Rainy night.

A person hurried along the narrow path in the mountain village, holding up a yellow oil-paper umbrella.

The lantern in their hand swayed left and right in the cold wind, almost extinguishing.

The heavy rain hitting the umbrella made a “plop plop” sound.

The delicate embroidered shoes underfoot were already soaked, and the lilac-colored skirt was also drenched.

Ahead, from the corner, came a few barks from a dog, and He Yunjing walked, occasionally looking back with a panicked expression.

Not paying attention to her footing, she slipped on the moss-covered stone slabs, scraping her elbow and causing the lantern to fall into the rain and extinguish quickly.

But she didn’t care about the lantern.

She picked up the umbrella and continued to walk in the dark.

Tears or rainwater stained her face.

Fortunately, the corner ahead was where Lin Yao’s siblings lived.

She knocked on the door almost in tears, saying, “Is anyone there? Please open the door!”

Perhaps because of the heavy rain, it took several knocks before someone came to open the door.

Since Lin Yao was injured, several men from the Eastern camp had been living in his courtyard to protect him.

The person who came to open the door was one of them.

The man glanced at He Yunjing, who was almost completely soaked, and exclaimed, “Miss He, why are you here in the middle of the night?”

He Yunjing choked up and said, “Quickly, get Brother Lin out of here! My father and his men are coming, they want to harm Brother Lin!”

One of the rooms lit up, and Lin Zhao walked out.

She glanced at He Yunjing and asked, “Did you come here to deliver a message?”

He Yunjing nodded repeatedly, tears streaming down her face, “My father and his men may have already arrived. Azhao, quickly take Brother Lin away!”

The stormy night drowned out the sound of the signal flares, making it impossible to use this method to gather the men from the Eastern camp.

The light in Lin Yao’s room lit up at this moment. “Azhao, bring her in,”

Lin Yao’s deep voice came from inside, sounding calm.

Lin Zhao took the umbrella handed over by magpie and walked over to He Yunjing. “Come with me.”

He Yunjing, puzzled, followed Lin Zhao into Lin Yao’s room, stepping through the rainwater with each footfall.

Lin Yao sat on the bed wearing a dark outer robe.

His complexion had improved significantly compared to the day he was injured, and the muscles of his shoulders and back were visibly defined beneath his robe.

He pointed to a single stool and said to He Yunjing, “Sit.”

Even though his injuries hadn’t fully healed, Lin Yao still exuded a wild and fierce aura.

He Yunjing didn’t dare to sit.

Normally, she cared a lot about her image in front of Lin Yao, but now she couldn’t care less.

Her clothes and shoes were dripping with water, but all she could do was urge Lin Yao, “Brother Lin, you must leave quickly! If you don’t leave now, it will be too late!”

Still showing no intention of getting up, Lin Yao asked her, “How do you know your father wants to harm me?”

With her eyes red from crying, He Yunjing wiped her eyes and said, “I went to call my father for dinner tonight and overheard him discussing with several leaders from the Western camp about taking over the Eastern camp tonight.

I couldn’t persuade him, and he even locked me in my room.

I pretended to commit suicide just to trick the old lady guarding the door into letting me out. Brother Lin, I’m telling the truth!”

Lin Yao looked at her, his expression somewhat complex.

He turned to Lin Zhao and said, “Azhao, take her downstairs to change her clothes.”

He Yunjing didn’t understand why they seemed indifferent to the news she brought. “Brother Lin, don’t you believe me?”

Lin Zhao looked at her almost completely soaked figure, pursed her lips, and said, “If you’ve made it to the Eastern camp with your pace, why hasn’t your father arrived yet?”

He Yunjing felt her knees weaken, her face growing even paler.

———–

Two bodies lay in the rain, washed by the falling rain.

The bloodstains were diluted to a very faint color.

The second master, clutching his left arm, which had been hit by an arrow, was being supported by a trusted subordinate as he struggled to retreat in the pouring rain.

Everywhere he passed, there were traces of diluted blood left behind by the rain.

Ahead was the exit of the Eastern camp’s main gate, seemingly just an arrow’s distance away in the darkness of the night.

