𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲'𝐬 𝐇𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝 || 敵の旦那様 (𝐁𝐋) ✔ [COMPLETE]

47. Ceasefire

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As the warmth from campfires permeated their barely clung robes, the three lieutenants helped the General into the Camp. His face had flushed and nostrils red from the incense hotness of the surrounding. There was a slight disorientation to his steps as he walked over to the table where his crest-carven chair was. After Lieutenant Jiang increased the blaze of the fire all three of them knelt before him, awaiting his speech.

"I shall not divulge greater details."

"We shall savour every word uttered and ignore what was unuttered," Lieutenant Jiang spoke softly.

"This is simply a soldier strategizing his military concerns with his comrades. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Indeed."

"So it's nothing about the military," all three instantly thought.

"What do you presume I should do as a soldier," General Haoran met their gaze as he asked. "when the fortress I wish to conquer doesn't wish to partake in the war? If the fortress and the surrounding army conceals itself from my army that is camped right before its eyes, refusing to acknowledge me and ignoring my presence?"

Lieutenant Shen Yue was confused. "General, can you not besiege the said fortress? Take the fortress by force?"

"I cannot," He emphasised. "I cannot besiege the fortress by force. I have to win it fair and square." I have to have him rightfully, he thought.

"What does waiting for the fortress to battle cost the General's camp?" It was Lieutenant Bing Ze questioning.

"It costs power." The General gulped, averting his eyes. "And weakens the camp. It could make the camp starve." Starve for affection, he thought. "And ultimately drain my camp of the ability to fight back when the fortress agrees to wage war."

The Lieutenants all looked at each other in confusion. Finally, Lieutenant Jiang opened his mouth.

"In that case, General, with long-term victory in mind, ceasefire is the only option!" "Ceasefire?!" The General was taken aback.

"Indeed," Jiang continued, "If the conditions of ambushing or coerced attack are not pliable, then waiting until they give into submission is the next most fruitful strategy. However, since waiting seems to garner a greater disadvantage for our army, waiting wouldn't make for a scoped-out productive strategy. In such instances, when neither attacking nor stalling is an option, submission or withdrawal are the only possible moves prioritising our wellbeing. Hence ceasefire it is, Your Grace."

The General heaved a long sigh. He knew it would have to come to this. The truth was he knew long before that 'ceasefire' was the only method for him out of this. Oscillating between the whims of his heart and the rationale of his mind, every time Fu Lin barged before him, he simply lost himself. He knew, he really knew, what it meant, but still asked,

"What do you define by ceasefire, Lieutenant Jiang?"

Jiang, having an inkling of the context, chose his words carefully. "It could be anything you define Your Grace. It could be the temporary withdrawal wherein a more insightful battle can conquer the fortress later on. Or it could be... a complete combat termination."

"You mean..."

"Yes," Lieutenant Jiang emphasised, "I mean completely giving up the fortress."

An ominous quietude brimmed within the camp as the fire lit, giving off faint sparks in rage. The General's eyes reflected the lit fire as he said,

"Ceasefire it is."

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The silence that reigned the Zhou Manor these days was embedded with imminent shock to the servants within the quarters. In their decades of service to the Zhou Manor, never have they felt so gratified to have taken part and involved themselves in its affairs.

And that was all thanks to the General's spouse, Seventh Prince Fu Lin.

Ever since the beginning of the week, when the Prince met up with the General and had a 'friendly' discussion with him, he had morphed into a completely changed man. With every single flick of his finger from the overall composure he carries himself with, there was a trace of subtle but poignant diligence to it that there was obviously lacking before.

The servants were on the verge of tears. Their incandescent respect and awe of the General shot up sky-high when they thought of how the General had mastered not simply the art of bending people over by swords but also by words.

Fu Lin's transformation was not so minute that anybody around him would have a hard time grasping what was actually so altered–in fact, it was blatantly there.

His hair, unruly, savage and with a bothersome fringe dancing about usually, was now combed down to slickness with oil. The skin that wouldn't tolerate anything but his comfort clothes now had no problem taking any amount of itchiness as he was finally wearing the Zhou Manor official robes. He had even begun replacing his hair jasmines with the designated golden sun crown.

While it was true that clothes could make a man, what actually made Fu Lin more than a man was his abrupt change in visage, along with his change in temperament. His eyes no longer carried the frivolous spark of nought that tried to tempt the servants into talking gossip. They were now replaced with beseeching calm and stealth that probed the servants into doing better. He had finally taken his spousal duties seriously and was actively engaged in the activities of the manor.

As to why Fu Lin had this transformation... he was absolutely clear in his mind. Fu Lin curled his lip sneakily.

He had intentionally or intuitively displeased the General– the head of the household. If he were to continue living his life with survival as his prime interest, he would definitely have to leech over any sliver of affection the General showers him with. Of course, his change in appearance and seemingly 'one-over' attitude was also a part of his carefully strategized plan to appease to the General into forgiving the verbal atrocity that Fu Lin committed a few days back. This was the secret behind gaining the General's affection with obvious lure while

tip-toeing the balance of never making it real.

The smile on Fu Lin's face slowly faded. He stopped momentarily and gazed at the General's once again empty office chamber.

Beneath all the intricately woven deliberate ploy, there was a twinge of something that Fu Lin couldn't openly admit to himself. And that was that... this change in behaviour somehow felt like an unspoken atonement to what he said to the General.

Lost in the midst of his own strife, he hardly heard the servant calling for him.

"Your Highness."

Fu Lin still couldn't find it in himself to gaze at the servant. "What is it?"

"Your Highness," the servant said, "the Imperial General is here. He says he wants to exchange a few words with you."

Fu Lin almost broke his neck in turning around, beyond shocked. "Pardon?!"

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Don't forget to vote, comment, share and follow!  ⸜(*ˊᗜˋ*)⸝ I mean, I'm kinda doing a mass update so no time for author's note hehe