Four Seasons Brocade – CH 182

Chapter 182 ☆、

Ah Wu had never anticipated that Chu Mao would make such a suggestion, or rather, such a request. Preparing all her daily necessities would not be a matter of a few days; even clothes and shoes would require time to sew. Therefore, Chu Mao had planned to bring his own from the start, and he also knew that the Emperor would send him on a western expedition. Ah Wu looked at Chu Mao, unable to fathom his plans. If he won this time, he would surely become a thorn in the side of the Fifth and Sixth Princes and would no longer be a “leisurely prince.” Such a situation would be far from good for Chu Mao, who aspired to great things in the future. Ah Wu observed coldly, as if Prince Qi was intent on seizing the throne.

“Your Highness is going to war. Why take me with you? Are women not taboo in the army?” Ah Wu asked.

In the army, women were not taboo. Usually, large armies would recruit local women for laundry, cooking, and other chores. There were also military prostitutes, either prisoners or sold for money. Chu Mao, of course, would not tell Ah Wu about these things.

“Do you want to go?” Chu Mao asked.

To be honest, Ah Wu absolutely did not want to go. The thought of the battlefield conjured images of endless yellow sand and rivers of blood—dirty and miserable. Not only could she not bear it, but she also doubted whether Prince Qi, who bathed and changed clothes daily, could endure it. But Ah Wu was a smart woman; she knew her refusal would be futile, and everything was already prepared.

“Your Highness is not taking me with you on your campaign. Are you not afraid of gossip? How will you manage your subordinates then?” Ah Wu said. Besides, never before had a Prince’s wife accompanied him on a military campaign; even generals would leave their wives and children in the capital as hostages when they were away. “I will have to trouble the Princess to serve as my eunuch,” Chu Mao said with a smile.

Ah Wu nearly choked on her own saliva. Become a eunuch? Thinking about it, it actually made sense. Ah Wu was fair-skinned, and eunuchs were also fair-skinned, unlikely to attract attention. It was quite reasonable for the Fourth Prince to have a eunuch serving him on his campaign.

The next day, Chu Mao packed Ah Wu directly into the carriage. She only brought the highly skilled Bing-Shuang with her, essentially without any maids. Zi-Shan and Zi-Yi were all left in the mansion to cover for her, and the official story was that Princess Qi was ill.

Ah Wu vaguely remembered that last night, Chu Mao said he had forgotten something very important. Could he be referring to her? Ah Wu had never placed herself in such a high position before.

“Do not worry; when we get to Qianmiao Town, I will buy you some maids to serve you.” Chu Mao pinched Ah Wu’s somewhat pale face and poured her a bowl of tea.

Ah Wu drank the tea and then felt the urge to urinate. Helped by Bing-Shuang, disguised as a man, she went to a carriage at the back specifically for chamber pots to relieve herself before returning to the carriage. Chu Mao was no longer in the carriage; he had ridden ahead.

Although the carriage was rather simple, Ah Wu thought Lu Ruoxing had made very thorough preparations. To prevent her from being bored on the journey, he had even prepared a book box filled with writing implements and several boxes of carefully selected books.

There were only two drawbacks. Because it was a forced march, the troops were traveling day and night, not even allowed to stop to cook, only having dry rations. Even Ah Wu could only have hot tea with soup noodles. She could not eat properly or bathe properly, so she could only grind ink and practice calligraphy.

As dusk fell, Ah Wu heard Chu Mao suddenly ride up to the carriage and knock on the window. Ah Wu lifted the curtain to hear him say, “Come with me.”

Ah Wu walked to the front of the carriage and offered her hand to Chu Mao, who pulled her onto the horse. The two rode together along the mountain path, leaving the main force. Upon reaching their destination, Ah Wu realized that there was a hot spring ahead.

“How did Your Highness know there was a hot spring here?” Ah Wu asked in surprise.

“The Qi County Gazetteer says there’s a hot spring in Runshan. I had Liu Xiang lead men to scout ahead,” Chu Mao said, helping Ah Wu down from her horse. “Would you like me to help you undress?” he asked with a smile.

