Chapter 48: World Three [8] Part 2

“Father Emperor can defend the capital to the death. The capital has a million residents. If all are mobilized as soldiers, we can absolutely stop the rebels.” Though young, the Fourth Prince had already been enfeoffed as Prince Rui.

“Defend to the death?” The emperor took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Little Four, are you willing to live and die together with Father Emperor?”

“Yes, I will defend the capital to the last with Father Emperor.” The Fourth Prince agreed without hesitation.

Hearing his youngest son’s answer, a rare glint of relief appeared in the emperor’s eyes. What a fine child. If heaven let him survive this crisis, he would surely make Little Four the crown prince! Clear some obstacles for him!

–

Compared to the tense atmosphere in the capital, the mood in Taiyuan Prefecture was joyful and harmonious.

Li Jianwei neither claimed the title of king nor emperor. She still interacted with her subordinates as general and commander, her demeanor quite approachable.

At the New Year’s banquet, she cast aside formalities and even drank with her trusted aides—one bowl for you, one for me—until they were all dead drunk.

Not everyone in the army got drunk, though. At least Shu Heng, sitting beside Li Jianwei, had drunk little and still had clear eyes when the banquet ended.

“General, I’ll help you bathe.” Shu Heng took over the guard’s duty, laboriously supporting Li Jianwei up from her seat.

“Hm? Little Shu Daren?” Li Jianwei blinked, then lowered her head to bring it close to Shu Heng’s face. “Why aren’t you flushed? Your tolerance is better than mine?”

Shu Heng instinctively held her breath, but the thick smell of alcohol still rushed into her nostrils. She explained helplessly, “General, I only had two cups. Have you forgotten? At the start of the banquet, you said no one was allowed to pour me drinks.”

Li Jianwei let out an “ah,” her mind turning slowly as she mumbled, “Seems like that’s right. Little Shu Daren, you’re hot stuff now—you can’t get drunk.”

“You’re the person I value most of all. Absolutely can’t let those scheming noble heirs trick you away. They can dream on if they want to marry you!”

Catching the key words, Shu Heng froze. “General, someone asked you for my hand in marriage?”

“Yes, quite a few even. If not for their usefulness, I’d have kicked them out of Taiyuan long ago.” Li Jianwei hiccuped as she spoke. “Little Shu Daren, remember—you’re the talent I discovered. You must stay with me forever, not follow anyone else.”

“General, rest assured. Shu Heng will follow only you.” Shu Heng patiently agreed. “General, watch the step.”

“Good.” Li Jianwei obediently lifted her leg high and crossed the threshold steadily.

The rest of the way went smoothly. Soon, Shu Heng brought Li Jianwei to the bathhouse and prepared to hand her over to the personal guards.

“Shu Heng.” The moment Shu Heng let go, Li Jianwei gripped her hand in return, her expression quite serious.

“General, I’m here,” Shu Heng responded.

“Do you remember what I said to you?” Li Jianwei’s ink-black eyes locked firmly on Shu Heng.

Shu Heng nodded seriously and did not slack off just because Li Jianwei was drunk. “I remember. I will only follow the General alone and obey only your commands.”

“Very good. Then stay and bathe with me.” Li Jianwei smiled as she released Shu Heng’s hand and patted her shoulder. “It’s the big holiday. Sleeping alone would be too cold and lonely. We’ll sleep together after bathing.”

Shu Heng was stunned. Who was the General referring to with “sleeping alone”?

Before Shu Heng could think of an answer, she saw Li Jianwei swiftly untie her belt. In just a few moves, she stripped off her clothes and strode boldly into the bath.

“Little Shu Daren, the water temperature is just right. Come soak and relieve your fatigue.” Li Jianwei even waved at Shu Heng.

Shu Heng was caught in a dilemma. Had she not just promised to obey only the General’s commands? Wouldn’t breaking that promise right away be inappropriate?

“Shu Daren, do you need us to help you undress?” asked one of the guards doubling as a maidservant.

Shu Heng immediately shook her head like a rattle-drum. “I can do it myself. Please go to my courtyard and have Aunt Liu fetch a set of clean clothes for me.”

The guards acknowledged the order. Seeing Shu Heng dallying as she undressed, they tactfully stepped back a distance.

Shu Heng felt a bit shy, of course, but Li Jianwei’s open attitude gradually influenced her, so she did not hesitate to enter the bath in nothing but her last undergarment.

“Shu Heng, come closer. I can’t even see you in this steam,” Li Jianwei said. The rising heat blurred her features.

Shu Heng suppressed her inner shyness and slowly approached Li Jianwei.

“You’re really too skinny. Why can’t you gain any weight?” Li Jianwei pinched Shu Heng’s shoulder and sighed involuntarily.

Shu Heng pursed her lips. She could clearly feel the calluses on her General’s hand, formed from years of wielding weapons. They were somewhat rough, but also very warm.

“I’ve always been like this since I was little. I can’t gain weight no matter how much I eat,” Shu Heng said, her voice slightly hoarse.

“Have you ever truly eaten your fill?” Li Jianwei countered.

Shu Heng nodded. “Of course. My family never lacked food.”