But when torches were lit at the gate, a group of people trying to flee in panic all showed despair on their faces.

A row of archers stood at the forefront, their arrows gleaming coldly on the bowstrings.

“Swish!”

An arrow flew through the air.

The second master quickly dodged, but still received a scratch on his face from the arrowhead.

The arrow hit one of his lackeys behind him.

The lackey clutched his side where the arrow had struck, feeling the warm blood gushing out continuously from the wound. Whether from pain or fear, he screamed incessantly.

The others from the Western camp, holding knives, shook with fear as they looked at the row of people holding bows and arrows.

Chu Chengji handed the bow he had just used to one of the Eastern camp’s men behind him.

Dressed in a black robe, he stood tall in the cold wind.

Under the flickering firelight, his eyes were as cold as this bone-chilling night rain. “Since you’re here, He Laozhi, why rush back?”

The second master, with his aged yet sharp eyes, stared fixedly at him.

Chu Chengji stood with his hands behind his back, his posture as straight as a pine tree.

One of the Eastern camp’s men stood behind him, holding a large oil-paper umbrella to shield him from the rain.

The raindrops fell gracefully from the umbrella’s edge.

To his left and right stood more than ten men holding knives and bows, clearly waiting here for a long time.

“Retreat!”

Chu Chengji’s arrow still carried a significant deterrent force, and the second master felt a fiery pain where he had been grazed by the arrow earlier.

After he finished shouting, as the group turned around, they saw Wang Biao and more than ten Eastern camp men blocking their retreat.

There were still bloodstains on Wang Biao’s iron hammer.

He spat on the ground and cursed, “Why aren’t you running?!”

He Laozhi was drenched, looking like an old pine tree at the edge of a cliff, about to fall.

He said, “To the victor belong the spoils. If I, He, fall into your hands today and you wish to kill or mutilate me, I’ll comply. But spare the brothers who came with me.”

Wang Biao sneered, “Now you speak of righteousness and justice. When you plotted against my big brother, did you ever think of today?”

Clutching the arrow wound on his shoulder, his face wrinkled like a dried jujube with a hint of resentment, the second-in-command said, “The big boss acted indecisively, sheltering a bunch of idlers on the mountain during these turbulent times. Such compassion for women and children! This is a bandit’s nest, not a charitable institution! I fought for the leadership of Qi Yun Stronghold to secure a way out for the brothers in the stronghold!”

Wang Biao spat out, “The rules of the road were ruined by you scum! Qi Yun Stronghold has always been robbing the rich to help the poor.

You bunch of trash would kill even women, children, and the elderly.

You’re worse than pigs and dogs! If it weren’t for the idlers the leader kept to farm, with only the spoils you brought back from the Western camp, you’d be drinking northwest wind by now!”

The group from the Western camp was insulted.

Chu Chengji scanned each of them and roughly assessed their injuries.

Then, with a cold tone, he said, “Arrows have no eyes. It would be better for everyone to put down their weapons.”

The people from the Western camp looked towards the second master, He Laozhi.

As their eyes met, despite the Second master decades of dominance on the road and countless killings, he found himself overpowered by Chu Chengji ( Crown Prince ), who seemed as calm as a clear breeze.

The whole night seemed to dissolve from Chu Chengji’s body, dense and deep, making it hard to breathe.

Thinking of what his strategist had said during the day about “the dragon lurking in shallow waters,” He Laozhi suddenly laughed out loud and said to Chu Chengji, “That kid Lin Yao can have your help, it’s his luck. If I, He Laozhi, hadn’t run into this fortune, it’s because I didn’t have this fate!”

With that, he ruthlessly threw away his knife, and his figure seemed to collapse in an instant.

Seeing this, the rest of the people from the Western camp also threw down their weapons, and the archers on both sides of Chu Chengji put away their arrows.

Wang Biao felt the pent-up frustration in his heart dissipate.

He waved his hand behind him and commanded, “Tie them up!”

The ten-odd Eastern camp men behind him came forward with ropes.

The people from the Western camp, all more or less injured, offered little resistance.

Soon, they were all bound up like rice dumplings.

