Perfect Match – CH 070

Chapter 70

Southwest of Ningxia Town, in the Yuquan Camp.

Teng Yue had only been there a few days when he discovered that the soldiers in the camp were restless and agitated over the issue of land reclamation.

Zhou Hang, the Right Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review under the Chief Eunuch, had recently arrived in Xi’an and begun urging the reorganization of land reclamation. Teng Yue, then serving as the Commander of the Shaanxi Provincial Military Region, was in charge of land reclamation affairs and had to follow behind this man, appeasing the military households and cleaning up the mess.

But this matter was far from over. Teng Yue loosened his grip slightly, allowing the troublemaking military households to directly punch the Right Vice Minister Zhou Hang in the face. Only then did the man become terrified, angrily abandoning the Guanzhong region and returning to the vicinity of Ningxia.

Teng Yue, the newly appointed Guerrilla General, discovered that a young prince from a Tatar tribe was leading his men on frequent trips along the border. He led his troops out of the pass, but before they encountered the Tatar prince, he vanished without a trace.

However, when Teng Yue returned to Yuquan Camp, he found his soldiers arguing amongst themselves.

He was not in a hurry to suppress the commotion. He went to investigate and unexpectedly encountered Zhou Hang, the Right Vice Minister he had recently parted ways with.

The Chief Eunuch’s influence had infiltrated Ningxia considerably, and Zhou Hang was clearly more emboldened here than near Xi’an. Despite the Tatar raids from beyond the pass, he dared to personally come to Yuquan Camp to arrest people.

Teng Yue led his troops out of the pass, but the soldiers in his tent refused to hand over the people Zhou Hang wanted to arrest and instead surrounded Zhou Hang’s men.

Zhou Hang, enraged, glared at the assembled generals. “This order to clear the fields was issued by the Ninth Prince, the Emperor’s decree! Are you rebelling?!”

His words carried considerable weight in Ningxia Town. After all, the current Commander-in-Chief of Ningxia dared not offend the Chief Eunuch and often protected his men.

However, this time it was at Yuquan Camp, and the Commander-in-Chief was not present.

As soon as he uttered his question, someone in the crowd shouted: “Even if we rebel, we are forced by the eunuch! Rebel against the eunuch to cleanse the court of corrupt officials!”

This shout carried considerable weight. Teng Yue saw Zhou Hang’s soldiers surrounding him in layers on the open ground, and their expressions changed upon hearing it.

Just then, someone shouted from the crowd, “The eunuch Hong Jin is wreaking havoc on the court; should we not rebel?!”

Then someone seized on this question and asked, “Should we not rebel? Should we not rebel?!”

After these shouts, the people in the open space all surged restlessly toward Zhou Hang.

Zhou Hang’s face was extremely grim, and he shouted incredulously at the assembled generals.

“You really dare?! You all must die!”

Teng Yue, seeing this, knew things were going badly and immediately ordered his soldiers to control the situation.

His intervention seemed to cool the previously uncontrollable agitation in the crowd, as if it had encountered ice.

Teng Yue naturally would not side with Zhou Hang and the Chief Eunuch’s men, but he could not allow his own troops to commit mutiny.

He had the situation under control and quickly separated the two sides.

The Right Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, who had been terrified, now saw Teng Yue and, instead of being grateful, glared even more angrily.

“You led your troops in rebellion against the court’s new policies; do you have any defense for this crime?!”

These words threatened to provoke another commotion among the soldiers.

Teng Yue stood before the crowd, gently raising his hand to stop them. He showed no anger, only looking at Vice Minister Zhou and asking a few questions.

“If I, Teng Yue, truly intended to lead my troops in rebellion against the court’s new policies, would it not be better to remain on the sidelines? On the contrary, Vice Minister, with Tartars harassing the outside, you are inciting the soldiers in the camp. Are you secretly colluding with the Tartars?”

He countered with his question, causing the vice minister’s eyes to widen.

Seeing that Teng Yue, while not ordering further disturbance, was showing no respect for the Chief Eunuch, he gritted his teeth in resentment.

