Chapter 82

Inside the tent, Xie Zheng looked at the chicken blood splattered across his collar and cloak and frowned.

“Isn’t this a bit too much blood?”

While directing Xie Seven to take the freshly slaughtered chicken to the cooks’ camp to make soup, Gongsun Yin replied, “It’s not like you’ve never visited the infirmary. Some of those wounded soldiers are missing arms and legs. Which one of them isn’t covered in blood? Miss Fan has seen plenty while helping there. If we don’t use enough blood, what if we fail to scare her?”

As he spoke, his sharp eyes spotted a stray feather that had been left behind when the chicken struggled. He quickly plucked it off the cloak.

Then he looked Xie Zheng up and down.

Although Xie Zheng’s complexion was pale and there were faint dark circles beneath his eyes, he showed absolutely no signs of running a fever.

Gongsun Yin couldn’t help complaining, “You spent the whole night sitting in the cold wind and even washed your hair with cold water. How is it that you still haven’t developed so much as a fever?”

Xie Zheng: “…”

Gongsun Yin finally gave up.

“Forget it. This little suffering-and-injury act should be enough as it is.”

Outside the tent came Xie Five’s voice.

“It’s in here!”

Gongsun Yin immediately retreated and sat down on a nearby stool, arranging a sympathetic expression on his face.

Following the physician, Fan Changyu hurried into the tent.

The moment she entered, she saw Xie Zheng lying weakly on the bed, his face pale and fragile, a shocking stain of blood spread across his chest.

Her heart clenched instantly.

“Yan Zheng!”

Xie Zheng’s eyes were tightly shut.

His lips were dry and cracked.

His complexion was as white as snow.

Loose strands of hair hung messily over his forehead, and dark shadows lingered beneath his eyes.

He looked haggard and pitiful.

Fan Changyu felt as though a giant hand had seized her heart.

The dark bloodstains on the cloak made her eyes sting with rising tears.

It had only been one night.

How had someone who seemed perfectly fine yesterday suddenly become like this?

The remnants of her rationality forced her to step aside and turn to the physician.

“Please check his pulse quickly!”

The physician was also startled by the scene.

Fearing something serious had happened to Xie Zheng, he immediately placed two fingers on his wrist.

The moment he felt the steady pulse beneath his fingertips, a strange look appeared on his face.

When he glanced up, however, he saw Gongsun Yin shooting him a meaningful look from across the room.

The physician immediately stroked his beard and adopted a grave expression, continuing the examination.

Fan Changyu’s heart pounded harder and harder.

After a long while, the physician finally withdrew his hand.

“Miss Fan, your husband’s condition is extremely dangerous.”

Fan Changyu hurriedly pleaded,

“Physician, please save him!”

The physician stroked his goatee and said in a troubled tone,

“He’s coughing up blood this severely. The previous injury must have left a great deal of stagnant blood in his lungs.”

“He needs medicine to nourish his lungs and restore moisture. At the same time, he’s lost too much blood and has excessive internal heat. We’ll also need herbs to replenish blood and stop the bleeding.”

“I’ll prepare some medicine for him first.”

“However, from now on, someone should stay by his side at all times. If he coughs up blood while unconscious and chokes on it, he could die.”

Fear flooded Fan Changyu.

“I’ll stay with him every moment.”

The physician went off to prepare medicine.

Looking at Xie Zheng lying amid the bloodstained bedding, Fan Changyu felt her nose growing sore.

An overwhelming sense of guilt began to rise inside her.

Yan Zheng was still seriously injured.

Why had she gotten upset yesterday?

Why had she said she wouldn’t come back?

If something really happened to him…

She might spend the rest of her life regretting it.

The moment Gongsun Yin saw her expression, he knew the scheme had succeeded.

Appropriately, he offered comfort.

“Miss Fan, don’t worry too much. Little Brother Yan will surely be blessed by fate.”

Only then did Fan Changyu notice that Gongsun Yin was present.

All her attention had been focused on Xie Zheng from the moment she entered.

“Mr. Gongsun is here too?”

Without changing expression in the slightest, Gongsun Yin lied smoothly.

“When Little Brother Yan suddenly started coughing blood, Xiao Wu panicked. I happened to be inspecting the camp nearby, so I told him to fetch the physician while I watched over Little Brother Yan.”

