The carriage slowly disappeared from everyone’s sight.

Constable Zhang looked at Yu Wan coldly.

“I advise you not to act rashly. The daughter of the General Manor has already spoken. If you continue to arrest her, you will be going against her.” Bai Tang appeared in the crowd at some point. As she spoke, she walked towards Constable Zhang who was baring his fangs and brandishing his claws.

Constable Zhang pondered over her words, and the claws that he had just revealed obediently cowered back. “You said that’s the General Manor’s carriage?”

Bai Tang shook her finger. “It’s not an ordinary General Manor. The one sitting in the carriage just now was the granddaughter of the North Garrison Old General.”

“The granddaughter of the North Garrison Old General, doesn’t that mean…” It was unknown what Constable Zhang thought of, but his entire face turned pale. Afterwards, he didn’t care about Chun Zhi anymore and directly brought his brothers along and fled!

“Hey! Big Brother Zhang! Big Brother Zhang, why did you leave? Aren’t you going to arrest her?” Chun Zhi stomped her feet in anger, but since Constable Zhang had left, she could only tuck her tail between her legs and escape.

The Yu father and sons heaved a long sigh of relief.

Yu Song was speechless. “That Garrision… The General Manor has such a powerful background. Even an official was scared out of his wits.”

“Hasn’t the North Garrison General Manor already…” Uncle Yu had been in the Capital before. When he was a chef in the Capital, he had heard some news about the various aristocratic families. He vaguely remembered that because the North Garrison General Manor was involved in an unsolved case, their entire family had been thrown into jail. How could their reputation be so useful?

Bai Tang exclaimed in surprise. “Uncle, you’ve heard about the incident in the Capital! But you’re talking about the old incident from three years ago. When the General Manor was convicted, everyone was jailed and sent to the Northwest to be charged with military service. Only one young lady escaped the disaster because she was staying at another village to avoid the heat. After that, that young lady disappeared without a trace. Everyone thought she was dead, but not long ago, she came back.”

At this point, Bai Tang raised her eyebrows. “She came back with the child of the Young Master of Yan City. Do you know who the Young Master of Yan City is? He’s the only man in the entire Great Zhou who dares to go crazy in the throne room and walk out unscathed after that. She gave birth to his child and now, her status is high because of her son. She even brought the entire General Manor back to power.”

Yu Wan was not interested in gossip in the circle of the rich and powerful. A country bumpkin like her who woke up early in the morning and worked late at night for a few copper coins would never have any interactions with the people at the top of the pyramid in her life. Whether it was the General’ Manor or Young Master Yan, they had nothing to do with her. In Bai Tang’s words just now, the only thing that caught her attention was the sentence “the able-bodied men were sent to the Northwest to be charged with military service”. If she remembered correctly, her father was also captured to fight in the northwest.

It had been six years. She wondered how her father was doing.

…

At the border, it was snowing heavily.

After a day of patrol, a few soldiers changed their posts. Stepping on the thick snow that had reached their thighs, they returned to their tents.

“I’m freezing to death!” Once he entered the tent, Wu San started shaking the snow off his armor. Some of the snow had frozen into ice, and he couldn’t shake it off. “Old Yu, help me!”

He walked over to a man who was mending his armor. The man called Old Yu put down the tattered armor in his hand and took out a shining dagger from his boot. “Turn around.”

“Aye!” Wu San obediently turned around.

Yu Shaoqing started to pry the ice off his armor. The border was bitterly cold. There was not even a brazier in their tent. If they did not break the ice, they would not be able to take off their armor.

“Old Yu,” Wu San, whose ice was being pried open, said with a smile, “I heard you’re going to be a chiliarch. I think you’ll definitely make it this time!”

Yu Shaoqing did not make a sound. His scarred hands, which happened after fighting in wars all year round, gripped his dagger tightly as he methodically pried the ice.

“Don’t doubt me. You have already been a centurion for three years. It’s time for you to be promoted. Didn’t you cut off the head of a deputy general last time? This is a big military merit! If it were anyone else, they would have been promoted to the Southern Camp. Your background is a little lacking, but I have seen the centurions this time. None of them are more experienced than you, and none of them are related to the Southern Camp!”

The Southern Camp and the Northern Camp were what these soldiers privately called the orthodox and scattered soldiers. Most of the soldiers who were captured to serve as soldiers were from the Northern Camp.

“It’s time to eat.” After prying the last piece of ice, Yu Shaoqing took out the dry cloth and carefully placed the dagger back into its sheath.

Wu San took off his armor and changed into his own cotton clothes. The cotton clothes in the Northern Camp were made of old cotton and were damp. They were heavy and not warm, but they were still better than nothing at home.

Wu San curled his lips when he saw the food on the table. “You’re a centurion. Why are you eating the same as us little soldiers?”

In the past few days, the snow had sealed off the mountains and both sides had called a truce. To conserve military food, the three meals a day had become two meals a day. Wu San was not full, so he kept coming to eat at Yu Shaoqing’s place. Actually, there was not much of Yu Shaoqing’s food. It was all saved from him eating less.

Wu San picked up a steamed bun that was so cold that it was hard. He took a bite and could taste the bitter sand.

He immediately rolled his eyes. “Damn it! The Southern Camp is eating pork! When I was patrolling just now, I smelled the fragrance of the meat soup! If you were a centurion of the Southern Camp, you would already be eating and drinking well!”

Yu Shaoqing ate a mouthful of tasteless pickled vegetables.

Wu San took a bite of his bun. “Don’t worry. When you become a chiliarch, you’ll be able to eat the food from the Southern Camp!”

The moment he finished speaking, there was a clamor outside the tent.

Wu San put down his bun and ran out. He grabbed a soldier with a hurried expression and said, “What happened? What happened?”

The soldier said excitedly, “Old Deng has become a chiliarch! My brothers are going over to congratulate him!”

Wu San frowned. “Old Deng became a chiliarch? Why is it him? Is there a mistake?”

The soldier said, “That’s right! General Gui De personally promoted him!”

“General Gui De?” Wu San was puzzled. When did such a person appear in their camp?

The soldier exclaimed, “You went on patrol just now. You haven’t heard about it, have you? Old Yan has been appointed as a fifth-grade General Gui De!”

Wu San gasped!

He knew Old Yan as well. Like Old Yu, he was also a centurion of the Northern Army Camp. He was also one of the candidates to be promoted to a chiliarch. However, that Yan fellow was a sinner’s slave. His status was even lower than Old Yu’s. Furthermore, Old Yu’s military achievements were much better than his. He didn’t even have any hopes of becoming a chiliarch. How did he jump so many ranks in the blink of an eye and become a fifth grade General Gui De? And he was appointed?!

The soldier said enviously, “I heard that his daughter is going to become the Young Madam of Yan City. In order not to let Young Master Yan suffer, His Majesty made an exception and promoted her father.”

“You know Old Deng, right? It’s Old Yan, no, I should call him General Gui De now. He’s General Gui De’s confidant. After General Gui De was promoted, he was immediately promoted! Aiya, General Gui De is really capable! If I had known earlier, I would have followed him back then…”

Confidant? Bah! Just a follower! Capable? Not as capable as Old Yu! When he thought about how Old Yu’s chiliarch was snatched away by a sly old man who only knew how to flatter, Wu San’s lungs were about to explode!

Wu San gritted his teeth and returned to the tent. He looked at Yu Shaoqing, who was silently eating pickles and steamed buns as if he hadn’t heard anything. He suppressed his anger and said, “Old Yu, don’t be sad.”

“Yeah,” Yu said.