"No."

The blatant refusal from Wei Liuying put both Yang Xian and Prince Ji Sheng in difficult position. Ji Sheng obviously would never allow any other men to be Gao Ling's study partner. He might even chop their hands if they dared to get close to his fiancée. On the other hand, Yang Xian had no other ide who could fulfill as Gao Ling's study partner except from Wei Liuying.

Yang Xiang arched his eyebrows. "You're daring enough to refuse now, Liu Ying?"

"Aren't you the one who asked me the question first, Strategist Yang?" Wei Liuying asked back, her tone was still as calm as ever.

Prince Ji Sheng sighed. Well, it was true that they were the one who wanted Wei Liuying to be more open with them and no longer treated them with such formality. However, it would be quite difficult for them if she rejected this request of his.

"Why not?"

"I'll only make fun of myself," Wei Liuying replied. "Do you forget my reputation back when I was still in the Capital City?"

Useless girl.

Stupid concubine daughter.

Disgrace of Wei Family.

Trash that couldn't do anything right.

There were so many nicknames that Wei Liuying received back then. Even though most of it came from the fact that she hid her real talent, it was also the truth that she was different from any other girls. She was forced to learn things that were targeted for men, which meant that she was truly useless compared to other women.

If she was compared to men, then she might be able to be much better. After all, she had learned much more than what they were supposed to.

"That reminds me, Manager Xin sent a message, asking you to send a new draft soon," Yang Xian added.

Wei Liuying nodded. "I haven't had the time to write. I'll find a time later."

"That'll be good."

"So, can you become Ling'er…"

"The same answer stands, Strategist Yang."

Prince Ji Sheng's face darkened. This couldn't go on. He pointed to the two of them one after another. "You two will accompany her tomorrow."

"What? I can't possibly stay away from my work!"

"Finish everything by tonight. Whenever there's something come up, I'll send a soldier to your place."

"But…."

"This is an order."

Both Wei Liuying and Yang Xian's face fell. Wei Liuying knew for certain that she would do bad. On the other hand, Yang Xian believed that he was the worse. He had never learned all of them in his entire life.

Ji Sheng must have done this on purpose.

With no other choice, the two of them accepted the arrangement that Ji Sheng gave them. When they returned back to rest, they started their discussion once more.

"Why do you want Lady Gao to learn other things first?" Wei Liuying asked.

Yang Xian glanced over to Wei Liuying. "To give her an excuse to not participate in the battle. If she insists to participate in the battle, there's almost nothing that we could to do stop her."

"If Prince Ji Sheng can just select you to be her study partner, why did I have to return back so quickly?" Wei Liuying complained. She put down the bowl of soup on the table and sat down. "I still want to visit the other cities and see the defense in those area."

"And participate in more battles?"

"That's the only way I can catch up to you, Strategist Yang."

Yang Xian curled his lips as he put down his bowl of soup. "I never ask you to catch up to me this quickly. Besides, what you have done is already enough."

"What do you mean?" Wei Liuying furrowed her brows. She was only familiar with the area around Prince Ji Sheng's city and still in the process to explore other areas with the soldiers. Five months were not that long for wars as many wars could even last for years if the two sides matched evenly.

"For this year, your task will be to protect Lady Gao."

"Protect Lady Gao?"

Thinking about the young lady, Wei Liuying started to think about many other possibilities. After a long time warring against each other, this was the first year the two sides managed to reach consensus together and agreed to stop the war. Even though the detail was never divulged to the public, Wei Liuying knew that the two sides would not go to war with Princess Ji Xiaoli still in Xiong Tribe as the crown prince's fiancée.

"It's uncertain whether they'll follow the arrangement or not, isn't it?" Wei Liuying asked after a while.

Yang Xian nodded. "Each year, we'll sent Lady Gao away from the battlefield. Her father usually sent her to some other cities in the middle of Han Shi Kingdom, away from the border."

"You don't have any confidence to win?"

