The barren wilderness stretched empty in all directions, with wild grass no taller than knee height and nothing to provide shelter. The howling wind could easily tear everything apart.
Yan Yiqing’s mood at that moment was much the same. Caught completely off guard, she had been drenched to the bone with icy disappointment.
Strands of her hair were blown into disarray by the wind.
The woman pressed her lips together tightly, her entire demeanor growing heavy.
“Young Master Yan, are you unwell anywhere?” Noticing Yan Yiqing’s odd expression, Qin An asked.
“I’m fine.” Yan Yiqing snapped back to attention and shook her head, though her mood could no longer return to its earlier lightness. “It’s just… I suddenly understood something.”
Qin An nodded without pressing further. “If Young Master Yan wants to know the Heir Apparent’s preferences, you can ask this official.”
“Thank you,” Yan Yiqing said gravely.
Finally, she had a way to learn about Huairen.
She felt she ought to be happy, yet… she couldn’t muster the spirit.
The reason for their distant closeness had come to light, and it wasn’t some complicated matter. She had simply been wrong from the start—Huairen didn’t like women.
“No need to stand on ceremony, Young Master Yan.” Qin An cupped her hands and continued, “This official has a favor to ask. Could Young Master Yan tell me where those cyan wild fruits were picked?”
“On the way here…” Yan Yiqing began, then abruptly stopped. Her gaze swept over Qin An before she changed tack. “I was planning to pick some more wild fruits for the road anyway. You rest. You don’t need to worry about this.”
Seeing that she wanted more time alone with their Heir Apparent, understanding flashed in Qin An’s eyes. She went along with it. “Then I’ll trouble Young Master Yan.”
She had no desire to sleep anyway.
Better to do something to pass the time.
With that in mind, Yan Yiqing spurred her horse a few li around and picked the fruits Zhao Huairen wanted from the spot Xing Wanyang had mentioned. Moonlight lit her way back, the biting wind whistled softly in her ears, and her restless heart gradually calmed during the journey.
If Huairen didn’t like women…
Would she change her feelings for her?
The moment she posed the question inwardly, Yan Yiqing already knew the answer.
A forced melon wasn’t sweet, but Huairen wasn’t a melon. She was the one Yan Yiqing had cherished since her heart first stirred. Even if all her efforts came to nothing, even if it led to Huairen despising her, she wouldn’t give up until she crashed headlong into bloody failure.
Her entire heart hung on Zhao Huairen.
Joy made her beam with delight; sorrow shrouded her in gloom.
Yan Yiqing returned to camp with the wild fruits. Her gaze was resolute as she dismounted, but she hesitated when she reached the vicinity of the resting carriage.
Before she could come to a decision,
An icy sword sheath pressed against her neck.
Moonlight clearly illuminated the wariness in the woman’s eyes. Zhuyu’s brows furrowed tightly as she increased the pressure from her fingertips.
…Wasn’t she Huairen’s wife?
What was wrong with this person!
Why was she always watching her every move?!
“Miss Zhuyu, I’m just here to deliver wild fruits. I’ll leave them on the carriage shaft and go,” Yan Yiqing said with a smile, despite the hundred questions burning inside her. “The Heir Apparent wants to eat them.”
The fingers gripping the sword hilt showed no sign of relaxing. Zhuyu glanced at the resting carriage behind Yan Yiqing, then down at the cyan fruits in her arms. She still sensed ill intent and was about to drive her away—
“Yiqing.”
Softer than moonlight.
Cooler than the wind, lighter than snowflakes.
“You heard that, right? She’s calling me.” Surprised that Huairen slept so lightly, Yan Yiqing blinked.
The Heir Apparent didn’t want to be close to her.
What did this call mean now?
Zhuyu’s delicate brows knitted into a ‘川’ shape, her gaze hesitant as she wondered whether to withdraw the sword.
As if responding to Zhuyu’s indecision,
A few breaths later, the clear, melodious voice sounded from the carriage again.
“Yiqing.”
Huairen’s voice calling her name was so enchanting—it even made her own ears heat up faintly. Yan Yiqing cleared her throat lightly. “See? You heard it clearly this time, right?”
Spotting the blatant smugness on the woman’s face, Zhuyu’s lips twitched. She withdrew the sword from Yan Yiqing’s neck and turned her head toward the nearby campfire.
Like a cat favored by its master.
Even its whiskers trembled in satisfaction, the light in its eyes brighter than the stars.
Yan Yiqing lightly tapped her toe on the ground and gracefully leaped onto the carriage. She lifted the curtain with one hand, and the woman who always stirred her thoughts—finally opened her eyes languidly.
Different from her usual impeccably noble poise.
Like flawless jade just beginning to crack, spilling forth vivid, alluring colors and scents.
She pinched the tip of her finger hard with her nail to pull her thoughts together. Yan Yiqing lowered her lashes slightly. “The ones brought into the carriage yesterday at the hour of Snake. The Heir Apparent had Qin An pick more, and I’m delivering them for her.”
Her long lashes fluttered guiltily, hiding the ripples of moisture in her eyes. Zhao Huairen recalled that she had indeed mentioned it to Qin An. “Thank you, Young Master Yan. Just place the fruits on the small table.”
It clearly hadn’t been like that earlier.
Her voice was even more velvety, and the name called… wasn’t a distant official title.
That heart-shaking tenderness was but a fleeting illusion, yet the cat who had caught a whiff of the flower refused to wake from the dream. Yan Yiqing bit her lip and mumbled, “Mm.”
Once the curtain fell, the last trace of light vanished.
