Chapter 154: Drawing Out the Thread

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Sensing Liang Jinshang’s gaze, Gong Nian looked up and glanced at her. Liang Jinshang approached and took the last piece of strawberry cake onto her plate. Gong Nian stood up, exclaiming, “That’s mine!”

Although Liang Jinshang loved sweets, she wouldn’t compete with a child over food. Knowing Gong Nian was Gong Xueyuan’s younger sister, and recalling how badly Nan Yi had harmed Gong Nian last time, Liang Jinshang felt a pang of guilt. Though Gong Nian was spoiled, she was innocent in the adults’ grudges.

“Do you want some cake?” Liang Jinshang offered her plate with a smile. “I haven’t touched it.”

“I don’t want it,” Gong Nian said disdainfully. “It’s just a piece of cake. I’m not as greedy as you.”

She was just being fussy. It was best not to get close to the Gong family—misfortune followed them.

Coincidentally, a waiter pushed a cart over to replenish the food. Gong Nian, right in front of Liang Jinshang, chose the same kind of cake again. Clearly, she was craving it!

Gong Nian explained with great conviction, “Today’s pastry chef was specially invited. This strawberry cake is the best thing he makes. You probably won’t have many chances to try it, so I’m pitying you and not fighting for it, okay?”

“Got it,” Liang Jinshang replied with a teasing smile. “I didn’t expect you to be such a good person.”

Though only eight years old, Gong Nian could clearly detect the sarcasm.

When Shang Yucheng arrived, he saw the two standing face to face—one big, one small. Gong Nian spotted him first. “Brother Acheng!”

Shang Yucheng ruffled her hair, then moved to stand beside Liang Jinshang and asked, “What are you two talking about?”

Liang Jinshang didn’t answer. Gong Nian was dissatisfied. “Brother Acheng, why don’t you ask Nian Nian?”

Shang Yucheng casually draped his arm around Liang Jinshang’s waist and looked down at Gong Nian. “Alright, I’ll ask you.”

Gong Nian clearly knew how to play the role of the obedient child. “I’m telling this big sister that this strawberry cake is delicious! I even gave her the last piece.”

Shang Yucheng glanced at Liang Jinshang, raising an eyebrow as if doubting this, seeking confirmation from her.

Liang Jinshang chuckled softly without concern. “Seems that’s the case.”

The little girl was cunning, quite skilled at diverting attention.

Shang Yucheng understood Liang Jinshang’s sarcasm but chose not to dwell on it. Instead, he unconsciously leaned closer to her face.

Liang Jinshang wore a pure white dress today, tailored just right—nothing flashy, but it suited her perfectly. Around her neck was a diamond necklace, and she wore a pair of square diamond earrings that sparkled alternately. Her smile was enchanting.

Suddenly, Shang Yucheng felt a strong urge to steal a taste of the sweetness at her lips.

Gong Nian was left out, tilting her head back to look at her favorite big brother. In her eyes, it seemed he saw only this woman.

Though his expression was unreadable, Gong Nian inexplicably felt that he liked her more than he liked her own sister—by far.

Of course, as a child, she didn’t understand this was what they called “eye contact that stretches on endlessly.”

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“Brother Acheng!” Gong Nian called out loudly.

“Hmm?” Shang Yucheng paused before breaking eye contact with Liang Jinshang. “What is it?”

Gong Nian handed him the remaining half of her cake. “Mom said I can’t eat too many sweets; it’s bad for my asthma.”

“You eat it for me, then!” Shang Yucheng took it but didn’t make a move to eat.

Liang Jinshang knew his personality—there was no way he’d eat someone else’s leftovers.

When he didn’t eat it, Gong Nian suddenly looked pitiful. “Brother Acheng, you really don’t like Nian Nian anymore. Do you dislike me?”

Liang Jinshang was quite amazed.

She didn’t understand children nowadays. That tone and posture—if she wasn’t overthinking, it seemed Gong Nian was competing with her for Shang Yucheng’s attention.

Shang Yucheng calmly refused without changing expression. “Just have the waiter clear it away later.”

But Gong Nian stubbornly stamped her foot, declaring that Brother Acheng didn’t like her anymore.

Even the buckle on her little shoe came undone.

She had to squat down to fasten it herself.

When she stood up again, she saw Shang Yucheng’s plate was empty, and he was leisurely swallowing the cake.

