After being coaxed back by Meng Kuo, Lady Wei went to the General's residence the next day with apology gifts and the Persian beauty.
Lu Zhuo was at the military camp, so Wei Rao had Lady Wei escorted to the Hall.
Wei Rao was only twenty years old this year, while Lady Wei had just turned forty - exactly a generation apart.
Lady Wei had already learned from Meng Kuo that the newly appointed commander of Ganzhou Army was a young scion from an aristocratic family, and the commander's wife was the daughter the Imperial Consort had with her former husband before entering the palace. The Emperor, loving the consort, extended his affection to her daughter and specially conferred upon her the title of County Princess. However, just as Meng Kuo didn't think much of the young man, Lady Wei hadn't paid much attention to the County Princess either.
Who would have thought that before the County Princess had even firmly established herself in Ganzhou City, she would first subtly stir up discord between the couple. Fortunately, the County Princess meant no real harm - the Persian beauty she arranged immediately confessed everything upon meeting Lady Wei. Otherwise, Lady Wei would never have so easily believed her husband. She could tolerate anything except her husband touching other women.
The County Princess was clever, but if she had harbored malicious intent, Lady Wei would have resented her. However, since the County Princess had only intended to mildly discipline her husband, Lady Wei not only bore no grudge but actually admired the County Princess's straightforward temperament in dealing with grievances.
"I've long heard of the County Princess's reputation, but only upon meeting you today do I know the rumors don't exaggerate - there truly exists such an immortal-like beauty in this world."
After exchanging pleasantries, Lady Wei praised Wei Rao with a smile.
Though Lady Wei was forty years old, her eyes remained bright and lively, unlike some noble ladies in the capital who only evoked impressions of virtue and propriety. In Wei Rao's eyes, Lady Wei wore brightly colored dresses and adorned herself with pearls and jade, clearly a beautiful woman who refused to acknowledge her age. Indeed, Lady Wei maintained her beauty so well she appeared only in her thirties.
According to the information Zhao Bai had gathered, Lady Wei was famous in Ganzhou City as both a beautiful woman and a jealous wife. As long as Deputy General Meng didn't dally with other women, Lady Wei remained gentle and considerate. But once Deputy General Meng was involved in any romantic affairs, Lady Wei would transform into a fierce lioness, creating utter chaos with her husband. It was said that once, a Persian merchant trying to curry favor with Deputy General Meng gifted him an exquisite Persian beauty along with a golden house to keep her. Deputy General Meng coveted the beauty but feared Lady Wei. While he hesitated, Lady Wei discovered the affair and actually bought the house next to the golden residence, then installed a fair-skinned, handsome opera singer there. She declared that if Deputy General Meng visited the Persian beauty, she would visit the tender-skinned opera singer.
Furious, Deputy General Meng expelled both the Persian beauty and the opera singer, along with driving the Persian merchant out of Ganzhou City.
Lady Wei admired Wei Rao, and Wei Rao admired Lady Wei.
Though separated by twenty years, they became fast friends upon first meeting.
"I was able to make Deputy General Meng suffer a loss thanks to you, Madam. Without you keeping him in check, my method wouldn't have been effective," Wei Rao said truthfully.
Lady Wei laughed: "County Princess, rest assured. I may lack other skills, but dealing with him is more than sufficient. If he dares offend you again in the future, just send me a message - I'll teach him a lesson on your behalf."
Wei Rao agreed with a smile.
When Lu Zhuo returned that evening, he asked Wei Rao how she had gotten along with Lady Wei.Wei Rao said, "Madam Meng has a straightforward personality but loves beauty. I get along quite well with her. I gifted her a set of 'Floral Beauty' rouge, which she adored so much she couldn't put it down. She promised to introduce me to a Persian merchant who supposedly has many exquisite trinkets unique to the Western Regions."
Seeing her animated expression and apparent excitement, Lu Zhuo felt relieved. He would be stationed at the military camp for extended periods, likely returning only once a month at the end of each month. With Wei Rao having friends to socialize with in Ganzhou City, she wouldn't be too bored.
Wei Rao asked curiously, "Only once a month? Is something happening at the camp?"
Lu Zhuo nodded.
The Ganzhou Army consisted of two hundred thousand soldiers responsible for guarding the northwest border of Great Qi. To maintain combat readiness, each commanding general had their own training methods. Shortly after Lu Zhuo's arrival, Meng Kuo informed him that regardless of individual training approaches, the Ganzhou Army maintained a tradition of military exercises held annually in May and October, with the two hundred thousand troops divided into two batches participating.
Meng Kuo proposed to Lu Zhuo that for the May exercises, each would command fifty thousand troops to determine victory.
This was clearly Meng Kuo's challenge to Lu Zhuo. If Lu Zhuo defeated Meng Kuo, he would earn Meng Kuo and the Ganzhou Army's respect. If he lost...
