Chapter 39: De'an Has An Accident

When Fang Rui and the others arrived at the military camp, Lei Shengda had not yet returned. The commanding general was absent, but fortunately the deputy general was present. Upon hearing from the soldiers that a party had arrived outside the camp, and seeing that a soldier had brought in a token, the deputy general hurried out to greet them at once. That token originally belonged to Shen Yu, but when the person emerged and it turned out to be Fang Rui, just as he was about to salute, Fang Rui slightly shook his head, and the deputy general immediately understood that Fang Rui wished to act discreetly.

So the deputy general only gave Shen Yu a slight nod and called out, “Lord Shen.”

Rong Tai at the side said, “This time His Majesty appointed Lord Shen, Lord Fang and myself to come together to inspect the camp and see how your training is progressing.”

Upon hearing this, the deputy general quickly extended his hand, not daring to show any negligence, and welcomed them into the camp, “Please, everyone, come inside.”

When Fang Rui and the others arrived at the camp it was already past 9am. Since the camp was filled with men, it was inevitable there would be some body odor. De’an simply couldn’t stand it and said to her brother, “I want to go out for a walk; the smell in here is really too strong.”

Fang Rui looked at her helplessly and then said to Rong Tai, “You accompany her for a walk.” Since the place was full of men, Fang Rui didn’t feel comfortable letting De’an go out alone.

Rong Tai took the order and followed behind De’an as they left. In the main tent only Fang Rui and Shen Yu remained.

Shen Yu kept her head lowered the entire time, standing obediently aside without uttering a word.

Fang Rui’s gaze swept over Shen Yu and he slightly frowned, wondering what on earth was wrong with her. She had been fine at yesterday’s court session, so why was she suddenly like this today?

As Fang Rui pondered the reason for Shen Yu’s sudden oddness, Shen Yu remained silent and the tent was very quiet for a while. After some time, the deputy general had someone bring in fruit and place it on the table, saying, “My lords, this place is remote and we have nothing splendid to offer. These are freshly picked fruits from nearby, to quench your thirst.”

Fang Rui uttered a short “hm,” and looking at the deputy general said, “We will likely stay here three to five days. Keep food, clothing, and lodging simple, no need for pomp. Two tents will suffice.”

Fang Rui didn’t want to make a lot of people gather around them for nothing, and he also wanted to probe what’s going on with Shen Yu.

Upon hearing that only two tents were needed, the one with her head bowed showed a look of astonishment in her eyes. Two tents, but there were four of them. De’an was the princess, so she couldn’t share a tent with a commoner, nor could she share with Fang Rui. That left only one tent… which would mean…

“Lord Shen, for the next few days you’ll have to put up with sharing a tent with me. I wonder if you’d be willing?”

Shen Yu thought, she knew it!

On any other day, Shen Yu would not be this shocked, but the problem was she had to be extra careful and cautious to hide her identity and to appear completely composed before His Majesty. Yet her mind was currently full of the Fire-Avoidance chart and sumo wrestling. How could she possibly remain calm!?

Though her thoughts were in turmoil, Shen Yu still raised her head, her expression outwardly seeming little different from usual. Yet unbeknownst to others, her ears had turned bright red.

With a composed expression she told Fang Rui, “Everything is up to Lord Fang’s arrangements.”

Fang Rui had come to inspect, but intended to do so discreetly. He had already instructed this on the carriage: he would not appear as the emperor, but under the name Lord Fang, secretly observing how Lei Shengda’s troops had been trained.

Fang Rui’s gaze lingered on Shen Yu’s face… and on her nearby ear, which was so red he couldn’t ignore it. Suddenly Fang Rui felt he had a clue, a lead about Shen Yu’s abnormal behavior.

“Deputy General, you may step out for now. Lord Shen and I will take a moment to rest, then we’ll go out later.”

The deputy general respectfully replied, “Yes, Lord Fang” and withdrew.

Once the deputy had left, Shen Yu lowered her head again. Fang Rui lifted his teacup, sipped, then looked at the shell of her ear and tentatively asked, “My beloved aide Shen, what’s suddenly the matter? You seem unwell. Is it also, like De’an, that you cannot bear the smell here?”

At his words Shen Yu suddenly realized how guilty she must seem. Steadying herself, she lifted her head again and slightly shook it, saying, “It’s probably because of the four-plus hours of travel. I’m just a little unsettled.”

She had in fact felt unsettled since the morning court session. Fang Rui did not press further but spoke with a tone of concern, “If you feel unwell, return to the tent and rest first. I must still go and inspect the camp.”

Shen Yu thought that since His Majesty would not be returning to the tent with her, she might as well go back first to compose herself and adjust her mood.

“Then I will take my leave now.”

After Fang Rui gave a short “hm,” Shen Yu withdrew. Fang Rui sat back in his seat, somewhat thoughtful, silently analyzing: if Shen Yu showed nothing unusual at yesterday’s court but was suddenly like this at today’s court, then something must have happened between last night and this morning.

Last night… if the Empress Dowager hadn’t brought Consort He to the Zichen Hall, then perhaps he would have given the Fire-Avoidance Chart to Shen Yu to study. Wait… the Fire-Avoidance Chart!

