Chapter 61 A Debt of Love: As long as she's alive, that's enough. I'll find her someday. ...
The group rested in Youzhou for three days, replenishing their supplies and reorganizing their troops, before continuing their journey.
These past two days, Su Panyue has also been busy, volunteering to interrogate Sun Shi.
The main reason is to find out who his master is, why he wants to assassinate Xie Lanzhou, and what other plans they have.
However, this man was very stubborn, and Su Panyue tried to persuade him for two days but failed to get any useful information out of him.
On the day before her departure, she was still sighing in the carriage where Sun Shi was imprisoned. Xie Lanzhou came in, patted her back, and comforted her:
"Actually, it's easy to guess. The news of our Great Qi's large-scale attack on the State of Lu must have already spread. The person sent here is none other than one of the most promising candidates to inherit the throne in Lu. They're afraid that if I go now, it will ruin their plans."
"Secondly, he was just a lowly eunuch. He must have been mixed in with our procession as we left the palace. He only found an opportunity to make his move when we reached Youzhou. However, he was only good at light footwork. He knew he had no chance of winning against me, but he still fought to the death because we were about to reach the border of Lu State. If we didn't make our move soon, it would be too late."
"As for what will happen next, there should be two more waves of assassins, but with the army on the move, there probably won't be a chance."
After saying that, Xie Lanzhou pinched Sun Shi's chin, looked deeply into his eyes, and asked, "Am I right?"
Sun Shi has long lost his former arrogance; his joints have been dislocated, and the wounds on his arms are carelessly bandaged.
Hearing Xie Lanzhou's words, he remained silent, but his expression became even more unpleasant.
Xie Lanzhou didn't mind, and with a smile, he put his arm around Su Panyue's shoulder and walked out, saying as they walked, "She's just a pawn, don't waste your time."
Su Panyue returned to her carriage, and Xie Lanzhou ordered them to set off. The grand procession continued its journey toward the border.
In these last few days, he rode outside with his soldiers, his armor fluttering in the wind, exuding an indescribable sense of unbridled arrogance.
The key to warfare is to press on in one go, so the army did not stop to rest along the way and arrived at the border between Qi and Lu in just two days.
The city walls stood tall, and countless soldiers of the State of Lu stood on the walls, ready for battle. Xie Lanzhou wrote a challenge on the spot, took a bow and arrow from his attendant, raised his hand to nock the arrow, and nailed the challenge to the gate of the State of Lu.
He raised his voice and said, "Does your Lu state still have anyone in charge? If so, please pass on a message to me: those who surrender will not be killed."
Upon hearing this, the Qi soldiers were greatly encouraged, and the gates of Lu opened a small crack before quickly closing again.
A soldier with a nervous expression walked out of the gate and headed straight for the letter of challenge that Xie Lanzhou had just nailed to the city gate.
Despite their best efforts, they couldn't pull the arrow out. Only then did everyone realize how powerful the arrow was; it was no exaggeration to say that it had penetrated deep into the wood.
The Qi soldiers let out disdainful snorts, but Xie Lanzhou raised his hand and stopped talking. "Set up camp here," he ordered in a deep voice.
As the most secure border city wall of the State of Lu, it was not easy to attack, so setting up camp here was a necessary move.
While everyone else was busy, Su Panyue was not idle either.
She was sitting in the newly erected makeshift tent, writing and drawing intently, unaware that a few drops of ink had gotten on her face.
Feixue went to settle her luggage, while Feiyan served her with brushes and ink, and couldn't help but ask, "What is Your Highness painting?"
Without looking up, Su Panyue replied, "A topographical map might come in handy."
As the two were talking, Xie Lanzhou walked in from outside the tent.
Feiyan bowed and left, and Xie Lanzhou took her place to continue grinding ink for Su Panyue.
At a glance, Xie Lanzhou could tell what Su Panyue was drawing; the general layout of each border defense was very detailed.
He asked casually, "How did you come to know such a confidential matter concerning the State of Lu?"
Before Su Panyue could answer, she heard his inner voice: "Did you find out from your fiancé?"
She swallowed nervously, because Xie Lanzhou had guessed correctly.
