Chapter 85

This time, Gongsun Yin was responsible for commanding the central army.

Halfway through the battle, he suddenly saw a cavalry force charge into the fray, scattering Chongzhou’s infantry formation and helping him complete the encirclement from the rear.

After the two armies joined forces, Gongsun Yin spotted an elderly man standing calmly in the rain beneath an umbrella, dressed in plain cloth robes.

Surprise and delight appeared on his face at the same time.

He hurried forward and cupped his hands in greeting.

“The Marquis told me earlier that there was an extraordinary person among the reinforcements at the foot of the mountain. I never imagined it would be Grand Tutor Tao himself!”

A personal guard followed closely behind him, holding an umbrella overhead. Rainwater cascaded from the umbrella’s ribs, while the cold wind lifted a corner of his robe, giving him an elegant, flowing appearance.

Grand Tutor Tao said, “I happened to be traveling through this area and came by to take a look.”

He sized up the young man before him and nodded approvingly.

“I’ve long heard that the Gongsun Clan of Hejian has produced a worthy talent. For that boy to persuade you to serve under him is proof of his capability.”

Gongsun Yin inclined his head.

“The Marquis carries the world in his heart and cares for the common people. I deeply admire his integrity and am willing to serve him.”

After speaking, he guided Grand Tutor Tao toward a carriage.

“One of Shi Yue’s generals possessed immense strength. He tore through the vanguard and helped Shi Yue escape. The Marquis has gone in pursuit and should already be on his way back. Grand Tutor, please accompany me up the mountain first and have a cup of ginger tea to ward off the cold.”

It was already evening.

After such a fierce battle, the soldiers also needed rest and reorganization.

There was already a fortified camp and defensive walls atop the mountain. Remaining there temporarily was clearly the best choice.

Grand Tutor Tao thanked him and boarded the carriage together with Gongsun Yin.

Rain pelted the roof with rapid crackling sounds.

As the carriage swayed along the mountain road, Grand Tutor Tao spoke leisurely through the sound of the rain.

“I’ll have to trouble Young Friend Gongsun to help me find someone.”

Gongsun Yin was pouring tea for him.

Hearing this, he smiled warmly.

“Please tell me who you’re looking for, Grand Tutor.”

Grand Tutor Tao replied,

“Among the Jizhou soldiers who escorted provisions up the mountain half a month ago, there was a young girl. She can be considered half my disciple. She rashly came up the mountain that day, and I’m afraid she’s suffered quite a bit these past days.”

Gongsun Yin paused mid-pour.

Among the reinforcements who had transported supplies up the mountain, Fan Changyu was the only woman.

Could Grand Tutor Tao be talking about Fan Changyu?

Or was there another woman disguised as a man somewhere in camp?

He slid a cup of tea toward Grand Tutor Tao and asked,

“May I know your disciple’s name?”

Grand Tutor Tao replied,

“Her surname is Fan, and her given name is Changyu. She’s a good-hearted child.”

The sip of tea Gongsun Yin had just swallowed instantly seemed to turn into century-old vinegar, sour enough to nearly seal his mouth shut.

After a long pause, he finally asked,

“I’ve heard that your standards for accepting disciples are extremely high?”

Who was Grand Tutor Tao?

The moment he heard that question, he knew Gongsun Yin had probably met Fan Changyu before.

Embarrassed to admit that he had been the one to propose taking her as a disciple only to be rejected, he coughed lightly and stroked his goatee.

“That girl possesses excellent natural talent. In martial arts, she’s a once-in-a-century genius.”

“It’s only her intelligence that’s lacking somewhat.”

“That’s why I said she’s only half a disciple.”

Upon hearing that, Gongsun Yin immediately felt much better.

Smiling, he said,

“I’ve met your disciple before.”

—

The moment Fan Changyu returned to camp, she went looking for Changning.

When she couldn’t find her, she asked around and learned that Xie Qi had taken Changning away.

She immediately headed over.

Upon entering the tent, she found Changning asleep on Xie Qi’s bed.

Beside the bed sat a bamboo basket of unknown purpose filled with dried grass. The gyrfalcon was perched inside, dozing.

The moment it heard footsteps, it immediately opened its round little eyes.

Fan Changyu froze upon seeing the bird.

