Chapter 232: Acquaintance

"Then let's go. Let them die." Huang Shi spat out these words in fury.

What the soldiers on the ships needed most urgently right now was hot water, hot meals, stove fires, and warm bedding, so they could quickly recover their strength. Now that the Later Jin army had already arrived, the time left for Huang Shi was very short. Given the other side's attitude, the reception they could expect after landing was all too easy to imagine...

The warriors of Changsheng Island had risked death to rush to Juehua, only to be shut outside the gates.

A nameless fire rose in Huang Shi's heart. He immediately asked the guide where else they could obtain supplies. The guide told Huang Shi that although Ningyuan Zhongzuosuo was not far, its grain reserves and supplies were also insufficient. Moreover, it was too close to Ningyuan Fort. Once the Later Jin cavalry launched a sudden raid, it was only a few shichen away, and the rest time might not be enough either.

So the guide suggested Huang Shi continue sailing south toward Guangning Zhonghouwei. This place would certainly have enough supplies and provisions to satisfy Huang Shi's army and restore their combat strength. If they wanted to attack, they could also get support from the local guard households. The guide even mentioned Shanhai Pass, but Huang Shi felt that before leaving Beijing, he had spoken quite a few bold words in the imperial presence. Although today's situation was not his fault, going to Shanhai Pass would still be somewhat inappropriate. So he ordered word passed to every ship to prepare to weigh anchor and set sail for Guangning Zhonghouwei.

Having made his decision, Huang Shi no longer intended to deal with the people of Juehua. Just as he was about to recall the small boat, suddenly a person on a horse came galloping from afar, and in the blink of an eye stepped from the shore onto the ice. The horse seemed not to have been shod for ice, for as soon as it stepped onto the ice it began to slip. After slowing down, the horse let out a long neigh, its front legs collapsed onto the ice, and it threw the rider from its back.

This strange sight made Huang Shi temporarily hold back the order to recall the small boat. He gazed hopefully at the movement on the ice, wishing that the supervising official of Juehua Island had set aside his prejudice and sent someone to communicate with him. The person did not seem to have fallen heavily. He saw them nimbly climb up, then run unsteadily but quickly toward the small boat making the rendezvous.

But as this person drew closer and closer, Huang Shi's brow furrowed more and more tightly. Although the distance was too great to make out the person's face, the clothes the newcomer wore were rather distinctive, and the manner of walking was also eye-catching.

Sure enough, the small boat soon sent back flag signals reporting that the newcomer was a woman. The woman refused to give her name, but said she could guide Huang Shi's army ashore. She also demanded that the small boat carry her to Huang Shi's flagship, saying she could serve as a guide.

"A crazy girl who popped up from who knows where! But since she can ride a horse, she must be the child of a military household." Huang Shi was both annoyed and amused. As a dignified Vice Regional Commander, how could he take orders from a woman? Did he not want to hold his head up before his officers and soldiers ever again? And what use was going ashore? If Juehua refused to provide supplies and also refused to follow Huang Shi in retreat, wouldn't landing be walking right into a trap? Was he supposed to lead his officers and soldiers to their deaths?

"A woman of great courage. What a pity." Those who remained on Juehua Island were probably doomed. Huang Shi remembered that of the tens of thousands of people on the island, in the end only a few dozen had survived the Later Jin soldiers' massacre. This woman's courage earned Huang Shi's admiration, and for a moment the thought of rescuing her arose in him. But then Huang Shi reconsidered — having the small boat pull ashore among the floating ice was risking the lives of his soldiers, and those were utterly loyal and brave soldiers! After all, she was only a woman he did not know.

"Call the small boat back. Hmm..." Huang Shi thought for a moment, then added a few more words to the messenger: "Since that woman came looking for this military commander, it shows she trusts me. Tell her... tell her I said: run quickly, take her family and run as far from Juehua as possible, as fast as she can. Staying on this island means certain death."

After the men on the small boat repeated Huang Shi's words, they began slowly rowing back. The woman on the ice first stood frozen for a moment, then risked running to the edge of the ice, shouting something. She grew so anxious she kept stamping her feet. Cracks appeared in the ice beneath her, frightening her into retreating two steps. She looked up at the small boat about to row away. The woman charged straight forward, and in the mere blink of an eye, she leaped toward the small boat into the icy sea.

