HMHSE - 54

Changsun Xin returned to the official residence from the mountains, and shortly after, received news from the mountains. He immediately went out and hurried towards the mountains.

Just outside the city, a guard reported that the young mistress had already been escorted out of the mountains by the military camp’s soldiers and had gone to the military camp.

Without a word, he quickly rode his horse towards the military camp.

________________________________________

Shen Rong sat in Shan Zong’s barracks, slowly wiping her neck with a wet cloth.

She had been brought here to wash away the bloodstains on her body, to avoid causing unnecessary panic by entering the city like that, especially for her brother.

Only upon arriving here did her heart settle. There were no more thrilling scenes.

Outside, the sky had long since completely darkened. A lamp glowed on the table, and the water in a copper basin beside it was already half red.

The blood was all from splashes on her body; she herself was almost completely unharmed.

She put down the cloth, smoothed the disheveled strands of hair by her ears, and tidied her clothes, then heard the door open.

Shan Zong walked in from outside, having changed back into his black barbarian attire, his eyes on her.

Shen Rong almost immediately recalled the situation in the mountains where he held her tightly. At that time, her nostrils were filled with the scent of his blood. She didn’t know how he had managed to return to the mountains or how many barbarian soldiers he had held off.

Later, Zhang Wei had gone to find them, and only then did he pull her out of that patch of trees.

She looked at him: “Are you hurt?”

Shan Zong had just come from washing up in Hu Shi-yi’s tent. He threw the bloodstained saber down and walked over to sit. “I’m fine.”

There wasn’t much space to sit in this tent. Shen Rong was sitting on his bed, and he now sat beside her.

Shen Rong shifted her leg, and it touched his. “If you say you’re fine, then you must be injured.”

Shan Zong’s eyes held a hint of fatigue: “Do you want to see for yourself?” He tugged at the collar of his barbarian robe, tilting his head. “It’s on my back. You’d have to take it off to see.”

Shen Rong wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth, and indeed glanced at his back, thinking, it’s not like I haven’t seen it before, but she didn’t say it aloud.

Shan Zong saw her gaze and reached out, placing his hand on her lower back.

He was indeed somewhat tired. An additional group of people from outside the pass had come to prevent him from entering the pass. By the time he reached her, the saber in his hand had almost never stopped, and he had sustained some injuries, more or less.

Shen Rong glanced at his hand on her lower back. Before she could speak, her waist tightened as Shan Zong embraced her. “What happened in Jizhou outside the pass is a secret, known only to you and me,” he whispered.

Shen Rong was held against his chest, facing his face. The lamplight cast deep shadows and highlights on his features. His straight nose and thin, pursed lips showed a hint of weariness. He barely moved, yet his arm remained strong.

“Only you and I know?” She repeated the phrase.

“That’s right,” Shan Zong’s voice seemed even lower: “I know about your scroll, and you know about my trip to Jizhou. We both have each other’s secrets, isn’t that perfect?”

Shen Rong suddenly felt an inexpressible intimacy in his words and remained silent for a moment.

The door was suddenly knocked. Hu Shi-yi’s voice outside said, “Chief, Assistant Minister Changsun is here.”

Shen Rong collected herself and glanced at the door. Not wanting her brother to know the previous dangers, she quickly wanted to get up and go out.

But Shan Zong’s hand still held her.

“I promised you, I won’t say anything,” she whispered to him, glancing at him to remind him: “My brother’s here, release me.”

“Ah Rong!” Changsun Xin’s voice arrived before he did.

Shan Zong still held her tightly. Only when he could hear footsteps did he finally release her, a slight smirk on his face.

This wasn’t outside the pass anymore; there were eyes everywhere.

Outside, Changsun Xin walked all the way to the row of barracks. Seeing Donglai guarding there, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he saw Shen Rong walking towards him.

He quickened his steps, went forward and grasped her arm, asking repeatedly, “How are you? Are you alright?”

Shen Rong shook her head: “I’m fine. You see, I’ve returned safely.”

