Chapter 86 Chapter 86 Jealousy
Lu Chen was already extremely exhausted, and he slept for who knew how long. Suddenly, he heard the footsteps of patrolling infantrymen passing by. Hazily opening his eyes, he saw a cowhide tent roof with an embossed cloud pattern.
After a moment of hesitation, the memories of last night came flooding back like a rising tide. That soft and fair profile, the bright red lips, the hair gently drooping at the temples... the intimate scenes pieced together in my mind bit by bit.
...妱妱!
Lu Chen's heart suddenly tightened and his mind suddenly became clear.
He immediately got off the bed, without even having time to find a clean piece of clothing. He simply picked up the robe beside the couch and tied it on hastily, then stumbled out to look for something.
His heart was pounding, and Lu Chen's knees went weak, almost falling to the ground.
He had had too many nightmares in the past. Every time he woke up, he would be glad that it was just a dream, but the next moment he would suddenly realize that it was not a dream, and she was really gone.
The feeling is hard to describe, and I dare not think about it anymore.
The guard on duty outside the tent turned around when he heard the voice and saw him lift the curtain and come out. He immediately saluted with his halberd: "General."
Lu Chen grabbed his arm and asked in a tense voice, "Was the military doctor who came last night a woman? Where is she?"
The guard was stunned for a moment, then quickly replied, "At this hour, Lady Nine should be in the wounded camp."
After receiving a positive answer and hearing the word "Jiu Niang", Lu Chen's heart suddenly relaxed, and he slowly loosened his knuckles that were holding the guard.
The guard carefully observed his expression and asked tentatively, "General, are you feeling unwell? Would you like me to send for a military doctor?"
After a pause, Lu Chen refused in a hoarse voice, saying that he had nothing to do, and headed towards the wounded camp.
He walked quickly through rows of tents and just as he turned into the gate of the wounded camp, he suddenly heard a faint burst of light laughter.
Looking up, he saw Zhe Rou steaming herbs in the yard. She was wearing a sky-blue skirt with her sleeves tied back with loops, revealing a pair of slender arms. Xie Yunzhou was half-kneeling beside her, as if helping her sort the herbs.
Lu Chen's footsteps gradually slowed down and he stopped in the shadow cast by the tent.
While collecting the herbs, she didn't know what she was thinking about. It seemed as if she suddenly felt playful. She stretched out a slender white finger, quietly placed it on Xie Yunzhou's back, and crawled forward like a little insect.
Xie Yunzhou was immediately frightened and jumped up from the ground, slapping his back and looking back. She was immediately amused and laughed out loud.
The cold autumn wind blew from the north, passing through the vast fields and the overlapping tents, ruffling the loose hair on her temples, blowing the crabapple-colored silk ribbon that tied her hair, and gently fluttering it around her fair neck.
She smiled and tilted her face slightly upwards, her eyes full of water. The bright sunlight slanted down on her, casting a light golden halo.
The fair cheeks were flushed by the heat, and the whole person exuded a relaxed and lively energy.
The wound in front of him suddenly felt a sharp pain, and Lu Chen's Adam's apple rolled, as if something was stuck in his throat.
He couldn't remember when it started, but she always became tense in front of him, with an indescribable sense of alienation and weariness. He hadn't seen her so calm and at ease in years, not even in his dreams.
Unable to explain why for a moment, he just stood there, looking at her silently, his thin lips pursed until they turned pale, but he never took another step forward.
Zhe Rou didn't notice Lu Chen was here, and quickly gathered the herbs. Xie Yunzhou also had things to do, so the two chatted for a while before returning to their tents.
In the following days, Lu Chen was busy coordinating the siege and did not take any excessive actions.
Whenever he had some free time, he would come to see her, either to have a meal with her or just sit there. She would ignore him on purpose, but he would not get angry, as if he was satisfied just by having her around like this.
Zhe Rou thought that he was probably busy with the war and had no time to care about anything else.
Seeing everything was so peaceful, she breathed a sigh of relief.
The war was about to begin. She had grown up at the frontier and had seen the barbarians' evil deeds of burning, killing and looting. She wanted to stay and help treat the wounded and prevent the epidemic, which was also her contribution.
Three days later, at dawn on October 28th, before dawn, Xie Yunzhou personally led his elite troops to raid Lingzhou City.
The wilderness trembled, war drums beat, and cries of killing rose up everywhere.
Although the Hu people were better at field combat and horse riding and shooting, but not good at defending cities, Lingzhou was the gateway to the Dangxiang people. There were tens of thousands of elite soldiers stationed in the city. The walls were high and thick, the trenches were deep and wide, and the top of the city was covered with arrow towers and piled with rocks like mountains. It was not easy to break through.
