While A Bao was sound asleep, Zhao Song, Bitao, and others escorted her back to the capital.
Wei Rao remained in Ganzhou City.
She knew it wasn't easy for Lu Zhuo to lead two hundred thousand troops against the Western Qiang's two hundred and fifty thousand iron cavalry. She worried he might get injured, but the more critical the situation became, the more Wei Rao knew she couldn't act recklessly. She needed to stay in Ganzhou and wait for Lu Zhuo, not run to the battlefield to cause trouble or distract him. With only five hundred guards from the manor under her command, she couldn't influence anything.
Fortunately, Lu Zhuo didn't disappoint her. He was indeed Lu Zhuo, the future head of the Duke of Yingguo's household and the next commander of the Divine Martial Army.
Despite the Ganzhou army's overall strength being inferior to the Western Qiang Iron Cavalry, Lu Zhuo still managed to hold the strategic Jiayu Pass. Utilizing the natural defenses of the pass, he dealt a heavy blow to the Western Qiang army, finally stemming their flood-like offensive. While he defended Jiayu Pass openly, Meng Kuo led fifty thousand troops over mountains and ridges to flank the Western Qiang army from behind. As chaos erupted in the Western Qiang's rear, Lu Zhuo immediately led his troops out of the city, attacking from both front and rear with Meng Kuo. Tens of thousands of Western Qiang Iron Cavalry perished, forcing them into a disorderly retreat.
Lu Zhuo and Meng Kuo pursued relentlessly. By the time the Duke of Yingguo and the Marquis of Xiting arrived with the Divine Martial Army and the Soaring Dragon Army, the Ganzhou forces had already driven the Western Qiang Iron Cavalry out of Guazhou, leaving them camped on the grasslands, hesitant to advance.
After several fierce battles, the tides had turned. The Ganzhou army, now reinforced, numbered nearly three hundred thousand, while the Western Qiang Iron Cavalry had dwindled to less than two hundred thousand.
The Duke of Yingguo and the Marquis of Xiting hadn't led troops for many years and were both advanced in age. This campaign was likely the last time the two veteran generals would command armies. They agreed to have the younger generation—Lu Zhuo, Lu Ya, and Han Liao—stay at the main camp while they each led one hundred thousand troops in a grand assault on the Western Qiang camp.
The two sides fought fiercely for a day and a night. The Western Qiang Iron Cavalry, exhausted from days of marching, faced the well-rested troops led by the Duke of Yingguo and the Marquis of Xiting. The two veteran generals joined forces, slaughtering until the Western Qiang soldiers abandoned their armor and fled. After holding out for just two months, the Western Qiang broke their alliance with Wuda and retreated into their own territory.
When the victory report reached the capital, Emperor Yuanjia was overjoyed. He ordered the Duke of Yingguo to garrison Ganzhou, while the Marquis of Xiting and his son, along with Lu Zhuo, Lu Ya, and others, led one hundred thousand troops to reinforce the northern route army. This time, their goal wasn't just to defeat Wuda but to destroy his kingdom entirely!
During the brief interval waiting for the imperial decree's response, Lu Zhuo rushed back to Ganzhou City on horseback!
Wei Rao didn't know Lu Zhuo would return. She only knew the Ganzhou army had won, and she was immensely happy, with no way to vent her joy. She wrote several letters to the capital: to her maternal family, all filled with good news, and the longest to her mother-in-law, He Shi. She missed her daughter terribly, wondering if the little one had been crying for her father and mother since returning to the Duke's Manor.
While in the study, she suddenly heard commotion from the front courtyard, as if someone was shouting "Young Lord!"
Wei Rao immediately put down her brush and rushed out of the study. There, at the corner of the corridor, stood Lu Zhuo. He wore silver armor, his helmet nowhere in sight, revealing a face slightly tanned from the sun. He had lost weight, but his heroic spirit remained undiminished. The moment his phoenix eyes landed on her, they instantly filled with warmth.
The maids had already withdrawn. With no more reservations, Wei Rao dashed down the corridor toward him.
