Transmigrated as a Cannon Fodder Wife A in Ancient Times - Chapter 81

Chapter 81

As expected, a guard came to find Shen Lingwei a little later. At that time, Shen Lingwei was reading a book in the study.

Soon, a man’s voice came from outside the door. “This subordinate, Zhao Zhao, has something to report to Madam.”

Shen Lingwei slightly furrowed her brows. What was bound to happen had arrived. This Zhao Zhao was the guard leader sent by the old emperor to her side. He was named as her protector but was actually monitoring her.

“Leader Zhao, come in,” Shen Lingwei said. She put down the travelogue in her hand and looked toward the door.

The person at the door quickly entered. He saw that only Shen Lingwei and her personal maid were in the room. Then he spoke, “Madam, it has been over a month now. Should you write a letter home?”

“That’s fine. Wait a moment. I will write the letter soon and give it to you,” Shen Lingwei replied.

“Yes,” Zhao Zhao said. He then left the room.

Shen Lingwei began grinding ink and writing. She briefly wrote about her experiences on the journey and mentioned how much Fan Chuan cared for the Great Zhou Dynasty. She noted that Fan Chuan had gone to inspect the military upon returning to the Northern Border. In short, Shen Lingwei wrote only good things, which were also true. After finishing, she handed the letter to Xiao Tao and asked her to give it to Zhao Zhao.

Xiao Tao looked at the letter in her hand and hesitated. “Miss, are you sure about giving it to him? What if the Marshal finds out?”

“It’s fine. Just take it to him,” Shen Lingwei said. She then picked up another travelogue and started reading again.

Xiao Tao saw her mistress’s calm expression and could only follow her orders.

The guard leader named Zhao Zhao soon sent a guard to ride a fast horse to deliver the letter.

Of course, the guard had not gone far before Fan Chuan’s men intercepted him. Fan Chuan’s secret guards detained the guard in a hidden place, and they kept the letter.

Fan Chuan spent five full days in the military. She first inspected the soldiers stationed at the checkpoint. Then she visited several military outposts in Zhuozhou. In the past, she would have stayed out for at least ten days before returning to the Marshal’s Mansion. This time, Fan Chuan shortened her trip and returned after five days.

On her way back to the Marshal’s Mansion, Fan Chuan saw a shop selling osmanthus cakes by the roadside. She remembered that Shen Lingwei liked them, so she dismounted and bought some. However, this place was not the capital, and she was unsure if Shen Lingwei would like the taste of these osmanthus cakes.

Yun Heng saw her Marshal buying pastries and immediately guessed who they were for. She thought to herself that their Marshal was quite good at pleasing Madam.

Fan Chuan noticed Yun Heng looking at her while she bought the pastries. She asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Yun Heng quickly replied.

Fan Chuan shook her head, mounted her horse, and rode toward the Marshal’s Mansion.

She went straight to her courtyard upon returning. Shen Lingwei was tending to flowers in the garden. Her eyes lit up when she saw Fan Chuan.

“You’re back?” Shen Lingwei asked.

“Yes, I finished my tasks and came back early. I brought you some osmanthus cakes, but I’m not sure about the taste. Try them,” Fan Chuan said.

“Good. You must be exhausted. I’ll help you take off your armor first,” Shen Lingwei said. She quickly asked the maids to prepare water. After washing her hands, she began helping Fan Chuan remove her armor.

With experience from previous times, Shen Lingwei was faster this time.

“Take a bath later and rest well,” Shen Lingwei said. She noticed the dark circles under Fan Chuan’s eyes and knew she had not rested well these past few days.

Indeed, to return early, Fan Chuan had handled many military affairs in those five days. She had slept only a little over two hours each day.

Fan Chuan followed Shen Lingwei to the bedroom. She let Shen Lingwei help her remove the armor. Her heart felt warm. Since her family was gone, Fan Chuan had not felt this way in a long time.

Having someone waiting for her at home seemed like a very happy thing.

While Fan Chuan’s thoughts wandered, Shen Lingwei had already removed her armor. She helped Shen Lingwei hang the armor on a nearby wooden rack.