The small boat stopped abruptly. The several men aboard were all too stunned to speak, one after another looking toward where the woman had fallen into the water. On the flagship, Huang Shi was also dumbfounded by the scene before him, but he immediately recovered and shouted to the messenger beside him: "Rescue her, quickly!"

The person who had jumped into the water was Young Miss Zhao.

Today, after hearing her brother's words and recalling Huang Shi's warning from days earlier, the more she pondered, the more alarmed she became. But no matter how bitterly she pleaded, Zhao Yingong believed that Huang Shi's three thousand troops were simply useless. Juehua currently had four battalions of troops, and inside Ningyuan City there were also seven battalions of Guanning Army. Apart from the issue of numbers, Zhao Yingong also felt that letting Huang Shi come ashore would lead to conflicts of command among the officials. Zhao Yingong expected that Huang Shi, having come from afar, would not be content with merely doing auxiliary work, nor would he fully submit to his authority. He personally felt that the Guanning Army was the local force, the main strength, and at a critical juncture Huang Shi might just cause trouble.

Young Miss Zhao's worries struck a chord with Old Lady Zhao. War is perilous, and Old Lady Zhao felt that more troops were always better. Now she also recalled that some people had spoken of the rumor that "Huang Shi has the valor to match ten thousand." But Zhao Yingong would not listen to anything, treating his mother's and sister's words as wind past his ears. After escorting the two of them to the western shore, Zhao Yingong returned to directing the transport of supplies. Apart from the manpower needed to cut the ice, the Ming army also planned to move all reserves up the eastern mountain.

After Zhao Yingong left, the more Young Miss Zhao replayed that day's conversation between brother and sister, the more waves of terror surged through her. She secretly glanced at the carriage ahead — her mother was sitting steadily inside, unaware. Young Miss Zhao carefully instructed the accompanying maidservant in detail: she must escort Old Lady Zhao safely to the destination, and under no circumstances stop the carriage before arriving. Then she jumped down, untied a horse, and quietly returned to Juehua.

Relying on the bit of horsemanship she had learned while fleeing during the Guangning disaster, Young Miss Zhao could still manage to control her mount. By now Juehua was already a scene of chaos, with large numbers of troops noisily sorting out combat readiness and deploying field fortifications. The merchants and military household dependents on the island were even more like people facing imminent catastrophe. Everywhere were the anxious shouts of officers and the wails of women and children. This chaotic scene intensified the unease in Miss Zhao's heart, making her dimly feel that her elder brother's and elder sister's prospects were very bleak.

But after reaching the shore, no matter how Miss Zhao pleaded and reasoned, it seemed she could not reverse the other side's determination to leave. Huang Shi's final warning to her struck her like a thunderbolt from the blue. When she finally saw the boat beginning to depart, Miss Zhao, heedless of everything, leaped toward the small boat...

When the small boat rowed back to the flagship, Miss Zhao was curled up in a corner of the boat. Her cold-proof hat had already drifted away into the water. Her padded coat and padded trousers were soaked through with icy water, freezing Miss Zhao until she was nearly stiff. She could not swim to begin with, and once in the water, as soon as her clothes took on water, she quickly sank into the sea like a lump of iron. Fortunately, the sailors hooked her with boat hooks, grabbed her padded coat, and dragged her aboard.

Now that she was aboard, naturally they brought her back — they couldn't exactly risk pulling ashore to set the girl down and let her jump again, could they? But as they neared the flagship, these men faced another dilemma. The girl was already shivering as if with malaria, and it looked like she could not climb the gangway herself. Yet men and women must not touch hands when giving or receiving — how could they help her aboard?

Huang Shi stood on the large ship looking down. Seeing the soldiers at a complete loss, practically watching the girl freeze to death before their eyes, he could not help shouting: "You men, carry her up. Quickly!"

The soldiers answered yes, but with over a hundred pairs of eyes watching from the deck, none of them dared to make a move. Upon hearing Huang Shi's order, the girl immediately struggled a few times, stood up unsteadily, and tried to cross the gangway, squeezing out a few words through chattering teeth: "This humble girl can walk on her own."