When she was Shan Mingyuan's fiancée, she often went to his study.
He was not wary of her, and highly confidential military maps were often left on the table. Su Panyue was not interested in them at the time, but she had a photographic memory, and she never expected that they would come in handy now.
It was not a good idea to tell Xie Lanzhou about this, so she chose to avoid the topic and instead said something else: "This is a military map from two years ago. I don't know if it has changed since then. Your Majesty can just take it as a reference."
Xie Lanzhou nodded slightly and rubbed her wrist. "You've been a great help this time. What should I reward you with?"
Su Panyue smiled shyly, but still asked expectantly, "What will Your Majesty reward me with?"
Xie Lanzhou looked at the still-wet military map and said with a smile, "You'll know once we win."
[Of course, I'd reward you with the chance to kill your fiancé yourself.]
Hearing his thoughts, Su Panyue couldn't help but shudder. He actually wanted her to kill Shan Mingyuan with her own hands!
Seemingly noticing her unusual behavior, Xie Lanzhou lowered his head slightly, his cool lips brushing against her cheek as he asked, "What are you afraid of?"
Su Panyue quickly shook her head, "No, haha, no."
As if to cover up her guilt, she took the initiative to kiss the man's lips, which immediately attracted his attention.
However, it was tough on Su Panyue's delicate hands. She had started her period again these past few days, so Xie Lanzhou had been celibate for several days. Today, she finally took the initiative, so how could Xie Lanzhou let such an opportunity pass?
The two lingered in the tent for a while before finally going out. Su Panyue covered her reddened palms and whimpered. Xie Lanzhou coaxed her, "Once your period is over, I will definitely make it up to you double."
There was something off about what he said, and Su Panyue glared at him.
At this moment, Sukiyaki came over to report that dinner had been prepared and invited the two of them to dine there.
Half of what they ate on the march was the rations they brought with them when they set out, and the other half was the game that the soldiers hunted in the surrounding area.
Today's harvest was plentiful; the Imperial Guards hunted a sheep and specially reserved the best leg of lamb for Xie Lanzhou.
He then led Su Panyue to the campfire, where Su Xi was using a small knife to slice the juicy roasted mutton off the leg of the lamb, placing it in a delicate little dish before bringing it over.
Su Panyue ate with shining eyes, recalling:
“When I was very young, I lived on the grassland for a period of time. The herders on the grassland ate mutton every day. The most common way was to roast it, and sometimes they would stew it with spring water. They would simmer it over a low fire until it was bubbling. When it was cold, one bite would warm you up from head to toe.”
Xie Lanzhou was amused by her longing and wistful tone, and then, as if remembering something, asked, "Do you like living on the grasslands?"
“If you like, we can move the capital here.”
Su Panyue imagined what it would look like to build such a magnificent palace on the boundless grassland, and thought it was really incongruous, so she quickly refused, saying, "I don't really like it either, really."
While busy grilling meat, Suki overheard their conversation and wanted to point out that they hadn't even conquered Lu yet, so why were they already discussing moving the capital...
After dinner, it was completely dark.
Xie Lanzhou had to go to discuss matters with the general and also inspect the surrounding defenses, so Su Panyue returned to her tent by herself.
After a quick wash, she took out the bronze mirror and placed it on the table. She then gently removed the mask from her face and rubbed her somewhat stiff face.
Although the mask was custom-made for her and fit perfectly in every way, she couldn't make any big facial expressions while wearing it, otherwise she would give herself away. So these past few days, she had been trying her best to keep a blank expression while wearing the mask, which was too much of a torment for someone like her who loves to cry and laugh.
Thinking that she would stay in this tent for the next few days during the siege, she took off her mask and made faces to satisfy her urge.
Not knowing how long Xie Lanzhou would be busy, she lay down on the bed and fell asleep soon after.
After an unknown amount of time, a commotion suddenly arose outside, as if someone was shouting, "Fire! Fire!"
"Where is His Majesty? Protect His Majesty at once!"
Su Panyue woke up with a start, touched the hidden arrow in her sleeve beside her pillow, and went outside.
