“Clatter.”
Shu Changyu’s hand trembled, and his chopsticks fell onto the table.
He glanced sideways at Jing Mu, but Jing Mu acted as though he had not seen anything, calmly eating his meal.
Shu Changyu cursed the little bastard inwardly and picked up the chopsticks from the table with his sore fingers.
That morning, Jing Mu openly sat at the same table with Shu Changyu to eat.
Kong Qing also acted as though he knew nothing, directing the maids to serve breakfast for the two of them. But while he attended to them from the side, he was secretly observing their reactions.
From the moment they opened their eyes and washed up until now, Shu Changyu had been wearing an unhappy expression, whereas Jing Mu looked completely at ease, not taking the matter to heart at all.
While eating, he even forcibly put several dishes into Shu Changyu’s bowl.
Their every movement fell into Kong Qing’s eyes.
Shu Changyu remembered what he had originally wanted to explain to Jing Mu last night. He raised his eyes and looked at Jing Mu again, only to see him eating with his eyes lowered, not looking at him.
This wolf cub had changed especially much in the three years they had been apart. His temperament had become particularly unpredictable. He was always liable to suddenly flare up, only to turn around moments later with a cold expression and a gloomy air.
Shu Changyu opened his mouth, then continued eating.
He thought that it would not hurt to wait a little longer.
Just then, Jing Mu suddenly put down his chopsticks with a slap and stood up.
“I’m going to the camp.”
With that, he turned and walked out.
Shu Changyu froze for a moment and looked up at him as he left.
Jing Mu’s subordinate hurriedly took his outer cloak and followed him out. Before Shu Changyu could say a single word, all he could see was Jing Mu’s retreating back.
Outside the courtyard, Jing Mu immediately waved away the attendant’s attempt to put the outer cloak over him.
He thought inwardly, Shu Changyu, you’re really something.
Last night, he had already spoken to that extent, yet Shu Changyu had not even offered a single word of rebuttal. And by this morning, the more Jing Mu thought about it, the more stifled he felt, but Shu Changyu still had not said anything else.
A complete mute!
Jing Mu did not even look back and simply turned toward the military camp.
——
Yesterday, the Prefect of Huzhou had sent over the list of the families of the fallen soldiers.
Apart from the soldiers who had originally been part of the army, there were also many young men who had volunteered to defend the city. Many of them had been sent along with the army at their families’ urging.
Shu Changyu could not bear to see their families left without support, so he had insisted that not a single family be left without compensation.
However, Huzhou City had just endured a war, and there was not much money left in the treasury. That was precisely why the Prefect of Huzhou had come to see him yesterday.
The Prefect of Huzhou had elderly parents above him, children below him, and even an incompetent younger brother who needed financial support, so his own pockets were tight as well.
Shu Changyu had nothing much tying him down financially, so he had agreed to handle the matter himself.
At this moment, he was holding the account books and lists sent by the Prefect of Huzhou, checking the shortfall in the treasury and calculating how much he still needed to make up himself.
He had money of his own, as well as a residence here.
Previously, he had kept some foresight and carefully saved the funds allocated for flood control. Whatever the imperial court gave, he requested in full, and he kept the surplus.
He had originally intended to use this money to establish some schools and shelters in Huzhou before leaving.
Now, it happened to be useful as compensation for the fallen soldiers’ families.
Just then, Shu Changyu looked up and saw Kong Qing standing beside his bed.
“What is it?” Shu Changyu asked when he saw Kong Qing looking as though he wanted to speak but was hesitating.
Kong Qing pressed his lips together and said quietly, “This servant knows that it is inappropriate to interfere in the Master’s private affairs, but the Old Madam instructed…”
At the mention of the Old Madam, Shu Changyu frowned.
He had not contacted his family at all during these three years. If there was anything that could still involve the Old Madam, then it could only be Jing Mu.
Shu Changyu frowned and asked, “What did the Old Madam instruct you?”
Kong Qing pressed his lips together again before continuing.
“…Young Master, are you together with… His Highness the Second Prince again?”
Shu Changyu put down the book in his hands.
“Kong Qing.” He looked up at him. “The Old Madam is my mother, but I am your master.”
Kong Qing anxiously frowned. “Young Master, but if not for him, you and the Old Madam would never have come to this point. And you certainly would not have been harmed by him and forced to remain trapped here in Huzhou for three years!”
Shu Changyu said, “First, my staying here was entirely voluntary. I was not harmed by anyone. Second, it was the Old Madam who ordered me to go south. It was also the Old Madam who told me to figure things out for myself. What does any of this have to do with Jing Mu?”
Kong Qing opened his mouth to speak again, but Shu Changyu lowered his eyes.
“Leave.” Shu Changyu ordered. “Who I am with has nothing to do with the Old Madam, and it is even less your place to interfere. From today onward, stay by the Young Miss’s side and serve her. You do not need to come back.”
“Young Master…”
“Leave.”
After Kong Qing withdrew, Shu Changyu pressed his lips together and remained silent for a long while.
Kong Qing had been serving at his side since he was seven or eight years old. It had already been nearly ten years. In his previous life, Kong Qing had even risked his life for him. Shu Changyu had always remembered that.
Yet these people who had once been closest to him all regarded Jing Mu as though he were a plague.
This was something Shu Changyu could never understand, and it left him exhausted and irritated. He felt as though these people were using the kindness they had shown him in the past to bind him down, forcing him to stay away from Jing Mu.
Why?
Shu Changyu frowned.
Now that he knew Jing Mu’s feelings, he was unwilling to keep dwelling on this.
