Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

The next morning, as the morning light pierced the mist, Zhang Fubao hurried over, stepping on a dusty patch of gold. Her father, Zhang Lu, was locked in a fierce battle with the enemy on Mi Cang Mountain, and her brothers, preoccupied with military duties, had no time to supervise her, allowing her free rein. From afar, she saw the strict security outside the west wing, with guards every three steps and sentries every five, and couldn't help but wrinkle her nose. It was just a mere injury, and her father was making such a fuss. What a fuss! Little did she know that, ever since the news of Ma Chao's awakening spread, fast horses had been galloping to Mi Cang Mountain overnight. After all, Zhang Lu had issued strict orders that his movements must be reported immediately.

Before the guards could announce anything, Zhang Fubao flung open the carved wooden door. Inside, Zhen Mi was half-kneeling before the couch, gently stirring a bowl of medicine with a silver spoon. She was so startled by the intruder that she nearly spilled the medicine. Ma Chao, leaning on a cushion, tried to rise and salute, but his strength was gone and he staggered. Zhen Mi hurriedly reached out to steady him, whispering, "Don't do that! Your wounds haven't healed yet..."

"Oh, you were so sick yesterday, and now you're so restless right after waking up, bothering Sister Mi again!" Zhang Fubao raised her eyebrows, put her hands on her hips and walked forward quickly. The hem of her gold-embroidered skirt brushed against the blue bricks, making a small rustling sound. She stared at Ma Chao, but her eyes couldn't hide her curiosity.

Ma Chao blushed slightly. He forced himself to sit up straight and saluted: "Yesterday I wanted to thank Miss Zhang. If it weren't for those precious herbs, I'm afraid my life would be..." He paused. Although Hua Tuo did not elaborate on the origins of the herbs last night, seeing the guards outside the door being respectful to the girl in front of them, and thinking of the "Nine-Aperture Exquisite Ganoderma" emitting a bright light, he already knew in his heart - this girl is definitely not from an ordinary family. To be able to produce such a rare and magical medicine, it must have cost a huge price.

"You still have a conscience!" Zhang Fubao tossed the tassels in her hair and sat down on the round stool beside the couch. "Since I know you are Ma Chao, these medicines are naturally worth using! Back in Xiliang, Uncle Ma and Aunt Ma treated me like their own daughter, and Sister Bai and Sister Wenji took me everywhere to play..." She suddenly dropped her joking expression, her eyes slightly red. "Later, I heard that you were murdered by the emperor in Chang'an. I was so anxious that I couldn't sleep for several nights, thinking about what a mess Xiliang must be in, and how sad Uncle Ma and Aunt Ma must be..."

She suddenly reached out and patted Ma Chao's shoulder. "But it's all good now! Being alive is better than anything else! When you recover, you must return to Xiliang in style and show those people that a man from the Ma family won't fall so easily!"

When Ma Chao heard Zhang Fubao mention the old days of Xiliang, his eyes flickered slightly, and he calmly led the topic to a deeper level: "Miss Zhang has such a deep connection with my Ma family. I must come to your house in person to thank your father someday. Xiliang was able to survive the most difficult times thanks to Hanzhong's grace of letting us pass through to transport grain." He deliberately made his tone sincere, but his eyes were fixed on the girl's reaction.

Zhang Fubao was swinging her legs and playing with the Heavenly Master's banner at her waist. Upon hearing this, she suddenly sat up straight. "Don't! My father must be in a state of panic right now—there's a fierce battle going on at Mi Cang Mountain with the Yizhou army, and that old man Yan Yan is very fierce!" She wrinkled her nose and complained, completely unaware of the other party's probing. "It makes me angry just talking about it! Back then, that fox Li Ru tricked me into going to Xiliang, saying, 'The scenery outside the Great Wall is unique,' but it turned out to be so windy and sandy that I couldn't open my eyes!"

