Zhao Xueze hadn’t actually been of much use since arriving at the military camp. She was more like a mascot, trotted out to keep morale steady. She genuinely wanted to contribute to ending the war sooner, but Ying Feihong had sealed off all the information around her. Only good news ever reached her ears, while the ugly things were hidden away where she couldn’t see them. Early on, she would still go help the military doctor tend to wounded soldiers, but Ying Feihong eventually talked her out of it. So she was utterly bored in the camp.
This time she had come looking for Jiang Ning because of the lambs. A while back she’d expressed an interest in raising one, and two ewes had gotten pregnant. By her count, the births were due any day now. She wanted to check on them and remind Jiang Ning not to let the cooks take the lambs away, but to her surprise, she found Jiang Ning looking far more disheveled than the last time she’d seen her, escorted by two soldiers to who knew where.
The soldiers stopped to salute when they saw Zhao Xueze approaching, and when she asked, one of them answered, “Reporting to Your Highness, this prisoner is being taken to the Training Ground.”
Zhao Xueze had no idea what went on at the Training Ground or how, but she knew Jiang Ning’s current condition called for rest, not training. She immediately frowned and ordered the soldiers to stop.
“Can’t you see she’s injured?” Seeing how thin Jiang Ning’s clothes were, and how they were seeping blood, Zhao Xueze felt a pang of sympathy. She sent someone to fetch a couple of thicker outer robes and undergarments, then told the soldiers to take the prisoner back.
“But Your Highness, these are the General’s orders,” one of the soldiers said, looking troubled.
“You go ahead to training. I’ll speak with the General myself,” Zhao Xueze said. Watching Jiang Ning, she noticed that once the soldiers left, the woman simply turned and headed back to the Sheep Shed without so much as a glance at her. Something about it felt strange, and almost against her own will, she called out to stop her.
“General, wait!” Zhao Xueze wanted to shout her name, only to realize she didn’t know it. Yelling “Hey” would be too rude, so she settled on that title.
Jiang Ning was a little surprised to hear it, but her face was so frozen from the cold that the surprise didn’t show. All Zhao Xueze saw was a sullen, expressionless face turned toward her.
Watching Jiang Ning’s cold demeanor, something flickered in Zhao Xueze’s eyes. For some reason, instead of turning and leaving right away, she decided to follow her back.
“Don’t follow me.” Jiang Ning didn’t look back, her tone icy. She showed not a shred of gratitude for Zhao Xueze stepping in on her behalf.
Zhao Xueze hadn’t helped her to earn gratitude anyway. She had simply followed her heart. Pressing down the interest in her eyes, she said with some worry, “General, your wounds look serious.”
Several tears still marked Jiang Ning’s clothes, likely from being slashed at the Training Ground yesterday. Zhao Xueze could even see blood through the thin cotton wadding. The weather had improved these past few days, but the temperature was still low, and Jiang Ning’s endurance impressed her despite herself.
“Spare me the false concern.” Whether it was the Original Host’s dull-witted persona or the fact that the two of them were enemies, Jiang Ning had no reason to be gracious to Zhao Xueze.
Zhao Xueze could see Jiang Ning’s coldness but didn’t get angry. Her expression only dimmed a little. “My concern is real.”
“And so is my intent to kill you.” Jiang Ning stopped in her tracks. The rattle of her chains made a grating sound, and the look she fixed on Zhao Xueze carried a chill.
The delay was just long enough for the soldier sent to fetch clothes to return. The garments had been stripped off a corpse and still reeked of decay. The soldier hadn’t expected Zhao Xueze to still be standing there, and he panicked for a moment.
Zhao Xueze saw him too. Even at a distance she could smell the stench, and she didn’t need to imagine what wearing them would be like. Meeting Jiang Ning’s faintly mocking gaze, her expression shifted.
A moment ago it had been heartfelt concern; now the clothes she’d promised turned out to be this. It wasn’t Zhao Xueze’s doing, but the embarrassment was hers all the same.
Just as the awkwardness peaked, Ying Feihong walked over. He had been waiting at the Training Ground for Jiang Ning today, intending to spar with her, never expecting Zhao Xueze to intercept her first.
After saluting Zhao Xueze, Ying Feihong looked at Jiang Ning and frowned. “Your Highness, this prisoner is dangerous. You would do best not to get too close.”
Even though Jiang Ning looked utterly harmless now, Ying Feihong had witnessed her ruthlessness and bloodlust on the battlefield and didn’t dare underestimate her. If Zhao Xueze got hurt right under his watch, the fallout would be impossible to manage.
“Rest assured, General Ying. I’m quite good at martial arts,” Zhao Xueze replied, lifting her chin with a smile at his concern.
Ying Feihong had seen her fight before. She was all flailing limbs, and most people probably held back for fear of hurting her. He had no comment on her claim.
He waved the soldier with the clothes forward, took one whiff, and recoiled with a flick of his hand. “What are you doing carrying this garbage?”
