Chapter 38: Going To The Tiger Roar Camp

Before leaving the palace, Fang Rui had been in a good mood, but once outside the palace his face turned extremely sullen.

“Brother, don’t pull that face. If Lord Shen sees it later he’ll think you’re displeased with him.”

Hearing this, Fang Rui twitched the corner of his mouth at De’an but showed no trace of a smile, and said, “De’an, are you really going to give up after this?”

No one knew how De’an found out that he was taking Shen Yu out for an autumn outing… no, for an inspection, but she had already changed into a light riding outfit and was waiting outside the palace gate.

Fang Rui, who had been stopped by De’an at that moment, felt his spirits plummet from the clouds to the valley floor.

After getting into the carriage, De’an looked at Fang Rui pitifully and pleaded, “Brother, please let me come along. After I go, I’ll give up for sure.”

Seeing De’an’s sincere expression, Fang Rui almost believed her…but!

As siblings and members of the imperial family, how could he not know his own sister? If she would so readily give up, then this sister must have been switched for an impostor.

So De’an still hadn’t given up. She probably still harbored a sliver of hope, thinking that even if he fancied Shen Yu, in the end it wasn’t certain whom Shen Yu would choose.

Fang Rui couldn’t bear to tell De’an the truth that Shen Yu was a woman. That revelation was not something most people could handle. If he hadn’t nearly died back then, he wouldn’t know how long it would take to comfort himself into accepting that his sexual orientation had always been correct.

De’an looked at her brother and, once more very sure, said, “I just want to make some memories with Lord Shen. After that I will definitely give up.”

The customs of the Great Qi weren’t overly strict, and with figures like Empress Dowager Xianzhaoyin, there weren’t many truly demure royal women. Their temperaments tended to be more lively.

Hearing De’an, Fang Rui believed her even less. Since she still wouldn’t give up now, he would use this inspection to let her face reality, to see clearly that she and Shen Yu were absolutely impossible. Otherwise, knowing De’an, the word “give up” would never appear in her actions.

Outside Shen Yu’s residence they merely sent word that it was time to depart, not that His Majesty had already arrived. Otherwise everyone from the Grand Guardian’s residence would have come out to greet him and it would have taken far longer.

Fortunately, Shen Yu hadn’t told others either. She only instructed the steward to tell the old master that she was accompanying His Majesty to the Tiger Roar Camp for inspection, roughly three to five days.

Although Fang Rui wasn’t riding the imperial carriage, even an ordinary carriage was more spacious than those of wealthy households. Even after Shen Yu boarded there were plenty of empty seats.

The carriage contained a tea table, a low table with small drawers, and a fixed little bookshelf, hardly the trappings of an inspection. Shen Yu felt they were off on an excursion instead.

Compared to the emperors Shen Yu knew from previous reigns, His Majesty today was remarkably frugal.

After the formal bows and settling down, the small party of about ten set off toward the Tiger Roar Camp outside the capital.

Inside the carriage Shen Yu kept her gaze lowered, whenever she saw His Majesty, the fire-avoidance chart and that so-called sumo booklet she’d seen in the Great Yuan Hall alternated in her mind. How could she look His Majesty in the eye?

De’an wanted very much to speak to Shen Yu, but her condition for having her brother bring her along was that she would give up Shen Yu. If she started talking now, her shrewd brother would surely see through her lie.

Though she couldn’t speak to Shen Yu, being this close to her still made De’an a little excited.

Just as her excitement began, her brother spoke.

“My dear aide Shen, if you grow tired on the road you may rest in the carriage, there’s no need to be too constrained.”

De’an’s little thrill drained away the moment she heard her brother’s voice. She thought to herself: it would have been even better if he hadn’t been here.

Shen Yu still didn’t raise her eyes, merely replying, “Your Majesty, I went to bed early last night and feel quite refreshed.”

Shen Yu had hardly slept until the midnight hour the night before, waiting for Jia Ming to tell her what useless fire-avoidance chart he’d brought her.

Fang Rui glanced at Shen Yu again, stroking the surface of a book with his fingertip, his gaze slightly pensive.

It seemed Shen Yu was somewhat off today. Since the morning court session she hadn’t once looked up at him.

What on earth was going on?

Shen Yu wasn’t tired at the moment, but it was hard to say how long that would last. Fang Rui, however, soon closed his eyes and pretended to nap. Having stayed up with Consort He until midnight and with his mind full of plans to take Shen Yu out, how could he possibly fall asleep?

The Tiger Roar Camp was stationed at the foot of Xili Mountain, a hundred miles outside the capital. At that moment, besides the soldiers training in camp, a hundred-man detachment was climbing. Each carried a woven basket on their back, and the baskets were packed with stones.

At the front of this hundred-man squad was one person whose basket was larger than the others’ and filled with twice as many stones. There was no one quite like this person except Lei Shengda.

Lei Shengda led this hundred young recruits, aged roughly eighteen to twenty, as they climbed Xili Mountain.

Most of these recruits were sons of high officials or wealthy families. Many were forced into the camp by their families, some joined on a whim. They hadn’t endured much hardship before, but this past month had been unbearable. Of the hundred, more than half had once deserted, but Lei Shengda had captured them all back, and he rather enjoyed this cat-and-mouse game.

These pampered young recruits were nearly driven mad by Lei Shengda’s pressure.

By the mountainside halfway up, most of the recruits simply couldn’t climb any further and collapsed where they lay.

Lei Shengda turned and, with his booming throat, roared, “You lot of brats! If you don’t make it back to camp by dusk, don’t expect any leftover buns tonight! You won’t even get any wild vegetables!”

The moment Lei Shengda’s voice fell, a chorus of wails erupted.

But when everyone else had collapsed from exhaustion, a small soldier hoisted a large crate of stones and calmly continued to climb.

…

There were no women in the army. Approaching the Tiger Roar Camp, Fang Rui had De’an change into men’s clothes. Even after changing, De’an couldn’t hide the feminine scent of makeup on her. A stranger might think she was a little eunuch Fang Rui had brought out from the palace.

Fang Rui looked at Shen Yu and then quietly at De’an. He thought De’an should be shown what the highest level of cross-dressing looked like. After all, even he had been fooled for a full ten years.