Her drooping mouth suddenly lifted into a smile as she hugged his leg. “Brother, I knew you liked Nian Nian best, didn’t I!”

Yet her gaze was pointed at Liang Jinshang.

Liang Jinshang turned her eyes away in speechless exasperation.

She casually handed the plate, now with half a piece of cake left, to the passing waiter.

Tch, if you have the guts, you really eat Gong Nian’s piece.

Twenty taels of silver was a small amount but still worth eight to ten thousand in the modern era.

Currently, an ordinary soldier in the Dayu dynasty earned at most one tael of silver monthly, and a centurion three taels.

Maybe he would accept it.

Besides, Qin Hu was preparing to paint a rosy picture for Li Xiaokun, after all, Qin Hu used to have plenty of money.

Now it was just a matter of whether he and Qin An could survive the night.

“Little Marquis, I might not make it. I’m so hungry, my hands and feet are frozen stiff,” Qin An murmured drowsily.

“Little Anzi, little Anzi, hold on, hold on. You can’t stay still. Get up and run. That’s the only way to survive.”

Qin Hu was struggling too. Although in his past life he was a special forces soldier, his current body was nothing like before. All he had now was unyielding spirit.

“Wait!”

Qin Hu’s eyes flashed like cold stars as he suddenly whispered. A glint about ten meters from the camp and the rustling sound caught his attention.

Using his professional instincts as a special reconnaissance soldier, he sensed enemy presence.

But should he alert Li Xiaokun?

Qin Hu hesitated. What if he was wrong? His body now was worlds apart from before.

A false alarm might cause panic or a camp alert, and if someone used that against him, he could be legitimately executed.

“Little Anzi, hand me the bow and arrow.”

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Qin Hu crawled under the cart axle, whispering.

But Qin An’s next words nearly made him jump.

“Bow and arrow? What’s that?”

What? This era had no bows or arrows?

Qin Hu looked around and spotted a two-meter-long wooden stick under the wheel. The tip was sharpened, thick at the handle and tapering upward.

It looked increasingly like a weapon.

A wooden spear—this was the hallmark weapon of cannon fodder soldiers.

“Closer, a bit closer...” After a few breaths, Qin Hu confirmed he wasn’t mistaken.

The approaching figures were likely enemy scouts—called lookouts in this era—attempting to infiltrate the camp to gather intelligence.

If conditions permitted, they might poison, set fires, or carry out a decapitation mission.

“One, two, three...”

He and Qin An lay motionless on the ground until suddenly Qin Hu sprang up, throwing the wooden spear like a javelin.

“Pfft!”

The scout couldn’t wear armor due to mobility issues, so the spear pierced right through his chest.

Then Qin Hu grabbed Qin An’s wooden spear, leapt out from under the cart, and chased desperately in the opposite direction.

For intelligence reliability, scouts monitored each other and never acted alone, so there were at least two.

After a short while, Qin Hu tackled another black shadow to the ground.

He pressed the wooden spear to the man’s neck. With a crisp snap, the man’s head drooped lifelessly.

Panting heavily and drenched in sweat, Qin Hu nearly collapsed, lying on the ground gasping. His body was simply too weak.

Just breaking the enemy’s neck before required only his hands; now he needed the spear’s leverage.

“Qin An, come here and help me search them.”

Qin Hu knew battlefield protocol—it was crucial to gather all spoils from the two enemies as quickly as possible.

“Two daggers, two short swords, a level, seven or eight taels of broken silver, two food bags, a scout flag, a water flask, two sets of cotton clothes, two helmets, some salted meat...”

“Qin An, brother, quick, eat this—you’re saved now...”

Qin Hu tremblingly stuffed a handful of roasted beans into Qin An’s mouth, gave him water, and dressed him in the captured cotton clothes.

Before dawn, Qin Hu beheaded the scouts before the changing sentry arrived, carrying the heads into the squad leader’s camp to report yesterday’s events.

This was to prevent others from taking credit. He knew well the precariousness of his situation.

“A single head fetches thirty taels of silver. You’re rich, kid,” said the squad leader named Gao Da, a tall, burly man with a thick beard.

At first, Gao Da didn’t believe it until he saw the spoils and the two bodies.

Now his eyes were full of envy, jealousy, and resentment.

“It’s not just me getting rich, it’s all of us. This is the work of our ten men together.”