"Do you have confidence?" Wei Rao asked worriedly. Meng Kuo knew the Ganzhou Army inside out, while Lu Zhuo had just arrived. With only two months until the mid-May exercises, such a short time for Lu Zhuo to both familiarize himself with the Ganzhou Army and get fifty thousand soldiers to comply with his training methods was truly no easy task.
Lu Zhuo smiled. "Just wait and see."
Wei Rao's heart stirred, and she took his hand. "During the military exercises, can I go with you?"
Lu Zhuo clasped her hand in return. "As long as you don't mind the sun."
Wei Rao wasn't afraid at all. While she probably couldn't visit real battlefields, watching Lu Zhuo command military exercises would be quite interesting. It would be even better if Lu Zhuo's fifty thousand troops could rout Meng Kuo's forces.
"Feel free to stay at the camp without worrying about me," Wei Rao expressed her full support.
Lu Zhuo kissed her and said apologetically, "After this exercise concludes, I'll have more free time. Then I'll take you around here more often."
The Ganzhou region featured complex terrain—snow-capped mountains, forests, grasslands, and lakes—all sorts of marvels concentrated in one area. Lu Zhuo had long been fascinated by it and wanted to show Wei Rao the sights.
Lu Zhuo formally moved into the military camp and began personally training one hundred thousand Ganzhou troops.
He would first train one hundred thousand, then select fifty thousand from them to participate in the military exercises two months later. The other one hundred thousand would be trained by Vice General Meng.
These one hundred thousand troops were commanded by ten colonels. Lu Zhuo had met all ten during his banquet at the Meng residence. Six cooperated readily, but four senior colonels repeatedly raised objections, unwilling to follow Lu Zhuo's troop formations and strategies.
So Lu Zhuo had these four colonels each select one hundred elite soldiers to compete against his one hundred personal guards from the Divine Martial Army, using their proudest formations.
The Divine Martial Army ranked first among the Upper Four Armies and topped all imperial guards. Every soldier in the Divine Martial Army was chosen from thousands. However, the Ganzhou Army was also a formidable force. Each colonel commanded ten thousand troops and could select one hundred elites from them. In terms of individual combat capability, they wouldn't lose to Lu Zhuo's hundred men, making this contest quite fair.However, after four rounds of contests, the best performance among the four lieutenants' hundred-man squads was merely holding out for half an hour against the Divine Martial Army.
At this point, the four lieutenants were completely convinced.
Lu Zhuo trained the Ganzhou troops from dawn till dusk every day. While the tactical formations were easy to understand in theory, they required seamless coordination among soldiers to unleash their full potential. It was like a human body with four limbs—each hand and foot having five digits—where any single malfunction would weaken the entire combat effectiveness to varying degrees.
While Lu Zhuo was busy with training, Wei Rao grew increasingly bored in Ganzhou City.
Though there were plenty of interesting places both inside and outside the city, Wei Rao’s heart wasn’t in them. She longed to witness Lu Zhuo and Meng Kuo’s armies face off in competition, and even more so, she wanted to see how Lu Zhuo trained his troops. Previously, Wei Rao practiced martial arts solely to strengthen her body and preserve her life when facing conspiracies. But now, in this rugged and imposing frontier town, knowing that Lu Zhuo was drilling the army, her ambitions suddenly grew wilder—martial arts only improved the individual; she also wanted to train and lead troops.
This wasn’t just idle fantasy—history had seen female generals before.
If predecessors could lead troops into battle, why couldn’t she? She herself was skilled in swordsmanship, and her husband was the successor to the elite Divine Martial Army of the Upper Four Armies. With such excellent conditions, wouldn’t it be a waste of her journey to the frontier if she didn’t make good use of them?
One day, while Lu Zhuo was inspecting the troops' drills, a messenger suddenly ran over and reported to him in a low voice.
Lu Zhuo’s expression shifted slightly. He ordered Zhao Song to bring Flying Ink, mounted the horse in one swift movement, and galloped straight toward the camp gate.
As he approached the gate, Lu Zhuo saw from a distance a person and a horse standing outside. The horse was Wei Rao’s strikingly snow-white steed, and the person was naturally Wei Rao dressed in men’s attire, her skin as fair as jade, with bright eyes and gleaming teeth. Spotting him, she broke into a radiant smile.
Lu Zhuo glanced behind her—not a single guard in sight.
His face immediately darkened.
Once outside the camp gate, Lu Zhuo had Wei Rao mount her horse. The couple rode some distance away before Lu Zhuo asked sternly, "Why did you come alone?"
Wei Rao smiled. "I didn’t come alone. I just sent the guards back when we got close to the camp."
Only then did Lu Zhuo’s expression soften.
Now that he was no longer angry, Wei Rao shot him a glare and snorted, "You’ve been here for half a month already. I missed you, so I came to see you. I didn’t expect to be met with displeasure. Since that’s the case, I might as well go back."
With that, Wei Rao made to spur her horse away.
Lu Zhuo urged Flying Ink forward, blocking her path, and said helplessly, "You know I was just worried about you. Why provoke me with such words?"
