Chapter 156 -
After leaving Xi Wenzhe’s command tent, Su Yueqing returned to the small tent prepared for her inside the army camp. The cold night air followed her inside, clinging to her heavy cloak even after Lu Yue helped her take it off.
Her mind kept returning to Wenzhe.
His exhausted face.
The dark circles under his bloodshot eyes.
The dried blood on his sleeves.
And the cold way he had looked at her when she walked into his tent.
She still couldn’t decide if she was more annoyed by his cold attitude or confused by his quiet anger.
Yueqing walked toward the small table near the bed to pour a cup of warm tea, but stopped.
A stack of envelopes sat on the wooden surface.
She walked closer, her brows pulling together. There were far more than she expected. She picked up the first one and turned it over to see who could have sent her so much mail all the way at the border.
She recognized the handwriting immediately.
Xi Wenzhe.
She stared at the sharp ink before picking up another. His name was on that one too. And the next. By the time she counted them, there were nearly twelve letters.
Yueqing sat down slowly on the edge of the bed.
[Why did he write so many letters to me?]
She looked toward the tent entrance, half-expecting someone to walk in and explain, but the camp outside remained quiet except for the distant sounds of night guards walking their rounds.
She picked up the oldest letter. The seal was already broken, likely by the guards who had unpacked her belongings.
The first few lines showed it had been written during the early days of the border campaign. Wenzhe described the freezing weather and mentioned how the army had to change its route because of enemy movements.
There were no romantic words. He was not a man who wrote sweet poetry.
Instead, he asked if she was eating properly.
He reminded her to stay warm and asked if the doctor had given her medicine.
At the bottom, he simply wrote: Send me a reply when you receive this.
Yueqing stared at the words, then picked up the second letter.
This one was shorter. He wrote that he had been busy with military affairs all day and could only sit down after midnight. He reminded her to take care of herself and asked her to write back.
She opened the third letter. Then the fourth. Then the fifth.
The pattern was always the same. Every few days, another letter arrived. Some were long, detailing the campaign. Others were just a few lines written in a rush.
But every single one showed concern for her. He asked if she was eating, if she was sleeping well, if she felt sick, and if she needed anything.
And every time, he asked for a reply.
Nearly twelve letters written while fighting a war at the border—and she hadn’t answered a single one.
Yueqing placed the paper down, her lips parting slightly as the realization hit her.
[He sent all of these to me while I was at Xiao Chen’s...]
She had spent that entire month at the Third Prince’s manor trying to deal with the complicated conflict between them. Xiao Chen was connected to the first mission she had ever completed in this world, while Wenzhe was her husband in this current one. She had gone to Xiao Chen’s residence purely to figure out how to stop the two men from destroying each other.
She had never expected Wenzhe to be writing to her the entire time.
She picked up another letter. The handwriting was messy, written hurriedly after he had returned from inspecting the troops late at night. Even while exhausted, he had taken the time to sit down and write to her.
Yueqing read it twice, her face softening.
[He was fighting a war and still wrote to me every few days?]
A familiar voice chimed in her head.
[System 009: Correct.]
Yueqing frowned. [Nine, did you know about these?]
[System 009: Of course.]
Her eyes widened. [And you didn’t tell me?!]
[System 009: You never asked, Host. Besides, you were rather busy this past month.]
[Busy doing what?]
[System 009: Staying at the Third Prince’s manor, trying to solve the conflict between your first mission’s target and your current husband.]
Yueqing’s mouth twitched. [You don’t have to say it like that.]
[System 009: It is the truth.]
She ignored the system and opened the last letter. It was written just a few days before she left Xiao Chen’s residence. Wenzhe wrote that the fighting was getting more dangerous, so he might not be able to write for a while. He told her not to worry about him, and ended with one final line:
When you have time, write to me.
Yueqing stared at the paper. A heavy feeling settled in her chest.
[So while I was trying to figure out how to stop him and Xiao Chen from fighting, this idiot was sitting in his tent wondering why his wife stopped answering his letters.]
[System 009: That is an accurate assessment.]
Yueqing let out a long sigh. [And now I showed up in the middle of the night just to argue with him.]
[System 009: Also accurate.]
She rubbed her forehead, feeling a sudden headache coming on. [Do you think he’s still angry?]
[System 009: Host, he rode three days without sleep, saw you with another man, and found out you never answered his letters. His anger level is at maximum.]
Yueqing looked down at the pile of envelopes, her stomach dropping.
"...I think I made things much worse."
[System 009: That is the smartest thing you’ve said all night.]
Yueqing stared at the scattered letters on the small table for a long moment, her mind racing.
[I can’t just leave it like this,] she thought, standing up abruptly. [He’s sitting in his command tent right now thinking I ignored him for a whole month while hanging out with Xiao Chen.]
[System 009: Technically, you did ignore him for a whole month while staying with Xiao Chen.]
[I was trying to save both of their lives!] Yueqing snapped back mentally, grabbing her heavy fur cloak from the edge of the bed and throwing it over her shoulders. [Shut up, Nine.]
She pulled the tent flap open and stepped back out into the freezing night.
The wind had picked up, swirling white snow across the dirt paths of the encampment. Lu Yue, who was sitting near a small campfire outside, immediately jumped to her feet.
"Madam? Where are you going? It’s the middle of the night—"
"I need to talk to Wenzhe," Yueqing said, her breath forming thick white clouds as she walked straight past her.
"Madam, wait!" Lu Yue hurried after her, pulling her cloak tight. "The General gave strict orders not to be disturbed. He’s going over military strategy for tomorrow’s march!"
Yueqing didn’t slow down. Her boots crunched loudly against the packed snow as she made her way back toward the secondary command tent.
The two guards standing at the entrance raised their spears to block her path, looking visibly uncomfortable.
"Madam Yueqing... the General ordered—"
"Move," Yueqing said, her voice sharp and tone completely unyielding.
The guards hesitated, exchanging a nervous glance. They knew better than to handle the General’s wife roughly, but they also feared Wenzhe’s wrath. Before they could decide what to do, Yueqing pushed past their spears, pulled back the heavy canvas, and stepped directly into the tent.
The heavy scent of metallic blood and bitter herbal medicine immediately hit her nose.
Inside, Wenzhe had stripped off his tunic and shirt, sitting shirtless beside a small washbasin. He was alone, attempting to clean a deep, jagged gash across his chest and shoulder. The injury was severe—raw, heavily inflamed, and still slowly oozing blood against his pale skin. He was covered in dark bruises and smaller cuts, looking as though he had barely survived a brutal slaughter.
When the cold draft rushed in, Wenzhe whipped his head around. The moment he realized she was standing there, his bloodshot eyes flashed with immediate outrage and embarrassment.
He grabbed a dark robe from the chair, throwing it hastily over his broad shoulders to cover his chest, though a sharp wince of pain crossed his features from the sudden movement.
"What are you doing here?!" Wenzhe shouted, his raspy voice cutting through the quiet tent like a blade. "Get out!"
[Look at all those wounds...] her thoughts echoed softly inside his head, completely stripped of their earlier defensive edge as her eyes stayed locked on the blood soaked into his bandages. [He really got this badly hurt? How did he even ride a horse for three days in this condition?]
Wenzhe froze, his jaw tightening as her thoughts rang clearly in his mind. He pulled the robe tight around himself, glaring at her through the dim oil light, but his chest heaved as he struggled to maintain his cold mask.
Yueqing didn’t turn around. Instead, she took three deliberate steps toward him, ignoring his harsh demand.
"I saw the letters," Yueqing said aloud, her voice quiet in the heavy air. "All twelve of them."