There was only one main road to the Golden plains at the edge of Chen Yi county, called Widow’s road. It was the most-trafficked route all the way from the Capital to the Eastern border with Xin. Thus, like an endless line of cattle, the soldiers and military would leave the cities they were garrisoned at and converge onto Widow’s road.

Funnily enough, the name ‘Widow’s road’ came about seventy years ago under the previous emperor, even before Zhou Gan’s time. In all the previous wars, the area of the Qiang river had not yet been annexed from the state of Xin. As with most areas of open land, it was a sanguinary and straightforward battle, and so the meaning behind the name 'widow's road' becomes clear. All the surviving soldiers would walk back on the road, battered and gloomy…the wars aren’t as bloody now, even so, the name of a road wouldn’t alter so quickly, and for a very long time, only walking down Widow’s road was a bad omen.

Riding along with all these armoured lads, the red flags raised and majestically flowing in the wind, it almost felt like I were among them—about to jump into a battle with my spear raised. Fortunately or unfortunately, I was just tagging along with Zhou Liang.

'Clingy' was exactly the case, too.

The damn general was so clingy he would have me ride in his circle near the front center, we would share the same sleeping quarters and commonplace words were often exchanged between us. It caused some other people to gossip a lot. Besides the fact he already had a force of one thousand-hundred elite cavalry surrounding, the people riding directly next to him were all high ranking officers and strategists, stern and upright folks like Lieutenant General Qin.

Thrown into this lot without explanation, everyone likely assumed me to be the general’s beloved male plaything, soon-to-be male concubine, or something of the sort. 

This damned general only helped grow this rumor. He was so attentive that, although I never uttered a complaint, he noticed this out of shape old man was awfully sore and exhausted after the first day of horseback and had me rest in a carriage every other day.

Yet, I could still not reject Zhou Liang's affections, for he would blatantly deny it. He hadn’t done anything that would force him to admit it either, not to be tempted even when a beautiful woman sits on his lap¹Basically FS is saying that ZL has a lot of tolerance and won't show any lustful intentions.. It truly went beyond my comprehension; I didn’t know why he liked this sort of ambiguity. Perhaps Zhou Liang thought that with coaxing rather than coercion, and keeping me content, fat, and happy, he would turn out victorious.

… I was grateful for my boundless endurance, or else I may well have fallen to his strategy.

At the least, the general’s tolerance towards me was an advantage too tempting to ignore. I had no feasible way to escape while traveling amongst these soldiers anyhow, all that was left was pushing and prodding the bear, wondering if there’d be a point Zhou Liang would lose his temper.

Today, as usual, the way the general carried himself on his fierce stallion was just the same as how he walked; far too outstanding and intimidating. Dark, ornamented clothes, a sword sheath with Chong empire’s phoenix etched in gold, and willful pupils—if only the emperor controlled such a visage. However, I had seen many great men pass through the emperor’s court and could not remain awed at Zhou Liang for too long.

Instead, an itchy and irresistible feeling welled within me whenever I saw Zhou Liang like this; I wanted to disrupt his excellence.

Accordingly, I walked Cinnamon over until directly next to Lei Sheng and called, “General Zhou!”

The outline of his eyes were twice as sharp when his hair was entirely pulled up and back, I could see the end of the scar on his forehead, disappearing before it reached his hairline. Zhou Liang looked at me with his raptor’s gaze, aware of what I was going to say. I asked it every morning without fail, after all.

“Do you know if there are any more apples?”

A man brought his horse up to Zhou Liang’s side with a message, so he turned his attention away before he could answer. Apples would spoil and were too expensive to be packed as rations, but I liked to feed them to Cinnamon. I also thought it would be especially annoying if I kept at it every day. It’s been four days, no success.

Qin Fengge replied in Zhou Liang’s stead,

“Refrain from bothering the General with these irrelevant matters. Yesterday, we had found a maid to prepare apples for you.”

That was exactly it, Qin Fengge wasn’t harping to harp. He got too annoyed and specifically found a person to bring me the apples, hoping I wouldn’t speak to Zhou Liang anymore.

