Guangfeng, on the other hand, seemed to be in a bad mood as he went back to the large, central tent that served as the command tent. He listened to reports from the front lines and issued orders for the soldiers accordingly. By the end of the day, he’d dispatched one of the generals and about 50,000 soldiers to go and take an enemy city that had lowered its defences in accordance to one of his plans.
Two hours after most of the camp had eaten dinner and those who weren’t on watch were turning in for the night, Guangfeng left the tent and let out a sigh. He ran his hand over the top of his hair and rubbed the back of his neck, then headed toward his tent to check on Yuelan.
Before the third prince had gone far he encountered Long He, who seemed to have been waiting for him. “Lord Long...how is Miss Long?”
The dragon shrugged. “She refused to eat dinner,” he answered. “Though I can’t really blame her. Her own cooking is better than what she’s being served and she’s only had high quality meals her entire life so she isn’t used to what’s available.” The dragon’s lips twitched in amusement. “Though it could also be she’s still sulking over not being allowed out of the tent and having nothing to do.”
“This place isn’t set up to be entertaining,” Guangfeng growled. “It’s a war camp. If she weren’t injured and traveling wasn’t an issue for her then I’d have sent her back to the capital already.”
“I’ll take her back once the wound is less likely to reopen,” Long He promised. “Should only be a couple of days. I can carry her easily in one of my claws and the journey will take only a couple of hours.”
The third prince nodded and glanced toward the tent. “Is she still up?”
The dragon chuckled. “Probably. The pain medicine she got from that doctor has worn off by now and she’s hungry but refusing to eat.”
“Could you get her something from a nearby town?” Guangfeng asked, frowning. “There should be one that at least has a noodle stall…”
“I could...but it’s too late to do that now. Besides, it wouldn’t fix her mood.”
The prince’s eyes narrowed and he frowned at the dragon. “Are you trying to imply something?”
Long He lifted an eyebrow. “You’re the one who wants to marry her, not me,” he pointed out. “As long as she isn’t in danger, I’ll allow her to do whatever she likes. I’m responsible for protecting her and teaching her, nothing more.”
Guangfeng gave him a flat look and continued toward the tent. “In other words, you’re not going to do anything to try to fix her mood. You’ll leave it to me instead.”
“Naturally.” The dragon shrugged and followed along. “Helping you isn’t part of my job and if she decides she doesn’t want to marry you or any of your brothers not even the Emperor will be able to force her.”
There was nothing Guangfeng could say to argue with that, so he fell silent. When he reached the tent he stopped and let out a sigh. “Miss Long...may I come in?”
He heard the sound of low, feminine voices speaking for a moment before Camphor lifted the tent flap and stepped out. “Miss says...that she won’t let you in unless you’re willing to let her go out,” the maid informed him.
The corner of Guangfeng’s eye twitched. “What else did she say?”
Camphor lifted her hands in a helpless gesture. “That she doesn’t want to see you or speak to you until she’s allowed to leave the tent. She feels that distracting you from your war efforts would be unwise, and since her existence in the camp is such a distraction she will stay in the tent and not speak to anyone, especially not Your Highness.”
“Did she say why she refuses to eat?”
The maid frowned. “She said it’s because your camp’s chefs are useless and can’t even season things properly. She also doesn’t want to use supplies intended for the soldiers without being allowed to do something for them in return.”
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Guangfeng’s eye twitched some more. “What exactly did she have in mind?”
Camphor smiled a little. “Miss said that she will discuss it with Your Highness personally when she is allowed out of the tent.”
Guangfeng’s hands clenched into fists inside his sleeves. “Yuelan, either let me in or come out here so we can talk!” he shouted.
“Why should I? You made it quite clear earlier that you want nothing to do with me!” Yuelan’s voice had a sulky quality to it that made Guangfeng’s teeth itch, but her words upset him even more.
“That isn’t what I said!”
The only answer the prince received was silence and he glared at Camphor, who shrugged and lifted her hands helplessly. “Miss is quite upset. There is nothing this servant can do.”
