She sighed softly and turned back into the tent.

Wo Xue had already set the dishes, not overly sumptuous but with meat and vegetables, a rare treat during a march. Shang Ruyi glanced at them but did not sit down to eat as usual; instead, she sat aside, even the bright candlelight in the tent couldn’t brighten her somber eyes.

Wo Xue walked over with chopsticks in hand, gently saying, "Princess, please have a little."

Shang Ruyi silently shook her head.

Wo Xue knew what worried her heart—normally, Shang Ruyi was someone who was incredibly open-minded and never made things difficult for herself. Even in the toughest of times, she would fill her stomach before thinking about ways to break through a predicament, but this time it involved Shen Wuzheng, her most cared-for kin, clearly a difficulty beyond what she could bear, so much so that even forcing herself, she could not eat.

Wo Xue thought for a moment and softly said, "Princess, although you can’t eat, tomorrow morning we have to set off."

"..."

"If you lack strength, you won’t be able to ride a horse, and it will delay the march." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"..."

"But this march is—"

"...!"

Without finishing her words, Shang Ruyi suddenly lifted her head.

"Indeed,"

Her originally somber eyes seemed to light up suddenly. Although the sorrow was not resolved, she was clearly much more awake than before, muttering to herself, "This time, the campaign is to capture Taiyuan. It’s father who personally approved my following the troops; I can’t become a burden, otherwise—"

Upon saying this, she took a deep breath and looked at the dishes on the table once more, still without appetite but said, "Get me some hot soup and make me a bowl of rice. I can eat a bit."

Hearing her say this, Wo Xue immediately responded joyfully, "Yes!"

She quickly got out, but as soon as she stepped out of the tent, a cold wind suddenly blew past her ear, as if someone had just passed by the tent entrance, causing this gust, and she looked around, only to see a tall figure quickly entering the Central Army Tent.

It seemed somewhat like... Yu Wenye.

Wo Xue blinked, thought nothing of it, and turned to get hot soup.

After that, everyone finished filling their stomachs early and then each slept and rested. After a long night in the silent mountains, at early dawn, they packed up at Yu Wenye’s command and broke camp to set off!

This march left Shang Ruyi truly tested.

Starting from mounting the horse, they went on without resting, rushing nearly a hundred miles until nightfall when the surroundings were pitch black, they stopped by a river, but only rested for half an hour, forcing themselves a meal.

During it, Shang Ruyi saw someone who looked like a Scout returning, reporting some news.

But this person did not linger and set off again immediately after speaking, and after that, Yu Wenye simply ate a dry, cold flatbread with hot water and ordered them to continue the journey, taking advantage of the night.

In this way, after four days more journeying, they finally reached near Qi County by this evening.

Upon seeing the boundary marker of Qi County, Yu Wenye suddenly ordered the army to halt and rest on the spot.

Everyone felt greatly surprised.

Though resting was good, these days of almost sleepless and tireless travel were meant to give Taiyuan’s side no chance to react, achieving a surprise attack. Now, having reached near Qi County, only a day away from Taiyuan, why stop for rest now?

Shouldn’t they be pressing onward?

Not only was everyone in the army puzzled, but even Wo Xue, who was always cautious due to her "spy" identity, helping Shang Ruyi off the horse could not help but lightly ask, "Princess, is it really okay for us to stop like this?"

Shang Ruyi glanced at her but said nothing.

It wasn’t that she wanted to ignore Wo Xue, but at this moment, she had no energy for extra words. After days of hastened marching, even the men in the army were exhausted, not to mention her. Her whole body ached, especially her legs, where the position from being in the saddle for days had worn the inner thighs to bleeding; even standing was difficult. Her palms, when reaching to brace against Wo Xue’s arm, were full of rope burns and blisters, burning painfully, making her grit her teeth.

Seeing her this way, Wo Xue dared not speak more and hurriedly helped her to the fireside to sit down.

At this moment, several soldiers approached and said, "Please wait a moment, Princess; we will immediately set up the tent for you to rest."