Chapter 19: The Military Camp, Tang Ziyun

"Get lost, you lot! If you don't get back to training, I'll deal with you according to military law." Chu Xiong chased and shouted until he finally managed to drive everyone away, leaving only Chu Junhan and Tang Chen behind.

Once the others had left, Chu Xiong switched his demeanor as if changing a mask, his face now adorned with a doting smile as he looked at Chu Junhan. "Han'er, come. Let me take you to the tent where you'll be staying."

Tang Chen, like a little attendant, followed behind the father and son. Seeing that Chu Xiong had arranged a tent solely for Chu Junhan, he couldn't help but speak up. "General, Junhan is still very young. It doesn't seem right for him to stay alone in such a flimsy tent. Why not let him stay with me? This way, I can look after him a bit!"

Chu Xiong was about to clap his hands in approval, but then remembered that his little Junhan was actually a daughter. His brow furrowed. "There are rules in the army, Tang Chen. I can't make exceptions just because he's my son. Han'er is here to temper his mind, not to enjoy himself in leisure."

"But General—"

"Enough. What I've decided, even your words won't change. You're disrupting military discipline," Chu Xiong said, feigning a stern expression.

"I wouldn't dare!" Tang Chen quickly bowed, his fists clasped, as Chu Xiong invoked military discipline.

But when he met the child's gaze, Tang Chen bit his lip and continued, "General, Junhan is still so young. Even child soldiers aren't this small. Besides, you've always taught us not to recruit child soldiers, so Junhan shouldn't count as part of the camp. He can be treated differently."

Tang Chen finished his words in one breath, clearly out of breath.

Chu Junhan glanced at her father, who was at a loss for how to respond, and shook Tang Chen's trouser leg with her plump little hand. "Brother Tang Chen, Han'er can stay alone. I'm not afraid of anything!"

"But—"

Chu Xiong was afraid Tang Chen would come up with more arguments and put him in a difficult position. He didn't want his daughter's secret to be exposed just two days after it had been concealed. He interrupted at once, "Enough, Han'er wants to stay alone, let her be! My Han'er is no coward, is she?"

With that, he scooped up the little one and strode into the tent.

What father does not love his child? Yet a father's love is like a mountain—always imposing. Even though Chu Xiong's own tent stood right beside Chu Junhan's, silently guarding his daughter, he still chose to let her live alone.

To become outstanding among men, one must learn independence.

"Han'er, someday you will understand your father's painstaking intentions," Chu Xiong murmured outside her tent after settling everything for her.

By now, dusk had fallen. Night descended, and in every soldier's tent, candlelight flickered like stars.

Chu Xiong gazed at the shadows cast by the swaying candlelight, his eyes reluctant to look away even for a moment. Would his Han'er cry for her mother in the middle of the night?

He knew, of course, that expecting so much from a four-year-old was unreasonable. But in eight months, it would be the Tianwu Emperor's birthday. If Han'er did not possess a spirit of resolute strength by then, someone with ill intentions might see through her disguise.

How could he transform his daughter in so short a time? Only the army camp would suffice.

"General, if you worry so much, why put Junhan through such a trial?"

He had not noticed when a youth appeared at his side. The young man's eyes were bright, reflecting the flickering candle flame—a small shadow danced within, swaying with the fire.