Xie Jingchen was soaking in the water when he turned his head and saw smoke rising from where his clothes were placed.

He glanced back and saw Dong Chenglang enjoying his bath in a small pool not far away.

Xie Jingchen quickly got out of the water, by then his smoking clothes had caught fire.

He hurriedly extinguished the fire.

The pants were on fire; upon picking them up, he found two large holes burned in the seat.

Xie Jingchen’s eyes turned cold as he scanned the surroundings but found no one.

Even though he was bathing, he shouldn’t be so unaware that he wouldn’t notice someone approaching.

Moreover, what kind of person would have such a twisted sense of humor to burn his clothes?

Xie Jingchen found the clothes catching fire very unusual.

He scrutinized the area, noting that the fire started with the weeds in the rock crevice, which wasn’t an easy place to set fire.

He recalled when retrieving his clothes, a transparent object taken from the telescope was originally hidden in them but seemed to have slipped out due to the wind.

His intuition told him the fire was related to this transparent object.

Ever since he entered the Nanliang Military Camp, he often bathed in this river, but today was different because he brought this thing.

He decided to research how the object caused the fire but needed to consider how to return shortly.

Looking at his burned pants, Xie Jingchen felt a throbbing headache.

His gaze shifted to Dong Chenglang’s clothes.

Their clothes were placed not far from each other.

Xie Jingchen hesitated, but eventually decided to trick his teammate.

Dong Chenglang enjoyed his bath for fifteen minutes before coming ashore to dress.

Glancing at his pants, Dong Chenglang was dumbfounded.

His good pants, how did they get these two big holes?

Returning with them like this would be utterly disgraceful.

Dong Chenglang surveyed his surroundings, unable to spot Xie Jingchen; he hurried to change his pants.

Just as he picked them up, the sound of splashing water came as Xie Jingchen emerged from the river.

Finally having gotten back his pants, they couldn’t be swapped now.

Dong Chenglang’s face turned crimson.

Here he was, the dignified Heir of the Changning Marquis Mansion and General Shi’s nephew, stealing pants...

But losing face in front of one person was better than losing it in front of ten thousand soldiers.

Dong Chenglang grabbed the pants and bolted, "Wait for me, I’ll bring you pants soon!"

Xie Jingchen, "...."

Dong Chenglang ran off.

Xie Jingchen could only continue soaking in the water.

With no one around, it was a good time to study how the transparent object caused the clothes to catch fire.

He examined it thoroughly but couldn’t find anything peculiar.

The sun’s rays naturally focused on his brow.

Shortly after, his forehead began to heat up.

This discovery made Xie Jingchen’s eyes brighten.

To prove his hypothesis, Xie Jingchen went ashore and experimented with some dry grass.

Soaking in water with dried grass resting on the sun-heated rocks.

In no time, the grass caught fire.

Just as it was burning, there was a disturbance in the distance.

With one wave of his hand, the burning grass extinguished, carried away by the stream.

Dong Chenglang arrived with a bundle, cheeks flaming.

When Xie Jingchen emerged from the water, Dong Chenglang opened the bundle to reveal at least four or five pairs of pants.

Xie Jingchen asked, "Why’d you bring so many pants?"

"Pick any," Dong Chenglang replied.

"...."

"You mustn’t breathe a word about me stealing your pants."

"...."

At the end, Dong Chenglang’s voice grew softer, his ears crimson as if sculpted from blood-colored jade.

Xie Jingchen stayed silent and quietly picked a pair to wear.

Dong Chenglang patted Xie Jingchen’s shoulder, "Now we’re truly pants-sharing brothers."

Xie Jingchen’s mouth twitched.

Why was his demeanor so similar to Chu Shun and the others?

If this were Daqi, they would certainly be great buddies.

Just as he was thinking this, Dong Chenglang suddenly stated, "If I find out who burned my pants, I’ll peel off their skin!"

Xie Jingchen felt a slight itch in his nose, but didn’t sneeze.

Probably because he swapped, not burned them?

After bathing, Xie Jingchen returned to the camp and saw soldiers pushing carts.

Due to uneven ground, the cart bumped over a protruding stone, shaking its contents and dropping a few grains of rice.

Xie Jingchen took a few glances and curved his lips.

Daqi, Military Camp.

Su Jin wrote two letters, dried the ink, and carefully folded them into envelopes.

Outside the tent door, a Hidden Guard’s voice spoke, "Heir’s wife."

"Come in," Su Jin said.

Only then did the Hidden Guard lift the tent door to enter.

Su Jin handed him both letters, "Deliver these letters to Princess Jing Mountain in Beimo."

"Especially this one, it must be handed over personally and cannot fall into the wrong hands."

The Hidden Guard was surprised Su Jin sent him to Beimo.

Such specific instructions indicated the importance of the letter’s contents.

"I’ll set off now," said the Hidden Guard.

He turned and left.

Before departing, he glanced at Xingxing, who merely said, "Go and come back quickly."

The Hidden Guard felt a surge of joy.

Was she reluctant to see him go?

"Do you have anything else to say to me?" the Hidden Guard asked.

Xingxing was a bit embarrassed, so the Hidden Guard added, "If you don’t speak, I’ll be off."

Seeing him turn, Xingxing hurriedly said, "According to the maid of Princess Jing Mountain, the pastries in Beimo are especially delicious. Can you bring me some when you return?"

Hidden Guard, "...."

The Hidden Guard turned and left.

If he didn’t leave, he feared he’d cough up blood in the Heir’s wife’s tent.

Outside, the sun was exceptionally bright, making the Hidden Guard a bit dizzy.

Inside the tent, Xingxing pouted and Su Jin scolded her, "You really are..."

Xingxing felt aggrieved, "I didn’t want to say it; he asked me."

The Hidden Guard went for official business, asking him to bring food wasn’t right.

But he asked, and she couldn’t resist saying it. Had she known he wasn’t pleased, she wouldn’t have mentioned it.

Xingxing continued to grind ink, and Su Jin said, "No need for ink anymore."

Looking at the inkstone, Xingxing remarked, "What a waste."

Su Jin pondered, "Let’s write two more letters then."

It had been a while since Su Jin wrote to Mrs. Tang and Princess Consort.

After finishing her letters, she prepared to send them to Marquis Dongxiang to have someone deliver them back to the Capital.

Just then, Marquis Dongxiang dispatched someone to summon her.

The Hidden Guard leaving for the border must be reported to the Prince.

Sending letters to the Princess Beimo would definitely pique interest about the issue, especially with the Hidden Guard departing urgently.

Marquis Dongxiang, concerned something might be amiss, summoned Su Jin for questioning.

In the military tent, Marquis Dongxiang looked at Su Jin, "You sent a letter to Princess Beimo, is there an important matter?"

Su Jin neither nodded nor shook her head, "I’m entrusting something to Princess Beimo; not sure if she can accomplish it."

"Wait until the Hidden Guard returns, I’ll report it to Father."

Marquis Dongxiang, deeming it a trivial matter, didn’t pursue it further.

Su Jin submitted her family letters.

Sending only two letters seemed a waste of manpower, so Marquis Dongxiang wrote one himself, and the Generals followed suit.

Then—

The courier rushed back to the Capital with a bundle full of letters.