Lu Zhuo stood still, watching her in her long dress fly toward him like a bird. For the first time, this woman was so openly expressing her affection for him.Lu Zhuo reached out and lifted Wei Rao high into the air. She was so light that he effortlessly raised her above his head.
He tilted his head back, while Wei Rao leaned down, her hands already caressing his face. From a distance, it wasn’t obvious, but up close, she noticed his chin was covered in stubble.
“If I had known you were so capable in battle, I wouldn’t have sent A Bao back,” Wei Rao murmured, her gaze lingering on his face like silk. Torn between worrying about her husband on the battlefield and her young daughter, the past two months had been agonizing for Wei Rao, as if her heart had been split in two.
Lu Zhuo took her words as praise. Six years ago, when he was injured on the battlefield, Wei Rao had seen him at his most vulnerable. Now, he had finally shown her that her man was no weak general—he was fully capable of safeguarding the border.
He had to return to the military camp before dark, leaving Lu Zhuo with little time. There was so much he wanted to say to Wei Rao, to tell her how much he had missed her, but he didn’t want to waste words. How much he missed her, Wei Rao would naturally feel.
Holding Wei Rao aloft, Lu Zhuo carried her into the inner chamber.
He was as urgent and infatuated as on their wedding night. Wei Rao, though missing him, felt a faint unease. “Why the rush?”
Lu Zhuo paused, his gaze tinged with guilt. “I have to leave soon. The Emperor has ordered us to attack Wuda. Grandfather will guard Ganzhou in my absence.”
Wei Rao had thought that with the Western Qiang retreating, Lu Zhuo would be safe. She hadn’t expected he would still have to fight Wuda.
Though Wuda had sent fewer troops this time than the Western Qiang, Wuda had always been the fierce wolf of the north. Their iron cavalry was ruthless and far more savage than the fickle Western Qiang.
Worry, reluctance, and heartache overwhelmed Wei Rao, and she bit down on Lu Zhuo’s shoulder.
Lu Zhuo took a sharp breath, disregarding everything as he buried himself in her once more.
Only after venting his passion did Lu Zhuo hold Wei Rao in his arms to talk. “I’m leaving Ganzhou. There’s no point in you staying here. Return to the capital. A Bao is still so young—we can’t both be away from her. You go back first. Once the war is over, I’ll likely return directly to the capital. I was due to be reassigned this year anyway.”
Wei Rao let out a weak hum of agreement. With both her husband and daughter gone from Ganzhou, what reason did she have to stay?
“Is it dangerous, going to Wuda?” she asked, stroking his face, still concerned.
Lu Zhuo replied, “The northern border has two hundred thousand troops. This time, all four elite armies are mobilized. The Emperor has ordered us to destroy Wuda. What is there to fear from them now?”
The four elite armies…
Wei Rao frowned. “Han Liao is no good. Be careful around him, and try not to join forces with him in battle.”
Lu Zhuo understood. In fact, he had long suspected the Han family—most of all—regarding the battlefield intelligence leak six years ago and the assassins he encountered after returning from the temporary palace. But without evidence, his suspicions alone weren’t enough to convict the Han family.
“Take good care of A Bao. Don’t worry about me,” Lu Zhuo said, kissing her.
Time waited for no one. Reluctant as he was, Lu Zhuo had to leave in haste.
Wei Rao saw him off at the door.
Lu Zhuo swung onto Flying Ink’s back. Gazing down at Wei Rao, whose features were as exquisite as a painting, he smiled, gripping the reins. “Wait for me to return.”
Before the words faded, Lu Zhuo had already galloped away.
Wei Rao watched his retreating figure until he disappeared at the end of the alley, then let out a nearly inaudible, bitter laugh."Easier said than done. Once someone's shadow takes root in your heart, how can it be so easily dismissed?"
After Lu Zhuo's departure, Wei Rao lingered at the general's manor for two more days. After bidding farewell to several close acquaintances among the city's noblewomen, she finally boarded her carriage. Zhao Bai stood guard beside it, followed by five hundred household guards.
Wei Rao's five hundred guards were cavalry-equipped, each mounted on a majestic warhorse.
