Wei Xuan shot a glance at Xiao Jingzhao, knowing there was no chance to talk privately now. He turned to Jiang Huai. “Get some good rest. I’m heading back to AnYuan Prefecture tomorrow. You coming with me, or…”

But before Jiang Huai could answer, Wei Xuan frowned and waved it off. “On second thought, don’t come back to AnYuan Prefecture just yet. Wait till I’ve got things sorted out there.”

Wei Xuan had no doubt he could clear the Wei family’s name and take back control of AnYuan Prefecture. His military achievements were real as daylight—unless the emperor was ready to burn every bridge and bury the Wei family for good, he’d have no choice but to reward Wei Xuan. 

And if the emperor did go all-in? Even if he won, it’d be a bloody mess, leaving the door wide open for someone else to swoop in. So Wei Xuan wasn’t sweating his own situation.

But if Jiang Huai tagged along and got noticed, things could get dicey. Especially with Xiao Jingzhao by his side—they couldn’t afford to draw too much attention.

Jiang Huai hadn’t planned on going with Wei Xuan anyway. The city was bound to be a mess once Wei Xuan rolled in. Hearing this, he let out a quiet breath of relief—no need to come up with an excuse now.

Wei Xuan turned to leave, but his eyes flicked back to the silent Xiao Jingzhao one more time. That glance didn’t slip past Jiang Huai.

Jiang Huai didn’t think much of it, just figured Wei Xuan wasn’t fully sold on Xiao Jingzhao. He grabbed Xiao Jingzhao ’s hand to reassure him, whispering, “Brother Wei’s just got his guard up. Once he gets to know you, he’ll ease off.”

“I know,” Xiao Jingzhao said, watching Wei Xuan go. Then he caught a subtle gesture from Wei Xuan, and his eyes darkened slightly.

“Let’s finish off this mutton and hit the sack. I’m beat from all that riding today—feeling sleepy way earlier than usual,” Jiang Huai said with a yawn, nudging him along.

Xiao Jingzhao could see Jiang Huai was fading fast. He pushed his thoughts aside, and together they polished off the rest of the mutton, roasting and eating it up. After a quick wash, Xiao Jingzhao came back to find Jiang Huai already conked out, curled up in the blankets, leaving a spot open—clearly for him.

Xiao Jingzhao paused, then lifted the tent flap again, slipping out before the northern wind could rush in. He stood outside for a while, letting the cold soak into his clothes and chill his body. Only after warming up by the fire did he finally crawl into bed.

Even with the stove pumping out heat and thick blankets piled on, Jiang Huai ’s body was frail. After a bit of sleep, he’d cooled down again. Half-dreaming, he sensed a warm spot nearby, rolled over, and latched onto it like a hot water bottle, refusing to let go.

Xiao Jingzhao, wrapped up in a full-on hug, had his train of thought derailed. Looking down at Jiang Huai, his expression softened, and he finally drifted off into a deep sleep.

…

The next day, Wei Xuan led his army back to AnYuan Prefecture, the march so grand it was impossible to miss. 

At first, some locals panicked, thinking it was a barbarian invasion. But when they spotted the banners fluttering proudly, their fears melted away.

A force this big couldn’t exactly sneak in unnoticed. Inside AnYuan Prefecture, Su Ding got word from his men that Wei Xuan was back—and with an army. When he heard the size of it, Su Ding ’s vision went dark, dread creeping up his spine.

“Where… where’s he at now?” Su Ding stammered, flailing for answers. “Hurry—tell them to shut the city gates! This… this Wei Xuan ’s gotta be in bed with the barbarians, coming to storm AnYuan Prefecture !”

Su Ding was thrown into a full-on panic by Wei Xuan ’s return. He knew exactly how the Wei family’s downfall had gone down. Once Wei Xuan caught wind of it, it wasn’t hard to guess how he’d come for him. Fear for his own skin made Su Ding blind to how ridiculous his orders sounded, barking at his men to spread the word.

But that wasn’t enough to calm him. Su Ding spun around, calling for a carriage to hightail it out of there. If he didn’t bolt now, he might not get another shot. He knew Wei Xuan ’s temper—young and fiery. If Wei Xuan lost it, he might just cut him down on the spot. Sure, the emperor might avenge him later, but dead was dead, right?

Su Ding had come to AnYuan Prefecture chasing military glory, and he’d sorta gotten it. As long as he wasn’t in the city, Wei Xuan couldn’t touch him—not unless he wanted to pick a fight with the whole Da Zhou court. So why stick around?

As for an excuse to run, Su Ding scribbled a quick note claiming he was off to warn the court about Wei Xuan ’s “treason,” then hightailed it out with his family in tow.

The soldiers in AnYuan Prefecture got the orders from Su Ding ’s men. The command was flat-out absurd, but they had no choice— Su Ding was acting as the city’s top general, and his word was law. Disobeying was a death sentence.

The sudden move to lock down the city gates threw AnYuan Prefecture into chaos. The sight of the defenses going up reminded people of the last barbarian raid. Some rushed to get inside for safety, while others tried to slip out before the gates slammed shut.

