The sun sank behind the mountains, and the evening glow set half the sky ablaze, like red ink staining the world. Suzhou City was cloaked in a purple-red radiance, and even the piles of pirate corpses beneath the walls shimmered with the same hue.
If a painter were present, inspiration would surely strike, crafting a timeless masterpiece titled *The Twilight of the Pirates*.
The pirates hadn’t retreated. A mile from the city, they set up camp, bustling about to prepare their dinner.
Their encampment was a chaotic mess.
On the walls, the defenders also began to enjoy their meal. Having repelled the pirates, the city’s merchants spontaneously brought food and drink to reward the troops.
Li Shu, along with her baozi-shaped maidservants Hua’er and Qin’er, arrived too, carrying fragrant food boxes that wafted their aroma for miles. They waited below for Zhu Ping’an.
When Zhu Ping’an got word, he hurried down the walls with Liu Dadao. Seeing the pregnant Li Shu, guilt tugged at him. He quickly stepped forward, gently taking her soft hand, and said warmly, “Why come all this way? You could’ve waited at home. Once the pirates are fully driven off, I’d head straight back. They’ve lost the strength to attack again. Unless something unexpected happens, they’ll retreat tonight or tomorrow.”
“There are people around,” Li Shu chided playfully, her cheeks flushing red, though she didn’t pull her hand away, letting Zhu Ping’an hold it.
Coming from the modern world, Zhu Ping’an saw nothing unusual in holding hands publicly. In ancient times, though, it was a tad bold—roughly akin to seeing a couple kiss on the street in modern days.
Nearby, the demoness Ruonan, who’d tagged along, got an eyeful of their affection and rolled her eyes, muttering *shameless couple* under her breath.
“It’s because your babies missed you. They kept kicking my belly, so I had to bring them here,” Li Shu said with a teasing smile.
“Those little rascals, daring to bully my wife? Wait till they’re born—I’ll teach them a lesson and show them that discipline breeds filial sons,” Zhu Ping’an said jokingly.
“Stop it!” Li Shu’s face turned crimson, like a lotus emerging from water, and she shot him a fierce glare.
“Alright, head back home. The pirates haven’t retreated yet, so I need to stay on the walls and keep watch. I’ll return once they’re gone,” Zhu Ping’an said. With the pirates still lingering, he couldn’t linger below. He gave Li Shu a quick hug and urged them to leave.
Stepping out of his embrace, Li Shu inspected him from head to toe, ensuring he was unharmed. Only then did she relax, though she still nagged him repeatedly to stay safe and not take risks.
“We’ll wait for you to come back,” she said, waving reluctantly as she parted from him. She understood the gravity of the situation with the pirates still outside.
That Zhu Ping’an could come down to see her already warmed her heart and eased her worries.
Li Shu was sharp—his willingness to step away from the walls meant the battle was firmly in their favor. If it were still perilous, he wouldn’t—couldn’t—have left his post.
Coupled with the city’s buzzing rumors of a grand victory over the pirates, her mind was completely at ease.
“Liu Dadao, you’d better protect Zhu-gege. If he gets hurt, I won’t let you off!” Li Shu sternly warned Liu Dadao before leaving.
“Don’t worry, Young Mistress. If the Young Master loses even a hair, I’ll chop off my head for you to kick around like a ball,” Liu Dadao thumped his chest, vowing solemnly.
“Young Master, listen to the Mistress. Protect yourself and don’t show off. If it’s time to play hero, let Dadao-ge and the others handle it,” the baozi maid Hua’er added as they departed.
“They’re each worth a hundred of you—far more useful,” Ruonan chimed in lightly.
Liu Dadao: *…*
Zhu Ping’an waved goodbye to Li Shu and her group, then turned back to the walls. Liu Dadao followed, hefting two six-tiered food boxes.
Li Shu and her party left reluctantly, looking back every few steps.
“Hey, Ruonan, why didn’t you check on your dad?” Hua’er suddenly asked on the way back, realizing Ruonan’s father served under Zhu Ping’an too.
“I saw him. He waved to me from the walls. My dad’s martial skills are a hundred times better than Zhu Ping’an’s. If Zhu Ping’an’s fine, my dad’s even better off,” Ruonan said casually, shifting her gaze from Zhu Ping’an.
Back on the walls, Zhu Ping’an opened the food boxes. He took two dishes to share with Prefect Shang and the other officials as an extra treat, kept a plate of braised prawns—clearly Li Shu’s handiwork—for himself, and sent the rest to be divided among the Zhejiang troops.
As they ate, footsteps approached, accompanied by soldiers chattering about reinforcements arriving from the other gates.
Zhu Ping’an and the others looked up, spotting several groups of reinforcements jogging in from the south and north ends of the walls.
Zhu Ping’an’s lip twitched in a faint, disdainful smirk. *The battle’s long cold, and now you show up?*
“Damn it! Count the time yourselves—how long has it been since I sent the call for aid, and you’re only arriving now?!” Prefect Shang exploded, slamming his soup bowl to the ground, shattering it. He unleashed a torrent of curses at the deputy general leading the south gate reinforcements.
“When the pirates sneaked in and attacked from within, where were you?! When their army stormed the walls outside, where were you?! Now that they’ve been beaten back and gone quiet, you finally stroll in?!”
“What use are you now?! Here to collect my corpse?! If we’d waited for you, I’d be long dead!”
“They say you raise troops for a thousand days to use them in a moment—ask yourselves, what damn use have I raised you for?!”
Prefect Shang raged on for nearly ten minutes, only stopping when his throat went dry and he took a sip of water.
“Ahem, my lord, calm down, we…” The south gate deputy began, only to be cut off by Shang’s renewed tirade.
“Calm down? How do I calm down?! Tell me how! It’s been at least an hour and a half since I sent the order! The battle’s over, and your reinforcements are just arriving now!”
“Sir, please, we had our reasons. The south gate was under attack too…” the deputy tried to explain.
“Nonsense! I know exactly how many pirates there are—they’re all here at the main gate! How could they be attacking your south gate too?!” Shang bellowed, his anger flaring.
“There really were…” the deputy insisted.
“How many?” Shang demanded.
“A lot…” the deputy said weakly.
“How many is ‘a lot’?” Shang pressed.
“Over a thousand…” the deputy stammered after a long pause.
“A thousand?!” Shang’s eyes bulged.
“Well… at least a hundred…” the deputy mumbled feebly.
Prefect Shang nearly stumbled from fury. “Oh, splendid. Just splendid.”
