When Fan Changyu returned to the camp, the other spoils of war were to be tallied by the quartermaster’s aides. She, however, first took a warm cloak and a roast lamb to find Yan Zheng.

Upon entering the tent, she saw that Gongsun Yin was there as well, and felt somewhat surprised.

She said, “Mr. Gongsun came to visit the wounded again?”

She had heard the other soldiers in camp call this refined and handsome man “Mr. Gongsun,” and guessed that, like Old Tao, he must be some sort of strategist or adviser. So she followed their example and addressed him thus.

Gongsun Yin dryly replied, “Yes.”

Fan Changyu said cheerfully, “Perfect timing—brought back a whole roasted lamb. We can all eat together later.”

After saying that, she went straight toward Xie Zheng. Having gone out today and gained quite a harvest, the joy of success had long since washed away the unease from last night. When she shook open the cloak and laid it over Xie Zheng’s shoulders, she smiled with narrowed eyes.

“I found something for you to keep warm at night.”

Not seeing Changning, she held up the remaining cloak in puzzlement and asked, “Where’s Ning-niang?”

Xie Zheng’s gaze fell upon the cloak bearing the unmistakable insignia of Chongzhou, and his handsome brows furrowed. He was about to ask where she had gotten it, but because of her question, he had to first reply, “She was tired. I had someone take her back to rest.”

Gongsun Yin looked at the roast lamb in Fan Changyu’s hands, somewhat uncertain.

“Miss Fan, did you hunt a sheep and roast it yourself?”

Fan Changyu widened her honest, guileless eyes.

“Snatched it from the rebels at the foot of the mountain.”

Gongsun Yin nearly choked on his own saliva, while Xie Zheng’s expression instantly darkened. His gaze locked on Fan Changyu as he said in a hard tone, “You went down the mountain?”

Fan Changyu nodded. “That’s right.”

Xie Zheng said in a deep, sharp voice, “Nonsense! It’s dangerous down there!”

Fan Changyu knew that Xie Zheng was worried about her safety. Seeing his harsh tone, she did not take offense and simply said, “I just wanted to see if I could help with something. The rebels were all gathered at the front of the mountain, so surely the back would have fewer people. We’ve plenty of food up here, but we’re short on salt. I thought I’d grab some while I was down there.”

Xie Zheng’s long brows knit tightly together. Knowing now that she truly had gone down the mountain and even clashed with the rebels, his heart clenched with fear. Though she was standing before him safe and sound, a chill of dread still lingered, making his tone grow ever more severe.

“The back of the mountain is steep and unsuitable for marching troops. Unless pressed to desperation, the rebels would never attack from there. Today, the army’s plan was to burn the rebels’ grain stores—charging down the mountain on your own to seize provisions only serves to alert the enemy and ruin the larger strategy. You’re not bound by military law, but had your recklessness caused disaster, do you know how many soldiers’ lives might have been lost for it? In the future, you must never act so rashly again.”

Hearing these harsh words, the smile faded slowly from Fan Changyu’s face. She stared at Xie Zheng for a moment, then set down the roast lamb without a word and walked out.

Gongsun Yin watched the tent flap fall closed once more, then turned back to Xie Zheng.

“She came back safe and sound, yet you scold her like that? You really take her for one of your subordinates?”

Xie Zheng closed his eyes heavily.

“The battlefield is no child’s play.”

Gongsun Yin sighed, knowing that it was only worry that had driven Xie Zheng to anger.

Then Xie Zheng said in a low voice, “Call Xie Qi and Xie Wu here.”

Xie Qi and Xie Wu were the two personal guards Gongsun Yin had sent to protect Fan Changyu, both seasoned soldiers who had followed Xie Zheng through many campaigns.

Before long, the two arrived, having just been delivering the seized grain to the quartermaster. They came in with traces of cheer on their faces, but when they saw Xie Zheng’s expression dark as frost, they instantly understood something was wrong. Hastily they composed themselves, knelt, and bowed their heads.