Soldiers were continuously sent to the wounded camp, and Zhe Rou was busy treating the wounded all day long with the military doctors.
During the day, Xie Yunzhou led the troops outside, and Lu Chen was in charge of the central army. He had to deploy siege strategies, send generals to block reinforcements, comfort the wounded, and guard against the Dangxiang cavalry attacking the grain route. He was busy with countless military affairs every day, and he could only come over to see her from afar during meal times, and only go back after seeing that she was fine.
The fighting situation on the front line was becoming increasingly fierce, the number of wounded soldiers was increasing day by day, and the army was becoming increasingly short of manpower. Zhe Rou sought out the families of the soldiers of the Longshunxiang Army and taught them how to bandage and stop bleeding, boil fine cloth, and make decoctions, and helped the military doctors treat the wounded in the camp.
With the help of these women, Zhe Rou was able to free up his hands and start preparing the medicine.
The war was tense at the moment, and Ma Fei San and Jin He Yao were consumed like water. In addition, the battle line was far away, and the good medicines supplied by the court and the medicine bureau [1] were often insufficient. She worked almost day and night, getting up before dawn and working until midnight.
On the night of the seventh day, Zhe Rou returned to her tent to rest. Not long after she fell asleep, she was suddenly awakened by bursts of tragic cries.
The shouts seemed to come from not far away, each one shrill and shrill, like the howling of wolves and the crying of ghosts, accompanied by flames and the chaotic rise and fall of footsteps and scolding.
Zhe Rou sat up suddenly, her heart pounding and cold sweat breaking out on her back.
Not knowing what had happened in the army, she hurriedly threw off the quilt and got out of bed. Just as she put on her coat, she heard hurried footsteps outside the door, and two familiar voices hit her eardrums at the same time, with obvious anxiety.
"妱妱!"
"Nine Lady!"
Zhe Rou's fingertips trembled slightly. After trying hard to calm herself down, she answered the door, "What happened outside?"
When Lu Chen heard her reply, his tense shoulders relaxed a bit. He whispered soothingly, "It's Ying Xiao. Don't be afraid. Stay inside the tent and don't wander around."
The two armies had been fighting fiercely for many days, with life and death at stake. It was inevitable that some soldiers would have nightmares at night, which would spread from one to ten and cause chaos in the camp. However, as long as the captains of each camp suppressed and deterred the situation in time, preventing those who were interested from taking the opportunity to vent their anger in private fights, the chaos would soon be quelled.
Zhe Rou relaxed slightly and said softly, "I'm fine, you guys can get back to your business."
Xie Yunzhou looked up and glanced at Lu Chen, frowning as he said, "Jiu Niang, you need to leave someone here to look after you."
She has a different identity and is a woman. If there are spies in the camp who take advantage of the chaos to commit crimes, it would be like strangling the vital points of both of them at the same time.
There was silence in the tent for a moment.
In the thick night outside the big tent, the two men looked at each other and competed secretly.
The tent was silent for a moment, and then her voice came softly: "...Mingqi, please stay."
Hearing the voice, Xie Yunzhou straightened his back instantly, raised his lips and smiled at Lu Chen, as if he was being promoted from a young age.
Lu Chen's eyes suddenly darkened, and he glanced at him coldly. He left two personal guards outside Zhe Rou's tent, and turned to go to various tents to appease the soldiers and stabilize the morale of the troops.
The nighttime roars in the camp soon died down, but the battle outside Lingzhou City became increasingly intense.
The Dangxiang people were tough and resilient by nature. They counterattacked fiercely and even intended to dig up the banks of the Yellow River to divert canal water to flood the army and completely cut off the Zhou's food supply.
Fortunately, Lu Chen was prepared, and Nan Heng, the deputy general, led the remaining reinforcements from Hezhou to ambush on the side. The battle was a clean and efficient one, and 3,000 elite light cavalry of the Dangxiang were wiped out in one fell swoop.
Perhaps because they were in a desperate situation, the Dangxiang people were blood-thirsty and made a desperate fight with the Great Zhou. The battle gradually became stalemate. At the critical moment, the news of the victory of the Jingyuan army breaking through the Moqi Pass came. The morale of the army was immediately boosted, the war drums beat, and the sound of fighting shook the sky and the earth.
Two days later, Zhe Rou was still bandaging the wounded soldiers in the camp when she suddenly heard thunderous cheers of excitement coming from all directions.
"The city is broken! The city is broken!"
"We won!"
