Qiu Jiu Wo Chuan Yue De

The ground was covered in soft snow, and night had fallen.

After a period of rest, Peng Xuan'an urgently convened a military meeting and ordered a full-scale attack on the core economic zone of Liguo in three days. Qin Xiangde aimed to undermine the morale of Liguo's army from within. The core economic zone of Liguo was heavily guarded, with twenty officers holding the line. If a war of attrition were to break out, it could take up to a year.

Peng Xuan'an couldn't wait, so he chose to launch a pincer attack from all sides, using live poultry officers to strangle those who refused to surrender. He also ordered several tactically skilled military commanders to attack another city. When attacking the core economic zone, the surrounding cities would rush to support them immediately. At this time, the city's forces would be weak, making it easy to storm in.

The plan was carried out, and the fighting lasted for three days. Blood stained the rivers, and the scorched earth reeked of blood.

We won! A resounding victory!

When the news reached the imperial court, the emperor, seated on his dragon throne, was overjoyed, and all the officials and ministers marveled at the talent of this man. Peng's father was also greatly honored and received a title and rank.

The emperor laughed heartily, overjoyed: "Hahaha, good! Excellent!" He clapped his hands and exclaimed, "From now on, I will see who dares to offend the majesty of the Tao Jin Kingdom again!"

The entire court of civil and military officials offered their congratulations: "Your Majesty, we offer our congratulations! Congratulations to our Great Tao Kingdom!"

"Your Majesty! I heard that a few days ago..." A civil official raised his tablet, bowed respectfully, and said, "General Sheng Hong, along with His Highness the Crown Prince, Lin Qiu, and others, went to the forest for a stroll, but unfortunately fell into the trap of the villains of the Li Kingdom. All three were on the verge of death, but thanks to Lin Qiu's solo luring away of the Li Kingdom's soldiers, the General and the Crown Prince were able to survive, which led to their great achievement."

"Oh?" The emperor drew out his majestic voice, looking down curiously at his ministers. He had never heard of this news before. "Prime Minister Pang, is this true?"

The one who spoke was none other than the head of the Pang family. "Your subject is absolutely not lying!"

"Good! In that case, your beloved daughter has also made a great contribution. What reward would you like to bestow upon her?" He assumed that the Pang family head had brought up this matter in order to reward her.

The slightly haggard-looking head of the Pang family shook his head, his eyes filled with a father's heartache for his daughter. "Your Majesty, I have no need for reward. I only ask that Your Majesty allow my daughter to return."

He sighed, his temples streaked with gray, and he looked much older: "My daughter was the one my wife loved most when she was alive. If my wife's spirit in heaven knew that my daughter had gone to the battlefield, how grief-stricken she would be..."

The emperor paused for a moment, then gave a wry smile. "It was my oversight. I will send someone to bring her back tomorrow."

The head of the Pang family looked gratefully at the emperor sitting on the dragon throne, his eyes brimming with tears: "Your Majesty, this humble subject thanks you!"

The court has adjourned.

Some say that Pang Linqiu is definitely not a virgin, which is a real pity.

Some people say that in the rush to save lives, risking one's life to lure the enemy is a righteous act, and it doesn't matter if one is no longer innocent.

News of the events at court reached the military camp on the border of Tao Li, and Pang Linqiu was completely dumbfounded. She was genuinely curious about who had betrayed them—but no! Even the Crown Prince had ordered that this matter not to be spread! Who had secretly betrayed them? She would skin that person alive!

She felt wronged and had no way to explain herself. She was afraid that Qin Xiangde would be afraid to marry her because of these rumors, fearing it would damage his reputation.

She clearly did a good deed, so why label her as unclean?

She gritted her teeth in hatred, yet she had no idea who had betrayed her!

She was listless all day, and when she heard that her father wanted to take her back, her homesickness welled up again. She became depressed, and Qin Xiangde was seriously injured and needed to rest.

There was no one in the camp to keep her company and cheer her up. She longed to go home so much! Just like a student living in the dorms, she cried at night because she missed home, resisting the arrival of loneliness and darkness, yet being swallowed up by them little by little.

"Miss Pang, may I... come in?"

Pang Linqiu, who was lying on the bed, sat up when she heard the sound. Knowing that it was Peng Xuan'an, she said impatiently, "Come in!"

Peng Xuan'an had also heard about what was happening in the court and wanted to come and see her. As soon as he entered the tent, he saw her with a face full of resentment.

"Miss Pang... are you alright..." he asked, his concern palpable.

"Why would I let you in if there was nothing wrong?!"

Peng Xuan'an sensed the anger in her voice, guessing it was because this matter had affected her emotions. He didn't dare get too close to her, fearing it would only make her angrier. "You must have heard about what happened in court, right?" Afraid she would think he was responsible, he quickly added, "I didn't do it!"

"Oh," she replied indifferently.

Seeing her so cold and unwilling to talk to him, he felt a little sad. "Don't worry, you're innocent..."

She impatiently waited for him to finish speaking, her mind a complete mess: "Speak quickly if you have something to say!"

"If you really can't get married..." he stammered, his face inexplicably flushed, "I can... marry you!"

Pang Linqiu's face contorted in disbelief; she was utterly baffled by what he had just said. "What?!"

