Hua Zhi raised an eyebrow. At a moment like this, she refrained from twisting the knife in Wu Yong’s heart. She simply said, “I hear that General Wu is twenty-six. Though unmarried, your household has long had people within it. Given the Wu family’s circumstances, you would not be like certain noble houses that forbid concubines from bearing children. Yet for all these years, General Wu has not had a single child — why is that?”
Wu Yong’s brow gave an involuntary twitch. “A physician examined me and said my time for children had simply not yet come.”
“That is not right. You had something of a physical problem, but when I administered the antidote to you last time, I took care of it incidentally.”
Wu Yong stared at Shao Yao — who delivered the startling statement without so much as a change of expression — and suppressed the roiling emotions inside him as he asked, “What problem?”
Shao Yao realized something was off. Without another word, she stepped over to him, clasped his wrist, made her assessment, and immediately connected the pieces together. “It was my oversight — I did not look closely enough at the time. You still have that poison in your body right now.”
She paused, then added, “Not quite poison, exactly — more of a substance that prevents women from conceiving. What is unusual is that this method is not common, and the underhanded means used in inner courtyards tend to be directed at women, not men.”
“How interesting.” Hua Zhi gave a quiet laugh. “I wonder how long the concubine in question has been with General Wu, and who it was that told him his time for children had simply not yet come. If she is a more recent addition, then perhaps General Wu ought to look very carefully into his own inner household.”
“Well, well. Truly well played — this is a deliberate effort to cut off the Wu family line.” Wu Yong laughed through his fury. “Shizi, this official takes his leave!”
“Keep the disturbance small. It is not yet time to draw in the net.”
“Yes.”
The moment Wu Yong left, Gu Yanxi turned to look at A’Zhi. “Something has occurred to you?”
“Do you not think the Chaoli people have been unusually active here in Yinshan Pass?” Hua Zhi had the persistent feeling that she had missed something, though she could not put her finger on it. A vague unease sat in her chest. “Logically, even if they were going to make a move, it should be at Shouya Pass to the east — the Chaoli people’s territory is nowhere near Yinshan Pass.”
“You are concerned that Yinshan Pass may be their true objective?”
“Not necessarily. Feinting east while striking west, real and false intermingled — they deploy it masterfully. I cannot read their intentions.” Hua Zhi did not pretend otherwise. She genuinely could not see the purpose behind the Chaoli people’s many movements at Yinshan Pass. It could not possibly be that they were using borrowed force — deliberately drawing the Daqing Dynasty’s gaze here in order to… wait.
Hua Zhi suddenly stood up.
“A’Zhi?” Gu Yanxi rose too and moved to her side, gently pushing Shao Yao aside. Shao Yao dared not protest and stepped resentfully to Hua Hua’s other side.
“Something just came to me.” Hua Zhi swallowed, her voice careful and measured. “Is it possible — is there any possibility — that the Chaoli people have reached some kind of agreement with the grassland tribes?”
Gu Yanxi was about to say that his scouts had not found anything pointing in that direction, and that besides, the Chaoli people had always operated independently, often clashing with the grassland tribes — but then again, the Chaoli people had already begun applying their intelligence to embed who knew how many operatives within the Daqing Dynasty. Compared to that, what was so strange about turning old enemies into allies with the grassland tribes, with whom they shared a common interest?
Gu Yanxi turned and walked toward the door, then stopped just before reaching it. “I need to leave for a few days. I will make arrangements for the matters here in Yinshan Pass. If anything arises that cannot be decided, have them come to you — would you be willing to manage things here for a few days.”
“I do not have the standing to—” Hua Zhi drew a slow breath and changed her answer. “Understood. Take care of yourself.”
Gu Yanxi looked at Shao Yao. Shao Yao nodded vigorously. “I will not leave Hua Hua’s side for a single step.”
Gu Yanxi had been alarmed by A’Zhi’s repeated injuries. Even with that promise, he was not at ease — after leaving the room he called Jia Yang over and gave him a few brief instructions before striding away. This matter he had to confirm himself.
Inside the room, Hua Zhi thought for a moment, then drew Shao Yao before her. “Go and find Wu Yong. Tell him my suspicion. He will know what to do.”
“I am not going.” She was not moving a single step away from Hua Hua. “I will send someone.”
Hua Zhi did not press her. Once she was alone, she finally allowed the anxiety she had been containing to surface. If the Chaoli people and the grassland tribes beyond the passes were indeed in league together, then Yinshan Pass would no longer be a feint — it could become the true target of their attack at any moment. Once war broke out…
Yinshan Pass had the strength to fight the grassland tribes. But if Chaoli people were woven in among them, Yinshan Pass had not even a fraction of a chance.
How to resolve this? Reinforce the troops? The Daqing Dynasty’s elite forces were all in the east, holding the line against the Chaoli people — those soldiers could not be moved under any circumstances. Any other battalions sent here in numbers would only be lives thrown into a void; their combat strength was not even in the same class.
Then how to resolve it? What could she do?
Hua Zhi’s mind was a churning pot. She bit down hard on the tip of her tongue — the sharp, searing pain reddened the corners of her eyes. She could earn silver. She could do everything within her power to produce things that might be sent to the battlefield. She could stand on the shoulders of those who had come before and offer what counsel she could. But she could not make the Daqing Dynasty’s armies stronger or invincible. She did not possess Hua Jingan’s gift for commanding the whole from a distance and steering the course of a nation’s war. If it truly came to soldiers at the gates, she could be sitting on a mountain of gold and the enemy would have her life before she could bury them in it.
There was nothing she could do. Against absolute force, every stratagem is a paper tiger — Hua Zhi had never understood that saying so viscerally as she did in this moment.
To deal with the Chaoli people alone already required the full strength of the nation. Add the grassland tribes — equally formidable — and… Hua Zhi felt a sourness settle in her chest. She could not stop her mind from drifting toward the worst.
No — think again. Think harder. The Chaoli people had been holding back all this time; they must have their hesitations, or their preparations were not yet complete. Had they truly been ready, they would have been at the gates long since. Yes — the time had not yet ripened. There was still time.
Hua Zhi rose and walked toward the study. It was empty at this hour. She pushed open the door, lit the lamp, brought out the map borrowed from Wu Yong’s residence and spread it across the floor, moved the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone to the floor as well, gathered her hair into a rough knot, and knelt over the map to study it closely.
Shao Yao did not disturb her, only sat on the floor nearby to keep her company.
Hua Zhi wracked every corner of her mind — the celebrated stratagems from the records of three kingdoms, every military principle she knew, even tracing out approximate terrain on the sand table and pulling Shao Yao into war games. But it was no use. Even filling the gap with soldiers’ lives, there was not even a fraction of a chance.
In the end, she wrote only two lines on the paper: Hao Yue, and black powder.
If her suspicion about Hao Yue was correct, she would necessarily know how the Daqing Dynasty’s future would unfold. If the Daqing Dynasty had ultimately lost, she would never have chosen to approach the Seven Lodges Division in the first place.
As for the black powder — its destructive force was far short of the weapons of a later age, yet with its aid, the Daqing Dynasty would at least not be left without any means of fighting back.
She thought for a moment, then wrote a third line: Strike first to gain the upper hand.
If the grassland tribes could be caught off-guard and dealt with first, the Daqing Dynasty’s remaining enemy would be the Chaoli people alone. Terrifying as the Chaoli people were, at least the Daqing Dynasty would not be caught between two enemies at once. But to succeed, the right moment, the right place, and the right alignment of forces were all essential, and the grassland tribes would not be easily handled.