038

Song Ling stood with her hands behind her back at the entrance of the tent, watching a group of people walk towards her with a smile in her eyes.

Life in the military camp is mostly monotonous and tiring, so it's rare to see them all laughing so heartily.

Yu Baizhou stepped forward first, his eyes sparkling. He was about to address her when she stopped him with a sharp look, and he realized that the person behind him had already come forward. He quickly changed his address to "Miss Song".

Deputy General Wang casually wiped his sweat, draped a towel over his shoulder, and asked somewhat impatiently as soon as he entered the tent, "General, when do we start fighting?"

“That bastard King Qi is really a piece of trash,” he squeezed in front of the sand table and muttered, “I’ve heard all about it. When the epidemic was spreading in Yangzhou, he did nothing properly. Now that there’s going to be a war, he’s conscripting soldiers and collecting taxes. He’s really ruined everyone.”

"Now the refugees outside the north city are like ants moving house, densely packed and terrifying."

"Alright," Lieutenant General Li pulled him back, "Let's hear what the general and the strategist have to say, what are you babbling about?"

“Dongsheng is right,” Yu Baizhou said, drawing lines on the sand table with a twig and frowning as he explained, “The King of Qi’s actions are indeed too great. He has even crossed borders to capture young children from other counties to serve as soldiers.”

“Yesterday I received a letter from the Prefect of Cangwu Prefecture seeking help. Cangwu Prefecture is adjacent to Yangzhou to the north and has no mountains to block it. If the Prince of Qi is ruthless, he will surely be unable to resist.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Song Ling, who was deep in thought beside him: "What good ideas do you have, strategist?"

Under the eager gazes of the people present, Song Ling calmly took out a letter: "News from the capital: His Majesty has suddenly fallen ill with a chronic ailment and is bedridden. The Second Prince is currently in charge of state affairs, with the old Prince Zhong and the Prime Minister assisting in governance."

His Majesty originally had five sons and seven daughters. The eldest prince was born to the late Empress. He was exceptionally intelligent and was made crown prince at the age of five. Unfortunately, he died young from a serious illness. The late Empress was deeply grieved and fell ill, passing away not long after.

The third prince's birth mother was of low status and suffered a lot from a young age. She was sickly and weak and usually stayed at home to recuperate.

The second prince's mother was Consort De, while the fourth and fifth princes were born to Consort Shu and Consort Xian, respectively, making their social standing comparable. Since ancient times, there have been no brothers in the imperial family, and no kinship within the royal clan; the struggle among the princes had long since moved from the shadows to the open.

As the emperor's health deteriorated over the past two years, this situation became increasingly dire.

Now that no new crown prince has been appointed, the emperor has suddenly handed over the affairs of state to the second prince. How can the other princes be willing to accept this? A bloody storm is bound to break out in the court and the harem.

“If His Majesty can recover, the Second Prince will be busy until then. If he cannot recover, then…” Song Ling smiled, “it won’t just be the Second Prince who will be busy.”

Song Ling: "It seems that Luoyang is too preoccupied with the southwest for the time being. It would be better to send a letter to Luoyang first to explain the situation. By the time the court sends its message, the war will probably be nearly over."

The deputy generals were not fools either; they were eager to fight, knowing that this battle would be unlike any they had fought before.

Yu Baizhou nodded.

He randomly picked up the military flag from the sand table and slammed it into the territory of Yangzhou, declaring, "When a general is in the field, he may disobey the emperor's orders!"

"We'll discuss specific tactics tonight."

"The army will set off in five days!"

***

Yunzhou Prefectural Governor's Office

After the death of his only son born out of wedlock, Governor Wang was truly dejected for a while. But not long after, several beautiful young women were brought into his mansion.

When she was younger, Madam Wang might have felt jealousy and resentment, but after her unborn child was framed and lost a few years ago, she placed all her hopes on her only daughter.

"Look where you've gone off to play again!" Madam Wang said with concern, wiping the sweat from her daughter's forehead. "Your father is really something, actually allowing you to go off and cause trouble."

"Riding horses and shooting arrows are not things a girl like you should do!" she said, her eyes filled with reproach and displeasure. "What will your mother do if something happens to you?"

"Oh, Mother~" Wang Zhiyan smiled and hugged the woman. "Your daughter is very capable. Besides, with so many guards around, how could anything happen?"

"You're just trying to fool me." Madam Wang gently poked her daughter's forehead and sighed helplessly. "This can't go on forever. If we keep dragging it out, you'll be an old maid by now."

"Which young lady doesn't get married at fifteen or sixteen? Look at the Li and Chai families, all your close friends in the inner chambers, aren't their children old enough to run around in the fields?"

"But your father insisted on keeping you to marry a prince as a concubine. If you ask me, even the crown prince wouldn't be any better... You'd be suffering in the end, not as the principal wife."

Wang Zhiyan listened to her mother's rambling with a smile on her lips. What mother wouldn't love her daughter? But her mother didn't know her own heart; she was only focused on finding her a good husband.

"Still laughing?" Madam Wang glared at her, annoyed. "You, the person directly involved, aren't worried at all. If you really marry into Luoyang and never see your mother again, then see how anxious you'll be."

"No," Wang Zhiyan threw herself into the woman's arms, "If I go to the capital in the future, I will definitely take you, Mother, to enjoy wealth and honor."

She no longer had to put up with her father's temper, nor did she have to worry about the household affairs of this large family.

Madam Wang took it as a joke by her daughter. What kind of daughter would marry with her mother? Her life was going to end like this, but her daughter was still so young.

Pain and regret flashed in her eyes. What did it matter if she was born into a noble family? In the end, wasn't she just like this? Marriage was a daughter's second chance at life, and now, halfway to her grave, she finally understood her mother's words.

The royal family, a place so many people would fight tooth and nail to enter, is a cage that devours people. She hardened her heart and didn't want her daughter to go through that ordeal.

“Yan’er, you must know that if a woman chooses the wrong marriage, her life will be ruined.” Madam Wang patted her daughter’s head as she did when she was a child. “Although your father and I have some disagreements, I will never send you into the palace, even if it costs me my life.”

"That place is off-limits."

She didn't know if her daughter had feelings for the second prince, but even if she did, she absolutely could not allow it.

Wang Zhiyan pursed her lips and looked at her mother without saying anything. Her mother was a very stubborn person, just like how she had insisted on marrying her current husband despite all opposition. Now, she was afraid that her mother would quarrel with her father again over her marriage.

Even if it might cause resentment in her husband, even if it's impossible to salvage the situation.

...

After comforting Madam Wang and telling her to rest, Wang Zhiyan stood in the courtyard for a long time. Looking up, the sunlight was a bit dazzling.

Wandering around aimlessly, she unknowingly stumbled upon a somewhat dilapidated courtyard. In fact, apart from sending someone to deliver some things regularly, she hadn't set foot in this courtyard for a long time.

As soon as it was pushed open, the courtyard door creaked several times.

A maid was washing clothes in the courtyard. When she saw the young lady arrive, she hurriedly got up and bowed.

Where is your young lady?

The maidservant replied timidly, "Fourth Miss is taking care of her aunt inside the room."

Wang Zhiyan instructed the maids behind her, "You two wait here, you don't need to follow me." Then she went into the house alone.

The courtyard was poorly lit, and even the main house was dimly lit. There was a strong, pungent smell of medicine inside, which made one frown.

A few suppressed coughs could be heard from time to time: "Cough cough cough..."

"How did this illness become so severe?"