"It's only the measure because the two generals at the north wouldn't be able to bear if Lady Gao got hurt," Yang Xian replied. "They cared for her more than anything, so I don't wish to see them got hurt too."

"When it's spring, Lady Gao will return back?" Wei Liuying asked.

"Yes."

"I see."

Yang Xian smiled when he saw Wei Liuying's ponder. "Even though Lady Gao's ability is limited, her existence itself is something important for the two leaders. After all, sometimes, we all simply want to protect the person important to us rather than everyone in the entire of Han Shi Kingdom."

Wei Liuying raised her head and saw that Yang Xian had lifted his cup to drink the soup. She understood that too. If it was possible, she also wished to keep everyone whom she cared about alive.

No matter what the price.

Hah… thinking about that, Wei Liuying couldn't help but chuckle to herself. If it was possible, she wished for those who were important to her to be safe all the time. She didn't want them to get hurt in the slightest bit.

"Eat quickly. Lady Gao will arrive early in the morning."

"She's going when it's night time?" Wei Liuying was stunned.

"She's stopping in a small village nearby," Yang Xian replied. "That way, she'll be able to reach Prince Ji Sheng's City soon tomorrow."

"I see."

"Now rest."

"Yes."

For the past few months, Wei Liuying stayed in Yang Xian's Residence whenever she returned back to Prince Ji Sheng's City. It was not the most ideal place, but he had so many books that she could borrow along with studying under Yang Xian when he had the time. Well, it was mostly self study since Yang Xian's position didn't allow him much rest.

The two of them stopped their conversation and took turns to take a bath before they rest.

…

In the morning, they headed to the gate early in the morning. Gao Ling's carriage could already be seen when the sky started to brighten.

"She's very early," Wei Liuying commented.

"The two of them can't bear to be separated for a long time, so whenever she got the permission, she would try to reach this place as fast as possible," Yang Xian explained. "However, there's never much time they could spend together in the current situation."

"They're both busy."

"True."

The carriage entered the city and Gao Ling alighted down the carriage with her maidservant's help. She was wearing long dress, unlike the previous time when she was wearing robe that was supposed to be for males. After all, she was not going here to participate in the battle.

"Lady Gao," Yang Xian and Wei Liuying greeted at the same time.

"Strategist Yang and Apprentice… I mean Strategist Liu," Gao Ling responded. She had heard about Wei Liuying's achievement in the battlefield, so she also changed her address to make sure it was more suitable. Knowing Wei Liuying's real gender, it felt a bit complicated.

"General Sheng is still busy, so we're going to have a class for you to study while waiting, Lady Gao," Yang Xian informed with his usual friendly smile.

Gao Ling's face turned stiff. Clearly, this was not the first time this happened. "Strategist Yang, can you please adjust the learning to make it more fun. I think that the previous time, I suffer when I have to wait for Prince Ji Sheng."

"We have already arranged it to be easier, Lady Gao," Yang Xian replied. Of course, only a little bit since he couldn't possibly let Gao Ling finished the lesson too quickly because it would only make her bored.

"Alright."

"Also, for this session, me and Strategist Liu will accompany you during your lesson to make sure that you're not bored," Yang Xian added. If Gao Ling had to wait until the two of them finished, it would take a long time.

Gao Ling arched her eyebrows and looked at Yang Xian. "Are you sure, Strategist Yang?"

"I'm only going to supervise by the side," Yang Xian corrected his words. It would be weird for him to learn it all since he didn't really think it was that important too. Well, he could learn more things too if it was necessary.

Wei Liuying cupped her fist and smiled. "Please guide us, Lady Gao. We're untalented."

Gao Ling covered her mouth with a fan. She giggled a bit. "Leave it to me, Strategist Liu. I'll make sure to teach you well."

Somehow, the two of them (Wei Liuying and Yang Xian) felt that they would experience something bad when learning with Gao Ling. However, there was no turning back anymore now.