Seeing Zhao Xueze’s dark expression, the soldier didn’t dare admit the clothes had been meant for Jiang Ning. “Reporting to the General, these garments were slated for burning. This subordinate grabbed the wrong ones. I’ll fetch a new set at once.”
“No need.” Zhao Xueze saw Jiang Ning pressing her lips together in silence, looking impatient, so she simply unclasped her own cloak and held it out to her.
Jiang Ning understood the gesture and didn’t reach for it. Just then a gust of wind swept past and Zhao Xueze shivered from the cold. Without ceremony, she stuffed the cloak straight into Jiang Ning’s hands.
“I said you can have it, so take it.” Refused again and again, Zhao Xueze was getting annoyed. She tossed the cloak over and didn’t spare Jiang Ning another glance.
Though she was dressed warmly enough, Zhao Xueze had been afraid of the cold since childhood, and she had no mood to chat with Ying Feihong any longer. She turned and left.
Watching her storm off, Jiang Ning arched a brow, not understanding why a princess took such an interest in a prisoner. Then again, maybe it was a good thing for her. She ran her fingertip over the soft fur, and a faint fragrance seemed to linger at the tip of her nose.
It wasn’t the right moment, so Ying Feihong didn’t approach with anything else. Instead, he ordered more men to keep watch on Jiang Ning, unwilling to risk any trouble during this delicate period.
Back in her Military Tent, Zhao Xueze had Lüyun stoke the charcoal fire. With no outsiders around, she couldn’t be bothered to keep up appearances. Her expression went flat, bearing some resemblance to Jiang Ning’s, though her naturally soft features made even her blank face look easygoing.
“Your Highness, she kept it.” The Shadow Guard had received Zhao Xueze’s covert order in advance and stayed behind. He hadn’t seen Jiang Ning discard the cloak. She was wearing it.
Thinking of how coldly Jiang Ning had refused her, Zhao Xueze spun her dagger between her fingers and let out a huff.
Called my concern fake, and she still took it.
“Have someone tell her that if a lamb is born, she’s to send one to me.” The Shadow Guard complied at once, dispatching a soldier with the message.
When the message reached Jiang Ning, her face betrayed nothing, but she did start paying closer attention to the ewes. Meanwhile, through the System’s surveillance feed, she kept an eye on Ying Feihong’s movements.
Ying Feihong was still flirting his way around the camp. Since the book was written from the Male Lead’s perspective, it was full of indescribable scenes and plotlines, him philandering from start to finish until he sat at the center of countless beauties. The Original Host had been one woman in his Imperial Harem, destined to return at the end to take command of the army and quietly support the Male Lead.
What Jiang Ning couldn’t fathom was why Zhao Xueze had fallen for Ying Feihong. No matter how outstanding the man was, a hopeless flirt should have been the first to be crossed off the list. What would she even want with a man like that? To raise him like a little brother?
[Host 0368, this book’s Male Lead Halo is too strong. It dulls the intelligence of everyone around him. What’s more, the Female Lead has never once discovered what the Male Lead has been doing. In her eyes, he’s strikingly handsome, unmatched in martial arts, and he saved her life once before. She’s looking at him through rose-colored glasses.]
As for how the romance between the Male and Female Leads actually developed, the book was vague about it, frankly crude. Her heart falling for him was dispatched in a single line, leaving Jiang Ning unable to pin down exactly why the Female Lead loved Ying Feihong. That mattered, because exposing the scumbag’s true face hinged on it.
“General.”
The familiar voice made Jiang Ning sigh inwardly. She considered her attitude toward Zhao Xueze downright terrible, yet the woman didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.
These past few days, Zhao Xueze kept coming by under the pretext of checking whether the lambs had been born, chattering so much that Jiang Ning seriously doubted she was really a princess.
“So, General, what story shall we hear today?” Zhao Xueze had come to pester her on purpose. Sometimes, seeing Jiang Ning’s helpless expression struck her as more entertaining than going to find Ying Feihong.
“No stories. Stay away from me.” Jiang Ning’s expression didn’t change as she snapped a branch and fed it to the fire.
The reaction was exactly what Zhao Xueze expected. She pulled out a bottle of Golden Sore Salve and deliberately waved it in front of Jiang Ning. “Look. I brought payment this time.”
She had used the salve before to get Jiang Ning to agree to tell her stories. They were terribly simple, even boring, but Zhao Xueze found them fascinating all the same.
Jiang Ning lifted her eyelids. This time she refused to bend for the medicine, pointing instead at a pile of things to the left. “Ying Feihong gives me more than you do.”
The Northern Kingdom had already dispatched a Special Envoy to negotiate a peace treaty, and everything would wrap up as soon as the Emperor sent his own people over. That was why Ying Feihong’s attitude toward Jiang Ning had softened. He’d sent her clothes, and now salve as well.
