Chapter 10

Shen Yu leaned against the wall and opened the door, only to see Shen Yan standing at the courtyard gate, with her personal maid holding a food box beside her.

“Can’t I see my elder sister?” Shen Yan asked.

Hongqiao replied, “Miss, please forgive me. The General ordered that no one should be allowed to see anyone these days.”

Shen Yan’s face showed no surprise. Suddenly, she saw Shen Yu opening the door.

“Elder sister.”

Shen Yu waved to her, “Come in.”

Shen Yan glanced at Hongqiao and Lu Yao, who were blocking the way, and seemed somewhat wary.

“Don’t mind them,” Shen Yu said casually. “If they dare to stop you again, I’ll make them clean the stables for a while.”

Without further obstruction, Shen Yan walked over and sat down, supporting herself on Shen Yu’s arm. She asked, “Is your leg feeling any better, elder sister?”

“It’s manageable,” Shen Yu replied.

Shen Yan instructed her maid to put down the food box and took out the items one by one, all delicate pastries.

“Try some,” she said to Shen Yu.

As Shen Yu picked up one to take a bite, she looked up to see both Lu Yao and Hongqiao staring at her as if their eyes were glued to her.

“Do you two want some?” Shen Yu asked.

Both Lu Yao and Hongqiao shook their heads simultaneously.

“In that case, why are you still standing there like door gods? It’s cold with the door open. Go downstairs,” Shen Yu said.

The two exited, closing the door behind them, leaving only Shen Yu and Shen Yan in the room.

Although they were sisters, their relationship was nowhere near as close as Shen Yu’s with Shen Zhao.

After all, they hadn’t grown up together. One excelled in the arts, while the other was skilled in martial arts. They had nothing in common, and whether in the past or present, Shen Yu and her half-sister couldn’t have much of a conversation.

They could only resort to trivial topics. “Your hairpin looks nice today,” Shen Yu commented.

Shen Yan reached up to touch her temple and said, “You gave it to me.”

“Oh? Did I?” Shen Yu was a bit absent-minded.

Shen Yan nodded and extended her hand, revealing a valuable jade bracelet on her wrist.

“This one too. You gave it to me. You’ve given me so many gifts that I can’t remember them all. But I hardly use anything that isn’t from you, so I remember clearly.”

Although the Shen household wasn’t as extravagant as some noble families with thousands of servants, they still had to maintain their status.

Despite having fewer family members, there were still over a hundred servants. Shen Zhong’an entrusted all his military rewards to Madam Shen for safekeeping. Without control over wealth, they could only maintain appearances. With just the rental income from their properties, Shen Yan couldn’t afford many decent pieces of jewelry in a year.

But Shen Yu was different. Her mother passed away early, and Old Lady Lu only had her as a granddaughter, so she doted on her like her own eyes. She would often send over precious gold and silver jewelry and luxurious fabrics.

However, Shen Yu didn’t like dressing up. She always felt that those accessories hindered her martial arts practice, and she could easily fling them away with a few moves.

After exchanging a few forced pleasantries, Shen Yu didn’t know how to continue the conversation. She kept stuffing herself with pastries. “These pastries are good. Where did you buy them?”

Shen Yan’s eyes flickered as she whispered, “They were delivered by Master Jiang, asking me to pass them on to you.”

Shen Yu choked on a piece of pastry.

The memory of Jiang Lianzhi poisoning her food in her previous life was still fresh in her mind. She wanted to vomit out everything she had just eaten.

Losing her appetite, Shen Yu put down the half-eaten pastry on the table and brushed off the crumbs from her fingers. “I’ve instructed the gatekeeper not to accept anything from him. Please don’t pass on anything from him in the future.”

Shen Yan stole a glance at her and cautiously asked, “Is elder sister indifferent to him?”

Shen Yu said, “I don’t like him, so there’s no need for him to waste any more time.”

Shen Yan pursed her lips. “I understand.”

With nothing more to say, the two fell into an awkward silence. Sensing the discomfort, Shen Yan stood up to leave. As she reached the door, she hesitated for a moment before speaking, “Father and elder brother actually left two days ago.”

Shen Yu looked at her in shock.

Shen Yan continued, “Father instructed not to tell you. They set off right after you were punished with an hour of kneeling.”

“Why did you tell me then?”

“Because I know elder sister wanted to go.”

With the border situation tense, Shen Zhong’an and his son couldn’t afford to rest. Like father, like daughter; Shen Zhong’an knew she would insist on following them, so, in a rare display of concern for his daughter, he made someone kneel for two days just to keep Shen Yu at home.

After Shen Yan left, Shen Yu called the two maids in.

Lu Yao entered the room and saw a bundle on the table, which she had collected for Shen Yu yesterday.

Seeing the situation, Hongqiao timidly called out, “Miss.”

Shen Yu looked up. “Did father say when he’s leaving?”

Hongqiao hesitated. “Tomorrow.”

“What time?”

“At the hour of the Rabbit.”

“Snap!” Shen Yu slapped the table. “Tomorrow at the hour of the Rabbit, is it you or me leaving? Father has been gone for three days, and you kept me in the dark until now.”

Lu Yao glanced at Hongqiao and immediately kneeled down, pulling on Hongqiao’s sleeve to make her kneel as well. The two knelt together by the door.

Shen Yu felt annoyed. “Go and fetch my horse.”

Lu Yao stood up to go, but Hongqiao pulled her back.

Hongqiao looked up and said, “The General has a message for you.”

“Speak!”

“I know,” Lu Yao stammered, “the General said, ‘That stubborn girl insists on coming along. If you can’t stop her, tell her to stay in Shengjing and behave herself. This is an order from the military.’ Miss, these are the General’s exact words.”

Even the term “stubborn girl” came out. How could Shen Yu not know these were his words?

Imitating Shen Zhong’an’s tone, Lu Yao’s words amused Shen Yu.

In a cold voice, Shen Yu said, “I’m not in the military, so military orders don’t apply to me. With father not here, I’m the eldest. Whoever goes to fetch my horse will accompany me.”

Hongqiao began to speak, but Lu Yao said, “All right.”

Before Hongqiao could finish her sentence, Lu Yao had already dashed out.

…

The cold wind rustled, blowing through the watchtower. The night guards were yawning, carefully observing their surroundings for any signs of movement.

Rubbing his hands together, one guard said, “It’s damn cold today. Looks like it’s going to snow soon.”

“Probably,” replied the other guard, exhausted and crouching to avoid the wind. “You keep watch for a while. We’ll switch later.”

The guard on duty lay flat on the railing of the watchtower, staring intently outside the camp. Suddenly, he exclaimed, “Wait, what’s that?”

The crouching guard, hearing the urgency in his voice, quickly stood up. “Where?”

The guard who had been lying down rubbed his eyes and looked again, but he didn’t see anything. “Maybe I was mistaken. I saw a dark shadow and thought it was a person, but it disappeared in an instant. People can’t move that quickly.”

In the dark of night, the guards who manned the watchtower had excellent eyesight and hearing. The surprise from the guard had made him alert, so he also leaned over the railing to scrutinize the area.

Shen Yu lay low behind a crenellation, waiting patiently for the right moment to sneak into the camp. With soldiers patrolling the camp at night, she had rested in a sheltered spot near a tent and slipped in during the morning drills.