“Military matters are as urgent as fire. How can I allow my own condition to delay them?”
Although Fu Chengyan’s voice was weak, it carried unquestionable determination.
He attempted to shake off Su Nuohan’s hand.
However, his weakened body rendered the effort futile. Instead, it triggered a violent coughing fit, and an unhealthy flush appeared on his pale face.
Seeing him stubbornly forcing himself, Su Nuohan felt both annoyed and amused.
The nervousness she had felt after his interrogation gradually faded away.
Rather than continuing to stop him from getting up, she reached out and supported his unsteady shoulder.
At the same time, she casually placed her other hand on his wrist again.
“The Young Marshal’s devotion to his country is truly admirable.”
Her voice was gentle, carrying a trace of teasing.
As her fingertips moved slightly, that mysterious warm current silently flowed into his body once more, quickly calming his surging blood flow and easing his cough.
Then she continued,
“But as the saying goes, sharpening the axe does not delay the chopping of wood.”
“If you go out now and collapse in front of everyone, wouldn’t that shake military morale even more?”
Fu Chengyan suddenly felt a warm force soothing the burning pain in his chest and suppressing the urge to cough.
His body inexplicably regained some strength.
He immediately raised his head.
His gaze was sharp as lightning as it locked onto Su Nuohan once more.
“What are you doing this time?”
This time, he had clearly felt the source of that warm current.
It had come directly from the fingertips resting on his wrist.
At that moment, he was certain of one thing.
This was definitely not ordinary medical skill.
It was something far more mysterious.
Su Nuohan’s heart skipped a beat.
This guy’s perception is way too sharp.
However, her face immediately displayed a mixture of grievance and confusion.
She gently withdrew her hand.
“I… I only saw that you were coughing badly.”
“I wanted to help you catch your breath.”
Lowering her head, her voice grew increasingly soft, as though she had been frightened by his piercing stare.
Fu Chengyan stared at her intently.
He tried to find the slightest flaw in her expression.
Yet her timid and frightened appearance seemed completely genuine.
No matter how hard he looked, he found nothing.
Still—
Had he not personally experienced that strange warm current and witnessed her coldly ordering his Eldest Aunt to shut up earlier, he might actually have been fooled.
What a woman.
She’s hiding herself deeply.
Once I recover, I’ll strip away every layer of your disguise.
Just then—
Footsteps sounded outside once again.
This time, Madam Fu had returned.
Her voice carried suppressed anxiety and even a trace of trembling.
“Yan’er… Adjutant Qin… over at the Huai River…”
“Mother, come inside and speak.”
Fu Chengyan’s deep voice interrupted her.
Only then did his gaze finally leave Su Nuohan.
Madam Fu pushed open the door and entered.
Her complexion was somewhat pale.
A telegram was clutched tightly in her hand.
“Yan’er.”
“An urgent telegram just arrived from the front line.”
“The island nation’s forces… they’re really attempting to force a crossing of the river.”
“Their firepower is extremely heavy.”
“Commander Li is requesting reinforcements!”
Upon hearing this, Fu Chengyan’s face instantly darkened.
Struggling to get out of bed, he said,
“Mother, I need to go to headquarters.”
“No!”
Madam Fu and Su Nuohan spoke simultaneously.
“Yan’er!”
“Your body—”
Madam Fu rushed to the bedside and pressed him back down.
Meanwhile, a strange sensation surfaced once more in Su Nuohan’s mind.
This time, the mysterious premonition was even clearer than before.
She could even see detailed scenes.
A thick fog blanketed the river.
The enemy’s boats spun helplessly in the rushing waters.
Suddenly, a tremendous explosion erupted from behind them.
Flames shot into the sky.
Their ammunition depot appeared to have suffered some kind of accident.
Taking a deep breath, Su Nuohan spoke again.
Her voice carried a strange calm that reassured those who heard it.
“Mother, please don’t worry.”
Both Madam Fu and Fu Chengyan turned to look at her.
Su Nuohan’s gaze fell upon the telegram in Madam Fu’s hand.
“When was this telegram sent?”
“About… half an hour ago.”
Madam Fu looked at her in confusion.
“Half an hour…”
Su Nuohan murmured softly.
“That’s enough time.”
Then she lifted her head and looked directly at Fu Chengyan.
Although her eyes were clear and steady, her words sounded somewhat mysterious.
“I don’t understand military affairs.”
“But while looking out the window earlier, I noticed something unusual about today’s weather.”
“Unusual?”
Fu Chengyan and Madam Fu exchanged glances before looking back at her.
Su Nuohan smiled.
“Yes.”
“If my guess is correct, a heavy fog should form over the river today.”
“If that happens, those island forces likely won’t dare force a crossing.”
“After all, fighting on water during thick fog is a major military taboo.”
“Anyone who isn’t looking to die would hesitate to take such a risk.”
After hearing her explanation, both Fu Chengyan and Madam Fu were momentarily stunned.
They exchanged another glance.
Then Fu Chengyan looked at her and asked,
“How do you know there will be fog?”
“I… didn’t I just say so?”
“I inferred it from the weather.”
“A weather prediction?”
Fu Chengyan was speechless.
The battlefield changed from moment to moment.
As the commander of tens of thousands of soldiers, there was no way he would abandon military preparations simply because of one sentence from Su Nuohan.
Shaking his head, he still intended to head to the front line.
However—
At that exact moment, an extremely excited shout suddenly rang out from outside the room.
It was accompanied by hurried, chaotic footsteps.
“Young Marshal! Madam!”
“Good news!”
“Tremendous news!”
Adjutant Qin Feng returned.
He pushed open the door so abruptly that he completely forgot the courtesy of knocking.
His face was flushed red with excitement.
Waving a freshly received telegram in his hand, he shouted hoarsely,
“Young Marshal!”
“At the Huai River…”
“At the Huai River, an unprecedented fog suddenly appeared!”
“The visibility is practically zero!”
“The enemy fleet is spinning in circles in the middle of the river!”
“Their ships are colliding with one another and everything has descended into chaos!”
“Not only that!”
“Our scouts reported that because they were carrying heavy weapons, something happened while they were attempting to retreat.”
“For some unknown reason, the explosives they were carrying detonated on their own!”
“They’ve suffered catastrophic losses!”
“This time they’ve truly lost both their wife and their army!”
“No—”
“They’ve lost everything!”
“This is heaven blessing the Fu Army!”
Qin Feng was so excited that he could barely speak coherently.
He practically shouted the entire report.
Then he burst into loud laughter.
“Hahaha!”
Yet—
Neither Fu Chengyan nor Madam Fu showed the slightest trace of joy.
Instead, both of them stared fixedly at Su Nuohan.
Being stared at by mother and son in such a manner made Su Nuohan feel extremely uncomfortable.
After laughing for a while, Qin Feng finally sensed that something was wrong.
His laughter stopped abruptly.
Confused, he looked at Fu Chengyan and then at Madam Fu.
The entire room fell into dead silence.
After quite some time, Qin Feng frowned slightly and carefully asked,
“Young Marshal… what’s wrong?”
Fu Chengyan finally withdrew his gaze from Su Nuohan.
Looking toward Qin Feng, he shook his head.
“Nothing.”
“This defeat has cost the enemy heavily.”
“However, they will likely return in a few days.”
“Pass down my orders.”
“Every soldier must remain fully alert.”
“Not a single enemy soldier is to be allowed into Lu Province.”
“Yes, Young Marshal!”
Qin Feng immediately straightened his body and snapped into a perfect salute.
After receiving the order, he withdrew from the room.
Still full of confusion, he gently closed the door behind him as he left.