“Extra, extra! The Bei Di Army crushes the elite forces of the Xi Nan Army at Lu Guan Village!”

“Extra, extra! The Young Commander leads the army westward—the Xi Nan Army retreats step by step!”

“Extra, extra! The Xi Nan Army mounts a comeback—the Bei Di Army suffers heavy losses!”

Ever since the Bei Di Army had marched out, reports had come flooding in one after another. Any newspaper with coverage of the war sold out without fail.

Yan Qing had just finished feeding Er Dan and returned indoors when Murong handed her the day’s newspaper.

“What does it say?” Yan Qing asked, settling into her seat as Jing Zhi quickly tucked a cushion behind her.

Yan Qing had made clear long ago that no matter how the battle went, no matter what the newspapers reported, the papers were to be brought to her without concealment.

Murong paused before speaking: “The paper says the Bei Di Army walked into an enemy ambush and suffered severe casualties. The command headquarters was bombed, and there were casualties among the commanding officers.”

She watched Yan Qing carefully. ‘Miss, please don’t worry just yet. The command post has more than just the Young Commander in it, and what the papers say isn’t necessarily the truth—many unscrupulous papers have already started fabricating stories to boost circulation.’

The papers stationed war correspondents at the front—reporters who risked gunfire and shells to get the first reports, then overcame every obstacle to send the news back. Among those reports, some might be false, but the majority were true.

Yan Qing glanced at the masthead of the newspaper: it was Qiao Yiran’s press—the largest and most authoritative in Shun Cheng, which generally did not publish false news.

During the public opinion incident last time, this very press had helped resolve the situation. As a result, the government had granted it exclusive privileges, such as allowing its reporters to travel with the army and access firsthand information.

This press’s reports, in other words, came directly from the front and were among the most reliable.

“Shi Ting once said that Lei Li is not an opponent to be underestimated,” Yan Qing said, reading through the report carefully. “In strategic deployment and commanding troops, he is a master. The Bei Di Army and his forces have exchanged blow for blow across several engagements, with wins and losses on both sides.”

Lei Li was skilled in the art of war and possessed a far-reaching mind. He had planted spies in Bei Di long ago, and even now, his intelligence network remained in place within Bei Di.

The Qin Pei Pei incident from before—Qin Pei Pei had only been a single thread he had planted inside the dance hall, and outside there was a network ready to support her.

Qin Pei Pei was dead, but this organization had not yet been found. They were still likely active in the Shun Cheng area, watching Bei Di’s every move at all times.

“Miss, the Young Commander is blessed—nothing will happen to him,” Jing Zhi said reassuringly. “The command headquarters that was bombed might not even be where the Young Commander was.”

“Let us hope so.” Yan Qing thought of the words he had said when he left: if there was no news from him, she should wait calmly.

And apart from waiting and praying for his safety, there was nothing else she could do.

Fortunately, there was the Qiao Family’s treasure. The sheer magnitude of that fortune was more than sufficient to sustain the immense expenditure of the Bei Di Army.

Yan Qing had not expected that the first major case she had encountered upon arriving in this world would in the end become their greatest source of strength.

She set down the newspaper, and Jing Zhi quickly handed her a cup of hot water.

“Miss, you are already over six months along. Please be careful with your health—too much anxiety is bad for the baby as well,” Jing Zhi said. “The Madam has forbidden us from showing you these newspapers. If she finds out, she will certainly punish us.”

The Second Concubine had shortly before been officially declared the proper mistress of the Shi Mansion, and the courtyard she occupied had been connected and expanded to include an adjacent garden—it was now the main residence of the Shi Mansion. The Zhuo Xin Garden where the former Madam had once lived had been converted into a guest wing; though it was kept tidy, it grew increasingly desolate, for both of the official mistresses who had resided there had met pitiable ends.

After becoming the Madam of the Shi household, Luo Huaimeng had not been idle. She had always excelled at navigating the social circles of wealthy matrons, and now with the war in full swing, the support of these merchant families was indispensable—so she often braved her frail health to make rounds of these households and cultivate goodwill.

