Chapter 300: Child

Chapter 300: The Child

Ling Feng immediately posted guards around the inn, while Lü Rou busied herself with preparing hot water, simple rice porridge, and medicine for wounds.

Cheng Ge fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, sinking into a deep slumber.

He did not know how long he had slept, but in the middle of the night, he was jolted awake by urgent knocking.

"Thump, thump, thump—"

His eyes snapped open, his heart pounding with alarm. He sat up quickly in the darkness and asked in a low voice, "Who is it?"

The voice from outside belonged to the leader of Cui Ji's men, sounding strangely uneasy.

"Your Excellency, I apologize for disturbing your rest. There is someone outside... who insists on seeing you."

Cheng Ge frowned. A visitor in the dead of night? He signaled to Ling Feng, who was staying in the room, to open the door.

The door opened. The man quickly glanced at Cheng Ge, his expression hard to read, and lowered his voice to speak:

"There is a woman outside, carrying a child... She says she must see you."

Cheng Ge was taken aback. A woman? A child?

Suspicion churned in his mind. After a moment's pause, he forced himself to get up. "Let her in."

Ling Feng immediately stood alertly beside Cheng Ge.

Soon, the scarred man ushered in a frail-looking woman, her head and face wrapped in a coarse cloth scarf. She carried a swaddled infant in her arms; the child seemed asleep, perfectly quiet.

Once the woman entered the room, she raised her head, her gaze piercing through the dim lamplight to land directly on Cheng Ge's face.

Although the elderly woman was dressed in dirty, disheveled clothes and looked weary, the baby's wrappings were neat and clean.

It was evident that, despite the hardships of the journey, the child had been well cared for.

The moment she saw Cheng Ge, tears streamed down her face before she could speak. She started to kneel. "Lord Censor..."

Cheng Ge stepped forward quickly, reaching out a steady hand to support her arm and stop her from kneeling.

"Take your time. There is no need for such formality."

The old woman, supported by him, looked up with eyes blurred by tears. Emotion overwhelmed her, and her voice trembled.

She carefully offered the swaddled infant in her arms slightly forward toward Cheng Ge, as if holding the most precious treasure in the world.

"Your Excellency... I, I am Madam Su's wet nurse. My surname is Zhao."

She choked out the words between sobs, her eyes glistening with tears. "This child... he is the flesh and blood of Lord Shen and Madam Su..."

Cheng Ge's hand, which was holding her arm, gave a violent jerk. It felt like a thunderclap in his head, his mind went blank.

"They... they were harmed by villains... Lord Lian, he..."

"Madam knew early on that she might not escape their evil clutches. She found a trustworthy physician in advance, used medicine to bring on early labor to bring this child into the world...

The very night she gave birth, she... she made me take the child away secretly, telling me to ensure, by any means, that this last bloodline of the Shen family would survive..."

Her words came out in broken fragments, each one like a blunt knife slicing into Cheng Ge's heart.

Trembling, he cautiously reached out. His cool fingertips gently lifted a corner of the swaddling cloth.

A small cherubic face was revealed, as if carved from jade.

The little one seemed to have just woken up. He neither cried nor fussed, but opened a pair of round, sparkling almond-shaped eyes.

He gazed curiously at the pale-faced stranger before him. Those eyes were a perfect replica of Su Wanyun's!

When the baby saw Cheng Ge, far from being shy or frightened, he grinned a toothless smile.

He stuck out his little tongue and then blew a tiny bubble.

Cheng Ge's gaze involuntarily drifted downward, landing on the child's slender neck, where a gold pig pendant hung prominently.

A lump formed in his throat. His eyes instantly reddened, hot tears threatening to spill over.

He turned his face away sharply, took a deep breath, and forced down the surging emotions.

He reached out again, forcing a pained smile, his fingers trembling uncontrollably.

The child, as if guided by instinct, reached out and wrapped his small hand around Cheng Ge's extended index finger.

—

The wind and sand in the northern borderlands had a gritty feel, stinging painfully against the face.

Cui Ji had just finished drilling the soldiers on the training grounds. He was still clad in dark iron armor, dusted with dirt and bearing the marks of battle.

A shadow guard strode swiftly through the wind and sand, approaching him and making a brief report in a low voice.

Cui Ji's originally stern and cold expression, upon hearing a certain name, lit up with undisguised joy.

Without a second word, he tossed the heavy long blade to the personal guard standing nearby.

He turned around and strode purposefully toward the main gate of the camp, his hurried pace even kicked up a gust of wind.

"General! Where are you going?"

Zhao Cheng, who had come specifically to discuss military affairs, bumped into him. Seeing his uncharacteristic behavior, Zhao Cheng was utterly stunned.

Cui Ji did not slow his pace or turn his head. He simply threw two words over his shoulder—words short enough to make Zhao Cheng's jaw drop: "Fetching someone."

Zhao Cheng: "???"

His small eyes went wide, his mind churning like a lake hit by a falling boulder.

Wh... what? Going to fetch someone? Had the Buddha himself come to visit?

In this northern wasteland, aside from the emperor's personal arrival, who else would be worth General Cui Ji personally going to fetch?

If he dared say so (and it was almost treason), even if the man from the capital had come, given Cui Ji's temperament, he would probably have only given a token greeting at the camp gate and left it at that.

What kind of holy figure was this, to enjoy such an immense privilege?

Zhao Cheng's mind raced with a thousand thoughts—

Suddenly, a bold and absurd thought flashed through his simple mind like lightning—

Zhao Cheng slapped his thigh and exclaimed under his breath, "Holy cow! Could it be... the General's Wife?!"

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed!

Who else but that wife he'd never met could make General Cui—a man who wouldn't bat an eye if Mount Tai collapsed—this eager?

His nosy instincts flared up, and without a word, Zhao Cheng crouched low and crept along, using the tents for cover.

Before long, he ran into Wang Meng, who was carrying a wild hare and heading to the field cook to get a treat.

Seeing Zhao Cheng acting suspiciously, Wang Meng grabbed him by the collar: "Zhao Cheng! What mischief are you up to now?"

Zhao Cheng quickly covered his mouth, lowering his voice, excitement making his eyebrows practically dance.

"Don't shout! The General's Wife is here! The General himself is going to fetch her! Quick, come see!"

Wang Meng: "!!!"

Wang Meng immediately hunched down, making the same face as Zhao Cheng—no way?!

The two instantly reached a consensus, forming a two-man scout team, and trailed behind Cui Ji, using the terrain for cover.

On the wasteland, wind and sand filled the air, the world a haze of yellow.

Two dusty carriages rattled slowly forward.

Cui Ji galloped at full tilt, his black cloak snapping behind him, his horse's hooves kicking up rolling yellow dust.

His gaze cut through the wind and sand, locking onto the two carriages, his heart hammering uncontrollably like a war drum.

The carriages seemed to sense him coming and slowly rolled to a halt.

The curtain was gently lifted by a bony, slightly pale hand, and a figure slowly leaned out.

That person wore a moonlit-bamboo-green cloak, their figure appearing somewhat thin under the wide garment, a plain veiled hat on their head.

They moved wearily, taking their time as they descended the carriage steps.

Cheng Ge stood before the carriage, the veil of his hat fluttering in the north wind, he raised his head slightly, silently watching the figure gallop toward him through the veil.