Inside the tent, besides Xing Muzheng, there were Qin Shaoyuan and Jiang Pengyi, as well as two elder scholars in scholarly attire—all were academy teachers. Seeing Qian Jiaoniang enter, they paused their discussion.
“Apologies, I’ve disturbed you gentlemen.” Qian Jiaoniang gave a slight bow of contrition. Before the others could salute her, she was already turning to leave.
“Madam,” Xing Muzheng called her back, “the teachers have already finished their matters; you needn’t go.”
After he spoke, Xing Muzheng signaled with his eyes. The few teachers exchanged glances, then offered a salute to Qian Jiaoniang and slowly filed out of the tent. As Qin Shaoyuan left, he gave her a look filled with hidden meaning.
When the others had gone, Xing Muzheng stepped toward Qian Jiaoniang, looked at the headbands in her hands, and asked with a smile: “Went to fetch the headbands?”
Qian Jiaoniang nodded and handed one to him. “This one’s yours.”
Smiling, Xing Muzheng stretched out his hand, letting her tie it around his wrist. “And where’s Chou’er?”
“He said he couldn’t communicate with the enemy and ran straight back to his own team.”
Xing Muzheng gave a quiet chuckle. “Still early. Come—I’ll take you out to get familiar with the terrain.”
Qian Jiaoniang readily agreed. Xing Muzheng then ordered Lightning to be saddled, and the two shared a mount, riding out of camp.
The drill ground was on Mount Zixia, not far from the barracks. The mountain stretched unbroken, suitable both for attack and defense, and good for hiding as well. Usually a single drill would take ten days or half a month to reach a result—this was why Xing Muzheng had been reluctant to let her participate, for fear she would suffer hardship.
“Are the teachers also taking part in this drill?” Qian Jiaoniang asked once they reached the foot of the mountain.
“The two elders will remain at camp; the rest follow the teams into the hills,” Xing Muzheng said. At a great locust tree, he leapt down from horseback and lifted Qian Jiaoniang down. He did not tether Lightning, simply let the horse graze under the tree, then took Qian Jiaoniang by the hand and led her up the slope.
“What were you all discussing just now?” Qian Jiaoniang asked. She did care a little—it had sounded like the advisers were urging Xing Muzheng about something.
Qian Jiaoniang usually did not meddle in Yuzhou’s state affairs, but Xing Muzheng often shared things with her. After that incident when he had been imprisoned and she had been completely in the dark, and now that they were truly bound in love, she cared even more about his matters.
“…Nothing much,” Xing Muzheng replied.
“Then what was that ‘be at peace and yet guard against danger’ about? Were they worrying over the Third Prince?”
Her guess hit the mark, for not only were they worried—she herself was too. The Third Prince’s men had been so reckless in Wuzhou, openly trying to kill them. That was no less than tearing the mask off. Now, though punished by the Emperor and confined to reflect, the Third Prince would only grow more resentful since Xing Muzheng had earned great merit. Though the Emperor treated Xing Muzheng well, no man was immortal. Should the Emperor one day pass away, and the Third Prince ascend the throne—who could say how he would treat Xing Muzheng?
“Mm.” Xing Muzheng did not conceal it. “The Third Prince never forgives a grudge. They fear his future vengeance.”
Qian Jiaoniang lowered her head, her steps crunching on the pine needles strewn across the path.
Seeing her expression, Xing Muzheng squeezed her hand. “You needn’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you or Chou’er.”
She smiled up at him. “I’m not worried about that. Sooner or later the day will come—when it does, we’ll face it together.”
Xing Muzheng turned and gazed at her with a smile. “Your heart is large indeed.” Did she not know what such a day would bring? Any ordinary woman would have long been terrified. But she, a mere wife, was born with a rebellious streak—never a woman meant to be shut away in the inner chambers.
Qian Jiaoniang cast him a sidelong glance. “I boarded a bandit’s ship by mistake—what choice do I have now?”
“Bandit’s ship?” Xing Muzheng raised his brows in a low voice, squeezing the back of her hand with his rough fingers. “Your husband is the bandit’s ship?”
Qian Jiaoniang only giggled. Xing Muzheng bent and bit her cheek. She shoved at him. “Don’t leave me with a bite mark!”
The two walked on, laughing and teasing. After a while, Qian Jiaoniang asked again: “From the tone of the teachers, it seemed they had a countermeasure?”
Xing Muzheng curved his lips. Spotting a blooming dianthus flower in a crevice, he plucked it and tucked it into her hair. “Just taking precautions, that’s all.”
“Pretty?” Qian Jiaoniang adjusted the pale yellow blossom. “And that business of ‘forsaking what’s near to seek what’s far’—what’s near? what’s far?”
“Pretty. And it was nothing, just a commonplace dispute.”
He spoke lightly, and she could read nothing from his expression, so she did not press further.
***
Xing Muzheng had not wanted Qian Jiaoniang to endure ten days’ hardship in the mountains, but her spirits were high; no matter how he coaxed, she refused to go back, and in the end she followed the troops through the entire exercise. To keep things fair, Xing Muzheng did not take part in combat, only acted as her guard. The two teams were evenly matched, but in the end the Yellow Team triumphed. Xing Pingchun, using a repeating bow he had devised together with his teacher, became the star of the drill. Even Xing Muzheng showed great interest, ordering the weapon to be sent back to the armory for study.
When they came out of the mountains, Qian Jiaoniang felt as though a single day there had been like a thousand years outside. In that short span of ten days, two major events had taken place: Qian Meiniang had given birth to a big, healthy son, while Zhao Yaoqian had been kidnapped during a polo outing, and only days later rescued by Ah Da!
Fresh from her bath, Qian Jiaoniang heard Hongjuan report both matters. She could not decide whether to be more delighted or alarmed. But since her sister’s joy was secure, she first asked: “Is Miss Zhao unharmed? Who on earth seized her?”
Hongjuan replied: “This maid does not know the details. Since being rescued, Miss Zhao has kept her doors shut. They say she fell seriously ill and only just recovered these past two days. When we went to visit, she said little and sent us away quickly. None of us dared to ask further—we’ve all been waiting for Madam to return.”
Qian Jiaoniang frowned. Who had the audacity, within Yunzhou’s borders, to abduct someone of the Dingxi Marquis’s household?
