The breathing beside his pillow was long and even, yet Pei Zhaoye’s dreams that night were not peaceful.

At first, he dreamed that he was hunting on a hillside. Yet he did not hunt deer, musk deer, or roe deer, but spurred his horse to chase a flock of sheep, wanting to slaughter them to make sheep-intestine casing.

But soon, the hillside and wilderness shifted into the official road within the forest.

Horse hooves stepped upon the muddy dust, the streets were crowded with people. He passed through the spring grass of Luoyang City, dismounted, and saw a grand wedding procession majestically passing through the long street.

He asked the person who had come to receive him:

“Such a grand formation, who is it that is getting married?”

That person said: “Naturally, it is His Majesty’s most favored Princess Qinghe. It is said the princess is clever and studious, gentle in temperament, and moreover possesses a jade-like softness and flower-like beauty. Among the women of Nanyong, none surpass her…”

All the people gazed toward the princess behind the gauzy curtains of the bridal carriage. Pei Zhaoye looked toward the young prince consort upon the tall horse.

A graceful gentleman, as pure as jade, as bright as polished stone.

Though he usually bore the burden of family responsibility and his father’s restraint, forced to act mature and steady, at this moment he revealed the spirited pride of youth.

Wedding robes bright red, the princess as wife — such was the style of noble sons.

“Brother Yinzhi, you need not envy,” the person beside him patted his shoulder. “You are one among ten thousand. Having been recommended for filial piety and integrity, entering Luoyang, if your performance in the palace examination three days hence is good, you too may rise straight into the azure clouds.”

He said: “If one wishes to stand shoulder to shoulder with the eldest legitimate son of the Tan family, what must be done?”

That person laughed: “To compare with him? You would at least need to be among the Nine Ministers. No, he will certainly rise faster than you. To stand equal with him and the Tan family behind him, at the very least… you must be ranked among the Three Dukes!”

He nodded, and when passing by, the red gauze curtains were lifted by the wind. He glanced toward the faint silhouette within.

He said: “Then I shall be ranked among the Three Dukes.”

He spoke lightly, drawing a kind chuckle from the person beside him.

In the vividness of the dream, Pei Zhaoye walked each step with surging murderous intent.

Tan—— Xun——

He would kill him!

He must kill him!!!

Whether it was the self within the dream or his waking self that thought this, Pei Zhaoye could not tell.

He guessed that Lizhu had perhaps once been married to Tan Xun, but Lizhu held no affection toward him — it had merely been a political marriage forced by the times.

But still, he should not have seen this scene with his own eyes.

How could he calmly watch Lizhu marry another?

The vision in the dream kept unfolding.

He saw himself entering Luoyang, and three days later, entering the palace city, passing through the long palace corridors.

Yet he did not see the Mingzhao Emperor; those examining the new scholars were Chancellor Xue Yun and Chief Minister Tan Jing.

After the examination ended, Tan Jing had someone stop him outside the palace city.

“The son of Pei Conglu has grown so much now… Your family background is not prominent, and you have no good teacher. Your learning is mediocre, so the path of an official will be difficult. If you encounter hardship, you may come seek me. But do not act as your father did, causing trouble in Luoyang. Do you understand?”

…Tan Jing did not recognize him.

He put on an expression of barely restrained joy, giving a respectful thanks, yet when he turned away, a mocking smile flickered in his eyes.

A father wishing to kill his son—now the son stood before the father, and he could not recognize him.

He walked forward, and from the carriage behind came broken, drifting voices.

“…By custom, after three days of marriage, the princess is to move with the prince consort into the Princess’s Residence. But Madam Xue refuses to allow the young master to move. She’s making a scene inside the mansion—Master, please return quickly to persuade her!”

He stood beside the imperial road, watching the carriage recede into the distance, the palace path gradually collapsing into darkness.

Pei Zhaoye abruptly opened his eyes.

He gasped for breath, palm pressed to his forehead. For a long while, he could not tell whether this was Luoyang or another place.

A few bird calls sounded; dawn was just breaking. Outside the tent, the cook was tending a fire to boil the pot.

…This was the outskirts of Wan Commandery.

“What time is it…”

A drowsy voice rose from beside his pillow.

Pei Zhaoye turned his head.

Within the warm quilt, a delicate face like white peony dew, fresh yet languid.

