Transmigrated as the Stepmother of a Rebellious Heir
Chapter 361 - 199: Dreams

Chapter 361: Chapter 199: Dreams

The man in white spoke as he pulled a scroll from his bosom.

He spread the scroll out, and it was filled with symbols that Shu Wan couldn’t understand.

However, in the dream, after the man in white explained it, Qi Yuan seemed to take a keen interest in the painting.

Shu Wan’s perspective followed Qi Yuan as he moved closer to the man in white.

Shu Wan wasn’t curious about the appearance of the man in white, because this person was the one who saved her life when she was ten years old.

As for his identity and origin, he remained tight-lipped, and Shu Wan didn’t press further.

The only thing Shu Wan knew about him was that the man was learned and capable, possessing exceptional abilities. Strangely enough, after that encounter at the age of ten, she had never seen him again or heard of him.

It was as if his visit was known only to Shu Wan herself.

What Shu Wan was curious about at the moment was that the signature on the scroll was a plum blossom design with the character for "jade" in the center.

It was the same signature she had seen today in the villa.

In the dream, Qi Yuan took the man in white to the Imperial Study Room alone, and the curtain dropped, hiding all view.

That bright yellow curtain gradually diffused into the shape of the signature, swirling like a vortex that pulled Shu Wan straight in, unable to escape.

Shu Wan found herself back in her previous life commanding troops in the Northwest.

It was the battle at Chengping Pass; they had won several victories under her leadership in the early stages.

News reported back to the court, and the entire army was rewarded, especially the commanding general, who was basking in success.

The commanding general was smug, believing that the frequent victories were due to his good command, but in reality, most of the soldiers heeded only Shu Wan’s commands, which made the commanding general very dissatisfied with her.

Normally, Shu Wan would have noticed the increasingly dark thoughts of the commanding general. However, at that time, with the enemy frequently harassing them and every mistake in command leading to serious consequences, Shu Wan’s attention was fully on the battlefield, naturally leaving no room to concern herself with factional strife.

Unexpectedly, in the end, the commanding general reached a point where he was willing to disregard the lives of countless soldiers just to suppress her completely.

Shu Wan clearly remembered that it was the day after the start of winter when news came that the enemy was attacking again.

As the vanguard, Shu Wan led 2,000 elite soldiers to scout.

Under normal circumstances, Shu Wan’s troops were just the advance guard, with another team to follow for support.

Yet the commanding general found various reasons to divert the reinforcement troops away from supporting Shu Wan.

Shu Wan, sensing something was amiss, led her men to retreat.

Although she didn’t pay much attention to the infighting within the army, she had always been cautious of the commanding general. Even with all the support redirected, she managed to lead her subordinates in evading the enemy’s pursuit.

Just when they were only five kilometers away from the main camp, and had already shaken off the enemy, they were unexpectedly ambushed again and trapped in a valley.

After losing nearly a thousand elite soldiers, Shu Wan’s trusted subordinates finally arrived with reinforcements, allowing her and her men to break free from the encirclement.

During the retreat, the enemy, desperate to capture her, went mad and charged with explosives, intending to perish together with Shu Wan.

Shu Wan dodged with all her might, but due to the overwhelming number of enemies, she was still severely wounded by the blasts.

After that incident, Shu Wan was unconscious for nearly half a month.

When she came to, the commanding general had been executed for colluding with the enemy and deliberately leaking information about Shu Wan and her men. Shu Wan, in turn, was promoted to commanding general.

With everything resolved and enemy activity on the border increasing, Shu Wan didn’t inquire about what had happened during her unconsciousness.

However, in the dream, Shu Wan saw that on the fifth day of her coma, Qi Yuan arrived at the camp with his personal guards.

Qi Yuan, dressed in a simple black outfit, walked among the countless troops, his noble aura undeniable.

The commanding general and his men clearly didn’t anticipate Qi Yuan’s personal visit and, out of guilt, immediately knelt on the ground.

Qi Yuan glanced at them indifferently, uttering just two words, "Execute them."

Regardless of how the commanding general and his men struggled and argued, Qi Yuan didn’t spare them another glance.

In the following days, Qi Yuan worked from the main camp.

Every day he spared a moment to visit Shu Wan’s tent to inquire about her condition from Doctor Li, sitting briefly inside the camp, showing no sign of anything unusual.

However, speaking of Doctor Li, Shu Wan realized that her attending physician was Li Changqing, the head of the Imperial Hospital, who generally exclusively treated the Emperor and the Crown Prince.

Logically, with her status, she shouldn’t have been eligible for his medical attention.

Right, Li Changqing!

Shu Wan suddenly remembered that no one had told her that the Crown Prince and Doctor Li had visited, so she had always believed it was the army physician Wen Yun who was responsible for her treatment.

Wen Yun, her close friend, was of course aware that she was a woman in disguise. But now it was Doctor Li; with his exceptional medical skills, he couldn’t have failed to realize her true gender.

Yet, not only did Doctor Li show no sign of anything unusual, but even Qi Yuan seemed completely unaware of it.

Even after she regained consciousness, the court promoted her to commanding general.

For so long afterward, no other news had leaked out.

Shu Wan naturally didn’t think it was Doctor Li who helped conceal this; thus, there was only one possibility, Qi Yuan was helping her.

But why? Why would Qi Yuan help her?

And were these events in the dream real?

If it was just a dream, why would she dream of these things?