Chapter 9

I held the rabbits, a bit stunned.

What did Huang Yue want with me?

She should seek out Uncle Ji for security layouts. There was no need to bypass the chain of command to find me, and she and I had absolutely no personal interactions.

“General?”

The maid called out to me. Snapping back to reality, I handed the rabbits to someone nearby and followed her. We skirted halfway around the camp until I saw a bonfire in a clearing. Huang Yue, dressed in exquisite riding gear, sat shoulder to shoulder with Ji Wenmu by the fire. They were roasting game in their hands, the firelight casting a ruddy glow on both their faces. As they looked at each other and talked, they looked exactly like a matched pair.

I pulled back my gaze and respectfully bowed.

Huang Yue raised her arm toward me. “No need for formalities. It’s just the three of us tonight; no need to be restrained. I’ve heard Wenmu talk about you all the time, and *Zhen* has long wanted to chat privately with this female general.”

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 that one glance, my heart skipped a beat, and I suddenly felt an oppressive aura envelop me.

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

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

“*Zhen* has heard that General Liu is incredibly brave, surpassing even men. Wenmu has praised you to the high heavens,” she chuckled softly, her tone somewhat intriguing. “*Zhen* has never heard Wenmu praise anyone else like that.”

My heart tightened. I looked at Ji Wenmu. His gaze flickered, and he avoided my eyes, turning to Huang Yue. “I’m just telling the truth. Can you find a second girl in all of Great Jing who goes to the battlefield as a general?”

I tugged at his sleeve. He and Huang Yue were intimately close and could say whatever they pleased, but I didn’t want my head to roll because of his unbridled tongue.

“Naturally, there are others. It’s just that most women didn’t have the same opportunity as me—to be taught by General Ji and be granted permission by Your Majesty to join the army. Were it not for that, this subject would be just like the women secluded in their boudoirs, marrying and having children after coming of age, and naturally wouldn’t have the chance to establish merit and build a career.”

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

Ji Wenmu tried to speak again, but I glared at him, and he shut his mouth in confusion.

“Wenmu is right, General Liu, you are being too modest. If you didn’t have the true capability, going to the battlefield would have been a one-way trip.” She blew on the roasted meat in her hand. “However, *Zhen* is rather curious: as a woman, why did you want to go to the battlefield?”

I instinctively glanced at Ji Wenmu, which Huang Yue immediately caught. “Why look at Wenmu? Does it have to do with him?”

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

He whipped his head around to look at me, his surprise plainly visible. Huang Yue’s eyes also took on an inquiring depth.

“Since childhood, this subject received the grace of the Ji Manor, was afforded an education, and practiced martial arts alongside Young General Ji. When Uncle Ji took on a heavy responsibility and Young General Ji had to rush to the battlefield at merely fifteen, this subject wished to repay the Ji Manor and serve the country. I didn’t want to cower in the manor, blindly accepting the Ji Manor’s protection.”

“So that’s how it is. With such ambition to repay the country, you are truly a student taught by General Ji.” Her eyes filled with a smile as she looked at Ji Wenmu. “If an older sister acts this way, no wonder he dared to verbally battle the ministers at the palace gates.”

“Since when is she my older sister?” Ji Wenmu bickered with her.

I suddenly understood why she had called me here.

I knew about Ji Wenmu arguing with the ministers at the palace gates. When the late Emperor suddenly passed away, Huang Yue ascended the throne hastily. Her foundation was unstable, and foreign enemies took advantage of the situation to invade.

The ministers harbored their own hidden agendas, bullying Huang Yue for her youth amidst internal strife and foreign aggression.

Uncle Ji requested an edict to repel the enemy. On the day Uncle Ji made his request, after the court dismissed, Ji Wenmu stood on his horse and publicly exposed the malicious intentions of the ministers. 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 young and old of the Ji Manor since all the male members of the Ji family were going to war.

Huang Yue agreed to everything, stating that the ministers were all profoundly righteous people who not only wouldn’t hold a grudge against a child, but would actually look after the Ji Manor.

The ministers had been outplayed and had to swallow their grievances in silence.

That day, I had originally wanted to go with Ji Wenmu. But with a cold face, he forcibly locked me in the manor, a rare moment of toughness, and even had a group of guards watch over me outside the door.

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

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

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

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

“General Liu, are you betrothed?”

I froze for a moment. “Not yet.”

“That won’t do. General Liu serves the country; how can your lifelong affairs remain unsettled?”

“Aunt Ji has been 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 the civil and military officials?”

I opened my mouth, but Ji Wenmu suddenly cut in. “Xiaoyue, why are you acting like my mother, insisting on managing her marriage? As long as she’s happy, isn’t that enough?”

Huang Yue gave him a reproachful look. The majestic Emperor actually revealed a bit of a young girl’s coquettishness. “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. There must be many young men who yearn for her. Wenmu, stop meddling. If you ruin a good match, I’ll hold you accountable.”

The chicken meat in my mouth suddenly made me feel nauseous.

Covering my mouth, I forced myself to swallow it down.

At that moment, a bright flash pierced my eyes. Instinctively, I drew the longsword from my waist to block. With a harsh *clash*, a long arrow was struck down by me.

“Assassins!”

Ji Wenmu roared beside me, swiftly shielding Huang Yue and backing away. I stood in place, unable to retreat in time. All the strength in my body seemed to be drained; my armor felt as heavy as a thousand catties, and even gripping my sword steady was a struggle.

Soldiers quickly rushed over and engaged the assassins.

Sensing something was wrong with my condition, I instinctively looked toward Ji Wenmu. He had shielded Huang Yue securely behind him, standing in front of her like a guardian deity.

My heart felt hollow, but there was no time to think. I gripped my sword with both hands to meet the enemy, but in an instant, my sword was knocked to the ground. In a hasty dodge, a line of blood was slashed across my throat.

“Amin!”

I heard Ji Wenmu call out to me, and my brain began to spin. It felt as if something incredibly heavy was dragging me downward.

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

Then, uncontrollably, my body stumbled forward.

The pain wasn’t extremely intense yet, but the blood-dripping blade protruding right through my chest was incredibly glaring.

My eyes widened. My mouth opened in vain, only able to produce low, hoarse whimpers.

The assassin pulled the sword out, and only then did the pain become truly real. The wound felt as if it were exposed to the wind; a cold draft blew right into it, piercing right through my body.

I felt so cold all over.

I felt like I was going to die right here.

But 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 seemed unable to comprehend it either, staring blankly at me.

I faced him, lacking the strength to even twitch a finger. He took two steps toward me, but didn’t come any closer.

“Wenmu, don’t leave me.”

The last sound I heard by my ears was Huang Yue saying that sentence.

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