When Jiang Yanyi woke up, she felt a sharp pain on the left side of her face and a dull ache at the back of her neck.

She lifted her eyelids and was greeted by the sight of a white tent ceiling.

As her memories from before the unconsciousness returned, she was so startled that she sat up abruptly, causing a sharp pain in her back that made her grimace.

The dark velvet cloak draped over her slipped off due to her movement.

Seeing that her clothes were still intact and that there were no unusual sensations in her more private areas, Jiang Yanyi let out a sigh of relief—Mazi had not succeeded; she had been rescued.

However, she noticed that two of the ties on her clothing were broken, and someone had tied a hasty knot with the frayed ties at the collar to prevent her clothing from falling open.

It was clear that her rescuer had noticed her clothing was torn and had temporarily helped her fix it.

At that moment, she also noticed a cloak draped over her.

Made from an unknown animal’s fur, it felt soft and smooth to the touch.

It looked thin but was surprisingly warm—definitely not something an ordinary family could afford.

Jiang Yanyi couldn’t help but take a closer look at the overly simple military tent.

In the small space, there were five single beds, but no one else occupied the other beds.

In one corner stood a peeling wooden table, on top of which were several bundles of herbs, and the air was filled with a bitter medicinal smell.

If she guessed correctly, this should be the barracks where the military doctors were stationed.

Worrying about Qiukui, Jiang Yanyi couldn’t pay attention to her injuries.

Just as she was about to get out of bed, she saw the tent flap being lifted, and Qiu Kui walked in holding a bowl of dark medicinal liquid.

Seeing her, Qiu Kui’s eyes filled with joy: “You’re awake! Quickly drink the medicine!”

Noticing the gauze wrapped around Qiu Kui’s forehead, Jiang Yanyi guessed she must have been injured by Mazi last night and anxiously asked, “How are you? Is your injury serious?”

Qiu Kui shook her head, looking innocent: “I’m tough, it doesn’t hurt; just scraped a bit of skin.”

Looking at the faint but still visible slap marks on Jiang Yanyi’s face, Qiu Kui felt very guilty: “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t gone to the bushes because of a stomachache, we wouldn’t have encountered danger.”

Mazi had clearly come prepared.

Even if Qiu Kui hadn’t gone over at that time, as two weak women, they wouldn’t have known if Mazi had come up behind them in the dark.

Jiang Yanyi comforted Qiu Kui for a while and learned from her that they were indeed at the military doctors’ place.

Last night, the guards from the nearby watchtower heard the commotion and rushed over to rescue them.

The culprit, Mazi, had been punished with three hundred lashes.

The executioner was experienced; after three hundred blows, not only was the flesh on Mazi’s buttocks turned to mush, but even the bones were broken.

Yet Mazi still clung to life, suspended at the entrance of the military camp as a warning to others.

Jiang Yanyi felt relieved about Mazi’s fate.

However, she had some doubts when Qiu Kui mentioned that it was the guards who had saved them—her cloak was clearly not something an ordinary guard would possess.

Perhaps her rescuer was unwilling to cause unnecessary trouble or didn’t want to have too much interaction with her.

After all, women of the military camp had a worse reputation than those in brothels.

So Jiang Yanyi decided not to inquire about unnecessary matters under the pretext of repaying a debt.

After drinking the medicine, she asked Qiu Kui to borrow some needle and thread to fix the ties of her clothing.

Jiang Yanyi came from a noble family and had learned embroidery and sewing from a well-known seamstress in the capital since she was young.

While her embroidery skills weren’t exceptional, she could certainly manage to mend clothing.

After taking off her outer garment, Jiang Yanyi was left with only a camellia-colored tunic.

Her collarbones were delicate, and at first glance, she appeared overly thin, but the bust wrapped in the tunic was plump, and she had all the right curves.

Her arms were slender, and her skin was as white as jade, contrasting beautifully with the camellia-colored tunic, making her look like a fair maiden amidst winter’s frost.

Qiu Kui, as a woman herself, couldn’t help but stare.

However, the bruises on her back, which were caused by being pressed against the ground, were particularly obvious, with one spot even broken.