For a moment, she couldn’t tell whether the falcon had been trained by Xie Zheng later or had belonged to him from the beginning.

Xie Qi was also unsure whether the Marquis’s identity had already been exposed.

When he saw Fan Changyu, he cautiously called out,

“Miss Fan.”

Fan Changyu glanced at him.

Without saying a word, she picked up Changning and turned to leave.

The presence of the falcon here proved that Xie Qi had also known Xie Zheng’s true identity.

All these days, they had all been fooling her.

The moment Xie Qi saw her expression, he knew she had learned everything.

Feeling both guilty and ashamed, he didn’t dare stop her.

Feeling herself being moved, Changning sleepily opened her eyes.

Seeing Fan Changyu, she murmured,

“Big Sister…”

Then she immediately fell asleep again against her shoulder.

Fan Changyu carried Changning with one arm while still holding an umbrella with the other.

Seeing this, Xie Qi hurried forward.

“Miss Fan, let me hold the umbrella for you.”

Fan Changyu stared at the young man forcing a stiff, ingratiating smile.

In the end, she decided not to make things difficult for him.

With Xie Zheng above him, helping conceal the truth had never really been his choice.

Rain pattered softly against the umbrella.

Although the weather was miserable, every tent in the victorious camp was brightly lit.

Since the soldiers couldn’t celebrate outdoors, they feasted on meat and wine inside their tents instead.

Through the curtain of rain, those sounds seemed both distant and clear.

Xie Qi had always been quick-witted.

After considering his words carefully, he said,

“Miss Fan, I know you’re probably angry that the Marquis concealed his identity from you all this time. But he truly had no choice.”

“There have always been wolves lurking around him.”

“Miss Changning was kidnapped by the rebels before.”

“The Marquis feared something might happen to you as well, so he was forced to resort to this.”

Fan Changyu’s footsteps halted.

She asked,

“Changning’s kidnapping was connected to him too?”

Xie Qi hesitated.

He didn’t know how to answer.

But the brief silence was enough.

Fan Changyu had already gotten the answer she wanted.

Her thoughts became even more tangled.

Ahead stood the tent she shared with Changning.

At the entrance, she turned around.

“Thank you for escorting me this far, Brother Xiao Qi. The inside isn’t tidied up, so I won’t invite you in.”

Xie Qi quickly replied,

“You flatter me, Miss Fan. This is simply my duty.”

Fan Changyu said nothing further.

After entering the tent, she didn’t even light a lamp.

In the darkness, she placed Changning onto the bed and tucked a blanket over her.

Then she sat down nearby, hugging her knees.

Staring into the pitch-black night, she fell into a daze.

There was only one Marquis in the entire northwest.

So Yan Zheng was actually the famed Marquis Wu’an—the man who struck fear into the hearts of the Northern Di.

In the past, Yan Zheng had felt real.

Alive.

He had a bad temper, a sharp tongue, and was picky about food.

Yet he was also kind.

He often complained that she wasn’t very clever, but he always helped her.

And whenever he made a promise, he almost never broke it.

He had read countless books and understood many truths.

He was the smartest person she had ever met.

Perhaps because the time she spent with Yan Zheng had been one of the hardest periods of her life after her parents died, she found herself thinking of him often after he left.

Sometimes she would be braising pig intestines and imagine him still being there, frowning as he reluctantly picked up his chopsticks.

The thought would make her smile.

Sometimes she would read books filled with his annotations.

The moment she started slouching, she’d remember how he’d criticized her posture while reading the classics, and she’d immediately sit up straight again.

Sometimes she’d visit the candy shop to buy pine nut candy for Changning.

The shopkeeper would ask why she wasn’t buying tangerine-peel candy anymore.

There was no one left at home who ate tangerine-peel candy.

Yet she’d still unconsciously buy some.

Whenever she encountered difficulties, she would think:

If Yan Zheng were here, things would be easier.

He was so smart.

Surely he’d think of a solution.

The person she had crossed mountains and rivers to find…

The person she had risked her life to protect on the battlefield…

Was that Yan Zheng.

But that person didn’t exist.

She couldn’t continue treating Marquis Wu’an as Yan Zheng.

Behind that title stood glorious military achievements, the admiration of countless people, and a distance she could never bridge.

Her rain-soaked hair still hadn’t been dried.

