Blossom In Adversity - Vol. 2

C224. Military Strategies.

Chapter 224: Military Strategies

Hua Zhi smiled faintly, her back completely soaked in sweat, though no one knew. "Bai Lin doesn't like reading but loves wargaming. Even though the Hua family will never be involved in military, I think it's a good idea to read some military strategies. Whenever he lost, he would come and ask me about the formations I had set up. Once I told him, he would go and study them, determined to beat me the next time."

She had been so busy over the past year, and Bai Lin had become much more sensible. He hadn't done that for a while now, but she didn't want to lose this good habit. When she got back, she would have someone make a new wargaming board, no, two. One would be placed in the front yard study, and the other in their room, so that he and the Sixth Prince could use it for recreation.

Compared to Bai Lin, the Sixth Prince needed to understand these things more.

"That's a good habit," Zhu Haodong nodded in approval, but not every family could do the same. They were not as fortunate as Bai Lin, who had an older sister who was willing to read military strategies and even use them.

Looking at the large and small, light and dark formations on the chessboard, Zhu Haodong's scalp tingled. If Zhi'er were a man, she would be a good soldier.

"Ziwen, go to my study and get the two books on the top shelf. Be careful." Zhu Bowen took a cloth and wiped his hands, his expression still filled with excitement. He hadn't felt this refreshed in a long time.

Zhu Ziwen took a deep look at his cousin and quickly left. It was the first time he realized that he and his cousin had such a big gap.

The group sat back down, and before they had said a few words, Zhu Ziwen had brought the books over and handed them to his cousin at his grandfather's instruction.

They were called books, but they were not really books. They were just two volumes of manuscripts, with no title on the cover and written on silk.

When she saw the contents, Hua Zhi immediately understood their value. These were two military strategy manuals, and they were not in the Hua family's collection. In other words, they were likely unique copies!

She looked up at her grandfather. Was he really giving them to her?

Then she would gladly accept them!

Zhu Bowen was very pleased with her expression of delight. Stroking his beard, he said, "The previous dynasty did a lot of evil things. You must know about them digging up Mr. Siqing's tomb."

Hua Zhi's eyes widened. Could it be that these things were...

"That's right, they were dug up from Mr. Siqing's tomb. They were almost burned to ashes at the time, but the literati and scholars of the time risked their lives to protect them. After several changes of hands, they disappeared for many years. I obtained them by chance two years ago. I think they must have been circulating among the literati all along, and they were well preserved. I placed them in Dazhu Temple for three months before taking them back and performed a ritual for Mr. Siqing, as if to complete this fate."

Hua Zhi looked down at the two volumes, lightly stroking the old marks on the cover. Every era would produce some brilliant figures, and Mr. Siqing was a trendsetter of that era.

But very little of his work remained, and the Chao Li Kingdom had almost destroyed an entire civilization.

"It would be a pity to keep such good things locked up. Since you are willing to read them and understand them, they are just right for you."

Hua Zhi couldn't refuse. She was essentially a businesswoman, and successful businesswomen all have one characteristic: they are all good at attacking, scheming, and using all kinds of tricks to make a deal.

Many people in her circle studied military strategy, and she didn't like reading military books at that time. It was the environment that forced her to read them. If she didn't want to be inferior, she had to force herself to become that kind of offensive businesswoman.

After reading them for a long time, she found them interesting and no longer found them difficult to understand.

Hua Zhi stood up and bowed, "Thank you, Grandfather, for your generous gift."

Zhu Ziwen interjected, "Grandfather, let's eat first. It's already dark."

Zhu Bowen glanced outside and laughed, "How come it's already this time? Come on, let's go eat."

To entertain her, the Zhu family's kitchen had transformed even the simplest dishes into culinary works of art. Hua Zhi, feeling obligated, ate an extra half bowl of rice. Seeing that she had indeed eaten a hearty meal, the old matriarch smiled throughout the entire visit.

When it was time to leave the Zhu residence, it was already late. Zhu Ziwen, having been instructed to see her off, paused as they reached the back alley, shielding his cousin behind him.

"Who's there?"

Ignoring him, Gu Yanxi looked past Zhu Ziwen towards Hua Zhi. Their eyes met, and Hua Zhi smiled softly, saying, "Cousin, he's the martial arts master my family hired. I suppose Bai Lin was worried about me and sent him to pick me up."

Zhu Ziwen was skeptical of this explanation. His family had martial arts masters too, as did other families he knew, but none of them carried such an aura.

"If I dared let you go back like this, my father would kick me out, believe me?"

Seeing his concern, Hua Zhi didn't refuse his kindness. "Then I'll trouble you, Cousin."

The carriage swayed gently along the quiet streets as Hua Zhi leaned against the soft cushions, closing her eyes to rest. After a long day, she felt quite tired.

She didn't expect to fall asleep, but when she was awakened by Suyun Mama, she was still groggy. As she was helped out of the carriage and felt the night breeze on her face, she gradually regained her senses. But during that brief period, it was enough for people to see the exhaustion that she had failed to conceal.

Zhu Ziwen thought, they had all taken things too much for granted.

Shouldering the burden of an entire family at such a young age was bound to be exhausting. She had done so well, so well that they had forgotten how hard she must have worked behind the scenes and how much pressure she had endured.

Because she didn't complain, they either pretended not to know or offered empty compliments, failing to consider the sleepless nights she might have had.

With these thoughts in mind, Zhu Ziwen's tone was unusually gentle. "Go inside now and get some rest."

"Thank you, Cousin."

"We're family, there's no need for formalities."

Hua Zhi bowed slightly and nodded to Gu Yanxi before allowing Suyun Mama to help her into the house.

Gu Yanxi longed to follow her or even climb over the wall, knowing no one would stop him, and that Ah Zhi wouldn't blame him. But he restrained himself. There was no urgent matter that he needed to discuss immediately, while Ah Zhi needed to rest.

Zhu Ziwen glanced at him, but ultimately said nothing more. Although his cousin was close to the Zhu family, he needed to maintain a certain distance. Since his cousin trusted this man, he would have to appear to trust him as well.

When he returned home, Zhu Ziwen went to see his grandfather.

"Your caution is justified. No matter how close we are, we are still two separate families. We must never overstep our bounds under the guise of being concerned for her." The old man offered a word of praise before adding, "This man is no ordinary person. I've investigated his background, but I couldn't find anything. All I know is that he went to the North with Zhi'er, which means he was personally chosen by Hua Yizheng. I suspect he might be someone Hua Pingyang met while he was away, or someone who had been helped by the Hua family in the past, which is why he appeared immediately after the Hua family fell into trouble to protect them."

"So, you think we can trust him?"

"For now, it seems so. For a martial artist, there's nothing worth coveting in the Hua family."

Although his grandfather had said this, Zhu Ziwen still felt uneasy. The man's aura was simply too strong to ignore.