One of the generals happened to pass by at that moment and looked from Guangfeng’s frustrated face to the tent and the apologetically helpless maid blocking his way. He chuckled and walked over, giving the prince a salute. “Your Highness, would you like some advice on coaxing a woman?”
Guangfeng turned his head and gave the general a flat look. “What sort of advice would the general like to give this prince?”
“Sometimes, if there is no immediate danger, it is best to simply give in to her whims. There is a time to be stubborn and a time to be soft. It is usually best to be soft if you are not certain of your position in her heart yet,” the general answered in a respectful tone.
“Is the general implying that this prince should allow a young, lovely, unmarried woman to wander the military camp?” Guangfeng asked in a flat voice. “To subject her to the staring of soldiers who have not seen one in months and put her at risk of being harrassed by those who do not know who she is or do not care who she is and are less inclined to control themselves in the first place?”
“Of course not,” the general quickly assured him. “But perhaps finding a compromise you can both agree to would be a possibility? For example, allowing her to come out if you are there to protect her. Few would dare to do or say anything to a woman walking by Your Highness’ side.”
Guangfeng’s eyes narrowed and he frowned, though the rustling of silk from behind Camphor caught his attention and he turned to look at the tent. “I know you’re listening. You may as well come out, Miss Long.”
Camphor stepped aside and held the tent flap up as Yuelan, dressed in violet, stepped out of the tent, her left arm in a sling. She had a stubborn expression and even in the torch light there was a glimmer in her eyes that indicated her unhappiness.
“Would the general’s suggestion of a compromise be amenable to Miss Long?” Guangfeng asked while he tried to keep his frustration with her out of his voice.
Yuelan put her free hand on her hip and lifted her chin to look the third prince straight in the eye. “I would not dare to do something so terrible as to distract the soldiers and their leaders from the all-important war efforts,” she retorted stubbornly. “Especially since their meals are so poorly made that they may already be distracted by upset stomachs.” She sniffed and turned her head away.
Guangfeng’s expression darkened. “What do you expect me to do about it?” he asked. “We do the best we can with the cooks we have.”
“Cooks who don’t even know how to properly salt a dish?” Yuelan shot back. “Cooks who can’t even make rice properly? I may not be able to move things around due to my injury, but at least I can supervise and improve the quality of the food. And if you hired women from the nearby villages to assist in cooking, the meals would improve and you would be helping the people who struggle to provide for their families. It wouldn’t even have to be permanent. You could hire them to train your army’s cooks and once the cooks can provide decent meals on their own the women can return to their families.” She frowned and her eyes narrowed as they bored into Guangfeng’s. “Or do you not even realize that good meals can do quite a lot for the morale of your men?”
As Guangfeng looked back into Yuelan’s eyes he frowned a little. “Alright...Then tomorrow I will assign a group of soldiers I trust to escort you to the nearby villages. You may select capable teachers for the cooks here.” He turned to look at the general who had dared to provide advice. “You will go with her to determine wages for those she selects and ensure her safety.”
The general cleared his throat a bit uneasily, but didn’t argue and pressed his hands together into a salute to acknowledge the order.
Yuelan gave Guangfeng a brilliant smile that stunned him as well as the general and the soldiers who had been guarding the tent and keeping her confined inside it. They were all even more shocked when she stretched up a hand, rose up on her toes, and patted the prince’s cheek. “See? Was that so hard? All you had to do was listen a little instead of shouting at me. I know a military camp is dangerous and that I’m not able to fight. I also know that I’d be a distraction in a place like this. But people need sunlight and decent food in order to be healthy. And you wouldn’t listen to me at all. You just shouted.”
Guangfeng sighed. He didn’t feel like pointing out that she hadn’t been listening to him at all either. It wouldn’t do either of them any good and he didn’t want to anger her again.
He gave Long Yuelan a helpless look. “Go back in and get some rest. Long He and Camphor can go to one of the cooking tents and make something for you so you can get something to eat before you sleep.”
Yuelan gave the third prince a mischievous grin, then disappeared into the tent.