“Your subordinates know our crime.”

At the thought of Fan Changyu’s back as she left in silence, a dull suffocation pressed against Xie Zheng’s chest. The movement tugged at his wound, sending a sharp pain through him and making his temper worse. His dark lashes swept down in a sharp arc as he nearly laughed in anger.

“‘Know your crime’? You followed her into that folly, and still you call it knowing your crime? I ordered you to protect her, yet you accompanied her into the rebels’ den! What do you take military law for?”

Xie Wu was the personal guard who had stayed behind the mountain and fought side by side with Fan Changyu. His lips moved slightly as he said, “Marquis, please calm your anger. We followed Madam Fan to the back mountain only intending for her to observe from above. Fearing we couldn’t dissuade her, we reported it to Mr. Gongsun. Who knew we would just happen to run into rebels disguised as our own men, sneaking up the mountain? I had planned to protect Madam and break through with her, but who could have thought Madam was a heroine among women—she fought with great valor and took down all the rebels who had come up. Then Madam interrogated several of the captured rebel foot soldiers, learned the troop distribution at the foot of the mountain, and decided to return the favor—to catch them off guard and avenge the brothers who died so miserably on our side of the mountain.”

“Unfortunately, the reinforcements Xie Qi went to fetch had yet to arrive, and the rebels below had already begun to retreat. Madam feared something had gone wrong on the front slope, and in order to delay the rebels at the back, she rashly raided their camp.”

He paused, then continued, “Madam led us to seize five sacks of coarse salt and sixty-two sacks of grain, with not a single injury among us. I failed in my duty and am willing to accept punishment. I only beg that the Marquis not blame Madam.”

Hearing these details, Xie Zheng did not speak for a long while. His long, dark lashes lowered, concealing all emotion beneath his eyes.

Seeing this, Gongsun Yin said, “Miss Fan acted according to circumstance, not recklessly. Her descent down the mountain brought more merit than fault. The Marquis only spoke harshly out of worry—if you hadn’t known the truth, it would be one thing, but now that you do, don’t chill her heart.”

Xie Zheng half-closed his eyes before finally speaking, “Go.”

The words were clearly meant for the two guards.

After the guards withdrew, Gongsun Yin looked at Xie Zheng and said, “Though Sui Yuanqing was rescued by the rebels, it’s because they’re dangling that bait at the front slope that Prince Changxin’s forces are still pinned there. Thanks to that, the reinforcements from Yan and Ji prefectures could set fire to the enemy’s grain stores. Without supplies, the rebels won’t last long. Miss Fan’s misstep has, by accident, helped you accomplish a major part of your plan. Now that you’ve driven her away with your temper, you’d better think of how to coax her back.”

Xie Zheng’s thin lips pressed tightly together; he said nothing, but the lines between his brows were heavy with self-reproach.

Gongsun Yin shook his head and left the main tent. Thinking he’d best play peacemaker and help persuade Fan Changyu, he asked a nearby sentry where she’d gone. Learning that she’d headed to the cookhouse camp, he strolled over unhurriedly.

When he arrived, he found the entire cookhouse bustling, a ring of soldiers cheering loudly at something in their midst.

Gongsun Yin approached to take a look—Fan Changyu was slaughtering a pig.

The wild boar from the hunt had been carried back alive, bound tightly with ropes, rather than killed on the spot.

After days of steady rain, the sun had finally shown itself. The light was mild, and as it fell upon Fan Changyu—sleeves rolled up, working amid the crowd—even the stray strands of her hair seemed to glow with a faint, hazy gold.

Gongsun Yin was just thinking how calm and beautiful she looked in that moment when, in the next instant, her blade flashed down. The trussed-up boar let out a piercing squeal, and blood gushed from its neck in a stream.

Gongsun Yin’s face turned a shade paler; he quickly averted his eyes and thought to himself that perhaps only Xie Zheng could handle such a woman.