Fan Changyu thanked him on Xie Zheng’s behalf.

Gongsun Yin smiled.

“They are all brave sons of Great Yin who fight for our nation. Only by staying alive can they continue protecting our land. There’s no need for thanks.”

“Since Miss Fan is here now, I won’t stay any longer.”

After seeing Gongsun Yin off, Fan Changyu moved a small stool beside Xie Zheng’s bed and sat down.

In a quiet voice she said,

“You have to get better.”

Because she was sitting so close, the smell of blood on the cloak became more noticeable.

Suddenly she sniffed hard.

Having slaughtered pigs for years, she was extremely familiar with the smell of pig’s blood.

And after all the fighting these days, human blood was no longer unfamiliar to her either.

Yet the blood on these blankets seemed strange.

Besides the heavy metallic scent, there was also a faint smell of chicken feathers.

Leaning closer, she was just about to investigate further when the supposedly unconscious Xie Zheng suddenly fluttered his eyelashes and weakly opened his eyes.

Fan Changyu instantly forgot everything else.

Delight filled her face.

“Yan Zheng, you’re awake?”

Xie Zheng stared at her for a moment before speaking.

“You came.”

His voice was hoarse and broken, as though excessive coughing had injured his throat.

That single sentence made Fan Changyu’s heart ache again.

She tucked the blanket around him more securely.

“The physician said your internal injuries are severe and need careful treatment.”

“From now on I’ll stay here and look after you.”

“You just focus on recovering.”

The blood staining Xie Zheng’s pale lips made him appear even weaker.

Slowly, he said,

“I heard about what happened in Ji Province.”

Fan Changyu wasn’t sure where he was going with this and remained silent.

He continued with some difficulty.

“After everything you’ve been through, you’re no longer the ordinary woman from Lin’an Town who only knew how to slaughter pigs and sell pork.”

“When you returned, all I did was criticize you.”

“I was wrong.”

Hearing him apologize once again for yesterday’s harsh words only made Fan Changyu feel even more ashamed.

Lowering her head, she said quietly,

“What you said wasn’t wrong.”

“The only reason I and the others returned safely was luck.”

“If Brother A’Qi hadn’t brought reinforcements in time, the soldiers who raided the enemy camp and I might have been trampled to death beneath the rebels’ horses.”

After gathering her courage, she finally looked him directly in the eye.

“Getting angry with you after you scolded me… that was narrow-minded of me.”

“I’ll change.”

At that moment, guilt filled her heart.

Seeing that traces of blood still remained around his lips, she immediately went out to fetch hot water so she could clean him up.

Watching her leave, Xie Zheng frowned slightly.

How had this somehow turned into her accusing herself of being narrow-minded?

When Xie Five later brought the prepared medicine, Fan Changyu personally fed it to Xie Zheng spoonful by spoonful.

The thick cloak taken from the rebel camp had been serving as Xie Zheng’s blanket.

Now that it was stained with blood, Fan Changyu knew how much he valued cleanliness.

She returned to her own quarters, brought over the cloak she and Changning normally used at night, and covered him with it temporarily.

She intended to wash both the bloodstained cloak and the bloody clothing he had been wearing.

Terrified that she might discover something suspicious while washing them, Xie Five immediately volunteered and snatched them away.

That evening, Fan Changyu wanted to remain with Xie Zheng but was also worried about leaving Changning alone.

Seeing that there were several unused beds in the tent, she brought Changning over as well and had her sleep there.

As she made up the bed, she asked in confusion,

“The other infirmary tents are crowded with wounded soldiers. Why are so many beds here empty?”

The physicians went out of their way to avoid Xie Zheng whenever possible.

How would they dare place ordinary wounded soldiers in his tent?

Lamp oil and candles were precious on the mountain.

At night, nearly every tent relied on fire basins for light.

The flames licked at the darkness.

Warm golden firelight illuminated half of Xie Zheng’s face, making his handsome features appear as though painted with ink.

Turning his head slightly to watch Fan Changyu make the bed, he lied with complete seriousness.

“I don’t know. Perhaps the physicians have their own arrangements.”

Fan Changyu knew little about military management and didn’t think further about it.

After putting the sleepy Changning to bed, she turned to Xie Zheng.

“If you need water during the night, or if you need to get up to relieve yourself, just call me.”

