Repeatedly broken branches

"Jiang Qi, just stay in the camp and don't go anywhere, lest you get hurt by the indiscriminate swords."

Wei Hao mounted his horse, took his sword, and prepared to catch up with the army.

Jiang Qi verbally agreed, but still turned back to the camp, picked up the sword that Wei Hao had hidden, and ran towards the back mountain.

She hid behind a large tree, watching the army pass by. Wei Hao rode at the very back of the column, while Zhou Tingxi was at the very front, the two of them protecting the column from the front and the back.

If they won't let me come, I'll sneak into the group. There are thousands of people; I don't believe you can find me.

As Jiang Qi prepared to head down the mountain, he realized that he had forgotten to change into his military armor. In order to deceive Wei Hao, he had even changed into a narrow-sleeved dress. How could he blend into the group like this?

It's too late to go back and change into military armor.

"who is it?"

It was a deep male voice.

Jiang Qi was quite frightened. She leaned against a tree and turned around to see a young man dressed in black riding attire. The young man was masked, only his eyebrows and eyes were visible. He looked at her with great interest, while she breathed a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing here? You scared me to death."

The boy picked up the basket from the ground, slung it over his shoulder, and said lazily, "I went up the mountain to see if there were any gems to find to set in a hairpin, and that's when I saw you lurking here suspiciously. What are you doing? Do you know them?"

"No...I don't know him."

"Then why are you looking at them?"

Jiang Qi frowned and said, "What's it to you? Have you found the gem yet?"

The boy shook his head. "No, it seems I've already found all the gems. I don't want to make hairpins anymore."

Jiang Qi asked, "Then what do you want to do?" She was in a hurry to urinate. If she couldn't keep up with the marching group, she didn't know when they would return. How was she going to blend in with them?

The boy lowered his eyes and said helplessly, "Let's take it one step at a time. It's dangerous here. You should come with me."

"No! Forget it, I'll just say it straight. I'm Wei Hao's wife, and I want to join the army! But he brought me here and won't let me fight on the front lines. Now I'm trying to sneak in, and that's when I ran into you."

The boy narrowed his eyes slightly, revealing no shock whatsoever. Instead, it seemed as if he had known all along. The boy said in a playful tone, "Dressed like that, you still want to go into battle?"

Jiang Qi's eyes flickered, and he said slowly, "Wasn't it because we weren't prepared? We miscalculated. It's too late to go back and change now. Can you help me think of a solution?"

The boy pursed his lips and after a while said, "There's no need to rush back. Just follow me and I'll help you sneak in."

Jiang Qi had no choice but to follow him back to the camp and change into military armor. The young man smiled; the girl actually looked quite dashing in her armor, even possessing the air of a female general, and her personality was very similar to that person's.

The boy led her to take a shortcut, circling around to the front of the group. They lay in ambush in the woods, overlooking everything below. The group hadn't arrived yet, so they prepared to wait for their opportunity.

Jiang Qi suddenly realized that this hairpin maker was actually quite reliable.

"I want to know, who exactly are you?"

She didn't know she would ask such a question. She felt that the boy was familiar, but she couldn't remember him. She didn't know him that well, but she felt that he was not a bad person and would not hurt her.

"Me?" The boy chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Just as you said, I'm just a broken hairpin maker." His phoenix eyes were quite beautiful, and one could almost see arrogance and nonchalance in them.

Jiang Qi pursed his lips, realizing that what he had said might have hurt him, and felt very guilty.

She wanted to say something, but the commotion below forced her to look away. Zhou Tingxi was leading his group slowly past the area, and the young man smiled casually when he saw Zhou Tingxi.

"I'll create some chaos, and you can sneak in during that time."

"Hey, what if they kill you?"

The boy confidently said, "No, he won't." He knew that Zhou Tingxi was not the kind of person who would kill innocent people indiscriminately.

He leaned against the tree and walked down, taking one last look at Jiang Qi from afar. His eyes narrowed into slits, and Jiang Qi could see that he was smiling, a smile so casual and natural that it made one feel that this was the last time they would see each other, as if he was willingly going to his death.

The boy burst into the orderly marching column, raised his hands, and walked to Zhou Tingxi's horse. The column was scattered by his movement, and chaos ensued. Jiang Qi didn't have time to see what the boy was trying to do. He quickly ran down the small slope and took advantage of the chaos to successfully blend into the column.

The boy asked Zhou Tingxi in a Western Region accent, "General, have you seen my sister? She's about ten years old. We got separated because of the war."

Zhou Tingxi lowered his eyes to look at him, scanning the simply dressed young man from the Western Regions with a wary gaze, and said coldly, "No, it's very chaotic here. You'd better leave quickly."

The boy bowed and thanked him, saying, "Thank you, General. I wish you a successful campaign."

He glanced at Jiang Qi in the crowd, nodded slightly, and then quickly left. Zhou Tingxi stared at the boy's back and felt that he seemed to recognize him. He guessed that this person was probably an old friend.