Teng Yue then directly ordered him to be escorted out of Yuquan Camp.

“The border wars are ongoing, and every soldier is extremely important. Yuquan Camp will not hand over anyone. Vice Minister, you should return to Ningxia Town.”

His words clearly indicated his protectiveness of his own troops.

Hearing this, the soldiers’ earlier agitation subsided. They all looked at Teng Yue, then obeyed his command, standing behind him and ceasing their disruptive behavior.

Zhou Hang, seeing this, grew even angrier. Before Teng Yue’s men could catch up with him, he led his troops away from Yuquan Camp.

Once Zhou Hang was gone, the soldiers could not help but speak again.

“Thank goodness the general returned! That Zhou fellow deliberately took advantage of the general’s absence to arrest people in our camp. Relying on the Commander-in-Chief’s protection and the governor’s and others’ subservience to the eunuchs, he bullied us border guards!”

Day after day, year after year, the border guards stood watch at the desolate, endless border wall, guarding the nation’s frontier.

The lights of countless homes were absent to them; the smoke of cooking fires in the countryside remained only a distant memory.

The imperial court allocated land for military settlements to provide these hardworking border guards with enough to eat. However, the border was constantly under threat of enemy attacks. How many of them could truly enjoy a full meal in their lifetimes of guarding the frontier? Many did not even finish their meals before leaving to face the enemy.

Perhaps this departure meant their loyal bones were to be buried in the yellow sand, their souls carried away by the wind and snow, never to return…

Yet some people even dared to steal a portion of these border guards’ rations, their greed insatiable and outrageous!

Teng Yue was well aware of the soldiers’ hardships, but a mutiny in the army was no small matter; investigating it would only cost the soldiers their lives.

He could only try to appease the generals while summoning Tang Zuo.

“Did you notice those people shouting in the crowd just now?”

Tang Zuo nodded and whispered in Teng Yue’s ear.

“General, those men are all Prince Enhua’s men.”

These words reached Teng Yue’s ears steadily, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Tang Zuo added, “They did not just utter these rebellious words today; they’ve been spreading them secretly for the past two days.”

“These past two days?”

Tang Zuo nodded again. “Before, it was just provocation; these past two days, their intentions have become clearer.”

After he finished speaking, Teng Yue fell silent, his brows furrowed as he looked towards Ningxia Town.

Some wanted to enrich themselves by taking the rations of the border guards, while others wanted to pave a long road to the pinnacle of power with the lives of the soldiers defending the country.

*

Ningxia Town.

The number of fever cases in the city was increasing day by day.

Some of the personal guards in Teng Yue’s Mansion had also fallen ill, and Meng Zhao had just returned from outside, seemingly passing by the area where the patients were concentrated; many servants had developed symptoms of varying severity.

Deng Ruyun discussed with her the possibility of setting aside a large courtyard to house these patients. Fortunately, Meng Zhao had a dowry mansion in Ningxia, which was usually used only for entertaining guests. This was cleared out to house the sick servants from both families.

Those with mild symptoms could be treated with a hastily prepared decoction from several pharmacies in Ningxia.

However, some were nearly unconscious. The makeshift prescriptions were too strong, bitter, and nauseating, making them impossible to take.

This illness might not even be cured with medicine, let alone without it.

This situation was not limited to the servants of the Teng and Wang families; many soldiers and civilians in the city were also in a similar condition. Unable to take medicine, they could only lie in their rooms, dying.

Considering this situation, Deng Ruyun could only administer prepared medicines, including powders, pills, and ointments.

But there was no Yuyun Hall here. She could not act alone and mentioned this to Meng Zhao with a sigh. Unexpectedly, Meng Zhao…

“Sister, if you have a way, I will take care of it. There’s nothing in Ningxia Town that I, Meng Zhao, cannot do!”

She said this with her chin raised, her face full of confidence.

