The night was pitch black, and the moon was obscured by thick black clouds, with only a few scattered moonlights illuminating the earth through the layers of darkness.

The orange glow of the burning campfire filled the entire military camp.

The orange light made Shu Yun's cool and beautiful eyes even more dazzling, making her stand out in the military camp.

Old Master Xie's men brought her over, but after saying only a few words, they rushed back to the Western Liang capital.

Everyone in the military camp had their own assignments and places to go; some were on guard duty, others were on patrol. There was no tent for her, so she could only stay outside.

Shu Yun picked up a thin piece of firewood and poked at the bottom of the wood that was being pressed down, allowing oxygen to come into full contact with it. With the help of oxygen, the flames burned even more fiercely.

The person on duty nearby looked over several times and saw her constantly adding firewood, keeping the fire burning fiercely. Finally, he couldn't help but remind her, "If you keep doing this, you'll run out of firewood very quickly."

Shu Yun paused, holding a fresh piece of firewood. She turned her head to look at the pile of firewood that had been piled up into a pointed shape not long ago, but now only some coarse firewood close to the ground remained.

The fire in front of her, which was originally only the size of the bottom of a ceramic pot, had been successfully piled up to the size of a washbasin. The flames were soaring high, making her face flushed and hot.

Shu Yun put down the firewood in her hand, stopped adding new firewood to the fire, pushed herself back with both hands, leaned back, and tilted her face slightly up to create distance between herself and the fire.

She had been in a daze, but now, brought back to her senses by the guard's words, she realized that her face was burning hot.

Her sleeves got covered in dirt from her bracing, but she didn't care. She tilted her head back, revealing her slender, white neck, where the red, swollen marks left by Xie Fu had shrunk considerably, replaced by a small patch of purplish-blue.

The night wind of Xiliang carried a sense of desolation, howling wildly across the mountains and plains. The heat on Shu Yun's face was somewhat dissipated by the sweeping night wind.

She sat up straight and looked at the soldier who had spoken. "What's your name?"

Li Tieben wanted to tell her how to conserve firewood and keep the fire burning for a long time, but when he heard her question, he immediately shut his mouth.

Shu Yun only remembered the strict rules in their Xiliang army after asking the question, so she stopped asking and instead looked the dark-skinned, tall and strong soldier up and down.

They had all witnessed Xie Fu's attitude towards this girl who looked like a fairy. Li Tie felt uneasy under Shu Yun's scrutiny. Why did he have to talk so much and attract her attention? Who knew what kind of bad idea she was up to?

"No need to be so wary," Shu Yun said calmly. "Your name isn't a secret."

Li Tie replied in a low voice, "That won't work either..."

Shu Yun looked past him toward Jiang Yan's military tent. The lights inside were already out, indicating that the people inside were asleep.

She sat outside in the cold wind, while he slept comfortably inside.

The wind swept across her neck, causing a slight pain.

She tossed aside the firewood she was holding, as if she, Shu Yun, had never suffered such humiliation before, and strode toward the military tent where Jiang Yan was.

Li Tie quickly gripped the hilt of his sword, his face wary. "What are you going to do?"

Shu Yun glanced at him expressionlessly. "Don't you know? I'm the wife that your Xie family's patriarch chose for your young master."

She was brought here by one of Old Master Xie's men, a fact known to everyone, but no one knew the woman's true identity.

Perhaps the word "daughter-in-law" was too impactful, because Li Tie couldn't immediately connect the word with the woman in front of him, nor could he connect the woman in front of him with the future crown prince's wife.

While the soldiers guarding Jiang Yan's tent with Li Tie were momentarily distracted, Shu Yun nimbly slipped past them and entered Jiang Yan's tent.

Li Tie and the soldier on duty were terrified that someone had slipped in during their brief moment of distraction. If the young master were to investigate, they would both be held accountable.

Li Tie reached out to grab the woman in the white dress, but she was incredibly fast and dodged their hands in a few quick movements, then lifted the curtain to hide inside the tent.

Li Tie's face turned pale. Oh no, if they disturbed the young master's rest, they would be in deep trouble.

Jiang Yan's military tent was much larger than the others', with plenty of empty space around it in addition to the sleeping bed in the center.

The cold autumn wind was kept out of the tent, and it was much warmer inside than when she was sitting there like an idiot.

The sleeping platform in the middle of the military tent was hidden in the darkness, quiet and without a sound. Shu Yun frowned and stopped. How come Jiang Yan didn't make a sound when he slept?

In the darkness on one side, the cold glint of metal flashed and disappeared, yet it stood out especially in the darkness.

Shu Yun dodged Xie Fu's swiftly approaching spear by tilting her head, and engaged him in combat in a flash. While dodging his attacks, she said, "It's me."

Upon hearing her voice, the spear that was aimed directly at her face stopped just in front of her.

At this moment, Li Tie noticed the fighting sounds inside. He didn't care whether he would disturb the young master's rest and rushed in with his sword.

The light from the campfire outside shone through the curtain that Li Tie had lifted, bringing light to the otherwise unlit military tent.

Shu Yun and Xie Fu also took advantage of this light to see each other clearly.

Xie Fu carried a long spear in one hand. He had taken off his black, narrow-sleeved Hu-style robe and was now only wearing a white undergarment. His high-tied black hair had also been let down and was now draped behind him.

His expression was stern, the tip of his gun still pointed at Shu Yun. His voice was still a little hoarse from being disturbed while sleeping, "What do you want by entering my tent?"

Shu Yun looked at him, dressed in white with black hair, his eyes slightly lowered. Even though his brows and eyes were full of impatience and coldness, the way he spoke with his eyelids half-closed was just like Jiang Yan in the past.

The frustration she had been feeling from constantly hitting roadblocks in front of him suddenly vanished.

She said, "It's too cold outside without my tent."

Xie Fu raised his eyelids slightly and looked at her, "What does this have to do with me?"

Shu Yun ignored the spear tip gleaming with a chilling light in front of her, and with lightning speed ran straight past him to his bed, pounced on it, pulled off the covers and crawled inside.

The movements were fluid and graceful.

Xie Fu frowned as he looked at the bulge on his bed, his grip on the spear tightening, veins bulging.

He stared coldly at the person on the bed. Now he regretted it. He shouldn't have spared this woman's life; he should have just stabbed her to death.

The person who had taken over the bed, oblivious to everything, poked their head out from under the covers, looked at Xie Fu's pale face, and said, "Only I can cure your grandfather's illness."