Su Ding moved fast, whisking his family and a haul of gold and jewels out of AnYuan Prefecture just before the gates closed.

But shutting the gates wasn’t the end of it. What came next depended on Su Ding ’s orders. Wang Jin and the other officers waited for his next move, but after a long stretch, no second command came. The soldiers were left scratching their heads.

“Any other orders from the general?” Wang Jin asked.

The messenger shook his head.

Wang Jin frowned, restless. He headed to the main camp, where Su Ding should’ve been calling the shots. With no orders coming, they couldn’t act rashly—they needed to know what Su Ding was thinking.

If he got the chance, Wang Jin wanted to clear things up with Wei Xuan. No way the Wei family would team up with barbarians to attack AnYuan Prefecture. Had to be a misunderstanding—maybe Wei Xuan got lost hitting the barbarians and took longer to get back. If they could just talk it out, it’d all get sorted.

Wang Jin conveniently ignored how long “getting lost” would’ve taken, not to mention the bad blood between Su Ding and the Wei family.

But when he reached the camp and saw the servants milling about, his brow furrowed. By rights, a military camp shouldn’t have servants, but Su Ding loved his comforts. As acting general, he did what he wanted, and no one could stop him from bringing them in.

Now, seeing the servants scrambling in a panic, Wang Jin felt something was off. “What’s the rush? What happened?”

“General Wang, the general… the general’s gone,” one servant stammered, spotting Wang Jin.

Gone?

Wang Jin barely processed it. He stormed into the camp, and the empty tent hit him like a brick. That’s what “gone” meant.

Su Ding was missing.

Wang Jin bolted to where Su Ding ’s family was staying. Since Su Ding couldn’t resist a pretty face, some of his women were camped nearby. Lifting a tent flap, Wang Jin saw they were gone too—scattered jewelry littered the ground, clearly dropped in their rush to pack.

They didn’t even stop to pick up gold and gems. That’s how fast they’d bailed.

Back at the main camp, Wang Jin noticed a sheet of paper on the desk. Picking it up, he saw it was Su Ding ’s goodbye note. Reading it left him in stunned silence.

When Wang Jin didn’t return, the other officers got curious. A few came looking and found him zoned out. They were about to crack a joke when Wang Jin dropped the bomb— Su Ding had taken his family and run. They all stood there, dumbfounded.

Su Ding had played his part well before. Sure, he was a bit of a dimwit with no real military chops, but he followed orders and knew how to delegate. Aside from the weird vibe when he took over after the Wei family’s fall, most officers thought he was solid and bought into his control of AnYuan Prefecture.

But now? Wei Xuan shows up with an army, and Su Ding orders everyone to hold him off while he bolts with his family. It hit them like a slap—they’d been blind as bats, missing Su Ding ’s true colors all along.

“Su Ding ’s gone. Are we still supposed to block General Wei?” someone asked.

Honestly, at this point, the guy asking didn’t want to. He’d never wanted to clash with Wei Xuan in the first place. Plus, AnYuan Prefecture was already short on troops. If they fought, win or lose, the casualties would be brutal.

If Su Ding was still around, they might’ve hesitated—disobeying orders was a capital offense. But with Su Ding hightailing it, what was the point of holding the line?

…

Jiang Huai tagged along with the army but didn’t head into AnYuan Prefecture. Instead, he planned to haul his wool to a house outside the city. War or no war, the wool business couldn’t wait.

Mostly, Jiang Huai vaguely remembered the story’s plot, so he wasn’t worried about Wei Xuan ’s situation or how it’d affect him.

Seeing Jiang Huai genuinely making a living off wool, Wei Xuan kept frowning. His impression of Jiang Huai wasn’t deep, but he knew a noble family’s kid turning to trade was a massive shift.

With AnYuan Prefecture still a ways off, Wei Xuan found a moment to say, “You were on your own before, so you had to scrape by with business. Once AnYuan Prefecture ’s stable, you won’t need to keep at it. Otherwise, Grand Tutor Jiang will chew me out for not looking after you.”

As for Jiang Huai ’s exile status, Wei Xuan didn’t care. Once he was back in AnYuan Prefecture, the city would be under his thumb. Jiang Huai could go back to his old life, and Wei Xuan wasn’t fazed by what the court might think.

If the court let it slide at the start, they wouldn’t flip out over Jiang Huai later. In the grand scheme, he was just a small pawn.

The only one Wei Xuan couldn’t openly protect was Xiao Jingzhao.

No more business?

If this was back when Jiang Huai first hit AnYuan Prefecture, he might’ve jumped at that. But now? He kinda liked the vibe of earning his own cash. Relying on others wasn’t his style—if he had to beg for money, he’d rather make it himself. At least he could spend it without feeling weird.

Still, Jiang Huai knew Wei Xuan wasn’t just anyone. The guy knew him, at least a bit. If he flat-out said he liked business without a solid reason, Wei Xuan might pick up on something off.