Shen Lingwei quickly asked for hot water to be prepared and brought clean clothes for Fan Chuan.

The corners of Fan Chuan’s lips lifted slightly. She liked the feeling of someone caring for her and looking after her.

As Fan Chuan’s thoughts drifted, Shen Lingwei had placed her clothes on a rack beside the wooden tub. She walked over and said, “The clean clothes are ready. Change into them after your bath.”

“Good. Thank you, Madam, for taking care of everything,” Fan Chuan said. She smiled at her, though her smile carried some fatigue.

Shen Lingwei hurriedly said, “No need to thank me. This is what I should do. We are married now.”

Fan Chuan’s smile deepened. She nodded at Shen Lingwei and said, “Yes. Try the pastries.”

“Okay,” Shen Lingwei replied. She washed her hands again and opened the package of pastries.

She picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and fed it to Fan Chuan’s mouth. Fan Chuan took a bite. The taste was not as good as the ones from the shop in the capital, but she ate the whole piece from Shen Lingwei’s hand.

Having someone feed her seemed like a joyful thing.

“The taste is not as good as the shop in the capital. Try it,” Fan Chuan said.

“Hmm,” Shen Lingwei replied. She picked up a piece and ate it. The taste was average, but the fact that Fan Chuan, despite being so busy, remembered her favorite pastries made Shen Lingwei’s mood very pleasant.

“Not bad,” Shen Lingwei said. She finished a piece of osmanthus cake, smiled at Fan Chuan, and spoke.

Fan Chuan smiled back at her. Looking at Shen Lingwei seemed to make her feel less tired.

While they talked, the servants brought the wooden tub and adjusted the water temperature.

“I’ll go bathe now,” Fan Chuan said, looking at Shen Lingwei.

“Hmm,” Shen Lingwei replied.

Fan Chuan went to bathe. Shen Lingwei asked for clear water and used a cotton cloth to carefully clean Fan Chuan’s silver armor.

When Fan Chuan came out after her bath, she saw Shen Lingwei had just finished. She hurriedly said, “I can do this myself. How can I trouble you with these things?”

“It’s fine. We’re married. Doing these things for you is only right,” Shen Lingwei said. She smiled at her and asked Xiao Tao to take away the used water.

Fan Chuan wiped her hair with a cloth, feeling a bit embarrassed as she looked at Shen Lingwei. It was her armor. How could she let Shen Lingwei do this for her?

“Marshal, let me do it,” Shen Lingwei said. She walked over and reached for the cloth in Fan Chuan’s hand.

Fan Chuan pursed her lips. She wanted to say it was unnecessary, but thinking of Shen Lingwei’s personality, she closed her mouth and handed the cloth to her.

Shen Lingwei gently wiped Fan Chuan’s wet hair with the cloth. Fan Chuan’s ears turned red. She didn’t dare look into Shen Lingwei’s eyes. Her gaze darted around the room.

Shen Lingwei noticed Fan Chuan’s embarrassment but only smiled slightly. She didn’t mention it openly. She continued wiping Fan Chuan’s hair gently with a dry cloth.

Fan Chuan avoided looking at Shen Lingwei’s face. Her gaze drifted downward and landed on Shen Lingwei’s waist. Shen Lingwei’s waist was slender. Fan Chuan felt she could wrap her arm around it.

Realizing her thoughts were improper, Fan Chuan quickly shook her head.

Shen Lingwei saw her shake her head and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, nothing. How have you been these past few days?” Fan Chuan said, quickly changing the subject.

“I’ve been fine. When I have nothing to do, I walk in the mansion’s garden. Sometimes I read in the study. It’s quite relaxing,” Shen Lingwei said. Her hands moved gently as she smiled and replied.

“That’s good. By the way, have they come to measure you for clothes?” Fan Chuan asked.

“They measured me. They said the new clothes will be ready in about ten days,” Shen Lingwei said. Her gaze turned to Fan Chuan. Hearing her ask about these things warmed her heart.

