When Xiao Li was awakened, his consciousness was still hazy, and his neck ached terribly.

A young unfamiliar soldier held a bowl of steaming medicinal liquid before him, respectfully saying: “Colonel Xiao, please drink the medicine and lie down on the camp bed in the side tent. How can you rest like this?”

Xiao Li looked at the crude military tent and the river map spread on the desk, finally remembering where he was. He raised his hand to rub his aching neck, sat up and asked: “How’s the embankment breach?”

With this movement, a silver-gray cloak draped over him fell off.

“Deputy General Tan is watching over it. Once General Fan finishes digging the irrigation ditches on his end, this newly plugged breach should hold until the floodwaters completely recede. Then it can be repaired more carefully,” the young soldier replied.

Hearing the embankment was secure, that taut string in Xiao Li’s mind loosened slightly. He picked up the cloak and asked: “General Fan’s?”

But when his fingertips touched the material, he sensed something amiss. This soft, fine fabric didn’t seem like something Fan Yuan would use.

The young soldier looked at the cloak just as confused, scratching his head: “This subordinate doesn’t know. When this subordinate came in, this cloak was already covering you.”

The military was full of rough men—if not Fan Yuan’s, it must be Tan Yi’s. Xiao Li didn’t think much more about it, saying: “Probably Big Brother Fan’s.”

Having been drenched for two days and nights without closing his eyes, after dozing with his back against the chair, his head throbbed rather dully. Rubbing his neck, he rose and said: “I’ll go lie down for a while.”

The young soldier quickly called to him: “Colonel Xiao, drink the cold-prevention medicine before resting.”

The soaked clothing dried by body temperature stuck to his body somewhat uncomfortably. Xiao Li tugged at his collar saying: “As usual, divide my portion among other soldiers.”

The young soldier hastily said: “We have sufficient medicinal materials now—all soldiers can receive medicine!”

Hearing this, Xiao Li’s footsteps paused. He turned his head and asked: “Ping Province sent more medicinal materials?”

The young soldier nodded, very happily saying: “Not only medicinal materials! The Wengzhu heard from Deputy General Tan that we discovered the breach while rushing to support landslide villages, and because we plugged it promptly, we prevented nearby villages from flooding. She even doubled this month’s military pay for us West Second Battalion brothers!”

Xiao Li’s weary eyes suddenly lifted, deep and sharp: “The Wengzhu came?”

The young soldier only felt Xiao Li seemed to become a different person in that instant, his oppressive presence dramatically increasing. His reply couldn’t help but stammer: “C-came… She originally sought General Fan, but General Fan went to inspect downstream river channels. The Wengzhu waited a while, then someone from the government office came seeking her—seemed urgent. The Wengzhu looked at the river map, asked Deputy General Tan about embankment repair and ditch-digging progress, then departed first.”

Xiao Li looked at that cloak again, suddenly realizing something. He demanded sharply: “How long ago did she leave?”

The young soldier froze before reacting that he was asking about Wen Yu. He answered: “Been a while. Before the Wengzhu left, she specifically instructed that medicine be prepared for all brothers who didn’t receive any these past two days to ward off cold!”

As his words fell, he saw Xiao Li had already swept aside the curtain and strode out urgently. The young soldier called out: “Colonel Xiao, where are you going?”

But no one remained outside the tent.

After the rainstorm, the rugged official road outside the city was all muddy. Xiao Li ran all the way, climbing a hillock near the camp, only seeing in the distance among obscuring mountains a carriage convoy as small as ants departing.

He leaned against a tree, breathing hard, staring at that dot-like convoy for a long time.

—

The official road was muddy—the carriage didn’t travel smoothly. The camel bell hanging at the carriage’s eave corner rang softly all along.

Zhao Bai held a memorial just urgently sent from the government office, finishing reading one aloud to Wen Yu before saying: “Southern Chen’s side moved quickly. The new envoy has already reached Bairen Pass, only awaiting your permission to enter the pass for an audience.”

Wen Yu leaned against the carriage wall, eyes closed in rest: “For Southern Chen, this rainstorm came at the right time. If flooding submerged the spring-plowed fields of several counties, it wouldn’t just affect this year’s autumn harvest. Just resettling disaster victims alone would leave us unable to attend to everything else—how would we dare thoroughly antagonize Southern Chen?”

The devastation and calamity brought by natural disasters were no less than warfare.

Previously, when flood disasters occurred south of the Wei River, the court had to expend enormous financial and material resources on flood control and disaster relief. That year’s grain harvest would be lost, and after autumn, grain would still need to be allocated from other prefectures to survive that disaster year.

Now they only had Ping Province and Tao Prefecture left. If Ping Province’s farmland suffered widespread flood damage, relying on just Tao Prefecture alone—whether borrowing grain or raising funds—they couldn’t manage the turnover.

This was also why that night, upon hearing the rainstorm had caused landslides in many villages, she hastily summoned all ministers.

It could be said that every faction was watching present-day Ping Province, all wanting to seize the opportunity to bite off a piece of flesh from them.

Zhao Bai cursed: “They truly calculated well!”

“Fortunately, the military camp’s flood prevention was timely. During the two days when rain fell most urgently, they continuously patrolled the Shao River and plugged the breached embankment, preventing floodwaters from submerging downstream villages.”

Speaking of this, she couldn’t help but think of Xiao Li, whom she’d seen collapsed from exhaustion sleeping in the military tent at the flood control front lines.

She originally had many grievances against Xiao Li, but with confrontation with Southern Chen imminent, she’d seen everything Xiao Li had done.

His merit in breaching Tao Prefecture’s city gates was indispensable. He’d devised the only winning strategy for offensive and defensive troop deployment against Southern Chen.