At the words “relieve yourself,” Xie Zheng’s ears immediately grew warm.

He looked at her in surprise.

The moment she met his gaze, realization suddenly dawned on her.

Her own face heated up as well.

Turning away, she hurriedly explained,

“What are you thinking?”

“If you call me, I’ll go find one of the soldiers on patrol nearby to help.”

For convenience, the bed she shared with Changning was placed right beside Xie Zheng’s.

Less than three feet separated them.

She had been exhausted for days.

The moment her body touched the mattress, she fell asleep.

Only after hearing the steady breathing of both sisters did Xie Zheng turn his head toward them.

The fire basin still contained a partially burned log.

Its weak flame flickered gently.

The wavering light danced across Fan Changyu’s sleeping face, lending her peaceful features an indescribable beauty.

A restless feeling began sprouting in his chest.

It came fiercely, like countless ants gnawing at his heart.

He stared for a long time at her lips, slightly puffed from sleeping on her side.

The darkness in his eyes was thicker than the night itself.

But in the end, he did nothing.

Turning away, he closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.


—

The next day, a new group of wounded soldiers was assigned to the tent.

Some had injured hands.

Others had injured feet.

In any case, none were completely bedridden, and they could all help one another.

Fan Changyu took responsibility for preparing medicine for them.

It conveniently allowed her to remain in the tent during the day and care for Xie Zheng at the same time.

At night, she still returned to her own tent with Changning.

The newly arrived wounded soldiers helped watch over Xie Zheng.

They were all easygoing and generally quiet.

Fan Changyu thought they seemed different from the wounded soldiers she had cared for previously, but she simply assumed every person was different and paid it no mind.

What she didn’t know was that these wounded soldiers were all members of Xie Zheng’s personal guard.

After hearing her question the previous evening, he had instructed Gongsun Yin to transfer the injured guards into this tent.


—

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.

Whenever she wasn’t caring for wounded soldiers, Fan Changyu would take out several books from her bundle and study.

With Yan Zheng nearby, she effectively had a ready-made teacher and could ask questions whenever she encountered something she didn’t understand.

One day, seeing her reading a copy of Mencius, Xie Zheng asked,

“Finished studying the Analects already?”

Fan Changyu nodded honestly.

“Yes.”

The memory of her protecting Li Huai’an during the encounter with mountain bandits resurfaced in Xie Zheng’s mind.

His narrow phoenix eyes lifted slightly.

“You learned it all on your own?”

Fan Changyu replied,

“The writing is profound. Even after reading the annotations, there were many parts I couldn’t understand.”

“When I was helping build the dam upstream in Ji Province, I met an elderly gentleman.”

“He looked stern but was kind-hearted.”

“He taught me everything.”

Mentioning Old Tao brought visible respect to her face.

“You don’t know it, but he’s quite an extraordinary person.”

“He later became a military advisor.”

“It’s just that he’s old now, with no children to care for him.”

“His only student abandoned him too.”

“He’s rather pitiful.”

“When we were digging rocks together on the mountain, he spent every day cursing that student of his.”

Relieved to learn she hadn’t studied under Li Huai’an, Xie Zheng felt unexpectedly pleased.

Then, hearing about her being mistaken for a spy and forced to work on the dam, he experienced a subtle feeling of guilt.

The plan had been his idea.

However, the personnel overseeing the dam construction belonged to He Jingyuan’s side.

At the time, Xie Zheng had been in Yan Province and genuinely hadn’t known Fan Changyu was being held there.

After a moment, he only commented on her last remark.

“If his student truly lacks respect for his teacher, now that the old man has achieved success, he should teach that student a lesson.”

Fan Changyu shot him a displeased look.

“Old Master Tao may have a sharp tongue, but he’s very broad-minded.”

The moment he heard the surname Tao, Xie Zheng’s finger paused on the page.

“What is his full name?”

“I don’t know. He only said his surname was Tao.”

There were countless people with that surname.

Thinking about the old man who supposedly spent every day cursing his ungrateful student, Xie Zheng immediately dismissed any connection to Grand Tutor Tao.

His teacher had retired years ago.

If he ever returned, he would surely seek him out.

Setting the matter aside, Xie Zheng said,

“Since he helped you, you can promote him in the future.”