He thought that once Jing Mu returned, regardless of what kind of sour expression that little bastard put on, he would have a proper conversation with him and make everything clear.
He had agonized over this for three years.
He had delayed things long enough.
But that day, he waited and waited, and Jing Mu never returned.
——
That morning, news came from Zhuo Commandery north of the Yellow River through one of Jing Mu’s informants.
After Zhuo Renyue had retreated, his main forces had suffered heavy losses, and he was furious.
He had been seizing able-bodied men from the surrounding commanderies and counties and forcing them into the army. Thus, some of the newly recruited soldiers who resented this took advantage of the night and burned all the provisions.
Zhuo Renyue was enraged and intended to bury alive all the newly conscripted soldiers that night.
After hearing the intelligence, Jing Mu did not think much about it. He ordered the deputy general beside him to count the troops, leaving half behind to defend Huzhou while he led the remaining forces across the river to attack Zhuo Commandery.
Originally, Jing Mu had not wanted to bother with such matters.
He had never had much concept of human life. If someone died, then they died.
But when he heard this news, he remembered Shu Changyu’s expression when Jing Mu had jokingly told him last night that he had slaughtered all the prisoners.
Shu Changyu was the typical sort who bullied the strong but went soft on the weak.
In court, he was fearsome, wielding the power of life and death, and he showed no courtesy toward Jing Mu either, with a heart as cold as iron.
But when it came to the lives of ordinary people as insignificant as weeds, he became like a savior Bodhisattva and wanted to interfere in everything.
Jing Mu thought that once this matter reached Shu Changyu’s ears, he would definitely make a fuss.
He instructed the attendants beside him, “Not the slightest bit of this news is to reach Lord Shu’s residence. If he finds out, I’ll hold all of you responsible.”
The attendants hurriedly agreed.
At this moment, one of the deputy generals asked, “General, there are still more than twenty thousand troops locally stationed in Huzhou. Do they count toward the numbers?”
Jing Mu gave a cold laugh.
These remnants were nothing but defeated soldiers. If not for Shu Changyu, Zhuo Renyue would have breached the city on the very day he arrived.
Yet Shu Changyu had nearly thrown away his own life for these people.
How could Jing Mu dare send them onto the battlefield?
Jing Mu said, “Those twenty thousand-plus are either Huzhou garrison troops or ordinary civilians. If I bring them onto the battlefield, I won’t even be able to look after them properly. These local Huzhou troops will all remain here to defend the city. Not one of them is to be taken.”
Having given these orders, he picked up the Mo Dao leaning beside his seat and rose to leave the tent to supervise his men as they counted the soldiers.
The moment he stepped outside the main tent, he saw a young officer wearing the armor of the Huzhou garrison approaching him.
Jing Mu glanced at him.
He was merely a lowly centurion, yet he was the same young man who had approached Shu Changyu that day and eagerly peeled an apple for him.
Jing Mu snorted coldly.
Without even looking at him, he lifted his feet to leave.
“General Jing!”
That young man actually strode forward and caught up with him.
“This subordinate wishes to plead with General Jing on behalf of our brothers in the army. Please allow us to accompany the army into battle!”
His face flushed red.
“Zhuo the traitor attacked Huzhou, killed our brothers, and seized our good farmland. Now the day has finally come when we can avenge our great hatred. This subordinate begs General Jing to give us a chance to avenge ourselves!”
Hearing this, Jing Mu looked him up and down. Then he curled up one corner of his lips.
“A centurion dares call himself this subordinate before me?”
After saying that, he continued walking.
Unexpectedly, Shen Ziyu stepped forward again and blocked his path.
“We absolutely will not cause General Jing any trouble!” he said, his face flushed red.
“Causing trouble is secondary.” Jing Mu sneered. “Your lives are precious indeed. If I take you onto the battlefield and one of you loses his head, how am I supposed to explain it to your Lord Shu when I return?”
After saying this, he patted the young man’s shoulder. Then, pressing down on his shoulder, he pushed him firmly to the side.
“Stop making trouble. Defending Huzhou is more important than anything else.”
With that, he walked away, holding his saber in one hand.
He had only taken a few steps when he stopped and turned to look at Shen Ziyu.
He suddenly remembered that his subordinates had reported two days earlier that the injury Shu Changyu had suffered had been sustained while saving this fool of a young man.
Shen Ziyu was gripping his spear. His lips were pressed tightly together, and his eyes were red. He stared at Jing Mu without saying a word, looking like a little rooster that had just been humiliated.
“You really want to go to the battlefield?”
Jing Mu narrowed his eyes, his voice lazy and indifferent.
“My closest friend in this life died beneath Zhuo Renyue’s blade.”
Shen Ziyu gritted his teeth.
The moment he said this, a tear uncontrollably rolled from his eye. He hurriedly raised the back of his hand and wiped it away.
Jing Mu narrowed his eyes as he looked at him.
After a moment, he turned around and instructed the attendant beside him, “Take him away, have him change into a set of military armor, then send him back to me. That silver armor of his will make him stand out like a beacon among a pile of black shells. He’ll be the first one to die.”
Then he said to Shen Ziyu, “This time, I’ll take you with me. But remember this: I don’t have as kind a heart as your Lord Shu. If you want to get yourself killed, then go die yourself. I won’t take a blade for you.”
With that, Jing Mu did not spare him another glance and strode away.
He thought inwardly, We were having a perfectly normal conversation, and then he started crying just like that. With that useless appearance, he actually has the nerve to hang around Shu Changyu.