Chapter 44: Returning to Camp

At that time, they were all very young, ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth, and unaware of the complexities of the mortal world, yet brimming with dreams for the future.

Zhu Wen knew nothing of phrases like "lifetime alliance"; he merely voiced his request on a whim. In his eyes, whatever the other person meant by "a lifetime" was nothing more than childish, careless talk.

Yet many great covenants are established amidst ordinary scenes, after which loyalty and friendship endure for a whole lifetime.

Just like Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, and the Marquis of Liu, Zhang Liang; Emperor Guangwu of Liu Xiu and the Marquis of Gaomi, Deng Yu. And as Zhu Wen mentioned, Emperor Taizong, Li Shimin, and the Duke of Zheng, Wei Zheng.

The fallen leaves across the ground made a rustling sound beneath the horses' hooves, reed catkins drifted in the boundless azure sky, and the autumn waters murmured along the riverbank.

Before the birth of humankind, the earth had witnessed countless repetitions of such autumn days. Yet after the dawn of human civilization, there came many great moments left for the firmament, the earth, and the four seasons to bear witness.

Returning to his commanding officer's tent, Zhu Wen lit a censer of sinking water agarwood inside to dilute the scent of a man.

Afterward, he hung a thick, heavy black felt curtain right down the middle of the tent.

"How should I address you? Suting?" Zhu Wen asked.

"Zhizhen. This is my courtesy name." Lan Suting looked at the furnishings inside the tent, her gaze drifting for a moment before fixing upon Zhu Wen's face.

"Zhizhen, you will live here from now on," Zhu Wen said leisurely. "It's cleaner, and the conditions are better than the tents of ordinary soldiers."

"Very well." Lan Suting nodded quite calmly, not showing the slightest bit of surprise.

If lived in by a single person, this tent was clearly far too spacious.

Many officers of Zhu Wen's rank in the rebel army kept women in their tents.

Yet to Zhu Wen, it mattered not at all whether Lan Suting was a man or a woman.

He was not a particularly talkative person; when he was with his senior martial brother Meng Kai or his junior martial sister Duan Hongyan, he was usually the one who listened.

However, Lan Suting was clearly a much quieter person than he, so he hoped that before he fell asleep, she could listen to him speak and chat with him.

"Aren't you afraid I might make a move on you?" A playful smile appeared at the corners of Zhu Wen's lips.

Meeting the young man's gaze, which was as clear and devoid of desire as could be, Lan Suting said quite seriously, "You are better-looking than I am, so you surely wouldn't take a fancy to me."

It was a very honest reply, matching quite well with Zhu Wen's impression of young maidens.

He walked over, patted Lan Suting's shoulder, and said lazily, "Be my sworn younger brother."

Lan Suting tilted her head. "Younger brother? Weren't you asking me to be your military strategist?"

"Look at how adorable you are." Zhu Wen could not help but tap her delicate nose—compared to the aggressive beauty of his junior sister Duan Hongyan, Lan Suting belonged to the style of petite and cute.

This pedantic foolishness had once annoyed Zhu Wen greatly, but he quickly discovered the adorable side of this little lass. "If you don't act as my sworn younger brother, I'm afraid I might still end up making a move on you one day."

"If such a thing were to happen, I would feel as though I could only become a concubine managing the inner quarters. But I want to keep putting you to important use."

"Wouldn't becoming sworn brother and sister work?" Lan Suting asked.

"You really are rather foolish," Zhu Wen said with a hint of helplessness. "How many sworn brothers can resist making a move on their adorable younger sisters? It's not like you're actually related by blood."

"Oh." Lan Suting nodded, understanding only half of it.

Yet Zhu Wen suddenly recalled that when he was in his teens, he had once made the acquaintance of a girl who called him big brother.

They had maintained a quite close relationship for several years, exchanging many gifts with one another.

Moreover, he later learned that the girl's seemingly stern father actually appreciated him quite a bit.

Even so, he had still not spoken those few words.

He wanted to make something of himself, but if he relied on the strength of any young lady during that process, it would feel to Zhu Wen like a humiliating form of charity.

"If one becomes an official, one should strive to be Commander of the Imperial Guards; when marrying a wife, one should marry Yin Lihua." Zhu Wen was very fond of this maxim left behind by Emperor Guangwu, Liu Xiu. Yet he also knew that Liu Xiu proposed to his beloved Yin Lihua only after he had attained a higher status than the Yin family.

