When Chu Chengji returned to the room, Qin Zheng had changed her sleeping position again.
Instead of lying flat, she was now on her side, with one leg boldly resting on top of the blanket, while her hand still held onto the pillow.
It was approaching the early hours of the morning, but dawn was still a long way off.
Chu Chengji picked up the blanket that Qin Zheng had kicked away and covered her with it before taking off his outer robe and lying down.
Since Qin Zheng was using the pillow as a bolster, Chu Chengji folded his discarded outer robe and inner garment into a small square to use as a pillow.
However, it was still a bit low.
Because he had just come in from outside, he brought with him the chill of the night.
Qin Zheng seemed to sense it even in her sleep, as she turned away from him, lying further away.
In the darkness, Chu Chengji stared at the back of her head, his thin lips tightening even more.
He used his inner energy to warm his body temperature and then moved closer to hold Qin Zheng in his arms.
This time, she didn’t resist.
Feeling the warmth and fragrance of her in his embrace, Chu Chengji buried his face in the black hair at her neck and breathed slowly.
It seemed that the fatigue of the past few days had dissipated.
Outside the window, the night was deep, and with the soft fragrance and warmth in his arms, he gradually felt drowsy.
However, after lying down for a while, his body temperature rose, and Qin Zheng felt too hot being held by him.
She tossed and turned all night, and Chu Chengji was slapped by her several times.
With an expressionless face, he held her firmly in his arms, restraining her hands and feet.
She hugged the pillow, and he held her, finally managing to get some peaceful sleep.
In her dream, Qin Zheng was still commanding the craftsmen to build the city wall, but the sun in the sky was like a fireball, and it stuck to her body.
She felt hot and suffocated, running in her dream but unable to shake it off, almost feeling like she was going to be melted by the sun.
The next morning, when she opened her eyes, she remembered her dream and found it both amusing and bitter.
Dreaming about rushing to meet construction deadlines was something from a past life.
Qin Zheng prepared to get out of bed and continue working, only to discover a large hand resting on her waist.
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She struggled to turn her head and saw Chu Chengji squeezed onto the same pillow as her, or more accurately, she was nestled in his arm.
Qin Zheng was somewhat surprised.
When had he come back?
Feeling sticky from sweating all night while pressed against someone, Qin Zheng felt a little annoyed.
Why wasn’t he sleeping on his own pillow? What was he doing crowding her space like this?
When Qin Zheng’s mind came up with this thought, she glanced at the other pillow squeezed into the corner of the bed and suddenly felt a bit guilty.
Well, she had occupied two pillows.
Qin Zheng carefully removed Chu Chengji’s hand from her waist and made a deliberate effort to move gently as she got up.
Last night, she had studied the construction plans for a long time before going to bed.
It was nearly the hour of Hai when she fell asleep, so Chu Chengji probably only returned in the middle of the night.
Looking at his complexion, she could tell he hadn’t rested well these days.
However, as soon as she moved, Chu Chengji woke up.
“What time is it?” Perhaps still half-asleep, he almost asked the question with his eyes closed, his voice slightly hoarse from just waking up.
“It’s quarter past the hour of five. You can sleep a little longer,” Qin Zheng replied, getting out of bed and passing by him.
Her long hair lightly brushed against his palm as she did so.
Chu Chengji subconsciously closed his fingers, but the ends of her hair slipped through his hand quickly, leaving only a faintly cool sensation.
He turned his head to look at Qin Zheng’s slender figure clad in plain white sleepwear, which seemed particularly thin. “Have you been busy lately?”
Qin Zheng nodded as she dressed. “The horse-face wall near the North Gate will be completed in the next two days. If there are any mistakes at this time, all previous efforts will be wasted. I need to keep a close eye on it.”
Chu Chengji had originally intended to bring up the topic of the Lu family, but Qin Zheng’s response made him hesitant to ask further.
He had entered the city last night, so he hadn’t gotten a clear view of the city’s transformation in the dark.
However, he could see from the city walls that had been reinforced with bricks and stones, as well as the newly built horse-face walls every few meters, that a lot of work had been done in a short time.
The geographical location of Qingzhou was awkward.
Relying solely on the Yuan River for transportation, it prospered through north-south trade.
Therefore, the early city walls were particularly simple, as this was not a strategic location like Xuzhou, nor was it in the heart of the Central Plains, where wars rarely reached.
“I’ll go with you to take a look,” he said, now that Qin Zheng was up and about, and Chu Chengji felt no desire to sleep.
Qin Zheng glanced at him, thinking that after seeing the current state of Qingzhou, he might adjust the deployment of troops and defenses.
So, she nodded.
However, she felt uncomfortable with her sweaty clothes from last night, so Qin Zheng decided to have water brought to the room for a bath before they went out.
Chu Chengji’s expression seemed somewhat subtle when he heard her asking for water to be brought to the room, but he didn’t say anything.
At first, Qin Zheng didn’t realize what was wrong.
It was only when she noticed the old servant who came to deliver the water with a smile on his lips that she finally realized something was amiss.
Having a bath early in the morning might easily lead people to misunderstand what she and Chu Chengji had been doing so early in the morning.
But Qin Zheng couldn’t possibly catch a servant to explain this kind of thing to them.
So, Qin Zheng had to pretend as if everything was normal and went to find some clean clothes to change into in the dressing room.
Seeing Chu Chengji also getting up, the servants quickly brought the washing water.
After Chu Chengji finished preparing, he sat down by the low table and flipped through the architectural drawings Qin Zheng had made.
Through the door curtain, the sound of water in the dressing room entered his ears so clearly, like countless threads plucking at his heartstrings.
The blueprints in front of him were no longer readable.
Chu Chengji pressed his brow bone with his hand.
Seven emotions and six desires, lifelong delusions.
