Chapter 21

“Where am I?” Shen Yu spoke up, only to realize her voice was weak, her throat parched.

“You’re in the infirmary,” the old doctor said. “You were carried off the battlefield by someone.”

Shen Yu paused, attempting to sit up, but promptly fell back onto the bed.

“Don’t move,” the doctor instructed.

Gasping for breath, Shen Yu asked, “Where… no, what about General Shen’s body?”

The doctor replied, “You don’t need to worry about that. The Crown Prince has arranged a memorial for General Shen. It’s in the tent.”

Shen Yu breathed a sigh of relief, only then noticing something amiss in her hand.

In her palm was a piece of torn silk with cloud patterns, cleanly cut as if by a sharp blade.

“What’s this?” she asked.

The medicine servant happened to enter with medicine and said, “We don’t know either. You were holding it when you were brought in, and we couldn’t pull it away no matter how hard we tried.”

Five days after that battle, after several days of treatment, Shen Yu finally managed to get out of bed.

It was said that there were three thousand wounded in that battle, many of whom couldn’t hold on. Every day, bodies were being carried out of the infirmary.

Despite the medicine servant’s efforts to stop her, Shen Yu managed to leave the tent. She searched the entire infirmary but couldn’t find Shen Zhao and Kong Qing.

She knew the most likely possibility was that they were gone, perhaps buried under the bodies or already disfigured beyond recognition. But she couldn’t bear to think about it.

As long as she didn’t find their bodies, she would consider Shen Zhao still alive.

Her search wasn’t entirely fruitless, though.

In the infirmary, she saw the injured You Dazui and Yang Bang. You Dazui had minor injuries, while Yang Bang was more seriously wounded, with several cuts on his body, lucky to have his life spared.

“That damn Boda,” You Dazui cursed. “We should have gone to kill the North Lin Crown Prince, burn their lands, and kill their relatives.”

“Shut your big mouth,” Yang Bang weakly retorted from his bed. “Your life was saved by the Crown Prince. Don’t go telling others what to do.”

Shen Yu hung her head, feeling drained. “Halting the advance of the army is the right decision. Further westward, the battles will be even harder.”

No one spoke. Before long, the tent was filled with low sobs.

Wiping his face, You Dazui said, “Ah Hu and the others are gone. I watched as the Western Army chopped off his head, wuu—”

His sob acted as a trigger, and soon, the tent was filled with the sound of weeping.

These were all stalwart men, seven-foot-tall heroes who didn’t cry on the battlefield, but couldn’t hold back their tears in such a dire situation.

Shen Yu slowly stood up, feeling stifled these past few days. She had doubted herself countless times, waking up from nightmares countless times.

Her father and brother’s vengeance had not been avenged, and the instigators were still reveling in their impunity. How could they rest in peace?

She couldn’t bear to listen to these depressing words anymore, fearing she would go mad. She hoped that someone could pull her forward like her father in her dreams, showing her the way.

As she left the infirmary, it was already dark.

She wandered aimlessly, only realizing she had arrived outside her father’s tent for the vigil when she stopped.

The winter days at Yanliang Pass were too cold, but the bodies remained preserved for many days.

In her past life, she had come all the way from Shengjing to attend the vigil. This life, she wanted to fulfill her father’s wish to bury him outside the pass, downstream along the Shima River, so her parents could reunite.

Soldiers guarded the tent, and she couldn’t enter, so she lifted her hem and knelt outside the tent.

“Father, I’ll watch over you in spirit,” she whispered in her heart.

The lamp in the tiger tent remained lit until the second evening drum sounded.

Several deputy generals finished their discussions in Xie Tingzhou’s tent and left one after another.

Chang Heng was the last to leave, saying, “That bunch of useless guys from Shengjing disappeared during the battle, and now they’ve rushed over eight hundred miles after it’s over.”

Xie Tingzhou pressed his temples with two fingers. “What about the situation with the Lu family in Hezhou?”

Xi Feng replied, “The Lu family’s grain deliveries were blocked by Liang Jianfang outside the city before. Now that the grain and forage have all entered the city, the Lu family’s head hasn’t come, but their representative expressed a desire to see Your Highness.”

Chang Heng said, “How can His Highness just meet with some mere merchants?”

“General.”

Chang Heng, realizing his mistake, bowed his head and dared not speak further.

Suddenly, the curtain at the tent entrance lifted, and Han Jiwu peeked in, “Old Chang, someone’s looking for you outside.”

Chang Heng saluted Xie Tingzhou and exited the tent, while voices from outside could faintly be heard.

“General, the person you asked us to look after, he’s really restless. He’s barely able to stand, yet during the day, he wandered around the wounded camp. It’s so cold, and he’s kneeling there; he’s bound to worsen his condition.”

Chang Heng muttered, “Is that kid sick or what? Why is he kneeling when he’s fine?”

The doctor explained, “He’s General Shen’s soldier, kneeling at General Shen’s funeral tent.”

“So loyal, he must be a personal soldier, at least?”

“Well, you see…”

The curtain lifted again, the wind carrying it gently. Xie Tingzhou walked out from inside, heading straight towards the tent where Shen Zhong’an’s body lay.

Chang Heng hurried to catch up, “This matter should be handled by subordinates. Your Highness shouldn’t go personally.”

Xie Tingzhou replied calmly, “There are too many suspicious points in this battle. If they were Shen Zhong’an’s personal soldiers, they should know something.”

A torch was lit in front of the tent, its sparks scattered by the wind.

A slender figure knelt on the ground, facing the direction of the tent without moving.

Xie Tingzhou walked over, narrowed his eyes at the person on the ground, and asked, “What’s your name?”

Shen Yu lifted her head, seeing Xie Tingzhou’s face for the first time.

What a face it was.

The ink-like base, adorned with captivating features, yet the curve at the corner of the eyes gave it a coldness, a perfect balance between allure and indifference.

Beneath the picturesque appearance, there seemed to be captivating bones hidden.

Xie Tingzhou was indeed as stunning as the rumors suggested, but Shen Yu had no time to appreciate his face at the moment.

Seeing Xie Tingzhou, she suddenly figured out some key points.

She had to stand at the center of power; otherwise, with her own strength, it would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. And the person in front of her was undoubtedly the most convenient path to that power.

“Shi Yu,” she said. “My name is Shi Yu.”

In her early years, it was inconvenient for her to travel in the army as a woman, so she adopted the alias Shi Yu.

“Shi, Yu,” Xie Tingzhou repeated.

Those words, spoken from his thin lips, added a touch of elegance.

He looked towards the tent, “Why are you kneeling to him?”

Shen Yu gritted her teeth. “I’m General Shen’s soldier. I should see him off.”

“Are you his personal soldier?”

Shen Yu pondered how to answer this question. Shen Zhong’an’s personal soldiers were all registered; there shouldn’t be a young soldier like her. But if she admitted to being just an ordinary soldier, she would lose her value.

“I am the personal soldier of General Shen Zhao, the junior general.”

Xie Tingzhou nodded slightly and instructed, “Bring him over. I have questions for him.”