Doomed to be Cannon Fodder

Long Heng immediately looked down when he noticed something wrong with their expressions. He paused for a moment and covered her up properly. He then tramped off to his living quarters without saying another word. Shu’er and his personal guard greeted him at the door and attempted to take his bundle, but Long Heng immediately turned them down. “Go fetch me a tub of hot water and some medicine for wounds.”

He turned to the squire and said, “You. Leave. Shu’er, grab me a spare set of clothes you have yet to wear.” His clothes were simply too big for Bai Xiangxiu. Shu’er’s clothes would be a more suitable fit for her.

Shu’er found his master’s request quite strange, but dutifully followed orders. However, his master had him stay at the door when he came back! Is he going to personally wash and dress that person? Isn’t this a little outrageous? He didn’t dare ask anything after seeing Long Heng’s sharp gaze, and was also unable to get any answers out of Yu Kuang, who was standing quietly off to the side. Shu’er actually had a guess in mind, but quickly blew off the thought. That would be simply too farfetched.

However, he began to second guess himself when the injured Sir Song came running over. Worry writ all over his face, Song Jiaoyue quickly saw him and asked about the condition of the person inside. “I don’t know. His Highness is taking care of him right now.”

“He’s injured?”

“Some minor injuries, but it seems he has fainted from fright.”

Yu Kuang took a glance at Song Jiaoyue and said, “You’d better save the effort. None of us will ever be able to have what we want. It will be better to... watch from afar.” People from the jianghu were the type to dwell on things. With those words, he turned to walk away. His steps paused as he turned his head and spoke over his shoulder, “Want to join me for a drink?”

“Sure.” Song Jiaoyue smiled bitterly. Looking back once for every three steps he took, he reluctantly left with Yu Kuang to drown their sorrows in drink.

Long Heng was so worried that he was sweating buckets. He had underestimated the extent of Bai Xiangxiu’s injuries. There were wounds all over her body! Just how many times did that Commander Lu whip her? Every lash he gave her had torn her skin apart! Even with such heavy wounds, she still tried to assassinate him? And almost succeeded too? Even though she missed his vitals, I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for a woman who knows no martial arts to try and assassinate a man.

But this was certainly evidence that Bai Xiangxiu had truly caught Commander Lu’s fancy. Long Heng’s eyes remained fixed on her body while tending to each wound with medicine. Even though she was badly wounded, her wounds cast a new light on her, a kind of agonized beauty, which made it doubly difficult for him to take his eyes off of her.

Moreover, her body had become even more alluring since she’d just given birth. But how could he bear to put his hands on her when he was still so worried? He slowly applied medicine onto her wounds bit by bit. His heart felt like it’d shattered into pieces. Long Heng also recalled how sly she’d acted in front of Commander Lu just so she could stab him with a dagger. She must’ve done such a ridiculous thing because she’d decided to die. She’s so strong-willed and quick-witted. Long Heng gently caressed her cheek, letting his fingers wander down her profile.

It was at this moment when Bai Xiangxiu suddenly awoke. The first thing she felt was one hand molesting her while another about to reach her neck, as if the perpetrator was going to strangle her. The hand kept moving around too. Using her skills of self-preservation, she immediately threw out a punch without any hesitation. At the same time, she began to kick wildly.

Long Heng never expected that she’d attack him all of a sudden. He was too engrossed in his introspection. However, a tiny fist suddenly interrupted his train of thought when it struck him square on his jaw. It didn’t hurt, but it still startled him, causing his brow to furrow. Her bare legs didn’t show any signs of weakness either. Bam! Bam! Bam! He was immediately kicked several times in the torso.

Her actions had caused Long Heng to panic, even though her attacks weren’t even the least bit threatening. Her actions were simply too unrestrained; she might hurt herself more if she continued to flail around like that. In one move he wrapped his hands around her misbehaving legs and said, “Xiu’er it’s me! Don’t be scared. It’s just me!”

That voice sounded awfully familiar. Bai Xiangxiu slowly opened her eyes and noticed that the face beneath her fist really did belong to Long Heng. He had a resigned look on his face as well as... was that concern she saw in his face?

“Long Heng... Is it really you?” Bai Xiangxiu couldn’t believe her eyes. She touched his face lightly, feeling its warmth. It’s really him. The emotions that she had been desperately suppressing ever since she left exploded out all at once. She dove into his arms, bawling her eyes out. Her sobs were so loud that even Shu’er, who was outside the room, could hear it. He was completely sure now that Madame Xiu was the woman that the prince had just saved. However, what was a woman from the rear court doing here? He decided to stand guard by the door because he was worried that others might overhear them. He was impressed by how affectionate the husband and wife was towards each other.

Sure enough, Bai Xiangxiu had begun to vent all of her pent up grievances. She kept hitting, pinching and crying, all at the same time. Long Heng wasn’t the sort of person that knew how to console women. Afraid that she might fall, he wrapped his hands around her and allowed her to vent as much as she liked. Bai Xiangxiu’s body was also squirming around quite a bit as she vented her pent up grievances. In the end, she bumped into something that was gradually growing bigger in size. She couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. She immediately stifled her sobs and smacked Long Heng’s chest as her cheeks turned bright red. She yelled with a hoarse voice, “What are you doing!?”

Long Heng smiled ruefully. “I’m a man after all. How can it stay obedient when you’re like this?”

“What’s wrong with my... Ah! Where are my clothes?” Bai Xiangxiu immediately covered her chest. She glared at Long Heng for not reminding her of such a thing and causing her to make a fool out of herself.

Long Heng immediately handed her a set of clothes and said, “You must make do with men’s clothing for now.”

“Mm. Thank you for saving me. How is that general doing? Did I chop it off?” Bai Xiangxiu asked mercilessly. She’d been thrown into the air before she could see the results of her handiwork, which was why she didn’t know the extent of his injuries.

“Xiu’er. Why did you do such a dangerous thing? Do you know that you were this close to being murdered?” Long Heng was helping her brush her hair. He didn’t want her to put herself in such a dangerous position anymore. He understood why she did so, but he still didn’t want her to do anything of the sort again.

“But he might have tried to use me to threaten you if I didn’t assassinate him. Wait. If you were able to save me in time, that means that you were... i-in the vicinity at that time?” Bai Xiangxiu’s cheeks blushed beet red all of a sudden. She badly wanted to find a hole and dive into it. She’d tried to seduce another man in front of her husband! She felt extremely humiliated.

Long Jeng’s face turned sullen as well. “You are not allowed to say those things to another man in the future anymore. No matter the circumstance. Do you understand?”

“I understand...” Bai Xiangxiu slowly lowered her head, then purposely tried to change the topic. “Right! Have you received the letter? You understand the contents, right?”

“I heard that it was your idea. It’s quite remarkable. I’ve already picked out some agile troops and I’m just about to train them. Tell me, how did you come up with such a plan?” This wife of his always seemed to have a way to astound him in every situation.

“I just really enjoyed reading when I lived at my maternal home. I can’t remember when, but I remember reading a book about formations, and there was an oddly named formation called the linked horses formation. When the enemy formation was described to me, it evoked that memory of the linked horses formation, which was why I wanted to come here to make sure. If I was right, then I would’ve been able to help you break the formation, and you could come home safely.”