Droplets slid from the ends, dampening part of the fresh clothes she had changed into.

The wet fabric clung coldly to her skin.

Yet it also made her mind clearer than ever.

—

The moment Xie Zheng returned to camp through the heavy rain, a personal guard stepped forward to take his horse.

“Marquis, Mr. Gongsun sent word earlier. He requested that you visit him after returning to camp. He says there’s a distinguished guest here.”

The soaked cloak hanging from his shoulders felt uncomfortable.

Xie Zheng removed it and tossed it to the guard.

“I’ll change into dry clothes first.”

He strode into the central command tent.

His attendants had already prepared hot bathwater and fresh clothing.

After a quick wash, he casually dried himself with a towel.

Picking up a narrow-sleeved robe from beside the bed, he slipped it on and asked,

“How was she after returning?”

Xie Qi happened to be serving inside the tent.

After careful consideration, he replied,

“Madam still seems somewhat angry.”

“I tried persuading her, but she barely spoke.”

Xie Zheng frowned slightly.

After fastening his belt, he said,

“I’ll go see her.”

—

Fan Changyu was still sitting alone in the tent, lost in thought.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching through the rain.

There seemed to be more than one person.

Moments later, the footsteps stopped outside the tent.

Xie Qi’s voice sounded from beyond the curtain.

“Miss Fan, the kitchen camp prepared ginger soup. I’ve brought you a bowl.”

Fan Changyu’s thoughts were a mess.

She simply replied,

“My constitution is strong. I don’t need it. Give it to the other soldiers.”

The people outside did not leave.

Instead, someone lifted the tent flap and stepped inside.

Fan Changyu raised her eyes.

Immediately, she met Xie Zheng’s beautiful yet unruly gaze.

Holding a bowl of ginger soup, he walked in.

Behind him, Xie Qi carefully shielded a candle lantern with one hand.

Seeing Fan Changyu, he smiled awkwardly.

After setting the lantern on the table, he quickly withdrew.

The warm candlelight seemed to chase away all the chill inside the tent.

Changning was always a heavy sleeper.

Wrapped in a crimson cloak with only her round little face exposed, she sensed the light source, turned over with her back toward it, smacked her lips, and continued sleeping peacefully.

Fan Changyu looked at Xie Zheng.

He had always been handsome even in plain cloth garments.

Now, dressed in luxurious brocade embroidered with intricate patterns, the noble aura surrounding him was impossible to hide.

Only the bruise at the corner of his eye seemed somewhat out of place.

By now, she had completely calmed down.

She had also thought through the situation rationally.

No matter what, he was a Marquis.

The punch she had thrown earlier in anger and hurt had been inappropriate.

Pressing her lips together, she said,

“I’m sorry for hitting you like that.”

Xie Zheng raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Compared to the last time you hit me, this one was pretty light.”

Fan Changyu naturally knew he was referring to the time he had been forcibly taken away during military conscription.

She apologized again.

“I’m sorry.”

Xie Zheng had only been half-joking.

Hearing her answer, he frowned.

“Why do you keep apologizing to me?”

“I was the bastard that time.”

His dark eyes remained fixed on her.

Beneath his casual expression, he resembled a vicious dog that had put away its fangs.

“I’ve read many books by sages.”

“I understand propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame.”

“But when it comes to you…”

“Sometimes I can’t stop myself from wanting to do things a bastard would do.”

There was even a trace of self-disgust in his voice.

Fan Changyu instinctively glared fiercely at him.

After a brief silence, she softened her tone.

“Yan… Marquis, let’s talk.”

Hearing the change in the way she addressed him, Xie Zheng lifted his eyelids.

His gaze darkened.

“All right.”

“Drink the ginger soup first.”

He handed her the bowl.

Fan Changyu accepted it and drained it in one gulp.

The warmth immediately spread through her stomach.

Only then did Xie Zheng speak.

“Concealing the truth from you back then wasn’t my intention.”

“I was being hunted and ended up stranded in Qingping County.”

“You happened to save me.”

“If I had revealed my identity honestly, it would’ve brought danger to you.”

“That’s why I kept it hidden.”

Fan Changyu replied,

“I don’t blame you for hiding your identity at the beginning.”

The unusually reasonable attitude she suddenly adopted inexplicably made Xie Zheng feel a sense of unease rising in his heart.