When Qin Zheng came out of the bath, he went into the dressing room.
Qin Zheng could tell that he also wanted to bathe and said, “I’ll have the servants bring water again.”
“No need, I’ll just make do,” he replied.
As he spoke, he took off his shirt, revealing his muscular upper body.
Compared to when they had just left the palace, there was obviously more muscle on his body now.
After taking off his clothes, he emanated a strong presence.
Although they had kissed and embraced before, except for when he was seriously injured and contracted a fever, this was the first time Qin Zheng had seen his body so directly.
Thinking that he was going to bathe with the water she had used, even though Qin Zheng was usually calm, she couldn’t help but feel a bit flushed.
She was about to leave with the clothes she had changed out of when she heard the sound of water from the bathtub behind her, followed by Chu Chengji’s voice, “Help me wash my back.”
Qin Zheng was about to say she would call the servant to come in and wash his back when Chu Chengji continued, “How are the refugees resettled? Now’s a good time to discuss it with me.”
Was he suggesting discussing official business while washing?
Qin Zheng set aside her changed clothes and went back to the bathtub.
“Master Song has been an official for many years, so he has some ideas about this. Initially, I had Master Song in charge of this matter.
He registered and settled the refugees in the city who had household registration documents.
As for those without household registration documents, we still need to discuss how to settle them,” Qin Zheng said as she picked up the ladle and poured water over his back.
He was tall; even sitting in the bathtub, his arms could easily rest on the edge.
His back and shoulders were muscular, exuding a sense of strength.
Qin Zheng wet his entire back before starting to knead his shoulders and neck.
Compared to Chu Chengji’s back and shoulders, Qin Zheng’s fingertips were smoother and more delicate.
With just the right amount of pressure, she could make even the toughest muscles relax.
Chu Chengji leaned against the edge of the bathtub with his eyes closed, feeling her hands moving over his shoulders and back.
His throat moved slightly, and after a while, he said, “For those without household registration documents, we’ll register them separately and issue them makeshift documents to prevent any potential issues. We’ll concentrate on settling those people together.”
Qin Zheng and Song Heqing had discussed this matter for a long time without reaching a conclusion.
They were worried that there might be spies among those without household registration documents, and verifying their identities wasn’t easy.
Chu Chengji’s solution solved the current problem.
After the Qingzhou government issued documents to them, they had a roster in hand, essentially tagging each refugee without household registration documents.
It would also be convenient to manage them if they were resettled together.
If they were still worried, they could allocate some land in the villages outside the city for them to cultivate.
Having resolved a troublesome issue, Qin Zheng was in a good mood. “If we encounter any difficulties in the future, I’ll write to you to ask for advice.”
Chu Chengji made a sound of agreement. Although he seemed absent-minded, he was already planning to arrange a messenger to send letters to her separately.
After Qin Zheng had been massaging his shoulders and back for a while, her hands started to ache, so she stopped and asked, “How’s it going in Xuzhou?”
“Dong Da has launched several attacks, but they were repelled. Now, they’ve retreated to Meng County. They must be waiting for the court’s fifty thousand troops to arrive before launching a joint attack on Xuzhou.”
Dong Da was the former governor of Xuzhou.
He paused and continued, “Minzhou has been taken by Prince Huaiyang. Of the twenty thousand troops sent from Qingzhou to support them, only over a thousand were lost. They will also soon join forces with the court’s fifty thousand troops.”
Shen Yanzhi led twenty thousand troops to Minzhou.
Despite losing Minzhou, he only lost over a thousand troops, indicating that he deliberately preserved his strength and intended to turn back to attack Chu Chengji after losing Minzhou.
With the fifty thousand troops from the court, along with Dong Da and Shen Yanzhi’s forces, there were probably at least eighty thousand troops.
Their opponents had doubled in number from before.
Despite this, there was no hint of fear or worry in Chu Chengji’s voice.
He seemed to have been waiting for this battle for a long time.
Qin Zheng couldn’t be as confident as he was. “Do you have a strategy to deal with the enemy?”
Chu Chengji turned to look at her, and there was a wildness and arrogance in his eyes that Qin Zheng had never seen before. “Before attacking Xuzhou, Meng County was already on guard against me. I can’t let them be on guard for nothing for so long.”
As he spoke, Qin Zheng understood his intention: he wanted to take down Meng County, the granary of Huainan, before the court’s troops arrived.
Qin Zheng analyzed, “Meng County originally had a garrison of ten thousand troops.
Adding Dong Da’s forces, there are probably around twenty thousand troops. With the combined strength of Qingzhou, we can probably win this battle.”
Chu Chengji looked at her and chuckled, “Does Ah Zheng still remember how I took down Xuzhou?”
Qin Zheng was taken aback for a moment, then quickly realized, “You’re planning to simultaneously attack Huzhou and Meng County?”
The troops in Huzhou had been scattered before, but with the Xuzhou troops stationed there, they didn’t dare to attack Huzhou.
Now that the Xuzhou troops had been sent to protect the granary in Meng County, Huzhou was practically defenseless.
Even if they couldn’t capture Meng County, taking Huzhou would greatly enhance Chu Chengji’s prestige in the Jianghuai region and would also serve to demoralize the court’s army before the battle.
“Those who know me, know you,” Chu Chengji’s cheeks were splashed with water, and there was a hint of seduction in his gaze as he looked at her.
Qin Zheng pondered the current situation, not swayed by his charm.
Her mind raced as she thought she had figured out his plan. “So, you rushed back here overnight to lay out the strategy for attacking Huzhou and Meng County?”
Chu Chengji’s expression froze for a moment.
The seductive look in his eyes faded away, and he pursed his lips tightly.
Without a word, he pulled her close, silencing her with a kiss.