Chapter 175

Chapter 175

Lin Sui’s hat clattered to the ground. The world spun, and he nearly collapsed.

Wang Ying, quick as a flash, caught him. “Sorry, shopkeeper, we won’t be buying the hats after all.”

He led Lin Sui out of the shop and sat him on a nearby step. It took a long moment for Lin Sui to compose himself. “Sister-in-law, that man just said… said…” His voice choked, unable to continue, as hot tears streamed down his face.

“Don’t panic,” Wang Ying soothed. “He might just be spouting nonsense. Even officials might not know such military secrets; how could an ordinary person know so much?”

Lin Sui refused to believe that Marquis Wuping could have died on the frontier. Wiping his tears, he said, “You’re right, sister-in-law! He must be talking nonsense!”

“Let’s go home and wait for news. If something truly happened, we’ll hear about it in the next few days.”

“Mm.”

The two returned home with heavy hearts, their plans for an outing forgotten. At dinner, Yuanbao chattered about snacks for tomorrow’s trip. Wang Ying said, “Your father has something important to do tomorrow, so we might not be able to go out.”

“Huh? But we already agreed…”

“I’m sorry. Next time, I promise I’ll take you out.”

Yuanbao pouted but said nothing more. Wang Ying patted his head, planning to take his son to the experimental field that night to make up for the missed outing.

Qing Er also looked downcast. After dinner, she sat listlessly beside Lin Sui. Already burdened with worry, Lin Sui’s eyes welled up again at the sight of her dejected expression.

Startled, Qing Er quickly reached out to wipe his tears, but they flowed faster, leaving the little girl at a loss.

Lin Sui pulled her into an embrace, thinking that if the Marquis truly met an unfortunate end, he and Qing Er would have only each other to rely on…

After dinner, Wang Ying took his son into the experimental field. The day’s upgrade must have been related to his husband’s achievements—he just didn’t know what rank he had attained.

They waited from early evening until late night, but Chen Qingyan still hadn’t appeared. Yuanbao grew sleepy, yawning repeatedly in Wang Ying’s arms, yet stubbornly refusing to sleep, determined to wait for his father.

“How about you sleep first? I’ll wake you when your father arrives.”

Yuanbao shook his head. “No, I want to wait for Daddy.”

Wang Ying pinched his soft cheek, marveling at how close they had become despite their short time together. The bond of blood was indeed mysterious.

They waited another half an hour. The experimental field’s time ran out, and it began consuming experience points, yet there was still no sign of Chen Qingyan.

“Maybe we should give up. I’ll bring you back tomorrow…” Before he could finish, Chen Qingyan arrived.

“A Ying, Yuanbao!”

The two turned to see Chen Qingyan, dressed in a red robe and floral crown, his cheeks flushed and smelling of alcohol, excitedly rushing toward them. In his haste, he stumbled over the hem of his robe and fell.

Wang Ying and Yuanbao hurried to help him up. “Have you been drinking?”

Chen Qingyan grinned foolishly. “I came first in the Imperial Examination.”

“What, first place?!”

Chen Qingyan nodded. “Tonight was the Qionglin Banquet. I drank a toast with His Majesty.”

He had a low tolerance for alcohol—just one cup had turned his face as red as a monkey’s bottom, greatly amusing the Emperor. Before leaving, the Emperor even instructed others not to pressure the top scholar to drink, sparing Chen Qingyan from overindulging.

The palace wine was strong, and by the time he returned home, his head was spinning. He quickly locked the door and entered the experimental field, surprised to find his husband and son waiting.

“I still can’t believe it. It feels like a dream. I didn’t rank first in the provincial or metropolitan exams, yet His Majesty personally named me top scholar in the palace examination.”

Wang Ying’s eyes welled with tears of joy. “I always knew you’d achieve great things, but I never expected it to be this great!”

Chen Qingyan sighed and embraced him. Half the credit for this achievement belonged to A Ying. If he hadn’t married him all those years ago, he might have long been forgotten in an unmarked grave.

Time and again, A Ying had saved him from dire straits. Now, he had finally lived up to those hopes…

“I have to stay in the capital for two more days to receive the rewards. Wait for me to return.”

“Okay.”

Little Yuanbao, feeling left out, jumped up and hugged them both. “Father, Daddy, what about me?”

Chen Qingyan laughed and pulled the boy into their embrace. The family of three laughed joyfully together.

With his father’s arrival, the boy was no longer sleepy. Wang Ying didn’t mind spending a few extra hours of experience points on such a happy occasion, letting the father and son play wildly in the experimental field until Yuanbao could barely keep his eyes open.

Wang Ying coaxed his son to sleep in his arms, but his smile faded as he recalled the day’s events. “Have you heard any news from the frontier while you were in the capital?”

Chen Qingyan shook his head. “I’ve been preparing for the exams these past few days, staying at Lord Liu’s residence and not venturing out. Has something happened at the frontier?”

Wang Ying recounted the incident from the streets. “Neither Lin Sui nor I believe that Marquis Wuping could have died in battle.”

“But the situation at the frontier isn’t optimistic. At Lord Liu’s residence, I see officials coming and going every day. Sometimes, you can hear them arguing from afar.”

“Arguing about what?”

“Not everyone wants to fight. War is no small matter—the daily consumption of provisions for 100,000 troops at the frontier is astronomical. Then there’s the compensation for the wounded and the families of the fallen. These expenses can be sustained for a short time, but a prolonged war will slowly drain a country.”

Wang Ying understood this well. In his previous life, though his homeland had never experienced war, he had seen news reports of Middle Eastern countries reduced to ruins by conflict. Once prosperous nations were left in shambles, their people displaced, and their economies set back decades. The impact of war on a country was devastating.