Deng Ruyun’s eyes lit up with joy at this. She immediately discussed with her the possibility of inviting people from the Huimin Medical Hall, various clinics, pharmacies, and pharmaceutical workshops in Ningxia Town to come and brainstorm a plan together.

She asked Meng Zhao, “Sister Meng, will this not be too difficult for you?”

Meng Zhao laughed. “Sister, you really underestimate me. Tomorrow morning, you just need to meet with them!”

The next morning, Deng Ruyun found the outer courtyard of the Wang family Mansion filled with people. Not only were there people from the Huimin Medical Hall, various clinics, pharmacies, and pharmaceutical workshops, but also physicians from many wealthy families in the city, as well as several military physicians stationed in the city.

Deng Ruyun had originally thought that a dozen or so people would be good enough, but Meng Zhao had unexpectedly brought twenty or thirty. She finally understood what Teng Yue meant by Meng Zhao having many friends.

She looked at Meng Zhao again, seeing her standing there smiling and letting her scrutinize her, and could not help but step forward and take her hand. “Sister Meng, you are truly amazing!”

Meng Zhao smiled broadly at her praise. “Then come live with me, little sister. Do not go home. General Teng and that brute are not here. We will keep each other company, and I will introduce you to all the interesting people in Ningxia Town. I guarantee you will be happy every day!”

Deng Ruyun laughed heartily at her grand plan, but she dared not see General Wang again. She could only vaguely change the subject, saying that treating the illness was the priority.

So many physicians and pharmacists came, partly out of respect for Meng Zhao, and partly because everyone was also troubled by the sudden appearance of this strange fever.

Some even said, “Judging from the current situation, it’s already showing signs of an epidemic. I wonder what the situation is like in other places?”

Deng Ruyun, who had just arrived from Xi’an, immediately told everyone about the situation there.

“Xi’an is more severely affected than Ningxia, with a denser population, making the disease spread faster. However, before I arrived, Huimin Medical Hall had only just become involved and had not yet finalized a suitable prescription.”

Thus, the people of Ningxia could only dejectedly discuss their own prescriptions. While they could formulate a prescription, the resulting decoction was too bitter and troublesome to prepare. Furthermore, the efficacy of prepared medicines was only for general use; if not precisely targeted at the symptoms, their effectiveness was mediocre.

Someone mentioned various detoxifying powders and pills for wind-heat diseases, but their effects were generally mediocre.

However, Deng Ruyun, amidst the discussion, thought of a prescription.

“I have a prescription, a family heirloom, the Lingqiao Detoxifying Pill. I just heard you all mention that lingqiao and similar herbs are more effective than others. This is a family heirloom; what do you all think?”

A family heirloom prescription for prepared medicine was something ordinary people would not part with.

But Deng Ruyun directly wrote the prescription down in black and white and handed it to everyone to see.

Her prescription for the Lingqiao Detoxifying Pill differed from several commercially available Lingqiao Detoxifying Pills in that it contained several different ingredients. The physicians and pharmacists examined it and pondered its contents.

Someone asked, “This prescription is unusual, but it seems to be missing a few ingredients.”

Upon hearing this, Deng Ruyun immediately asked the person’s surname. It was a middle-aged pharmacist named Feng.

She could not help but say, “Master Feng is right. This prescription came from my grandmother, who had been making medicine for decades. Unfortunately, she is elderly, and her memory is confused; the prescription is missing three ingredients, which I have never been able to identify.”

She then asked Master Feng and the other physicians and pharmacists, “Has anyone heard of this prescription?”

The group exchanged glances; no one had seen this prescription before. Only Pharmacist Feng and a few older physicians and pharmacists discussed it briefly, but they were all unsure. However, these older physicians and pharmacists spoke up.

“This prescription uses a different method than ordinary prescriptions. We believe it might indeed have a good effect. Why not try adding a few more ingredients to harmonize the formula, make the medicine, and observe its effects before discussing adjustments?”

The prescription was provided by Deng Ruyun, and everyone looked at this wife of General Teng, who was a pharmacist.

