"Oh, Moon God."
After witnessing the execution, Song Zhiluan remained preoccupied.
When Zhinu came to check her pulse, she was still pondering what Xie Yujin had endured in the past. Having fought on battlefields for so many years and seen countless deaths, he could still react so intensely. It must have been excruciating when the Xie family fell into decline.
Song Zhiluan felt a pang of heartache.
Xie Yujin, however, acted as if nothing had happened, proceeding with his nightly patrols and meetings, disappearing for hours at a time.
"Zhinu, there's something I want to ask you."
Zhinu replied, "What is it, Your Highness?"
Song Zhiluan lowered her hand and looked at her. "All these years, my womb has shown no signs of life. Is it possible I may never conceive?"
Yunu also turned her gaze to Zhinu.
After a moment of thought, Zhinu said, "Your Highness has a cold constitution, making conception difficult but not impossible. When the cold symptoms flare up, they are particularly tormenting. With careful nurturing over the years, your health has greatly improved. There is still hope."
"These years, as long as I'm not agitated, the episodes have become rare. I'm much better than I was at the beginning."
Zhinu dared not make promises but did not extinguish Song Zhiluan's hope. "Recently, I obtained an ancient text from a military physician. The methods recorded in it are worth trying. If the prescription proves effective, Your Highness may recover from this ailment soon."
"Truly?"
"Of course."
Song Zhiluan's heart, heavy all night, began to leap with excitement. She couldn't wait to tell Xie Yujin. But after taking two steps, she suddenly remembered—Xie Yujin didn't seem particularly fond of children.
Sometimes when she played with Mingshan, Xie Yujin wouldn't even utter a few comforting words to the child.
Perhaps it would be different with his own child?
That night, Song Zhiluan once again clearly sensed that Xie Yujin was acting unusually.
She often enjoyed teasing him with flirtatious remarks in bed, but tonight, she merely said, "I want a child of our own."
If she wanted a child, she could have one without Xie Yujin's consent.
But she wanted their child to be born out of the anticipation of both father and mother.
Things quickly spiraled out of control.
Xie Yujin had always been restrained in their intimate moments, but tonight, she could barely endure it.
Did he want a child this badly?
That was the only thought in Song Zhiluan's mind before she lost consciousness.
The next morning, to her surprise, Song Zhiluan found Xie Yujin by the bedside.
He carried the same soapberry scent as she did, clearly having just bathed.
Song Zhiluan felt refreshed and thoroughly satisfied from the night before. No wonder the ancients used phrases like "soul-stirring" and "entwined unto death" to describe lovemaking. In those moments of ecstasy, she truly felt she might perish on the bed.
"Xie Yujin, why were you so… intense last night?"
Xie Yujin removed his helmet, cutting her off. "The tea has gone cold."
Song Zhiluan's throat was indeed uncomfortable. She drank the tea but did not press further.
Suddenly, she felt nervous.
How strange.
Morning light streamed into the tent, casting a golden glow around Song Zhiluan. After finishing her tea, she smiled at him and said, "Xie Yujin, do you think there might be a child in my womb from last night?"
Xie Yujin, who was about to step out of the tent, paused at her words.
He turned his head and saw an uncommonly gentle expression on Song Zhiluan's face.
She caressed her abdomen and murmured softly, "Come quickly, little one. Your father and mother will give you all the best the world has to offer. Don't keep us waiting long."
Yunu retrieved a letter from a carrier pigeon's leg.
Zhinu sat on a rock and asked, "Sister, who sent you the letter?"
There was no signature or seal, but the handwriting was familiar to Yunu. Song Zhen's message was brief, only eight characters: "Remain with the army. Do not return to Jing."
Yunu said, "As expected. Searching for those herbs was just a pretext."
And she had already found most of them.
Zhinu asked, "What herbs? What pretext?"
"Children don't need to know so much."
Zhinu gazed at the dense crowd below and said, "I'm not a child. Children don't survive long in Feng Ying's military camp."
Yunu asked, "Her Highness may be in danger. Are you afraid?"
"Not at all. Sister Ah Luan needs me."
"I take back those words."
"Which ones?"The ones calling you a child," Yunu, also fearless, looked at her with satisfaction, "Zhinu has grown up.""
Life in the military camp passed with unusual ease.
Perhaps the rebels who seemed formidable in the eyes of civil officials were nothing significant to Xie Yujin. Their advance had been a series of crushing victories with no unexpected setbacks.
As they reclaimed territories northward and set up camps to rest, Song Zhiluan would study military texts with Xie Yujin.
Though she could be a bit noisy at times, she knew when to be quiet.
Most of the time, she remained peaceful and silent.
Once, Song Zhiluan fell asleep with a brush in her mouth, and Xie Yujin carried her to the bed. When she caught him in the act, he claimed she had taken his spot.
The memory made Song Zhiluan chuckle.
She really wanted to ask: with so many places available, why did he have to pick exactly where she was sitting? He couldn't even come up with a proper excuse.
Waiting for a block of wood to speak up was truly challenging.
Half a month passed in a flash.
Tonight, the camp was unusually restless. Xie Yujin had led a troop out with General Li at dawn to ambush the enemy, but they hadn't returned by dusk.
Song Zhiluan propped her head in her hands and waited another hour until she heard Yunu's voice: "Your Highness, mount up."
Then came the sound of hooves and the chaos of battle.
Song Zhiluan, along with the camp physicians and wounded, were moved to safety.
Fortunately, the enemy's surprise attack didn't cause significant casualties. General Li returned and repelled the assault.
But there was still no news of Xie Yujin.
He had gone missing during the engagement with the enemy, and none of his subordinates had heard anything.
Song Zhiluan helped Zhinu bandage the wounded and didn't find a moment of peace until midnight. The camp was filled with moans of pain and sorrow. She thought of Xie Yujin, his fate unknown, wondering if he was injured and whether anyone was tending to his wounds. She felt like crying but held back.
She wasn't a teenage girl anymore—she couldn't afford to shed tears easily.
A full moon hung in the dark night sky.
Song Zhiluan clasped her hands and silently prayed in the direction Xie Yujin had departed: "Moon Goddess, please protect Xie Yujin. Keep him safe and free from worry and fear. Bring him back to me unharmed. Your humble devotee will build temples in your honor and accumulate good deeds."
Yunu and Zhinu stood guard behind Song Zhiluan.
Zhinu watched her, silently recited a few words, and cast a divination.
Unfamiliar with hexagrams, Yunu asked, "What does it say?"
"The Fire over Heaven hexagram," Zhinu replied. "It's favorable, but we must be cautious of prosperity leading to decline."
She recalled the unsettling dream she'd had.
After a moment's thought, Zhinu cast another hexagram and looked up at the star-filled sky.
Yunu asked, "What are you looking at?"
Zhinu stared unblinkingly at the night sky. "His Highness's fate is inextricably linked with General Xie's. I fear he might affect His Highness."
"What did you see?"
"The Great White Star," Zhinu withdrew her gaze, her tone ambiguous. "It presages military rebellion."