Yun Ye returned to his command tent and nestled himself into a large chair, staring blankly. Also staring blankly was Du Ruhui. The two not only had similar postures but even similar expressions.

“Na Rimu is about to give birth. Do you think if I stay outside Suiye City for two extra days because of this and then return to the capital, will the Ministry of War hold me accountable?” Yun Ye asked Old Du worriedly.

“The Ministry of War won’t hold you accountable, because this old man is Minister of War, and you’re Left Vice Minister of War. As long as we two don’t ask questions, others won’t meddle, right? However, the censorial officials from the eastern and western censorate’s Fengzhang Pavilion will probably impeach you into a sieve. Moreover, you bringing female companions on a military campaign is already taboo. Now you’ve even caused one to become pregnant. The reputation of being obsessed with women and sex probably can’t be escaped. General Yun, no matter how great your accomplishments in the Western Regions, because of these flaws, congratulations—being elevated one rank in nobility would already be remarkable.”

Du Ruhui lazily finished these words, slowly sat up, looked at Yun Ye and continued: “When official positions reach our level, not seeking advancement is the best choice. This was originally an old man’s choice, but you’ve already reached the top of officialdom at such a young age—there really isn’t much flavor to it. The mistakes you’re committing now are ones that we old fellows want to commit but can’t! Being able to have time for procreation during a military campaign between two armies truly makes people envious.”

“You always need to commit some mistakes for those censors to catch. If you don’t make any mistakes, wouldn’t it make all those various gentlemen in the court look like incompetent rice bags? They make their living by correcting errors. If you don’t make mistakes, you’re smashing their rice bowls. Everyone has finally looked forward to good days and plans to serve as peaceful officials as long as possible, accumulating more for their children and grandchildren. Smashing someone’s rice bowl at this time is equivalent to killing their parents. Rest assured, they’ll just talk. Anyway, you’re a victorious general—whatever you do has its reasoning. Abandoning plans to continue pursuing enemy troops for a concubine about to give birth—doing this might even become a fine tale.”

Yun Ye shook his head: “I’m not worried about the censors. I’m worried about Her Majesty. You don’t know—Her Majesty’s temperament has become very petty these past two years. She can’t tolerate even a grain of sand in her eyes. Even if His Majesty can forgive me, Her Majesty absolutely won’t let me off. Perhaps in the end, the unlucky one will be my wife Xinyue. Her Majesty won’t bother arguing with Na Rimu—she’ll definitely go trouble Xinyue, the principal wife in charge. Speaking of this matter feels somewhat guilty. I always feel I’ve wronged that silly woman.”

Du Ruhui shook his head: “A household can only have two people in charge—one is the man of the house, one is the woman of the house. This is human relations and cannot be shaken. Therefore, the woman of the house must have a steady temperament. Appearance and such are useless. You’ve visited great households more than this old man in recent years. Look around—which principal wife of any household has grown into a disaster-level beauty? Xinyue’s appearance is already considered rare.”

“So, the principal wife does this work—she can help the man ward off disasters, can manage the whole family well, and when the man isn’t around, can maintain the household. That’s a rare good wife.”

“Your merits are now too excessive. Look at Li Jing and you’ll know what happens when military achievements are too great. He’s already old and can leave his main gate open to let common people see him sleeping in the hall. You’re still young—you probably don’t have that thick skin yet, right? Old Fang’s wife even drank vinegar. How tragic it was at the time—you weren’t there so you don’t know, but this old man witnessed it personally. At the time, this old man actually thought it was real poison.”

“If we have no intention of rebellion, then we’d best not make ourselves into saints, especially someone like you who commands heavy troops. Arrogant and domineering should be your appearance.”

Although the two spoke casually, Yun Ye knew this conversation was the most intimate exchange between himself and Du Ruhui. There probably wouldn’t be another opportunity to say such things in the future. Speaking intimate words also required the right environment and mood.

Under Yun Ye’s coercion, Fan Hongyi wrote an impeachment memorial against Yun Ye. The general meaning was that Yun Ye had a youthful temperament, and after beheading Tu Shi beneath Suiye City, he became extremely arrogant and extravagant. Because a favored concubine gave birth, he ordered the entire army to remain at Suiye City for three days without actively pursuing enemy troops, causing Turkic remnants to flee into Lesser Balur and follow the great Turkic chieftain Helu in fleeing westward.

Li Jing, who was confronting the Tibetan Prime Minister Ludongzan at Blackstone Mountain, sighed upon hearing this rumor and began ordering a full assault on Blackstone Mountain. The battle progressed smoothly, but after taking it, the three armies were afflicted by altitude sickness. The soldiers suffered unbearable headaches and breathing difficulties. To prevent the army from suffering losses, Li Jing had no choice but to order a retreat to Luanshi City for recuperation.

Su Dingfang’s management of the Hexi lands finally won great rewards. The Tibetan people attacking Hexi were trapped by him at Jiaohe. Over twenty-three thousand Tibetan soldiers were driven by the great army into the flooding Jiaohe River. Except for a small portion who grasped horses’ tails and luckily escaped, for a time the entire river was filled with floating corpses, and the riverbed was blocked up.

