace Guards.

The Palace Guards were normally stationed in Jiankang, their duty being to protect the imperial city and palace. Compared to real armies that constantly besieged cities and seized territory, their combat effectiveness was predictable.

The Palace Guards were divided into six armies of one thousand men each.

Emperor Xingping had drawn out half of them.

And these were all the troops Emperor Xingping himself could deploy, plus three thousand men Gao Qiao had transferred from Gao Yun in Guangling.

What Li Mu’s tiger tally could command was just these six thousand men hastily assembled.

Yang Xuan’s gaze shifted from the bronze seal on the table to the face of the man across from him who had once been his subordinate, revealing unconcealed worry in his eyes.

He shook his head.

“Jingchen, I’m not speaking with hindsight. When you sought to marry Prime Minister Gao’s daughter, I felt it was inappropriate. Now it has indeed placed you in the center of controversy. His Majesty, Minister Xu, the Lu family, even Prime Minister Gao—all watch you like tigers eyeing prey. Having you attack Yuan Jie with these mixed six thousand men—what chance of victory is there?”

This battle could originally be fought or not fought.

In the eyes of the court and most southerners, the lands north of the river had long belonged to distant dreams. If they could be reclaimed, it would naturally be good, but if lost, it was also normal.

It was hard to find people like those in the early days after crossing south, who would stand by the river facing north and weep en masse, homesick for their native land.

Yet the emperor issued this decree at this time.

For Emperor Xingping, it was with hopeful and impatient hearts that he wanted to gamble on the ability of this humble-born general he had chosen, and also gamble on his own imperial fortune.

For Xu Mi, it was cold observation, waiting to see how Gao Qiao would handle this son-in-law he wasn’t satisfied with. When news of defeat came, Gao Qiao’s expression would presumably be enough to accompany his wine drinking. And incidentally, he could also secretly mock his emperor son-in-law’s wishful thinking for not being content with the status quo.

For Lu Guang, the humiliation the Lu clan suffered from the failed marriage alliance’s aftermath still hadn’t dissipated. It was said Gao Qiao felt very guilty and had sent Lu Guang three consecutive letters inviting him to banquets, all of which he declined citing illness. The enmity between Gao and Lu was inevitable. What Lu Guang most wanted to see now was probably not much different from Xu Mi’s wishes.

As for Gao Qiao…

In his position as head of the Gao clan, there were too many things he needed to consider and balance.

Even though Li Mu was already his son-in-law, the Gao family absolutely couldn’t unreservedly support Li Mu during such a sensitive time when tensions could explode—or rather, support the emperor’s action that could be called a wildly fanciful mad venture.

Moreover, who could know what Gao Qiao was actually thinking now?

A son-in-law wasn’t a son. When it truly came to critical moments concerning family survival, many family heads could even sacrifice one or two sons.

Much less a mere son-in-law?

The emperor had indeed asked the Ministry of War for troops for this war.

But besides the dust-covered military rosters in their hands, the Minister of War couldn’t produce a single real person.

Both Xu Mi and Lu Guang found excuses to decline.

As a response to the higher-ups, Gao Qiao’s transfer of Gao Yun’s three thousand troops was already quite a statement.

The remaining heavy burden fell entirely on Li Mu’s shoulders alone.

A battle that could originally be fought or not fought had finally become a deadly trap Li Mu must throw himself into due to court struggles and human scheming.

Watching how he would end up, how the emperor would conclude things.

This was probably what everyone was waiting to see now.

“Jingchen, there’s one more thing I must remind you. Never mind that the three thousand Palace Guards are useless—the other three thousand Guangling troops, though brave and skilled in battle, belong to Gao Yun. Gao Yun deeply dislikes you. Although he’s sent troops on Gao Qiao’s orders, from top to bottom, they may not submit to your command. Yuan Jie is powerful, and you already have no usable troops. If Gao Yun’s men also obstruct you from the side, I fear you’ll be in great danger! Listen to my advice—immediately write to Gao Qiao seeking his help. From now on, follow him wholeheartedly. However he wants you to act, act accordingly. Without his full support, you have absolutely no chance of victory! Taking ten thousand steps back, if he’s willing to intervene and have His Majesty recall the order to avoid this battle, it’s not impossible.”

