Chapter 9

I held the rabbits, a bit stunned.

What did Huang Yue want with me?

She should be looking for Uncle Ji regarding defense layouts. There was no need to bypass the chain of command to find me, and I had absolutely no private interactions with her.

“General?”

The maid called out to me. I snapped back to reality, handed the rabbits to someone nearby, and followed her around half the camp until I saw a bonfire in a clearing. Huang Yue, wearing an exquisite riding habit, was sitting shoulder to shoulder with Ji Wenmu by the fire. They were roasting some game. The firelight dyed both their faces red, and as they looked at each other and conversed, they looked just like a perfectly matched couple.

I withdrew my gaze and gave a formal bow.

Huang Yue raised her arm toward me. “No need for formalities. It’s just the three of us tonight; no need to be constrained. I’ve always heard Wenmu talk about you, and *Zhen* [I] have long wanted to chat with you, our female general, in private.”

She looked up at me, the dancing firelight reflected in her eyes. Beyond the firelight, her eyes were as deep as black lacquer. With just this single glance, my heart skipped a beat, and I suddenly felt a layer of oppressive aura surrounding me.

“Come, come, sit down and eat with us.”

Ji Wenmu came over, pulled me to sit beside him, and handed me a skewer of roast chicken. I leaned close to him, wanting to quietly ask what the situation was, but Huang Yue’s voice immediately interrupted my movement.

“*Zhen* has heard that General Liu is incomparably brave, surpassing any man, and Wenmu has praised you to the high heavens,” she chuckled, her tone somewhat intriguing. “*Zhen* has never heard Wenmu praise anyone else like this.”

My heart tightened. I looked at Ji Wenmu. His eyes darted, avoiding my gaze, and he said to Huang Yue, “Just speaking the truth. Can you find a second girl in all of Great Jing who goes to the battlefield to be a general?”

I tugged his arm. He and Huang Yue were incredibly close and could say anything to each other, but I didn’t want my head to roll because of his loose lips.

“Naturally there are, but most women don’t have the opportunity I did to learn martial arts from Great General Ji and to receive Your Majesty’s permission to join the army. Were it not for that, this subject would still be like any other young lady in her boudoir, marrying and having children after coming of age. Naturally, I wouldn’t have had the chance to establish military merit.”

“But isn’t that also because of your own…”

Ji Wenmu wanted to say more. I glared at him, and he closed his mouth in confusion.

“Wenmu is right, General Liu is too modest. If you didn’t have the strength yourself, going to the battlefield would be a one-way trip.” She blew on the roast meat in her hand. “However, *Zhen* is curious. As a woman, why did you want to go to the battlefield?”

I subconsciously glanced at Ji Wenmu. Huang Yue immediately caught it. “Why are you looking at Wenmu? Does it have to do with him?”

Ji Wenmu’s body visibly stiffened. I smiled. “It does indeed.”

He abruptly turned his head to look at me, his shock palpable. A scrutinizing look also appeared in Huang Yue’s eyes.

“Since childhood, this subject received the grace of the Ji Manor and was taught alongside Little General Ji. When Uncle Ji took on his heavy responsibility, Little General Ji was only fifteen yet rushing to the battlefield. This subject wished to repay the Ji Manor and serve the country. I didn’t want to cower inside the estate and accept the Ji Manor’s protection for nothing.”

“So that’s how it is. With such ambition to repay the country, you are truly worthy of being taught by Great General Ji.” Her eyes held a smile as she looked at Ji Wenmu. “Since the older sister is like this, it’s no wonder he dared to verbally battle the ministers at the palace gates.”

“What kind of older sister is she to me?” Ji Wenmu bickered with her.

I suddenly understood why she had called me here.

I also knew about Ji Wenmu arguing with the ministers at the palace gates. Back then, the late Emperor passed away too suddenly. Huang Yue ascended the throne in haste, her foundation unstable. It was a time of internal strife and external threats when foreign enemies took advantage of the situation to invade.

The ministers harbored their own motives, bullying Huang Yue for her youth.