Since that was the case, Huang Shi wasted no more words with the girl. He leaped across the swaying gangway in one bound, scooped her up by the waist, and while striding quickly back to the large ship, said clearly: "My apologies, miss, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I mean no offense."

Below the narrow gangway were the surging waves of the Liao Sea. Miss Zhao had no desire whatsoever to take another cold bath, so she did not struggle, but obediently let the man rescue her onto the sea vessel. But when she next heard her rescuer shout: "Quickly stow the small boat, prepare to depart," she struggled with all her might.

Seeing this, Huang Shi quickly set her down on the deck, then stepped back and cupped his hands: "Miss, forgive me. I was presumptuous..."

There truly was no time — it was too urgent. Miss Zhao's teeth were still chattering, and her lips had turned blue from the cold: "Who... who is Military Commander Huang? This humble girl has urgent business and requests to see Military Commander Huang."

Huang Shi thought — this girl seems a bit odd in the head. She'll probably pester me to rescue her family on shore. I must not bring trouble upon my fleet.

Having made up his mind, Huang Shi smiled warmly and gestured with an outstretched hand, indicating that the girl should simply follow him: "Miss, this way please. Whatever you have to say, you may tell Lord Huang." Huang Shi knew that if he left this woman on the deck to face the wind any longer, it would certainly cost her life. He planned to take her below deck and let her change into dry clothes first. Once the girl had finished changing, the fleet would already be long gone, saving him the trouble of further explanation.

Huang Shi thought this plan of his was excellent, but unfortunately the girl opposite him did not fall for it. She first turned and cried out: "You cannot set sail, you cannot set sail!"

Then the shivering Young Miss Zhao turned back to face Huang Shi, struggling with all her might to keep her voice from trembling too badly. She fixed her eyes on Huang Shi's, drew close, and said in a low voice, one word at a time: "I am your Military Commander Huang's betrothed wife!"

As she spoke these words, Young Miss Zhao was so mortified she wished she could dig a hole and bury herself. But for the sake of her loved ones on the island, she could only brace herself and see it through. The perceptive Young Miss Zhao sensed that this tall man who had rescued her seemed to be a high-ranking officer whose word carried weight, and she hoped he could fetch Huang Shi for her. In any case, the fewer people who knew of her words, the better. Being called shameless by one person was better than being laughed at by a whole shipful of men.

The tall officer before her instantly stood dumbstruck, able only to stare back foolishly. This effect pleased Young Miss Zhao greatly — it seemed her ruse had not been exposed. So a trace of command crept into her tone: "Go quickly and call Military Commander Huang out. I have words to speak with him. I will wait for him right here."

Young Miss Zhao noticed that this big fool still stood motionless, and his expression was extremely complicated. She guessed that perhaps this man had realized he had just been presumptuous with his superior's fiancée, and he must be worried about being punished for it. Young Miss Zhao hastily added: "Your Military Commander Huang proposed to me, but I have not yet agreed... Hmm, don't worry. As long as you go quickly and summon Military Commander Huang, I guarantee you'll be fine."

The person opposite seemed to have a dawning realization upon hearing this. His blank gaze gradually returned to normal, and his expression became somewhat more animated... Young Miss Zhao found that the fellow still had not moved to carry out her order.

The officer before her stepped back another pace, then with a solemn expression cupped his fists in both hands and asked softly, tentatively: "May I venture to ask, young lady, is your surname Zhao?"

This accurate judgment greatly startled Young Miss Zhao. She blurted out: "How do you know my surname..." But the sentence stopped abruptly before it was finished. Young Miss Zhao looked the man before her up and down once more, and suddenly understood.

In the small cabin sat a large tub filled with hot water. Dense, billowing steam filled the cabin. Soaking in the warm water, Young Miss Zhao finally felt her numb body thoroughly revived. It truly gave her the feeling of winter passing into spring, of being reborn into the world. This had originally been Huang Shi's cabin, but Huang Shi had announced he was moving out, so it temporarily belonged to Young Miss Zhao.

Although Miss Zhao had seen Huang Shi five years ago in Guangning, she had only been fifteen at the time. Over these past few years, that shallow impression had long since faded like mist and cloud. What's more, in Miss Zhao's household, her mother and brother never had a single good word to say about Huang Shi. For years, Huang Shi had been the subject of vilification — a crude, rude, and boorish man.