Qiu Kui felt a pang of pain for her and hurriedly went outside the tent to find the military doctor for some ointment, despite Jiang Yanyi’s calls for her to stop.

She was afraid that someone would come in soon.

Dressed only in a coat, she felt cold in the deep autumn, and her hands moved quickly as she sewed.

The cloak next to her could keep her warm, but it was a possession of her benefactor.

It was fine to cover herself with it while she was unconscious, but it wouldn’t be appropriate to continue using it after waking up.

Moreover, it seemed that her back was scratched, and if it got stained with blood, she would be worried about the military doctor seeing it when returning it later, fearing they might think it was inauspicious.

After finishing the ties, Jiang Yanyi lowered her head to bite the thread, and just then, the tent curtain was lifted without warning.

She looked up and found herself locking eyes with Feng Shuo.

Feng Shuo was momentarily stunned, seemingly not expecting to see such a scene after lifting the curtain.

Due to the backlight, Jiang Yanyi couldn’t clearly see his expression but felt that the gaze upon her made her uncomfortable.

In a panic, she hurriedly held the sewn outer shirt in front of her and awkwardly said, “Could you please step back for a moment, Military Strategist?”

However, upon hearing this, his slender phoenix eyes narrowed slightly.

Instead of stepping back, he let down the curtain and walked in.

Jiang Yanyi was startled by his actions, and her grip on the outer shirt tightened: “I thought you were a gentleman!”

He ignored her, walking toward her with slow, measured steps, each footfall seemingly striking a chord in Jiang Yanyi’s heart.

As he approached, Jiang Yanyi became thoroughly flustered and said with forced bravado, “You’re a person of great renown; why must you make things difficult for a woman like me? Moreover, the General has issued an order that forbids the army from consorting with prostitutes. Are you intending to disregard military orders?”

Her words clearly didn’t frighten him.

Jiang Yanyi even noticed him slightly raising an eyebrow.

Such a simple gesture from him looked incredibly charming, radiating an air of elegance.

Jiang Yanyi watched helplessly as he stepped forward, blocking her in front of the bed.

She had to lean back against the bed for stability, using her elbows for support.

Feng Shuo even slowly leaned down, his handsome face coming closer.

The strands of hair that fell from his head brushed against her face, bringing a cold sensation.

Jiang Yanyi’s heart raced like never before. She even suspected she might die from the sheer speed of her heartbeat.

She certainly wasn’t at a loss for words in front of this handsome face, but after having formed a clear and bright impression of this military advisor, he suddenly appeared to her as a lecher, which she found hard to accept.

Braving the situation, she shut her eyes and said, “I didn’t expect you to be this kind of person!”

“Ha.”

Jiang Yanyi heard a soft chuckle near her ear.

The warm breath sent a tingling sensation, causing her entire ear to turn a light shade of red.

Opening her eyes, she saw Feng Shuo reach out his hand directly toward the cloak beside her, eventually pulling out a golden token, then turning and leaving the tent without looking back.

Jiang Yanyi was stunned.

Then, she buried her face in the bed, wishing she could smother herself with the pillow.

So embarrassing!

So, so, so embarrassing!

After Feng Shuo left the military tent with the token, his entourage quickly followed, dismounting their horses to ask, “My lord, did you find the token?”

Feng Shuo replied lightly with an “Mm,” mounted his warhorse, and galloped away.

One sharp-eyed attendant noticed his ears were flushed red.

The attendant touched his own ears, thinking it shouldn’t be that cold in Xizhou, yet the lord’s ears were already frozen red.

Inside the military tent.

Though Jiang Yanyi was infuriated by the shameless military advisor’s behavior, the fact that he came to her tent and left the token behind indicated that the cloak was also his.

Having received such a life-saving favor, she felt she couldn’t even scold him anymore!

Jiang Yanyi felt frustrated.

She angrily folded the cloak and prepared to have the military doctor return it to that shameless military advisor.

After stepping out of the military tent with the cloak, she looked around and didn’t see anyone.

The military doctor wasn’t there, and neither was Qiu Kui.

As she pondered this, she saw several people from the fire crew rushing toward her, carrying a stretcher and shouting, “Military doctor! Where is the military doctor?”

