The morning mist over the Northern Frontier had yet to disperse when Shen Mingyue climbed the walls of Yunzhou City. The cold wind, carrying sand and grit like fine needles, lashed against her face, and tiny ice crystals formed on the tips of her hair. The stinging sensation was a far cry from the gentle experience of watching the snow in the palace during her childhood.
The mottled city wall before her made her brow furrow—between bricks dense with arrow holes, the fresh mortar had not yet dried, gleaming a cold grey in the morning light like an unhealed scar. Gu Jinghong’s words from the previous night’s council still echoed in her ears: "If the enemy brings catapults next time, these walls won't hold for half a day." She reached out to touch a crenellation shattered by a previous impact; the rough texture of the stone against her fingertips only strengthened her resolve to reinforce the defensive line.
Her thumb brushed across the dried bloodstains in the gaps between the bricks—remnants of the last siege, silently testifying to the brutality of the battle. "Pass the order: starting today, all soldiers will work in shifts to repair the city walls," Shen Mingyue commanded her guards, her gaze sweeping across the border river that meandered like a silver snake outside the city. "Draft five hundred more laborers and have stone materials rushed from the quarry.
Chapter 119