Since Deng Ruyun had not kept anything secret, she was even less concerned about modifying the prescription.

She said directly, “As long as it can cure illness and save lives, I will be overjoyed if my family’s incomplete prescription becomes a good one!”

She said this with a smile, straightforward and generous.

The men dared not look at her too closely; after all, she was General Teng’s wife. How could they offend her? But they said among themselves,

“Madam, your virtue is noble. If this prescription works, it will surely save dozens, even hundreds, of patients from their suffering!”

Meng Zhaodao, unafraid of offending her, could not help but whisper in Deng Ruyun’s ear.

“Come stay at my house! Ningxia finally has a new person I click with; let me enjoy her for a few days!”

Deng Ruyun could not help but laugh, her eyes brimming with joy.

“So, Sister Meng will only enjoy me for a few days and then throw me away? Then I am even less likely to go. It’s precisely because you cannot have her that you think about her all the time, making you even more eager to have her, is that not right?”

Upon hearing this, Meng Zhao’s eyes widened.

“Sister’s mouth…is truly something else!”

Deng Ruyun added, “Sister, do not be so polite. You are a genius; I am not quite as ‘genius’ as you.”

Hearing this, Meng Zhao’s admiration only intensified; she practically wanted to take her home.

No wonder Teng Yue had placed her on his horse, bringing her to Ningxia as if afraid she’d run away.

Deng Ruyun discussed the arrangements for making medicine with the Ningxia pharmacists, while Meng Zhao sat beside her, her eyes never leaving her.

Fortunately, it did not take long for everyone to temporarily compose a few medicinal ingredients, completing Deng Ruyun’s incomplete prescription. The pharmacists then prepared to immediately return to make the Lingqiao Detoxifying Pill and distribute it to the patients in the city.

As everyone dispersed, they discussed the Lingqiao Detoxifying Pill among themselves.

Deng Ruyun also wanted to visit Meng Zhao’s dowry courtyard, where the patients were being isolated.

Meng Zhao wanted to persuade her to stay with her again, so she accompanied her. Unexpectedly, as the two passed through the market, they encountered Princess Rongle, Zhu Yijiao, who had been demoted to a commoner.

This time, however, the three met face-to-face.

Meng Zhao immediately shielded Deng Ruyun behind him.

Zhu Yijiao had heard that Teng Yue had been promoted to Guerrilla General and returned to Ningxia, but unexpectedly, she saw the country bumpkin whom Teng Yue had married on the streets of Ningxia.

Upon seeing Deng Ruyun, she was momentarily stunned. Seeing Meng Zhao shielding her behind her, she could not help but snort.

“What? Are you afraid I will eat her?”

Zhu Yijiao sized up Deng Ruyun. “Such a frail, affected look!”

Deng Ruyun was indeed slender, unlike the women of Ningxia’s military families who had learned swordsmanship and martial arts from childhood, growing up on horseback. But to call her affected would be met with strong disagreement from Meng Zhao.

She asked Zhu Yijiao directly, “I heard many of your people have also contracted a fever. If you are so capable, then do not come back to use our Deng family’s remedies for treatment.”

Only after hearing Meng Zhao’s words did Zhu Yijiao remember that this country girl seemed to come from a family of medicine makers.

She glanced at Deng Ruyun again through Meng Zhao, then suddenly gave her a strange smile.

The wind and sand swirled on the streets of Ningxia. The high sun beat down, making every grain of sand feel like sparks, burning the face with an unbearable sting.

The moment Deng Ruyun saw that smile, she felt as if she were on fire, her heart pounding uneasily.

But Zhu Yijiao had already mounted her horse.

Her smile remained unchanged, fixed on Deng Ruyun, a smile that sent chills down her spine.

The same person, the same smile.

Deng Ruyun’s mind flashed back to the birthday banquet at the Huang Mansion, across the small river in early autumn, where Zhu Yijiao stood on the opposite bank, suddenly giving her that strange smile amidst the crowd.