Wei Rao lifted her chin slightly and turned her head away.
Lu Zhuo chuckled, leaning closer to ask, "Did you really miss me?"
Wei Rao glanced at him, then suddenly bloomed into a dazzling, coquettish smile, lowering her head as if unwilling to admit it.
Lu Zhuo’s throat moved. Since she was already here, he said, "Come on, let’s talk in my tent."
Lu Zhuo’s main command tent was exceptionally grand, divided into inner and outer sections, each as spacious as two rooms.
After instructing Zhao Song to stand guard outside, Lu Zhuo walked ahead with a composed expression, while Wei Rao followed him like a junior soldier.
As soon as they entered the tent, Lu Zhuo swept Wei Rao up into his arms. She struggled lightly a couple of times, but then, thinking of her lonely nights over the past half month, she couldn’t help but wrap her arms around his neck, only giving him a faint, reproachful glance.Absence makes the heart grow fonder, especially in this forbidden military camp. The esteemed commander Lu Zhuo might have felt a pang of guilt, causing him to fall far short of his usual prowess. It wasn’t long before he surrendered in Wei Rao’s tender embrace.
Naturally dissatisfied, he watched as Wei Rao buried herself under the quilt, shaking with laughter. Just as she was giggling, Lu Zhuo suddenly leaned over her again, carefully covering her mouth to stifle her startled gasp.
Outside the tent, patrolling soldiers passed by, their footsteps falling in unison.
On the training ground, the troops were busy drilling, their fierce battle cries echoing intermittently.
To Wei Rao, all of this was utterly novel.
But for Lu Zhuo, military life was ingrained in his very bones. Instead, it was Wei Rao—Wei Rao visiting him in the camp, Wei Rao lying in his tent—who felt entirely new and extraordinary. In this lifetime, only Wei Rao could make him commit such an absurd act in this forbidden military ground.
“Don’t come again,” Lu Zhuo murmured softly once his breathing had steadied, holding her gently and inhaling the delicate fragrance of her hair.
Wei Rao twirled a strand of her long hair and retorted mockingly, “Now that you’ve had your fill, General, you want to send me away? How could such a delightful arrangement be?”
Startled, Lu Zhuo met her gaze.
Wei Rao laughed, pressing him down flat. She straddled him, tossing back her cascading dark hair, and braced her hands against his chest. “I want you to teach me how to train troops.”
Lu Zhuo’s throat tightened. Hearing her words, he lifted his eyes and repeated hoarsely, “You want to learn how to train troops?”
Wei Rao nodded. She had already thought it through. “Find me a separate tent. Starting tomorrow, I’ll train alongside your soldiers like one of them. Don’t worry—I’ve brought everything I need. With some disguise, I won’t give myself away or interfere with your duties. Just pretend I’m still in the city.”
“Nonsense,” Lu Zhuo refused without hesitation.
Wei Rao snorted. “Haven’t I caused enough trouble already? Just tell me—do you agree or not?”
As she spoke, she slid one hand behind her back, reaching as if retrieving something from a pouch.
Lu Zhuo: …
Wei Rao looked at him with unwavering determination. If he remained silent, she would threaten him with her nails.
Lu Zhuo drew a sharp breath and tried to reason with her. “What use would training troops be to you? Military officers are assigned fixed quotas; I can’t allocate soldiers to you.”
Wei Rao replied, “That’s none of your concern. Once I’ve learned, I’ll leave on my own. By then, even if you begged me to stay in the camp, I wouldn’t agree.”
While Lu Zhuo was still hesitating, Zhao Song suddenly announced from outside, “General, General He requests an audience.”
Lu Zhuo glanced at Wei Rao.
Wei Rao tightened her grip.
Gasping sharply, Lu Zhuo knew she wouldn’t yield easily and had no choice but to agree.
Wei Rao smiled and released him, slipping away.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Lu Zhuo emerged from the tent, fully dressed and exuding authority.
General He looked up, his eyes sweeping over Lu Zhuo’s face before quickly lowering. He couldn’t help but notice the commander’s handsome face was slightly flushed—just as the executed General Zhang had once said, more radiant than peach blossoms, more captivating than a beauty. However, with General Zhang’s fate as a cautionary tale, General He was not foolish enough to disrespect the commander and offer his own neck.
“What brings you here?” Lu Zhuo asked.
“Reporting, General. One of my subordinates has requested marriage leave. Since his home is far, he asks for a month to travel back and forth.”
Hearing this, Lu Zhuo glanced back at the tent and said, “Granted. Coincidentally, my cousin has just arrived today. Starting tomorrow, assign him to train under you.”
General He exclaimed in surprise, “Your cousin?”Lu Zhuo: "Indeed. He has been pampered at home and was sent here by his elders to gain experience. Just focus on training him—no need to go easy."
General He immediately felt a headache coming on. The commander's relatives were either wealthy or influential—who would dare to truly offend them?
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