On the second day of their journey, the party camped in the wilderness. After the tents were pitched, Wei Rao retired to hers. Though night had fallen, sleep eluded her. Her thoughts drifted between Lu Zhuo, A Bao, and the displaced border refugees they had encountered along the way. Once war broke out, even if the court remained confident, commoners feared death and would rather abandon their homes temporarily, returning only after hostilities ceased.
Cicadas chirped incessantly in the wild fields. Lying on a crude wooden bed, Wei Rao eventually fell asleep at some unknown hour.
Wei Rao seldom dreamed, but tonight she had one.
In her dream, she returned to the battlefield of six years ago. Though she hadn't personally witnessed that war, she'd heard how Lu Zhuo was injured while he lay unconscious. An arrow had pierced his back near the heart. Miraculously surviving, he refused proper recovery and kept fighting despite his wounds, causing them to repeatedly reopen.
In Wei Rao's dream, these scenes unfolded vividly: she saw Lu Zhuo struck by the arrow, coughing blood; she saw his wounds tearing open again; she saw him insisting on returning to the capital only to collapse from his horse; she saw him emaciated and bedridden. In the dream, she still married him in a Marriage to ward off misfortune, but this time she wasn't indifferent. She kept vigil at his bedside day and night, praying for his swift recovery, yet Lu Zhuo never woke, ultimately drawing his last breath.
In the dream, Wei Rao wept bitterly. When she awoke from the grief, she found real tears streaking her face.
Sitting up, she remained motionless, oblivious even to the mosquitoes buzzing nearby.
Why such a dream?
They say loved ones share a connection. Could Lu Zhuo be in danger on the battlefield?
They weren't blood relatives, but after three or four years of marriage and raising a daughter together, their bond had long transcended kinship.
Donning her outer robe, Wei Rao slipped quietly out of the tent.
"Young Mistress?" Zhao Bai, standing guard outside, noticed her immediately.
Wei Rao shook her head and walked to the clearing between tents, gazing northward.
In truth, she wasn't far from the grasslands. Ganzhou lay directly west of the capital, and traveling eastward, she was merely half a day's ride from the steppes.
The stars glittered brilliantly, a few particularly radiant.
"Young Mistress, are you concerned about the Young Lord?" Zhao Bai asked softly.
Wei Rao smiled faintly, addressing the night sky, "Yes. Tell me, if I went to find him, would he be angry?"
Zhao Bai's heart skipped a beat. "How could the Young Lord be angry at such devotion? But if you go, he might become distracted."
Wei Rao nodded.
The last thing she wanted was for Lu Zhuo to lose focus because of her, potentially disrupting battle formations and affecting the broader strategy.
"Delay our return to the capital. We'll head to Yucheng first," Wei Rao decided.
Lu Zhuo had mentioned they would join forces with the Yucheng garrison there. By now, they had likely merged and entered the battlefield. Wei Rao would wait for him in Yucheng—no matter what, she needed to learn of Lu Zhuo's condition at the earliest opportunity.
Zhao Bai attempted to dissuade her once, but seeing the Young Mistress's resolve, he offered no further objection.The next morning, after breakfast during assembly, Zhao Bai announced on behalf of Wei Rao that they would change their destination to Yu City.
The five hundred garrison soldiers immediately perked up, with one excitedly asking, "Is the County Princess taking us to the battlefield?"
Having trained for so long, now that the Western Qiang had retreated and the imperial forces surpassed the Uda cavalry, it was the perfect opportunity for passionate young men to achieve glory and make their mark.
Zhao Bai said coldly, "If we were going to the battlefield, the County Princess would have given orders. Since she hasn't said anything, don't entertain such thoughts."
The five hundred garrison soldiers obeyed Wei Rao unconditionally and immediately ceased their discussions upon hearing this.
Wei Rao sat inside the carriage, listening to everyone's longing to go to the battlefield and fight the enemy. Even the garrison soldiers she had trained were wholeheartedly devoted to serving the country and achieving merit. The Duke of Yingguo's Manor had enjoyed imperial favor for generations—as the heir to the Duke's Manor, how could Lu Zhuo not give his all?
He was a military commander, bound by duty to be loyal and devoted, but Wei Rao was afraid—afraid that he would again neglect his own well-being and suffer severe injuries.
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