Thinking she hadn't heard him clearly, he raised his voice a few decibels, "I can marry you, I am Peng Xuan'an..."

Afraid that his loud voice would disturb the people outside, she quickly interrupted him: "I'd rather become a nun than marry you, don't you have any conscience?!"

His voice was low and shy: "Miss Pang, when you were disguised as Zhi Qiu, I also told you... that I love you..."

"Didn't we say we shouldn't bring this up again?" She thought he was going to bring up old grievances, and her eyelids twitched.

He was somewhat heartbroken. "I just wanted to express my feelings..."

She sighed, "One thing at a time. What happened before was my fault. I shouldn't have done that, but I had no choice."

"Linqiu... I'm sincere." He spoke each word with utmost seriousness and affection.

"I genuinely only want to be your friend."

He was speechless, yet he seemed to want to say something, but he only moved his mouth slightly.

"I'll be going back in three days." She remembered his words, "If you really can't get married," and grew angrier the more she thought about it. Pointing at herself, she said fiercely, "Even if I can't get married! At worst, I'll find a son-in-law to live with us. My Pang family is powerful and wealthy, why should we worry about not having a man?"

Peng Xuan'an didn't know how to refute it. He didn't want to. She was the one who started the relationship first, so why did she have someone who looked similar take her place later? And why did she say that this person was her? But how could feelings lie?

After that incident, Zhi Qiu was sentenced to death by the Pang family head. Pang Linqiu, however, received the news that Zhi Qiu was living a life of pleasure with a contract of indenture and later married a butcher...

She tried several times to find out Zhi Qiu's location, but all her attempts failed.

He smiled faintly, a look of utter misery and helplessness on his face, "Fine, then Miss Pang will have to see if any man dares to come knocking..."

Her unclear meaning left her confused.

She tilted her head slightly, frowning in annoyance: "No? Can't I even look?"

She thought he meant that after this incident, no man would dare to come to her house.

In reality, Peng Xuan'an planned to exert pressure in the capital, both covertly and covertly, using his prestige to threaten those who wanted to propose marriage. If anyone dared to come and disregard his pressure, their only fate would be death.

He came to express his feelings today at Qin Xiangde's urging, and besides, he still harbored resentment about what happened between them and couldn't forget it.

She felt it was time to say goodbye: "I won't disturb your rest any longer, and..." He paused for a moment.

A faint smile curved his thin lips. "Thank you."

Three days later...

Pang Linqiu boarded the carriage to return to the capital. Before leaving, she bid farewell to Qin Xiangde, feeling reluctant to part but having no other choice. Her father was waiting for her in the carriage, and the two exchanged a few brief words before hastily departing.

The snow quietly subsided one morning; the icicles on the eaves stopped growing and instead became thinner, with translucent water droplets hanging from their tips. When the wind blew, they fell into the remaining snow below the steps, making a small crater.

The biting wind turned gentle, caressing the buds. Winter dragged its tail away, and spring came, lifting its skirt.

March has arrived in the blink of an eye; so much time has passed in a blur.

Pang Linqiu was assigned to the military camp on the border of Taoli for some unknown reason. She was happy to do so, as she was glad to see the man she had been longing to see. Recently, they had been communicating by letter, but how could letters compare to seeing each other in person?

She pounced on Qin Xiangde, who was waiting to greet her, and tried everything to win him over, but to no avail.

He stroked her head, his lips twitching slightly: "Now that you're here, let's not talk about this anymore."

"Okay." Pang Linqiu pouted, looking wronged.

Peng Xuan'an remained silent; even when she spoke, she ignored her, leaving her speechless.

Qin Xiangde said he had important business to attend to and left, and Peng Xuan'an led her back to the camp.

On the way, Pang Linqiu suddenly grabbed his sleeve and looked at him with great curiosity: "General, let me ask you something." Her voice was a little softer, as if she was afraid that others would hear.

Seeing her sneaky appearance, Peng Xuan'an wondered what kind of trouble she was up to, so he leaned closer to listen and asked, "What's the matter?"

A hint of excitement flickered across her full, oval face, and the corners of her mouth curved into a deep smile. "You and Brother Mohe... who's on top? Who's on the bottom?" she asked, her almond-shaped eyes wide with curiosity and delight, like a cat.

She couldn't forget the day the old man brought her back, when Qin Xiangde comforted her and gave her several storybooks called "Anhe Xing". She also glanced curiously at the author's name, Qiu Jiuwochuan Yuede ("Help me, I've transmigrated!").

At the end of each book, there's always a strange string of words: "Hello" for the first book, "help me!" for the second, and so on for the third and fourth...

She had seen these words before; her mother had taught her, "If you meet someone whose temperament and speech are similar to your mother's, you should communicate with her more and get to know her."

She was also puzzled as to why the author chose such a long and strange title, and she had already read six or seven volumes, yet the author hadn't released an eighth volume. She had heard that the author was in Xiafeng Town, so she thought she might as well come and see if there was an eighth or ninth volume.

Peng Xuan'an assumed that she meant strength or martial prowess when she said "above or below," and he was somewhat smug. He confidently said, "Of course I am above! Xiangde is still a bit inferior to me."

Her smile faded, clearly showing disappointment. She asked again, "Really?"

"How could it be fake?"

"Fine." She reluctantly accepted the result; she would have preferred Mohe to be on top.