The mountain crows were silent.
Feng Yun came out, facing directly the moonlight that bathed the practice field.
Pei Jue had been practicing for who knows how long, his sweat-soaked bare upper body with muscles that swelled with immense and resilient strength; in the miasmic moonlight, there emanated an indescribable wildness from him.
He was precise, swift, his body leaping like a mighty eagle hunting prey, a long spear dancing fiercely in his hands as sparks flew from the giant stones of the training ground...
This moonlight!
Truly heart-racing and face-flushing.
"Hiss..." A soft inhalation sounded from behind.
Feng Yun turned around and saw Xiaoman and Daman shrinking at the tent's edge, eyes wide open, staring at her...
No, staring past her at Pei Jue on the practice field.
Trouble! Feng Yun felt a shock of alarm in her heart.
Sure enough, she saw him abruptly stop his movements, as if sensing something, his head snapping around to look in their direction...
Sweat droplets slid down his brows.
His eyes, pitch black, fierce and wild with an indescribable chill.
Feng Yun felt a bit relieved that there was no light on her side.
She could see Pei Jue clearly.
But Pei Jue couldn't see them.
After a moment's pause, there was movement of light on the edge of the training field, probably Puyang Jiu arriving. Pei Jue stuck his long spear onto the rack, put on his cloak and returned to the camp, leaving only a cold distant silhouette...
Feng Yun breathed a sigh of relief, glared at Daman and Xiaoman, covered her racing heart, and took a long time to calm down before going back to continue dreaming.
_
Inside the Central Military Tent, Puyang Jiu was looking at Pei Jue's reddened eyes under the lamplight, almost making him turn tail and run.
"Wangzhi, did you eat someone?"
Pei Jue leaned against the sturdy desk, one leg raised, large sweat beads falling from his resolute jaw, his breathing long and unsettled...
A rough, hoarse panting.
His eyes held a murderous viciousness.
Puyang Jiu squatted down to take his pulse.
"Yang energy in its extreme, you must've taken some warming tonic! What's this about? Didn't I warn you repeatedly not to take tonics? You're already so full, what need is there for supplements?"
Pei Jue pursed his lips and looked at him for a moment, "I was deceived by villains unwittingly."
"Is that so?" Puyang Jiu's face showed disbelief, "Who would dare such insolence? Name them, and I would gladly light three sticks of incense to worship them as my master!"
Seeing Pei Jue's expression chill, the restlessness in his eyes almost uncontainable.
Noticing this, Puyang Jiu seemed to think of something, and a smile crept into his eyes.
"Is it that Feng Family girl? No wonder..."
He had been a flirtatious Medical Officer in the Central Capital, well-experienced in the ways of love as if he were teaching hand-in-hand.
"To not enjoy the blessings of beauty is to invite a curse. You're not a bit less attractive than those who powder and rouge themselves..."
"Puyang Jiu!"
"My apologies, my apologies," Puyang Jiu shook his head with a quiet chuckle, "With such beautiful moonlight, one could've enjoyed something delightful, yet you chose to ingest medicine... Enough, enough, first take a bath, then proceed with acupuncture. Once resolved, you'd be able to get a good night's sleep."
Listening to his rambling, Pei Jue frowned impatiently.
"Get out now!"
"Eh? Burning bridges after crossing the river?" Puyang Jiu didn't catch on for a moment.
"Want to stay and bathe together?" Pei Jue retorted.
"No need, no need, please take your time, take your time."
Puyang Jiu's face changed as if he had seen a ghost.
Then he bowed and left swiftly. Having previously bathed together in the river with Pei Jue—a singular experience that had deeply shocked and unsettled him—the proud Puyang Medical Officer felt dwarfed by General Pei and since then, dared not disrobe in his presence.
—
As soon as the day brightened, Ao Qi was waiting outside the tent.
Not far away, sixteen concubines sat on a flat cart, crying, unaware of where they were being taken...
Ao Qi noticed her good complexion and stepped forward with a bow, "Congratulations, miss."
Feng Yun returned the gesture with a curtsey, "Has the general agreed for me to become a strategist?"
Ao Qi hadn't expected her to still be concerned about this matter. He held his waist saber apathetically, his expression sour, his voice listless as if he hadn't woken up yet.
"Women are not kept in the Northern Yong Army Camp. To prevent disturbances amongst the troops, the Great General has ordered that the miss be sent to Andu County Office. As for them..."
He trailed off, scoffed lightly, and said with a dismissive snort, "Let them seek their own fortune."
Feng Yun was not surprised.
Pei Jue ran a tight ship, but his eagerness to send them away stemmed not only from this reason but also because he was preparing for war in Xinzhou...
A bitter battle between Pei Jue and Xiao Cheng was inevitable sooner or later.
As she left the camp, Feng Yun once again received saluting glances from the soldiers.
No matter what she and Pei Jue thought, in the eyes of the Northern Yong soldiers, it was pretty much established that she was the Great General's concubine.