There was a moment of silence in the tent, and then thunderous cheers broke out. The wounded soldiers who were still able to move struggled to get up, ignoring the pain in their bodies, and supported each other as they rushed out of the tent.
Zhe Rou was also infected by this atmosphere, her heart was so excited that she almost cried with joy.
Once the Mochi Pass was breached, the gates of the Dangxiang capital, Xingzhou, were wide open. The remaining soldiers of Lingzhou no longer had the heart to engage in street fighting, so they abandoned the city overnight and returned to defend the city.
Xie Yunzhou and Lu Chen each set about preparing defenses and pacifying the people. The city soon settled down, and within seven days, the market reopened.
At night, the soldiers celebrated their victory in the camp.
Bonfires were everywhere in the originally solemn military camp, making it as bright as day. The soldiers, still wearing their light armor, sat around the fire in groups of three or five, singing and chatting.
The mutton on the iron rack was roasted until golden brown, and the hot fat dripped onto the charcoal fire, making bursts of pleasant "sizzling" sounds, and a rich aroma spread throughout the camp.
Lu Chen and Xie Yunzhou stood beside the bonfire, personally cut off the roasted mutton, opened the wine jars, and rewarded them one by one to their brave and meritorious subordinates.
Zhe Rou was sitting with the families of the Xiangjun troops, chatting about family matters with a woman she knew well, when she suddenly heard Nan Heng's low voice behind her: "My wife."
Zhe Rou was slightly stunned and looked back.
Nan Heng handed the porcelain plate forward, looked up at her face, and said carefully, "My husband ordered it to be sent to you."
On the porcelain plate was roasted golden lamb, half of which was lamb leg and half was lamb shoulder, both of which had been carefully cut into small pieces, with the right amount of fat and lean meat, and cooked to the perfect temperature, just according to her usual taste.
Feeling someone's gaze falling on her, Zhe Rou subconsciously raised her eyes, looking across the noisy crowd, and met Lu Chen's gaze.
The bonfire leaped, the flames sputtered, and the twisted and swaying light and shadow made his face flicker. His deep eyebrows and eyes rippled like water in the firelight, sometimes clear and sometimes blurred, making it difficult to discern the emotions in them.
Zhe Rou pursed her lips, lowered her head and looked away.
Xie Yunzhou was watching from the side, and just as he was about to go over, a soldier beside him suddenly shouted, "Prince! This kid wants to compete with you in archery!"
Turning around, I saw a dark-faced young man being pushed out by his comrades. Perhaps he was still a little embarrassed, his dark face flushed red, but his eyes were surprisingly bright, with excitement that was eager to try.
Xie Yunzhou couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
This soldier remembered that he had shot an arrow through the face of the Liaozi commander during the siege, and his archery skills were truly amazing.
"Okay." Seeing Zhe Rou also looking over here, Xie Yunzhou couldn't help but smile, "Come, I'll fight with you!"
When the young man heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up. He stepped forward respectfully and saluted. After taking the bow and arrow from his comrade, his whole demeanor changed.
His eyes sank, he drew his longbow, aimed at a bucket at the door, and shot an arrow with a "whoosh". The arrow was full of power, broke through the air, and sank deeply into the bucket.
The soldiers at the table looked out for a moment, but couldn't see anything impressive. They all burst into laughter: "Wow, such a big bucket! I can handle it too! Right?"
The black-faced young man just smiled and said nothing more.
After he was signaled to pull out the arrow, and watched the hot water gushing out of the bucket, the black-faced young man suddenly shot another arrow. The arrow went right into the previous gap, blocking the water flow tightly without leaking a drop.
Everyone was shocked and cheered in unison.
Xie Yunzhou couldn't help but clap his hands and cheer, "Great archery!"
"I am humbled by your humble attitude. Thank you for your praise, Your Highness." The dark-faced young man had bright eyes, but he only smiled shyly and respectfully handed the longbow back with both hands.
Xie Yunzhou took it with a smile, weighed it in his hand, looked up and glanced around, his eyes fell on the ceremonial gate a hundred steps away.
Several bamboo cage gauze lanterns were hung high on both sides of the ceremonial gate. The light from below was bright, but the tops of the lanterns were completely hidden in the thick night and could not be seen clearly.
Shooting out the lantern is not a difficult task, but it would be more interesting if you could shoot off the rope hidden in the dark.
Having made up his mind, Xie Yunzhou's eyes fixed, he drew his bow and arrow, and the arrow flashed with a cold light, and suddenly broke through the air!
With a whoosh, the thin rope broke, the lantern swayed slightly, and then fell down.
