It wasn’t until late April that Ganzhou truly warmed up.

At midday on this particular day, Wei Rao had just returned from training troops when she entered the General’s Mansion and heard A’Bao’s wailing cries, as if she had suffered some great injustice. Wei Rao hurriedly ran toward the back courtyard. Upon reaching it, she saw A’Bao being held by Nanny Ma, crying until her entire little face was purple-red. Upon seeing her, A’Bao immediately struggled to get over it.

Wei Rao took her daughter, and A’Bao buried herself in her mother’s embrace, her crying gradually subsiding.

“What happened?” Wei Rao asked while stroking her daughter’s thin back.

Nanny Ma was sweating with anxiety and bent over to explain: “The young miss was fine all morning. Just now, when we went to play in the front courtyard, she suddenly thought of His Lordship and insisted on wanting Daddy. No matter how we coaxed her, it didn’t work. Thinking that the Princess would return soon, we didn’t send anyone to inform you.”

Wei Rao looked at her daughter in surprise. Perhaps because she had grown a little older, ever since the New Year, their daughter had been obviously closer to Lu Zhuo than last year, but she was still stingy about calling Lu Zhuo daddy. For Lu Zhuo to hear a single “daddy,” he had to use all his skills to make their daughter giggle with laughter. Why was she suddenly looking for Daddy today?

While she was puzzled, A’Bao raised her head and blinked her big eyes, still glistening with tears: “Want daddy.”

Wei Rao’s heart melted like water.

Lu Zhuo had only returned to the military camp yesterday morning. If they waited for Lu Zhuo to come back on his own, they would have to wait several more days.

“Mama will first accompany A’Bao for lunch, and after eating, Mama will take A’Bao to find Daddy, okay?” Wei Rao kissed her daughter.

Having her request satisfied, A’Bao happily nodded.

Lunch was already prepared. Mother and daughter ate with laughter and conversation. After the meal, Wei Rao kept her word and truly had Bitao pack their belongings.

“How long will the Princess stay this time?” Bitao asked.

Wei Rao looked at A’Bao and smiled: “That depends on our young miss’s wishes. If she likes the military camp, we’ll stay a few more days. If she doesn’t like it, we might return tomorrow.”

Upon hearing this, Bitao, Liu Ya, Nanny Ma, and the others all hoped the young miss wouldn’t like the military camp – otherwise, with both the young miss and Princess away, they would have nothing to do.

These days, Lu Zhuo would be at the Suzhou main camp.

Wei Rao and A’Bao sat in the carriage, with Zhao Bai and sixteen guards from the Princess’s mansion following outside.

This was A’Bao’s first time leaving Ganzhou City. She pressed against the carriage window, looking around in all directions, while Wei Rao sat beside her, supporting their daughter to prevent her from leaning too far out and accidentally falling.

“That’s a cow.” There was a plow ox by the roadside, and Wei Rao pointed it out to her daughter.

A’Bao: “Big cow!”

“They’re farming. The food we eat all grows from the fields.”

“Farming!”

“Those are snow mountains. Because the mountains are too high and too cold, there’s a layer of snow that won’t melt.”

“Snow mountains!”

No matter what Wei Rao said, A’Bao found it all novel.

Later, A’Bao grew tired of looking and became sleepy. Wei Rao held her daughter and coaxed her to sleep. After A’Bao fell asleep, Wei Rao placed her on the narrow couch with a cushion under her head, then sat beside the couch to prevent their daughter from rolling off.

The carriage gently swayed, and A’Bao’s chubby little face swayed along with it. Her long eyelashes curved upward, and her two upright eyebrows were exactly like Lu Zhuo’s.

Wei Rao stared intently at her daughter, imagining Lu Zhuo’s joy upon seeing their daughter, and her heart filled with tenderness.

A’Bao slept for a long time. When she woke up, she continued watching the scenery outside the carriage. However, they were now very close to the military camp, surrounded by military fields with few civilians.

Wei Rao sent Zhao Bai ahead to the main camp to announce their arrival.

Mother and daughter sat by the carriage window, watching Zhao Bai ride alone toward the military camp. Before long, a black steed suddenly galloped out from the camp.

“Daddy!” A’Bao recognized Fei Mo.

Wei Rao smiled as she watched that distant figure. The spring breeze was warm, and Lu Zhuo, in his silver armor and riding his divine steed, looked like a heavenly general descending to earth.

“Daddy!”

