Chapter 145: Ulterior Motives

After arriving at Dingbian City, Gao Wanjun stayed in the guest quarters of the county yamen, and Magistrate Yang even assigned two maidservants to wait upon her. Coincidentally, Xiao Ding was also staying in the guest quarters of the yamen. His courtyard was separated from Gao Wanjun’s only by a courtyard wall, which was connected by a moon gate.

Having slept through the night, Xiao Ding woke up in the morning to the sound of weapons cutting through the air, clearly someone practicing martial arts. Climbing out of bed, Xiao Ding put on his clothes, stepped out of his room into the courtyard, and through the moon gate, he caught sight of Gao Wanjun practicing her martial arts.

Dressed in a light purple scholarly silk dress, Gao Wanjun was holding her treasured sword and executing a sword dance. Xiao Ding knew nothing of swordsmanship, yet he saw her figure drifting elusively, her robes fluttering gracefully, like a butterfly dancing amidst flourishing flowers, or a nimble swallow darting lightly through the clear spring sky. Framed by the morning glow, she looked as breathtakingly beautiful as a celestial maiden descending to the mortal realm.

Looking at Gao Wanjun’s figure, Xiao Ding could not help but think of Qing'er, who was far away in another world. Qing'er’s full name was Ouyang Qing, with the codename Spirit Cat, and she had served in the same unit as Xiao Ding. The two had often gone on missions together, and thus mutual affection had blossomed between them. The Gao Wanjun before him possessed a figure similar to Qing'er’s—standing over one hundred and seventy centimeters tall, with the same athletic and well-proportioned build, and a somewhat similar temperament that carried a hint of cold elegance.

Thinking of Qing'er caused an inexplicable ache in Xiao Ding's heart. As he watched the dancing figure before him, it felt as though Qing'er herself was dancing right before his eyes.

Unconsciously, Xiao Ding stood motionless, staring blankly and fixedly at Gao Wanjun. Had Zhao Laixi or anyone from the Tian family witnessed Xiao Ding looking like this at that moment, they surely would have thought his foolish ailment was acting up again.

"Who are you? Why are you peeping at me practice martial arts?" Before he knew it, Gao Wanjun was standing right in front of Xiao Ding, sword in hand.

"I, I..." Xiao Ding slowly collected his wits, just about to offer an explanation, when Gao Wanjun spoke up again.

"Judging by that lewd look on your face, you are nothing more than a dissolute scoundrel! Speak, who are you? Why did you run over here?" Gao Wanjun demanded, her face as frosty as ice.

*Wasn't it you who came into my courtyard in the first place?* Xiao Ding muttered inwardly, though he dared not offend this formidable female warrior. For now, she was the supreme commander here, the general of the grand army, and he was directly under her jurisdiction.

"My name is Tian Xiaoding. This courtyard is my living quarters. When I woke up in the morning and came out into the courtyard, I saw you practicing your swordplay, General," Xiao Ding explained.

"Then why did you look at me with such a lewd gaze? Have you never seen a beauty before?" Gao Wanjun pressed on aggressively.

Hearing this, Xiao Ding groaned inwardly, wondering how on earth he could possibly explain this. Such situations only grew more incriminating the more one tried to clear them up.

"I... I was simply captivated by your exquisite swordsmanship and peerless martial arts, General, which is why my mind drifted," Xiao Ding mentally praised his own sudden cleverness.

Hearing this, Gao Wanjun’s anger seemed to subside a fraction. She remarked, "All the desire and none of the courage! Scoundrels like you are a dime a dozen in the capital; you needn't try to hoodwink me. I advise you to banish those crooked thoughts from your mind as soon as possible, or don't blame me for showing you no courtesy! Humph!"

With that, Gao Wanjun glared fiercely at Xiao Ding, then turned with her sword and walked back to her courtyard, entering her room.

Left in a state of utter bewilderment, Xiao Ding thought to himself, *What on earth is all this about? What crooked thoughts could I possibly have?*

Shrugging helplessly at the sheer confusion of the situation, Xiao Ding turned and headed back to his own room.

After breakfast, all the military officers of the rank of captain and above gathered as usual in the main conference hall of the county yamen. As Xiao Ding sat beside Huang Wenlong and Magistrate Yang, he could sense Gao Wanjun’s gaze occasionally piercing toward him like daggers. Not daring to look up, he had no desire to provoke the wrath of this esteemed young lady from the Gao Manor.

