In late August, Wei Rao’s uncle Earl Cheng’an brought home a piece of war news: the two deputy generals of the Shenwu Army and Xiongshi Army, Lu Zhuo and Qi Zhongkai, had attempted a night raid on the Wuda main camp. Unexpectedly, Wuda had been prepared, and Lu Zhuo and Qi Zhongkai’s more than ten thousand elite troops were instead surrounded and slaughtered with tragic casualties. Only a thousand men survived, though fortunately, both Lu and Qi only sustained minor injuries.

The court side had suffered a loss; Emperor Yuanjia’s dragon countenance was dispirited, and a layer of gloom permeated the official circles.

Among the soldiers of the Upper Four Armies, which one wasn’t carefully selected from thousands? One could match ten ordinary imperial troops. This battle cost ten thousand lives—ten thousand hot-blooded men. Not to mention Emperor Yuanjia’s heartache; upon hearing this news, Old Madam Wei, Guo Shi, and the three Wei siblings all showed expressions of pain and regret.

Wei Rao’s cousin, the heir Wei Zizhan, said in confusion, “The news from early in the month showed Wuda was already showing signs of defeat. How could such a reversal occur?”

Guo Shi tried to analyze, “Could it be that Lu Zhuo and Qi Zhongkai were eager for quick success and acted rashly?”

In recent years, the Longxiang Army, led by Marquis Xiting and his son, had quite the momentum to surpass the Shenwu Army. Lu Zhuo was leading troops for the first time and surely wanted to compete for merit. And that Qi Zhongkai wasn’t a steady person either.

Thinking of something, Guo Shi glanced at Wei Rao. The Second Master Qi, whom she had schemed to seduce, had lost a battle—Wei Rao’s face must be without glory too, right?

“What does a woman understand? Stop talking nonsense,” Old Madam Wei severely criticized her daughter-in-law.

Earl Cheng’an also glared at Guo Shi, “If you don’t understand, don’t guess wildly. If word gets out, you’ll offend two families.”

Even if the Lu and Qi families had lost battles, the Duke Ying Mansion and Marquis Pingxi Mansion weren’t families the Wei family could afford to offend.

Guo Shi hung her head in embarrassment.

Wei Chan clenched her handkerchief. At the Dragon Boat Festival race during the Dragon Boat Festival, she had witnessed Duke Ying’s heir Lu Zhuo’s demeanor for the first time. At that moment, not only she, but almost all the young ladies present were attracted to Lu Zhuo—none didn’t envy Sixth Lady Xie. Wei Chan knew well that she and Lu Zhuo were utterly impossible, but even if she couldn’t have him, Wei Chan hoped Lu Zhuo would be successful in everything and not damage his reputation.

Wei Rao wasn’t on the battlefield and didn’t presume to speculate about the war situation. It was just that the Shenwu Army and Xiongshi Army represented the strongest combat power in this court’s resistance against Wuda. With both armies defeated, even she, an official’s daughter living peacefully in the Capital City, felt heavy-hearted. Before falling asleep, Wei Rao couldn’t help but pray to the Bodhisattva, praying for this warfare to end soon so everyone could return to their previous peaceful lives, daring to speak, laugh, and make merry.

During the Double Ninth Festival, the border finally sent another victory report. The two young deputy generals, Lu Zhuo and Qi Zhongkai, had joined forces to kill tens of thousands of Wuda cavalry, washing away their previous shame. Not long after, a major event also occurred in the Capital City: a commander of the Xionghu Army had his nine generations of relatives executed. The nine generations totaled over a hundred people, all dragged to the Meridian Gate for beheading, with the crime being treason and betrayal.

It was said that during the execution, blood flowed like a river before the Meridian Gate. Palace servants washed it countless times with water, but brownish-red bloodstains remained in the stone slab crevices.

Soon, the truth spread among the people: the failure of the two armies’ surprise attack on Mid-Autumn night was because the commander had informed Wuda.

Now, even the soft-hearted people who had been shocked by the bloodiness of the execution day felt that this family’s nine generations deserved their death. The court had painstakingly cultivated ten thousand elite troops—how many families’ proud and mighty sons! The hundred-plus relatives of the traitor’s family weren’t enough to compensate for the lost warhorses, let alone the soldiers who died tragically.

They should be heavily punished! Let’s see who dares to be a traitor to the country next time, let’s see who dares to betray their battlefield brothers!

