When Ji Xinhe woke up, it was already the middle of the night. She silently got out of bed and saw Xiaoyu, who had fallen asleep while keeping watch tonight.
She moved quietly, not wanting to disturb Xiaoyu. Since she herself had slept from daytime until now, Xiaoyu and Shulan must have stayed up late before they could go to sleep. They would have to get up early the next day; why should she disturb them?
On the contrary, Xinhe, who had slept for half the day, felt quite refreshed and found the room stuffy. So she decided to go outside for some fresh air. She gently put on a cloak and headed out.
As soon as the door was pushed open, a cold breeze rushed in. The chill was invigorating. The cold wind, tinged with a hint of frostiness, was not as overwhelmingly freezing as she had imagined. Xinhe took a deep breath and looked up to see a familiar figure standing under the eaves.
Xinhe asked with surprise, "Ah Nan?"
Ah Nan turned around. Seeing Xinhe, he didn’t seem surprised. He just softly said, "The princess has awakened."
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"You asked me to investigate the drunkard in the camp. I came to report back," Ah Nan calmly replied.
He was always like this, hiding his emotions perfectly.
Ji Xinhe glanced outside to see the falling heavy snow, and her eyebrows knit together a bit. "If you’ve returned, go and rest. Why are you waiting outside for me? Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold in the snow? How long have you been waiting?"
In a low voice, Ah Nan replied, "I just got back."
Xinhe glanced at the remnants of snow on his shoulder and shook her head helplessly. She knew he must have been waiting for a long time.
"What a silly child," she remarked. "For all your cleverness, why can’t you be more adaptable at times? What if I didn’t wake up in the middle of the night? Would you have waited outside all night?"
Bowing his head, Ah Nan replied, "Most likely, you would have woken up."
"How do you know?" Xinhe glared at him.
Because over the years, this has been your habit.
However, Ah Nan didn’t utter his thoughts. If he revealed his knowledge of Ji Xinhe’s habits, which even she herself hadn’t realized, wouldn’t it be suspicious?
Ah Nan bowed his head and remained silent.
Finally, Xinhe lightly glared at him. "All right, what have you found out about that drunkard?"
Ah Nan relaxed slightly, his expression returning to normal. He said formally, "The drunkard’s name is Xiao Mian. He is a low-ranking soldier from the Ming’an Camp. He is fond of drinking, but he knows his limits as the military discipline is strict. He would not dare to cause trouble and would sneak in a drink in his spare time. His drinking in broad daylight this time seemed to be instigated by someone else. As for how he came to know about a young woman in the arsenal, I secretly questioned him and found out that he heard the information from someone else."
Xinhe’s face hardened and she sneered, "As I expected. Have you found out who is behind this?"
"I followed up on the clues and discovered that the person behind all this is the Lieutenant General of Ming’an Camp, Gaozhou."
Xinhe’s eyes narrowed as she repeated the name, "Gaozhou."
She recalled this name in her mind instantly. She had met all the Lieutenant Generals and above in the camp the previous day. Everyone had spoken a few words, and Ji Xinhe had not forgotten anyone. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
She remembered that this man had not drawn much attention. Even when others did not accept her, General Zheng took the lead in introducing himself to ease the tension, and this man quickly followed suit. He didn’t seem to have any presence and did not show any dissatisfaction with her.
It turns out he was secretly scheming.
So! She wasn’t surprised that there would be such people.
"He probably refuses to accept you as the commander. He probably incited a soldier to insult you. His methods are very low. It’s probably because he didn’t take you seriously," Ah Nan stated.
Of course he wouldn’t take her seriously. After all, she is just a woman. How could he treat her with more regard? Using a drunkard to insult her was simply perfect. The one thing he miscalculated was that Ji Xinhe was not an ordinary woman.
Xinhe said indifferently, "If he doesn’t accept me, I would respect him if he would say it outright. He doesn’t dare to confront me and yet amiably agrees with everything I say, but secretly plays tricks. Such a person is absolutely despicable."
Ji Xinhe hadn’t expected that such an informal meeting could serve as a litmus test, allowing her to understand the people in the camp.
"So, does the princess have a good impression of Pei Yong?"
Xinhe curled her lips, "Nearly so. At least his pure-heartedness is quite rare. He was the only one out of all these men who dared to publicly question me. I actually appreciate that. After all, not everyone is as courageous. However, in the future, he still needs more training. As for this Gaozhou..."
As Xinhe spoke, her eyes grew narrow: "This man has to go."
If it were not for this unusually tense time, Ji Xinhe might have given Gaozhou a chance to train properly, but now, she clearly didn’t have the mood or the time.
The court was keeping a close eye on them, and a battle in Yu State seemed inevitable. With Marquis Mu not present in Yu State, she had to hold the fort. The hundred thousand elite soldiers must remain on high alert, and Gaozhou, like a troublemaker, posed a great threat if left unchecked.
"So does the princess want to get rid of him quietly or..."
Xinhe said coldly, "There’s no need to do it secretly. Gaozhou is the instigator. We don’t need to stoop that low. Bring up the matter of the drunkard directly and deal with Gaozhou severely. Let this serve as a warning to others!"
"Yes!"
——
Early the next morning, Ji Xinhe once again personally visited the military camp.
The sounds of training echoed throughout the camp, and it was quite pleasing. Knowing that Ji Xinhe was coming, General Zheng didn’t dare to relax and quickly prepared to welcome her.
However, before he could descend from the training platform, he heard a burst of rapid hooves. Looking up, he saw that Ji Xinhe had arrived on horseback today. She was dressed in a stylish black military uniform, with her hair tied up in a high ponytail. The sight of her galloping was quite heroic.
If Ji Xinhe had left the impression of being a stunningly beautiful woman with fierce strategies the day before, today, they couldn’t find a trace of femininity in her – her every move was more masculine than a man’s.
All the soldiers, who were training, paused as they saw this magnificent figure approach on horseback.
Xinhe reined in her horse, and it stopped. She deftly dismounted and jumped onto the training platform.
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