Vol 3 Chapter 2 (1/2)
Volume 3 Chapter 2: Don’t tell me this is a misunderstanding (1)
TL: In case you haven’t noticed, Gong You or Sun Qian has quite a lot of screentime. The author liked her so much, he wrote a parallel character good ending route for her, thinking of translating that on weekends while I do the main story on weekdays.
Even though it was a slow march, the marching footfalls from both troops and horses was thunderous. Just a while ago, I was only a general (not really) bringing several hundred troops around the country, and now all of a sudden I am leading a 10,000 strong army as the Governor of Yu state.
(TL: Literally all thanks to Meng De…)
First was entering Xuchang, then it was the edict in the sleeve, and now I am on my way to launch an offensive on Yuan Shu who declared herself Emperor. Honestly, this is a little too much and too fast for me to handle, and I feel a tremendous pressure on me from the rapid developments that have taken place.
“Xuan De, we have now crossed the Ying river. Shouchun should not be too far away now.” Feng Xian said as she looked at the map Meng De gave us.
Even though we were about to enter a battlefield, a puppy’s head poked out of a gap in Feng Xian’s plate armour.
“Feng Xian, are you really bringing Red Hare?”
“Un, I will feel empty if I leave it in Xuchang,” Feng Xian laughed as she looked lovingly at Red Hare, who was at her chest, as Red Hare stared back at her with its big eyes.
In Feng Xian’s eyes, Red Hare should be more than just a pet already.
“… B, but Feng Xian, you better protect it as anything can happen on the battlefield.” Yun Chang, who was riding on Feng Xian’s right, said, her eyes never moving off of the cute Red Hare.
“Kyaa~~~ So cute~~” Yi De squealed as she played with Red Hare’s little paws, and was fawning over Red Hare so much her eyes became ><>
Though my little sisters weren’t able to get the puppy in the Battle of Hulao Pa.s.s, they were still pretty happy with how it is now, since Feng Xian doesn’t mind sharing it with them from time to time.
“My lord, we should be able to see Shouchun city soon.”
While I was watching them playing with the puppy, Gong You, who had been riding beside me, pressed up close and reminded me.
“Oh, I got it.”
I looked over and saw that her riding posture was just as bad as mine. Just as I was about to ask where the other 2 were, the answer came within sight.
Zi Zhong and xiao Yong’s riding skills seemed to be even worse than Sun Qian, and they were having a tough time keeping up with the main body. It feels like they’re getting slower and slower and it might be faster if they went on foot instead.
Didn’t these 3 come greet us on horses when we went to Xu state? I don’t remember them being this slow. Could it be because horses here are bigger?
And even if they’re administrative officials, horse-riding is an essential skill… Though I don’t have the right to say that since my skill is about the same as Sun Qian.
Even though I’ve been riding a horse for so long, my riding skill has not improved in the least. My hands are still gripping the reins too tightly and my legs are clinging on to the saddle too tightly. If I’m not too careful, I can still get flung off easily.
“Gong You, when did you start riding horses?”
“From the time we left Xuchang for Shouchun.” Sun Qian said expressionlessly. No, that’s her usual look. What a pity, her smile is really beautiful.
“… Un, l, let’s keep practicing.” I laughed dryly as I patted Gong You’s shoulders.
I nearly embarra.s.sed myself.
I had wanted to elevate my confidence as her senior in horse-riding but I didn’t think that she reached my level, which took me about half a year, with just 6 or 7 days of riding. What could I possibly say in response to that?
“But big brother, was leaving Gan Qing and the rest in Xuchang really the tight choice?” Yun Chang asked.
I turned around and looked at her, and saw that she held Red Hare in her arms. Her face was light red from excitement and had a funny expression from
her efforts in trying to suppress her elation and excitement.
“Though I too want to bring them along, if something happens, things will get sticky.” I looked up to the sky as I said so, and from within the clouds, I could see the figures of Gan Qing and Mi Zhen.
No no no, those 2 aren’t dead~~~
Though I’ve not personally gone onto the battlefield, I know from looking on from the side that battles are dangerous. I don’t wish for any harm to come to Gan Qing and Mi Zhen who are just ordinary people.
Before we left, I used this reason and copious amounts of effort to persuade Gan Qing and Mi Zhen (Mi Zhen was actually supportive of them going with us) to stay. Hua Tuo also stayed as well, as she said she wanted to learn the methods of the palace physicians. I thought that was a good reason and consented to it.
Staying behind in Xuchang wasn’t that big a deal anyway as we would be returning after we’re done here.
Returning…
It happens next week– That was what was written on the slip of paper.
If things went according to what was written on the slip of paper, then they should have acted by now. I wonder how it’s like in Xuchang, and whether Meng De is safe.
The edict in the sleeve… I feel a strangely uneasy the moment I think about it… If only I’d wholeheartedly rejected it just like Ma Teng then, but then again my name was written already before I could say anything…
“Hai~~” I could only sigh at the situation I was in.
The one thing I need to think about now, is how to prove my innocence about that after I return.
Before that–
“Oh~~ Seems like we’ve reached.”
“Un? Is that so? … We actually did.” I looked closely in the direction where Yi De pointed and could somewhat see the grey city walls from afar.
Though Yi De is small, her eyesight is superb, and can see a city from miles away even in a misty environment.
Looks like we are nearing Shouchun city.
Back to what I was saying earlier, before that, I still had to deal with the problem of Yuan Shu.
We rushed here in a mostly covert manner given that we didn’t announce our presence nor did we use the main roads. I was worried about enemy scouts at first but Meng De told me not to worry as Yuan Shu would not send scouts as she feels that doing so would not be upright.
Even so, we still kept our guard up along the way. We did not, however, spot any sign of scouts from Yuan Shu.
“Gong You, has the unit that went ahead to scout come back yet??”