Although Lizhu usually woke early, in winter she always lingered in bed. She had not even opened her eyes.

Thus she did not see that at this moment, the pair of eyes above her head were like a wild beast’s—ready at any time to pounce and devour its prey.

She only heard Pei Zhaoye’s seemingly gentle voice.

“Four quarters past the hour of Mao. Yesterday, it was set for the hour of Chen and three quarters to rise. The Princess may sleep a little longer.”

Lizhu gave a soft hum in reply.

The scene from the dream still lingered in her mind.

For some reason, tonight she had suddenly dreamed of the time in her previous life, just after marrying Tan Xun.

She dreamed that Tan Xun’s mother, Madam Xue, refused to let him move into the Princess’s Residence, making her a laughingstock in Luoyang only three days after marriage.

Madam Xue’s difficulties toward her were not only in this matter.

After Emperor Mingzhao’s death, Tan Jing was busy with state affairs and had no time to manage her, and she became even more unrestrained.

Lizhu had long not thought of these matters. She did not know why she suddenly dreamed of them today.

Even more frightening was—

She seemed to—

Sleepiness came over her again, and just as she was about to drift back into slumber, she suddenly heard the sound of brocade rustling. The next moment, a gust of air slipped in at her feet.

Along with it slipped in a moist, hot tongue.

At this, all drowsiness vanished. Lizhu immediately opened her eyes and hurriedly tried to push herself backward.

The pair of hands under the quilt easily dragged her back.

“…Pei Zhaoye! What are you doing!”

Lizhu threw off the quilt. The sight that met her eyes made her burn fiercely from head to toe.

Pei Zhaoye slowly raised his head.

He wasn’t smiling. His brows and eyes held a somber gloom, which made him appear even more handsome and sharp, and also gave him a stronger air of aggression.

He licked his glistening lips.

“Can’t you tell? Of course, I am serving the Princess.”

“…Who asked you to serve!”

Lizhu kicked his shoulder.

But after just one kick, her foot was easily caught by him. He brought it to his lips and bit it, not too lightly, not too heavily.

Tears immediately welled up in Lizhu’s eyes: “It hurts!”

Hurt?

Pei Zhaoye thought to himself, what kind of hurt was this? It wasn’t even one ten-thousandth of what he felt when he dreamed of her marrying Tan Xun. Endure it.

However, the conversation in Tan Jing’s carriage surfaced.

Pei Zhaoye stared at her again, unable to stop thinking.

The Tan family’s influence was growing daily. While Emperor Mingzhao reigned, these people still had some restraint. But if the emperor changed, above her would be the young emperor’s empress dowager who hated her to the bone, and below, Lady Xue, a mother-in-law solely intent on monopolizing her son.

As a woman of the Tan family, how would she manage?

Resentment transformed into pity.

A series of dense, soft kisses fell upon the bitten area, soothing the slight pain.

Although Lizhu didn’t know why he suddenly bit her and then suddenly kissed her, she could still feel his affection in this moment, and her heart softened.

“…You… stop licking…” Lizhu really wanted to pull her foot back, but he wouldn’t allow it.

“The Princess doesn’t like it?”

“Of course not!”

“Is that so?”

Holding Lizhu’s ankle with one hand, he withdrew the other, turned it over, and examined a silvery thread closely. “How come I feel the Princess quite liked it?”

Under Lizhu’s shamed and indignant gaze, he got up, grabbed the water pot by the bed, rinsed his mouth, and then slipped back under the quilt.

Deep water and scorching fire.

Lizhu stared blankly at the canopy, her gaze unfocused, her breath ragged, her mind a complete void.

“Does the Princess feel any discomfort?”

His competitive nature was strong; in such matters, he was also unwilling to fall behind.

Lizhu’s damp eyes glanced toward his tongue.

Remembering the sensation that had just made her feel as if she were dying and coming back to life, Lizhu turned over and curled into a ball, sobbing:

“…Next time, could you not wear this?”

The silver ring on his tongue pressed against his cheek.

Why not?

She had clearly been so overwhelmed just moments before that she had to bite the back of her hand to stifle her sounds.

But hearing that he was still allowed a next time, Pei Zhaoye decided to quit while he was ahead. He gave an affirmative hum with a smile, then gathered the soft, nearly melted Lizhu into his embrace.