I was entirely flippant. “I do recall what happened yesterday. Vice General Qin should not have such little confidence in this old man’s²FS once again exaggerating and calling himself 'an old man' memory. The problem is that there aren’t any more. If there were some, I wouldn’t ask like this, would I?”

Qin Fengge’s expression soured horribly, and he immediately had the attendant in charge of the ‘apple supply’ called over. Zhou Liang had finished speaking to whomever and seemed content to view the show.

The maid was a young woman quaking from head to toe, her spine shooting straight as she caught up to our horses and bowed to Qin Fengge. The strap on her bamboo sandal was only a few strands from breaking loose. It surely wouldn’t survive this trek.

Qin Fengge wasn’t about to believe this servant had done something wrong. After all, how could you mess up buying apples from a passing merchant, let alone when it was the month apple production was at its peak?

He merely asked, “Is what he says true?”

The girl was extremely remorseful and followed along with a glumness in each step. “Master Qin…this incompetent servant apologizes, there aren’t any more apples…”

Qin Fengge, reigning in his anger, moved to the next question. “Why?”

She glanced back and forth between me and Qin Fengge fearfully. When the two of us in close proximity, we bickered with venom at least twice a day and Qin Fengge would not miss the chance to show his disapproval of me. I sort of pitied the girl—speaking out against a favored person such as myself can be a scary thing. I gave her a wide grin. Unfortunately, it only made her so afraid that she almost tripped. Qin Fengge was fed up from the sight.

“Speak!”

The girl mustered her courage and spit it out at once, “I-I had gathered a catty of a-apples. This incompetent servant thought it would be enough to last Mister Fang the day…however, he…” She hesitated one last time, shifting her eyes away. “Mister Fang came at daybreak and fed all the apples to other horses…”

Zhou Liang immediately suppressed a laugh. Qin Fengge gave me a scathing glance. Clearly, it wasn’t a matter of me getting apples but the ritual of asking Zhou Liang for one every day, and it was Qin Fengge’s own fault if he could not discern the truth.

 “So, are there any apples?” I asked Zhou Liang.

He snorted, and a shiny, pinkish apple appeared in his hand seemingly out of nowhere. He tossed it in a low arc. It landed right onto my stomach and rolled into my lap so I needn’t worry about fumbling it.

I couldn’t resist a gentle smile and thank you at Zhou Liang as I rubbed the fruit on my robe; no matter what, he just wouldn’t get annoyed.

Cinnamon smelled it and stopped in place, craning her head around with two fuzzy ears tilted forward in intrigue. In a few crunches, the apple was no longer in existence.

Zhou Liang said, “By the time we get to the Gold Plains, that horse will be unruly and fat.”

I patted her neck. “Cinnamon is so cute and well behaved. How can I not spoil her a little?”

He shook his head.

Another two days passed. The journey was not even half over, but it was about time I dealt with the matter of Cinnamon. , so he wasn’t strict watching me when I liked to wake early in the mornings and wander out. But this sort of confidence is exactly what leaves a gaping weakness.

Today was the same as well, and I crept outside with intentions for mischief.

Every night the horses would have to be tied to sleep, then in the morning they would be groomed and fed, the tack put on them right before we departed. Thus, there wasn’t anything strange about me walking my horse and doing the same. In fact, all the attendants and soldiers were so impressed this spindly scholar knew how to care for his horse so well and did so every morning, all thanks to Shen Jiu’s advice.

I began looking at the varying groups of travelers.

Naturally, Widow’s road was highly trafficked. Even if the soldiers were teeming out of their towns and cities and onto the road marching through, there were just as many people traveling West for business. There were carriages with merchants, big wagons and carts with harvested millet, haggard peasants with only a rucksack on the back, monks in their stinky robes, all kinds. They’d bow as we passed by, splitting onto the sides of the road as to not get in our way.

After some walking, I finally found what I was searching for. A portly older woman and younger girl were standing next to a carriage loaded with embroidered cloths, brocades, and goods. There was a man with a wide-rimmed bamboo hat adjusting some of the merchandise. Based on the cotton clothes and ware their income should be all right, so I won’t have to worry about them eating Cinnamon in the winter if times get rough.

