Shen Ziqin only napped briefly. Chu Zhao was leaving tonight. They had just met and were at their most affectionate, yet they had little time together, so they didn’t want to miss a single moment.
Shen Ziqin didn’t need to go to the post station but directly moved into Chu Zhao’s courtyard. After bathing, it was almost dinner time.
Chu Zhao had the cook specially prepare some sweet dishes, as well as some frontier specialties, for Shen Ziqin to try.
“The skill with this roasted meat isn’t as good as mine, but it’s still decent,” they didn’t want others serving them during the meal, just the two of them. Chu Zhao picked out a few slices of roasted meat for Shen Ziqin. “The beef and mutton here are fresh. Another day I’ll roast some for you myself.”
Shen Ziqin dipped the roasted meat in their special sauce and put it in his mouth. It was crispy outside and tender inside, leaving a lingering fragrance, but it had to be said that it wasn’t as good as what Chu Zhao made.
Even without bias, it was definitely better when Chu Zhao made it.
Shen Ziqin, biased from the beginning, firmly thought.
Chu Zhao: “Tell me more about what happened in the palace? And how serious is the emperor’s illness exactly?”
The previous news had been too concise. Though the main points were there, it wasn’t detailed enough.
“The emperor had a stroke and is paralyzed,” Shen Ziqin pushed the dipping sauce toward Chu Zhao, encouraging him to dip as well, chatting while eating.
That night, the emperor had been so angered by Shen Ziqin that he vomited blood again. After a day, he barely woke once, but this time he couldn’t utter a single word, only making “ah, ah, ah” sounds and gasping, before quickly fainting again.
Shen Ziqin had been busy coming to the frontier and had left the palace, no longer “attending to” the emperor’s illness.
“When I left the capital, he still hadn’t woken up, but don’t worry, Second Brother moved to the side hall to continue ‘fulfilling his filial duty,'” Shen Ziqin picked up the mutton soup Chu Zhao had ladled for him and took a sip. “Oh right, the Empress Dowager has informed everyone that Dongning is a boy.”
The second and third princes were surprised at first but quickly accepted it well, similar to Chu Zhao’s reaction. The court officials were different-an additional prince was an entirely different concept.
The Empress Dowager only said publicly that when Dongning was born, his fortune was calculated, and he needed to be raised as a girl for a period to protect his fate. Now the time had come, and he should naturally resume his identity.
Chu Zhao found amusement imagining the court officials reluctantly accepting this: “Then next time we return, we shouldn’t call him Dongning anymore.”
“He changed the princess’s title to his own childhood name, so we can still call him Dongning.” Shen Ziqin thought of something and curved his lips. “When I left the capital, the emperor hadn’t woken up yet. When he wakes and learns he has another son, I wonder if he’ll faint again.”
Both of them imagined the scene and couldn’t help laughing heartily.
The fruits Emperor Cheng’an had sown finally came back to him. How could anything less than tormenting him between life and death be fitting for the crimes he had committed?
Even this suffering was far from enough. His debts were a sea of blood, too numerous, and had caused his victims too much pain.
After dinner, Chu Zhao sat for a while before going to sleep. Shen Ziqin wasn’t tired, but he lay down with him anyway.
Chu Zhao embraced Shen Ziqin, sighed contentedly, closed his eyes, and fell asleep satisfied.
Shen Ziqin lay beside him, watching him sleep.
Shen Ziqin traced Chu Zhao’s handsome features with his gaze from a distance, from his eyes and brows to his sharp, thin lips. There wasn’t a single part that wasn’t beautiful. Only when looking at Chu Zhao did he occasionally share Zhou Danmo’s feelings-
So beautiful, I want to paint him.
Chu Zhao was sleeping soundly. Shen Ziqin reached out his hand and quietly, gently tapped his nose.
He did it quickly, touching and withdrawing immediately, as if secretly doing something mischievous.
Shen Ziqin watched him cautiously, his heart beating secretly and rapidly.
Chu Zhao didn’t wake up.
Shen Ziqin couldn’t help but curve his lips.
On one hand, he felt childish, but on the other, he found this little gesture that only he knew about quite amusing. Despite having done everything together, he still felt secretly nervous at moments like this, his heart pounding incessantly.
Quietly rejoicing for Chu Zhao.
Shen Ziqin didn’t know that Chu Zhao had experienced this feeling long ago. Before they had confessed to each other, Chu Zhao had also quietly and happily pinched his face.
They were truly in perfect harmony, a natural pair.
Shen Ziqin hadn’t planned to sleep, wanting to watch Chu Zhao more.
But he had only arrived at Yueshan Pass today and had been quite active during the day. Lying in the soft bedding with Chu Zhao’s warm, reassuring presence beside him, he gradually and unknowingly fell asleep.
At midnight, there was a gentle knock on the window.
Chu Zhao opened his eyes. It was time for him to depart.
He gazed longingly at Shen Ziqin’s sleeping face, reluctant to leave. The world seemed to stretch extraordinarily long, but in reality, it was just a brief minute. He rose quietly, careful not to wake Shen Ziqin.