Not long after the Capital City’s first snow fell, this warfare that had lasted over five months was finally coming to an end. Khan Hulun took the initiative to seek peace, willing to annually tribute fine horses, gold, and beauties to the court, and send a legitimate grassland prince to the capital as a hostage.

Emperor Yuanjia, considering that the grassland’s winter climate was changeable and blizzards could threaten hundreds of thousands of imperial troops at any time, accepted Khan Hulun’s surrender letter.

When the news came out, the people were jubilant, even happier than during the New Year.

Wei Rao’s Guangxing Restaurant launched barbarian lamb hot pot, paired with the head chef’s ancestral secret sauce, spicy and refreshing. In these increasingly cold winter days, it pushed Guangxing Restaurant’s business to another peak.

Wei Rao specifically wrote a letter to her cousin Huo Jue, who had already returned to Taiyuan, sharing the joy of thriving business and looking forward to her cousin and cousin-sister visiting the Capital City again next year to personally see the restaurant’s full house of guests.

Huo Jue’s reply letter reached Wei Rao’s hands one day before the triumphant army’s return.

Besides reminiscing and congratulating, Huo Jue also shared good news in the letter: Huo Lin was getting engaged. The man was the son of Taiyuan’s garrison commander’s family, who had achieved small merit in this year’s warfare. If he could be promoted to the Capital City in the future, Huo Lin could frequently visit with Wei Rao and their grandmother’s family.

Wei Rao was happy for her cousin Huo Lin. A garrison commander was a local fourth-rank military official, though a high position, a cousin-sister had wealth, beauty, and virtue. Truly speaking, that garrison commander’s son wasn’t getting a bad deal either.

Wei Rao first wrote to Huo Lin, inquiring about girlish secrets like whether the cousin-sister had met her prospective brother-in-law, gave it to the steward to send out quickly, then went to tell Old Madam Wei this good news.

Old Madam Wei was quite envious. Huo Lin had already arranged a good marriage, while her little granddaughter was about to turn sixteen and still had no marriage prospects!

“Tomorrow, the army returns triumphant. Do you want to go take another look?” Old Madam Wei encouraged. “This time, many young soldiers in the army achieved merit. We won’t pick based on family background or the most outstanding ones—we’ll pick someone with proper character and appearance who has their abilities.”

Old Madam Wei no longer hoped for high-ranking noble families; newly risen nobles with shallow foundations were still worth considering.

Wei Rao wasn’t interested. “I won’t go. If someone sees me, they’ll say I specifically went to see Second Master Qi.”

Old Madam Wei almost forgot about this matter. Her granddaughter made sense, so she stopped urging.

The next day, when the army returned to the capital, Wei Rao stayed home to accompany Old Madam and chat. Guo Shi took Wei Chan out.

Outside the Capital City, Wei Rao’s aunt Wang Shi also brought the Zhou Huizhen and Zhou Huizhu sisters in a carriage to the official road where the army would pass. Nanny Liu still accompanied them. Her task was to watch Wang Shi and Zhou Huizhen, not allowing them to get out of the carriage. They could watch the excitement from behind the curtains, but absolutely must not show their faces in public.

The carriage had windows on two sides, but unfortunately, only one faced the official road. Zhou Huizhen, wearing a veil, had occupied the best position early, her beautiful eyes eagerly watching the army that had just appeared at the end of the official road. The winter sunlight was pale, but where the army appeared seemed to carry boundless radiance, especially the front several rows, all the elite of the army.

Zhou Huizhen only regretted that her grandmother managed too much. If she could run to the roadside, with her beauty, she could surely attract one of them.

Military official families shouldn’t be as concerned with reputation and rules as civil official families. Even Marquis Xiting’s heir Han Liao, could fancy her; others with slightly lower status, as long as they had prospects and handsome looks, Zhou Huizhen would be willing to marry.

Finally, the army approached. At the front were two veteran generals at least forty years old. Zhou Huizhen glanced at them and looked behind the generals. With this look, Zhou Huizhen took a deep breath and covered her chest with one hand.

Two young generals in silver armor, one left and one right. The one on the left, closer to her, was the immortal young master she had encountered at Cloud Mist Mountain.

“Wow, this general is handsome,” Zhou Huizhu squeezed her head out from the other side of the window, staring and praising in a daze. She also liked looking at the immortal young master, but not as obsessively as her sister. Soon, Zhou Huizhu discovered something strange: “His complexion looks terrible, deathly pale.”