Recalling the past, her eyes curved and she laughed out loud. "Thankfully, Uncle Ma and Aunt Ma treated me like their own daughter. Sister Wenji taught me to play the qin, and Sister Bai'er took me horseback riding... If it weren't for them, I would have returned to Hanzhong in tears!" Suddenly, she winked slyly and made a face at Ma Chao. "But since you're so sincere, I won't urge you to settle the score with Mr. Li Ru! Those tricks he came up with back then are so funny that I'm no longer angry anymore!"

Ma Chao smiled faintly, but within him, a turbulent storm surged. The passage through Hanzhong, the battle at Micang Mountain, Li Ru's involvement... these fragmented clues quickly pieced together in his mind. He secretly clenched his fists. Unexpectedly, he was in Zhang Lu's territory, and the innocent girl before him was none other than the daughter of the Hanzhong prefect. Even more concerning, Zhang Fubao's casual mention of "old events" might conceal a complex web of power dynamics.

Ma Chao's fingertips unconsciously caressed the cushions beside his couch, Zhang Fubao's words hammering down on his heart like a hammer. The war between Yizhou and Hanzhong was a sinister plot by the emperor—avenging Hanzhong's "crime" of using Xiliang to transport grain and fodder, while also allowing Liu Zhang's expansion to keep him in check. Liu Zhang, already ambitious, now had a legitimate excuse, and naturally, he launched an all-out attack.

He lowered his eyes to look at his still-trembling hands. His wounds still unhealed, he struggled to even sit upright, let alone fight. Xiliang's fate hung in the balance. If Zhang Lu used him as a bargaining chip to relieve Yizhou's siege... Ma Chao felt a chill run down his spine at the thought. Liu Zhang's two brothers had died at his hands. With such a deep-seated vengeance, how could Liu Zhang let him off so easily?

Suddenly, outside the window, hurried footsteps echoed, mingled with the soft clink of weapons. Ma Chao glanced up, peering through the cracks in the window lattice to see guards rushing back and forth nervously. In the distance, the dull blast of a horn drifted faintly, as if from the direction of Micang Mountain. Zhang Lu, now being forced to retreat by Yan Yan, might be tempted to abandon this "hot potato" to gain a moment's respite.

"We must help Zhang Lu stabilize the situation." Ma Chao clutched his quilt, his knuckles turning white. Only by ensuring Hanzhong's foothold in this war would he have room to maneuver. But now he was trapped in the medicine hut, with strategies but no place to put them to use. How could he turn the tide? His eyes fell on the medicine bowl on the desk. The steaming heat blurred his vision, but made his thoughts clearer - perhaps, he had to first find a glimmer of hope to break out of this seemingly gentle cage.

"Miss Zhang, although I'm still recovering from my injuries, I've studied military tactics since childhood and am quite knowledgeable about military affairs." Ma Chao propped himself up on a cushion, his pale face flushed with emotion. "Miss Zhang, I've been so grateful for saving my life and receiving such care from Hanzhong. I'm bound to repay you. I wonder how the battle at Micang Mountain is going now? Perhaps I can offer some insight into the situation."

Zhang Fubao blinked her almond-shaped eyes and looked him up and down curiously. "Of course! When I was in Xiliang, I always heard people say that General Ma was a young hero and a master of military strategy. Even the foreigners trembled at the mere mention of your name!" She held her chin in her hand and thought for a moment, then suddenly frowned. "It's just that I know nothing about fighting. But this morning I saw a few soldiers covered in blood, frantically looking for Uncle Zhang Wei. They said they had urgent news from the front..."

Ma Chao's heart tightened, his fingertips unconsciously clenching around the bedsheets. Urgent reports from the front meant the war situation had shifted. If he could get firsthand information at this moment, perhaps he could find a way out. He suppressed the urge to cough and pleaded, "In that case, young lady, could you please take me to see your uncle? While I can't fight in battle, I might be able to offer advice on troop deployments, as a token of my gratitude to Hanzhong for taking me in."

After saying this, he struggled to get out of bed, but nearly fell because his legs were weak. Zhen Mi hurried forward to support him, her eyes full of worry: "Your injury hasn't healed yet..." But Zhang Fubao suddenly clapped her hands and laughed, "Okay! I'll trust you this time! But you have to promise me that if you can't help me, you have to tell me ten stories about Xiliang!" She shouted to the door, "Come on! Prepare the carriage!"

