Wei and Jin did not submit to Zhou

Chapter 38 The Dark Clouds Overhead
Snapped!
A snowball hit Aunt Wu in the face, covering her face in white. This distant relative of the Li family wiped the snow off her face in a very disheveled manner, and saw Li Wan, dressed in a thick robe, laughing at her like a child not far away.

Aunt Wu, in a burst of childlike enthusiasm, immediately grabbed a thick layer of snow from the ground, rolled it into a ball, and threw it at the other person.

The two chased and played around in the courtyard for a while, causing a ruckus. When they were tired, they returned to the main hall to cook ginger soup and rest.

"I wonder how Ah Lang is doing now?"

Li Wan sighed deeply, her face showing sorrow.

There's been absolutely no news coming back from the front lines. The war to conquer Shu seems to have started, yet it hasn't started at all; it's in a tense, simmering period where war could erupt at any moment.

The imperial court did not issue an edict to attack Shu!

"Ah Lang is very capable, there's nothing to worry about."

Aunt Wu smiled and comforted him, saying that she was also worried about Li's son-in-law, but considering that Shi Shouxin was only serving as a military supervisor, it was unlikely that he would rush to the front line.

So, it should be... alright.

The young couple, who are usually inseparable, will inevitably miss each other after being separated for a while. Although Aunt Wu has been through this before, she didn't know how to comfort them.

“Last year my father was still in Guanzhong, so he could help out if needed. Now he has returned to Luoyang, so it’s troublesome.”

Unlike Aunt Wu, who knew nothing, Li Wan sighed helplessly. Her heart, like the clouds in the sky, seemed to drift all the way to Guanzhong.

As far as Li Wan knew, this campaign against Shu was still somewhat risky.

She had heard her father talk about Zhong Hui before; he was ruthless and difficult to deal with. With him as commander, who knew what kind of trouble he'd cause!

Just then, Xigou sneaked into the main room and whispered to Li Wan, "Madam, Yang Gong's elder sister has arrived, and she brought a lot of wild game."

"Okay, I'll go greet them right away."

Li Wan nodded, feeling that something was amiss.

When Shi Shouxin was at home, Yang Hu often came to visit, and the couple also frequently visited Yang Hu's home, which was not unusual.

But it's a bit strange that Yang Hu's sister came here, especially since Shi Shouxin has gone to Guanzhong to join the army and isn't home at all. What brings Yang Hu's sister here?

When Li Wan arrived at the courtyard gate, she saw Yang Huiyu's maid, Xu, instructing the coachman to move the game from the carriage into the courtyard.

Beside Xu was the elegant Yang Huiyu, who was currently sizing her up.

"You must be Yang Gong's elder sister. Please come in and sit down."

Li Wan quickly invited Yang Huiyu into the main room. She felt that the other woman's gaze was a little strange, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.

"No, I'm just bringing you some game on behalf of my uncle. Your husband is away on a campaign, and the household is all women. My uncle wanted to come and pay his respects, but it's inconvenient for him to come due to the separation of men and women, so I'm doing this for him."

These wild game were all hunted by my uncle. Our family is small in Luoyang, and we can't possibly eat them all.

Yang Huiyu smiled, her attitude very polite, and she was very approachable.

Today she wore a black cloak, a tight-fitting fiery red robe, and a light blue shawl. Her slender waist and gracefully curved hips were on full display, and she swayed her hips slightly as she walked, her movements extremely elegant.

Her fair complexion, paired with carefully applied red lips, showed no signs of aging. Her jet-black hair was styled smoothly and softly, with some strands draped over her shoulders. She not only looked stunningly beautiful but also exuded an air of nobility.

In contrast, Li Wan was wearing a thick blue coat, and she had just had a snowball fight, so her clothes were still covered in ice. In addition, she never liked to dress up and was without makeup, so she looked rather rustic.

Compared to Yang Huiyu, she seems more like a maid.

"Okay, okay, thank you very much."

Li Wan quickly thanked her, and Yang Huiyu did not linger. After the coachman carried the pheasants and rabbits into the yard, she exchanged a few polite words with Li Wan and then took her leave. She and Xu Ying got into the carriage and drifted away.

With her keen eye, Aunt Wu stood in the courtyard, watching Yang Huiyu's carriage slowly drive away, looking thoughtful.

"Aunt Wu, are you envious of others' fancy clothes, or are you envious of those who can ride in carriages when they go out?"

Li Wan grabbed Aunt Wu's arm, shook it, and asked in an annoyed tone.

"Was that the general's sister-in-law just now?"

Aunt Wu suddenly spoke up.

