……Second Young Master Xue of the Xue Clan from Suinan?

Once this was spoken, it immediately drew away Wu Yan and the others’ attention from hunting sheep.

Most of the Yanshan Army were people from Jiangzhou, who did not know the great name of the Xue Clan from Suinan?

Moreover, many of them had long borne grudges against the Xue Clan—back when they were still commoners, they had been trampled upon by them. Now, upon hearing that there was a chance to teach a lesson to the young master of the Xue Clan, not a few faces showed expressions of excitement.

Wu Yan, however, looked toward Lizhu, hesitated for a moment, and said:

“Princess, to speak bluntly, the Xue Clan is a hundred-year-old noble family, and in Jiangzhou they are no different from local emperors. If it is merely for a competition, there is no need to rashly offend them.”

Lizhu, of course, agreed with Wu Yan’s words.

Unless she was certain she had the Xue Clan completely in her grasp, she would never place her own grievance above the greater situation.

However—

She looked at these Yanshan soldiers beside Wu Yan, their faces alight with excitement.

She could withdraw, but the morale of the refugee army could not withdraw.

“It’s not as if I’m asking you to strut about showing off your power. It’s fine.”

Lizhu patted Wu Yan’s shoulder. He was tall, and for Lizhu to pat his shoulder she had to quietly rise a little on tiptoe.

“Just don’t make it look too unpleasant on the surface. If it gets out of hand, I’ll find a way.”

The eyes of the Yanshan soldiers brightened all at once.

Wu Yan looked at Lizhu gloomily, clasped his hands, and answered in acknowledgment.

After these four matches were set, both sides rubbed their palms together, eager to give it a try.

This was the first day the Hongye Army arrived at Yanshan.

Although it was said that only after the four matches would it be decided who would become the commander-in-chief, as the army was now stationed, who would repair the stockade walls, who would dig the latrines—all needed to be arranged and directed by the commander-in-chief. It was an opportunity to establish authority.

So Pei Zhaoye was in no hurry even to set up camp. He first said to Wu Yan:

“Then for the first match, let’s decide between you and me who’s superior. Commander Wu, do you need some time to prepare?”

Wu Yan said: “Commander Pei, you’ve had a hard journey. You should rest a while first, lest later they say I won an unworthily easy victory.”

Pei Zhaoye said: “Rest assured, you won’t have that chance.”

Lizhu: ……So childish.

When they arrived at the camp at the foot of Yanshan, the Yanshan Army had long since received word and had been eagerly awaiting them.

Although before the princess and her party’s arrival, all sorts of information concerning Princess Qinghe and the Hongye Army’s Pei Zhaoye had already spread among the Yanshan Army,

seeing with their own eyes how young the two were still made many people surprised.

Lizhu understood well their scrutiny, pretended to be completely unaware, and turned back to say to the two of them:

“Then let’s begin.”

Xuan Ying prepared a seat for Lizhu. Outside the camp, the two armies stood clearly divided. Each sat cross-legged on the ground within their own territory, while Pei Zhaoye and Wu Yan both removed their upper garments, facing each other bare-handed.

The north wind rolled with scattered snowflakes, falling upon the wheat-colored muscles that rose and fell like mountain ridges.

Ding——!

With a crisp clang of the bronze gong in Chang Jun’s hand, the two of them shot toward each other like arrows loosed from their strings.

At the instant their arms collided, even though Lizhu was standing at such a distance, she seemed to hear the muffled sound of flesh striking flesh, and the taut tension of muscles rising inch by inch.

The wind of their fists howled, falling like raindrops.

Wu Yan was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, at the prime of his strength, and born of a hunter’s background—his power was by no means inferior to Pei Zhaoye’s.

Lizhu appeared calm on the surface, but her fingers were almost digging into the armrest.

However, Pei Zhaoye too was a salt smuggler who had waded through seas of corpses and blood.

No matter how heavy Wu Yan’s fists, how fierce his attacks, he still displayed a composed steadiness in parrying each blow. As his body turned and shifted, Wu Yan caught sight of those eagle-like eyes fixed upon him with extreme calm.

——He was watching for his opening.

At the very instant this realization struck him, Wu Yan felt a dull pain in his abdomen, and immediately after, a pair of iron-clamp-like arms locked tightly around his waist.

His feet left the ground, his vision spun.

Under the gaze of both armies, Wu Yan—whose height exceeded eight chi—was actually flipped upside down and slammed heavily onto the ground!

The whole field fell silent for a moment.

