Gu Yan Chen had been gone for five days, and Lu Nian Fu grew more anxious with each passing day. Her sleep quality plummeted, and she even started having nightmares. In her dreams, Japanese pirates were attacking Yangzhou City, and Gu Yan Chen, clad in armor, fought valiantly on the city walls. Five pirates ganged up on him, and to make matters worse, a hail of arrows rained down from afar. Unluckily, an arrow pierced his chest.
Blood spurted out. Gu Yan Chen, on the city wall, opened his eyes wide and was forced to fall from the battlements by five Japanese swords.
"Gu Yan Chen."
Lu Nian Fu cried out and sat up abruptly from her sleep, her heavy panting filling the room.
Qing Miao, who was on night duty, hurried in. "Miss, what's wrong?"
Lu Nian Fu felt utterly drained. She glanced at the gray sky outside the window, rubbed her temples, and said, "It's nothing, just a nightmare. What time is it?"
"It's not yet Mao Shi (05:00), Miss. Would you like to sleep a bit longer?"
"I want some water." Lu Nian Fu threw off the covers and got out of bed. The inner room was covered with exquisite Persian carpets, but the floor still felt cold. She walked barefoot to the table. The tea on the table had gone cold. Qing Miao took a pot of warm water from the charcoal brazier and turned to see her mistress already drinking a cup of cold tea from a mug.
"Miss, this is too cold."
Her throat was extremely dry, and the cold water felt more comfortable. She waved her hand. "You go back to sleep, I'll be alone for a while."
Qing Miao was worried, but Lu Nian Fu's expression was too weary, as if speaking another word would take all her strength. She could only drape a cloak over her and place her embroidered shoes by her feet. "Then, Miss, please be careful and don't catch a chill."
The door opened and closed, leaving her alone again.
The candlelight was dim and warm, but a splash of bright red kept appearing before her eyes, the blood from Gu Yan Chen's chest.
It couldn't be. The Seventh Prince was alive and well ten years from now, how could he die at the hands of a group of Japanese pirates? But in her previous life, he had lost a leg. The injury sustained while pursuing Yi Jiang had long since healed. Could that injury, which even the Imperial Hospital could not treat, have been sustained during the fight against the pirates?
The more Lu Nian Fu thought about it, the more horrified she became. Finally, she couldn't sit still any longer. After pacing around the room a few times, she sent for Qing Ya.
"Go find out, what is the situation in Yancheng now?"
Yangzhou and Yancheng were very close, but due to the lockdown in the city, no news from the outside had managed to get in. Five days, which would have been easy to pass under normal circumstances, had made her experience what it meant for a day to feel like a year.
Qing Ya wanted to say that the city gates were closed, and nothing could be found out. But seeing the dark circles under her mistress's eyes, the discouraging words turned into a cheerful assent. Miss was already so anxious, perhaps she could bribe the guards at the city gate with some silver and sneak into Yancheng to check the situation?
She wondered how much silver it would take to get passage secretly in such special times.
As Lu Nian Fu's anxiety mounted, the sky gradually brightened.
The winter sunlight was clear and cold. After the dense fog dissipated, everywhere was covered with crystal clear water droplets. Lu Nian Fu walked out of her room, and the cold air pulled her out of the anxiety of the nightmare, making her muddled mind a little clearer.
It was just a dream, she seemed to have overreacted a little.
She patted her cheeks and, amidst the worried expressions of Qing Miao and An Ma, ordered breakfast to be served. Although she had no appetite, she managed to swallow half a bowl of millet porridge.
"Miss, Miss, we have news." Qing Ya ran in, out of breath. Her considerable weight made everyone feel as if the ground was shaking. But no one paid attention to that now; they all pricked up their ears to hear the rest.
Qing Ya did not disappoint. Before she could even catch her breath, she said, "Miss, two days ago, the Master ordered the city to be retaken. The two armies fought for a day and a night, the pirate leader was captured alive, and Yancheng has been recovered."
She grabbed the teapot from the table and drank it down in gulps. To bring back the news as soon as possible, she had almost run her legs off.
Lu Nian Fu stared for a few seconds, then was pulled back to reality by the cheers filling the room.
An Ma asked, "What about the Master?"
"There's a lot to do after the battle, he won't be back so soon. This news was brought back by Xiao Wu Zi, but he's small and has short legs, so he's probably still on the way."
Lu Nian Fu's heart finally settled back into place. She poured her another cup of tea. "You were fast. You must be hungry after running. Here's a reward for you."
The food on the table was delicious, and the pastries were delicate, the kind of breakfast only masters had. Qing Ya usually didn't get to eat much, and now that she had performed so well, she naturally wouldn't refuse. After thanking her, she picked up a cloud bean cake and ate it with relish.