The moment those words left his mouth, he saw Fan Changyu staring at him strangely.

Realizing he had misspoken, he was about to correct himself when she frowned and said,

“Old Master Tao is already serving as General Tang’s advisor.”

“What exactly could you promote him to?”

“You aren’t even a general.”

“You shouldn’t say things like that. What if Old Master Tao heard you? It would sound terribly inappropriate.”

Xie Zheng choked on his own words.

After a pause, he said,

“I mean in the future.”

Fan Changyu looked somewhat helpless.

“You’re really that confident you’ll become a general someday?”

A faint glimmer appeared in Xie Zheng’s eyes.

“What if I became something even greater than a general?”

Fan Changyu looked puzzled.

“What official position is higher than a general?”

Appearing casual, he replied,

“A marquis. Or perhaps a prime minister.”

Fan Changyu immediately put down her book.

“Does your wound still hurt?”

Caught completely off guard, Xie Zheng considered his answer.

“It’s manageable.”

“It only hurts badly if I exert myself.”

In truth, he was already mostly recovered.

As long as he didn’t use excessive force, it barely hurt at all.

Fan Changyu handed him the bowl of cooled medicine.

“Drink your medicine first.”

“You can think about becoming a marquis or a great general after you’re healed.”

Xie Zheng: “…”


—

Two more days passed.

Xie Zheng’s condition still showed no “improvement.”

Meanwhile, Gongsun Yin was being crushed beneath mountains of military reports and official correspondence from the capital.

With dark circles under his eyes and murder practically radiating from his body, he stormed over to visit the patient.

Fan Changyu hadn’t seen him in some time.

Upon seeing the exhausted, hollow-eyed Gongsun Yin, she was startled.

“Mr. Gongsun, what happened to you?”

His murderous aura immediately diminished.

Forcing a refined smile onto his face, he said,

“Just buried under miscellaneous affairs. I’ve been busy.”

“Please take care of your health too, Mr. Gongsun.”

Gongsun Yin smiled stiffly and agreed.

Then he asked,

“How is your husband’s condition?”

After thinking for a moment, Fan Changyu answered,

“The physician says his internal injuries are severe and need time.”

“His wound still hurts.”

Gongsun Yin maintained his smile.

Though somehow it looked suspiciously like he was grinding his teeth.

“Is that so?”

“I’ll go take a look.”

Since Fan Changyu needed to prepare medicine, she headed off.

The moment Gongsun Yin entered the tent, he dismissed all the injured guards.

After half a month of pretending to be wounded, even the scabs on their injuries had started falling off.

The only reason they still wore bandages was to keep up appearances.

Looking at Xie Zheng, who was lying there napping with a book covering his face, Gongsun Yin finally exploded.

Snatching the book away, he roared,

“If your injury doesn’t get better soon, I’m going to die from overwork handling all those documents!”

Back when he had been helping devise the strategy, he had worked enthusiastically.

Now he regretted every second of it.

Xie Zheng was genuinely enjoying his recovery.

Meanwhile, Gongsun Yin was working like a mule pulling a millstone.

No.

Even mules had easier lives.

What terrible karma had he accumulated to dig a pit and jump into it himself?

Without the book blocking the light, the sunlight made Xie Zheng frown.

Opening his eyes lazily, he looked thoroughly refreshed after weeks of eating and sleeping well.

His face was infuriatingly handsome.

Gongsun Yin’s eyes nearly turned red with jealousy.

At one point, he had been the elegant and ethereal one.

Now Xie Jiuheng was hiding here pretending to be sick.

To avoid arousing Fan Changyu’s suspicion, he hadn’t touched a single official document.

At most, he occasionally sent one of the equally fake-invalid guards to deliver instructions.

Everything else had fallen onto Gongsun Yin.

Nowadays, whenever he closed his eyes, all he could see were endless stacks of unfinished paperwork.

It was enough to kill him.

Xie Zheng sat up.

Ignoring Gongsun Yin’s outburst entirely, he glanced at the wrinkled book in his hands.

His eyes narrowed slightly in displeasure.

“Give it back.”

Seeing that reaction, Gongsun Yin finally looked at the cover.

It read Mencius.

He found it strange.

“You mastered the Four Books shortly after beginning your education. Why bring this with you up the mountain?”

His expression became suspicious.