Li Mu had remained mostly silent, but now finally raised his eyes to look at the worried Yang Xuan, smiling slightly: “When soldiers come, generals will block them. Since I have imperial orders, I can hardly decline, so I can only give it a try. Thank you, General, for making a special trip here to inform me—Li Mu is eternally grateful!”

Yang Xuan understood.

He was politely declining his advice.

Since learning this news, Yang Xuan had been very anxious, which was why he disregarded Xu Mi’s transfer order, put aside everything, and rushed to Jingkou first, wanting to persuade Li Mu to heed his advice and seek favor with Gao Qiao, whom he had offended by forcibly marrying Gao Luoshen.

Although he also understood that Gao Qiao might not be so easily willing to help.

But compared to dying for nothing, this was undoubtedly a more feasible path.

Yang Xuan was silent for a moment, secretly sighing, and could only change his approach.

“Jingchen, don’t blame me for being unwilling to help you. All your former camp soldiers want to follow you north to war, but without Minister Xu’s word, I’m powerless to help. Fortunately, you’ve always been skilled in warfare, and in the art of military strategy, you surpass what I could ever achieve. Since our Dayu could greatly defeat the Xia Kingdom north of the river, how do we know you, Li Mu, can’t achieve victory with inferior numbers and pacify Liangzhou?”

Li Mu smiled and bowed in thanks: “I was previously promoted thanks to the General’s guidance, which led to Li Mu’s current position. How could Li Mu not understand the General’s difficulties? By the General’s auspicious words, in this battle, Li Mu will definitely do everything possible to pacify the Shu lands. Please wait for my news, General!”

Since Yang Xuan had orders to fulfill, after meeting with Li Mu and saying what needed to be said, he departed overnight for Jiangling.

Li Mu saw Yang Xuan off twenty li from Jingkou, finally stopping at the riverbank. Before parting, he said to him: “General Yang, the Central Plains are in chaos, and the realm will surely descend into greater turmoil. Xu Mi is no heroic ruler. For long-term plans, I advise the General to make early preparations and leave yourself an escape route.”

Yang Xuan was startled and stared at Li Mu.

Li Mu’s expression didn’t change as he bowed: “I know the General is a man who values relationships and loyalty—these are truly disrespectful words. But what kind of person Xu Mi is, the General surely knows far better than I do. Li Mu speaks so rashly only out of gratitude for the General’s kindness toward me. If I’ve given offense, please forgive me, General.”

Yang Xuan remained silent, then smiled bitterly after a moment: “How could I not know! But in times like these, with our humble origins, if we don’t attach ourselves to the Xu family, where else could we go? The Gao and Lu clans may not be much better than Xu Mi! Moreover, Xu Mi has shown me the favor of recognition and employment.”

“Forget it! We’ll take it one step at a time! Now I only hope you can overcome this crisis. If you can get through this trial, with your abilities, you’ll surely accomplish great things in the future!”

Yang Xuan patted Li Mu’s shoulder and mounted his horse to leave.

Li Mu watched as he and his entourage rode away, their figures gradually disappearing into the night.

The cold moon was silent, the great river flowing endlessly.

He didn’t immediately return to the city but stopped by the riverbank, standing alone in the moonlight for a long time.

In this lifetime, he still faced the same people.

Yet everything was completely different.

The sixteen-year-old Lady Gao had not married someone else but had become his wife early on.

The iron-solid court of balanced power had also, as he wished, begun to crack early through this marriage’s catalyst.

And as an inevitable price, before his wings had fully grown, he found himself pushed early to that narrow bridge where swords would clash.

On the other side of the bridge lay his undying ambition and the imperial power he had once held to support that ambition.

