The military camp—
The training ground echoed with the "hey, ha!" shouts of soldiers during their training, as they struggled to adapt to the severe cold. Dressed in thin clothing, their bodies turned red from the freezing temperatures.
So couldn't bear the cold and rubbed snow on their arms, soon warming themselves up.
Conditions were even harsher for the female soldiers. So, experiencing their periods, had to train in the biting cold just like the n, and so even had to enter icy water.
Yet, they had no special rights. While they chanted equality between sexes, they also bore the pain that equality entailed.
But they feared nothing. What they were doing was right, sothing they loved, sothing to live a better life, no longer enduring dostic abuse or parental oppression.
As human beings, they wanted to fight for a better life for themselves. Even if it ant death, they preferred it to being locked in endless chains.
Shi Ruojun stood on a high platform, watching her elite soldiers bare-chested and sparring. The passionate scene made her smile.
The great n of Great Yan should be this spirited and fierce.
She had returned the Black Armor Army entrusted by the Emperor, but a few loyal followers stayed with her. She had Empress diate with the Emperor to release those individuals.
The only thing Shi Ruojun regretted was involving Third Yan and Third Miss Jiang.
When they had finally agreed to marry, she took them to Fusang. Just as the dowry was being arranged, she brought them to Yambian again due to the war.
The prestigious wedding had been postponed ti and again because of the conflict.
"General, we captured a soldier from the Jin Kingdom."
Shi Ruojun stepped down the steps, drawing her longsword to lift the soldier's chin, forcing him to look up.
The Jin man had an ordinary face, but his lively eyes were striking, as though borrowed, making them particularly beautiful.
Shi Ruojun frowned, about to say sothing when another ssenger arrived: "General, our military advisor requests your presence."
She acknowledged with an "mm" and turned to the female soldier: "Detain him in the prison first. I'll deal with him after my duties are done."
With that, she turned and left.
The soldier's gaze lingered on Shi Ruojun's back, as if trying to bore a hole through it.
"Stop staring! Next ti, I'll gouge out your eyes."
Pushing him into the military prison, the female soldiers kicked him inside: "Watch him closely; he's a filthy dog from Jin Kingdom, the General will interrogate him later."
The guards nodded hurriedly: "Yes!"
The soldier closed his eyes, recalling the route and layout of the tents he saw on his way to the prison.
A perfect map of the military camp was soon etched in his mind.
The people of Great Yan were truly naive!
The soldiers of Jin Kingdom weren't so easily captured. Those sent to raid the border were ruthless, free from military discipline. Instead of being defeated by a few won, this soldier was no ordinary trooper.
His disguise discarded on the ground after the guards fell, an aggressive countenance revealed him to be Helian Ying, the Northern Court Prince of the Jin Kingdom, who commanded the kingdom's elite troops.
Using cunning sches over decades, he masked his intentions for the throne. Only he knew his intense desire for the crown.
Disguised again as an ordinary soldier of Great Yan, he stepped out. The two fallen guards on the ground suddenly got up.
The female soldier who escorted Helian Ying previously also rushed in as the duo retrieved his discarded mask. "Baizhang, we've morized his features. Should we now go to the General to make a sketch?"
These weren't re guards but artists skilled in mapping and sketching, assigned to the camp.
Under a hidden canopy, Third Yan and Shi Ruojun watched as Helian Ying departed.
"Empress is indeed an oracle. Who would've thought that a letter from the capital would prompt such preparations, making this an opportune maneuver."
Shi Ruojun clapped her hands, and the camp tents suddenly snapped into movent.
Supply storage tents shifted eastward, and command tents relocated centrally. All positions Helian Ying had morized changed drastically.
Third Yan pulled his cloak tighter: "The artists are awaiting us. Sketch it swiftly, so our strategies adjust accordingly."
Though thanking Empress for her forecasts, Shi Ruojun still felt her success owed much to Third Yan's strategizing, enabling her to flow through unimpeded.
Great Yan—
The sound of gongs and drums filled the air. Xi Que, following customs, served tea to her grandmother when ng Fanyin covertly swapped the teacup with an overly hot one.
Unaware, a maid served the tray, making Xi Que gasp in pain imdiately upon contact.
These consistent mishaps made it obvious soone was targeting Xi Que.
Old Lady ng's gaze flicked toward ng Fanyin before shaking her head, silently warning her to stop.
Ignoring her grandmother's warning, ng Fanyin sneered along with her niece: "Look at her; she acts so pretentiously. After all, she's a servant, married yet believing she's the equal of real nobility, actually thinking she rose from rags to wealth—how ridiculous!"
Her voice wasn't loud enough for everybody but intentional for those to hear.
"Sister!"
ng Qingyu's patience reached its limit. Initially resisting from any drama during the celebration, he'd reconsidered as his sister's behavior escalated.
Taking Xi Que's hand, he advanced towards ng Fanyin: "Sister, perhaps you missed it, but I confirm: Xi Que is my wife, Matriarch ng and future mistress. Visiting the future ng household requires her permission with a formal invitation; she's refused entrance unannounced. Do you grasp my intent?"
His tone stern, laced with anger emphasized his final warning: "These words, repeated over ten tis, bear repeating now: comprehend this to remain my sister. If incapable, welco ceases from today; so declared!"
“Are you trying to expel with this seductress!"
Furious, logic disappeared, and her hand darted forth towards Xi Que's veil.
Enraged over an unavailable marriage of her nephew, further upset by her brother falling under a spell, she sought to sabotage this nuptial.
Though anger blindingly overtook sensibility, she should've pondered—this union sanctified by Emperor jointly with Empress imperiling her family’s countless lives had she caused its dissolution.
That fuming hand reached... suddenly, behind ng Qingyu’s back, Xi Que made a move.
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