Chapter 3

Qi Ye took off his outer robe by the door and waited for the chill to leave it before coming over to embrace me.

“The army rewarded me with gold for my military merits. I asked a fellow soldier to have it melted down, then had a goldsmith make it into a bracelet.”

“I don’t like wearing it. I don’t want to keep it anymore.”

“Why not? Is the pattern ugly? I’ll take you to the goldsmith tomorrow and have it exchanged for another.”

I stumbled over my words.

“N-no, it’s not the pattern. I was just thinking that if you want a promotion later, you’ll inevitably need money for certain things. We should save more instead of spending it all on me.”

“We should certainly save money. But you should still have nice things.”

I reached for the clasp, but Qi Ye covered my hand with his.

“The enemy has been making frequent moves lately, which is a good chance to earn military merit. This time, I shot a Battalion Commander. By the rules, I received a reward.”

“I’ll earn much more in the future. Not just bracelets, but hairpins, silk, earrings—whatever you want, you’ll have it.”

As soon as I heard the gold had been awarded according to army regulations, and that Xie Heng hadn’t secretly given it to him, I immediately changed my mind.

“Then I won’t take it off. It really is beautiful. I’ll wear it every day from now on.”

Qi Ye looked at me, then suddenly burst out laughing.

Feeling a little embarrassed under his gaze, I asked, “What are you laughing at, husband?”

“Even I don’t understand myself.”

Qi Ye’s voice rumbled in his chest.

“There’s a fellow from my hometown in the army. He’s the most reckless man in battle, always charging ahead first. Someone once slashed his back with a saber half a foot long, and he didn’t make a sound.”

“One time, his family sent a letter. He asked a literate fellow to read it to him. Before the man had read two lines, he started crying loudly.”

“That boy cried so hard that everyone was annoyed. When I walked past, I even asked him why he was crying.”

“He wouldn’t tell me. He only said that once I got married, I’d understand.”

“I didn’t understand before the wedding. Now that I’m married, I still can’t figure it out.”

“Every time I see you, I want to laugh. But whenever I think about going back to the barracks, my chest aches.”

Qi Ye was young. When he spoke about his feelings, he was direct and didn’t know how to hide anything.

“I can’t control these emotions at all.”

“Perhaps this heart of mine fell ill on our wedding night.”

“Why is it so strange? Do all men who marry develop this sort of illness?”

8.

As soon as Qi Ye reached the military camp, someone came to summon him, saying Young General Xie wanted to see him.

He didn’t even have time to set down what he was carrying before hurrying to the command tent.

Only after the matter at hand had been discussed did Xie Heng look up at him.

“I hear you recently married. No wonder you insisted on returning to camp only at the very last moment. Once the fighting eases a little, I’ll give you a few days off so you can go home and keep your wife company.”

Qi Ye clasped his hands and thanked him.

Xie Heng’s gaze immediately fell on the food box beside Qi Ye.

Inside were the red-bean pastries I had packed for him before he left home.

Qi Ye hesitated before saying, “If you don’t mind my family’s cooking, I’d like to share one with the general.”

Xie Heng heard the implication and teased him with a smile. “Did your wife make these herself? You’ve guarded them so carefully, yet you’re willing to let someone else have only one bite.”

Qi Ye’s ears turned red at the teasing. He only murmured in reply.

Not long after arriving at the camp, Xie Heng had noticed Qi Ye. Of all the young soldiers, Qi Ye was the one he valued most.

He was young, calm in battle, and courageous.

His background was also clean and straightforward. Xie Heng had intended to promote him as a trusted aide, so he usually spoke quite casually with him.

“These pastries are popular in the capital right now. I didn’t expect to find their flavor even out here at the frontier.”

“Funny enough, the person I love most is also good at making red-bean pastries. Hers taste better than those at the best restaurant in the capital.”

As Xie Heng took a bite, the smile at the corner of his mouth gradually disappeared.

By the time he swallowed the last bite, there wasn’t a trace of expression left on his face.

The familiar sweetness of red beans still lingered on his tongue.

Instead of responding, Xie Heng changed the subject.

“Since your wife made these pastries herself, I’d like to ask about her background.”

“Red-bean pastries are a specialty of the capital. Is your wife from there, too?”

“What is the name of the woman you married?”

9.

“My wife is from the capital. The general guessed correctly.”

Xie Heng immediately pressed him. “Which family is she from? What is her surname? What is her given name?”

He had always put on a gentle manner in public to win the soldiers’ loyalty.

But now, as he stared at Qi Ye, his gaze turned cold and his expression more forceful.

“The Jiang family.”

Qi Ye’s answer was brief: just two words.

Xie Heng’s expression immediately darkened further.

But Qi Ye continued to explain. “She was called A Xing when she was young. She used to serve the Jiang family’s young lady. We had not been married long when I came to the frontier, so I brought her with me.”

“A Xing?”

Xie Heng repeated the name. Only then did his tense expression gradually relax.

“I remember now. There were indeed several maids around her named Xing’er and Chun’er.”

“She served her young lady for years. Naturally she learned to make those pastries.”

“You’re fortunate to have a wife like that, Qi Ye.”

Xie Heng paused. His eyes remained on the pastry box.

“Since you’ll be working under my command, when I marry my fiancée, have A Xing accompany her. It would be a fitting way to honor the former mistress-and-maid relationship between them.”