Even with how busy she was in the military, Fan Chuan still remembered these small details about her.

“That’s good,” Fan Chuan said, nodding.

“It’s almost done. Wait until your hair is fully dry before tying it up,” Shen Lingwei said.

“Hmm, good. Let’s eat together first,” Fan Chuan said. She asked the maids to prepare lunch. After her bath, it was about time for a meal.

After lunch, Shen Lingwei wanted Fan Chuan to rest and take a nap. But Yun Heng came over.

“Marshal, there’s urgent military business waiting for your decision. Please come with me,” Yun Heng said, saluting.

“Good,” Fan Chuan said, nodding. She looked at Shen Lingwei beside her and said, “I’ll go take care of it.”

“Hmm, important matters come first. Go ahead,” Shen Lingwei said. She had hoped to spend more time with Fan Chuan, but since she had just returned and had more work, Shen Lingwei could only be a supportive wife and let her handle her duties.

Fan Chuan left the courtyard and asked, “What’s so urgent?”

Yun Heng whispered a few words in Fan Chuan’s ear. Fan Chuan’s expression turned serious. She rode out of the Marshal’s Mansion with Yun Heng.

They rode to a manor in the suburbs. It was one of Fan Chuan’s properties, though she rarely visited it.

Upon entering the manor, Fan Chuan asked, “Where’s the person? And the letter?”

“Marshal, they’ve given me the letter,” Yun Heng said. She carefully handed the letter to Fan Chuan.

Fan Chuan glanced at the envelope. It had a single large word, “Secret,” written on it. The seal was closed with a gold-stamped emblem.

Fan Chuan didn’t rush to open the letter. She went to a woodshed in the manor where the guard sent to deliver the letter to the capital was held.

Fan Chuan gestured for someone to remove the cloth from the guard’s mouth. She asked, “Did the old emperor send you to monitor me and report my movements every so often?”

The guard glared at Fan Chuan and cursed, “Fan Chuan, your Fan family has been loyal for generations. You know I’m the Emperor’s man, yet you had me captured. Are you planning to rebel?”

Fan Chuan sneered, “You know my Fan family has been loyal for generations. But what’s the use of loyalty? Does Zhou Nanfeng trust our Fan family? He doesn’t trust us at all. Even when I’m the only one left in the Fan family, he’s still extremely wary of me, wary of the hundred thousand soldiers under my command.”

Fan Chuan’s gaze swept over the man. She continued, “Actually, whether you speak or not makes no difference. Yun Heng, deal with him. No survivors.”

The guard clearly didn’t expect Fan Chuan to kill him without further questioning. He panicked. They were loyal to the old emperor because he gave them plenty of silver and promised more if they succeeded. But silver was far less important than his life.

“Wait, I’ll talk, I’ll talk. The Emperor sent us to monitor you. Every month, we need to send Shen Lingwei’s letters back to the capital. They’re called family letters, but they’re actually secret reports to the Emperor. Shen Lingwei writes everything you’ve done in the past month in the letters and sends them up,” the guard said in one breath.

Fan Chuan nodded. She had suspected as much, but hearing from someone else that Shen Lingwei was reporting her actions still made her uneasy. However, she had made her decision in the capital. She didn’t want to be a fish on the chopping block, at the mercy of the Zhou royal family.

Fan Chuan gave Yun Heng a look. Yun Heng drew her longsword and killed the guard with one strike. The guard fell backward, bl00d flowing freely.

“Marshal, we’ve intercepted the person. What do we do next?” Yun Heng asked, worried that the capital might grow suspicious if they didn’t receive letters.

Fan Chuan glanced at her and walked out of the woodshed. As she walked, she said, “The Emperor is likely too busy to care about us. Besides, it takes at least two months for a secret report to reach the capital. By then, the situation in the capital might be very different.”

Yun Heng quickly said, “This subordinate understands.”

While Fan Chuan stayed indoors in the capital, her people were not idle. She had sent many secret guards to gather intelligence.