The next instant, a thunderous cheer erupted from the Hongye Army.

The Yanshan Army fell utterly silent, hardly able to believe their eyes.

Wu Yan’s rise as the leader of the Yanshan Army had been precisely because of his immense strength and exceptional martial skill—many had personally witnessed him twist off a man’s head as easily as twisting a melon.

Yet he had lost to a young man of only twenty!

A show of force needed only to make its point. Since both served the princess, Pei Zhaoye naturally would not let the matter become too strained.

“Not bad.”

Pei Zhaoye used one hand to pull up the silently pained Wu Yan from the ground and patted his back.

“In terms of wrestling skill, I fear that aside from me, there is no one else in the Hongye Army who would dare fight you.”

He did not act arrogant even in victory.

However, Wu Yan understood that this man’s ability was by no means limited to that. Just that one throw—had he been his enemy, he would have already lost his life.

This man had the right to be arrogant; for the princess to employ him was certainly not only because of his face.

Wu Yan clasped his hands and said, “In this contest, I am sincerely convinced.”

Lizhu let out a breath of relief.

Xuan Ying said softly, “Commander Wu is also a loyal subordinate who has come to serve the princess. Both are the princess’s right-hand men. The princess must not favor one over the other, lest Commander Wu feel disheartened.”

Lizhu came back to her senses. Indeed, the relationship between her and Pei Zhaoye could not be hidden.

Precisely because of that, she ought to show more favor toward Wu Yan and the Yanshan Army; otherwise, would that not make them feel neglected and breed resentment?

Lizhu thought for a moment, then said to the maid beside her:

“Go prepare sixty jin of beef, ten jars of fine wine, and some medicine for bruises and injuries. Reward the Hongye Army with thirty jin of beef and fine wine, and give the remaining thirty jin and the medicine to the Yanshan Army.”

When the rewards were distributed, the sky was already growing dark—it was time for the evening meal.

The Hongye Army, surrounding Lizhu’s central command tent, set up camp on the left side of the encampment.

The Yanshan Army, who camped on the right, though they had suffered a setback, had still received the same amount of beef as the Hongye Army.

In the winter season, supplies were scarce, and with the remnants of Li Da’s troops still stationed in Yanshan, this was the first time in a month that the Yanshan Army had seen meat.

Halfway through eating, Wu Yan and the others suddenly caught a whiff of a faint fragrance drifting near.

Everyone quickly said, “Greetings to Princess Qinghe.”

“Go on eating, no need for formalities. I just came to see how you all were eating.”

As she spoke, everyone saw this fairy-like princess sit down with them around the iron pot, having someone ladle out a bowl of soup and rice for her to eat together.

Lizhu said, “And the beef that was distributed, why don’t I see you eating it?”

Chen Yong, who sat beside Wu Yan, said, “Replying to the Princess, there wasn’t enough meat to go around. Brother Wu told us to cut it all up and boil it into soup, that way everyone could have a bowl.”

Wu Yan shot him a glare—it sounded almost like he was hinting that the princess hadn’t given enough meat.

He said: “I lost today, and truly feel ashamed. Tomorrow, in the next match, we will do our utmost to show the Princess the strength of the Yanshan Army.”

Lizhu scooped a spoonful of soup and rice, smiling with her eyes:

“Good, if you can win, there will certainly be rewards. It’s just that the refugee army has only just been formed, and the military pay and provisions are still being managed, so the rewards won’t be much. I hope everyone won’t mind.”

“How could we mind!”

Chen Yong said with all his strength, “Today the Princess granted us beef, tomorrow we’ll hunt every last sheep on Yanshan and offer them for the Princess’s enjoyment!”

Lizhu: “……”

For some reason, the princess lowered her head slightly, a faint blush on her face.

After that meal, whatever bit of resentment the Yanshan Army had held toward Lizhu for favoritism was completely gone.

They had wanted to reselect the commander-in-chief—the princess agreed.

They lost a match—the princess still rewarded them with meat.

Even more so, she, a noble princess of royal blood, had lowered herself to share a pot of food with them.

To have done so much, they had nothing left to say.

After the meal, the Yanshan soldiers watched the princess’s back as she walked toward the central tent and couldn’t help saying:

“Do you think that Pei Zhaoye and Princess Qinghe really don’t have any special relationship…”

“Yeah, that guy—even though I don’t want to admit it, he really does have some skill. It’s not strange that the princess made him commander-in-chief.”

“And besides, from the look of it, the whole day today that Pei Zhaoye barely said a few words to the princess, didn’t even glance at her… Whatever else, I admire him for that.”