As for the Commander, after his severe injury, his health had declined day by day. The doctors said he was like a lamp running out of oil, with little time remaining.

~~~

When the first cicada of summer began to cry, Shun Cheng gradually became draped in flowers and greenery.

Yan Qing was now over seven months pregnant, but because of her slender frame and loose-fitting clothing, it was still difficult to tell she was with child.

She continued going to the Military Police Division, but no longer performed autopsies herself. With E’Yuan holding down the division, and with his newly taken apprentice Ling Ai—who was sharp and capable—Yan Qing, the former consultant, was rarely needed. Only when a particularly difficult case arose would she be called upon to resolve it personally.

Time passed day by day. Without anyone quite noticing, the war had already been going on for half a year.

By now the Bei Di Army and the Xi Nan Army were positioned along the border of the Southwest, skirmishing daily, as though each side was waiting for the other to show the first signs of exhaustion.

On a sunlit afternoon, Yan Qing received a letter from afar.

That letter had traveled over mountains and rivers, carrying with it the scent of gunpowder smoke, and arrived in her hands.

“Miss, it’s a letter from the Young Commander!” Murong and Jing Zhi were both overjoyed.

Shi Ting had been gone half a year. In that time, he had sent back only two letters—and this was the third.

Yan Qing first washed her hands, then sat down properly and, with a deeply reverent heart, held that thin envelope in her palms.

To her, it was beyond price. A letter meant he was still safe.

With trembling excitement she unsealed the envelope, which had been worn and frayed from being passed through so many hands that it had nearly exposed the paper within.

Opening the folded letter, the very first line was written in bold, vigorous characters: My dear wife, Qing Qing, I hope you are well!

Seeing those words, Yan Qing’s tears fell in an instant.

Through his familiar handwriting, it was as if he were right there before her—close enough that she could reach out and touch him.

As before, he wrote only of good news, never ill. He said the weather had grown warmer and the soldiers no longer had to endure bitter cold, but with summer arriving, mosquitoes were multiplying and there might be some trouble from their bites.

At the end of the letter, he said he missed her terribly and hoped he might be back at her side by the time the next autumn came.

Tucked inside the letter was a leaf—one he must have picked near the battlefield. It had been green when plucked, but after its long journey, it had long since withered.

Yan Qing held that leaf and breathed in its scent deeply. She knew: this was the fragrance of that distant earth.

Holding it, she felt as if she were standing beside him, watching the beacon fires rise at the front, watching the sun sink into the evening glow.

She truly longed to be at his side.

“Miss, how wonderful—the Young Commander is safe and sound,” Jing Zhi said excitedly. “Word has it that the Bei Di Army has completely driven the Xi Nan Army out of the Bei Di border and is now in hot pursuit.”

Several towns along the southwestern border had once been Bei Di territory, seized by the Southwest during a past warlord conflict. Shi Ting’s expedition, beyond repelling the Xi Nan Army and defending the homeland, also aimed to reclaim these towns.

If the Bei Di Army pressed westward from here, there would surely be another fierce battle ahead. His promise to return by the next autumn might not be possible to keep.

Yan Qing read the letter over several times, then carefully tucked it away in a finely made little wooden box.

Three letters now lay inside it, each one held by her as a treasure beyond value.

Just as Yan Qing was gazing at those letters lost in thought, Luo Huaimeng’s senior maidservant Xiang Xiu came rushing in—without even announcing herself, she stepped straight across the threshold. Clearly, something was terribly urgent.

“Xiang Xiu, what has happened?” Jing Zhi was startled. “Why such a rush? You are covered in sweat.”

Xiang Xiu ran straight to Yan Qing’s side. ‘Young Mistress, this is terrible—the Commander is failing.’

Yan Qing was taken aback. ‘The Commander is failing?’

“The Madam sent me to inform the Young Mistress. Please come at once.”

“Has the doctor been called?”

“The doctor has been here for some time—these are the doctor’s own words.” Xiang Xiu said. “The Commander was not well this morning either. The Madam called the doctor, gave him medicine, and at noon even coaxed him to eat some congee. But then, without warning…”

Before Xiang Xiu had even finished, Yan Qing rose and headed out the door. Jing Zhi and Murong hurried after her, one on each side to support her.

When she arrived at Luo Huaimeng’s courtyard, servants were moving in and out. Every one of them lowered their heads in greeting at the sight of her, then rushed off again to their tasks.

Yan Qing entered the room. Luo Huaimeng was seated at the Commander’s bedside, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. The doctor stood to one side, clearly helpless.

“Mother.”

Hearing Yan Qing’s voice, Luo Huaimeng immediately turned her head. Seeing Yan Qing enter, she rose swiftly and came toward her. ‘The Commander is not well.’

Yan Qing took Luo Huaimeng’s hand and held it in silent comfort.

Luo Huaimeng’s grief at this moment was genuine. What had passed before aside, after the Commander returned from the brink of death and came back to the Shi Mansion, he had treated Luo Huaimeng with great kindness—relying on her daily, unable to eat or rest without her by his side.

The Commander had been plucked back from the gates of death, and his temperament seemed to have changed in many ways. With Luo Huaimeng at his side day and night, old feelings seemed to stir to life again.

Now that the Commander had suddenly taken a grave turn, her worry and fear were heartfelt.

“Young Mistress.” The doctor pressed his fists together in a salute, his expression deeply grave. “This old physician has done all he can.”

The doctor had served the Shi family for many years, and he naturally gave everything he had to the Commander’s treatment. The Commander had also been to the hospital several times, and the hospital’s verdict was identical to the doctor’s—even they were powerless.

Yan Qing walked to the bedside and looked at the Commander lying there.

In the half year since his return, he had wasted away to skin and bones, utterly stripped of his former bearing. Lying there, he was like an aged man in his twilight years—no trace of vitality could be felt from him.

“Commander,” Yan Qing called softly.

As though hearing her voice, the Commander made a great effort to open his eyes—even that small movement seemed to consume enormous energy.

Yan Qing felt the person before her was profoundly unfamiliar. It was as though he had aged and weakened to this degree overnight.

“Is that Yan Qing?” the Commander said, his voice barely more than a thin breath. “Help me sit up.”

A maidservant nearby heard this and immediately went forward to help the Commander into a sitting position, propping several cushions at his back so he could rest with some comfort.