At the end of July, as the weather cooled down, King Yan wrote a letter to Princes Xu, informing her that the Jin soldiers had retreated after failing to invade the city. The old emperor ordered them to pursue the victory, with the intention of inflicting a heavy blow on Jin Kingdom to deter other tribes on the grassland.
Princess Xu breathed a sigh of relief upon reading the letter. The Jin Kingdom’s cavalry, numbering 100,000, posed a significant threat as one cavalryman was equivalent to five or six infantry. Given that most of Guo Xiao’s 100,000 imperial troops were infantry, facing the Jin Kingdom’s cavalry would have been a formidable challenge. Fortunately, the prince had prioritized the training of cavalry. Out of the 30,000 cavalry, they were well-equipped with strong soldiers and powerful horses, while the infantry consisted of brave warriors.
The imperial court had set a limit of 50,000 guards for kings. Therefore, King Yan carefully selected the best 50,000 soldiers in Yandi, appointing them as talents. Each individual had their own unique skills, such as Feng Teng and Yang Pengju, who had proven themselves worthy to follow their commanding fathers to serve in the guard. However, the two sons of Commander Gao Zhen faced different fates—one was born weak, while the other was mediocre in martial arts. In the face of Gao Zhen, the son of the Gao family was granted a half-job.
King Yan and Guo Xiao successfully repelled the soldiers, and Princess Xu, while not surprised by that, couldn’t help feeling that the grassland was a challenging terrain for the soldiers. Horses ran freely, making it difficult for the troops to deal a decisive blow, and the prospect of completely destroying the Jin Kingdom seemed bleak.
Despite the efforts her husband showed, the old emperor in the capital had unexpectedly bestowed such a good title to his grandson. Princess Xu couldn’t help but feel that her husband was not being treated fairly.
Caught in a moment of contemplation, the maid beside her noticed and inquired, “Princess, what’s troubling you?”
Princess Xu snapped out of her thoughts and said with a smile, “We’ve won; the Kingdom of Jin has retreated. They are pursuing them to take advantage of the victory.”
The nurse sighed in relief, “That’s great. King Yan has achieved another military triumph, and now you can finally have a peaceful night’s sleep.”
Concubine Xu smiled, glanced at another letter on the table, and signaled to her, “Send it to Chengxin Hall.”
The maid picked up the letter, felt its thickness, and remarked with a smile, “Third Master may appear cold, but he seems to have a lot to say. This letter is quite thick.”
Princess Xu, intrigued by the thickness of the envelope, exchanged smiles with the maid. The maid then went to Chengxin Hall to deliver the letter.
It was still early in the morning, and Yin Hui was assisting Xiao Heng with his character review.
The child was young, and Yin Hui only taught him to recognize five characters a day. Initially, they were commonly used characters. When Xiao Heng learned to recite poems, she instructed him directly based on the lines of the poems.
Randomly selecting words from three consecutive poems, Xiao Heng got them all right.
“Wu Lang is so smart!” Jinzhan and Yinzhan applauded together.
Xiao Heng displayed a smug expression and asked his mother, “Mom, can I go out to play?”
Yin Hui nodded and requested Jinzhan and the wet nurse to accompany the little guy to the garden. The wet nurse may have had some reservations, but Jinzhan understood Yin Hui’s attitude. If other children maliciously bullied Xiao Heng, Jinzhan would step forward to protect him.
Not long after the two children left, the maid who was delivering the letter arrived.
Yin Hui, to show courtesy to the capable maid beside Princess Xu, came out to greet her personally.
The maid smiled at Yin Hui, noticing that although the young third lady was six months pregnant, her figure was not bloated. Her chest was full, her abdomen slightly curved, resembling a peony flower. There was no visible trace of pregnancy. She appeared fresh and tender, as if she had just been married at the age of fifteen. The maid couldn’t help but praise, “According to the days, the third lady has been married to the palace for almost four years. Why do I see that nothing has changed?”
Yin Hui responded with a smile, “You are flattering me.” The maid exchanged a few words with her, took out the thick letter from her sleeve, and teased, “Third Madam, hurry up. Take a look; the third master misses you so much.”
Yin Hui was surprised by the thickness of the letter.
In her previous life, when Wei Luo went to the battlefield, he sent a letter home. However, the letter was typically concise, consisting of three sentences. First, he reported his safety, then inquired about Xiao Heng and the household, concluding with mentioning the return time.
After enjoying the surprised expression of the daughter-in-law, the maid conveyed, “The princess said if you wish to write a reply to the third master, send it to the princess before evening. She will hand it to the messenger alongside her own letter tomorrow morning.”
Yin Hui promptly agreed. After seeing her off, Yinzhan approached and humorously remarked, “Madam, it turns out our third master doesn’t like to talk but enjoys writing.”
Yin Hui shot her a glare and retreated to the inner room to read the letter alone.
Upon opening the envelope, Yin Hui discovered, to her surprise, another thick envelope inside. She glanced at the cover, realizing it was a letter from Feng Teng to Liao Qiuniang.
Yin Hui was stunned. When did Feng Teng meet Liao Qiuniang, and why would he write such a substantial letter?
She then turned her attention to Wei Luo’s letter, written on thin paper.
“The Jin soldiers have retreated; I am fine. I will follow my father to pursue the Jin soldiers.”
“How is Xiao Heng? How is your body?”
“The date of return has not yet been set, so don’t worry about it.”
These three sentences seemed familiar, but the previous life’s inquiry about the house had transformed into concern about her well-being. Given her current pregnancy, his worry was understandable.
However, after these three sentences, Wei Luo explained Feng Teng’s letter. According to her, he was persistently bothering him, and in exasperation, Feng Teng asked for her assistance in delivering the letter to Liao Qiuniang. Whether she gave it to her or not was entirely up to Yin Hui.
Yin Hui could sense Wei Luo’s helplessness from that passage, picturing Feng Teng relentlessly pursuing Wei Luo, his pleas falling on his frowning face.
The princess was still awaiting her reply, and in the evening, Yin Hui indeed sent her response. She instructed Yinzhan to prepare a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
As she picked up the brush, Yin Hui hesitated. In her previous life, although her reply letter wasn’t as thick as Feng Teng’s, it spanned three pages. One page detailed Xiao Heng’s recent situation, the next covered the mansion’s affairs, and the last was filled with her concern and trust in him. While she refrained from expressing her feelings directly on paper, her caring words and exhortations revealed her heart.