Chu Zhao dressed completely, tucked the blanket around Shen Ziqin, and before straightening up, leaned in gently to place a kiss on Shen Ziqin’s forehead.
“Sweet dreams,” Chu Zhao mouthed.
He went out the door, where his personal guards saluted: “Your Highness.”
Chu Zhao nodded, imposing and majestic: “Let’s go.”
Under the stars and moon, riding swiftly, Shen Ziqin had cleared the obstacles behind him, and now he needed to go to the front to win battles for Shen Ziqin and Great Qi.
Shen Ziqin slept until daybreak. In the half-awake state of early morning, he instinctively moved closer to the side, but finding emptiness, he paused and slowly opened his eyes.
The space beside him was empty. Shen Ziqin reached out to touch it, but half the bed had lost the warmth of another person. He must have left long ago.
Despite knowing this, he couldn’t prevent the momentary emptiness in his heart.
Shen Ziqin took a light breath, adjusted his mood, lazed in bed a while longer, and then finally turned over to sit up.
The frontier cuisine wasn’t as refined as that in the capital, evident from breakfast, but the local specialties were interesting to eat. With nothing else to do, Shen Ziqin was accustomed to dining leisurely. However, halfway through his meal, a guard from the prince’s residence rushed in with a report.
“Consort! The heir of the Eagle tribe is leading twenty thousand troops and has begun attacking the city!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a rumbling sound came from the distance, more muffled than fireworks, closer than thunder, spreading throughout the entire city, startling all living creatures.
Shen Ziqin rose abruptly: It was the gunpowder for attacking the city!
The barbarians had indeed chosen Yueshan Pass.
Shen Ziqin had no time to finish eating and immediately headed out. The prince’s residence guards hurried to stop him: “Consort, the soldiers of Yueshan Pass are brave and well-prepared. You can wait here for news of victory!”
But Shen Ziqin shook his head: “I’ll wait at the military camp.”
Most of the soldiers in the camp had already rushed to the city walls and various gates, awaiting orders. Some logistics personnel remained behind. Zhou Danmo also came hurrying over, a streak of ink still on his face-he must have been diligently painting early in the morning.
The situation was tense, and everyone was serious, including the logistics officers and soldiers. But seeing Zhou Danmo’s face like a painted cat, they couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Amid the laughter, Zhou Danmo sensed something and, following their gaze, touched his face. As a result, it became even more smeared.
Shen Ziqin couldn’t help but smile, handing over a handkerchief: “Wipe it off.”
Zhou Danmo quickly took it: “Thank you, thank you.”
As he was wiping and about to say something, a series of violent explosions suddenly sounded. If one listened carefully, the sounds were actually continuous but so dense they merged together. To those at a distance, it became an earth-shattering roar that lingered.
Zhou Danmo was startled, almost dropping the handkerchief.
He swallowed and nervously stammered: “Con-Consort.”
Shen Ziqin, listening to the thunderous artillery, felt a different kind of tension from Zhou Danmo.
These people in the rear, not seeing the actual fighting, could still hear the ferocity of the battle and feel the indescribable terror. How much courage must those at the front have to raise their swords and fight in blood?
And Chu Zhao, on another battlefield, was charging at the very front.
Shen Ziqin’s hand inside his sleeve tightened, his fingertips turning white, but he said to Zhou Danmo: “Don’t be afraid.”
A logistics officer nearby, seeing that the consort, though appearing to be a delicate beauty, remained calm in the face of danger, proudly said: “The consort is right, there’s no need to fear.”
Everyone turned to look at him.
Being naturally sociable, he began chatting with them: “To counter the city-attacking gunpowder, military craftsmen from various countries have thought of many methods, but none are as effective as the whistling arrows invented by the prince.”
Hearing Chu Zhao’s name, Shen Ziqin also became interested: “Oh?”
The logistics officer gestured excitedly: “Indeed! It’s not just some small device like a sky rocket used only for signaling. It’s an extremely thick crossbow arrow, shot from a crossbow mechanism. The arrow has a thin leather case containing gunpowder attached to it, and the gunpowder is specially formulated by the prince, requiring no fuse.”
The logistics officer bumped his fists together in the air: “As long as there’s impact or intense friction, the case will explode. With this weapon, we can intercept the enemy’s gunpowder in mid-air, preventing them from blasting the top of our walls.”
The logistics officer added: “The things the prince brought after joining the army have saved many of our brothers.”
Mighty and powerful, saving many brothers from needless death and bloodshed.
Seeing the genuine admiration in his eyes, Shen Ziqin felt warmth in his heart. Zhou Danmo also gradually calmed down, and even the deafening explosions all around didn’t seem so frightening anymore.
After transmigrating, Chu Zhao had spent the most time at the frontier. To protect his soldiers, he had developed various items within the limited conditions available.
If it weren’t for having to hide from Emperor Cheng’an, with metallurgy only being conducted in secret and yielding small quantities, Chu Zhao might have even produced cannons or portable artillery tubes.
Never mind, Shen Ziqin thought, in the future he wouldn’t need to hide anymore.
The whistling arrows couldn’t intercept all gunpowder, but the barbarians now had limited gunpowder, and Yueshan Pass’s walls were far sturdier than Yuanwang Camp’s. They couldn’t hope to capture Yueshan Pass as they had Yuanwang Camp.
