Chapter 33

(Sixty-five) The Emperor is Coming

"Wei Zhen has had great ambitions since childhood. At the age of nine, he chanted 'I would rather die for the world than live in a world of carriages and horses,' and 'Marshal Yue is ambitious to eat the flesh of the barbarians, Qi Yuanjing only wishes for peace at sea, we should strengthen ourselves.' I remember all these happy times of the past very clearly... One of the purposes of my visit is to ask you to help me convey my feelings to Wei Zhen. I am truly heartbroken by his family's tragedy. These past few days, I have been unable to sleep every night. Life is truly difficult."

I heard the emperor's words, which seemed to have a hidden meaning, so I interrupted and asked, "Does the emperor have any other purpose for this trip?"

The emperor nodded slightly. "The nomadic Sayas from outside the Great Wall have been advancing aggressively, frequently harassing our camp. Their successive victories have left our troops' morale severely low. We urgently need a general who can boost morale on the front lines."

The emperor sighed deeply and continued, "The Sayar tribe recently elected a new chief, who is very skilled at flanking and encircling the enemy. In less than a year, we have already lost three of our best generals. The loss of these talented generals is not to mention the loss of these talented generals. The key is that the morale of the team is low, and the soldiers are increasingly losing the courage to fight. This is a very bad omen. After much consideration, I believe that the general who is currently best suited to dealing with this group of cunning and difficult opponents is Wei Zhen. As the saying goes, a lion leading a flock of sheep can be invincible. Although there are some differences between Wei Zhen and me, since Wei Zhen vowed to serve the country at the age of nine, I have specially ordered these two lines of poetry to be made into a plaque and hung outside Baihua City to enhance the prestige of our Canglan Kingdom."

While I was still in a daze, the young marquis immediately bowed with both hands and said, "I never thought that Your Majesty, despite being so busy with state affairs, could so skillfully memorize the poem written by Wei Zhen, the young prince's playmate. This truly astonishes me."

The emperor smiled very kindly, "I have said that Wei Zhenyu is my good child. Of course, I will take my good child's thoughts and actions to heart."

After the Emperor finished his long speech, he said to me, "My dear child, is there anything you want to ask me?"

I immediately knelt down and prostrated myself on the ground.

"Your Highness, Shang Shisan, would like to ask the Emperor to show his appreciation for my husband, Wei Zhen. We, husband and wife, will do our utmost to ensure the prosperity and well-being of the Canglan Kingdom."

The emperor thought for a moment, then said, "Thirteen, my dear boy, do you mean to say that you also want to go to the front lines?"

I raised my head, looked at the emperor, and nodded.

"I am willing to serve the emperor and the Canglan Kingdom at my utmost."

"Okay." The emperor slapped his thigh and immediately said loudly: "Then I will appoint you as the expedition general, and you will be stationed outside the Great Wall as the highest commander of Canglan Kingdom in this fight against the invasion of the Saiya tribe."

"Ah, I, I..." I hesitated after hearing what the emperor said, "But I don't know how to fight?"

I finally told the truth slowly, "I have no experience leading troops in battle."

The emperor winked at me and said, "I know that your most important task as the expeditionary general is to take care of the daily life of Marshal Wei Zhen. Let Wei Zhen take charge of leading the troops in battle."

I walked out of the room, still holding the handwritten letter that the emperor asked me to pass on to Wei Zhen.

"Every word in this letter is shed with tears. These past few days, I have been deeply saddened by the tragedy of the Wei family. I promise Wei Zhen that I will protect the glory of my beloved Concubine Chunmin and the Shang family of Baihua City. I hope Wei Zhen will protect the remaining glory of the Wei family, help our Canglan Kingdom resist foreign humiliation, and strengthen our prestige!"

The words the emperor said when he handed me the letter with red eyes were still echoing in my mind. I walked silently in Baihua City.

(Sixty-six) The Emperor is Coming

After receiving the emperor's handwritten letter, I galloped all the way.

Within two months, they arrived at the camp where Wei Zhen was stationed.

Wei Zhen held the emperor's handwritten letter and remained silent for a long time.

I stood beside him, silent together.

"Did the emperor really hang the poem I wrote when I was nine years old outside the city gate?" Wei Zhen asked me.

I nodded. "It had been a while since I left. Everyone was praising you for your brilliant literary talent at such a young age. It was quite remarkable."

I said in a flat voice.

Wei Zhen sighed.

The room fell into deathly silence for a moment.

Seeing that Wei Zhen looked unhappy, I walked up to him and hugged him.

"My lord, I just miss you so much. I hope you won't blame me." I hugged Wei Zhen and pretended to cry and shout.

Wei Zhen put the letter on the table and covered his ears with his hands, "Shang Shisan, you're so noisy."

When I heard Wei Zhen's words, I immediately let go of my arms around his waist.

"How do you speak to the expedition general?" I pointed at Wei Zhen, "General Wei, watch your attitude when talking to me!"

Suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps was heard.

"General, the troops have been assembled and are awaiting your instructions."

As the expedition general, I was just about to express my thoughts.

Wei Zhen pulled him behind him.

"Okay, I got it. I'll be there in a moment."

After that person left, Wei Zhen turned his head and looked at me.

"I also want to go to the battlefield and learn how you kill the enemy." I said to Wei Zhen while sitting next to him.

"No, it's too dangerous. You stay here and wait for me to come back." Wei Zhen said as he started to put on the armor.

"Wei Zhen, please take me with you. I can definitely protect myself smartly." I made a swearing gesture and said to Wei Zhen.

Wei Zhen suddenly turned his head and gave me a wicked smile.

"Thirteen, no, it's General. I suggest you do something else."

I didn’t understand what Wei Zhen meant at that time.

"What else?" I asked Wei Zhen blankly.

"For example, give me a baby or something like that."

I rolled my eyes, put my arm around Wei Zhen's thin waist and asked him, "What do you think happiness is?"

Wei Zhen glanced at me sideways and asked, "Do you feel unhappy?"

I confessed to him, "Ever since I was very young, I've observed many different people. I've noticed that they all like to say they're happy, but in reality, they're not. People around me, like Yunniang, my wet nurse, and my mother, all told me that happiness is something you have to strive for. But I didn't even know what happiness was, let alone how to strive for it."

Wei Zhen seemed to have thought of something, and he suddenly laughed.

"Actually, when I met you, you didn't know me yet." Wei Zhen said to me, "At that time, Shang Shisan was still pestering the young marquis every day, clamoring to marry him."

"...That's because you're young and inexperienced." I felt a little embarrassed.

Wei Zhen didn't seem to notice my awkwardness. He continued to himself, "At that time, I was annoyed to death by those ministers who flattered me all day long in the capital. Later, I was ordered by the emperor to go to Hebi City to investigate the case of the rumors about him. Before I came, I heard a lot of rumors about you, both true and false, which were causing chaos in the city. As soon as I arrived in Hebi City, I recognized you. Before I captured you and forced you to marry me, I observed you for a long time, but unfortunately, you never noticed me."

I hugged Wei Zhen's arm and said nothing. Wei Zhen continued, "I wanted you to pay more attention to me, so I approached you a few times, but you ignored me. You were waiting happily for your young marquis to marry you. It just so happened that the young marquis was going to marry your sister not long after, and I heard that you were eager to get married, so I dared to kidnap you and marry me."