Chapter 61: The Young Lady Who Wants a Warm Bed

Gongsun Ce did not like what he was hearing. What was there to be embarrassed about in this matter? After all, they were not exaggerating their military achievements; they truly had slain a commander of a thousand cavalry. The magistrate was just too thin-skinned—he needed more experience!

Seeing this side of Bao Zheng only strengthened Gongsun Ce’s resolve to remain by his side.

He needs me.

He was about to offer more counsel when Bao Zheng waved his hand and said, “The most pressing issue now is the remaining Liao troops. These five hundred were merely a grain collection squad; the main army must be nearby.”

A cold shiver ran through everyone.

Today had been a series of highs and lows for Magistrate Wang. Eager to divide the merits, he had completely forgotten the fleeing Liao soldiers and the main force behind them.

There was no time to hesitate—the only thing left was to send an urgent message to the court for reinforcements!

Guobei County was immediately sealed off.

“My lord, what should we do?” Magistrate Wang resorted to the most prudent, yet also the most passive and unremarkable course of action in such a situation.

“What are your thoughts?” Bao Zheng turned to Wang Chao and Ma Han.

“My lord, I believe we should send scouts at once to locate them,” Wang Chao replied after some thought.

As a soldier, he preferred to take the initiative rather than sit back and defend passively. He was no stranger to fierce battles with the Liao, and did not fear them much—especially with Shen Shi, a scion of a military family, on their side.

To be honest, at first, he had thought their defeat inevitable. A hundred local militia against five hundred cavalry—who could imagine victory? But under Shen Shi’s command, they had prevailed using the wooden barricades.

He could only feel immense admiration for Shen Shi. Truly worthy of his lineage—remarkable indeed!

“My lord, since this is another county’s jurisdiction, perhaps…” Gongsun Ce offered quietly.

“Very well, we’ll return to Jinhua,” Bao Zheng decided.

These days, Gongsun Ce had always been by his side, offering advice, and Bao Zheng trusted him. Barring any surprises, it seemed these two would remain close allies.

Of course, Bao Zheng understood that staying here served no purpose. This was Guobei County, not Jinhua. Even if he wanted to send out scouts, he had no such authority here.

After a moment’s thought, Bao Zheng said, “Mr. Gongsun, go and ask Young Master Shen if he would like to return with us.”

“Yes, my lord,” Gongsun Ce replied and left.

...

“So handsome~”

Cao Jinhua rested her chin in her hands, a lovesick smile lighting up her delicate face. Her big, bright eyes stared unblinkingly at the man meditating before her.

Ever since their return from the black market, Cao Jinhua had clung to Shen Shi, and these dreamy sighs had become a daily occurrence.

Gongsun Ce, entering just in time to hear this, momentarily forgot his serious purpose, frowned, and cast a sidelong glance at this “man” with refined features. “Hey!”

“Mmm-hmm,” Cao Jinhua replied absentmindedly, not even turning her head, remaining lost in her infatuation.

“Young master, young master!” Her little maid tried desperately to rouse her mistress.

“Drool, you’re drooling again! Young master, really!” the maid sighed, wiping her mistress’s mouth.

Gongsun Ce didn’t spare them another glance, as if even a second more would bring him bad luck. He hurried inside.

Oh, how mortifying!

Her mistress was hopeless, and the maid wiped with a firmer hand.

Cao Jinhua winced from the pain, snapped back to herself, and glared at her maid. “You little imp, are you rebelling?”

“And you have the nerve to ask?” The maid had had enough, glaring right back. “Miss, that’s enough. You’re disguised as a man now—if you keep swooning like this, you’ll frighten Young Master Shen!”

“Oh, it’s not that serious,” Cao Jinhua said, puffing out her chest, though her eyes couldn’t leave Shen Shi. The lovestruck smile returned. “Brother Shi is so handsome; it’s perfectly normal for me to swoon over him.”

“Brother Shi?!”

The maid nearly broke down. “Miss! For the last time, you’re disguised as a man! You have to call him Brother Shen!”

“You must call him Brother Shen!” she insisted angrily.

Her mistress’s infatuation had been causing endless embarrassment these days—or perhaps “shock” was the better word. Cao Jinhua had already scared off both Young Masters Gongsun and Kong, and even Wang Chao and Ma Han avoided this courtyard.

Why?

It was like being force-fed dog food. All these men had one thing in common: they were single.

With Cao Jinhua masquerading as a man, any male who entered felt like a lightbulb with a thousand-watt glare. Who would dare approach?

This “dog food” was enough to traumatize anyone!

“If you go by my background, yes, I should call him Brother Shen. But from my family’s perspective, calling him Brother Shi is perfectly fine,” Cao Jinhua said, pursing her lips and curling her fingers in a dainty gesture—another “shocking” habit.

“Your family? Which family?” the maid asked darkly. It wasn’t insolence—her mistress was simply too much to handle. If she didn’t watch closely, her mistress might deliver herself into Shen Shi’s bed with some excuse like “I was too frightened today, please let me share your bed…”

Who knows what might happen then?

This was no Ming or Qing dynasty; women who came of age in the chaotic Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period were not burdened with so many rules. After all, the founders of the Cheng-Zhu school of thought were still just children at this time.

And perhaps they only established their doctrines out of guilt for their own moral failings.

But even without Neo-Confucianism, there were still family rules. As a daughter of the Cao family, even if she did share a bed with a man, the family head might let it slide. But a maid would not be so lucky—she could very well be beaten to death.

She was fighting for her life.

“You silly girl, I told you not to indulge in so many romantic tales…”

“Huh?” The maid was bewildered.

“Let me explain,” Cao Jinhua said with a sigh. “The Shen family’s ancestor was a trusted cavalryman under the Taizu Emperor, who regarded him as a brother. After my elder sister married into the imperial family, we became one family—it’s only right to call him brother.”

The maid was left speechless by her mistress’s twisted logic.

If her mistress was this shameless, what hope did a mere maid have? But she couldn’t just give up—her life was at stake.

“Miss, Hong’er begs you, just call him Brother Shen!” The maid could only plead, putting on a pitiful face.

“Don’t worry, Hong’er. We’ll each stick to our own customs. It’s not as if I intend to take advantage of him,” Cao Jinhua replied, eyes narrowing to slits as she gazed once more at Shen Shi, who was now speaking with Gongsun Ce. She murmured, “But if things progress between me and Brother Shi in the future, then our forms of address will truly have to change…”

“Ah!” The maid paled with fright. What she feared most was her mistress taking things even further.

“I’m doing everything to keep you from throwing yourself at him, and yet you insist on running into his arms. Are you really trying to get me killed?”