Zhen Mi frowned slightly, her eyes full of worry. She reached out and gently pulled Ma Chao's sleeve, saying softly, "Young Master, you have just recovered from a serious injury and your body has not yet fully recovered. If you go there now, what if something goes wrong?" Her voice was soft, full of concern and anxiety.

Ma Chao shook his head slightly, his eyes firm, and said slowly: "Miss Mi, I understand your intentions. But my status is awkward now. Although Zhang Lu has not yet made trouble, the situation is tense. If I can't help Hanzhong resolve the current crisis, Zhang Lu might hand me over to Yizhou in order to protect himself. It would be fine if I died, but Xiliang is still fighting hard, and I can't let my family and soldiers bleed in vain." His words were steady, with unquestionable determination.

Zhang Fubao, who was listening intently, bit his lip and stepped forward, saying, "Sister Mi, Master Ma is right. The situation on the front lines is tense right now, and my uncle is worried. Perhaps Master Ma can come up with a plan to repel the enemy."

Zhen Mi hesitated for a moment, then sighed softly and released her grip on Ma Chao's sleeve, her eyes filled with helplessness and worry. "In that case, I'll go with you, young master, so I can take care of you."

Ma Chao nodded slightly and looked at Zhen Mi gratefully: "Thank you, young lady."

The group hurried out of the herbal hut and boarded a carriage. As the carriage jolted along the rugged mountain road, Ma Chao gazed out the window at the rapidly passing scenery, his mind racing. The flames of battle on Micang Mountain seemed almost before his eyes. The Yizhou army's offensive, Zhang Lu's plight, and his own uncertain fate all tangled like a tangled thread in his mind. Zhen Mi sat silently beside him, her hands clasped tightly, her eyes filled with nervous worry, wondering if this journey would lead to safety.

Zhang Wei paced back and forth in the general's tent, the military token in his hand clenched until it burned. His brother, Zhang Lu, urgently ordered him to lead 5,000 cavalry to the rescue of Mi Cang Mountain. The military order was as heavy as a mountain, but this hot potato made him feel uneasy. Commanding infantry was fine on ordinary days, but facing the galloping cavalry, he was completely lost. The tactics of the swift galloping and the key to cavalry coordination were a mess in his mind.

Outside, the cold wind howled, rustling the cowhide tent. Zhang Wei gazed at the battle reports piled on his desk, his brow furrowed in knots, and he sighed softly from time to time. While military orders were difficult to disobey, sending the cavalry into battle so thoughtlessly would be tantamount to sending the soldiers to their deaths in vain. Thinking of this, he tugged at his collar in frustration, secretly worried, yet at a loss for what to do.

Just then, a personal guard hurried into the tent with a report: "General, the Third Young Lady wishes to see you!" Zhang Wei was startled, subconsciously straightening his clothes and suppressing his worries. His beloved niece was usually quite quirky, and he wondered what she was up to this time. He put away the anxiety on his face, replaced it with a gentle smile, and said loudly, "Please come in!"

Zhang Wei greeted him outside the tent with a beaming smile, but his gaze suddenly froze. He saw Zhang Fubao and Zhen Mi, one on each side, supporting a frail man. The man stood tall and straight, and despite his pale face, he still exuded a heroic air. However, his pale complexion and slightly trembling body revealed that he had not yet recovered from his injuries.

Zhang Wei frowned slightly, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes. He looked the man over, secretly wondering about his identity. Zhang Fubao blinked, a sly smile on his face. Before Zhang Wei could speak, he said cheerfully, "Uncle, this is Ma Chao, Ma Chao from Xiliang!"

"Ma Chao?" Zhang Wei's pupils narrowed, his gaze sharpening. He instinctively reached for the sword at his waist, eyeing the man warily. "But that renowned Ma Chao of Xiliang? Are you serious?" His voice was low, tinged with disbelief and a hint of nervousness.