The closer Lu Zhuo came, the louder A’Bao called out.

Lu Zhuo heard clearly, his lips curving upward. As soon as he reached the carriage, he first lifted A’Bao out.

“Be careful,” Wei Rao said worriedly.

How could Lu Zhuo possibly drop his daughter? He placed A’Bao in front of him, holding the reins with one hand and encircling A’Bao’s small body with the other.

A’Bao, riding a horse for the first time, was extremely excited and wanted Daddy to make it run.

Lu Zhuo laughed: “We can’t run. Your mama is still in the carriage. If we run away, your mama will be angry.”

A’Bao turned to look toward the carriage window.

Wei Rao put on a pitiful expression: “Is A’Bao going to abandon Mama?”

A’Bao thought about it, but still couldn’t bear to abandon her mother.

After coaxing his daughter for a while, Lu Zhuo turned his head to ask Wei Rao, “Why did you suddenly come?”

Wei Rao gestured toward A’Bao with her chin: “It’s all because of your precious daughter. She was making a fuss about finding daddy and cried until her face turned purple.”

Lu Zhuo immediately smiled again. He knew it – he loved his daughter so much, she must have daddy in her heart, too.

At dusk, when the soldiers in the military camp were eating dinner, they saw their commander carrying a delicately beautiful little girl, with a carriage following alongside. They all guessed that the Princess and the young miss had arrived.

A’Bao curiously examined everything around her.

While the light was still good, Lu Zhuo had Wei Rao return to his tent to rest first, then rode around the military camp with A’Bao. When soldiers greeted A’Bao, she would blink her eyes at them without any timidity, causing everyone to praise Lu Zhuo for being a tiger father with no ordinary daughter.

After showing off his daughter for a while, Lu Zhuo returned to his tent.

A new tent had been set up beside his for the wet nurse and A’Bao to sleep in, while Lu Zhuo would share a bed with Wei Rao that night.

As Wei Rao frequently went to train the household soldiers, the story of her originally disguising herself as Lu Zhuo’s cousin to train in the military camp had long since spread. After being teased by Meng Kuo and others, Lu Zhuo’s skin had thickened, and he no longer needed to hide anything.

However, this was still a military camp, so that night the husband and wife secretly made love in their bedding, then rested.

“How long are you planning to stay in camp this time?” Lu Zhuo asked, stroking Wei Rao’s smooth hair.

Wei Rao smiled: “How long do you want us to stay?”

Lu Zhuo said, “It would be best if you stayed with me forever and never left.” Being able to lead troops while having his wife and daughter by his side – this was the divine life Lu Zhuo could imagine.

But Wei Rao couldn’t possibly stay that long, and Lu Zhuo couldn’t detain the mother and daughter for so long. Military camps had military regulations. As the commanding general, occasionally breaking rules was harmless, but over time, it would inevitably affect his authority.

Wei Rao and her daughter stayed in the military camp for just two nights. A’Bao had also had enough novelty. When Wei Rao carried her into the carriage, A’Bao didn’t even spare Lu Zhuo another glance, her mind entirely on her toys back at the General’s Mansion.

Lu Zhuo escorted them for two li before returning to the main camp.

With the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, Lu Zhuo was preparing to return to Ganzhou City at the end of the month to stay for several more days. However, before he could give these orders, the Ganzhou main camp suddenly sent a messenger who delivered a secret message taken from a carrier pigeon.

Lu Zhuo’s expression changed dramatically.

When he first arrived in Ganzhou, he had sent several secret agents disguised as merchants to infiltrate the capitals of both Western Qiang and Wuda, while also arranging for carrier pigeons. But Lu Zhuo had given orders that unless there were military matters, the secret agents needn’t contact him. However, once they detected any signs of troop movements from either country, even if it was just suspicion, they must send him word.

Lu Zhuo unfolded the secret message.

This secret message came from the Western Qiang capital, written two days ago. That secret agent’s position was limited – he had only discovered that Western Qiang was mobilizing troops but didn’t know Western Qiang’s specific intentions, since Western Qiang bordered not only Great Qi but also Wuda and various barbarian nations.

“Western Qiang has unusual activity. Alert all border cities to be on guard. Without my permission, no one may leave their posts without authorization,” Lu Zhuo put away the secret message and said sternly.

The messengers immediately split into several groups to relay the orders.

Lu Zhuo quickly wrote a letter to Wei Rao, then headed straight for the Ganzhou main camp.