Zirui had come with Changsun Xin, holding a cloak in her hand. Upon seeing Shen Rong, she immediately draped it over her: “Young Mistress, you’re finally back. The young master was terribly worried.”

For so many days, Changsun Xin had inquired daily about the situation at the military camp. Later, Hu Shi-yi finally told him that Shan Zong had personally gone out of the pass, but did not say what had happened.

But how could he not guess? Something must have happened for the man surnamed Shan to personally leave the pass.

Now, as for how she returned, one could understand just by looking at their current location in the military camp.

Changsun Xin looked behind her, then looked at the soldiers around the military camp, knowing it wasn’t the place to talk. He sighed: “Never mind, we’ll talk later. It’s good that you’re safe.”

Shen Rong glanced behind her and walked towards the military camp gate.

Changsun Xin deliberately lagged a step behind, looking back to where she came from. Shan Zong, dressed in dark black barbarian clothes, was leaning against the doorway, silhouetted against the lamplight, looking in their direction.

It was clear who he was looking at.

He lightly cleared his throat and gracefully stepped forward: “This time, Envoy Shan, you’ve gone to such trouble. Ah Rong has returned safely, so I won’t thank you excessively.”

Shan Zong glanced at him: “No need to be polite.”

“Politeness is still necessary. After all, Ah Rong’s safety was originally a matter for my Changsun family. It was merely a favor from Envoy Shan, and for you to personally make such a journey, how could I bear it? I will send gifts of gratitude another day.”

After speaking, Changsun Xin bowed with considerable grace. Without waiting for him to speak, he turned and went to catch up with Shen Rong.

Shan Zong leaned lazily against the door, scanning his retreating figure. He was deliberately coming to draw a clear line.

“Chief,” Hu Shi-yi came from the military camp gate: “Jin Jiaojiao has gone back. I heard Assistant Minister Changsun instructing Donglai to send gifts to our military camp before he left.”

“If they send them, refuse them,” Shan Zong turned back to his room, chuckling: “That’s not just the Changsun family’s business either.”

Hu Shi-yi didn’t understand the last sentence. He couldn’t help but poke his head through the door: “Huh?” Shan Zong had already sat down on the bed.

Only then did Hu Shi-yi remember that he still had injuries. He had taken two saber cuts on his back. Although they weren’t fatal, when that brocade robe was peeled off, his entire back was soaked with blood. So, he decided not to talk to him much and let him rest properly.

Zhang Wei came from the other end of the barracks, waving at him from afar.

Hu Shi-yi helped Shan Zong close the door and walked over, muttering softly: “Did you see the chief’s injuries? The returning soldiers said that someone among those dog thieves from outside the pass recognized him, which is why they urgently dispatched troops to reinforce and block him. You tell me, if he had just sent more people to find Jin Jiaojiao, even if it was you and me, it would have been fine. But he actually left Youzhou again for Jin Jiaojiao.”

Zhang Wei said stiffly, “That’s different. In the mountains, I saw the chief holding her all the time, very intimately.”

Hu Shi-yi scratched his chin upon hearing that and nodded vigorously: “No wonder. I’ve always felt there was something going on between the chief and this ex-wife.”

________________________________________

The official residence was quiet. That night, Shen Rong slept soundly.

The next day, she finally got up when the morning light reached the edge of her bed. Her legs were still a bit numb from riding the horse for too long.

She sat on the edge of the bed and gently pulled open her plain white undergarment to look. There was a small bruise on her waist, from Shan Zong holding her too tightly on the horse.

The door opened, and Zirui came in with water to attend to her. She pulled her undergarment down.

“Young mistress can rest more today,” Zirui offered a wrung-out cloth.

Shen Rong took it: “No rest. I’m going to the mountains later.”

Zirui said: “The young master said the young mistress doesn’t need to go. You worked hard on this trip. From now on, you should go to the mountains less and rest well. Just leave the rest to him.”

Shen Rong stopped wiping her face: “What do you mean ‘go to the mountains less from now on’?”

Zirui leaned closer and whispered in her ear: “I heard the Madam sent a letter.”

Shen Rong immediately understood. It was because of Shan Zong.