General Wei Yuan nearly sprang to his feet in protest.
Let alone the fact that Her Highness the Crown Princess had never trained in martial arts, even if she had, he would never dare permit her to personally enter the battlefield. Should anything happen to her, would he not become a criminal of all Tian Sheng?
"A thousand pieces of gold must not hang by a thread. His Majesty entrusted Your Highness's safety to me. That is a mark of his trust. How could I possibly allow you—"
"A living Crown Princess of Tian Sheng is far more useful than a dead one," Yun Shu interrupted calmly, cutting off his impassioned plea.
"If Pugan truly intends to capture This Princess alive, he will not dare deliver a fatal strike. Besides, This Princess is merely heading out beyond the walls to serve as bait. I do not plan to charge into their ranks or fight face to face.
Even if they do attempt to kill me, with the Dragon Shadow Guard by my side, escaping alive should still be within reach."
The camp fell into uneasy silence.
Yun Shu's mind was set. No matter how strongly General Wei Yuan and his men objected, it was futile. Left with no other choice, they could only perfect the battle plan to the smallest detail, determined to ensure nothing went awry.
What ought to have been a discussion lasting no more than an hour stretched into three full hours. Again and again, they examined every angle, every scenario. Only when the sky had begun to darken did Yun Shu finally step out of the main command tent and head off toward the wounded soldiers' encampment at a leisurely pace.
Perhaps it was because she had spoken too confidently before.
These past days, Yun Chuhuan had stubbornly stayed in the encampment of the wounded, striving to maintain the image of a man who keeps his word. To everyone's surprise, he did not once clamor to leave.
When Yun Shu arrived, Yun Chuhuan was carrying a basin of freshly drawn water into a tent. Upon seeing her, he didn't drop the basin at once, but dutifully delivered it before hurrying back out to meet her.
"Fifth Sister, what brings you here?"
"I came to see how you've been managing," Yun Shu raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you used to complain that fetching water and dumping bloody wash was too filthy and exhausting? You only agreed to help the military doctors with gathering and brewing medicine. When did you become willing to draw water?"
"I just... felt like doing it!" Yun Chuhuan's gaze darted evasively.
How could he possibly admit the truth? That the military doctors had quickly lost patience with his clumsy mistakes, misreading prescriptions and botching decoctions until they eventually stopped letting him touch anything at all? That he'd ended up standing awkwardly on the sidelines, watching the injured groan in pain while doctors bustled around? That eventually, the only task he could manage was hauling water?
Saying it aloud would make him sound utterly useless.
He quickly changed the subject. "Fifth Sister, how much longer do we have to stay here in Ningzhou? I heard it's all been city defense battles lately. When are we finally going to ride out and confront the enemy? Surely we're not losing to that Pugan fellow, are we?"
"We ride out tomorrow," Yun Shu said with a faint smile, as if she hadn't noticed his awkwardness. "Would you like to climb the walls and watch from above?"
"No way!"
Yun Chuhuan's face fell instantly.
He'd seen one of those battles shortly after arriving in Ningzhou. Swords clashing, blood flying, men hacking at each other for hours, only to end in a stalemate. Some wounded had to be carried back with their intestines spilling out. He had vomited on the spot.
It was the first time in his life he had come face-to-face with the brutal truth of war. Ever since, a heavy gloom had weighed over him.
"I wanted to see us win easily, like in the storybooks. The general dashing across the battlefield, fierce and glorious, crushing the enemy like ants. That kind of scene gets the blood pumping. But this… all this death and despair… just watching from afar feels suffocating."
"In most cases, real battles are more like what you saw," Yun Shu said slowly, letting her voice trail off.
But seeing his expression darken even further, she raised her hand and gave him a firm pat on the head.
"That said, tomorrow's battle might just be the kind you're hoping for."
"Really?!" Yun Chuhuan's head shot up. "You're not tricking me?"
"What would I gain by deceiving you?" Yun Shu snorted softly. "If I weren't worried that you'd stew in gloom until your soul turned sour and I'd have trouble explaining it to Father Emperor and Noble Consort Liu when we return, I'd leave you in the wounded camp for the rest of the campaign."
They were badly short of hands there, after all.
"I'll go, I'll go!" Yun Chuhuan's gloom scattered at once. He grabbed Yun Shu's sleeve and bounced in place. "Tomorrow, I'll go with you!"
"Oh, that won't do."
Yun Shu calmly retrieved her sleeve. "Tomorrow, your Fifth Sister plans to take to the field herself."
Yun Chuhuan blinked in confusion. "...Fifth Sister, can I take to the field too?"
"You may not."
"Oh…"
At dawn the next day, the skies were still dim with the lingering mist of early autumn. Dewdrops clung to the blades of grass, not yet touched by the sun, when a wave of hooves thundered past, scattering them into the air.
Pugan's commanding general, Dao Tuo, arrived at the outskirts of Ningzhou with an army of one hundred thousand.
He had expected yet another drawn-out siege, matching strength for strength as they had the past few days. But to his astonishment, the towering gates they had assaulted time and again suddenly creaked open from within.
Leading the group that emerged was a figure clad in brilliant red armor, vivid as fire. Slender, delicate, and entirely unfamiliar—clearly not one of the generals Dao Tuo had come to know.
He narrowed his eyes.
As the troops filed out, their numbers several thousand strong, Dao Tuo's eyes flashed with disbelief. Then he tipped back his head and laughed with unrestrained scorn.
"Have the people of Tian Sheng truly run out of soldiers? To think they would send even their dainty Crown Princess onto the field.
What now? Have they admitted defeat and decided to surrender by handing over a hostage?"
"Surrender?" Yun Shu's voice rang clear and cold, her slender sword pointing straight at him like a streak of lightning. Her gaze burned with fierce resolve.
"Then we shall see if you have the strength to defeat This Princess!"
Dao Tuo raised an eyebrow.
"From what Her Highness implies, is this to be a duel of champions?"
On the battlefield, it was not uncommon for both sides to offer up their fiercest warriors for a contest before the full armies engaged.
But the word "champion" hardly seemed suited to the Crown Princess of Tian Sheng.
Dao Tuo looked her over again, his disdain deepening. He laughed again, louder than before.
"Does Your Highness truly take me for a brute with no brain? Has there ever been word of the Crown Princess of Tian Sheng receiving martial training?
And even if you have, how skilled could you possibly be?"