Early the next morning, Yi Zhici was still groggy and hadn't opened her eyes when she heard a noisy chatter beside her.
Yi Zhici got up, rubbed her eyes, and wiped off quite a bit of the ash on her face, looking extremely cute and innocent. She didn't even seem like a young soldier. Lin Yuan walked over and casually blocked Yi Zhici.
Then they heard a very clear and shocked voice, "Jun, Jun, Jun—"
"Jun what? He's just very handsome," Lin Yuan interrupted the voice. "Yuyang, my newly recruited personal guard. He'll follow me from now on."
Lu Xiao, still in a daze, was shocked again. "General, what should I do then?"
Lin Yuan replied seriously, "You were never a personal guard in the first place. Go be the battalion commander."
"Okay." Lu Xiao responded with a bitter face.
Just as Yi Zhici was waking up from her groggy morning mood, she saw Lin Yuan coming over with a breakfast pancake in his hand and leading a horse. "Get on the horse first. Eat while we're on the way."
"This doesn't seem right. I'm just a small soldier."
Lin Yuan's voice was gentle but firm. "Be good and listen to me."
Yi Zhici was, after all, the Princess Yuyang who had roamed freely in Guyue for almost seventeen years. She wasn't the kind of person who would be timid and cautious just because she was in the army. But doing this would surely cause trouble for Lin Yuan, and she didn't want to make things difficult for him.
But what Yi Zhici didn't expect was that the Lin Family Army was as honest and lovely as ever.
Lu Xiao was the closest to Lin Yuan and Yi Zhici. Although the other small soldiers were curious about Yi Zhici's identity, they couldn't hear the conversation between Lin Yuan and Yi Zhici. But Lu Xiao could!
Not only could he hear it, but he also had to pretend not to. He not only had to endure the sight of them being lovey - dovey, but also had to clean up after the general. He felt that he wasn't any better off than Mu Feng...
Back then, he even laughed at Mu Feng for being exiled to a desolate mountain. Now it seemed he was in a similar situation.
Lu Xiao said with a bitter face, "The general is really considerate of his subordinates. He even gives his own horse to the weak little soldier. He's truly a peerless good general!"
The soldiers below didn't know what was going on, but they also started to praise. Anyway, it was always right to praise the general.
Lu Xiao's words were quite eloquent, and Yi Zhici quite liked them. She got on the horse, munching on the pancake while swaying her head to look at Lin Yuan. It was the first time she thought the army's pancake was so delicious.
Lin Yuan led the horse that Yi Zhici was sitting on and walked on foot.
Lu Xiao was extremely panicked. There were more than three thousand soldiers in the vanguard army. Only he and Lin Yuan had come on horses. Now that Lin Yuan wasn't riding, only he and Yi Zhici were on horses.
Feeling extremely uneasy, Lu Xiao was about to give his horse to Lin Yuan.
Unexpectedly, Lin Yuan looked quite disdainful. With a sharp look in his eyes as if saying 'I want to lead the horse for my wife. Why are you so oblivious', he glared at Lu Xiao. "The military discipline is strict. If I give away my horse, I should walk."
Lu Xiao, who considered himself loyal, felt very aggrieved.
When they arrived at Hanyu Pass, the city lord, Shi Nuohan, and the leader of the Lin Family Army stationed in the southern border, Luo Mingyu, came out to greet them. Yi Zhici thought that if it weren't for the fear of the Xinyi Kingdom attacking, they would have set off some fireworks to celebrate.
Shi Nuohan came up to Lin Yuan. "General, I've been longing for your arrival. These people from the Xinyi Kingdom fight like they don't care about their lives. Many of our soldiers have been casualties. If it weren't for the emperor sending someone, Hanyu Pass would have fallen!"
Lin Yuan nodded. "My lord, don't be afraid. I will surely do my best."
Shi Nuohan nodded repeatedly. "That's good, that's good. Anyway, I'm relieved now that the general is here. The rooms for the general and the vice - general have been prepared. Do you need anything else?"
Lin Yuan didn't even think for a moment. "There should be fire basins in the room, lots of them. Also, bring a small stove. The kind that can be held is best."
Although they didn't know why a general who had been guarding the southern border for a long time needed these things, now the hope of Hanyu Pass rested on Lin Yuan. No matter what requests Lin Yuan made, they had to try their best to meet them.
Shi Nuohan quickly sent someone to do it.
When Lin Yuan led Yi Zhici into the room, the fire basins were burning brightly. As soon as they walked in, it was warm, and Yi Zhici involuntarily ran to the fire basin.
Lin Yuan pulled Yi Zhici back. "Go wash up and take a nap first."
"No need. I'm fine. You go and do your work."
Lin Yuan frowned, picked Yi Zhici up directly, and gently placed her on the bed. He took off his armor, pulled over the quilt, and covered Yi Zhici with it. "Go to sleep quickly. Your eye sockets are all dark."
After finally coaxing Yi Zhici to sleep, Lin Yuan went out to learn about the specific situation of Hanyu Pass. He frowned in the study for a long time. By the time Luo Mingyu finished reporting to him, it was almost dawn.
Yi Zhici slept very soundly this time. It was the first time she had slept until she woke up naturally since the half - month - long march.
Lin Yuan was sitting in a daze at the desk outside the screen.
Yi Zhici walked over and found that Lin Yuan wasn't really in a daze. He was looking at the map of the southern border and thinking.
The southern border wasn't small. It was the junction of three countries, but there were many desolate areas, and no government officials had come to develop it. Over time, it seemed desolate.
But since it was the junction of three countries, if the Xinyi and Fangu kingdoms attacked together and the follow - up troops couldn't arrive in time, Guyue might not be able to defend itself. No matter how good a general was, it would be difficult to reverse the huge disparity in numbers.
Yi Zhici said, "Didn't you sleep all night? Aren't you terribly sleepy?"
Lin Yuan came back to his senses. "I'm not sleepy... Why did you wake up so early? Was the bed uncomfortable?"
"It's not early," Yi Zhici yawned again. After all, the sleep she had missed in so many days couldn't be made up in one day. "It's much better than sleeping in the snow, but it's still not as comfortable as home."
Lin Yuan smiled. "Then I'll take you for a stroll in the city today and buy some bedding."
"No, no. I'm not here on vacation," Yi Zhici ran over and coquettishly said, "Besides, no matter how comfortable the bed at home is, it doesn't have you. The bed here isn't as soft as the one at home, but I'm by your side."
Lin Yuan couldn't help but smile. Tenderness showed between his heroic eyebrows.