"My good child, how is your elder sister doing?"
Gu Mingzhu, who had been standing outside the house utterly distraught, immediately burst into tears upon hearing this voice, her tears falling like broken strings of pearls.
"Lady Shen, the midwife is inside. Elder sister seems to be in great pain."
Listening to Gu Mingliu's cries of pain, Lady Shen steadied her own nerves. "Don't be afraid, Mingzhu. I'll go in and stay with your elder sister. I gave birth to three children, all safe and sound. Your sister will surely be fine."
Seeing Lady Shen enter the room, Gu Mingzhu finally relaxed her tense body. As if remembering something, she darted off towards the Gu family's armory.
A quarter of an hour later, Gu Mingzhu returned to Gu Mingliu's courtyard carrying the long spear Yu Fan always used.
Thud—
The spear was planted firmly on the ground.
It seemed to be standing guard over the courtyard in its master's stead.
With the spear here, evil spirits would keep their distance.
Not long after, Yingchun arrived, and with her came Mei Zhilin, who had rushed over in haste.
"Second Young Lady, don't be afraid. The Commandery Princess gave instructions beforehand. Once Lady Gu went into labor, we were to immediately summon Physician Mei from the palace."
Yingchun also entered the room, while Mei Zhilin stood outside listening to her describe Gu Mingliu's condition before prescribing a formula.
The last trace of fear in Gu Mingzhu's heart gradually faded away.
Bathed in sunlight, the little girl holding the spear, her face streaked with tears and sniffles, cried until her eyes were swollen red like walnuts.
So, before leaving, the Commandery Princess had also made arrangements for the Gu family's affairs.
......
Meanwhile, on the battlefields near Stone City and Mist City.
The two armies faced each other. Gu Zheng wore a rare look of solemnity, even skipping the usual pre-battle exchange of taunts.
As the war banner was waved, the Daqi formation shifted into a configuration never before seen by the Dayue forces. The soldiers at the front held not swords or blades for charging, but shields.
This left the Dayue side utterly bewildered.
"Attack!"
Gu Zheng's voice rang out, announcing the start of the battle.
The conscripted laborers at the front of the Dayue ranks were forced into the fray. These men, who had never seen battle before, felt their legs go weak, advancing with unusual slowness.
"Move forward. Don't look back."
Yu Fan's voice suddenly boomed, exploding in the ears of the conscripts like a bomb. All of them mustered every ounce of strength to press forward, charging straight towards the Daqi soldiers' shields.
Seeing the first conscript successfully received, the Dayue general sensed something was wrong.
"There's a traitor! Seize the traitor! Kill all the conscripts on sight!"
At the same moment, the Dayue soldiers on the city wall received the order to loose their arrows.
Immediately, many blades and arrows were aimed at Yu Fan.
Just then, the beat of the Daqi war drums suddenly grew rapid and dense. The front-line Daqi soldiers each produced something utterly unexpected.
Large bronze mirrors.
It was high noon, the time of the fiercest sunlight. The light reflected off the bronze mirrors, blinding the Dayue archers on the walls. Their vision filled with glaring beams, they could only shoot based on instinct.
Gu Zheng galloped over on horseback and tossed a sword to Yu Fan:
"Catch."
The appearance of the bronze mirrors ignited a fierce will to survive in Yu Fan's eyes. He gripped the sword and charged towards the Dayue soldiers.
Yu Fan fought with a blood-red fury.
Li Laoba and the other officers also fought with a blood-red fury.
Dayue wanted to flee.
To be precise, they weren't fleeing because they had prepared escape tunnels in Mist City in advance; they were being scared away by the sheer momentum of the Daqi forces.
But there was no escape.
The Dayue general who had sensed something amiss had his throat slit by Yu Fan's sword.
On the battlefield, the Dayue soldiers were all killed to the last man, except for those who surrendered.
Only upon hearing the Daqi signal to retreat did Yu Fan, covered in wounds, collapse heavily to the ground.
Before falling, Yu Fan saw Gu Zheng rushing towards him with a look of horror.
Yu Fan thought to himself.
This time, he had fulfilled his mission without dishonor.
......
"All sixty thousand Dayue soldiers have been captured by us. Ten of the conscripted laborers were rescued."
Listening to the battle report, Song Shihuan nodded. "Have the troops rest where they are. At dawn tomorrow, we launch another attack—a retaliatory one."
In this life, Song Shihuan never considered herself a good person.
Those who struck her people, she would repay a thousandfold.
"If not for the Commandery Princess devising the plan with the bronze mirrors and ordering the attack at high noon when the light was strongest, we certainly wouldn't have succeeded so smoothly."
Li Laoba's wounds had been hastily bandaged. He had now become one of Song Shihuan's most devoted supporters.
What kind of celestial being could conceive such a method to turn the tide?
He couldn't have thought of it even if he lived to two hundred!
The Commandery Princess was born to be a commander.
At that moment, a commotion arose outside the tent. A soldier entered and reported:
"Commandery Princess, it's those conscripts outside. They wish to see Young Master Yu."
At the mention of Yu Fan, everyone present fell silent for a moment.
Song Shihuan took several deep breaths, steadying her expression, before stepping out of the tent:
"He is gravely wounded. There are clear marks of severe whipping on his back. Also, likely while protecting one of you, he took an arrow to the back of his arm."
"The arrowhead was hastily removed. His left chest and both legs sustained various injuries. He has fractured ribs and is now unconscious from exhaustion."
As Song Shihuan's words fell, the conscripts began to wail loudly.
"Will... will Tiger-Head be in mortal danger?" one of the conscripts choked out between sobs.
"The army physicians' skills are limited. I have already sent for a renowned doctor from the capital to treat him. Whether he lives or dies depends entirely on his own fortune."
"And also, his name is not Tiger-Head."
Song Shihuan felt a sharp, dense pain in her heart. "His name is Yu Fan. He is a son of the Gu family of Daqi."
If you are truly grateful to him, then tell the world how the Dayue royal family treated you. As long as the Dayue common people harbor no thoughts of rebellion, we will treat them with kindness as well.
With that, Song Shihuan strode towards the tent where Yu Fan lay.
She left behind a crowd of conscripts weeping uncontrollably.
Inside the tent, Song Yu had been keeping watch. Seeing Song Shihuan arrive, he gave a slight, strained smile. "Already sent a letter to that old fellow Mei."
“To survive so many wounds and still cling to life... truly blessed with great fortune. He could have just hidden in the shield formation to be rescued, but he had to charge in and kill the enemy general.”
Resignedly, Song Yu took a damp cloth and wiped Yu Fan's face.
That young man who once knelt before him, pledging his service, had grown with such astonishing speed into this towering tree.
His Song family was deeply grateful for the Gu family's loyalty and righteousness.
"We're using ginseng to sustain his life for now. Don't worry, Ah-Huan."
Song Shihuan sat by the bedside, remaining in quiet vigil.
Outside the tent, Gu Zheng sat on the ground, staring blankly at Yu Fan's sword, stained with blood.
Suddenly, Gu Zheng grinned.
Ancestors of the Gu family, behold. The son-in-law he had chosen had not brought shame upon the Gu name.