Deng Ruyun froze, only snapping back to reality after the sound of her whipping her horse and galloping away amidst the screams of passersby, when Meng Zhao called out to her repeatedly.

“Scared by her? The palace maid sent to discipline her only kept her quiet for a few days before she returned to her former arrogance, becoming increasingly willful lately. Anyone who did not know better would think she’d regained her status as a county princess—no, she’d been granted the title of princess!”

Meng Zhao reassured her, “I will protect you. She will not dare do anything.”

Deng Ruyun did not hear the rest of the sentence clearly; she was only thinking about Meng Zhao’s earlier comment that Zhu Yijiao’s current behavior was practically that of a princess.

After leaving Meng Zhao’s dowry mansion in the afternoon, Meng Zhao again invited her to her home, which Deng Ruyun politely declined.

Upon returning to the Teng Mansion, she immediately summoned Tang You.

“Could you send someone to Yuquan Camp to deliver a letter to the General?”

She handed a handwritten note to Tang You, who immediately dispatched someone and reported back.

“If the General has not led his troops out of the pass, we should receive a reply around tomorrow.”

Deng Ruyun nodded secretly.

Zhu Yijiao’s sinister smile today had probably frightened her. She feared a repeat of what happened last year. What if Zhu Yijiao suddenly kidnapped her again? This was not Xi’an; this was Ningxia. Zhu Yijiao would be even more lawless.

And how could Teng Yue, leading troops out in the field, not be affected?

Who would have thought that before the next day, or even before the letter reached Yuquan Camp, Teng Yue had returned?

Deng Ruyun’s eyes widened when she saw him appear at the courtyard gate. She could not help but go forward to greet him.

“You…you received the letter I sent you?”

She quickly went to meet him.

Teng Yue paused slightly, looking at the person before him.

She rarely greeted him, and after her outburst about wanting a divorce, she barely spoke to him. Now, she had actually taken the initiative to speak to him, to come to him.

Teng Yue’s heart suddenly burned.

Was she willing to be with him again? Was she no longer going to find that person?

Teng Yue’s gaze settled on her face, and he reached out to take her hand, speaking softly.

“What letter?”

His question startled Deng Ruyun.

“Did you not come back after receiving my letter? Then why did you come back?”

She finished speaking and realized he had taken her hand in his.

She quickly pulled away.

Her movement made Teng Yue’s heart sink as she took a half-step to the side.

It turned out that it was not the reconciliation he thought; she still thought about that person and refused to be intimate with him…

The man was silent for a moment.

Seeing the anxiety in her eyes, he asked seriously.

“Why did you send me a message? What happened?”

As he spoke, he called her back to the room. There were no outsiders here, and Deng Ruyun did not stand on ceremony.

She immediately told Teng Yue about meeting Zhu Yijiao and seeing Zhu Yijiao’s strange smile.

“…I am not overly nervous; it’s just that last time, after she smiled like that, there was a kidnapping by bandits, and a lot of trouble ensued. I am afraid she has some other tricks up her sleeve, and I am also afraid that I might delay your plans.”

Teng Yue was stunned.

He then realized that the reason she was able to escape from Zhu Yijiao and the bandits last year was that Zhu Yijiao had given her that strange smile.

At that time, he only felt her behavior was improper, and there was no intimacy between them. Warned by Zhu Yijiao, she could only silently prepare.

Teng Yue felt a pang of indescribable emotion; he wanted to hug her, yet feared she would not accept.

This time, however, she did not keep it to herself. Instead, she sent him a letter immediately!

Compared to last year, she finally trusted him a little.

Teng Yue felt a mix of disappointment, shame, and a touch of joy. He could not help but softly comfort her.

“Yunniang, my return to the city this time was precisely to take you with me.”

Yesterday, the Tatar prince reappeared beneath the wall, but before he could leave the pass, he escaped again.

Deputy Commander Wang Ying, leading troops to fight the enemy at Wang Hongbao, had originally come with the Tatar prince in mind, but he sent a message saying that the Tatar prince did not seem to be truly plotting an invasion but rather trying to distract them, drawing the attention of Ningxia’s troops to the outside of the pass.