But today, upon meeting him so suddenly, the impression was utterly different.

So many things had happened today that Young Miss Zhao's head was practically spinning.

Because her mother was in poor health, Young Miss Zhao usually managed the household affairs. But she did not often go out, and never imagined she would find herself in a situation like today's — standing among a crowd of strange men and dealing with them. It was hard to imagine that Huang Shi, who held the rank of second-grade official, could be so amiable. She had never seen any man treat a woman with such courtesy. Looking back on it, she could not help her heart racing again and again...

Young Miss Zhao once more carefully and meticulously observed the furnishings of this cabin:

A quilt folded with perfect neatness, a small, spotlessly clean writing desk, and a small oil lamp polished to a bright shine. Apart from the absence of incense, the entire cabin was kept as tidy as a young lady's boudoir. This was, after all, an era when great men prided themselves on "not fussing over trifles." Never mind a military man — a military man reputed to be a match for ten thousand — even the dens of scholars and Licentiates might not compare to this temporary dwelling of Huang Shi's.

Now that she had secured Huang Shi's promise that the ships would absolutely not sail, Miss Zhao's heart settled somewhat. She had been quite astonished earlier to see the soldiers so swiftly bring over a complete set of bathing equipment, as if the men on the ship were ready to wash at any moment. In truth, this was also Huang Shi's privilege. The ship had specially reserved some fresh water for him and the other senior officers, which naturally now provided convenience for Miss Zhao.

Gently lifting the dry clothes laid out there, Miss Zhao examined them cautiously and was slightly surprised to find nothing but the faint smell of cotton cloth and fur. The loose men's clothing did not fit very well, but Miss Zhao could not worry about that now. She walked softly toward the door, intending to call a guard from outside to fetch Huang Shi.

Earlier on the deck, Miss Zhao had cared about nothing except preventing the fleet from sailing. But now, thinking of the strange smile that might appear on the guard's face, she felt her cheeks burn hot. After reaching the door, Miss Zhao first took several deep breaths, then mustered her courage and abruptly pulled it open.

Huang Shi felt that the fewer people who knew about Miss Zhao's matter, the better. In this era, Miss Zhao's actions today were hardly something to be proud of. So he had personally waited in the neighboring cabin. Hearing the door open on this side, Huang Shi nimbly stepped out and smiled toward the open door: "Miss Zhao, I have ordered ginger soup to be heated. I will have them bring it to you at once."

"The Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent honors this humble girl beyond her station," Miss Zhao hurriedly lowered her head and performed a curtsy. She understood that Huang Shi was protecting her, and gratitude welled up in her heart. Very apologetically, she said: "This humble girl has kept my lord waiting long."

Miss Zhao then lowered her head further and said softly: "Just now up above, this humble girl, in desperation and impropriety, spoke wild nonsense to the Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, damaging my lord's pure reputation. It is truly a crime worthy of ten thousand deaths."

When Miss Zhao had first boarded the ship earlier, her wet clothes were all crumpled, her wet hair was in disarray, and icy water was still streaming down the strands. Her face was a terrifying ashen gray.

During the time he waited for Miss Zhao to finish bathing, Huang Shi had been secretly congratulating himself that the marriage between the two families had fallen through. He had also racked his brains trying to recall the elder Miss Zhao. In Huang Shi's memory, her elder sister was clearly a beauty — how could the younger sister be so much plainer than the elder?

Once Miss Zhao had recovered her vitality and appeared again, she seemed a completely different person. Not only was she clean and tidy, but truly her black hair was like silk, her eyes bright with long lashes, her teeth white and her lips vermilion.

The moment he saw Young Miss Zhao open the door and step out, Huang Shi felt his heart nearly stop. But he maintained a calm exterior and spoke a few ordinary, polite words. When Young Miss Zhao apologized, a blush suffused her cheeks, instantly adding three more degrees of beauty, and the tone of her voice was both crisp and charming.

Huang Shi felt his heart suddenly begin to race. A violent suffocating sensation rose in his chest, rushed up from his throat, and turned into a large mouthful of sour saliva. To cover it up, Huang Shi turned his head to one side, no longer daring to look directly at Young Miss Zhao before him. With his head averted, he said resolutely: "I can guess a little of Miss Zhao's purpose in coming, but..."