Only then did I notice a delicate little brocade pouch hanging on the saddle.

Zhou Tingxi opened it and saw a pink pill with a small note attached. The note had strong, vigorous handwriting on it: "Resurrection Pill".

He smiled, and sure enough, it was him.

The Resurrection Pill is a divine medicine from the Western Regions. Legend has it that it was only circulated in the imperial court and was used on people who were on the verge of death. If someone had suffered a serious injury or had been dead for no more than an hour, as long as they took this medicine, they would have a seven-day revival period. If they could wake up within seven days, they would be fine. If they could not wake up after seven days, then they were truly dead.

Zhou Tingxi didn't believe in that. A dead person is a dead person. No medicine could be more powerful than a deity, capable of bringing someone back to life.

He looked back and saw that the army was ready to go. He gave the order and they continued to advance.

The sun set, and night fell.

Jiang Qi blended into the group and no one recognized her. She had fair skin, but she had smeared some mud on her face, making her look dirty and obscuring her original appearance.

"Hey, want a drink?" A tall soldier next to him gave him a push. Jiang Qi didn't react in time and would have fallen if he hadn't grabbed a big tree next to him.

The tall soldier burst out laughing. "How useless! You fall over with just a light push? By the way, what's your name? I don't remember you."

Jiang Qi rolled his eyes and casually replied, "My name is Bin. I don't like to talk, so you don't remember me."

"Why does your voice sound so much like a woman's?"

"What? My voice was given to me by my parents, what can I do about it?"

"Alright, want some wine?" The tall soldier held up a sheepskin wine bag and waved it in front of Jiang Qi. "My mother's lily wine!"

Jiang Qi smiled as she took the wine pouch from the tall soldier, poured herself a sip, and found the aroma of lilies made the wine smooth and mellow, with a hint of sweetness. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve and praised, "It's really delicious."

"Right. I suddenly miss my mother a little." The tall soldier suddenly lowered his eyes, looking very forlorn.

Hearing him say that, Jiang Qi suddenly remembered that this season was usually when green tangerines were plentiful. There was a small green tangerine tree in her yard, which she had planted when she was a child, and it hadn't grown very big.

My mother and father would pick green tangerines to make wine, then dry them and steep them in tea. The green tangerines were slightly sour, but they smelled wonderful. My mother never allowed me to drink too much of it. Paired with my sister-in-law's braised chicken feet, it was truly unforgettable.

"What are you doing?"

Just as Jiang Qi was feeling sad, Wei Hao suddenly passed by from behind, and her heart jumped into her throat, fearing that she would be recognized.

Wei Hao's gaze was fixed on the tall soldier's hand. He narrowed his eyes and scolded, "Drinking alcohol is not allowed in the military camp. You are here to water the horses." Perhaps he had other official duties to attend to, he left quickly.

Jiang Qi breathed a sigh of relief and patted the tall soldier on the shoulder, comforting him, "Let's go. We can go back after winning the battle. By the way, what's your name?"

"My name is A-Chu. Let's go! Let's go water the horses."

Watering the horses is no easy task. You have to carry a thick bundle of hay to the stable, which is smelly and large, and you also have to clean up the horse manure.

Ah Chu did it with ease. When he first entered the army camp, he even helped others water their horses, and he never complained.

But Jiang Qi had never done such rough work before. She only knew that the foal was cute, but she didn't know that its droppings were so disgusting. She could only hold a handkerchief to her nose with one hand and a shovel in the other, but even that couldn't stop the pungent smell. She almost couldn't help but vomit.

Ah Chu clutched his stomach and laughed, "You're a grown man, why are you acting so effeminate? It's just feces, right? Let me tell you, a person who's been dead for a month stinks even worse than this."

Jiang Qi couldn't help but frown. "Shut up. If you keep talking, I won't be able to eat dinner."

Ah Chu immediately shut his mouth in embarrassment.

He put down the wooden bucket in his hand, nodded and looked into the distance. He saw Zhou Tingxi and Wei Hao, each holding a military book, walking towards the stable.

His eyes gleamed with envy. He wished he could wear a general's armor, and that he could gain the favor of General Wei or General Zhou.

That way, he could proudly tell his mother that he wasn't a good-for-nothing lackey who only knew how to bow and scrape to the leader.

"What are you looking at?" Jiang Qi patted A Chu on the shoulder and looked in the direction he was looking.

It turned out to be those two people. She quickly looked away, afraid that Wei Hao would recognize her.

“The person I admire most is General Wei.” Ah Chu lowered his head, picked up the wooden bucket at his feet, walked to a pony, dipped a brush in water, and brushed the pony’s body while saying, “It has not been easy for him to go from an orphan to where he is now.”

Jiang Qi asked curiously, "And then?"

All she knew about Wei Hao was that he was an orphan who lost his parents, was taken back to the military camp by Zhou Tingxi, and then that was the end of him. She didn't dare to ask any more questions.