Having learned from her previous experience of being assassinated while bathing, she now sleeps fully clothed, fearing that she might be assassinated again and not have time to put on her clothes.
That's why she quickly left the tent. Feiyan and Feixue, who were guarding outside, rushed forward to ask when they saw her come out, "Why did you come out, young mistress?"
"I heard there's been a fire. Is His Majesty in danger?" Su Panyue asked anxiously.
"His Majesty was just inspecting the grain supplies, but he is protected by secret guards, so there will be no danger. Your Highness, please go back first," Feixue advised.
Su Panyue seemed to see a light in the east, and her anxiety intensified. She grabbed Fei Xue and Fei Yan's arms and said, "I'm a little worried. Come with me to take a look."
Left with no other choice, the two of them sandwiched Su Panyue between them and walked eastward.
As they got closer, the firelight intensified and the crowd grew noisy, but they couldn't smell any burnt grain or fodder. Su Panyue became suspicious and prepared to pull the two of them back.
Suddenly, he saw a familiar face in the firelight. He was stunned for a moment, then immediately raised his sleeve to cover his face.
Unfortunately, the person had already seen her and exclaimed in surprise, "Princess Su?"
As if she had seen a ghost, Su Panyue grabbed Fei Xue Fei Yan and ran back in a panic without looking back. They were back in the camp in no time.
She sat at the table, panting, feeling as if her heart was about to jump out of her chest.
The man just now was Du Jian, Shan Mingyuan's most capable subordinate and his personal bodyguard.
As arranged by Prince Chang Le, she often hung around Shan Mingyuan, so almost all of his guards knew her. Even when Shan Mingyuan went to the Prince's mansion to propose marriage to her, the guards were all present.
She had no idea why he was here today, and to run into him right after she took off her mask was truly bad luck.
He called her Princess Su at that moment, so he must have recognized her. I can only hope that he is not sure and thinks that I have mistaken her for someone else. Please don't go back and report to Shan Mingyuan.
But her expectations were clearly impossible.
*Inside the royal palace of the State of Lu.
Shan Mingyuan sat in the imperial study, dressed in a moon-white brocade robe and holding a folding fan, truly embodying the saying "a gentleman is as beautiful as jade."
He spoke in a gentle, calm voice: "Failed?"
Du Jian knelt at the lower end: "Yes, that scoundrel saw through our plan. We were just bluffing and didn't actually get close to the supplies. But we didn't suffer any losses. All the men we sent out have been withdrawn."
Shan Mingyuan nodded, took the scissors and cut off a section of the candle wick, and said gently, "Xie Lanzhou is very vigilant. It will not be easy to burn his provisions. We need to plan this carefully. Thank you for your hard work tonight. Go back and get some rest."
Du Jian remained kneeling in place, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.
Shan Mingyuan turned and walked towards another candlestick, then asked in confusion, "Is there anything else?"
"It seems that I have seen Princess Su," Du Jian finally said.
Shan Mingyuan paused, his hand holding the scissors stilled, the candle wick was cut short, and the candle flame went out abruptly.
The man's calm and gentle face was instantly shrouded in shadow. After a moment, he spoke: "Did you see clearly? Is it really her?"
"I would not dare to deceive Your Majesty. The princess is exceptionally beautiful, and I would never mistake her for someone else," Du Jian said, bowing.
Shan Mingyuan's hand holding the scissors trembled slightly, but his voice remained calm: "She's still alive, so why doesn't she come looking for me?"
His second half of the sentence was spoken so softly that it seemed to dissipate with a gust of wind. Du Jian dared not answer and could only bury his head even lower.
The hall remained silent for a long time before the man's low murmur could be heard again: "It's good, it's good that she's alive. I will find her eventually."
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Author's note: Yueyue wrapped herself tightly in her blanket: Why does my back feel a little cold?
Zhou: You're my wife's fiancé, aren't you? You just wait!
Mountain: Everything is about first come, first served. Whose wife it will be is still uncertain.
Thank you all for your support! It motivates me to keep updating daily, and I'll be posting every day this month! Yesterday, I even briefly teetered on the gold medal list—a deep bow of gratitude to all my patrons! [kiss][kiss]
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