Arc 3 – Chapter 193, Vicious Princess Wants to Reverse Fate (88)

“General An, you will be assisted by Strategist Xu and Vice General Wang. During this period, pay close attention to the movements of the Qi Kingdom’s army. Create illusions of weakness where there is strength and vice versa to confuse the enemy and restrain their advance.” Zhou Min turned her head to look at the older elder on the second left and the two middle-aged men standing beside him, one of whom she had seen upon entering the camp.

“This subordinate understands.”

“General Yuan, you take a team of soldiers and head to Huai Mountain Gorge immediately. You must buy time for the Marshal. I need one day, and you must find the Marshal and hold out until I arrive.”

Zhou Min said to the person beside her.

“Understood! Your subordinate will follow the order.”

“General Li, choose the most astute team from your men to infiltrate the border towns of Qi Kingdom to spread rumours and create chaos. Also, pen a letter to the Grand Marshal of Qi Kingdom, but make sure he doesn’t realise we’re doing this deliberately. Make it seem as if the information came from a spy he planted within Yan Tianjue’s camp. We must delay the Qi Kingdom’s army advance by any means necessary.”

“All generals, follow the command!” Everyone looked up at the woman standing in front of the map. Dressed in men’s clothing, her extraordinary beauty and inherent nobility and pride, indicative of a princess’s demeanour and the arrogance of royalty, could not be concealed.

Calm and fearless in the face of danger, her clear eyes seemed to see through everything. Her voice had a power that soothed the anxious hearts of the people, who were slightly panicked about the Marshal being trapped.

Admiring the elegance and heavenly beauty of the lady before them, they were even more subdued by her commanding presence.

“This subordinate shall not fail!” If before the generals had bowed due to her status as a princess, now their worship was spontaneous.

Zhou Min stood there before everyone, receiving their salutations. Those who received her orders then left the tent in an orderly fashion, while the two generals beneath her continued to watch Zhou Min standing in front of the map.

From her, they sensed an unrivalled, solitary pride, as if amidst thousands of soldiers charging, she would remain unshaken, determined to protect to the death.

“Generals Lian and Cheng, you are tasked with finding me several items immediately,” Zhou Min instructed the two generals to come closer and whispered the ingredients needed to make gunpowder, such as phosphorus powder.

Although they did not understand why Zhou Min needed so much phosphorus powder and saltpeter, they accepted the order without confusion and withdrew.

After they all left the tent, Qingqiu came in with clean water. “Princess, General Yuan said your wound has reopened. He asked me to re-dress it for you.”

Only then did Zhou Min realise that her clothes were soaked with fresh blood. It must have been General Yuan standing beside her who smelled the blood, as those who became generals were unusually sensitive to the scent of blood. She nodded and asked, “When did you all arrive here?”

“We arrived at the hour of Xu (7 PM).”

“What time is it now?” Zhou Min nodded and looked outside the tent at the sky.

“Replying to the princess, it is now the third quarter of the hour of Hai (11:45 PM).”

“Is it that late already?” Zhou Min, looking at the deep and tranquil night outside, couldn’t help but think of every night she had spent alone with Shangguan Qi in the jungle.

At that time, because of the cold nights in the jungle, she always slept close to Shangguan Qi, especially after their relationship had improved, she would sleep in his embrace.

Now, in this silent night, she suddenly missed him very much!

Zhou Min could feel a change in the stubborn emotions within the empathy after learning some truths about her past life that she had overlooked. It was like a tug-of-war between love and not love, desire and impossibility.

It was the will of the princess of the Zhou Kingdom from her past life and her tangled love for Shangguan Qi in the empathy. Ever since she learned about what happened between Shangguan Qi and her Zhou dynasty, her heart ached for both herself and Shangguan Qi.

The night was cool as water, and all was silent, with a crescent moon hanging against the black canvas of the sky, sparsely adorned with a few stars.

After being re-dressed, Zhou Min asked Qingqiu to leave. She wanted to be alone for a while. In the dimly lit tent, shadows flickered, and a small square table held a burning red candle casting a solitary glow.

Zhou Min sat on a low couch in the tent, holding a book, but her mind was not on the words. Instead, she was preoccupied with thoughts of how to complete her mission, as she was aware that the story was more complex than she had initially known.

Suddenly, the candle on the table flickered, and Zhou Min’s shadow cast on the tent wall stretched with the light. A breeze stirred a stray lock of hair on her cheek, prompting Zhou Min to look up, only to see someone in the tent who shouldn’t be there.

“…Shangguan, Qi…” The book in Zhou Min’s hands dropped in an instant. In the quiet of the tent, she locked eyes with him, their gazes entangled, persistent, and endless.

The same face, the same expression, dressed in white, with half-raised black hair and a jade crown on his head, his face was frosty, resembling a noble orchid tree, but his eyes no longer held the coldness of the past, only fervour.

Shangguan Qi’s gaze was fixed on Zhou Min, dressed in red, sitting on the low couch, a gaze spanning lifetimes.

He had been searching for her for nearly a month. From the moment he knew she had left him the last chance to live, his heart could never be at peace. Every day he suffered through restlessness and pain, dreading that his subordinates would report finding her body, because he could not accept the possibility of her death. Just the thought caused him indescribable agony, making it impossible to sleep at night.

Yet, he also longed to find any trace of her, even if it was just her body. He couldn’t bear the thought of her alone in the cold river, couldn’t bear her being alone in the jungle… He couldn’t bear that their last meeting might be their final one in this life. He missed her!

Madly missed her, despite replaying the memories of their time together over and over in his mind daily. The more he remembered, the more desperately he longed for her. He wanted to see her, even if it was just her body.

Zhou Min stood up, a single finger brushing away the hair on her cheek, and then she smiled, “Shangguan Qi, are you wounds healed?”