RP Chapter 1 - Chang Feng - Part 8

Chapter One - Part 8

There was silence in the General's Residence. Weisang followed the Commander inside and everything went smoothly until she reached the door of the inner courtyard. When the Commander stepped inside, she was stopped.

Weisang stopped, looked at Jiang Zaichu's figure gradually moving away and stood on the spot obediently. The pastries had cooled down and she had lost her appetite, so she held them in her hands and stood there blankly.

"You should go first. The Commander and the Generals have a drinking party later and for the time being, he won’t be receiving anyone." The guard advised.

Weisang smiled and shook her head: "Then I'll wait here."

She looked down at the dress she was wearing. She always had the feeling that he still somewhat would take it to heart but actually right now he was very moody and it was really difficult to guess what he was thinking...

The sun was gradually setting. Looking east, you could see the cracked mountain peak, as ferocious as the teeth of a giant beast. Because it was facing the sun, the sharp-toothed canines could be seen clearly.

Was that really the strategy she came up with?

Not counting the casualties on the battlefield, she knew that there was a village under Duxiu Peak. When they went up the mountain, they even asked for water from several of the families who lived there. But because she was worried that the defenders inside the city would become suspicious, she couldn't tell them the plan and ask them to move away... When the mountain cracked, that village must have been annihilated in the avalanche of stones. 

Han Weisang, you are really cruel.

It was unknown if the voice in her heart was speaking with praise or sarcasm. She raised the corners of her lips and her eyes were a little dazed.

In the study room of the General's Residence, Jingyun had returned and was drinking with Jiang Zaichu.

The last ray of light outside the window had gone out. Jiang Zaichu stood up holding the wine glass. When he was slightly drunk, there was the lingering sound of silver bells in his mind, which was very annoying.

"Is she still there?" He felt that there was a faint smell of alcohol when he spoke.

"She’s still waiting." Jingyun also drank too much and was a little confused. "Didn't you come back together? What is she waiting for?"

Jiang Zaichu's eyes fell heavily on the wine glass, "Waiting for the urgent report from Shu."

"The urgent report from Shu won't arrive until tomorrow at the earliest." Jingyun stood up unsteadily. "I'll drive her away. It's so annoying."

Jiang Zaichu didn't stop him. He watched Jingyun walk to the door and turn around: "Brother, have you seen the clothes she is wearing today?"

Jiang Zaichu closed his eyes and smiled coldly.

"I'll tell her to get lost." Jingyun took half a step but he heard the calm-looking young man behind him quietly ordering him, "You drank too much, go back and rest." After a pause, he said, "Let her in.”

The crisp sound of silver bells sounded from far away. Jiang Zaichu raised his head and drank a glass of wine and heard a timid "Commander" spoken from behind him.

He was already irritable, so he threw down the wine glass, walked quickly to Weisang and sneered: "You dressed like this to follow me around the whole day. Weisang, you really have a lot of attention to detail.” 

Weisang was startled and her face suddenly turned pale. She slowly took half a step back and knelt down, lowering her head: "Weisang doesn't dare. If the Commander doesn't like these clothes, I will change them immediately."

Jiang Zaichu looked at her from top to bottom and said nothing more. He didn't ask her to get up. He just sat down at the table with his back to her and poured himself a drink.

The aroma of wine in the room made people feel a little drunk.

Weisang's knees gradually became numb but she gritted her teeth and did not move her body. She asked carefully: "Commander, is there any news about…. Marquis Shu?"

"Not yet." Jiang Zaichu answered very calmly.

Weisang lowered her head and frowned in confusion. Does “not yet” mean… it would arrive very soon?

"When will it arrive in Changfeng City?"

"I don't know." Jiang Zaichu smiled, "Maybe tonight."

"Can Weisang wait here with the Commander?" She said in an extremely soft voice for fear of offending him.

Jiang Zaichu was noncommittal and snorted coldly, "Get up."

After kneeling for a long time, when she stood up, her knees could hardly bear it. Weisang stretched out her hand to support the wall. When she saw Jiang Zaichu glance at her, she understood his meaning and walked over slowly. She reached out and picked up the long-necked wine flask from the dark colored  porcelain bowl and steadily filled the empty wine cup… Jiang Zaichu raised it up to his head and drank it all. She poured again.

In fact, Weisang knew that his drinking capacity was far less than the rumored ability to drink a thousand glasses. Drinking up to this point was actually his limit already. But from beginning to end, she never opened her mouth to persuade him to stop drinking and just served diligently without saying a word.

When Jiang Zaichu saw her lowering her eyes, her gaze straying towards the engraved chess game on the sapphire desk, he suddenly smiled: "Have your chess skills improved?" 

{Chess in this case is mostly likely ‘weiqi’, known also as go.}

Weisang shook her head and whispered: "Old General Wang seems to also like to play chess."

Jiang Zaichu stretched out his hand, gently touched the smooth chess board and cursed with a smile: "He is also a bad chess player - I could beat him from the age of thirteen."

Weisang raised her eyes carefully and saw him turning his head to look outside the window lattice.

