Chapter 20: The Military Camp, Tang Ziyun

Chu Xiong glanced at the youth beside him and merely let out a faint sigh, saying nothing. The young man exhaled a warm breath, gazing at the gray sky. “General, it’s already past midnight. You should return and rest. Leave the watch over Han to me.”

“There’s no need. I’ll stay,” Chu Xiong replied, shaking his head. Children always loved to cry in the latter half of the night, and he feared that if he left, he wouldn’t know if his precious daughter wept.

The youth looked at Chu Xiong with concern. The greatness of fatherly love was manifest in this general to the fullest.

“General, there’s drill tomorrow. Please go get some rest. If you wear yourself out, the soldiers will worry.”

Chu Xiong still meant to refuse, but before he could speak, Tang Chen continued, “Please be assured, General. If anything should happen to Han, I’ll answer for it with my life.”

“Don’t speak of death so lightly. We all live with our heads hanging by a thread. Don’t mention such things again,” Chu Xiong said, unable to suppress a yawn.

“Your lesson is well taken, General. Please take care of your health,” replied Tang Chen.

Chu Xiong gazed at the youth before him, whom he had watched grow up and naturally understood his intentions. Seeing the boy’s persistence, he sighed softly, patted his shoulder, and said, “Then I’ll leave Han in your care. If he wakes crying, let me know at once.”

“Rest assured, General,” Tang Chen replied, standing straight as an arrow.

Inside the tent, the little one smacked her lips in her sleep, utterly unaware of what was happening outside. She rolled over and murmured something, then drifted back to sleep.

Tang Chen, his hands clasped in front of him, stood not far from the tent. With his keen hearing, he caught Chu Junhan’s sleep-talk.

A charming smile tugged at the youth’s lips, gentle as a spring river, enough to stir the heart.

So even a four-year-old can talk in her sleep! The general’s child truly was unlike other children.

As the third quarter of the dawn hour arrived, the little one in the tent opened her eyes. Though still drowsy, she rolled over and struggled to climb out of bed.

In her previous life, after being sent to Pingzhou, she had been awakened at this hour every day by the governess. In time, it became a habit.

Such a habit, for Chu Junhan, was perhaps not a bad thing.

There was no mother to dress her, no servant to help. The small figure in the tent silently completed all the tasks of rising on her own.

Chu Junhan lifted the tent flap and looked out at the snow-covered world, yawned, and prepared to greet her first day in the barracks.

Suddenly, her gaze was drawn to a “snowman” not far away, and she couldn’t help but study it.

“Brother Ziyun?” Chu Junhan approached cautiously.

A heavy snow had fallen the previous night, and Tang Chen, standing motionless for hours, was now clad in a soft, snowy overcoat.

The youth’s eyelashes quivered as he shook off the frost that had gathered there. He slowly opened his eyes, surprise flickering across his face at the sight of the little one before him.

He hadn’t expected that after just a brief doze, less than a quarter of an hour, this four-year-old could awaken on her own!

The youth said nothing, so Chu Junhan called out again in her soft, sweet voice, “Brother Ziyun?”

“Han, why are you up so early?” Tang Chen shook the snow from his shoulders, looking at the chubby child before him with fondness.

Chu Junhan pouted, tilting her head at Tang Chen. “Father said I should get up this early. Why are you here, Brother Ziyun?”