Chapter 12: Escorting the Bride (1)

The marriage alliance convoy carried countless treasures, jade, and gold, tens of thousands of bolts of silk, three hundred gilded Buddha statues, eighty sets of gold and jade bookshelves, three thousand scrolls of scriptures, three hundred types of divination classics, six hundred types of architectural and technical works, a thousand medical prescriptions for four hundred diseases, forty carts of medical treatises, and thirty carts of flower seeds. The grand procession set off from Taiping Prefecture.

The route stretched for thousands of miles, exiting west through Yangguan Pass, passing through Longxi Gobi, crossing seven hundred miles west of Beijia, then enduring a long trek over Mo Mountain before finally reaching the new Turk capital, Gaoque City, deep in the grasslands and surrounded by oases.

After leaving Taiping Prefecture and traveling west for a day, the entourage stopped for the night at Hanting Station. Apart from Princess Jingyi’s close attendants, everyone else camped outside the station.

In the heat of late August, Wu Jingyi always kept her red bridal veil on in public, a bright red spot that stood out in the crowd.

Wu Rui’an stayed almost constantly by her side, attending to her every need, until she returned to her room to bathe before he went back to inspect the main camp.

This time escorting the bride, he was extremely vigilant, putting forth twelve times his usual effort. This was the first time, aside from leading troops into battle, that he had been so serious about anything.

Di Jiang, blending into the crowd, watched Wu Rui’an from afar, noticing how much older he looked after just over a month.

“Poor thing,” Wen Yao leaned against a tree, admiration on her face.

Di Jiang shot her a glance and threw a basket of clothes at her, exclaiming, “Rather than watching Wu Rui’an, why don’t you hurry up and wash these clothes? And wash mine too!”

Still unsatisfied, Di Jiang sighed deeply, “I must have been crazy to listen to you. I’ve ended up as a washerwoman in this huge bridal escort. If anyone finds out, they’ll laugh their heads off!”

“Who would know? Among these thousands of people, how many recognize us? Don’t tell me you’re not worried about Wu Rui’an and Wu Jingyi. If you weren’t worried, you wouldn’t have agreed to come! Besides, we’re heading west to Qingyun Mountain anyway—it’s practically on the way. It won’t cost us anything. I’ll do all your chores!” Wen Yao picked up two baskets of clothes, each taller than half her height, yet she didn’t seem to find it strenuous at all.

“Yes, yes, yes. They’re heading northwest, and we’re going southwest. Very convenient indeed!”

Di Jiang certainly worried about Wu Jingyi, but more importantly, she took advantage of this trip to visit Qingyun Mountain in the southwest.

Regardless of whether Zhong Xu was currently at Qingyun Mountain, there should be some clues there since the coffin shop was sold by a Taoist from Qingyun Mountain just days ago.

Unexpectedly, on the eve of departure, she inexplicably listened to Wen Yao’s suggestion, disguised herself as a man, infiltrated the army, only to end up doing laundry, washing dishes, and other menial tasks. Knowing this, she might as well have approached Wu Rui’an to follow him comfortably as his maid!

Regretting bitterly, Di Jiang sighed again.

After Wen Yao left with the baskets of clothes, Di Jiang climbed onto a lush tree and sprawled across the trunk to rest.

The day’s journey made her feel tired like never before—her feet were nearly useless. Now, she just wanted to return to her own bed and sleep spread-eagle.

But given the circumstances, having this tree was already a luxury. At least it was better than squeezing into a tent with thirty burly men.

Di Jiang soon fell asleep. In her daze, she felt someone poking her waist, each poke growing heavier.

“You! Why aren’t you sleeping in a tent?”

“I’m talking to you! Get down now!”

“If you don’t wake up, don’t blame me for punishing you under military law!”

Di Jiang lifted her head groggily to see Lü Chenfei and a group of soldiers standing beneath the tree.

He held a spear, ready to strike her again. Instinctively, Di Jiang grabbed the red tassel on the spearhead.

“How dare you!” Lü Chenfei was about to lash out when he noticed a very familiar object on the wrist of the person in the tree.

A jade bracelet interwoven with gold threads.

Could it be...?

No, no, how could there be a woman in the camp...?

But why would a man wear a bracelet?