Uncle Ji requested orders to repel the enemy. On the day Uncle Ji made his request, right as court dismissed, Ji Wenmu stood on a horse and publicly exposed the ministers’ malicious intentions. Before they could complain, he pleaded guilty to Huang Yue, saying he had offended the ministers and volunteered to go to the battlefield, asking Huang Yue to pardon the Ji family’s old and young on account of all the Ji men being on the battlefield.

Huang Yue agreed to everything, stating that the ministers were all deeply righteous people who wouldn’t hold a grudge against a child, and would instead look after the Ji Manor.

The ministers were outplayed and had to swallow the bitter pill.

That day, I had intended to follow Ji Wenmu, but with a cold face, he uncharacteristically and forcefully locked me in the manor, having a group of guards watch over me outside the door.

I absently bit into the roast chicken in my hand. It was a bit hot, and I drew in a sharp breath.

He protected the country for her, and she protected his home for him.

The bond between them was far deeper than I had imagined.

Did Huang Yue call me here this time specifically to tell me this?

“General Liu, are you betrothed?”

I froze for a moment. “Not yet.”

“That is hardly proper. General Liu serves the country; how can your lifelong matters be left unsettled?”

“Aunt Ji is currently managing it.”

“Madam Ji’s perspective is ultimately a bit limited. How about *Zhen* selects a suitable husband for the General from the families of our civil and military officials?”

I opened my mouth, but Ji Wenmu suddenly interjected. “Xiaoyue, why are you trying to control her marriage just like my mother? Shouldn’t it be fine as long as she’s happy?”

Huang Yue chided him gently, the majestic Emperor revealing a hint of a young girl’s charm. “What do you know, as a man? A woman’s youth is limited. Marrying early and having children is true fulfillment.”

I lowered my eyes and took a large bite of chicken, not caring about my table manners.

Huang Yue added, “General Liu is a heroine among women, free and untrammeled. Surely there are many fine youths who yearn for her. Wenmu, stop meddling. If you ruin a good thing, I’ll settle the score with you.”

The chicken I bit into suddenly made me feel like gagging.

I covered my mouth and forced myself to swallow it down.

At that moment, a flash of bright light pierced my eyes. I instinctively drew the longsword at my waist to block it. With a harsh *clash*, I struck down a long arrow.

“Assassins!”

Ji Wenmu roared beside me, swiftly shielding Huang Yue and retreating. I stood rooted to the spot, unable to retreat in time. My strength felt as if it had been completely drained. The armor on my body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, and even keeping a steady grip on my sword was difficult.

Soldiers quickly rushed over and engaged the assassins in a chaotic brawl.

I realized something was wrong with my condition. I instinctively looked toward Ji Wenmu. He was firmly protecting Huang Yue behind him, standing before her like a guardian deity.

My heart felt hollow, but there was no time to overthink. I gripped my sword with both hands to meet the enemy. Instantly, my sword was knocked to the ground. As I dodged hastily, a bloody line was slashed across my throat.

“A’min!”

I heard Ji Wenmu call out to me. My brain began to spin with dizziness. Something heavy seemed to be dragging me downward.

I shook my head, trying hard to clear my vision. In the blur, I saw his tall figure sheltering the petite girl.

Then, my body uncontrollably staggered forward.

The pain wasn’t overwhelmingly intense yet, but the blood-dripping sword blade piercing through my chest was glaringly piercing to the eye.

My eyes widened. I opened my mouth in vain, only able to let out low, hoarse whimpers.

The assassin pulled the sword out. Only then did the pain become truly real. The wound felt as though it was catching the wind; cold drafts ruthlessly drilled into it, blowing straight through my body.

I felt so cold all over.

I felt like I was going to meet my end here.

Yet dying so inexplicably.

How could I just die like this?

Not dying on the battlefield, but dying here instead?

I looked at Ji Wenmu. He didn’t seem to understand either, staring at me blankly.

I faced him, finding it exhausting even to twitch my fingers. He took two steps toward me but didn’t come closer.

“Wenmu, don’t leave me.”

The last thing I heard was this sentence from Huang Yue.

What echoed in my heart were those four words: “This young master will cover you.”