Most significant is that the animal pulling their cart is a horse so fat it looked pregnant. Even now, I was witnessing the lively little girl feeding it an apple that it certainly didn’t need.

Smiling innocuously, I waved my hand in greeting and made my way over.

“Good morning,” I said.

The three relaxed despite the fact I came out of the stream of military men, and the little girl waved back, jumping once and bursting with energy.

“Sir,” said the man, scratching his chin, not quite sure what to say, “I hope we haven’t offended you in some way. Is there something you need?”

It would seem odd if I was going off to war but wanted to buy their embroidered cloth goods, so the confusion was natural.

“I won’t waste your time, I’ll get straight to the point.” I rubbed my hands together in a wheedling manner. “Sorry to trouble you, but would you possibly considering trading your horse for mine?”

The man could not come up with a response, his mouth dangling open, and the woman was just as flabbergasted that I would even suggest trading my lean, powerful military horse for their fat mare.

“What?!” the little girl was most offended and stomped her feet in contempt. “No! No no no! This is our horse!” She ran over to me, about to attack with cheeks puffed up.

The woman swooped over and grabbed her. “Don’t talk to a person like that, you naughty thing!” she then rubbed her hands together in apology at me. “Sorry, sorry, she’s just a little brat.”

“Er…” said the man as he watched the scene unfold, “Sir, if you could explain…?”

“I know it sounds strange, but this horse and I don’t get along.” Just at this moment, Cinnamon shoved me over a step with her nuzzle, trying to reach the apple slices I hid under my belt. I pushed her snout away and sighed unhappily. “Ever since I was mistakenly was too harsh, this animal will nip and shove me at every opportunity. Even tried to kick me once…because of this, no one wants to swap out their horse for mine. I’ve only just joined the cavalry and I’m not used to handling horses—I don’t want to deal with this one when my life is at stake! And if it’s not me, this stubborn thing will act just fine…”

The man held his chin, considering it, “Ah, is that so…well…” Everyone knew a bad horse was a pain to deal with, so he could not believe my words fully.

On cue, Cinnamon tried nipping my fingers because they smelled like apples. I shrunk my hand away in disgust, whapping her on the cheek. Cinnamon’s brown pupils gave me a wide-eyed look. I said,

“Don’t worry about the breed of your horse compared to mine. I’ll be satisfied as long as it’s not as aggressive as this one, and from the looks of it your horse can carry a load well enough. If you’re willing to consider it, how about you take the lead of mine for a moment and see if she behaves?”

“I don’t want this horse—” whined the little girl.

“You be quiet!” said the man. He was thinking it over intensely. One would have to doubt it’s some kind of scam, yet it was such a great deal, perhaps a opportunity only the heaven’s would grant.

“Oh, it’s all right,” I said. With a vague smile, I leaned over at her, “You don’t want my horse, but my horse will love you if you give her an apple. Try and see.”

With a sulky face, the girl lifted up an apple. While the fat mare seemed that it couldn’t care less, Cinnamon’s ear’s perked and she hoovered it up from the girl’s palm immediately. With a tiny grin, the girl took the reins and walked Cinnamon in a few circles. Naturally, she was as docile and behaved as can be, awaiting more apples with glee.  

The man tipped up his straw hat, extremely satisfied, a glint of avarice in his eyes. “It’s a deal! But Sir, are you sure? This exchange is more than uneven, we ought to at least make up some of the difference.”

“No, no, it’s good enough as is,” I said, taking the lead of the obese horse. “Where I’m headed you don’t need any coins. But…”

The man raised his head in skepticism.

“…you could help me switch the saddle!”

The man and woman both laughed, and he agreed in good spirit.

As for the saddle that fit perfectly on Cinnamon, it was stretched and pulled to fit over the wide girth of the fat horse. The man’s hardy muscles flexed in effort until barely buckling it underneath, and it irritated the fat mare enough that it went in for a bite at him. As though very used to the situation, the bite was deflected with one arm…

“That should do,” he said, tipping his hat at me.

The family saluted and wished me well at the war, and I went off with my new steed.

Amarathia

LOL nice, FS found a way to get rid of his horse to save it from being eaten by ZL

xd sorry if slow updates, busy with moving to apt and going back to school soon and stuff