Upon receiving the news from the deputy commander, Teng Yue sensed something was amiss and immediately rode back to Ningxia.

He then spoke to Deng Ruyun.

“Kong Hui, Wang Fuxiang, and I, along with others, anticipated that Prince Enhua’s Mansion might rebel this summer, but it seems we might not even live to see summer.”

He looked at Deng Ruyun, who also looked at him.

A silence fell over the room, broken only by Teng Yue’s low voice.

He said, “I have a feeling it might happen in the next few days.”

His words fell heavily, and Deng Ruyun took a deep breath.

Teng Yue, however, said he was not afraid. “We are not unprepared. It’s just that I can no longer leave you in the city.”

He called to her, “Yunniang, come with me to the camp. Only when you are safe and sound by my side can I feel at ease.”

Deng Ruyun looked up at him. In the dimly lit room, his handsome eyes shone brightly.

*

The next day, Teng Yue took Deng Ruyun out of the city.

Originally, he planned to secretly take her away and place her in his tent disguised as a soldier.

However, Deng Ruyun’s mention of Zhu Yijiao alarmed Teng Yue. Early that morning, he had carriages and horses arranged, claiming he was sending Deng Ruyun back to Xi’an, and made a grand show of sending her out of the city.

Meng Zhao was not in the city that morning, so Deng Ruyun could only leave her a message before following Teng Yue out of the city.

Naturally, he could not let her go to Xi’an alone; if she were robbed along the way, it would be even worse. Halfway through the journey, he took her out of the carriage and let it continue south. Deng Ruyun’s men, disguised as personal guards, followed Teng Yue to Yuquan Camp.

Upon arriving at Yuquan Camp, Teng Yue sent men to find Wang Fuxiang.

Unfortunately, by the next morning, the soldiers he sent returned, saying they had not found General Wang anywhere.

Teng Yue felt uneasy. He sent a messenger to Wang Ying, the deputy commander stationed at Wang Hongbao and Wang Fuxiang’s uncle, while he personally led a group to find Wang Fuxiang, hoping he could arrange for his family to leave the city within the next two days.

Deng Ruyun remained temporarily in Teng Yue’s general’s tent at Yuquan Camp.

Unexpectedly, no sooner had Teng Yue gone out to find someone than Wang Fuxiang arrived at Yuquan Camp, conveniently missing Teng Yue.

He did not know why Teng Yue wanted to see him, and, saying he was very thirsty, strode towards Teng Yue’s tent.

He ordered the soldiers guarding the tent, “Quickly, get me a pot of tea! It’s so hot, I am dying of thirst!”

The soldiers by the tent were somewhat bewildered by his sudden order and only stopped him when he was almost at the tent entrance.

“General Wang, you cannot come in!”

Only when the guard spoke did Deng Ruyun, inside the tent, hear that Wang Fuxiang had arrived and was already at the tent entrance.

Her heart skipped a beat, sensing the general’s suspicious expression.

“What’s wrong? Did your General Teng not go out to look for me? Would it not be better if I waited for him in his tent?”

The guard still hesitated. “General Wang, you’d better not come in…”

There was another soldier in the general’s tent, but this was not a real soldier; it was the general’s wife, whom the general had secretly hidden there!

They hesitated, unsure whether to speak, but Wang Fuxiang, being quite impulsive, simply lifted the tent flap and walked in out of curiosity.

“I want to see what treasures Teng Yue has hidden behind my back!”

And indeed, he saw the treasure Teng Yue had hidden.

He looked at Deng Ruyun, and Deng Ruyun looked at him.

The atmosphere inside the tent was indescribably strange.

Wang Fuxiang froze, his steps halting as he saw Deng Ruyun standing there in Teng Yue’s tent, dressed entirely in the uniform of Teng Yue’s personal guards.

A memory he had been racking his brains for months, unable to recall, suddenly flooded his mind.