Wang Biao instructed his trusted subordinates to escort the second-in-command and the others back, while he himself stepped forward a few paces and clasped his fists towards Chu Chengji:

“Military Advisor, I truly admire you this time! When those bastards from the Western camp found out that we were prepared for their strong attack, they truly retreated from the ambushes you had our brothers set up in advance.

Even though only one or two brothers shot arrows from hiding, they were scared enough not to dare take the small paths and instead rushed towards the main gate. It was truly… like catching a turtle in a jar!”

Crown Prince smiled faintly, “Captain Wang overpraises me. It’s just that in war, all’s fair.”

Wang Biao scratched his head, puzzled, “What does this have to do with unleavened bread?”

Someone behind him tugged at his sleeve and whispered, “Brother Wang, it’s the soldier’s position, not bread. I heard it from the storyteller at the teahouse.”

Wang Biao, realizing his mistake, glared at the man, “Do you think I don’t know that’s a soldier? I’m just joking with the military advisor here!”

He couldn’t keep a straight face on his stern black visage and quickly changed the subject when he saw the archers beside Chu Chengji, “When did you boys start shooting arrows?”

There were only a few people in the Eastern camp who were skilled in archery, all of whom had been hunters before.

Shooting arrows wasn’t as simple as wielding a knife; it required precision.

The men chuckled when asked, “We don’t know how. The military advisor instructed us to just string the bow and pretend to aim to scare people.”

Thinking of how the group from the Western camp had smoothly dropped their weapons, a large part of the reason was because they were intimidated by the row of archers.

Looking at Chu Chengji again, Wang Biao’s admiration for him deepened, “Amazing! The military advisor’s strategy was truly brilliant!”

Chu Chengji replied modestly, “Captain Wang should also report to the stronghold leader to reward the brother who shot the second-in-command.

If the He Laozhi hadn’t been hit by the arrow, I wouldn’t have been able to intimidate them.”

Wang Biao laughed, “Of course, of course. That arrow was shot by Uncle Wu San. I’ll go to the stronghold leader later to commend both the military advisor and Uncle Wu San!”

Glancing at the sky, he said, “It’s almost midnight. Military Advisor, go rest.

Tomorrow morning, when the stronghold leader convenes the people from both the East and West camps in the ancestral hall to pass judgment on the second-in-command, I’ll send someone to invite the military advisor.”

Chu Chengji nodded, looking at the pouring rain, and advised, “Be vigilant on the back mountain.”

Wang Biao patted his chest, “Rest assured, Military Advisor.

Several brothers are guarding over there. If anything happens, someone will come back to report!”

Back in the courtyard, the time had just passed midnight, and the sound of rain masked the sound of him opening and closing the courtyard door.

Crown prince didn’t immediately enter the house.

He put away the umbrella, took down the lantern that had illuminated his way, and hung it under the eaves.

In the dim light, he stared into the rain curtain lost in thought.

Old Aunt Lu, being of age, slept lightly.

When she woke up in the night and saw the light outside, she went out and saw crown prince standing under the eaves with his hands behind his back, his figure solitary.

Aunt Lu sighed, “Are the young couple quarreling?”

Chu Chengji shook his head, “No.”

Aunt Lu continued, “Auntie has lived most of her life. I can tell if something’s wrong between you two.

This afternoon, you were resting in the room, and your wife was sitting outside watching the rain.

Now she’s in the house, and you’re out here?”

Chu Chengji knew she misunderstood, as Aunt Lu had already gone to bed when he left, unaware that he had just returned.

But he wasn’t inclined to explain, simply saying, “No.”

Aunt Lu persisted, “Which couple doesn’t argue and then make up? If there’s a problem, are you going to act like this?

Don’t blame Auntie for being biased.

Your wife has a good temper.

If she’s angry, it’s probably because of something you did.

In our village, even the rough men care for their wives. With your wife’s looks and temperament, she could have married someone rich long ago.

Instead, she’s with you, even in your adversity. When you were injured a few days ago, she took care of you tirelessly.

Those hands, so soft, have never done rough work, yet she cooks and makes medicine for you every day.

And now you’re telling her to leave you for someone else? Aren’t you mistreating her?