One look at his methods and Jiang Ning knew the plot had begun. The Original Host was also the character meant to draw out the Female Lead’s confession. Her pride and disdain made Ying Feihong feel challenged. He had first forced her to live in the Sheep Shed to grind down her dignity. The soldiers taking her to the Training Ground had been done with his tacit approval. Now delivering medicine was his carrot after the stick, to be followed by a whole series of gestures designed to make the Female Lead jealous, then a direct confession to stake his claim.
The reason Ying Feihong wouldn’t touch the Female Lead was that he refused to be confined as a Prince Consort. The world was vast and women were plentiful; marrying in would cost him his freedom. But he also didn’t dare offend Zhao Xueze. Since the Female Lead wouldn’t confess, he simply strung her along with talk of a man’s ambitions lying in all four directions, of building his own legacy first. Now that she had confessed, he was out of excuses, so he promised to request a marriage decree from the Emperor once they returned to the capital. Behind her back, of course, he would go right on hunting for new conquests.
Jiang Ning had no patience for that kind of romance, and cross-species love held even less appeal for her. She’d long since grown sick of men at his caliber. Still, humoring the Female Lead and letting her see what the man she loved was really like? That she could do.
Hearing this, Zhao Xueze buried whatever she was feeling and sniffed. “Big deal. I just couldn’t be bothered to go get some.”
Jiang Ning didn’t even look up. Apparently convinced she wasn’t believed, Zhao Xueze threw out a “Just you wait” and marched off. That only came as a relief to Jiang Ning. A fierce attitude from Zhao Xueze was fine. What she dreaded was a girl softening her voice into a coquettish whine. That was lethal.
Looking down at the dancing flames, Jiang Ning felt her plans shifting. Her original intention had been to get out of the Sheep Shed first, back into the camp proper, kill Zhang Tianhao, the man who had framed the Original Host, then pretend to defect to the Southern Kingdom and plot her next move at leisure.
Instead, she had somehow connected with the Female Lead ahead of schedule. These few meetings had taught her a bit more about Zhao Xueze. She looked innocent, harmless, easy to talk to, but going on all her years of experience, Jiang Ning still felt faintly that something was off.
As she was mulling it over, footsteps drew closer. At first she assumed Zhao Xueze had come back, but the shadow on the ground was the wrong shape and proportion, so she didn’t look up.
After delivering his gifts several times, Ying Feihong figured he’d racked up enough goodwill and had come to sound her out.
He didn’t believe Jiang Ning could hurt him, but he had no wish to get too close either. Even though winter dulled the nose, and the sheep droppings were carted away elsewhere, he still found the place disgusting.
He stopped outside the Sheep Shed and called out, “Come out here.” He didn’t even use her name.
Jiang Ning pretended not to understand and ignored him, continuing with her work. She had little interest in dealing with this sort of man.
Ying Feihong called again, impatience creeping into his voice. If he hadn’t known she would help him in the future, and if he hadn’t been itching over a woman as fine as this one, he’d have long since washed his hands of her, or simply taken her by force.
Jiang Ning finished her task, and when she came out she deliberately squeezed a fistful of mud mixed with water, giving it a shake. Ying Feihong saw it and scrambled back a step.
“Was there something you needed?” Jiang Ning’s face was as blank as ever. Neither the clothes nor the medicine he’d sent had thawed it in the slightest. That coldness hit Ying Feihong like a wall.
He noticed she wasn’t wearing a single piece of the clothing he’d given her, and he sneered. “What’s this? Found yourself a backer?”
“My backer is my own life.” The wet clay chilled to the bone as the cold wind bit into it. Jiang Ning kneaded the mud between her fingers, entirely unmoved by his attitude.
She meant it, too. Fatherless, motherless, she had exactly one life to her name, and apart from going bankrupt on Points, there was nothing left to fear.
In the original plot, the Original Host had been somewhat touched by all this. She had wanted out of the Sheep Shed, so she swallowed her pride and softened toward Ying Feihong, eventually becoming a soldier under his command. One thing led to another, and she really did fall for him. Just thinking about it made Jiang Ning’s skin crawl. She had absolutely no intention of walking that path.
Ying Feihong’s Military Tent saw nightly revelry behind Zhao Xueze’s back. Every woman sent to the camp as a camp follower passed through his hands first. It was an open secret among everyone except the Emperor’s and Zhao Xueze’s people.
“Heh. This time, your sovereign has demanded you be escorted back in chains.” Ying Feihong laid particular weight on the word escorted. Word had spread across the Northern Kingdom that Jiang Ning was a traitor, that she had led three thousand elite soldiers into a trap and destroyed them all. She was hated to the bone.
The frame-up was something Jiang Ning had long expected, so she obliged Ying Feihong with none of the reaction he was hoping for. Instead, she smiled. “I look forward to that day.”
As luck would have it, that rare smile of Jiang Ning’s was witnessed by Zhao Xueze, who had just returned. Her brow furrowed on the spot, and she strode right over.