“Maybe it’s because the military officer next to him is too dark, making him look that way,” Wang Shi guessed with relish, looking out through the gap between her two daughters’ heads.

Nanny Liu craned her neck, but unfortunately, the window was completely blocked by the mother and daughters—she could only see three thick-haired backs of heads.

On the official road, Qi Zhongkai glanced at Lu Zhuo again. He was close enough to see a bead of sweat rolling down Lu Zhuo’s pale and handsome profile.

Qi Zhongkai gripped his reins tightly.

On the night of the failed raid, he had been hit by two ordinary arrows—one in the shoulder, one in the thigh. This kind of arrow wound was just a superficial injury on the battlefield; apply some medicine, bandage it, and rest for a few days, and it would be fine.

Lu Zhuo fared worse. Relying on his keen hearing, he avoided the wolf-fang arrows but was shot by an arrow in the back near his heart. If not for his good fortune in the arrow being slightly off target, Lu Zhuo might have died that night.

When the army doctor pulled the arrow from Lu Zhuo, Qi Zhongkai couldn’t bear to watch and only stared at Lu Zhuo’s face. This guy was tough enough—except for frowning, he didn’t make a sound.

Lu Zhuo’s injury was serious and required rest, but their failed night raid had boosted the Wuda cavalry’s morale, making the battlefield situation tense again. There was no opportunity for Lu Zhuo to rest peacefully. Lu Zhuo was also someone who couldn’t sit still. After being ordered by Duke Ying to rest for ten days, he couldn’t contain himself anymore and returned to the battlefield.

Lu Zhuo’s wound, which hadn’t healed long, burst open again. After bursting open, he would recover, and as soon as he could move, he would immediately go back to the battlefield to fight desperately. After several such ordeals, the battle was won, but Lu Zhuo’s complexion grew paler and paler.

On the road back to the capital, Lu Zhuo had been riding in a carriage. Now that they were entering the city, the dignified Duke Ying’s heir and Shenwu Army deputy general ignored all advice and mounted his horse, refusing to show weakness to the people.

“If you can’t hold on, don’t force yourself. Falling off your horse later would be even more embarrassing,” Qi Zhongkai said through gritted teeth. Though Lu Zhuo sat upright, Qi Zhongkai knew that with a casual push, Lu Zhuo would fall from his horse.

Lu Zhuo pulled at the corner of his mouth in response.

Lu Zhuo knew his own body. If he could hold on until home and rest properly for a few days, he would recover.

Half a year ago, he rode out to war; now returning triumphant, he must also ride into the city. He couldn’t damage the reputation of the Shenwu Army and the Lu clan.

In front of him, Duke Ying slightly turned his head, but considering his grandson’s temperament, he didn’t persuade him.

Hoofbeats resounded as the well-trained army crossed through the city gates.

People lined the streets in welcome. Qi Zhongkai’s expression was stern as he frequently glanced at Lu Zhuo. Lu Zhuo wore a gentle smile, and except for his complexion, he appeared no different from usual.

Qi Zhongkai deliberately tried to distract him, “I wonder if the Sixth Lady is hiding in some teahouse or restaurant, secretly watching you.”

Talking would prevent his friend from only thinking about the pain of his wound.

Lu Zhuo smiled faintly.

Qi Zhongkai answered his question, “Probably not. Miss Xie doesn’t have that kind of boldness. But there’s nothing to worry about—the wedding is in half a month. There’ll be plenty for her to see on the wedding night.”

After speaking, Qi Zhongkai chuckled.

His father, Marquis Pingxi, turned back and glared at him. Joking about Lu Zhuo was fine, but was Miss Xie someone his son could discuss?

Qi Zhongkai was caught off guard by his father’s glare and finally stopped chattering.

When they reached the Imperial City and had to enter the palace for an audience, Qi Zhongkai quickly dismounted and helped Lu Zhuo.

For once, Lu Zhuo didn’t mind his interference.

“Can you still manage? If not, go back early. No one is watching here,” Qi Zhongkai asked in a low voice.

Lu Zhuo smiled, “No problem.”

He kept his word. This imperial audience, Lu Zhuo truly held on, all the way until returning to Duke Ying Mansion, all the way until following Duke Ying through the family’s main gate. Only then did Lu Zhuo suddenly black out and lose consciousness.

Author’s Note: Second Master Qi: Can you still manage? Heir Lu: Mm. Second Master Qi: Still managing? Heir Lu: Mm. Second Master Qi: Managing? Heir Lu: …