Ah Wu quickly hid. She had never bathed in the wild without any cover before, but at this moment, she could not care less. Even the most meticulous person could not resist the stickiness of sweat. She hid behind a rock and peeked out at Chu Mao, saying, “You are not allowed to peek.”

After a while, they both finished bathing. Chu Mao then led Ah Wu to catch up with the troops ahead. As soon as Ah Wu got into the carriage, she saw a roast goose on the table. She swallowed hard and exclaimed with delight, “Why is there a roast goose?”

“I heard that Nanny Li’s oil-fried goose in Qi County is very famous. I had Bing-Shuang buy it for you,” Chu Mao said with a faint smile.

Ah Wu no longer cared how Chu Mao seemed to know everything or had heard of everything. Having gone several days without meat, she opened her mouth and took a big bite of the goose leg, sucking on it with relish. “So delicious!”

Chu Mao stepped forward and rolled up Ah Wu’s sleeves. “Do not eat too fast; be careful not to choke.”

Ah Wu nodded, taking the goose leg Chu Mao had broken off from his hand. She felt a surge of emotion; she had not expected that even in this situation, Chu Mao would remember to send someone to investigate the hot springs first and then have Bing-Shuang buy her a goose.

In truth, Chu Mao was also extremely surprised by Ah Wu. He knew perfectly well how pampered she was at home. If he had not been worried about her safety in the capital and his inability to intervene effectively, he would not have brought her here to suffer like this. But Chu Mao had not expected that Ah Wu would remain completely silent these past few days, obediently staying in the carriage without a single complaint.

“Your Highness, you should eat too.” Ah Wu pushed the roast goose towards Chu Mao.

Chu Mao broke off a wing and took a bite. “It’s really good.”

Ah Wu noticed the glistening oil on his lips, and her heart skipped a beat. She kissed him on the cheek with her oily lips and whispered, “Thank you.”

Chu Mao’s eyes brightened. He turned his head slightly, offering the other half of his face to Ah Wu’s lips, the meaning obvious.

Ah Wu turned her head away, ignoring Chu Mao, but he kissed her on the cheek and rubbed against her. She could not help but grumble, “Ah, you’ve got oil all over my face!”

The two laughed and joked for a while. Ah Wu ate both whole goose legs before stopping. The rest of the goose ended up in Chu Mao’s stomach. She then realized that His Highness Prince Qi had an incredibly large appetite.

From then on, whenever there was something good to eat along the way, Bing-Shuang always managed to get it. This dignified expert had become a deliveryman! Whenever there was a hot spring, Chu Mao would take Ah Wu there to bathe. After traveling for more than ten days, they finally arrived in Luobei.

Chu Mao’s army was stationed at the foot of Huaila Mountain outside Qianmiao Town. This strategically important location was easy to defend and difficult to attack, serving as a fortress to prevent the Tatars from continuing their southward advance. Two reinforcements, ordered to be transferred from Shanxi and the southwest, would also meet Chu Mao here.

Ah Wu was settled by Chu Mao in Qianmiao Town. Although small, the town was well-equipped and, being a fortress, quite prosperous. Ah Wu and her party’s arrival was unremarkable; they simply rented a courtyard and bought two maids and two rough-working women. This place was quite different from the yellow sand and blood-soaked landscape Ah Wu had imagined.

The people of the Great Xia Dynasty had enjoyed a long period of peace and prosperity. They had assumed the Celestial Empire’s army would surely stop the Tatars outside Liuye Pass, but unexpectedly, the Tatar army swept through the Luobei Pass with unstoppable momentum and was about to enter the Luobei Plain through Qianmiao Town.

The wealthy and powerful had already fled with their families; otherwise, Ah Wu would not have been able to rent a suitable courtyard so quickly. Those remaining in Qianmiao Town were mostly ordinary people, but many hands made light work, and somehow, they knew more than Ah Wu herself.