It must be a coincidence, yes, a coincidence.

Lü Chenfei mentally reassured himself countless times, only to have his thoughts shattered by a single sentence from the person in the tree.

“General, forgive me... I was so tired. I only meant to rest, but I accidentally fell asleep! I’ll go back right away!” Di Jiang, suppressing her voice, tried to mimic a man’s tone.

However, it was futile. Lü Chenfei immediately recognized her as the proprietor of Jiansu Medical Clinic and Wu Rui’an’s beloved, Di Jiang.

His legs gave way, and he nearly knelt again. Fortunately, Di Jiang leaped down from the tree and landed in front of him, bringing him back to his senses.

Before him stood Di Jiang, dressed in men’s clothing, looking exactly like the lowest-ranking cook in the army.

“Making such a commotion, what kind of discipline is this!”

Behind them, Wu Rui’an strode forward.

“Salute to the General!” The soldiers immediately saluted with fists.

Wu Rui’an’s eyes fell on Lü Chenfei, impatiently asking, “What happened?”

“Commander... you’d better see for yourself.” Lü Chenfei saluted and signaled for his group to retreat.

After they obediently left, Wu Rui’an’s attention turned to the cook who was holding his forehead.

On his wrist was an exceptionally familiar gold-threaded jade bracelet.

“Di Jiang?” Wu Rui’an was stunned.

“It’s... it’s me...” Di Jiang forced a laugh, slowly raising her head. “What a coincidence... hahaha...”

“Why are you here?” Wu Rui’an looked incredulous.

“I was worried about you all, so I followed to check,” Di Jiang immediately regretted her words.

She hadn’t wanted to alert Wu Rui’an because, in her plan, five days later, she intended to part ways with the bridal convoy at the Yellow River shore, where they would head north and she south.

However, now... it seemed impossible to leave.

True enough, the next moment, Wu Rui’an sniffled, then moved forward with a look of gratitude, embracing her tightly and resting his head on her shoulder.

“I had no idea you were so thoughtful!” Wu Rui’an burst into tears.

“Huh?” Di Jiang was taken aback.

“You must have wanted to silently protect me without telling me. You cooked, washed dishes, cleaned my clothes and socks—aren’t these things a wife does for her husband?”

“...” Di Jiang suddenly felt like crying. Desperately wanting to cry.

“You came to bid farewell to Jingyi too, right? I’ll never see Jingyi again! How can she endure eating raw meat and drinking cold blood like the Turks? But there’s nothing I can do! I can only watch her pretend to be understanding and make sacrifices! But I know she doesn’t want to! Not one bit!”

“...”

Di Jiang clearly felt the scalding liquid flowing down his cheeks, dripping onto her collar, forming a continuous line.

These were the tears of a man, filled with helplessness.

This was a pain she had never seen in Wu Rui’an, even when he was gravely ill, he hadn’t shed a single tear for himself.

Today’s emotional outburst likely stemmed from the sorrow festering and fermenting within him, unable to dissipate.

Since she was his only outlet, let him cry his fill...

That night, Wu Rui’an cried for a very long time, eventually falling sound asleep leaning on Di Jiang.

Di Jiang, propped against the tree trunk, spent the night awake.

While her body was extremely exhausted, her mind... was almost collapsing.

There were still benefits to being discovered by Wu Rui’an—they no longer had to do the cook’s chores. Instead, they wore women’s clothing daily, accompanying Wu Jingyi closely. They had carriages to ride during the journey and enjoyed the same level of treatment as the princess.

The only trouble was that whenever Wu Jingyi looked at her, her eyes carried an ambiguous, unclear smile.

As if saying, “Should I call you Doctor Di or sister-in-law?”

“Just call me Di Jiang,” Di Jiang responded with a look.

...

The grand procession crossed the Yellow River, exited west through Yangguan Pass, and finally reached the border of Xuanwu one month later.

Tomorrow, they would meet the army of General Long Ming, who had been waiting at the border for days. Ultimately, the bridal escort would reach three thousand people—an equivalent number to a small-scale military operation.

Yet the closer they got, the deeper the desolation in Wu Jingyi’s eyes grew.

This sorrow, perhaps only Di Jiang could truly understand.