49 Chapter 49
◎Call me "sister" again. ◎
After the morning court session, Wen Zhong was imprisoned in the imperial prison, pending further investigation and interrogation. Emperor Chongde strictly forbade anyone to visit him.
However, Wen Zhong was, after all, a former member of the Divine Wind Cavalry, and Xie Yutang had received an imperial edict granting her permission to return to the capital to investigate the case, so Emperor Chongde also allowed her to visit him.
In the dead of winter, the prison was even colder. The few candles embedded in the walls provided some light, but were far from enough to keep warm.
No one cared for the wounds inflicted by Wen Zhong's caning. His thin clothes were torn and embedded in his flesh, covered with the ash from the straw bedding on the ground. If an infection occurred, he would die within days without anyone's intervention.
Xie Yutang frowned.
The prison guards are very good at judging people by their status. If someone of high status comes in, they might have a chance to make a comeback in the future, so they will take good care of them without anyone having to ask.
For someone like Wen Zhong, who was just an ordinary person with no one to back him up, it's easy to imagine what his situation would be like after he entered the palace.
Xie Yutang placed something in the hand of the jailer behind him: "Please ask a doctor to bring some more thick quilts and cotton clothes."
Princess Ning'an was a rising star in the court and had been personally appointed as a General of the Cavalry by the Emperor. The jailer dared not be disrespectful and bowed awkwardly, saying, "The bedding and cotton clothes are fine, but you know His Majesty's orders. Not even a moth can flutter in here, let alone a living person like a doctor."
The jailer weighed the gold ingot in his sleeve and grinned, "But don't worry, although I'm not a doctor, I still know how to treat superficial injuries."
Xie Yutang frowned, while Wen Zhong chuckled through the prison door, "It's alright. We've trained in the Divine Wind Cavalry, after all. Though we can't compare to those soldiers, this little injury is nothing... cough, never mind... cough..."
He had injured his lungs from the beating, and the prison was damp and cold; he was already coughing and wheezing after only a few words.
"This pill can protect your heart meridian; please accept it."
Xie Yutang took out a white jade bottle from his pocket and handed it over through the prison door.
The jailer immediately objected: "Your Highness, this is probably against the rules."
Wen Zhong pushed the medicine bottle back and patted the back of her hand with his cool hand: "It's an old problem. There's someone in Bei Rong who can treat me. If it's convenient for Your Highness on your trip, you might as well find him. When you return in triumph, ask him to come and take a look at me... cough, cough."
Xie Yutang calmly withdrew his hand and tucked the medicine bottle into his pocket: "So the Northern Rong actually has such a renowned doctor?"
...
The visit was limited in time, and by the time Xie Yutang came out, the sun had already risen completely.
Su Lu waited for her in front of the carriage.
He came directly from the training ground, still wearing a tight-fitting, narrow-sleeved uniform, his dark hair all tied up high. The sunlight shone on him, and Xie Yutang felt warm as he looked at him.
Xie Yutang got into the car and instructed Huaijin: "Make arrangements for all the guards who need to be taken care of, and send a secret guard to keep an eye on things to ensure the safety of the people."
Huaijin respectfully agreed and withdrew to make the arrangements.
As you step inside, a warm, fragrant breeze carries the scent of camphor.
Xie Yutang took the hot water bottle handed to him by Su Lu and saw him open a food box and take out a bowl of bird's nest porridge and a small dish of rose and pine nut candy.
She had to wait in the palace before dawn for the morning court session. Xie Yutang often couldn't get up, so she simply skipped breakfast and waited for Su Lu to pick her up after the court session so she could eat breakfast in the carriage.
Xie Yutang scooped up a spoonful of hot porridge: "You've been taking such good care of me, aren't you afraid I won't be able to get used to it when I get to the military camp?"
Su Lu had already heard about what had happened at the morning court session and laughed, "That's why you need to eat more now, because there won't be any left when we get to the military camp."
He paused for a moment and then asked, "Does the master want me to make any further arrangements regarding the Heavenly Prison?"
The prison was heavily guarded, making a prison break impossible and unnecessary. However, she believed Su Lu could manage to have a private conversation with Wen Zhong behind closed doors.
"No need."
She opened her palm, and in her hand lay a small, blood-soaked crumpled piece of paper.
The two exchanged a glance in the prison. Xie Yutang pretended to offer medicine, and Wen Zhong used the action of pushing the medicine bottle back to slip the crumpled paper into her palm.
The paper had three characters written on it: "螭吻丞".
The two looked at each other, and Su Lu pondered: "The dragon has nine sons, and Chiwen is fond of swallowing. It is often carved on the roof beams to suppress fire, symbolizing wealth and power that never ends."
Xie Yutang recalled what Wen Zhong had said when he gave her the note and pondered, "He asked me to go to Bei Rong to find this person. Judging from this, the most prominent feature of this person is that he is rich—that shouldn't be hard to find. The clue to that secret letter is very likely on him."