It was already early summer and the summer insects had begun to chirp quietly. The long and short sounds made the whole garden have a sense of serenity.

"At that time, my Mother Concubine had just passed away and I was sent here. Supposedly I was sent to assist with the garrison at Changfeng City. But one can only imagine the status of the fallen prince who was driven out of the Imperial City."

His voice was low and gentle and his face was not as violent as before. He looked surprisingly docile, like a child.

Weisang felt a slight beat from the tip of her heart and responded: "I suppose General Wang was very good to the Commander."

Jiang Zaichu laughed, "How could he be good to me? On the first day, he threw me into the military camp and told me to drill with the soldiers. Those veteran soldiers saw that I was a newcomer and tried to bully me."

"At first, I kept missing my Mother Concubine and I was confused every day. I was bullied and didn't resist at all. Then I couldn't bear it anymore and I had a brawl with them all which aroused my bloodlust. Only then did the only man recall me. When he called me back, he ordered me to practice with the army every morning, and then go to his house to learn military law in the afternoon. That’s right, in the beginning he and I practiced stratagems on the sand table. If I lost, I would be punished by kneeling. Do you see the bluestone slab at the door? "

Weisang turned sideways and took a look. She didn't know if it was because of being trampled too much but it was polished very bright.

Jiang Zaichu smiled softly: "That’s from my kneeling."

He held another full jug of wine in his hand, holding the thin neck to his mouth. The wine formed a crystal clear stream of water and fell straight into his mouth. He drank so much that his black hair fell down his shoulders, his slightly slanted phoenix eyes became brighter and more attractive, and he spoke more loudly: "This old stubborn geezer saved my life, but he refused to let me save him!"

His drinking capacity had indeed reached its limit and he threw the bottle away, smashing it to pieces on the ground with a bang. He murmured: "Old man, you told me to respect the elderly in this life and that, no matter what I do, I should listen to you… But I can obviously prevent you from dying, why are you so stubborn!"

Jiang Zaichu always twitches his lips when he loses his temper, truly like a child who has lost his beloved doll. At that moment, Weisang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She could only step forward, help him up and coax in a low voice: "Yes, the old General is too stubborn. Commander, shouldn't you also rest?"

He broke away from her hand and staggered to get the wine glass, but was finally stopped by Weisang.

After finally coaxing him into bed, Weisang was already sweating. Panting lowly, she sat down on the edge of the bed, leaned down slightly and looked at his handsome sleeping face. His eyelashes were clearly visible and they were trembling up and down with his shallow breathing.

She stared silently for a long time and finally reached out to untie his robe. When she took off his outer robe, the inner silk clothes were pulled apart and a scar suddenly came into view, light brown and raised.

Even when her nails were being pulled out, she felt that her hands did not shake as much as they did now. However she couldn't help but reach out and wanted to touch it gently - even though she knew that doing so would be detrimental to everything in the past and that it was too late to save anything.

But, before her fingertips touched the skin of his chest, there were sudden footsteps at the door.

Weisang quickly stood up and retreated to the door. A woman's voice came softly: "Is the Commander inside?"

Immediately, a guard opened the door and Lady Bo walked in. She saw Weisang standing at the door and saw her dressed up. She was startled: "Are you here as well?"

"The Commander is a little drunk. I was just about to go out and ask someone to serve him." Weisang carefully distanced herself and stepped away calmly, "Madam came just in time."

She was about to close the door but Lady Bo’s expression was a little strange, staring at her ankle: "What's that?"

"There are very few acquaintances in Changfeng City. This set of clothes I found doesn't fit very well." Weisang smiled softly, "Madam, I will take my leave now."

Lady Bo slowed down and walked to the bed. She saw the Commander sleeping soundly facing the bed and was about to tuck him in the quilt. Just as she leaned over, she was dragged by a strong force and fell onto him.

Jiang Zaichu looked at Lady Bo with bright eyes, his slender fingertips slid across her creamy cheeks and he asked solemnly: "Why are you here?"

"I heard that the Commander won the battle and was afraid that there would be no one to serve him, so I came here." Lady Bo simply leaned on his chest and spoke softly.

He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Why did you ask Miss Han to come here in the middle of the night?" She spoke meaningfully.

Jiang Zaichu still had his eyes closed, with a smile of unknown meaning on his lips. After a moment, he suddenly pulled off Lady Bo’s long skirt with force. Her body was still soft and supple, like warm jade when he held her in his arms. However, when he pressed her under him, his movements were extremely rough. Lady Bo began to cry lowly and in her voice was pleasure but also pain. 

"Commander..." She stretched out her hand gently and wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Except for me, you are not allowed to get drunk around other women in the future."

He laughed loudly, straightened his waist and said with a joking smile: "Do I look drunk to you?"

The beauty's expression was confused and infatuated, and the hibiscus tent was full of soft charm, but Jiang Zaichu only felt that the temperature in a certain part of his heart was rapidly fading. He knew the rest of the sentence that he didn’t speak out loud: "When facing her, how could I dare… to get drunk."

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