After dozing lightly for another quarter-hour, the commotion outside the tent grew increasingly noisy.

Xuan Ying, calculating the time, knew they were to break camp and depart today. It was about time to wake the Princess.

She stood outside the door, waiting for Lizhu to call her before entering. Then she saw Pei Zhaoye, dressed in sleepwear, putting on his clothes in front of the clothing rack.

He glanced at Xuan Ying and the washing utensils held by the maids behind her, and said:

“Just attend to the Princess. No need to mind me. I will return to my own tent to wash and dress.”

“Sister Xuan Ying!”

The maids hurriedly supported the swaying senior maid.

After a period of chaos.

The maids withdrew, leaving only Lizhu and Xuan Ying inside the tent. Xuan Ying hadn’t even let Chang Jun enter.

“…Princess, you should have told me in advance. You truly gave me a fright today.”

Lizhu sat in front of the mirror, letting Xuan Ying comb her hair, her cheeks still somewhat feverish.

She studied Xuan Ying’s expression through the mirror.

“Are you angry? Xuan Ying, he treats me very well. In this world, no matter who I am with, I could not be happier than I am with him.”

“If it were before, I would certainly report this matter to His Majesty and request that he punish this scoundrel severely—”

Xuan Ying said this through somewhat gritted teeth.

She was the senior maid of the late Empress Mi Jiang. In her youth, she watched Lizhu be born, grow up, from an infant to the graceful young woman she is now.

In her heart, she regarded Lizhu as both a younger sister and a daughter.

Suddenly seeing her sharing a bed with a man before being married was undeniably a great shock.

“But, the Princess is different from before. How to conduct yourself, I believe the Princess has her own judgment.”

Xuan Ying’s words surprised Lizhu a little.

“How have I become different?”

Xuan Ying smiled.

“Although the Princess was once of noble birth, you were still a woman. To keep a male favorite would be condemned by the world, while for the prince consort to take concubines is permitted by propriety and law. But now, all affairs of state and war rest upon the Princess’s shoulders. Ordinary codes of propriety, chastity… what are those? Naturally, they are no longer matters for the Princess to consider.”

She placed a heavy set of jade pendants around Lizhu’s neck.

Looking at the face reflected in the mirror, Xuan Ying suddenly thought of the late Empress Mi Jiang.

In the world, no beauty could compare to Mi Jiang’s.

When she was alive, she alone held the emperor’s favor. After she passed, Emperor Mingzhao left the harem empty, choosing no new consorts, summoning no other concubines.

Yet despite such deep favor, Mi Jiang still died of illness in the end, and Emperor Mingzhao still had to marry Empress Tan.

Having that example before her, Xuan Ying’s outlook had completely changed.

Lowering her gaze, Xuan Ying said:

“Not to speak of General Pei alone — if the situation becomes difficult, and other support is needed, the Princess may both steady General Pei and at the same time make use of other talented men…”

“Xuan Ying, before, when Tan Xun wanted to hold my hand, you would scold him at my side for being improper in conduct!”

Meeting Lizhu’s astonished gaze, Xuan Ying smiled.

“The Princess’s happiness is the greatest propriety.”

•—–٠✤٠—–•

Daylight shone brightly. After eating breakfast in camp, the people of Hongye Stronghold split into two groups.

After several days of deliberation, thirty percent of the mountain bandits decided to return to Hongye Stronghold.

Pei Zhaoye ordered Qiu Er to lead them back and inform the brothers still guarding the stronghold: if they were willing to join the army, they could also leave the stronghold and go to Yanshan.

As for the remaining brothers—

“These past days there have been all sorts of rumors in camp. Before setting out, I’ll make things clear.”

Pei Zhaoye stood on a wooden platform in the middle of the camp, his voice just loud enough for those below to hear.

“From today onward, Hongye Stronghold is no longer a den of thieves and bandits, but the Hongye Army personally established by Princess Qinghe. You are all now soldiers with military registration. Beyond battle, whoever kills shall die, whoever injures shall be punished, whoever steals shall be judged by the stolen goods. Strictly follow military law, no private indulgence allowed—if anyone has objections, you may speak freely now.”

A murmur of discussion spread through the crowd.

Someone asked in confusion, “Mountain Lord—oh, no, General—then who are we truly loyal to? The Princess, or the Emperor in the palace?”

He had spoken the doubt in everyone’s hearts.