Qi Ye showed no flattered surprise.

Instead, he frowned.

“General, I can’t make that decision for my wife. If she’s willing to go, I won’t stop her. But if she doesn’t want to, I certainly won’t force her.”

A hint of contempt flashed in Xie Heng’s eyes, though his answer was perfunctory.

“Very well. I know you’ve only just married and are still doting on your wife.”

He said nothing else unpleasant, but the disdain in his eyes was plain.

In Xie Heng’s view, a lowly maid did not deserve to be cherished by her husband.

He quickly changed the subject.

“As it happens, my own fiancée is the reason I came to the frontier.”

Qi Ye heard that he was deliberately glossing over their uncomfortable exchange, so he casually asked, “Is there some story behind it?”

“My father thinks her family status is too low now. He won’t let me marry her as my wife. At most, he’ll allow me to take her as a concubine.”

A smile appeared in Xie Heng’s eyes.

“She has too much pride and is sensitive by nature. If I really made her a concubine, she’d rather jump into a river than enter the Xie household.”

“So I came to the frontier. Once I earn enough military merit and achieve something here, my family won’t be able to control my marriage anymore.”

Qi Ye politely responded, “The frontier is bitterly cold. The general has suffered for this.”

Xie Heng only shook his head. “I’m doing it to marry the woman I love. What’s a little hardship?”

He continued as if he were making idle conversation.

“My fiancée and I were betrothed as children. We grew up together, so naturally we love each other.”

“Sometimes we argue. She often gets angry with me, but once she calms down, I’m still the person she can’t bear to let go of.”

Xie Heng looked at Qi Ye. His smile gave nothing away.

“If we win this battle, the camp will hold a victory banquet next month.”

“The generals and soldiers may bring their families to the feast.”

“My fiancée is in the capital, and your wife used to serve her. You’re not entirely unrelated, after all.”

“Bring her to the camp for the banquet.”

“Let me see what she looks like in person, and then I’ll give her a reward.”

Xie Heng had always been suspicious by nature.

Clearly, he had not entirely let go of his doubts.

10.

The victory banquet was held.

At first, I refused to go, but the soldiers’ wives I knew urged me not to seem antisocial.

“General Xie called for you by name. If you don’t show your face, who knows whether he’ll make things difficult for your husband behind your back?”

Qi Ye always protected me. I also wanted to save him a little trouble.

Before going out, I darkened my face with makeup and covered more than half of it with a veil.

I also wrapped several layers of cotton cloth around my shoulders, waist, and calves.

Over the past few days, I had tried to put on weight, but it had all gone to my face. When I looked in the mirror, I could hardly recognize myself.

Not long after we arrived at the camp, a few of Qi Ye’s fellow soldiers called him away to help with something.

I could only sit beside the soldiers’ wives I knew.

My clothes and appearance were clearly not what they expected. They all froze for a moment.

But none of them pressed me for details. Instead, they praised my caution in low voices.

“There are men everywhere in the barracks. Dressing plainly and keeping a low profile can spare you a lot of trouble.”

Soon, they lit a bonfire and put a whole lamb on a spit to roast.

It was my first time facing Xie Heng since leaving the capital.

He had grown much thinner since he left. The fierce sun at the frontier had darkened his skin, too.

The elegance of the young nobleman he had once been had faded somewhat. His features were sharper now, and every movement carried an air of authority.

At one point during the banquet, my eyes met Xie Heng’s.

He quickly looked away, his face showing no sign that anything was amiss.

To him, I truly was just an unfamiliar married woman he had never met.

Later, Qi Ye brought me over to greet him. Xie Heng’s manner remained ordinary, no different from the way he treated the other soldiers’ families.

At last, I relaxed. Even my appetite improved.

Qi Ye cut the roasted lamb into small pieces and put them in my bowl.

I ate more than half a plate, then looked up at him with a smile that reached my eyes.

“Thank you for cutting up the meat for me, dear.”

11.

As soon as the banquet ended, Qi Ye was kept behind to discuss matters in the barracks and could not leave for the moment.

I went back toward our quarters with a few of the soldiers’ wives I knew.

Halfway there, I reached for the front of my robe and realized the longevity lock I had worn since childhood had somehow disappeared.

I told the others to go ahead, then hurried back to the camp to look for it.

I explained who I was and why I had come to the gate. The soldiers on guard were unexpectedly courteous.

They led me back to the banquet grounds and called a few more men to help search.

I was so focused on retracing my steps that I didn’t notice I had wandered far from the others.

A glint of gold flashed beside a patch of grass. I squinted to make sure.

The longevity lock I had dropped was lying there.

I hurried to pick it up, but a hand reached it before I did.

“This longevity lock looks oddly familiar to me.”

The familiar voice came from above. A chill ran through my whole body.

I stiffened. When I looked up, I was indeed facing Xie Heng.

He held the lock, idly turning it in his hand as he looked down at me.

“You’re only a maid from the Jiang family. How did something this exquisite and valuable end up with you?”

The corners of Xie Heng’s lips curved in a smile, but there was no warmth in his eyes.

“This looks very much like the lock my fiancée used to wear as a child.”

“You’d better explain why something that has always been at Jiang Lingyi’s side ended up in your hands.”

Moonlight fell over the clearing. It was so quiet that I could almost hear the insects.

I knew there was no way I could admit my true identity here.