RMSPT _ 03

Chapter : 03 

She Became Xie Zhaoshen.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the tent fell silent.

Du Huan stammered, “It’s too late. Last night, I asked you, with such serious injuries, whether we should still go to Jiangzhou, and you said no. You were badly wounded, and I feared that traveling overland would worsen your condition, so I took twenty of your personal guards, rented a boat, and took the water route.”

There was a hint of guilt on Du Huan’s face. Last night, the general was burning with fever and delirious, so he had seized the opportunity to ask, not really expecting an answer. But to his surprise, in her dazed state, she had actually said no.

He had been terrified she would change her mind, so he had summoned the boat and set sail that very night. It was spring flood season, and the thousand-li journey down the river to Jiangling could be made in a single day. In just one night, they were already far from Jiangzhou.

Chu Yun thought back. In her haze of drowsiness, someone had indeed asked her if she wanted to go to Jiangzhou. It felt as though she had returned to those turbulent days at the Chu estate.

She was not unaware that her aunt’s invitation to Jiangzhou might not have been well-intentioned. But her father’s death was suspicious, and too many people in the capital were watching her. Only by temporarily going to Jiangzhou could she hope to find any thread of clues.

During the three years she had lived at the Meng estate, her aunt and her family had treated her like a resource to be drained dry, even scheming over her marriage. So when she heard Du Huan ask if she wanted to go to Jiangzhou, she had instinctively refused.

Du Huan timidly lifted his head: “General, if we sail against the current, we will definitely delay your return to the capital to report.”

Chu Yun lowered her brows. The words had come from her own mouth, so she could hardly blame Du Huan.

But now that she had become Xie Zhaoshen, she had no idea how Xie Zhaoshen was faring.

Chu Yun steadied herself. “Never mind. There’s only one thing—I need to write a letter to Jiangzhou. When we reach the ferry, have someone deliver it by fast horse.”

Du Huan was dumbfounded. He had braced himself for the general’s furious reprimand after she woke, and had even placed a thick cotton pad behind his back in case she ordered him caned in anger.

But instead, his general had spoken to him in a gentle tone and said “never mind”?

It wasn’t just Du Huan—everyone else stared at the calm-faced Chu Yun in utter bewilderment.

Realizing something was wrong, Chu Yun recalled Xie Zhaoshen’s usual demeanor, then furrowed her brows and stiffened her face. “If there is a next time, I will not go easy on you.”

Everyone let out the breath they had been holding. *That’s more like it!*

A wave of pain surged through Chu Yun’s chest. She waved her hand impatiently. “If there’s nothing else, you may all leave.”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than the people in the room fled as if pardoned, scrambling out in a rush as though Chu Yun were some kind of monster.

Chu Yun: ???

After everyone was gone, Chu Yun quickly bit her sleeve and curled up on the bed.

With so many people around, she hadn’t had the face to cry in public, but now the tears poured down like a broken dam.

*It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!*

It was *so* painful! She had been pampered since childhood and had never suffered such a serious injury. She sobbed and cursed Xie Zhaoshen between tears, but after only a few cries, she had to shut her mouth.

Some people are simply not meant to cry.

Like Xie Zhaoshen.

That deep, hoarse voice…

That eight-foot-tall, powerfully built body…

With her crying like this, she suddenly looked like a cowardly bear.

Feeling thoroughly embarrassed by herself, Chu Yun choked back a few sobs, wiped her tears with her sleeve, and forced herself to be strong.

She had survived the worst years. This was just a minor injury. If Xie Zhaoshen could endure it, there was no reason she couldn’t.

After a while, Du Huan knocked and brought her dinner.

Chu Yun hastily wiped her face, composed her expression, and called him in.

Du Huan first saluted, then stole a quick glance at her—and his legs began to tremble.

Right now, the general’s eyes were bloodshot, her lips pressed tight, her facial muscles stiff. She looked mentally unhinged.

The last time she had been in this state, she had fought for an entire day and night, then ridden hundreds of li through the night to behead the enemy general in front of thousands of troops. Since then, no one in the world had dared question her abilities, and the name General Xie had struck fear into the hearts of the enemy.

Chu Yun, completely unaware of Du Huan’s tension, glanced at the dinner on the table—flatbread, dried meat, and plain congee—and said weakly, “I don’t have much of an appetite. Leave the congee and take the rest out.”

She had just drunk a bowl of medicine, and her mouth was bitter. On top of the pain from her wound, she really had no mood to eat.

Du Huan was astonished. “Is the general only eating that little?”

Chu Yun said matter-of-factly, “That’s already plenty.”

She was mindful of the injury on this body. In the past, when she was in a bad mood, she would take only two or three sips of plain congee before having it removed.

Du Huan cleared the dishes but hesitated at the door. “If the general isn’t full, just call for me anytime.”

*How could she not be full?* She was only worried she wouldn’t finish it.

Chu Yun struggled to sit up and drank the bowl of congee.

Then she realized… she might as well have not eaten at all.

She hadn’t had much of an appetite just a moment ago, but after one bowl of congee, her stomach began to rumble.

Left with no choice, Chu Yun called Du Huan back and asked for the flatbread and dried meat. After finishing it all in one go, she finally felt satisfied.

She couldn’t help but think of Xie Zhaoshen again, wondering how she was doing.

The inner quarters were not like the battlefield’s clash of swords and spears—those schemes and intrigues were far harder to guard against.

She had been cautious enough, but she had still been pushed into the water by someone sent by her aunt. And before she even woke, she had been married off to Meng Zhuo.

Her cousin Meng Zhuo may have jumped in to save her out of genuine concern, but marrying her was clearly against his will. After all, he already had someone else in his heart; it was just that the woman’s status was too low, so even if she entered the household, she could only be a concubine.

Chu Yun rested her forehead on her hand, carefully sorting through her thoughts.

Her aunt was not an impatient person. Besides, Chu Yun had only just come out of her mourning period. The forced marriage had been handled so hastily and clumsily that it would only bring the Meng estate bad reputation.

The most likely explanation was that something had happened at the Meng estate, and they urgently needed her to cover up the mess.

Chu Yun silently prayed that Xie Zhaoshen would be clever enough not to fall for their schemes. Her money was still needed for bigger things.

On the other side, Zhaixing stared wide-eyed at her young lady, who was gnawing on a braised pork knuckle. She was delighted that her appetite had improved, but also worried she might overeat.

“Overeat? Impossible. I could finish another whole goose,” Xie Zhaoshen said, taking another bite of the knuckle and a swig of wine.

For three years at the border, she had been drinking wind and eating snow. On the march, she had survived on simple flatbread and dried meat. When had she ever had such hot, freshly cooked food?

But the universe had a way of proving her wrong. No sooner had she polished off the last bite than her stomach churned, so full she felt like throwing up.

After a few dry heaves, Zhaixing said anxiously, “See, miss? I told you that eating so much at once would make you uncomfortable.”

Xie Zhaoshen looked at the table full of fine food and wine and felt a sense of futility—like an eighty-year-old man who had carried ten buckets of water to water a field, only to find it belonged to someone else.

After some thought, she blamed it all on Chu Yun’s lack of exercise, which had left her body so frail.

Xie Zhaoshen said, “Prepare two eight… no, six—ah, forget it—forty-jin stone locks for me.”

Zhaixing’s jaw dropped. “What do you need those for?”

For physical training, of course.

Xie Zhaoshen thought it only natural. She didn’t know when she’d return to her own body, but until then, she couldn’t let Chu Yun’s body remain this useless. At the very least, she needed to be strong enough to punch Meng Zhuo’s head clean off.