The surrounding soldiers shouted their approval.

“Miss Fan’s knife work is excellent! One strike and it’s done!”

“Look at that big basin of pig’s blood, means we can make another dish for the troops today!”

Fan Changyu wiped her blade and, hearing the praise, took it as acknowledgment of her butchering skill. She smiled a little herself.

When she looked up and saw Gongsun Yin standing among the onlookers, seemingly there to find her, she said a few words to the head cook, then squeezed through the crowd toward him.

“Sir, were you looking for me?”

Gongsun Yin didn’t want to appear too deliberate. He coughed lightly and said, “Just came to look around the cookhouse, happened to catch you slaughtering a pig.”

He paused, then revealed his true purpose.

“About what your husband said earlier, don’t take it to heart. He’s sharp-tongued but soft-hearted, only afraid you’d meet with danger down the mountain. The battlefield is perilous beyond measure, you can tell from his own injuries that every battle is fought with one’s life on the line. Now that you’ve returned safe and sound, all is well. But if anything had happened to you… with him hurt as he is, he wouldn’t even have had the strength to save you.”

Fan Changyu found a stone stool and sat down.

“I’m not angry with him,” she said. “It’s just that after hearing what he said, I realized I might’ve done a good thing that turned out bad. Like you said, this time I was lucky to come back in one piece. But if I hadn’t—and dragged other soldiers to their deaths—then I really would’ve become a sinner. Those soldiers have wives, children, and old parents waiting for them at home. Just thinking about it makes my chest feel heavy.”

That she could speak such words truly surprised Gongsun Yin.

“Though Miss Fan is a woman,” he said, “your heart and mind are no less than a man’s. What you’ve just said is precisely the rare understanding required of a general.”

Seeing her somewhat puzzled, he explained, “For a commander, every decision concerns the lives of the men beneath them. Yet there has never been a battle fought without shedding blood or losing lives. The tactics a general devises can only exchange the deaths of a few for the survival of many. Victory and defeat are both common in warfare—if a commander loses one battle and cannot steady his heart, it’ll be hard for him to achieve anything great thereafter.”

Fan Changyu suddenly felt that those who became generals were admirable not only for their skill in battle but for the strength of their hearts.

Looking at Gongsun Yin, she said, “Thank you, sir, for enlightening me.”

Thinking that with Xie Zheng’s temper, he probably couldn’t bring himself to coax anyone, Gongsun Yin added, “Your husband feared you might still be upset with him, so he asked me to come check on you.”

Fan Changyu picked up a twig and poked at the mud by her feet, speaking in a muffled tone, “I’m not mad at him. He’s badly injured, he’s surely faced life and death on the battlefield. He was afraid I’d cause trouble and get others killed, that’s why he said those things. I… feel ashamed, really.”

Gongsun Yin raised his brows in surprise and said honestly, “He’s simply afraid something might happen to you.”

Fan Changyu’s hand paused in mid-motion, but she still kept her head lowered and said nothing.

For a while, Gongsun Yin didn’t know what she was thinking.

“Well, I’ve delivered the message,” he said. “I’ve some matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave.”

He was just about to go when he heard loud voices from the cookhouse camp: “What a pity to have hunted such a fine black bear up here on the mountain! If we were down below with proper spices, I could make a whole bear feast!”

Gongsun Yin stopped in his tracks, turned his steps that way, and asked, “You’ve hunted a bear?”

Hearing his voice, the cookhouse soldiers looked up. Seeing his white robes and refined bearing, they quickly guessed his identity and made way for him, greeting him respectfully, “Military Adviser!”

Gongsun Yin saw that the black bear was massive in size—without a fierce general leading the hunt, it would have been near impossible to bring it down. He praised, “Today we’ve crushed the rebels of Chongzhou, this bear is truly an auspicious omen. Which general brought it down?”

The cook grinned with excitement.

“Miss Fan did!”

Gongsun Yin: “???”