The heads of Tu Shi and the Tuyuhun Elder were placed in boxes and sent to Chang’an. When Li Er read Yun Ye’s memorial, he directly ignored the preceding nonsense explaining his improper behavior. Only after seeing that the Turks had finally begun truly going on the western campaign did he breathe a sigh of relief. He lifted the box lid and glanced at the heads inside, then instructed Duan Hong to send these two heads to the ancestral temple for sacrifice. He himself hurried back to Liangyi Hall—Princess Si’s illness was relapsing again, which worried Li Er endlessly.

Empress Zhangsun also wore a worried expression. Looking at Princess Si on the sickbed with weak breathing, she couldn’t help but once again turn her gaze toward Sun Simiao.

Sun Simiao shook his head, sighed, packed up his medicine bag, tucked it under his arm, and left through the Liangyi Hall gates. He happened to encounter Li Er hurrying over to see his daughter and paid respects outside the great hall. “Master Sun, has Princess Si’s condition improved?”

Seeing the emperor’s hopeful expression, Sun Simiao didn’t know how to answer him and could only bow without speaking. The hopeful look on Li Er’s face slowly faded as he asked Sun Simiao bitterly: “How much longer can I keep this child?”

“Cold winds govern execution and slaughter. When winter arrives, prosperity will depart. When the fallen leaves are completely gone, the little princess should go to heaven’s kingdom.” Sun Simiao spoke these words with difficulty and then left the imperial palace. He had exhausted all methods yet still couldn’t retain this small life.

According to Yun Ye’s explanation, this child’s heart hadn’t fully developed, so it couldn’t support her gradually growing body. This was a completely hopeless matter unless one could open the chest cavity and perform surgery to repair the heart, or simply replace it with another heart. Otherwise, Princess Si had no way to survive.

What Yun Ye spoke of were immortal methods. Who knew if he was talking nonsense? He said heart transplants were real and spoke as if they were commonplace. But when Sun Simiao opened corpses’ chest cavities and saw their hearts, he felt Yun Ye was spouting nonsense. He didn’t dare touch any part of the heart. It was said that a person’s spiritual orifice lay in the heart—Sun Simiao feared that one movement would destroy the dead person’s soul.

Sun Simiao hadn’t yet left Chang’an City when he heard Li Er’s edict for a general amnesty throughout the realm. Now there was only this method left—entrust everything to heaven and let heaven decide Princess Si’s fate.

Yun Ye had guessed wrong. He originally thought what he’d done would stir up a storm of impeachments against himself in Chang’an. Who knew nothing happened at all? The censorial officials seemed not to have seen his actions—not even one person gossiped.

The Emperor and Empress had no time to care how Yun Ye fought battles ten thousand li away because of Princess Si’s condition. The censorial officials at the Censorate didn’t dare use Yun Ye’s matters as grounds to open fire because they saw the Emperor had been very prone to rage these days. After all, they only wanted the Emperor to see they weren’t eating for free—they had no intention of actually getting Yun Ye summoned back from the Western Regions for trial.

“Master’s method of self-污 didn’t work. His luck isn’t good right now.” Chang’an’s summer days were hot as a steamer. Xiao Wu lay beneath the grape arbor with her legs draped across Di Renjie’s legs, speaking in a whining tone.

“Master’s luck truly isn’t good recently. Chang’an City now—who knows what’s going on—is frighteningly calm. The last time the Court of Judicial Review handled a case was presiding over the case of the lustful monk Bianji. I actually can’t figure it out—just a jade armrest, yet it caused three princesses to become nuns and one eminent monk to be executed in the marketplace. Do you think there’s something strange about this?”

“Of course there’s something strange. This was done by the Empress! The princesses don’t act like princesses. Having three thousand male favorites themselves is one thing, but they also want to bring this corrupting influence to the Empress’s daughter. Who else would the Empress deal with if not them? And this is the Empress—if it were me, I’d boil them all in a pot. Believe it or not?”

Xiao Wu stroked her bulging belly. Although Grandpa Sun said this pregnancy was a daughter, Xiao Wu was still delighted beyond measure. Feeling a small life taking root and sprouting within her body gave her new experiences every day. Today, looking at a small bump protruding on her belly, she pulled Di Renjie to share her joy for a full half hour. Poor Di Renjie racked his brains to describe his daughter’s future peerless beauty, though actually turning it over and over, one sentence would suffice: “My daughter must grow up to be as beautiful as her mother.”

As noon approached, maids brought over the things Xiao Wu had planted in small flowerpots. Not one was pretty—rather, each was oddly shaped. Among them, one demon flower even ate meat. Two thick green leaves spread wide open. Once a mosquito flew in, the leaves would immediately close, and the sharp spines on them could pin the insect down. Only after completely consuming the insect would the two leaves open again, continuing to wait for the next prey to arrive.

Watching Xiao Wu feed this strange flower, Di Renjie moved closer to help place small insects on the leaf surface. Watching the two leaves close tightly, he asked thoughtfully: “Why would that old farmer give you these strange plants? Do you think Master would know where this thing comes from?”

Xiao Wu nodded: “He knows. Master sent a letter saying this thing is called a venus flytrap, but Master didn’t mention where it comes from. He only said if that old farmer appears again, we must invite him to stay. Master said he has very important matters to discuss with him.”