In the darkness, her senses sharpened endlessly. Yan Yiqing leaned down by the faint moonlight filtering through the carriage window, approaching the small table from memory.
The faint watery fragrance grew stronger.
She didn’t want to pay it any mind, but she couldn’t control her thoughts.
It came from Huairen, different from her usual aloof and elegant scent—now laced with a soft sweetness, utterly intoxicating…
Why wouldn’t she let her smell it?
So stingy. She just really liked this scent.
“How much longer, Young Master Yan?” The spacious carriage could fit eight people, but with Yan Yiqing inside, Zhao Huairen felt utterly out of place.
Finally unable to hold back, Yan Yiqing asked, “Heir Apparent, what exactly did you apply to yourself?”
Zhao Huairen’s breath hitched as she awkwardly drew back her legs.
With Qin An’s personality, she never would have sent Yiqing twice with fruits. This was just her… excuse to get close. Seeing through it so easily made her chest sweeten, but right now—she truly couldn’t exchange another word with her.
She couldn’t ignore it.
That trace of dampness was the embodiment of her greed.
“It’s late. I want to rest.” Zhao Huairen refused to address the scent’s source.
Her voice was like frost-covered branches.
Cold yet soft, like a silent show of weakness.
The soft clunk of the wild fruits against the small table rang especially clearly in the carriage.
Thud… thud thud.
Unfortunately, both women harbored ulterior motives.
Each mistook the sound for her own heartbeat.
“Rest well, Heir Apparent.” Yan Yiqing’s tone was calm, but the hand at her side clenched into a fist.
Zhao Huairen replied, “Mm.”
Her obsidian eyes lost their luster, a flicker of disappointment passing through them. The cat tucked its tail and listlessly left its master’s side.
Only after Yan Yiqing’s footsteps faded completely did Zhao Huairen, huddled in the corner, finally dare to murmur the slightly intimate address. “Yiqing, sweet dreams.”
–
When the first rays of dawn fell upon the earth,
Hoofbeats shattered the frost as the procession advanced slowly toward the sunlight.
“Where did the General go last night?” Xing Wanyang yawned and turned to Yan Yiqing. “I got up in the night… and the General still hadn’t returned.”
In the bright sunlight, the dark circles under Yan Yiqing’s eyes stood out starkly. She squinted and said, “To pick wild fruits.”
“What about the fruits?” Xing Wanyang asked curiously.
“Don’t look.” Yan Yiqing turned her peering head back and glanced at her indifferently. “They were picked for her to eat. I delivered them to the resting carriage last night.”
“Hah?” Xing Wanyang’s eyes widened.
“Do you want some?” Yan Yiqing frowned slightly and looked back at the carriage not far behind. “I picked quite a few last night. If you want, I can fetch some.”
Tsk tsk tsk…
Why hadn’t she thought to save any when she gave them?
“How could this subordinate dare eat them? Those aren’t just fruits,” Xing Wanyang shook her head with exaggerated flair. Under Yan Yiqing’s puzzled gaze, she sighed dramatically and finished, “They’re a piece of the General’s devoted heart. Eating them would give me a stomachache.”
“Ow, that hurts!” Her calf took a kick, and Xing Wanyang cried out in exaggerated pain.
“Don’t always say these tooth-rotting things.”
Not daring to challenge Yan Yiqing, Xing Wanyang nodded obediently but mouthed silently: Isn’t it simple? As long as the General—stops doing these tooth-rotting things.
“We’ll reach Yumu County in another two days.” Yan Yiqing’s peach-blossom eyes narrowed as she gazed into the distance, her voice carrying a newfound steadiness. “After merging with the Jinwu Guards, the soldiers… must have suffered quite a bit.”
“They’re all martial folk. Most speak with their skills,” Xing Wanyang brushed off.
Yan Yiqing raised a brow. “Like you. In just a few months, you’ve already become a squad leader.”
“I’m the Anbei General’s deputy.” Her shoulder armor gleamed in the sunlight as Xing Wanyang fell half a step behind. “Squad leader? That’s already a demotion~”
Yan Yiqing’s fingers tightened briefly on the reins, her gaze complex. “Do you regret it?”
They had been bantering lightly.
But at those words, Xing Wanyang immediately sobered.
As subordinate and friend, sisters who shared life and death, comrades forged in battle—she knew her casual remark had struck Yan Yiqing’s sore spot. Xing Wanyang said remorsefully, “This subordinate spoke out of turn.”
“Following the General back to the capital was my own wish. From the moment we left Youzhou, I’ve never regretted it.”
“Besides, if we’re talking about…”
Among them all,
The one who truly suffered the most loss was the General.
They should have pressed the advantage after reclaiming the lost territory. The Youzhou Guard’s morale was sky-high then. If the General had led them into battle, they could have pushed the border fifty li further.
That was half a commandery.
Pastures, farmland, the livelihoods of countless people.
Establishing merit and legacy was every soldier’s lifelong dream. With a fifty-li buffer, reclaiming three hundred li later would be no issue. Then, the General could have gone down in history.
But the Emperor’s wariness of Youzhou, the capital’s suspicions—all of it turned to smoke. If her own regrets were a well’s worth, the General’s grievances and unwillingness… could fill rivers and seas.
“That initial victory wasn’t luck.” Yan Yiqing lifted her chin, her pupils blazing with light, her aura radiating high-spirited valor. “If I won once, I can win again.”
Xing Wanyang replied, “This subordinate vows to follow the General to the death.”
“First thing in the morning… pfft pfft.” Yan Yiqing frowned at her, about to say more.
But when she turned back, she suddenly froze.