“You treasure it this much. Don’t tell me it’s some indecent book?”

Flipping it open casually, he discovered detailed annotations on nearly every line.

Although the handwriting had been deliberately altered, Gongsun Yin immediately recognized it as Xie Zheng’s.

Before he could examine it further, the book was snatched back.

Gongsun Yin became even more aggrieved.

“I’ve been imitating your handwriting and nearly breaking my wrist handling official documents.”

“And while I’m doing that, you’ve been sitting here annotating an entire copy of Mencius?”

Xie Zheng offered no explanation.

Instead, he said,

“You can choose any of the Seven Sages manuscripts from my library when we return.”

Instantly, Gongsun Yin stopped complaining.

With a snap, he opened his folding fan and began smiling pleasantly despite his panda-like dark circles.

“Helping Your Lordship bear your burdens is naturally a strategist’s duty.”

Xie Zheng was completely unsurprised by the speed of his transformation.

Ignoring it, he moved on to more important matters.

“Tang Zhaoyi’s twenty thousand Ji Province soldiers have surrounded Chongzhou.”

“No supplies can reach the rebels.”

“The rebels beneath the mountain have been attacking for days.”

“Their grain is gone and their troops are exhausted.”

“It’s time to wipe them out completely.”

The Yan Province army atop the mountain had spent the past several days resting and recovering.

The Chongzhou rebels below, however, had begun digging up roots and stripping bark from trees two days ago.

After their grain stores were burned, they faced only three options.

Return to Chongzhou.

Destroy the Yan Province army on the mountain.

Or flee and preserve their remaining strength.

The first option was impossible.

Twenty thousand Ji Province soldiers guarded Chongzhou.

The rebels would lose enormous numbers just trying to get back into the city.

Even if they succeeded, once the main forces of Yan and Ji Provinces surrounded Chongzhou, destruction would still await them.

Prince Changxin had only withdrawn half his forces previously.

Perhaps he had anticipated exactly this situation.

The army beneath the mountain represented the escape route he had left behind.

Ji Province had already stabilized.

He Jingyuan was moving large forces toward Chongzhou.

If Chongzhou could not be held, the rebels below One-Line Gorge only needed to seize another defensible city and they could rise again.

The commander of that force was Prince Changxin’s trusted general, Shi Yue.

Back when Xie Zheng burned the rebels’ grain, he had deliberately used Sui Yuanqing as bait to tie down most of the enemy forces.

Although Shi Yue eventually rescued him by piling corpses high enough to reach the mountain pass, he had suffered substantial losses.

Combined with the destruction of their supplies, the situation had become dire.

Shi Yue had assumed that without Sui Yuanqing as a hostage, and after being trapped for so long, the Yan Province army had lost all will to fight.

Enraged after learning the grain had been burned, he launched relentless assaults against the mountain for half a month.

The terrain of One-Line Gorge, however, was simply too advantageous.

He lost even more troops.

Meanwhile, the Yan and Ji Province cavalry roaming the forests below behaved like ghosts.

They struck when they could win and fled when they could not.

Infantry could never catch cavalry.

The Chongzhou commanders were driven nearly mad with frustration.

Now that their supplies were gone while the mountain defenses remained impregnable, Shi Yue finally realized he would never achieve the legendary feat of trapping the Marquis of Wu’an to death atop the mountain.

He quickly adjusted his strategy.

Under cover of darkness, he began secretly withdrawing portions of his forces.

Since direct assault had failed, preserving strength was now the most sensible choice.


—

The mountain camp immediately entered a state of intense military preparation.

Whether in the infirmary or the cooks’ camp, Fan Changyu heard constant discussions about the coming battle.

Troops were continuously being dispatched toward various mountain passes.

The moment she stepped outside, she could see military banners snapping in the wind while streams of soldiers moved beneath them toward assigned positions.

Every wounded soldier who could still hold a weapon was ordered back to his unit.

Naturally, that included Xie Zheng.

Just looking at the preparations, Fan Changyu knew this battle would be extraordinarily dangerous.

Yan Zheng’s wound still hurt whenever he exerted force.

He probably couldn’t even wield a weapon properly.

Wouldn’t sending him to the battlefield now be suicide?

The moment she thought about the bloody hole that had once been punched through his body, anxiety gripped her heart and refused to let go.