As they got closer, Jiang Yanyi was startled to see Chef Li on the stretcher and hurriedly asked, “What happened to Master Li?”

One fire soldier gritted his teeth and said, “It’s all that wolf-hearted scoundrel Liu Cheng’s doing!”

Jiang Yanyi was shocked to hear their brief remarks about Liu Cheng harming Chef Li.

They hadn’t called for a military doctor; only a small soldier responsible for brewing medicine hurriedly ran over from behind the tent, holding a fan: “Doctor Hu has been reassigned. Right now, the only doctor in the camp is Doctor Han, but Vice Commander Ma has a backache, and Doctor Han is currently giving him acupuncture and moxibustion in Vice Commander Ma’s tent…”

Vice Commander Ma’s tent was about a fifteen-minute walk from there.

Despair filled the hearts of the soldiers.

The small soldier instructed them to put Li down and, feeling for his pulse, frowned, saying, “He’s lost his breath; there’s no point in trying to save him.”

The younger soldier began to cry, while the bigger soldier grabbed the little soldier by the collar: “You’re talking nonsense!”

Chef Li was usually stern but kind-hearted.

Though he appeared fierce, he only threatened without acting on it, and everyone in the camp respected him.

Jiang Yanyi felt a pang of sorrow in her heart.

Since she had just arrived, she had been able to establish her footing in the camp largely due to Chef Li’s support.

She set her cloak aside, reached out to touch Chef Li’s hand, and found that it was still warm.

She hurriedly called out to the bigger soldier who was about to strike: “Stop! Master Li might still be saved!”

As soon as the soldiers heard this, they all surrounded her.

“You need to press down hard here with both hands. I’ll count, and you press down each time I count. You have to be quick!” Jiang Yanyi instructed the big soldier.

Then she turned to the younger soldier: “You quickly go to Vice Commander Ma’s tent and ask the doctor to come back!”

Wiping his tears, the younger soldier ran in the direction of Vice Commander Ma’s tent.

The big soldier started to press on Chef Li’s chest according to Jiang Yanyi’s counting, the frequency of chest compressions being between one hundred and one hundred twenty times per minute, meaning he had to press down twice every second.

In ancient times, there was no concept of minutes and seconds, so Jiang Yanyi could only use her counting to time the big soldier.

After almost a quarter of an hour of pressing, there was still no breath from Chef Li, and the big soldier’s arms had grown weak and sore.

Jiang Yanyi knew that performing CPR was physically exhausting, so she quickly called for another soldier to take over.

They continued to alternate in pressing down until the younger soldier finally returned with Doctor Han, but there was still no improvement.

Doctor Han was nearly forty, short and stout, with a mustache at the corners of his mouth.

Seeing them pressing down on Chef Li’s chest, he scolded them, “What are you pressing on blindly?”

Jiang Yanyi signaled for the big soldier to keep going and turned to Doctor Han, saying, “Please help save Master Li!”

Last night, Jiang Yanyi had been carried in by Feng Shuo himself.

Doctor Han glanced at her, taking her as merely a plaything of the military, but he was still wary of Feng Shuo, saying, “How can I take your pulse if you keep pressing like this?”

Jiang Yanyi insisted, “We really can’t stop right now.”

Having practiced medicine for over a decade, Doctor Han had never heard of pressing on the chest to save someone.

He frowned, reached out to check Chef Li’s pulse, and suddenly stood up: “I can save a living person, but a dead one has no chance of being saved!”

Upon hearing this, despair spread across the faces of the soldiers.

The big soldier, who was performing CPR on Chef Li, slowed his actions as well.

Jiang Yanyi glanced at Chef Li’s pale face and gritted her teeth, saying, “Keep going.”

Although Doctor Han’s words held more authority, at that moment, the soldiers were unwilling to accept that Chef Li was dead; they preferred to listen to Jiang Yanyi.

As Jiang Yanyi counted, the big soldier continued to press in time with her rhythm.

Doctor Han scoffed: “I don’t believe that your pressing will bring a dead man back to life!”

Just as his words fell, Chef Li, who lay on the ground with his eyes closed, suddenly made a subtle sound in his throat, like a faint hiccup, and then slowly opened his eyes.