The most important piece of information was that the rebellion in Jiangnan could no longer be suppressed. Earlier, people had said it was just ordinary bandits causing trouble. The old emperor, busy controlling his sons, hadn’t paid much attention. But Fan Chuan had heard in the capital that the situation was getting out of control.

More than a month had passed, and the situation was likely completely unmanageable now. The court’s soldiers were mostly good for eating, drinking, and playing. They were unfit for serious tasks. Sending tens of thousands of troops might only worsen the situation in Jiangnan. Those incompetent soldiers had a history of killing innocent people to claim credit. The common people resented the court’s troops more than the rebels. They feared the court’s soldiers entering their lands.

As Fan Chuan thought, she entered the study in her manor. After dismissing everyone, she sat at the desk, staring at the letter in her hand.

Her heart beat faster with each moment. She feared seeing something bad in the letter that would disrupt the delicate balance between her and Shen Lingwei.

Fan Chuan pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and opened the letter. She read it with a serious expression. The letter spanned six pages, but its contents were trivial. It either flattered the old emperor or subtly praised Fan Chuan’s dedication and loyalty to the court. Not a single word was against her.

After reading the entire letter, Fan Chuan leaned back in her chair and sighed in relief. She hadn’t revealed any flaws in front of Shen Lingwei. She handled her affairs behind Shen Lingwei’s back, yet Shen Lingwei hadn’t mentioned any of it in the letter.

Was Shen Lingwei on her side? Or was Fan Chuan just being sentimental?

Fan Chuan sighed. The current situation wasn’t suitable for confronting Shen Lingwei. It wasn’t a wise move. She needed to observe the situation further before deciding.

Fortunately, the letter contained nothing against her. She and Shen Lingwei could continue as they had.

After handling this matter, Fan Chuan began writing letters to Lu Zijin and Wei Lan. If she raised an army, it would inevitably affect them. Even though the Fan and Lu families had publicly cut ties for the Lu family’s safety, if she defied the court’s orders, it would still implicate them. It was better to send someone to bring them to Zhuozhou for safety.

With this in mind, Fan Chuan wrote everything in the letters, including her marriage in the capital and the bandit troubles in Jiangnan. The main point was to urge Lu Zijin and Wei Lan to come to Zhuozhou as soon as possible.

After writing the letters, Fan Chuan asked Yun Heng to personally lead fifty highly skilled guards, disguised as a merchant caravan, to go to Panyang City immediately to fetch them.

She handled these matters until the afternoon. Fan Chuan then rode back to the Marshal’s Mansion. By the time she returned, it was nearly dark.

When Fan Chuan entered, Shen Lingwei was resting on a soft couch in the bedroom.

Seeing Fan Chuan return, Shen Lingwei quickly sat up. “Have you finished your tasks?”

Meeting Shen Lingwei’s concerned gaze, Fan Chuan nodded. “Yes, I’ve mostly finished. I can rest at the mansion for a few days before going back to the military.”

“Good. I’ll have someone prepare dinner. Let’s rest early,” Shen Lingwei said. She stood and walked to Fan Chuan’s side. Fan Chuan had returned in a hurry. Even though the weather wasn’t hot, fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead.

Shen Lingwei smiled at her and took her personal cloth to wipe the sweat from Fan Chuan’s forehead. “You’re sweating a lot. Is it hot outside?”

“It’s fine, not too hot,” Fan Chuan said. She had been worried Shen Lingwei would wait too long, so she handed her horse to a guard and hurried back to find her.

“Don’t move. I’ll wipe it for you,” Shen Lingwei said. Seeing Fan Chuan try to pull back, she grabbed her wrist to stop her and continued gently wiping her sweat.

Shen Lingwei was very close while wiping Fan Chuan’s sweat. Fan Chuan instinctively avoided her gaze, but her ears turned faintly red.

They ate dinner. Fan Chuan bathed again and wiped her hair, preparing to rest.

Autumn in the Northern Border was already a bit cold, requiring thick blankets. The maids had prepared everything early.

Fan Chuan dried her hair thoroughly before getting into bed. Shen Lingwei was already lying on the inner side of the bed.