That day, Ah Wu dressed as a man, using a high collar to cover her neck and drawing her eyebrows thick and dark, barely managing to look somewhat masculine. She led Bing-Shuang to the only teahouse still open in town, ordered a pot of tea costing two coins, and sat by the second-floor window looking out.

“I heard a large army is stationed near Huaila Mountain?”

“They’ve been there for days, but there’s been no movement. I do not know if they can hold out. I think I will have to go to my uncle’s place in the neighboring county.”

“Really? I heard the Fourth Prince is leading the army this time. The Emperor even dares to send his own son; there should not be any problems, right?”

“The Fourth Prince? A greenhorn leading the army? Even General Feng, a veteran of countless battles at He Pass, was utterly defeated. I doubt it. Does our Celestial Empire have no one else? They’ve sent out a Prince who probably has not even touched a sword.”

Someone below sighed, “Alas, we’ve had too much peace. Those military officers are all fat and arrogant, only good at fooling us commoners. I heard they are even cutting off our heads to pass off to the Tatar leaders for rewards. We’d better hurry back and find another way out.”

Ah Wu frowned. She had not expected the common people to critique the Great Xia Dynasty so much, to dismiss Chu Mao so much. A sense of worry rose in her heart. The Great Xia Dynasty valued civil officials over military ones, and the status of military generals was historically low. Furthermore, it emphasized that generals should not monopolize their troops, and troops should not have private generals. Therefore, aside from the two hundred personal guards accompanying Chu Mao on this western expedition, the rest of the troops, especially the seasoned veterans, might not be willing to submit to him as a Prince.

Moreover, Chu Mao was leading a mixed army this time, and coordinating the forces from Shanxi and the southwest was also a problem. Even though Ah Wu had no military experience, she knew the difficulties involved.

Both Wang Sihai, the general of Shanxi, and Bai Junshan, the general of the southwest, were veteran generals, skilled in battle, but also quite temperamental. Bai Junshan’s superior was even a member of the Sixth Prince’s faction. Ah Wu was genuinely worried for Chu Mao. In her view, the last time Zhang Henglei went to Maobao to supervise the army, it was precisely because the troops did not submit to their commander that Maobao suffered a major defeat.

Ah Wu returned to her rented courtyard, unable to sleep all night. Her eyes were dark and swollen. Bing-Shuang could not bear to see this and said, “Is the Princess suffering from acclimatization problems? Should we ask Physician Zou to take a look?”

Physician Zou was Zou Mingshan. This was another unexpected turn of events for Ah Wu. Chu Mao had actually brought Zou Mingshan along on this trip. Ostensibly, he was a military physician, but Ah Wu knew in reality that Chu Mao had specifically hired Zou Mingshan for her, as Zou Mingshan had always been the one taking care of her health and knew her best.

“No need.” Ah Wu refused without hesitation. If Zou Mingshan knew, Chu Mao would definitely know, which would only cause him more trouble.

Ah Wu paused, then slumped back onto the bed. How could she have such thoughts? When did she become so worried about Chu Mao? Ah Wu tried to convince herself that her concern was only because they were in the same boat, but as her palm touched the silk sheets on the bed, a sense of uncertainty arose.

Everything in the room was the same as what she was used to in the capital; even the rouge and powder were her usual products. Lu Ruoxing seemed to have put a lot of effort into it, but Chu Mao’s presence might still be a factor.

Ah Wu glanced at Bing-Shuang. Although she had the indenture of Bing-Shuang, her heart still belonged to Prince Qi. “Do not tell His Highness. The situation is difficult now; do not let him worry.” Ah Wu knew that if Zou Mingshan came, Chu Mao would definitely come too. She did not know why she was so certain.

Some people’s feelings did not need to be spoken; they seemed to be clearly laid bare before her.

Unfortunately, Ah Wu was wrong. Bing-Shuang listened to her words but did not go looking for Zou Mingshan. However, that very night, Chu Mao still sneaked into her room.