By today, the county's military workshop had already produced sample prototypes of the Modao saber and the new type of crossbow. Upon inspecting the samples, Huang Wenlong nodded repeatedly and instructed the workshop to assemble more hands and accelerate production.

Seeing that the troops would soon be equipped with new weaponry and that the infantry stood a promising chance against cavalry, Magistrate Wen Yang and the others were thoroughly delighted, every single one of them beaming with smiles.

While Dingbian City was rejoicing, Li Daocheng’s side could find no cause for joy.

He had originally dispatched Chibu Gou to the upper reaches of the Dingbian River to build a dam. However, once Chibu Gou actually led his men there and set to work, he discovered that the water volume of the Dingbian River was far greater than they had previously imagined. The soldiers would shovel earth and throw it in, only for the current to wash it away instantly. Even when the earth was packed into sacks and thrown into the river, the bags were swept away just the same.

Later, someone suggested to Chibu Gou that they first pack earth and stones into burlap sacks, tie multiple sacks together, and then toss them into the river, which would prevent them from being washed away.

Finding the idea feasible, Chibu Gou wondered where to find earth and stones. There were no mountainous regions nearby, and both banks of the river were covered in frozen earth, making the acquisition of stones rather difficult.

Another person then offered a solution, suggesting they go to the nearby rural villages and dismantle the bricks and tiles from some houses to fill the river. Finding this idea acceptable as well, Chibu Gou led his men to dismantle houses in the nearby rural villages.

The nearby villages had long since been thoroughly plundered by the Hu people; the villagers had either been slaughtered or had their belongings looted, and the few who had escaped the calamity had all fled into Dingbian City.

Because of this, Chibu Gou's dam-building progress slowed considerably. Coupled with the fact that the soldiers had not been properly fed and lacked energy for labor, after toiling for two or three days, the dam project had barely even begun.

Upon learning of the situation there, Li Daocheng did not overly chastise Chibu Gou; the objective difficulties were right there for anyone to see, and the outcome would have been the same no matter who was in charge.

By evening, after returning to his courtyard, washing up, and preparing to go to bed, Xiao Ding suddenly heard the piercing scream of a woman coming from the adjacent courtyard.

Startled, Xiao Ding thought to himself, *Could the Hu people have dispatched assassins to murder the commander-in-chief? To this day, no one knows how that sack-carrying Daoist priest managed to sneak into Dingbian City. It is entirely possible they have sent more assassins!*

Before Xiao Ding could ponder further, several more panicked cries from a woman echoed from the buildings across the courtyard wall. Acting quickly, Xiao Ding rushed out of his room, hurried through the moon gate, and entered the courtyard where Gao Wanjun stayed. Seeing that the lights were on in all the rooms, he was hesitating over which one to enter when the shriek came from a room on the far left:

"Ah! It's right there! Go kill it!" Xiao Ding recognized Gao Wanjun’s voice, fraught with panic.

"Milady, w-we... we're terrified of it too!" came the voice of a maidservant.

Realizing then that trouble had indeed entered their room, Xiao Ding shouted at the top of his lungs, "Don't be afraid! I've come to save you!" With that, he kicked open the door and bounded into the room.

Focusing his gaze, he saw a wooden bathing tub inside, billowing with steam. Gao Wanjun was huddled naked behind the tub, clutching a piece of clothing to shield her front, while two maidservants, similarly disheveled, trembled beside her.

The attention of all three women was riveted upon a massive rat crouched in the corner of the room. Seeing Xiao Ding burst in abruptly, Gao Wanjun hurriedly wrapped the garment around herself and cried out loudly, "You—what are you doing in here?"

Taking in the scene before him, Xiao Ding instantly guessed the truth. Gao Wanjun had intended to bathe that evening with her two maidservants attending her, when suddenly a giant rat had appeared. Terrified by the creature, all three women had shrieked in panic.

Scratching his head awkwardly, Xiao Ding stammered, "I... I thought..."

Before he could finish, Gao Wanjun cut him off with a frosty glare. "You still dare claim you harbor no crooked thoughts? How dare you run in here to spy on me bathing? Get out of here this instant!"

"Right, right, I'm leaving right now, right now..." Xiao Ding lifted his foot to make his exit.

Suddenly, Gao Wanjun called out, "Wait!"