Fan Chuan lay down as well. Only a single candle on the round table remained in the room. After the bed curtains were lowered, the light inside the bed dimmed further.

After a while, seeing Fan Chuan silent, Shen Lingwei spoke. “Rest early. You’ve worked hard these past few days.”

“Good,” Fan Chuan replied. She closed her eyes, but her mind was on Shen Lingwei. She was still thinking about the letter and what Shen Lingwei’s true attitude toward her was.

Fan Chuan’s heart was in turmoil, but she was too exhausted from the past few days. She soon fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Wei Lan and the others received Fan Chuan’s letter after nearly a month. Yun Heng and her team had traveled day and night, reaching Panyang City in less than a month.

The group found a large inn to stay in upon arriving in the city. To avoid attention, Yun Heng disguised herself as a merchant when delivering the letter and went to the Lu Mansion alone.

At first, the guards at the gate didn’t recognize Yun Heng. With no other choice, Yun Heng told them she was from the Fan family. She gave the guard a bribe to go inside and report.

The guard reluctantly went into the courtyard. It was still morning, and Lu Zijin wasn’t at the mansion. Fortunately, their lord had moved to Jingchen Courtyard, making it easier to report.

The guard soon reached Jingchen Courtyard. The maids there said Wei Lan was carving jade in her workshop. The guard hesitated, but since he had taken five taels of silver, he couldn’t avoid reporting.

He gathered his courage and saluted at the door of Wei Lan’s workshop. “Lord, someone at the main gate wishes to see you. They say they’re from the Fan family.”

Wei Lan hated being disturbed while carving jade. She was working on a decorative piece and grew irritated at the sound outside. But when she heard the Fan family mentioned, she paused.

Wei Lan sighed, put down the half-carved monkey, washed her hands, and opened the door. “Is the person male or female? How old are they?”

“It’s a young female Qianyuan. She looks spirited and is dressed like a passing merchant,” the guard said quickly when he saw Wei Lan.

Wei Lan nodded. “Bring them to the study. I’ll wait there.”

“Yes, Lord,” the servant said and ran toward the main gate.

Wei Lan returned to her bedroom, changed out of her work clothes, and had water brought to wash her face. Then she went to the study.

She had just sat down and drunk half a cup of tea when the guard brought Yun Heng in.

Wei Lan dismissed the others in the study and had the door closed, leaving only Xi Ye by her side.

Xi Ye recognized Yun Heng and said to Wei Lan, “Lord, this is Yun Heng, the guard by the Marshal’s side.”

Wei Lan nodded and looked at Yun Heng. “Did Cousin send you?”

Yun Heng quickly saluted Wei Lan. “Yes. Our Marshal has safely returned to the Northern Border, but her situation isn’t ideal. The old emperor arranged a marriage for our Marshal, but it’s actually to monitor her. The Marshal doesn’t want to continue like this, so she sent me to bring you and Miss Cousin to the Northern Border.”

Wei Lan nodded. So Fan Chuan was truly planning to rebel. If that was the case, she and Lu Zijin had to leave. Otherwise, once news of Fan Chuan’s rebellion spread, even if the Lu family had cut ties with Fan Chuan, they would still be implicated. At best, their property would be confiscated, and they’d be exiled. At worst, they’d be executed.

However, the Lu family’s businesses were extensive, and it would take time to handle them. Wei Lan looked up and asked, “When will she rebel?”

Yun Heng didn’t expect Wei Lan to say it so directly. She saluted and said, “It would take at least two months for the capital to find out. But the Marshal wants you to go as soon as possible.”

“Good, I understand. Where are the people you brought?” Wei Lan asked.

“I brought fifty guards. They’re staying at an inn in the city,” Yun Heng said.

“No, staying at an inn is too conspicuous. Xi Ye, the Lu family has a manor in the suburbs. Take them to settle there. Yun Heng, change into the Lu Mansion’s guard uniform and stay here so we can ask you questions anytime,” Wei Lan said after thinking.

“Yes,” both responded and went to carry out Wei Lan’s orders.