Cao Yong, the former Minister of Revenue, was once in charge of the provisions for the Divine Wind Cavalry. However, the trail was cut off after it was discovered that Cao Yong had died during his exile. Unexpectedly, a new lead has emerged, which makes Xie Yutang somewhat excited.
But the most pressing matter at hand is the war with the Northern Rong. The two discussed the upcoming marching arrangements, and when they got to the specific personnel, Xie Yutang said, "I would like to bring Chen Bingliang, whom you mentioned before."
Su Lu understood. After thinking for a moment, he nodded and said, "That's fine. Rather than letting him stay in the capital, it's better to keep him under our own noses."
Chen Bingliang had already defected to the Northern Rong. As the Imperial Inspector, he also held some military power. He had previously secretly released Northern Rong assassins into the capital to assassinate Xie Yutang, and his presence in the capital posed a significant threat. Xie Yutang's decision, though seemingly risky, actually kept the threat within his control.
The two discussed things all the way, but it still wasn't enough. When they returned to the mansion, Xie Yutang went straight to the study. When he opened the door, he was stunned – a map of the border between Dayan and Beirong was already hanging on the wall, with the marching trajectories and military strength analysis of the two armies marked with different colored pens.
A sand table is placed in front of the map, and the terrain of the three cities of Shuofeng, Hanya, and Xuelangguan has been restored to its original state, with everything from the smallest rivers to the forests clearly visible.
It goes without saying who was behind it.
In his previous life, Prince Xiao Muqing had fought with Helou Batu several times. He knew everything about the terrain and the direction of the rivers. After hearing about the morning court, he began to prepare. It wouldn't take long for him to recover.
With the situation at the front lines urgent, Xie Yutang was to lead his troops north in three days. During these three days, Xie Yutang spent the rest of his time in his study discussing specific battle arrangements with Su Lu, in addition to getting to know and coordinate with the army generals.
On the day before the expedition, Xie Yutang finished his official duties early and ordered the kitchen to prepare a table of food and wine. Huai Jin and Wo Yu were also called to sit down and eat. They had been busy for the past few days, preparing a whole carriage full of luggage for Xie Yutang. Xie Yutang laughed and said, "I'm going to war, not on vacation."
Woyu couldn't give up: "Miss, are you really not taking us this time? The army camp is full of rough men, who will take care of you without us..."
Before he could finish speaking, Huai Jin poured cold water on his words: "Do you still need to take care of him? Isn't Prince Su better than any of us?"
Su Lu was using serving chopsticks to remove fish bones from Xie Yutang when she heard this, she raised an eyebrow and said, "Don't worry, sisters, I will take good care of my master."
What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener. After dinner, Su Lu went to his study to pack up the maps and sand table. These were military secrets and only he was familiar with them, so the important task of packing them up naturally fell to him.
Xie Yutang watched as he carefully arranged the sand table ornaments one by one with his long, slender fingers, and suddenly said, "Call me 'sister' again and let me hear it."
The wooden tree carving shattered into three pieces between the boy's fingers.
Su Lu thought he had misheard. When he looked up, his eyes were filled with surprise, which slowly turned into bewilderment.
She was serious.
"I'm only a year older than you, so why can others be your older sister but I can't?"
Am I not worthy?
"Look at you, you've crushed the tree."
With each sentence Xie Yutang spoke, he took a step forward until he forced the boy into a corner with nowhere to retreat. With a slap, Xie Yutang braced his left hand against the side of the display shelf, completely trapping the boy in the corner.
"Calling me 'sister' won't cost you any meat."
As Xie Yutang watched the thinnest patch of skin behind her ear visibly turn pink, and the blood vessels on the side of her neck trembled slightly with her breath, she suddenly thought of the dying white deer on the snowy plains of northern China, which also trembled so fragilely and beautifully.
She grew increasingly eager, wanting to bite his throat, suppress all his struggles, and watch him cry for help, blink, and pant.
Her nerves, which had been taut for the past few days, finally relaxed, reminding her of the good night she slept after learning that the other person had also been reborn.
I never knew being close to someone could bring me so much joy.
The boy's long eyelashes trembled, his Adam's apple bobbed against the wall, and his eyes, like a deer's, refused to meet her gaze...
They are all like poisons that tempt people to commit crimes and lead them to bully.
Xie Yutang was unconsciously drawn in, feeling like a flower petal slowly unfolding in water, becoming more and more carefree.
"I saw you call Huaijin and Woyu so smoothly, why are you like this with me—"
Perhaps because she was being too carefree, Xie Yutang's hairpin caught on a screen ornament on the display shelf as she shook her head, causing the ornament to tilt forward and collide with a vase in front of it.
Everything seemed to be in slow motion.
The boy, who had been keeping as close to the wall as possible to maintain distance between them, suddenly stepped forward. His striking face was so close that you could even see his individual eyelashes.