Regardless of pre-battle analysis, only when fighting began could both sides truly know each other’s strength.
War was both strategy and gamble. The barbarians had to guess which camps Chu Zhao might take troops from to recapture Yuanwang Camp, while Chu Zhao had to predict which locations the barbarians might attack while he was away.
If the barbarians had attacked Mingsha Pass today, General Qi would have led Yueshan Pass soldiers to support it.
But the barbarians chose Yueshan Pass, while Chu Zhao had taken troops from Mingsha Pass.
Each had their judgment, and in the end, it came down to fate.
Clearly, Chu Zhao had good luck-he had the upper hand.
After the gunpowder explosions continued for a while, they subsided. Though most people in the military camp were logistics officers, military reports were still being transmitted.
The wounded and military intelligence arrived.
The barbarians had temporarily stopped their gunpowder assault and begun charging, setting up scaling ladders, preparing to attempt a forceful breakthrough.
Where there was fighting, there were casualties. Wounded soldiers with varying degrees of injuries were hurriedly brought back. The camp instantly filled with cries of pain, and the air became permeated with the smell of blood.
Seeing the groaning wounded, Zhou Danmo’s face suddenly turned pale, his fingertips trembling, his eyes reddening.
But as Shen Ziqin looked at them, he released his tightly clenched fingers.
“Danmo,” Shen Ziqin forced himself not to think about Chu Zhao at this moment, “let’s help pass out medicine.”
The young master Zhou, unusually unconcerned with propriety, wiped his eyes with his sleeve: “All right.”
These were all good sons of Great Qi. Because of them, others could live in peace and prosperity.
Bai Xiao had been following Shen Ziqin all along. The prince’s residence guards didn’t try to dissuade them, but the soldiers in the field hospital were surprised to see them enter in their fine clothes. Some who had seen Chu Zhao embracing Shen Ziqin at the camp entrance knew his identity.
“Consort, no, everyone’s clothes and bandages are temporarily thrown about, all bloody-don’t soil your clothes-”
“What nonsense are you talking? What importance are clothes?” Shen Ziqin knelt down, helped him lie down, and took medicine to help clean his wounds. They didn’t know medicine, but they could help treat some minor injuries.
“The most important thing is for you all to recover quickly.”
The soldier’s eyes also reddened. He grinned and promised: “Yes! When I’m better, I’ll go kill a few more of those bastards!”
Some who were in severe pain cursed while howling, as if cursing the enemy could help them get through the worst pain and give them courage to continue.
Young Master Zhou followed Shen Ziqin, bustling about in the wounded tent. After half a day, he had learned many new curse words.
General Qi returned to the camp in the evening to catch his breath.
“The barbarians have stopped temporarily, but I estimate that in an hour or two, they will definitely attack the city again.”
General Qi had also heard about Shen Ziqin helping in the field hospital and saluted him: “This general thanks the consort on behalf of the soldiers.”
“General, there’s no need,” Shen Ziqin supported him. “As a mere scholar, I can’t do much more.”
General Qi laughed heartily: “You’ve done plenty! The prince has been telling us that with you in the capital, no one would create obstacles for us anymore. Sure enough, you brought provisions and the tiger tally. You are also protecting our soldiers and our land!”
Shen Ziqin managed to curve his lips in a smile amid the general’s laughter, but he truly didn’t feel he had done much. The soldiers on the battlefield were all risking their lives. Every charging soldier was a hero of Great Qi.
“Consort, General! Military report from Yuanwang Camp!”
Shen Ziqin looked up abruptly. The young soldier brought two thin letters-one military report and one addressed personally to Shen Ziqin.
Shen Ziqin first opened his private letter, recognizing Chu Zhao’s handwriting.
He realized that as he opened the letter, not only was his heart trembling, but his hands were also shaking slightly.
Until he saw the flowing characters on the letter.
The letter was brief, saying not to worry about him, that everything was going well.
Only then did Shen Ziqin let out a long breath, his anxious heart finally able to rest for a moment.
The military report detailed their day’s attack and resource consumption, and informed General Qi that they might only be able to recapture Yuanwang Camp around tomorrow evening.
Therefore, Yueshan Pass would need to hold for another day.
“That’s faster than expected-just one day,” General Qi said. “This general will not fail his mission!”
Shen Ziqin held the thin private letter, and the matching love pendant at his waist swayed in the brilliant evening clouds.
One longing, two places of concern.
Chu Zhao thought of Shen Ziqin and knew that Shen Ziqin was equally concerned about him. Therefore, even if it was just a brief message of safety, he had to write it to set Shen Ziqin’s mind at ease.
General Qi needed to send Yueshan Pass’s situation back as well. When the messenger was about to leave, Shen Ziqin hurried over and also handed him a letter with ink that had not yet dried.
“Please send it to Chu Zhao together with the others.”
He also wanted to set Chu Zhao’s mind at ease.
Not being in the same place, tonight they would both have to rely on thin letters to calm their minds and ensure each other’s safety.
#
(advanced chapters available on kofi)