"General Wei once said in the military camp that he had just lost his parents when he was only ten years old. He was all alone in the desert. When he was thirsty, he would go to the lake to find water. When he was tired, he would sleep in the trees. He would be eaten by wild animals if he was not careful. Fortunately, he met General Zhou, who was guarding the desert with his father. General Zhou took him back to the military camp. However, he was extremely clumsy when he was young. It took him longer than others to learn ordinary moves. But he had nowhere else to go. If he could not learn martial arts, he could not stay by General Zhou's side. So he only slept for two or three hours a day, just to learn martial arts well. He was only ten years old at that time... That's why I admire him so much."

Looking into Jiang Qi's eyes, A Chu said, "It's a pity that General Wei hasn't said a single word to me. The first thing he said to me today was asking us to clean the stables." After saying that, A Chu felt a surge of motivation, all because of the first thing Wei Hao had said to her.

Jiang Qi couldn't help but laugh, but the moment his lips curled up, he met Wei Hao's gaze from afar.

He didn't react much, but he himself was already in a state of panic.

Yes, she kept telling herself, not to fall in love, not to fall in love, but this was the first time she had met a man like this. She had spent her childhood in the mansion with her three older brothers and had almost never been in contact with men outside the family.

She fell for Wei Hao the moment they met.

But she rationally told herself that Wei Hao and You Cai were a couple.

So what if You're no longer here? She...

"what happened to you?"

Ah Chu nudged her, and before she could react, he pushed her to the ground.

She lay on the ground for a while before realizing she had fallen. Ah Chu reached out to help her up, but she hesitated for a long time before giving him her hand.

Just then, Wei Hao suddenly walked over and helped her up.

“General.” Ah Chu’s voice was soft as she raised her head, but she dared not look him in the eye.

Jiang Qi quickly stood next to A Chu, afraid of being recognized, so he lowered his head and dared not look up.

A glint flashed in Wei Hao's eyes, and he said coldly, "Are you two slacking off?"

"No...no...General." A-Chu was afraid that she would leave a bad impression on Wei Hao, so she quickly denied it.

Jiang Qi dared not speak, afraid that he would be recognized if he made a sound.

"I'm talking to you, lift your head." Wei Hao's voice was extremely cold; Jiang Qi had never seen him like this before.

Jiang Qi slowly raised his head and met Wei Hao's eyes, but Wei Hao did not react at all, and his eyes were extremely cold.

She breathed a sigh of relief. How could someone as dense as Wei Hao possibly recognize her?

"I accidentally fell down, and it was Ah Chu who tried to help me up. We didn't slack off, General."

Wei Hao stared at her coldly, unable to see a single flaw in her eyes. He was about to speak when Zhou Tingxi called him away. Before leaving, Zhou Tingxi gave Jiang Qi a half-smile.

She felt hairy all over.

Lunch consisted of steamed buns with stir-fried cabbage and a little white porridge. The supplies hadn't arrived yet, so Old Wu from the kitchen told them to make do with this meal for now and that they would have braised pork knuckle for dinner.

When it comes to braised pork knuckle, Huangcheng Yaxiangge is still the best. The skin is soft and tender without being greasy, and it's best eaten with rice soaked in the broth.

Jiang Qi's mouth was watering, but when he looked at the white steamed bun in his hand, he suddenly lost his appetite.

"Greetings, General Wei."

"it is good."

"Has General Wei eaten yet?"

"Well, not yet."

Wei Hao? Jiang Qi thought he had misheard, but when he looked up, he saw Wei Hao leisurely walking towards him and A Chu.

Wei Hao looked down at her, and for some reason, Jiang Qi felt that he was extremely gentle. Yes, her parents said that Wei Hao was just like that, kind and gentle, and treated everyone the same.

"You... come with me, I have something to tell you to do."

"Me?" Jiang Qi stared at him in astonishment.

Wei Hao said in a flat voice, "Am I looking at someone else? Hurry up and follow me."

After saying that, he walked towards his own tent.

If Ah Chu hadn't nudged her, signaling her to hurry up and follow, she would still have been sitting there dumbfounded.

As soon as the tent flap was lifted, Wei Hao was seen standing with his back to the viewer, his posture upright. Before I could get a good look, I noticed that he had changed into casual clothes, a lake-blue brocade robe.

Jiang Qi smiled slightly; this color suited him quite well.

"General, what are your orders?" She had almost forgotten the purpose of her trip.

Wei Hao slowly turned around, his expression somewhat serious. He said in a cold voice, "Miss Jiang, why do you insist on coming here? I told you this place is dangerous and not suitable for women."

At this moment, Jiang Qi felt her mind was in turmoil. She had imagined many times what it would be like for Wei Hao to recognize her, perhaps when her hat fell off and her hair fell loose. But she never imagined that he would recognize her so easily.

Not knowing what to say or how to explain, she was in a state of panic, almost unable to breathe.