Everyone raised their cups and clinked them lightly with the others.

Just earlier, when the princess had sat here talking with them, whenever their eyes accidentally landed on her face, their speech would falter.

It truly wasn’t that they meant any disrespect.

They didn’t even know why, but their eyes simply couldn’t be controlled—very naturally, they were drawn toward her.

Tsk.

How did that Pei Zhaoye manage to restrain himself? Could it be… he doesn’t like women?

The topic immediately slid into a strange direction.

After Lizhu left the right encampment, she went straight with Xuan Ying to Gu Bing’an’s side to settle the current supplies and provisions in the army.

It was not until the end of the Hai hour that even Gu Bing’an could no longer hold on and began to doze off, and only then did Lizhu return to her own central command tent.

As soon as the curtain fell, Lizhu felt someone grab her from behind.

Before she could make a sound, her mouth was covered.

Hot breath flooded in; Pei Zhaoye kissed her ravenously, as though wishing to swallow her whole.

Lizhu was completely enclosed in his arms, her feet almost leaving the ground, stumbling backward between kisses until she fell onto the couch. He kissed and tasted her for a long time before she could finally catch her breath.

“You…” Lizhu’s hair was slightly disheveled, her eyes moist, “why are you here?”

He was breathing heavily. “I only said each would have their own tent, I never said I wouldn’t come to yours. You were eating with the Yanshan men until now?”

Lizhu said, “No, after eating, I went with Xuan Ying to Gu Bing’an’s to settle the accounts.”

Her lips were slightly swollen, her expression pitiful as she looked up at him.

Only then did Pei Zhaoye’s mood settle a little.

“…Princess, the hot water is ready…”

Chang Jun, carrying two large buckets of hot water, froze in place.

Having received prior instruction, the maidservants behind him reacted faster—upon seeing the scene, they quickly lowered the tent curtain.

Fortunately, Lizhu’s status was special—the central command tent was divided by two layers of curtains.

The soldiers in the camp were required to stop outside the outer curtain; if they had matters to report, they had to do so between the two layers. So even if the curtain was lifted when entering, no one outside would see what was happening inside.

Pei Zhaoye rose from the couch.

Without facing Chang Jun and the others directly, he turned slightly to the side and said:

“Set it down. I’ll attend to the princess’s washing.”

Chang Jun: “…The princess will bathe tonight.”

At this moment, whenever Chang Jun looked at Pei Zhaoye, he would recall how, earlier that day, he had thrown the eight-chi-tall Wu Yan to the ground.

Then his gaze shifted to the princess, sitting upright and proper, her figure slender and delicate.

Chang Jun hesitated, wanting to speak but unable to stop himself from saying:

“…Does the princess wish to have someone stay to attend her?”

“No need, he can do it. You may all withdraw.”

Lizhu answered.

Lizhu forgot that she herself had long been accustomed, in her previous life, to having Pei Zhaoye attend her bath, and that everyone in the Princess’s Residence had long since taken it as normal.

But to Chang Jun and the other maidservants at this moment, those words sounded utterly shocking.

…Fortunately, having already been warned by Xuan Ying beforehand, they said nothing further and, though their faces showed fear, withdrew in trained silence.

Lizhu lifted her gaze, meeting a pair of deep, dark eyes.

Her heart thumped a beat faster.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

Pei Zhaoye: “Princess… do you wish me to attend your bath?”

Lizhu said softly, “Can’t you?”

Pei Zhaoye said nothing.

The aggression in those eyes was too strong; it made Lizhu instinctively want to shrink her neck and back away. Yet…

Wasn’t this something he had always done in the past life?

Although then they had been husband and wife, now too—he had already kissed her, had already lain with her, and had even sent betrothal geese for her. In Lizhu’s heart, in both sentiment and propriety, the two of them in this life were already husband and wife.

Could it be that in this life he found it troublesome?

Lizhu thought of how, in the previous life, he had smiled and said he would gladly attend the princess’s bath for a lifetime, and she could not help but snort coldly.

“If you don’t want to, then forget it. I can do it myself!”

All the bathing items were already prepared. Lizhu bypassed Pei Zhaoye, who was standing where he was, and went to bathe on her own.

Behind the screen came the soft sound of trickling water.

Pei Zhaoye had already washed before coming. Now he lay on Lizhu’s couch, listening to the sound of water by his ear, still feeling a sense of absurdity in his heart.

…Did she think he was unwilling to help her bathe?