Chapter 8

Pei Xuan examined the letter over and over for a long time.

Only when he was sure it said nothing beyond my inability to endure hardship and my wish to divorce Lu Yan

did he have it delivered.

As the light slowly faded from Lu Yan’s eyes,

Pei Xuan hid his smile and assumed the air of a man offering advice.

“Girls from the capital are delicate. Don’t grieve. I’ll find you another woman here on the frontier.”

“A man who wins glory and builds a career need never worry about finding a wife.”

Lu Yan’s gaze swept toward the back of the tent, then lowered.

He clasped his hands and bowed.

“You’re right, General.”

The enemy massed another army and invaded the border.

Pei Xuan grew busy.

But he watched me more closely than ever.

Burdened with military duties, he took off his armor, fatigue still visible in his face.

He tried to soften his expression as he came to feed me.

I had no appetite. Captivity left me despondent, and every night I had nightmares.

So Pei Xuan threatened me.

“Keep disobeying me, and I’ll send Lu Yan to the front first.”

“We’ll see how many seconds he lasts before the enemy kills him.”

I forced down a few mouthfuls, then felt so sick I wanted to vomit.

Pei Xuan hurried to support me.

“All right, all right. Don’t eat if you don’t want to. I won’t force you.”

After receiving my divorce letter, Lu Yan grew colder and more silent.

Pei Xuan could not bear to lose a man of his ability, yet resented the fact that we had been married.

He always assigned him the hardest, most punishing tasks.

Lu Yan carried out every one of them well. The fighting was fierce.

With the whole camp watching, Pei Xuan had no choice but to promote him according to regulations.

Pei Xuan pinched my pale cheek, his voice unreadable.

“That former husband of yours is rising quickly. So young, and already commanding a thousand men. A few more victories, and he’ll nearly have caught up with a general like me.”

I said nothing.

The next day, I saw Lu Yan through a gap in the tent.

He had grown, his frame taller and broader.

The traces of boyishness he had still carried on our wedding night were gone.

Lu Yan stood straight and fierce. Even a glance from him held the chill of battle.

It hurt.

I saw a wound on his arm that had not been there the last time.

One wound, then another, then another. Command of a thousand men.

Lu Yan had shed so much blood and endured so much pain.

I shifted, my hands and feet still bound with rope.

That evening, Pei Xuan returned to find me listless.

When I would not acknowledge him, he flew into a rage for no reason I understood.

“What? Glad the Peis are in trouble? Do you think that if my family falls, I won’t be able to keep you here?”

Word had come from the capital: treasonous letters had been found in the Pei residence.

The investigation eventually declared them a forgery planted by an enemy. The entire household had knelt for a full day and night, and in the end the emperor imposed no punishment.

But everyone could see that the emperor distrusted the Peis.

Had an enemy planted those letters, or had the emperor secretly arranged a test?

Everyone had their own judgment of the matter.

“Your former husband is resourceful. Somehow he’s attached himself to my family’s sworn enemies.”

“No shame at all. So eager to be their pawn, to let them use him, to be their dog.”

“His standing in the army has almost surpassed mine now. It’s difficult to move against him.”

Pei Xuan held a bowl of porridge and forced a spoonful into my mouth.

My face contorted with pain. I coughed until my vision went dark.

“But I’m not without options. As long as I outrank him, he has to obey me.”

He patted my back, his voice gentle.

“Tell me. Five hundred men to raid the enemy’s western camp and take their commander alive.”

“Would that be enough?”

I jerked my head up to look at him.

There were at least twenty thousand soldiers in that western camp.

Pei Xuan was giving Lu Yan only five hundred.

He was doing this deliberately. He wanted Lu Yan dead.