Regrettably, this kind of pride often comes at the price of missing out forever. Take right now, for instance—he had no idea where that girl was located.

He could not help but let out a silent sigh.

"If I act as your younger brother, does that mean no matter how angry you get in the future, you won't kill me?" Lan Suting asked.

"You want to be a military governor, so you believe you can win, and that Alliance Leader Wang or your master can replace the Emperor of the Great Tang."

"When you raise troops, you claim it is to oppose the injustices of the world, but if you truly succeed, you have no intention of thoroughly carrying out 'enforcing the law as if wielding a sword,' nor can you make 'a prince who breaks the law guilty of the same crime as a commoner.'"

"Of course that cannot be achieved; one can only say it will definitely be better than the present," Zhu Wen answered with complete candor. "Even for myself, a huge reason why I want to make something of myself is simply because I feel the rules of the world have brought me a great deal of trouble. If I can attain a lofty position like that of a military governor, I will be able to live much more comfortably than I do now."

"Yet I will still hold you to the teachings of the ancient sages," Lan Suting said. "At that time, it will be inevitable that I speak some harsh words to you."

"I am employing you precisely to hear those words," Zhu Wen said. "Emperor Taizong did not kill Wei Zheng, so even if you do not become my sworn younger brother, I will never kill you."

Zhu Wen felt completely clear-conscienced regarding his own answer.

Everyone said Emperor Taizong was an emperor through the ages, but Emperor Taizong himself could not manage to make "a prince who breaks the law guilty of the same crime as a commoner."

Otherwise, when those unruly scions of his were running amok, Li Shimin should have lopped off their heads long ago.

"So, being your younger brother has no obvious benefits," Lan Suting said.

"That is so," Zhu Wen affirmed.

"However, there are no disadvantages either, and since I have taken your money now, I ought to accept your orders within a normal scope," Lan Suting concluded. "Then I shall listen to you."

This reply, coupled with the maiden's slightly tilted head, gave Zhu Wen a sense of rabbit-like docility.

Zhu Wen suddenly thought of the lines from the Northern Dynasty folk song *The Ballad of Mulan*—"The male hare kicks its feet perplexedly, the female hare's eyes are-half-closed and blurred; how can one distinguish male from female?"

Was this little lass dressed in men's clothing not precisely a warm little rabbit as smooth as mutton-fat jade?

Zhu Wen liked rabbits very much.

When he spent time with people of intense emotions, he would feel as though he had turned into a hedgehog—looking bold and straightforward, but actually inevitably having to weigh his own words. Much like in winter, hedgehogs would crowd together for warmth, yet if they got too close, they would prick and hurt one another.

When rabbits kept warm together, however, they could get extremely close.

Lan Suting's dual identity as a subordinate and a younger brother, combined with her pure and serene temperament, allowed him to say things to her that he usually found difficult to tell others.

"Tomorrow I will announce to the soldiers that the camp has newly recruited a military strategist," Zhu Wen asked. "Will you change back into a maiden's attire?"

"No need," Lan Suting shook her head. "My late father failed the imperial examinations many times, so he liked seeing me dressed like this."

Just like her deceased old man and her teacher Huang Chao, he thought to himself. In matters like this, unless one came from a prominent aristocratic clan, it seemed to make no difference whether one had talent or whether the family possessed wealth.

The imperial examination system, described by the saying "Emperor Taizong's truly clever stratagem, it leaves heroes with whitened heads," ultimately amounted to nothing more than a formality allowing scions of noble families to go through the motions.

"The brothers in the camp will like you. I've had someone prepare bedding, a toothbrush, and a bathing tub for you," Zhu Wen said, lifting the curtain to go to the other side of the tent. The wool-felt curtain was clearly thick enough to ensure that whatever happened on the opposite side remained completely unseen while the maiden bathed.

A maidservant with unremarkable features and a gleam of cleverness in her eyes lifted the tent flap and walked inside.

Just as Lan Suting was about to say something, Zhu Wen's voice drifted over from the other side of the curtain once again: "An educated person, after all, needs someone to attend to them personally. Of course, this is strictly professional—her monthly wage is eight hundred cash, which will be deducted from your salary."