A Lonesome Fragrance Waiting to be Appreciated 1

59

A certain name shot into Moran's thoughts. He took a step back and replied, "The name and history of the new military advisor are considered the most confidential information of our enemy. Our spies might not be able to uncover such secrets."

Chu Beijie sat down, studying Moran before calmly saying, "Our guess may be right."

Moran reacted to this by raising his head to meet Chu Beijie's eyes with an alarmed expression. He quickly collected himself together, hesitantly asking, "If it really is that person, what do you plan to do, Duke?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"We can't be sure whether their advisor is her or not, so what if the original plan..."

Chu Beijie waved his hand. "Moran, no need to worry. Tell the spy that there's no need to research the new military advisor any further. If it's really Bai Pingting, she should be able to realise my plan before it's too late."

But Moran argued, "If it's really her and she doesn't realise Duke's plan, wouldn't she die with the rest of the Bei Mo army in Kanbu?" Moran felt Chu Beijie's knife-sharp gaze on him. He quickly closed his mouth, refusing to continue.

"I don't know though..." Chu Beijie seemed a bit worried as well. He rose and gazed towards the tent flap. He held it and admired the moon. Taking a deep breath of the cold night air, he finally managed to calm his thumping heart down. There was newfound determination in his eyes as he whispered, "If she didn't have such skill and intelligence, would she be worthy of my love?" He turned, reassured his subordinate and chuckled. "It seems you still have your doubts. You can tell me."

Moran knew that she was his weakness, but war was approaching and the main general must always have a clear, unwavering sense of purpose. He asked, "Doesn't Duke want to capture Pingting alive?"

"So Moran thinks I want to capture Bai Pingting for revenge?" Chu Beijie smiled, "Remember this. No commander would stop after defeat for that would be a costly mistake. I want to capture Bai Pingting alive only because I respect her." He pushed away the files on his desk and pushed open the worn map, thinking of the only woman he couldn't forget. "If it wasn't respect, why else would I want her to be captured alive?"

"Has Duke ever considered..." Moran's eyebrows were creased again, "...that even if she figures out Duke's plan, she might not be able to do anything about it?"

"You're wrong. If she can figure it out, she'll definitely outsmart it." Chu Beijie's expression didn't change as he said, "When the sun rises from the East, I shall see if she's worthier of my love than any other woman in this world. Well, well Pingting, if you really are in Kanbu, don't disappoint me."

Back in Kanbu, Ze Yin had just fallen asleep.

However, his sleep was short lived as it was soon interrupted by a loud thump at the door. The one knocking could only be that one person, someone who he couldn't complain about despite it being three thirty in the morning.

"I know what his plan is." Either excitement or worry had made Pingting's white cheeks into a pale pink. She entered the room, lit a candle on the table, and opened an aged scroll. "Thank goodness I read some other old references after reading the books left by one of the previous head guards, or else our army would have suffered massive casualties and immeasurable damage. General, please look here."

Ze Yin followed her pearly white finger. His thick eyebrows rose slightly. "Poisonous wasps?"

"These wasps can only be found deep in the mountains surrounding Kanbu; their nest should be where the forests are most compact. Their poison is extremely potent – just one light stab and even a wild bull would collapse. I'm familiar with medicine and had once heard about these wasps. Thanks to the reports General gave me, I realised that something was strange and now I've finally found the reason after spending all night flicking through books and scrolls." Pingting noticed the look of bewilderment and doubtful expression on Ze Yin's face. "Is something wrong, General?"

"My Lady guessed that Chu Beijie would use poisonous wasps to attack my army, right?" Ze Yin continued, "It's easier said than done. I know about these wasps. Although these wasps are strong enough to poison our entire defence force, it would still be a hard task to accomplish. For one, where would you get all those wasps?"

Pingting had long thought about this. She calmly replied, "That's why Chu Beijie has been sending troops into the forest. That's where the wasps' nests would be and only there can he collect enough for this plan."

"Chu Beijie may be strong, but he's not invincible. He's not from Bei Mo, so how could he know and manipulate those wasps?"

Pingting sighed. "General is still underestimating Chu Beijie even at this time. His army of ten thousand men and horses has certainly created chaos around here, so it wouldn't be unusual that his soldiers have died after being stung by some disturbed wasps. Once Chu Beijie learned of such a powerful, natural weapon, he would definitely send people to research the wasps' habits. That's why his army hasn't been attacking recently."

Ze Yin still shook his head but didn't say anything.

Pingting carried on. "In the book, it says that poisonous wasps are very sensitive to the sap of the Sanhua tree. They can sense the sap from a faraway distance. This sap also makes their poison even stronger. There are huge patches of Sanhua tree in the East and West side of the Kanbu city walls. Say, what if Chu Beijie really wants to use these wasps to attack us? He must have ordered his soldiers to find these trees and chop them down. Then he will use the branches of the Sanhua tree, which is full of sap, as arrows and fire them from a long distance toward Kanbu, while releasing a huge number of wasps. The defending force will definitely be diminished to less than a half. When the wasps move away as the sap in the arrows slowly dries up, conquering Bei Mo's last line of defence would be no problem."

Ze Yin heard the urgency in Pingting's voice. He couldn't help but be uncertain of whether to believe or not. "I'll immediately get someone to check whether the Sanhua trees on the East and West side have been cut down."

He talked briefly to his personal assistant, who would pass on his commands, before turning back to her. "If it's really like that, Chu Beijie's plan is really a risk and really unbelievable, but Ze Yin still doesn't understand." He hesitated, "Please don't be offended by Ze Yin's directness. This plan is still rather...unusual, so I am wondering how confident My Lady is about it."

"How confident?" Pingting was surprised by this question. She quickly hid her excitement over uncovering the enemy's plan. She gripped the handle of her seat. It was several moments later before she broke into a smile. "If I said that I'm sure of such an unbelievable, strange trick, General would definitely laugh and won't believe me. I don't know why, really. When I thought of this wasp plan, I was sure it would be something Chu Beijie would do." She forced a tight-lipped smile at Ze Yin. "If Bai Pingting couldn't figure out Chu Beijie's train of thought, what use could she be to Bei Mo?"

The candlelight in the room flickered while moths danced.

The bright moon hung high in the sky, casting silvery light throughout the city walls. Both inside and outside were full of soldiers dreaming of their homes.

Their lives depended on the decisions made by their commanders, their right and wrong guesses. It was like a cruel game.

And her opponent just had to be him.

Pingting pushed her hair to one side, remembering his strong hands slowly stroking her silky hair while saying "This is mine." with a small smile.

She had never known such a painful feeling before.

"Does General know what I want to do the most at the moment?"

"Ze Yin has no idea."

Pingting pressed her lips together and smiled. "Same as General. I need a good rest." She rubbed her chest, above her sore heart, with a finger. "But then again, who can rest properly after meeting Chu Beijie?"