Li Wan nodded and sighed softly, "Yes, she is a very capable woman. It is truly remarkable that she was able to remain in power in the Sima family even after Sima Shi's death."

"I didn't see how powerful it was."

Aunt Wu muttered a complaint, then continued, "But how should I put it... don't you think she looks pretty slutty? Like she's trying to seduce men."

Aunt Wu, who never cared about vulgar language, commented bluntly, leaving Li Wan stunned.

Aunt Wu hadn't mentioned it before, but Yang Huiyu had given her a strange feeling all along, and now that she thought about it, wasn't that just "flirtatious"?

No, no, no, it's not exactly "flirtatious." Li Wan thinks it should be described as deliberately showing off one's beauty to others!
Or rather, they come to show off their looks!
These days, women's dresses are usually loose-fitting and don't really show their figure. But this woman is wearing a tight-fitting red robe underneath, with her waist cinched, and then a loose shawl on top, covering half of her body and revealing the other half.

She seemed afraid that others wouldn't know that she had a slender and well-proportioned waist, and a beautiful figure.

"If this Lady Yang weren't Sima Shi's widow, she would probably attract a lot of men's attention, wouldn't she? Look at her, right?"
It's very easy for such widows to remarry.

Aunt Wu, with a gossipy look on her face, gestured with her hands and whispered in Li Wan's ear, commenting on her.

The smile on her face was meaningful; she was an experienced woman, and she could tell the true nature of a woman's stench with just a glance.

"If the Sima family hears you talking nonsense, you're dead!"

Li Wan made a fierce threat, but in her heart she felt that Aunt Wu was right.

Yang Hu's older sister is quite beautiful.

Li Wan couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

She looked at her old-fashioned clothes and thought to herself that she should pay more attention to her appearance in the future, so as not to embarrass her husband when Shi Shouxin became successful.

……

Cluck cluck cluck, cluck cluck cluck.

On the suspended walkway of Baoxie Road, Shi Shouxin was wrapped in a blanket, his teeth chattering from the cold.

In front of us was a broken section of the plank road, and below it was a frozen stream.

At this very moment, soldiers are cutting down trees in the mountains, and others are using saws to process timber in preparation for rebuilding that section of the plank road.

Actually, the amount of work involved in repairing the boardwalk is not large, since materials can be sourced locally and it's not a matter of starting from scratch.

But the weather was just too cold; the mountain winds were biting, and you felt chilly all over. Plus, there were occasional heavy snowfalls. "Commander Shi, shall we continue repairing the plank road today?"

Xu Yi stepped forward and inquired. He was also not wearing armor, but was wrapped in a blanket. Looking at the soldiers busily moving about like ants, Xu Yi couldn't help but sigh.

Repairing a plank road in the mountains right before the Spring Festival—that's inhuman work! To be honest, Zhong Hui was a real bastard!

Xu Yi cursed inwardly, but there was nothing he could do. A higher rank could crush a person; Zhong Hui, as the Grand Commander, held a much higher position than Xu Yi!
"We can't stop. If we stop, the Grand Commander will probably punish us."

Shi Shouxin waved his hand, rejecting Xu Yi's opinion.

"Actually."

Xu Yi pulled Shi Shouxin aside and whispered, "Actually, a quick fix will suffice as long as it allows the army to pass. Do you really expect us to make it last for ten or eight years? Just do a quick job, and it'll be done in ten days at most! Now let the soldiers finish work and hide in their tents to warm themselves by the fire, that's not bad either."

That's how walkways are; until they collapse, you can never be sure if they'll still be usable. If a section of the walkway normally has six supports, and one is broken, does that mean it's unusable?

Xu Yi felt that this situation was perfectly fine. As long as it was repaired, a team of soldiers could be sent back and forth a few times to test it.

Unfortunately, Shi Shouxin was a professional from the Imperial Household Department, not an "ordinary military supervisor," and directly rejected Xu Yi's suggestion.

In other words, Shi Shouxin was someone who actually built bridges! He oversaw the construction of a stone arch bridge over the Luo River, or at least led the craftsmen in its construction. Furthermore, he had been researching engineering machinery for the past two years, demonstrating his achievements as an official in the Imperial Household Department.

Xu Yi couldn't fool anyone, and he couldn't persuade anyone either. He was really feeling very frustrated.

"We can't just do it haphazardly. We have to repair it to the standard of not breaking down for three years. We have the brothers work in two shifts, with 1,500 people working during the day and 1,500 people working at night. You and I will each supervise one team and take turns moving forward."

Anyway, the mountain path is narrow, and it's impossible to deploy three thousand people at once.

Shi Shouxin patiently persuaded him.