“You… sister-in-law… are you not that little girl who secretly infiltrated Teng Yue’s camp in Jinzhou without him knowing?!”

In that instant, Wang Fuxiang remembered everything.

He had seen her twice: once, thinking she was a spy infiltrating the camp, and the other time, among Teng Yue’s personal guards.

His tiger-like eyes widened.

“Sister-in-law, did you not already know Teng Yue? You even worked for him, so why does Teng Yue say he’s never seen you?”

His mind went completely blank, and he blurted out.

“Teng Yue lied to me again? I have to confront him! Ask him if my sister-in-law was with him all along. How can he lie and say he’s never seen her?”

He was about to step out of the tent when someone called out to him from behind.

“General Wang, could you please not ask him?!”

Wang Fuxiang stopped and turned around in surprise.

“What does my sister-in-law mean?”

He asked, and Deng Ruyun knew that lying was useless; General Wang remembered everything about her.

She looked embarrassed and hesitant, but had to speak.

“I did follow General Teng before, but that was a long time ago. He never knew, and now I do not want him to know.”

“Why?” Wang Fuxiang asked.

Deng Ruyun smiled awkwardly. “General Wang, just think of it as me being embarrassed, not wanting him to know that I was once infatuated with him.”

Wang Fuxiang blinked.

Deng Ruyun stepped forward.

“I would like to ask General Wang to forget about this. Please do not tell him, and do not mention it to anyone else. Let’s keep it a secret between General Wang and me, alright?”

She looked at him pleadingly, her anxiety genuine, and her pleading eyes even more sincere.

Then she bowed to him.

Wang Fuxiang, seeing this, did not quite understand why she was doing this, but since she had pleaded with him so earnestly, what could he say?

He quickly stepped forward to help Deng Ruyun up.

“Sister-in-law, there’s no need for such a formality. What’s the big deal? If you do not want me to say anything, then I will not.”

He readily agreed, “I will not tell him, and I will not tell anyone else. Do not worry, sister-in-law!”

Deng Ruyun was actually a little worried, but seeing that General Wang had agreed, she could only thank him repeatedly.

“Then I will leave it to you, General.”

Wang Fuxiang readily agreed and, unable to linger any longer, left the tent.

He went outside, found a shady spot under a tree, and called over his personal guard.

The guard came and asked what his orders were.

Wang Fuxiang seemed dazed for a moment, then, after letting the breeze blow on him, he said,

“Put away all my wine. I am not drinking anymore.”

Upon hearing this, the guard was astonished. “Oh, the General is giving up drinking?!”

Wang Fuxiang sighed heavily, saying he would give it up.

“I must give it up. I am determined to!”

He had promised to keep the secret. If he did not give up drinking, what if he spilled the truth while drunk, and it was all revealed, especially in front of Teng Yue?!

Wang Fuxiang knew exactly what he was like when he was drunk. He could not break his promise!

He said he would quit, clenching his fist to encourage himself.

“From this day forward, I, Wang Fuxiang, will no longer drink!”

After saying this, he downed a pot of tea.

Not long after he finished his tea, the sound of galloping hooves approached from outside.

It was Teng Yue returning.

Deng Ruyun also heard the sound of Teng Yue’s return and came to greet him outside the tent.

Wang Fuxiang also strode over to meet him.

But both of them saw that Teng Yue’s face was extremely tense.

He did not speak for a moment until he leaped off his horse and strode quickly to the tent before speaking.

The wind howled before the tent.

He spoke slowly, each word deliberate.

“Ningxia Town is under siege. Prince Enhua Zhu Zhenfan has raised an army in rebellion!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the howling wind blew down the wooden racks holding weapons in front of the tent.

Clouds gathered thickly above Yuquan Camp, merging seamlessly with the dark clouds over Ningxia Town to the northeast.

The dark clouds pressed down low, and large raindrops suddenly began to fall.

Wang Fuxiang and Deng Ruyun both gasped.

“Sister Meng and the others are still in the city…”

“Zhao Zhao and the others are still in the city!”