At dusk, Chu Lian brought Wenqing and Wenlan with her to He Changdi’s tent, without forgetting to bring over a small box of confections too.
However, when Chu Lian reached the tent, she was informed by one of the guards that Captain He had already left the camp with some of his men. He hadn’t given a date when he would be back.
Chu Lian was astounded. Just as she was about to go looking for someone familiar to ask about the reason behind He Changdi’s departure, Captain Guo happened to pass by. He led her into He Changdi’s tent.
“Sister-in-Law, Zixiang left the camp in the afternoon.” Captain Guo turned to the wooden chest next to the bed and pulled out a bag, passing it to Chu Lian. “This is something that Zixiang asked me to pass to you. Why don’t you open it and see what’s inside?”
Chu Lian took the bag and set it on the table. She quickly removed the knot on the bag and saw that there were a few items within.
Captain Guo cast a glance at the bag before freezing for a moment. He then shot a look at Wenqing and Wenlan, who were standing behind Chu Lian, and quietly tiptoed out of the tent.
Inside the bag was the sugarcane that He Changdi hadn’t been able to give Chu Lian, as well as a thick stack of letters.
Chu Lian knelt down by the table and moved aside the sugarcane pressing down the letter.
The letter at the top had been written today.
On the envelope were the words ‘To my dear wife, Chu Lian’ as well as the date.
Chu Lian picked up the envelope and stared at it blankly before tearing it open. There was only a single sheet of paper inside. The letter had been written in a bold hand with regular, even strokes. It wasn’t very long either, but Chu Lian read every single word earnestly.
Although she could have read the contents in a few seconds, Chu Lian read it for seven whole minutes. After finishing the letter, she carefully folded up the paper and placed it back into the envelope before taking up the next letter.
From dusk till nightfall, Chu Lian continued reading until she had finished the very last letter.
This letter seemed especially big and there wasn’t anything written on the envelope. However, the sides already seemed worn. It was clear that He Sanlang had taken it out regularly from time to time to have made it so seasoned.
Chu Lian carefully opened it. When she saw what was inside, her almond-shaped eyes widened instantly.
These were the letters she had written to He Changdi! No, wait, these couldn’t be considered letters. She had been afraid of exposing her origins through her handwriting, so she had sent drawings to He Changdi.
Chu Lian pulled out the sheaf of drawings within, but found that the edges seemed to be slightly charred. Her brows drew together in confusion. In the end, she slid the papers back into the envelope with care.
She looked at the table covered in letters and a strange feeling rose within her heart.
These letters had been arranged according to the dates they had been written. The one on top was the most recent one that He Sanlang had written, while the one at the bottom was the stack of drawings she had first sent him.
He had started with a letter a month, before increasing it to two. By the time it was November, He Changdi was already writing a letter every three days. The address on the letter was always ‘To my dear wife, Chu Lian’.
The roads had been sealed by the snowstorm in November, so letters hadn’t been sent out in a long time. They had just accumulated here. However, he hadn’t stopped writing letters. Some of them were just a few simple sentences and some of them talked about things that had happened in the camp. While reading them, Chu Lian could imagine how He Sanlang must have sprawled on the desk with furrowed brows in the middle of the night while writing these letters.
In today’s letter, he had informed her that he would have to leave the camp for a period of time. The details of this mission were a military secret, so he couldn’t tell her anything else. However, given how she had sent the snowboat to the camp the other day, she was instantly able to guess what He Changdi had gone out to do.
He had most likely gone to Su City by Lake Qianshan to gather grain using the snowboat!
He Changdi’s letter had specially told her to stay in the northern border camp. Since he wasn’t in Liangzhou anymore and he had taken Mo Chenggui and the other soldiers with him, it wasn’t safe for her to return to the He Estate now. He had already reported this situation to Great General Qian and had gotten permission for Chu Lian to stay in the female camp until he returned.
As for the mountain flower on Mount Ah-ming, the Snow Mountain Mists, he had already sent someone to investigate it, so she didn’t have to worry about it.
Chu Lian suddenly realised that He Sanlang was pretty reliable when he wasn’t having one of his fits of lunacy.
She took a deep breath and put away the letters, returning them to the bag neatly.
Following that, she told Wenlan to bring the sugarcane back with them. Once she was done, Chu Lian finally left He Changdi’s tent and returned to Sima Hui’s female camp.
After General Qian had entrusted He Changdi with this great responsibility, he had brought his trusted subordinates and his sworn brothers from the Right Wing Army out of the camp. Together with the snowboat, they were headed to the nearest city from Liangzhou- Su City.
In the dark of the night, despite the falling snow and howling winds, his heart was on fire.
The tragedy of the northern border troops wouldn’t be repeated again! Not only that, they might even get a chance to defeat the Tuhuns. If they could somehow survive this winter and store up enough grain, the Tuhuns would no longer be a threat to the northern border!
He Changdi’s heart burned with passion. When his thoughts turned to to Chu Lian, who was waiting for him back in camp, confidence and urgency filled up his heart.
High up on the city walls of Su City, the night was brightened by the light of torches and braziers. Elite soldiers stood guard on the city walls, giving the ancient lakeside city a menacing air.
A tall and slender man stood at the highest point of the city’s gate tower, facing the harsh winter winds.
The man was wearing a dark coloured court outfit lined with leopard fur at the collar. His cloak flapped crazily in the wind. He wore a jade crown high on his head. The flickering torch lights were to his back, so his features were shrouded in darkness.
He suddenly burst out into a fit of coughing, causing the man behind him to ask with concern, “Master, why don’t we head back? The wind is too strong here. You haven’t been well these two days.”
