Ji Qingwu set aside her doubts for the time being and focused on preparing breakfast.
She made thin pancakes from a batter of young elm leaves and millet, rolling them with water shield and shredded bamboo shoots. They were light and savory; this time, they should be to his taste.
But Ji Qingwu waited in the main tent for the entire morning. The pancakes grew cold in their food box, yet Zhao Mingyan never returned.
She went out to ask and only then learned that General Dingbei had left early in the morning.
Civil unrest had broken out in the Northwest. A band of marauders, who had proclaimed themselves kings, were burning, killing, and pillaging. They had already seized two cities, but King Liang, concerned only with his own pleasure, paid no mind to the lives of his people.
General Zhenbei had already gone to provide support. But Daliang was rotten to the core; the official responsible for the border defenses was colluding with the enemy.