After considering Zhong Hui's various ill intentions since the expedition, Xu Yi had no choice but to nod helplessly and reluctantly agree to Shi Shouxin's suggestion.

Therefore, the vanguard army adjusted its coordination, dividing its 3,000 troops into two squads, one led by Xu Yi and the other by Shi Shouxin, with the two taking turns. Each squad was further subdivided into three teams of 500 men each.

One team was responsible for logging and carpentry, another team was responsible for shoveling snow, and the third team was responsible for inspecting the boardwalk and fixing any leaks.

Every day at the shift handover, the quality of the previous shift's work is checked again, and any substandard work is rectified immediately.

The two worked together diligently and allocated manpower scientifically, which greatly accelerated the progress.

On the morning of the day before the Spring Festival, a soldier from the military command came to deliver a message, ordering the vanguard army to remain in place and the commander-in-chief Xu Yi and the supervising officer Shi Shouxin to quickly return to the main camp outside Mei County, as Grand Commander Zhong Hui had invited them!
The messenger was Wei Guan's subordinate, and Shi Shouxin could not refuse him under any circumstances; no reason would be of any use.

After Wei Guan's personal guards left, Xu Yi pulled Shi Shouxin into his military tent for a private discussion on important matters.

At this moment, Xu Yi no longer displayed any airs; he completely subservient to Shi Shouxin, his face filled with fear.

"Supervisor Shi, you said the Grand Commander summoned you urgently. What is the matter? The messenger probably set off in the dead of night. What could be so urgent?"

Xu Yi asked, somewhat puzzled.

"I'm afraid it's nothing good. The imperial court hasn't issued an edict to conquer Shu yet. And Shu certainly can't bypass the Baoxie Road to attack Guanzhong. So, I think it's the Grand Commander who's looking for trouble with us."

This was so that he could establish his authority within the army!

Shi Shouxin said with a gloomy face, a bad feeling creeping into his heart.

"Then, how should we deal with this?"

Xu Yi was clearly panicked.

"It's alright, our plank road is impeccably constructed and has not exceeded the deadline."

I suspect the Grand Commander already has a preconceived notion that we're just going through the motions.

General Xu, there's no need to panic. I've got everything covered!

Shi Shouxin said firmly.

Xu Yi nodded. The situation was already extremely urgent, so she had no other choice.

After a brief rest, Xu Yi and Shi Shouxin rode their horses at breakneck speed along the plank road, hurrying back to the camp.

By this time, it was completely dark. At the entrance of Zhong Hui's command tent, a large number of personal guards were deployed, each with a torch lit and wearing armor, creating an atmosphere of extreme tension.

The tent gate resembled the gaping maw of a giant beast, awaiting Shi Shouxin and Xu Yi.

……

Yang Huiyu went to Shi Shouxin's house for a visit, ostensibly to deliver game to Yang Hu, but actually to observe what kind of person Shi Shouxin's wife was.

Only after going there did she understand why her lover couldn't forget his wife.

She was such a beauty!
She couldn't help but feel a little frustrated. After removing her makeup, she kept looking at her face in the bronze mirror... and felt that she didn't look too bad, did she?

"Sigh, do you think I'm a bit ugly and pretentious?"

Yang Huiyu looked at Xu Ying and asked.

"Miss Yu, please don't overthink it."

Xu Ying comforted her, but secretly thought to herself: Ever since that night, this Lady Yu seems to be possessed, her mind filled with that man. She's completely infatuated and can't tell east from west; I'd better remind her.

“Lady Yu, our benefactor is currently in the army that is attacking Shu. Swords can be dangerous, and if you are really worried about him, you might as well give the general a few more words of advice. Otherwise, when he returns to Luoyang, his achievements may be stolen by someone else.”

Xu Ying offered her suggestion without making a sound.

"That's right, the position of Du Guan Cong Shi is too low-ranking. We should at least get a position as a prefect."

Yang Huiyu said thoughtfully, as if Xu Ying's words had reminded her.

If one were to plan for the future, Shi Shouxin's transfer to a post outside the capital was inevitable, and arguably the only option. It wouldn't be good for him to be in Luoyang, with his beautiful wife Li Wan constantly under Sima Yan's nose.

"You've reminded me that we need to work on this properly."

As Yang Huiyu spoke, she pondered. She did have her own advantages, namely, she had influence in official circles.

If things go well, after Shi Shouxin returns from his conquest of Shu, he will be able to occupy a place in a larger strategic landscape and will no longer have to rely on others as he does now.

Then... the future will be bright!

Thinking of this, she smiled slightly and regained her confidence.

(End of this chapter)