“What I mean by ‘eating your fill’ is eating as much as you want without caring about others’ opinions—not that puffed-up seven-tenths full, and certainly not five-tenths full just to keep a slender waist.”

Li Jianwei’s tone remained steady, but her eyes were much clearer than before. “You weren’t raised in the Northern Border. Your ancestral home is in the Jiangnan region.”

“I’ve heard that Jiangnan scholars promote women as slender willows bending in the wind, demanding slim waists, gentle dispositions, and even soft voices.”

“As a child, were you ever forced by your family to maintain all sorts of poise and conform to those scholars’ ideals of beauty?”

Shu Heng zoned out for a moment and subconsciously answered, “Everyone was like that. If your figure was too sturdy, it would…”

“Tch, I knew it.” Li Jianwei showed a disdainful smile. “It’s not like that in our Northern Border. We don’t compete on slender waists—we compete on who has greater strength and who can charge into battle to kill the enemy.”

“General, why bring this up all of a sudden? Has someone been slandering you?” Shu Heng asked tentatively.

“They wouldn’t dare. But after my subordinates grew in number, a few muddle-headed ones inevitably slipped in. They think I shouldn’t give warhorses to the Luo Yi Camp soldiers but instead select sturdy men to form a cavalry unit.”

“Why couldn’t they use their brains before opening their mouths? Those warhorses were earned by Miao Yun and her sisters through life-and-death battles. Why should I just hand them over to others for nothing?”

Disgust grew more evident on Li Jianwei’s face. “Those aristocratic family heirs are truly annoying. They keep testing my bottom line for no reason, trying to make me abandon the idea of promoting female officials and give the spots to them instead.”

Shu Heng’s hand clenched underwater. It seemed she had never heard such things before.

“General…” Shu Heng wanted to speak, but Li Jianwei pressed a finger to her lips after just two words.

“Shh. I know what you want to say. I won’t change my decisions, nor will I chop off all their heads just because I’m upset.”

Li Jianwei said, “I’m just venting to you. That’s all. I won’t say these things to anyone else. Only you and I know.”

Shu Heng blinked and slowly grasped Li Jianwei’s finger, moving it away. “General, you’re besieging the capital without attacking it outright. Are you planning to… accomplish more things beforehand?”

“Hm?” Li Jianwei raised an eyebrow. “Is my intent that obvious?”

Shu Heng shook her head. “Your reasons for besieging without attacking are fully justified. I only just thought of it.”

With the capital not yet fallen, the aristocratic families dared not show their heads too much. Their tolerance for their own General was extremely high. To avoid having their homes ransacked and clans exterminated, they would not oppose any of her unorthodox orders.

But once the capital fell and she ascended the throne, everything would change. To rule the realm, she could not dismiss all officials at once. The deeply rooted aristocratic families would use that as leverage to clash anew with imperial authority.

This also explained why her General only wanted to kill off the imperial males and was willing to spare the Princesses.

If the old officials supported the Princesses rather than Princes, the resistance to her new policies would be much smaller.

“The reasons for besieging without attacking are indeed fully justified, and it’s the right decision. The longer I besiege the capital, the more the people’s hearts in the city will turn toward me.”

Li Jianwei did not pull her finger away, letting Shu Heng hold it. “Though the final battle can’t be avoided, it can greatly reduce casualties.”

“I’m planning to make Prince Cheng and Prince Wei ‘disappear’ when I finally storm the capital,” Li Jianwei said, her gaze returning to Shu Heng with a hint of expectation. “You can guess why, right?”

Shu Heng’s eyelid twitched. “General, are you truly letting them go, or do you just need word to spread that two Previous Dynasty Princes escaped?”

“Of course I’m not really letting them go. While I’ve imprisoned them, they had no way to contact outsiders. Whether they escaped, who escaped, and where they went—it’s all up to me to decide.”

Li Jianwei laughed. She really liked Shu Heng—like how Shu Heng understood her meaning from the slightest hint without needing much explanation.

“If that’s the case, General, why not leave them around… around Jingzhou? That would make it much easier to move against the Jiangnan Aristocratic Families,” Shu Heng said thoughtfully, completely forgetting she was bathing as she shifted into work mode.

“Jingzhou is a good spot, but I need a reason.” Li Jianwei relaxed her body. “Can Little Shu Daren help me think of one?”

“Why not announce publicly that Prince Cheng and Prince Wei have surrendered and volunteered to act as your envoys, persuading the Pacification Army in the south to submit?” Shu Heng’s mind turned quickly.

Shu Heng added, “As for what happens next, it depends on how you proceed, General.”

“Little Shu Daren, if I ascend the throne, there will be a place for you in the Grand Secretariat!” Li Jianwei was extremely pleased with Shu Heng. She gripped her hand in return and pulled her to her side.

Warm skin pressed together. Shu Heng, slightly shorter, had to tilt her head up.

“Little Shu Daren, if I make you Chief Minister, do you have the confidence to suppress the hundred officials?” Li Jianwei asked, her eyes full of undisguised fondness and admiration. It made even the sober Shu Heng blush.

“I will not fail your trust, General!” Shu Heng responded. She could clearly hear her own pounding heartbeat.

Such a wonderful liege—she must follow her loyally for life!

No, even in the next life, she would willingly follow the General!