If she loved wealth, with her appearance and figure, she could have pursued wealth a long time ago! Yet she’s concerned about your life and death!”

Aunt Lu grew more and more distressed as she spoke about Qin Zheng, “Poor girl! If I were her parents, I’d make you write a divorce letter!

She’s your legitimate wife, not one of those concubines you can just give away! I’ve never seen such mistreatment!”

Chu Chengji was scolded mercilessly but didn’t say a word in response.

It was his fault.

He hadn’t considered these things, thinking that giving her a chance to choose again would be fair to her.

But he forgot how harsh the world could be to women.

But the contrast made him realize that her reaction at the time was unusual.

Aunt Lu, an outsider, was so upset, but Qin Zheng was probably even more uneasy.

Why was she so afraid?

Chu Chengji pondered for a long time before he understood the reason behind it, his lips pressed into a thin line.

Seeing his expression darken, Aunt Lu thought she had said too much and upset him.

Knowing she was just an outsider and couldn’t say too much, she also restrained herself, reminding him to sincerely apologize to Qin Zheng.

Seeing him nod, she sighed and went back to her room.

Chu Chengji pushed the door and entered the room, immediately noticing that one of the quilts had fallen to the ground, indicating that someone had slept and kicked it off.

Qin Zheng was covered by the other quilt, sleeping facing inward, unusually quiet.

Just now, Aunt Lu’s voice was a bit loud, and she probably woke up pretending to be asleep.

There was a leak in the room, and the water on the ground had made the fallen quilt wet and unusable.

He picked it up and put it on the wooden box, then lay down on the bed, turning to face the stiff back of the person inside.

Chu Chengji stared at the pitch-black canopy for a long time before saying, “I’m sorry.”

Qin Zheng couldn’t pretend to be asleep anymore and silently pulled the quilt towards him.

Chu Chengji said, “At noon, it wasn’t a test. I wouldn’t stoop so low.”

From afternoon until now, he finally understood why she was so afraid of him after he said those words.

Qin Zheng was taken aback, and his deep voice continued in the darkness, “I won’t say such things again in the future.”

Qin Zheng was racking her brain, trying to figure out what to say, but then she heard him say, “Go to sleep.”

Neither of them spoke again, and for a while, the only sounds were the rain outside and the water dripping into the wooden basin through the roof.

Qin Zheng stared blankly at the canopy, feeling no sleepiness at all.

Her mind was full of thoughts about his words “it wasn’t a test.”

Was he genuinely seeking her opinion?

Her thoughts were in turmoil for a moment.

She pinched the corner of the quilt with her fingertips and whispered, “Aren’t you afraid that by showing me the letter brought by the messenger pigeon and telling me about the Lu family, I might actually go to Shen Yanzhi and reveal your dealings with him?”

Chu Chengji didn’t answer, and when Qin Zheng wondered if he had fallen asleep, he finally said, “He will find out sooner or later.”

This answer…

Qin Zheng silently covered her face with one hand.

Now, thinking back to the day he mentioned the Lu family’s affairs, she felt embarrassed by her fluttering heart.

He was right.

Shen Yanzhi would find out sooner or later.

He met with the Lu family on April 7th. Even if she said she wanted to go find Shen Yanzhi, he could send her away after April 7th.

Qin Zheng silently told herself to sleep more and stop overthinking.

She yawned and let her mind drift off to sleep.

Although she wasn’t a sound sleeper, her sleep quality was indeed good, and her breathing soon became steady.

Chu Chengji listened to her long and steady breaths beside him before turning his head to look at her.

Why did he tell her all that?

Perhaps subconsciously, he wanted her to know that following him wasn’t entirely without prospects.

If he was going to let her make a choice, he had to let her know his bargaining chips.

But unexpectedly, he had frightened her.

In the darkness, Chu Chengji sighed imperceptibly.

He turned to sleep on his side, intending to sleep facing outward, but unexpectedly, someone suddenly delivered a dream punch, hitting him right in the eye.

Chu Chengji: “…”

He caught the hand that had struck him and pressed it back under the blanket.

Tomorrow, he would find a doctor for her.