In his letter, he only mentioned that Western Qiang had unusual activity and that he needed to lead troops on alert. There might not necessarily be warfare, so Wei Rao shouldn’t worry. However, until the alert was lifted, it would be inconvenient for him to return to the city.

Wei Rao replied, telling him to stay peacefully in the military camp and not worry about her and their daughter.

All border cities were on alert, and Ganzhou City was also secretly vigilant. Wei Rao looked at her carefree daughter and silently hoped this would only be a false alarm. Although she trained troops, she didn’t hope for opportunities to use these soldiers. Battlefields were merciless – even commanding generals like Lu Zhuo could face mortal danger, let alone ordinary soldiers who could lose their lives at any moment.

They were all flesh and blood. If seriously wounded, they could almost only rely on fate.

The last war was six years ago. The borderlands had been stable for so long that Wei Rao devoutly prayed for national peace and prosperity.

Not only did Wei Rao think this way, but all the border soldiers and civilians thought the same. However, the Central Plains were prosperous and had always been a treasured land coveted by border nations. When border countries lacked strength, they would coexist peacefully with Great Qi, but once they were confident in their military power, they would naturally show their fierce intentions.

On a night with light rain, fifty thousand Western Qiang cavalry suddenly appeared like ghosts at the gates of Guazhou City. Although Lu Zhuo had issued orders, the Guazhou commander was confident that enemy forces wouldn’t launch a night raid in the rain and was negligent in his duties. The Western Qiang cavalry quickly broke through the city gates, and Guazhou fell.

News of the city’s fall reached the Ganzhou military camp. Lu Zhuo was furious and deployed troops and generals for a full-scale counterattack, while simultaneously ordering an eight-hundred-li express delivery of the war report to the capital.

This time, Western Qiang had deployed two hundred fifty thousand cavalry. The cavalry had strong combat effectiveness, and it would be very difficult for Lu Zhuo to resist with only the two hundred thousand troops at his disposal. Therefore, upon receiving the war report, Emperor Yuanjia was preparing to deploy the Taiyuan Imperial Guards for reinforcement when news also came from the northern border – Wuda had coordinated with Western Qiang to deploy troops simultaneously, with two hundred thousand cavalry advancing menacingly.

Six years ago, Wuda’s three hundred thousand cavalry alone had put Great Qi through a bitter battle. This time, with both countries joining forces for a total of four hundred fifty thousand troops, Great Qi instantly faced what seemed like an avalanche.

Emperor Yuanjia consulted with his ministers and ordered Duke Ying to lead the Shenwu Army and Marquis Xiting to lead the Longxiang Army to support the Ganzhou forces, while Marquis Pingxi would lead the Xionghu Army, and Marquis Zhennan would lead the Feiying Army to support the northern front. The capital would retain only the Imperial Guard and Imperial City Department, totaling sixty thousand troops for defense.

For a time, the entire nation was filled with anxiety.

With the front lines in crisis, Lu Zhuo had no time to spare and only wrote to arrange for Wei Rao to take A’Bao back to the capital first.

With him there, Lu Zhuo wouldn’t let even Ganzhou fall, but he couldn’t let Wei Rao and their daughter face even the slightest danger.

Wei Rao understood Lu Zhuo’s feelings, and she also couldn’t bear to let their daughter face danger.

Wei Rao called over Zhao Song, Bitao, Liu Ya, and both nannies, having Zhao Song and Bitao lead everyone while being escorted back to the capital by the Princess’s mansion guards she had brought.

Bitao cried: “Isn’t the Princess coming with us?”

Wei Rao smiled: “I’m staying here to wait for His Lordship.”

Zhao Song knelt: “This subordinate will accompany the Princess in waiting.”

Wei Rao said coldly, “I have Zhao Bai and five hundred household soldiers. What use are you? Zhao Song, remember this – I’m entrusting A’Bao to you. If A’Bao suffers even the slightest harm under your care, even if His Lordship protects you, I won’t spare you!”

Zhao Song tightly pressed his lips together, his entire body tense with muscle, before finally accepting the order in a deep voice.

Wei Rao’s gaze swept over each person before her – all were her and Lu Zhuo’s trusted confidants, all were A’Bao’s familiar playmates. She believed that even if A’Bao cried on the road, given time, A’Bao would temporarily forget her parents and obediently return to the capital, to Duke Ying’s mansion, and obediently wait for her parents to return.

“Pack up. Let’s depart today.”