“What does the Emperor think?”

“By naming me top scholar, His Majesty made his stance clear—this war must be fought to the end! If we seek peace now, given the Turkic momentum, they will inevitably demand significant concessions. Otherwise, they would never agree to negotiate. But ceding territory to secure peace is like nurturing a tiger—it will only lead to our eventual downfall.”

Wang Ying felt relieved that the Wu Dynasty’s Emperor had backbone, unlike the Song Dynasty in history books, which chose to cede land for peace. Otherwise, the Wu Dynasty would surely meet its end sooner or later.

It was getting late, and Wang Ying winced at the rapidly depleting experience points. “You should go back and rest. We’ll head to bed too. It’s a shame we can’t share this good news with the family yet, but we’ll celebrate properly when you return!”

“Okay.” Chen Qingyan was exhausted. The day had been mentally draining, and he had reached his limit. The moment he left the experimental field, he fell into a deep sleep.

Wang Ying, however, was too excited to sleep. He laid the child down and paced restlessly around the room.

Top scholar! Throughout history, only a handful had achieved this honor. He never imagined his husband would be one of them! The joy was comparable to winning the lottery jackpot—and buying ten tickets, all of them winning.

Amid his happiness, he couldn’t help but worry about Lin Sui. He wondered how Marquis Wuping was faring. If the Marquis were to meet a tragic end, what would become of Lin Sui and Qing Er, left alone?

Lin Sui was also unable to sleep. The news from the afternoon lingered in his mind, refusing to fade.

He remembered Li Mu’s parting words and the brief, faint embrace, cold and tinged with the scent of metal, which had made his heart skip a beat.

It wasn’t that he had particularly strong feelings for him—after all, they had spent very little time together. If not for Qing Er, their paths would never have crossed.

Yet, despite this, Lin Sui felt an overwhelming sadness. Looking at his sleeping daughter, one of his few remaining relatives, he wondered what would become of Qing Er if Li Mu truly died in battle.

He feared that his status as a foster parent wouldn’t be enough to protect the child…

He finally managed to doze off as dawn approached, only to be tormented by a nightmare—a vision of Li Mu crawling on the ground, drenched in blood.

Lin Sui was terrified, reaching out to press on the bleeding wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but the more he pressed, the more blood gushed out, eventually staining his clothes completely red.

Li Mu stared wide-eyed at him, murmuring, "Take care of Qing Er for me..." before he breathed his last.

"Ah!" Lin Sui woke with a start from the nightmare to find Qing Er sitting beside him, watching him anxiously.

During the nightmare, he’d been rambling deliriously, and no matter how much Qing Er tried to shake him awake, he remained unresponsive, worrying Qing Er immensely. Seeing him finally come to, Qing Er snuggled against him, looking both wronged and relieved.

Lin Sui held the child tightly, trembling all over, relieved it was only a dream.

*

The scene shifts to one month earlier.

Outside Yumen Pass, the Turkic cavalry had laid siege to the city for four days, leaving them with no choice but to hold their position and avoid reckless engagement. The open terrain was perfect for cavalry charges, putting them at a significant disadvantage if they were to attack.

Inside the military camp, the commanding general, Zhao Yi, was frowning deeply as he studied the sand table, the deep lines between his brows etched from years of worry. At just thirty-six years old, years of exposure to the harsh frontier elements made him look older than a man in his forties, with strands of white already appearing at his temples.

Military strategist Guan Shiqian and Lang Ping sat on either side of him, their solemn expressions reflecting the grim state of the battle.

"By now, the Marquis should have reached this position," Guan Shiqian said, placing a flag near Li Mountain.

Lang Ping pointed to a nearby canyon and added, "A bit farther. The Marquis is leading three thousand elite troops, and their marching pace is much faster than that of a regular army."

Zhao Yi asked, "What about the soldiers sent out to spread false information?"

"Reporting, General—everything is in place. The messages have been circulating for the past few days."

The plan to fake Li Mu's death was a desperate move. Enemy spies had infiltrated their ranks, and the previous military campaigns had ended in heavy casualties due to setbacks.

The Battle of Jiahe was particularly devastating, with over three thousand soldiers lost. The defeat was caused by spies leaking their marching direction and timing in advance, leading to an ambush by the Turkic army that caught them completely off guard.

Forced to retreat to Yang Pass, they found that the Qiang people had already seized the area, cutting off their path by circumventing Li Mountain.

While the Qiang forces were incapable of stopping an army of hundreds of thousands, they successfully delayed their advance, resulting in the loss of Yang Pass and their subsequent retreat to Yumen Pass.

The consecutive defeats not only impacted the overall war situation but also drew increasing criticism from the court.

Four months of grueling battle had consumed vast amounts of provisions and funds. Yet, warfare relies heavily on supplies and logistical support. With certain court officials obstructing efforts, the next batch of provisions was delayed. Spies within compounded the external threats, creating a precarious situation where, without a solution, defeat by the Turkic forces seemed inevitable.

Under immense pressure, they had no choice but to gamble on a risky plan: faking Li Mu's defeat and death while he secretly led troops to strike the Turkic forces from behind.

To make the deception convincing, Lang Ping specifically had a few trusted soldiers spread the news widely, ensuring the spies would believe it and catch the Turkic forces by surprise.

If this battle were won, it would deal a heavy blow to the Turkic forces.

Zhao Yi placed the Wu Dynasty military flag back on the map at Xizhou. "We just need to hold this position for ten days. Once Li Mu reaches the rear of the Turkic forces, we will attack from both front and back, wiping them out completely!"

"Yes, sir!"