Chapter Ninety-One: Ah Nuo

After spending a night in his own residence, Nanan set out early the next morning for the camp.

He had fought all his life, yet he had never suffered such humiliation. If he did not find some way to recover his dignity from the Ninth Prince, leaving aside how his soldiers might look upon him, he himself would never be able to get past it.

So Nanan arrived at the camp brimming with confidence. Yet once there, he found the soldiers all listless and dispirited.

"Are none of you supposed to be training? What are you doing here? Waiting for the Northern Jade army to come charging over?" he barked.

Since he had taken command of these soldiers, he had never once seen them in such a slack state.

The commander hurried forward at once, trying to placate him. "Your Highness, please do not be angry. They spent all of last night in intense training, so they are a little tired at the moment and merely resting for a short while. They will resume training in a bit."

"Intense training all night? I did not arrange any nighttime training," Nanan said in confusion, looking from the commander to the soldiers sitting on the ground.

At a glance, the soldiers did seem lazy, but the fatigue in their faces was plain. They truly looked as if they had been worn down by a night of training.

The commander sighed helplessly and said, "The training last night really was not ordered by Your Highness. They felt ashamed that they had actually lost simply because they were distracted by watching other people eat breakfast, and they thought they had failed Your Highness. So they took it upon themselves to train.

They thought that if they could endure a whole night of training, they could continue with daytime training as well. But now they are somewhat drained, and even if they want to keep going, their bodies can no longer keep up.

I was worried that forcing themselves to train might injure them, so I could only order them to rest where they were.

That is why Your Highness sees them like this. I ask that you do not hold it against them."

"So that is how it is. Then rest well. There is no need to train today." Nanan let out a resigned sigh. "Ano, come here."

He treated his soldiers very well, so he understood why they had acted this way, and it pained him deeply.

They had lost that battle not only because of the soldiers, but also because of his own decision. In truth, he could have waited longer, and then they would certainly have won. But at the time, he had been so furious at the Ninth Prince that he had lost his reason and given the order to withdraw.

The one called Ano—the only woman among the soldiers—heard Nanan call her name and immediately rose from the ground to stand before him.

"Your Highness."

Though she too had been resting on the ground, her bearing was entirely different from that of the others; she looked as though she had not been exhausted at all.

"I have something very important that I need you to do. It is a highly confidential matter, so you must not tell anyone. This is what you need to handle." As he spoke, Nanan handed Ano an envelope.

After receiving it, Ano opened it to take a look. The contents shocked her somewhat, and she could not help glancing up at Nanan, who stood before her.

When Nanan saw her puzzled expression, he nodded. Only then did Ano swallow and take out a fire striker from her robes, burning the envelope to ashes.

"I have memorized the task. Please rest assured, Your Highness. Should I set out at once?" Ano asked.

Nanan nodded. "I want you to investigate this as quickly as possible, because I am very curious about it. I also have a feeling it may bring me a surprise. So, Ano, I am counting on you."

"Yes."

After she answered, Ano left.

Ano did not have a full name. Even the name Ano had been given to her by Nanan.

He had rescued her during a war. She was an orphan, but also a rare talent for martial arts, and so Nanan valued her highly.

However, as a woman, it was not very convenient for her to remain by his side. So he placed her in the military camp instead. She lived entirely on her own and would not share quarters with the other men.

In truth, he had not originally intended to place her in the camp. It was Ano herself who made that choice. She knew that her presence might interfere with the relationship between the Third Prince and the Third Princess Consort, so she took the initiative and requested to be sent to the camp.

Though Nanan felt that a woman serving in the military might be somewhat inconvenient, he did not refuse her.

Ano had gone. Nanan remained in the camp, continuing to watch the soldiers train. He believed she would surely bring him many satisfying answers.

----

Northern Jade Kingdom borderlands.

"You beggar, get away from here at once. Do you even know where this is?"

"Please, I only want a bite to eat. Could you give me something to eat?"

"This is an inn, do you understand? Do you know who lives inside? Get away from here at once. Don't come begging here!"

A ragged woman was begging at the entrance of the relay station. Yan Heru would not have known about it at all, but she happened to be passing through the courtyard, gathering medicinal herbs, and so she heard the argument.

Yan Heru looked toward the entrance, but the guards blocked her view, so she could not see what exactly was happening there. Thus she asked Moyi beside her, "What is happening at the door? Go and take a look."

"Yes."

Once Moyi reached the entrance, he saw a disheveled woman collapsed there. The guards were trying to drive her away, but she refused to leave.

When the ragged woman saw Moyi come out, she seemed to see hope. She suddenly seized his leg, and Moyi, caught off guard, failed to dodge in time.

Yan Heru was following behind Moyi and walking toward the entrance as well. She happened to see the woman clutching Moyi's leg, and a flicker of surprise passed through her eyes.

Moyi's martial skill was not especially formidable, but he certainly would not be so easily grabbed by an ordinary woman.

"Miss! Please, give me something to eat, or let me stay and sweep floors and do odd jobs. I truly have no other choice! There is not a single grain of rice left at home! Please, I beg you!

I know this is a relay station, and the people staying inside must be nobles and officials, so I had nowhere else to turn. Now that the borderlands have become like this, I had no choice but to come here. Please, save me, or I will die here!"

The woman cried out in despair, looking pitiful beyond words.