When heaven sent rainstorms and the Shao River’s embankment was breached, nearly causing flood disaster, he was the one who led subordinate soldiers sleeplessly guarding the front lines.

Zhao Bai used to think perhaps that fellow was leveraging gratitude to make demands, making things difficult for the Wengzhu.

But looking now, the other party was clearly also doing his utmost to make the Wengzhu’s path easier.

She hesitantly stole a glance at Wen Yu.

The Wengzhu’s gaze at that person today outside the tent was truly very different from usual, and she’d even left her own cloak for that fellow…

Perhaps she was unconsciously lost in thought, staring at Wen Yu too long. Wen Yu, who had been resting with closed eyes, suddenly opened them and looked at her, asking: “What’s wrong?”

The master’s private affairs were absolutely not for them to inquire about. Zhao Bai quickly withdrew her gaze, sitting upright: “Nothing.”

The carriage suddenly stopped. The guard captain’s voice came from outside: “Wengzhu, about a hundred villagers are blocking the road.”

Hearing this, Zhao Bai slightly lifted the curtain a crack and looked outside. She saw along both sides of the muddy official road stood quite a few farming people in tattered clothes with sallow faces. They all looked at the convoy with both trepidation and eyes full of hope.

Zhao Bai didn’t dare relax her vigilance, fearing assassins might be mixed among them. Her gaze swept over those faces one by one, her thumb pushing the blade half an inch out of its sheath against the scabbard.

Wen Yu’s face was calm, dark lashes lifting as she instructed: “Go ask what’s happening. Don’t be discourteous.”

The guard captain quickly took orders and went. Before long, he returned to report: “Wengzhu, these people are villagers from around Majia Village and Wang Village. Hearing your carriage would leave the city and pass through here today, they specially waited here to thank you for dispatching troops to plug embankments and divert floods, preserving their village homes and fields—a great kindness.”

Hearing this explanation, Wen Yu was slightly stunned for a moment, then lifted the curtain and stepped down from the carriage with a bow.

Those villagers were blocked several zhang away by the guards. Seeing Wen Yu emerge and guessing her identity from her attire, on their shy, timid faces, hope and joy grew even stronger. They gazed at Wen Yu as if venerating a deity.

There were even young children asking softly: “Mother, is that Hanyang Wengzhu? She’s so beautiful!”

The woman in patched clothing quietly pulled the child closer to her side, lowering her head to signal silence.

The child dared not ask further but still gazed with bright eyes toward the carriage.

Since arriving in Ping Province, Wen Yu had been so busy she practically needed to split herself in two. She rarely left the manor gates, naturally having no time to inspect conditions among the people below. Now seeing these villagers wearing coarse hemp cloth and half-worn straw shoes, she only felt sourness rising in her heart.

She earnestly looked at each of their faces and said: “Fellow villagers, please return home. Great Liang suffers chronic illness, the court accumulated ills, mountains and rivers deteriorated to this state—Yu feels ashamed. Coming to Ping Province after much wandering, fortunately you elders and fellow villagers didn’t abandon us. Plugging embankments and diverting floods is merely Yu’s due responsibility—I cannot bear fellow villagers’ thanks.”

A white-haired, withered-looking old man spoke up: “Wengzhu mustn’t say so. This old man doesn’t understand grand principles, only knows that we farming folk—our lives are all staked on our fields. When heaven sends rainstorms and floods to drown us, we can only accept fate. But the Shao River’s embankment was breached, yet the Wengzhu still dispatched troops to plug gaps for two days and two nights in the rainstorm, and evacuated our entire village to safety. Your kindness to us villagers—we all remember.”

A woman also chimed in: “My man went to dig ditches with the military officers. He came back saying in the military camp when distributing medicine to prevent colds, it was prioritized for us common people! Many military officers couldn’t even get medicine!”

Villagers echoed one after another:

“Exactly! I saw it with my own eyes at the disaster relief canopy. Those military officers blocked embankments and dug ditches in the rain without getting cold medicine, developed fever from heat syndrome, and were only carried over for physicians to treat.”

“The former emperors are former emperors—you, Wengzhu, are you!”

For quite a while, Wen Yu didn’t know what to say. Finally, she bowed deeply toward the villagers before retreating into the carriage.

Zhao Bai had been happy seeing Wen Yu so supported by the people, but seeing Wen Yu keep her eyes closed after returning to the carriage, she didn’t dare rashly speak for a time.

As the carriage continued forward, the people’s calls for Wen Yu could still be heard outside.

Zhao Bai studied Wen Yu’s complexion, hesitating: “The Wengzhu seems unhappy?”

After brief consideration, she thought the one responsible for disaster relief was Chen Wei, this local Ping Province official. That people would be so grateful to Wen Yu—Chen Wei probably exerted considerable effort in this.

After all, at this critical time, both grain and medicine were precious. Previously when the court provided disaster relief, unless there was major epidemic, they still wouldn’t distribute medicine. Yet this time Wen Yu had sent quite a lot of cold-treatment medicinal materials to the disaster relief canopy, letting all afflicted people have medicine for treatment.

After Li Yao learned of her decision, he still felt she hadn’t used medicinal materials on the blade’s edge.

Chen Wei and Li Xun both deeply understood officialdom’s ways. Using Wen Yu’s medicine distribution deed to accumulate as much popular reputation for her as possible wasn’t difficult.

But this was a good thing—why did the Wengzhu appear so preoccupied?

“No, I’m happy.” Wen Yu, who had kept her eyes closed for a long time, now opened them.

Wind stirred the curtain. Faintly those people still standing on the official road behind could be glimpsed.

She looked back once and said: “That’s precisely why I cannot let them down even more.”