However, before everyone could react, he shot another arrow from his finger. This arrow was as fast as the wind and thunder, carrying a fierce gust of wind. It just brushed past the base of the lantern, and with a "snap" sound it was nailed into the wooden pillar of the ceremonial gate, actually holding up the falling lantern steadily!
The lamplight was still humming along with the arrow tail, and the candlelight in the lamp was flickering, making the surroundings flicker.
There was a moment of silence in the camp, and then thunderous cheers broke out.
Seeing this, the dark-faced young man became excited. He hurriedly brought a wine bowl from the side and raised it above his head, blushing and saying, "The prince is so heroic! I bow down to him!"
Xie Yunzhou smiled, took it with one hand, raised his head and drank it all, then raised the empty wine bowl high and showed it to the four people around.
The soldiers immediately shouted, "The prince is so brave!"
"cheers!"
"Done, done!"
The atmosphere around them became increasingly lively, and Zhe Rou also started to laugh, lowering her head and taking a sip.
After receiving another round of toasts from the generals and sending them away, Xie Yunzhou put down his longbow, a smile on his lips, and walked straight to her side, standing still. He poured her some wine and handed it to her, "Nineth Lady."
Zhe Rou reached out to take it, and their fingertips touched lightly.
He withdrew his hand as if nothing had happened, then leaned closer to her ear, breathing warmly, "Did it look good just now?"
Zhang Jun's face was clearly filled with smugness, and he couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth, but he insisted on asking in such a reserved manner.
Knowing that he was showing off, Zhe Rou couldn't help but smile and whispered, "It's natural for a prince to perform in public. It's good to see."
Across the gently dancing flames, a bright smile shone on her face, like a warm lake in spring, swaying and shimmering in the firelight.
Lu Chen withdrew his gaze expressionlessly, picked up the wine bowl on the table, and drank it all in one gulp.
As the wine entered his stomach, a burning pain burned through his throat. Lu Chen casually picked up the wine jar and was about to pour another bowl when he suddenly caught a glimpse of the movement at the table.
A lieutenant nudged his comrade, who was busy eating and drinking, and said with a low laugh, "Hey, Old Wu, do you dare to make a big bet with me?"
Upon hearing this, General Wu Lang put down his wine bowl and sloppily wiped the wine stains from his beard. "What are you betting on?"
The lieutenant's face flushed red, clearly drunk. He glanced in Xie Yunzhou's direction and then said happily, "Let's bet on when we can drink the young prince's wedding wine..."
Before he finished speaking, there was a sudden crisp "crack" sound from above, and the wine bowl in Lu Chen's hand suddenly broke into several pieces.
The finest small-groove pearl red liquid meandered down through the fingers, and in an instant it flowed all over the hands, reflecting the dim and flickering firelight, making it difficult to tell whether it was wine or blood.
The two people at the table were startled by the sudden noise. Their hands holding the wine bowls froze in mid-air. They looked at each other, and no one dared to speak first.
"Nothing." Lu Chen smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes at all. There was nothing in his black eyes except the dancing fire.
"My hand slipped, everyone, drink slowly."
After saying this, he stood up and left.
After taking a few steps, the atmosphere at the banquet became lively again. The hearty laughter and scolding of the soldiers who clinked glasses and toasted each other were left behind and gradually turned into a vague noise.
This celebration banquet would probably last until midnight, but Zhe Rou was already a little drunk and yawned slightly with her hands covering her lips.
Seeing this, Xie Yunzhou immediately withdrew from the table and planned to send her back to her residence first.
The moonlight was bright as the two of them walked slowly back along the path. The silk ribbons that bound her hair were blown by the night wind, gently tickling his neck, making him feel itchy and cool.
Seeing the door in sight, Xie Yunzhou reluctantly stopped and looked at her eagerly, "Jiu Niang, you should rest early."
Zhe Rou pursed her lips and smiled, then said "OK". She watched Xie Yunzhou walk away, looking back every few steps, then turned around and pushed the door open to enter the house.
There were no lamps in the room, only two charcoal braziers that were burning to the point of dying, casting a small, dim halo of light on the ground.
There was darkness in front of me, and a faint smell of alcohol was floating in the air.
She slowly walked to the table, fumbled to take out the tinder from the drawer, and was about to reach out to light the lamp when she was suddenly pulled from behind and fell into a strong embrace.
Zhe Rou's fingertips trembled, and the fire starter fell to the ground with a "pop".
"land……"
She only had time to let out a short cry of surprise before her chin was suddenly lifted up and hot lips and tongue came down on her head, carrying with them a clear and spicy smell of alcohol. They rushed in so roughly and brutally that they blocked out the rest of her words.
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