Xie Yutang's teasing words, which he hadn't yet uttered, came to an abrupt halt.
The boy's ear was close to hers, and Xie Yutang remained motionless, feeling that if she turned her head slightly, her earlobe would brush against his lips.
She blinked once, then blinked again.
Following Su Lu's gaze, the boy's hand behind her was steadily holding a plum vase.
Plum branches were scattered all over the ground, and a few blossoms were still hanging in her hair.
She watched as Su Lu stepped back again, her fingers plucking the plum blossoms from her hair one by one, and placing the vase back in its original position.
"We're leaving tomorrow, so please get some rest."
The boy propped himself up, his sleeve revealing half of his porcelain-white wrist:
"Also, in my previous life I lived a little longer than you, so I wasn't much younger."
...
Watching the boy's leisurely departing figure, Xie Yutang had for the first time the feeling that he had tried to tease the bird but ended up being pecked by it instead.
What does it mean to live longer than her?
Is it because they think she died young?
*
The next day.
On the three-zhang-high platform for reviewing troops, Xie Yutang gripped the long sword at her waist. The black iron armor weighed heavily on her shoulders, but her back remained taut and straight. When she was five years old, she had a sudden urge to go to the military camp with her father and learn to stand at attention like the soldiers. She was just having fun with a mischievous grin. Her father lashed her with his whip, and from then on, her back never bent again.
The nine-sided kui-patterned war drums roared to life.
"My lord, Wu Ji is ready."
The battalion commander brought over a wooden box, its seal bearing a tiger's head stamp on a crimson clay seal.
She didn't take it and walked straight to the front of the stage.
With a dull thud as the iron boots pounded on the blue bricks, gasps gradually rose from below the stage—those veterans who had followed General Xie knew best that General Xie never used a roster when he mustered his troops.
"Third Battalion of the Left Guard".
A roar cleaved through the sandstorm, and a military flag was suddenly raised in one of the ranks.
"Chen Xiaolong".
"arrive!"
"Zhao Erhu"
"arrive!"
"Sun Dazhuang"
"arrive!"
...
On the dusty training ground, roll calls and shouts echoed, military flags fluttered, and those who harbored resentment towards this unprecedented female general experienced their first profound shock.
She remembered the names of all the tens of thousands of soldiers in the army.
Not only that, but even the specific battalion and branch of service were not wrong.
After passing the three camps, a golden bell suddenly rang from the side of the platform.
The imperial procession, adorned with gilded silver, rolled across the yellow sand as Xie Yutang helped Emperor Chongde down from the dragon carriage.
"I have confiscated all the firecrackers in the outskirts of the capital." Emperor Chongde broke the seal on the wine jar. With Xie Yutang gone, the New Year and Spring Festival would definitely be spent on horseback. "When you return, let the news of victory in the northern deserts be your firecrackers, and your father will accompany you to set them off to your heart's content."
Xie Yutang bowed deeply: "I will certainly not fail in my mission."
After drinking the wine, Emperor Chongde said some encouraging words to the army and ordered someone to present the tiger tally, which he handed to Xie Yutang in front of everyone.
A distant bugle call sounded mournfully. The general in silver armor tossed his Dragon Sparrow Blade to the flag bearer. The scabbard struck the flagpole, startling a flock of crows into flight.
"Set off—"
As the yellow smoke billowed from the warhorses and iron cavalry engulfed the ceremonial procession, Wen Zhong lay in a haystack in the imperial prison, his hands covering his head.
The wounds from the caning on his back were painfully pricked by the straw stalks, but he was oblivious to it, staring blankly at the ceiling with a blade of grass in his mouth.
When he was with the Divine Wind Cavalry, he could only see General Xie a few times when he was reporting military intelligence near the end of the year. He remembered one year, around this time, he went to the general's mansion to report, received his annual reward of money and silk, and as he walked out of the covered walkway, he caught a glimpse of General Xie standing in the courtyard, holding the reins in one hand and helping a little girl onto the horse's back with the other. The little girl looked about three or four years old, with two pigtails, and her round face was not even as wide as the horse's neck.
But now... he's already this tall.
He spent thirteen years lying low in the Northern Rong, while also keeping a close eye on the Great Yan. He heard that Princess Ning'an had solved the arms case and that Cui Hu and others had been imprisoned and executed. He also heard that she had repeatedly used ingenious moves in the sparring match initiated by the Northern Rong, which enhanced the prestige of the Great Yan.
He bravely traveled a long way to this place, not only because of the unique certificate he held in his hand, but also because of Xie Yutang.
He thought she wouldn't stand idly by.
But she did more than he could ever have imagined.
General, your daughter is all grown up and ready to go to the battlefield.
Unfortunately, I am imprisoned and cannot go with them.
If you are watching over us from heaven, please protect her and help her return safely.
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