Fang Rui’s eyes suddenly brightened. Could it be that Shen Yu, out of curiosity, couldn’t resist and had someone bring her the Fire-Avoidance Chart to see?!

His eyes lit up and then dimmed. Even if Shen Yu felt shy after seeing the chart, that wouldn’t explain any discomfort toward him now. After all, it was the furtive Jia Ming who had said he’d give the chart to her to study, not him as the emperor.

After pondering for a while, Fang Rui remembered the other day in the Great Yuan Hall when he punished Lei Shengda to copy repentance statements. That little booklet on his desk…he didn’t know where it had gone now…

That little booklet about men and men…

Surely Shen Yu hadn’t already seen through it, had she?!

Now Fang Rui felt a sense of crisis. Had he dug a pit for himself and jumped in? If it was truly a trap, he’d jumped into it quite precisely…

To confirm whether Shen Yu’s oddness stemmed from that little booklet, which had nothing to do with sumo wrestling, he only needed to test her a little and everything would become clear.

Just as Fang Rui was thinking of how to test her, Rong Tai hurried back, but De’an was nowhere to be seen.

“Your Majesty! Just now I saw a dark shape in the woods and chased after it but returned without finding Princess De’an!”

Hearing this, Fang Rui sprang up from his seat, glaring at Rong Tai, “This is how you protect a princess?!” Then he added, “Quick, have the deputy general come in.”

Once the deputy general had been summoned, Fang Rui ordered him to take twenty men to search for De’an, and Fang Rui himself led about ten men out.

They found nothing until dusk. When Fang Rui returned to the camp his face was grave. The woods were near Xili Mountain, and further in lay the eastern foothills of Xili. Just as he was about to order the deputy general to send more men into the mountain, someone reported, “Sir, that young attendant has been found.”

Hearing that De’an had been found, Fang Rui hurried out of the tent, eager to quickly confirm whether she was alright.

Outside the tent he saw a young soldier carrying De’an on his back into the camp. De’an on the soldier’s back was covered in mud. Not only her face but her clothes as well, as if she’d just been pulled out of a mire.

De’an’s eyes were panicked. When the young soldier set her down in the tent and she saw her brother, she burst into hysterical crying, “There was a bear chasing me through the woods!”

Fang Rui’s attention was entirely on De’an and he didn’t even notice the young soldier’s appearance. He dismissed the others and had Rong Tai send them away, then wiped the mud from De’an’s face and soothed her, “It’s alright now, that bear is no longer here.”

After calming De’an for some time, they prepared hot water and bathed her to wash away the mud.

After the bath De’an had mostly calmed down, and Shen Yu had by then arrived in the tent as well.

De’an said, “After Rong Tai left, a black bear appeared, taller than you, and I ran as hard as I could. While running I fell into a marsh, the bear wouldn’t come close, but I kept sinking. It was only by great fortune that I met that soldier who pulled me out of the mire. Otherwise… I wouldn’t have seen you again!” As she spoke she began to sob again.

Shen Yu said, “Xili Mountain is remote and there have indeed been reports of bears there. The terrain is low-lying and there are many marshes.”

Fang Rui patted De’an on the back, “Next time stay put and don’t run off, understood?”

De’an nodded repeatedly. Normally she wasn’t so obedient, but she had been frightened this time. After instructing De’an, Fang Rui looked at Shen Yu and warned, “My beloved aide Shen, the same goes for you. This place is dangerous, so avoid going out when you can.”

Shen Yu nodded, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Fang Rui sighed and said, “I will duly reward the young soldier who saved De’an.”

Shortly after De’an was brought back, Lei Shengda also returned. Hearing from the deputy general that two lords had come, he was initially bewildered. Upon entering the tent he realized… Rong Tai the Grand Steward was here, Shen Yu was here, Her Highness the Princess was here, and His Majesty as well!

“Your Majesty, what are you doing here?!”

Only a few people were in the tent, but Fang Rui let him speak loudly.

“I came to see how your hundred disciple-soldiers have been trained, but unexpectedly De’an had an accident.”

When Lei Shengda entered, the deputy general had already told him that one of the attendants had gone missing but had fortunately been rescued by a soldier. Lei Shengda didn’t realize at first that the attendant was actually the Princess. Now, seeing the rosy-lipped, bright-faced, red-eyed youth dressed as a man, he recognized that it was indeed the princess.

“It’s good that she’s unharmed, it’s good that she’s unharmed!” If something had happened in his Tiger Roar Camp, that would have been a disaster.

Fang Rui asked, “What is the identity of the young soldier who just saved De’an?”

Lei Shengda was taken aback and said, “That one? He’s one of the hundred disciple-soldiers Your Majesty assigned to me. At first the lad was full of pride and physically weaker, but after a month of training he’s improved much more than the other ninety-nine.”

In Lei Shengda’s view, nearly everyone was weak. Only the one who could beat him was considered strong.

“Then have him brought in. I want to ask him what reward he desires.”

When the young soldier entered the tent and stood before Fang Rui, Fang Rui said, “Lift your head.”

The moment the young soldier lifted his head, Fang Rui suddenly had a sense of déjà vu.