She looked up at me, a smile in her eyes: "You're going to risk your life on the front lines, but I have to make sure you have a safe haven."

On the day I led my troops away, she stood at the city gate to see me off, clutching a brocade pouch in her hand: "This contains wound medicine, which works faster than ordinary wound medicine. And..."

She paused, then handed me a jade pendant. "It was passed down from my mother. She said it would bring peace and safety." I took the brocade pouch and the jade pendant. My fingertips touched her hand, and it was surprisingly cool.

"Don't worry," I said, gripping the jade pendant tightly, "we will definitely drive the Xiongnu back to their homeland!"

She smiled, the jade hairpin at her temple gleaming: "I'll be waiting for you to return to the capital, to celebrate our victory."

When we arrived at Yanmen Pass, I acted according to her plan and successfully intercepted the Xiongnu in the valley.

When the oil caught fire, the flames illuminated half the sky, throwing the Xiongnu soldiers into a panic, whereupon we inflicted a crushing defeat upon them.

After returning to camp, I sent someone to deliver the good news to her, with the note: "The jade pendant worked, thank you."

Three days later, I received her reply, which contained only eight words: "I'm glad you're safe. The wine is warmed."

That afternoon, I returned from the northern frontier and went directly to the Prince Zhao's residence.

Qin Qianluo wasn't there. Su Jinyun was sitting in the courtyard drying medicinal herbs. When she saw me come, she stood up and said with a smile, "You've come back just in time. The celebratory wine has just been warmed up."

We sat at the stone table, she poured wine and I ate meat, and surprisingly we weren't speechless like before.

She talked about matters of the court, and I talked about the customs and culture of the northern frontier. When I mentioned that the Xiongnu soldiers were burned by oil and fled in panic, she laughed so hard that her eyes crinkled.

"Oh, right," she suddenly remembered something and took a wooden box out of the house.

“You said last time that the parrots in the Western Regions were fun, so I had someone bring a myna bird from Jiangnan. It can talk even better than a parrot.”

Upon opening the box, the myna bird inside flapped its wings and cried out, "General Mu is mighty! Prime Minister Su is wise!"

I laughed so hard I slapped the table: "This bird can talk!" She looked at me and smiled, her eyes shining brighter than the wine on the table.

As we left Prince Zhao's residence, the setting sun cast its rays, painting half the sky crimson.

I clutched the jade pendant at my waist, recalling when I first met Su Jinyun. I would glare at her whenever I saw her, and my teeth would itch whenever I saw her talking to Qin Qianluo. Now, we could actually sit together, drinking and laughing.

The wind brushed past the tassel of the spear at his waist, carrying a hint of warmth.

I suddenly realized that having someone plan out your future, someone waiting for you to come back for a drink, not having to hide your thoughts, not having to force yourself to be strong, is better than anything else.

Back at the general's mansion, the myna bird, which had been hanging under the eaves by the maid, called out again when it saw me return: "General Mu is back! The world is at peace!"

I looked up at it, then touched the jade pendant on my chest, and couldn't help but smile. Yes, the world is at peace, and I have people by my side. This kind of life is really good.

Even I didn't expect that I would later be able to get along so peacefully with that old fox, Su Jinyun.

Perhaps because of Qin Qianluo, she always treated relationships like a piece of unwrapped Xuan paper, pure and unblemished, allowing no wrinkles whatsoever.

I couldn't bear to see her caught in the middle, so even when I spoke to Su Jinyun, I deliberately toned down my usual sharp tongue, only daring to mutter to myself.

Perhaps it was because after seeing her with Su Jinyun, even though the notes on people's livelihood and military and political documents on her desk were still piled up to her eyebrows.

When she draws her eyebrows in the morning, Su Jinyun will hand her the eyebrow pencil and tidy up her stray hairs with her fingertips. She even adjusts the shade of the eyebrow pencil according to her preference that "lighter shades will make her look healthier."

When she was working at her desk at night, Su Jinyun would warm tea for her. The teacup was her usual celadon cup, with shallow bite marks still visible on the rim.

The tea is always kept at a temperature that is just right to warm the throat.

This meticulous attention to detail made the smile on her face even brighter than before.

Even when she spoke to me, her tone was filled with warmth, and even when she scolded me for "causing trouble again," she did so with a smile.

Or perhaps it was because he had seen through Su Jinyun's thoughts time and time again that he realized there was no selfishness in her plans, and that when calculating the provisions, she would first have someone check whether the soldiers' winter clothes were thick enough.

Even the density of the cotton fibers and the tightness of the stitches had to be checked one by one.

When discussing new policies, officials were first sent to ask the people if their taxes had been reduced. The replies they brought back included millet with soil still attached, which the people had given them.

She would carefully store it in a porcelain jar, saying, "This is the people's sentiment."

Even when confiscating the silver of corrupt officials in Jiangnan, her first action was not to hand it over to the national treasury, but to have ten grain carts used to directly replenish the rice bins of the soup kitchens for displaced people.

As she watched the refugees holding rough porcelain bowls, drinking hot porridge, and thanking her with tears in their eyes, the light in her eyes shone brighter than the glazed tiles of the palace.

This feeling, along with my desire to protect the peace and well-being of all people, became intertwined, and gradually, I was no longer able to harbor any hostility towards them.

He would even subconsciously stand up for her and retort when he saw her being harassed by senior officials.