Below the bridge was a bottomless abyss. The slightest carelessness or misstep would mean eternal damnation.

From the first day he sought to marry Lady Gao, he knew he had abandoned the path he could follow from his previous life. In this life, everything had to start over, and compared to before, it would only become more difficult.

He didn’t know what the future would bring.

But he felt no fear, nor any regret.

At this moment, surging and stirring in his body’s blood was only hot blood.

Hot blood that would never cool.

The campaign to pacify Shu would be the beginning of stepping onto that narrow bridge.

He must forge ahead bravely, for his towering ambition, and also for that Lady Gao who now bore his surname.

So she could forever act as freely as she did today, with something to rely on, rather than being careful and seeking compromise as she had when marrying him in the previous life.

The her in Li Mu’s memory had fragrant skin and jade bones, gentle and understanding.

Had it not been for that cup of poisoned wine later, the brocade curtains and jade beauty, their mutual tender affection—even thinking of it now, that lingering faint fragrance seemed to still hover around his nostrils, lingering endlessly.

But though he remembered it obsessively and cherished it still, for her, what kind of heart tribulation must she have experienced to change from her current sixteen-year-old carefree appearance into a woman who knew how to please men?

He would rather spend half his life ensuring her willful nature remained unchanged.

And that understanding woman he once missed, buried in his heart’s depths, was enough.

…

Li Mu returned very late at night.

Luoshen had long since gone to bed but remained awake due to her sullen mood. Through the bed curtains, she watched him silently lie down in the darkness.

The next morning when she woke and lifted the curtain, she saw the couch in the corner of the room was already empty.

Even the bedding had been put away by him, and he was long gone.

The news that Li Mu was promoted to Provincial Governor and commanded to cross the river soon to attack Han and assist Ba’s restoration was known not only to the Li family—by early the next morning, everyone in Jingkou knew.

The emperor hadn’t given him much time to prepare for war.

In three days, he would depart.

Then he would lead three thousand Palace Guards across the river, rendezvous with three thousand troops coming from Guangling, and subsequently march to attack Han.

The entire town of Jingkou was discussing this matter.

Luoshen noticed that Lu Shi hadn’t shown excessive worry about parting or reluctance due to her son going off to war in front of her.

She only buried herself in sewing clothes for him.

Though blind, after cutting the fabric properly, she could slowly feel her way and still sew extremely fine, dense stitches.

It just required more effort.

From morning till night, she kept her head down making clothes.

A’Ting seemed very worried.

Usually able to eat two big bowls of rice, these past few days she couldn’t eat.

After just picking at a few mouthfuls, she’d put down her chopsticks, gloomy and dejected.

Luoshen guessed it was probably because the previous false reports of Li Mu’s death had left shadows on the young girl, so this time, hearing her brother was going to war again, she began worrying again.

As for Luoshen, regarding this news, she herself wasn’t quite sure what she thought—whether she worried about the dangers facing this nominal “husband” of hers, or was glad that at least for some time to come, she wouldn’t have to see his face.

These past two days, Li Mu left early and returned late.

When he returned, she had already crawled into bed curtains; when she woke, he had already risen and left.

Since that night, the two had not only not spoken a single word but hadn’t even encountered each other face to face.

Tomorrow was the day Li Mu would leave home to lead troops to war. Those three thousand Palace Guards had already marched to Jingkou and were camped along the ferry crossing.

This morning, A’Ju whispered in Luoshen’s ear that if she missed her family, she could perhaps use this opportunity to suggest returning to Jiankang for a short stay—she expected the Li family wouldn’t refuse.

Luoshen did indeed miss Father and Mother. Being reminded by A’Ju like this, she couldn’t help being somewhat tempted.

Tonight, Lu Shi wanted to personally cook a meal to send off her son.

He should return earlier.

Luoshen thought that perhaps, depending on the situation, if there was a suitable opportunity tonight, she might bring it up and see his reaction.