Su Wan glared at Lu Lin in front of her: "Where's the reply?"
Wei Jingzhuo was extremely busy, and she didn't want him to be distracted by Su Yuze's matter, so she took it upon herself to secretly write a letter and ask Lu Lin to deliver it to the Fifth Prince's military camp. However, Lu Lin returned empty-handed.
Lu Lin blushed and looked down at his shoes.
Su Wan said, "What kind of messenger runs back without waiting for a reply? Luckily you didn't join the army, otherwise my husband would have executed you according to military law."
Lu Lin whispered, "The mistress used such vile language in her letter. The Fifth Prince chopped my head off before the lord even had to lift a finger. I got so scared..."
Su Wan rolled her eyes and said, "Okay, okay, I got it."
She admitted that her words in the letter were somewhat abrupt, after all, there was no conclusive evidence that the Fifth Prince had kidnapped Su Yuze. Mainly, her brother's kidnapping had thrown her into a state of turmoil, and she seemed to have lost control of her emotions in her writing.
Besides, even without Su Yuze's involvement, it wouldn't be a big deal if the Fifth Prince Wei Shao attacked Xiping Pass and cursed him a couple of times.
“Anyway, the letter has been sent to Wei Shao,” she said calmly. “If he replies, he will naturally send someone to deliver it.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than a cannon boomed from outside the city.
Su Wan and Lu Lin didn't understand what this meant, and stood up at the same time.
Lin Qingfeng entered from outside and said to Su Wan, "Mistress, the enemy vanguard of 10,000 men, led by two generals, is challenging us at the pass."
Su Wan's heart pounded, and she felt a little short of breath.
Almost a month has passed since the Suiyang County pharmacy was dealt with, and the Battle of Xiping Pass has finally begun. This Spring Festival is destined to be spent amidst the flames of war.
She didn't want to wait here idly, so she asked Lin Qingfeng, "Where is A-Jin?"
"Our lord and General Meng and others are holding the line on the city wall."
“Take me there,” Su Wan said, picking up a thick cloak and heading outside. “I want to watch the battle too.”
Lin Qingfeng quickly stopped him: "Mistress, the Lord has instructed his subordinates that it is very dangerous on the city wall. If the enemy attacks the city, you are unarmored and could be in mortal danger if you are hit by an arrow."
"Then get me a set of armor," Su Wan said. "My husband is fighting on the city wall. What kind of image would it be if I hid here?"
Having experienced the journey to the Western Rong, she was someone who had seen a lot.
Lin Qingfeng dared not disobey Su Wan's wishes, so he had his guards search the city's armory for a long time. Fearing that light armor would not be able to stop the arrows, he found a small set of fish-scale heavy armor and helped Su Wan put it on, along with an iron helmet.
Su Wan looked in the mirror and found that she actually looked quite presentable. Clothes make the man, and wearing armor immediately gave her an imposing presence, making her look much more substantial than before.
The only downside was that the armor was too heavy, probably weighing fifty pounds, which made her shoulders ache. The iron helmet was even worse; it made her neck sore, and she felt like it could break if she tilted her head back.
She stepped out of the house and took a few steps with difficulty. Seeing that she was struggling, Lin Qingfeng advised, "Madam, you have never worn armor before and you are not used to it... How about this, take off your iron helmet and put on a leather helmet instead."
Su Wan knew this wasn't the time to be reckless, so she changed into a leather helmet, which made her feel lighter, and went up to the city wall.
A tense atmosphere prevailed on the city wall, as thousands of soldiers stood in a line, armed with powerful bows and crossbows, ready for battle. The tall banners stood straight, fluttering in the wind.
Wei Jingzhuo, clad in silver-white armor, and Meng Kuan, in black iron armor, stood beneath the banner. Behind them stood several military officers, equally clad in armor.
Further away from the crowd stood twenty large drums, with drummers holding drumsticks standing in front of them, seemingly for cheering.
Su Wan wanted to run but couldn't, so she had no choice but to grit her teeth and walk over.
Upon hearing the voice, Wei Jingzhuo turned around and saw Su Wan. He couldn't help but laugh: "Ah Wan, I didn't expect you to be able to wear heavy armor."
Su Wan nodded, panting heavily. She thought to herself that this armor almost crushed her; fighting was truly a tough job. No wonder women were never involved in warfare throughout history; just wearing armor could eliminate ninety percent of women.
Meng Kuan said, "Your Highness, battle is about to begin. What do you think...?"
Su Wan raised her hand to interrupt, saying, "I understand, but my husband and General Meng are leading the soldiers to fight here, and I also want to fight alongside my husband."
Wei Jingzhuo said, "It's alright, Awan, come and stand with me. But when I tell you to leave the city, you must obey."
Su Wan smiled and said, "You are my husband, of course I will listen to you."
She came to Wei Jingzhuo's side and looked at the cold city bricks.
The midday sun offered no warmth, its cold rays falling harshly on the mottled, snow-covered earth. At the far end of the vast blue dome stretched the enemy's main camp. Closer still was a smaller camp, estimated to hold around ten thousand men; this must be the enemy vanguard camp Lin Qingfeng had mentioned.
Below the pass, five thousand enemy soldiers stood in formation. A burly general rode his horse around them, brandishing his long sword and shouting insults.
"Traitors Wei Jingzhuo and Meng Kuan, and Pan Long, the deputy general of the vanguard in the campaign against the rebels, are here. Quickly descend the pass and face your deaths."
He continued cursing below, while a general on the pass could no longer contain himself and said to Wei Jingzhuo and the other man, "Your Highness, General, the enemy general is so arrogant, I, Yu She, am willing to go down the pass and fight."
Wei Jingzhuo said, "I know Pan Long. He is also a brave general under the Fifth Prince. He has fought in the northern frontier and should not be underestimated."
Meng Kuan disliked Wei Jingzhuo's elevation of their opponent, which seemed to make his subordinates appear incompetent, so he said to Yu She, "Alright, I order you to go down to the pass and meet the enemy."
Upon receiving the order, Yu She turned and descended from the city wall.
With a real fight about to break out, Su Wan's palms were sweating with nervousness. Just as she was feeling uneasy, someone patted her on the shoulder. Turning around, she saw it was Meng Ruliu.
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