—
When the donkey cart arrived at the Prefectural Governor's Office in Andu County, Feng Yun opened the curtain and before she had a chance to see the doorway clearly, an old woman with graying hair stumbled over, clutching her and shedding tears.
"Shi'er Niang, oh my dear Shi'er Niang..."
"Grandma..." Feng Yun gently patted her back, her movements slow, her voice light, but her heart surged like a tide.
Grandma Han was the wet nurse of Feng Yun's birth mother, Lu Sanniang.
She had breastfed Lu Sanniang and raised Feng Yun, an elder Feng Yun considered family.
In her previous life, Grandma Han died in the dungeons of Andu City. Despite begging Pei Jue to spare her life, Pei Jue was too ruthless, and they had not even been able to meet one last time...
Now that Grandma Han was alive and well before her, how could she not be excited?
"Don't cry, don't cry, Grandma, see, I've returned, haven't I?"
Neither did Grandma Han expect to see her girl alive again. She looked her up and down, crying pearls of tears.
"It's good you're back, completely and safely back. Your father is no human, pushing his own daughter into a pit of fire..."
She glanced at Ao Qi and a few guards standing with drawn swords and then lowered her voice a little.
"Lady, you didn't suffer over there, did you?"
Feng Yun shook her head gently, "Grandma, let's talk inside the house."
The two of them entered the house holding hands.
Feng Yun noticed that aside from the storeroom, study, and the front hall where official matters were discussed—all burnt down by Feng Jingteng—the rest of the Governor's Office remained unchanged.
Especially her boudoir, where everything was exactly as she left it; clothes and trinkets were in their usual spots, everything as usual, as if time stood still and the enemy had never invaded the city.
Feng Yun and Grandma Han sat down to catch up, listening to the tales of the chaotic days when the Northern Yong army invaded the city, Feng Yun couldn't help but sigh.
"Grandma, how did you end up waiting for me here in the house?"
"I was sent back by the prison officials, and by then I had guessed..." Tears suddenly streamed down Grandma Han's face again as she wiped and wiped with her handkerchief, tears streaming unabated as she sobbed, "Shi'er Niang is beautiful and could save me, but I feared, feared that you had already fallen into the claws of that King of Hell."
"Claws?" Feng Yun blinked, smoothed Grandma Han's disheveled hair with her finger, and restrained a laugh.
"It's over now, all in the past, both grandma and I are still alive, and as long as we're alive, there's hope."
Listening to Feng Yun's nonchalant response, Grandma Han examined the young lady before her and noticed a change she had initially overlooked—
Something about the lady had changed.
But she was still the same person, apart from her eyes being darker and brighter and her demeanor more composed, it was hard to pinpoint any other differences.
It's normal for someone to change after such big events.
Grandma Han convinced herself and immersed in the joy of the reunion, urged Feng Yun to rest while she went off to boil tea.
It was at this time that Ao Qi sought her out.
He seemed still upset about Feng Yun teasing him earlier, and discontentedly handed her a list.
"The Great General says that the former staff of the Governor's Office is to be handled by the Lady."
Feng Yun took the list and her gaze revealed a hint of surprise.
On it were the names of the Prefectural Officials and servants who had not managed to flee south with Feng Jingteng. They were neither Feng Jingteng's confidants nor those abandoned by Feng Jingteng and Lady Chen.
In her past life, these people, like Grandma Han, had been killed in Andu County jail after Feng Jingteng's escape.
The dead were all still alive.
Events that didn't happen in her previous life were unfolding now.
Clearly, Pei Jue now valued her more highly.
Feng Yun sat in silence for a moment, then rolled up her sleeves, ground ink, and wrote a letter which she handed over to Ao Qi.
"Please report this to the Great General. It's highly confidential!"
Call it reciprocation or a declaration of allegiance, but in the letter, she clearly revealed to Pei Jue a shocking conspiracy.
Xiao Cheng planned to rebel!
Amassing fifty thousand troops from Nanqi to resist the Northern Yong army was just the opening act in his plan.
The true goal for Xiao San was to let Andu fall, to rise in arms, joining forces with her uncle Feng Jingyao, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, to force the incompetent Emperor Xiao Jue to abdicate. That was the real purpose behind the Feng-Xiao alliance and their greatest point of interest...
That day was set for the start of autumn.
After Ao Qi left, Feng Yun knelt on the mat by the window to drink tea, watching the parasol trees sway in the breeze, listening to Grandma Han berate Feng Jingteng and her stepmother Chen Family, her thoughts inadvertently drifting across the Huaishui River...
"Xiao Lang, I'm here to add to your troubles..."
She must take the throne as she did in her previous life.
She thought, snatching away his empire, kicking his Dragon Throne, would surely be much more satisfying than seeing him lose to Xiao Jue, the hedonistic and incompetent emperor, wouldn't it?