The Witch in the Woods: The Transmigration of Hazel-Anne Davis

"Move the candle," I grumbled, narrowing my eyes at Deming. I had just gotten finished dealing with Lady Yuan, when my loving husband decided to call yet another war meeting.

Zhu Deming glanced up from the map on the table between us, his brows furrowed. "What?" he asked, looking at me more than a little confused.

I pointed. "If you put it there, it melts the wax seal on the Yelan border. Again." It wasn't the first time we had had this conversation and it wasn't going to be the last.

With a grunt, he shifted the candle slightly to the right. "It's not my fault you label everything with blood."

"It's not blood," I replied, wrinkling my nose as I dragged my sleeve across a drying edge. "It's seal lacquer. Same color, just slightly less ominous."

Zhu Mingyu didn't look up from his seat across the table. "You two bicker like married peasants."

"Better than governing like spoiled royalty," I replied sweetly, blinking my eyes.

His lips twitched as he shook his head at my response. I was impressed. Less than a month ago, he wouldn't have been happy with any interactions between me and Deming. But now, he is able to tease us, even just a bit.

Still smiling, I dropped my head back to the task at hand.

The war table in front of us was littered with scrolls, folded maps, and three empty teacups. The room itself, yet another one of Mingyu's hidden rooms in his manor, had been cleaned but not repaired. Cracks still lined the northern wall where someone clearly tried to put their fist through a wall, only to fail.

I thought it added something to the room, even if there was only the three of us in it at the moment.

The rest of the ministers, namely Sun Longzi and his younger brother, had been dismissed after dark. Mingyu hadn't given them a choice. Deming had bolted the doors himself.

And I... I had waited.

Until only family remained.

Deming leaned over the table, tapping one knuckle against the Baiguang mark. "They've pulled most of their infantry east toward Chixia. Reinforcements from the capital won't reach them for at least two months."

"And their food?" I asked.

He pulled out a second scroll. "Convoy patterns. Four major routes between now and frost season. They pass through rivers here"—he marked the spot—"and gorges here. All the information has been confirmed by Yan Luo, so we can trust it."

I nodded my head, holding back the smile on my face. Sure, he trusted Yan Luo, but he still continued to ask me if I really needed to have Sun Yizhen around.

I traced the lines slowly, calculating speed, terrain, and slaughter potential.

"If we cut the routes first," I said, "we starve the cities before we ever cross the border."

Mingyu finally looked up. His gaze wasn't cold tonight. It was calculating.

"You want to bleed them dry."

"I want to rip out their supply veins and let them rot."

There was a long pause. Then Deming nodded once.

"The Red Demons can handle the main raid. Hit them clean. Fast."

"No," I said. "You're staying here."

His head snapped up. "What?"

"You're the heir to the northern armies now. Baotai will need someone watching his flank while Longzi finishes pacifying Chixia."

"I don't care about the northern—"

"I do," I said quietly.

Deming flinched.

"I'll lead the first wave with Yaozu. Shadow can move quieter than an entire legion. We hit the convoys, destroy their depots, and burn the evidence. By the time they notice, we'll be long gone."

"And if you're caught?" Mingyu asked.

"I won't be."

He didn't press.

Deming folded his arms, jaw tight. "You shouldn't be the one going."

"You think I can't?"

"I think you shouldn't have to."

For a moment, I almost said thank you. Almost.

But I wasn't that soft. Not yet.

"I'm already feared," I said instead. "Let them tremble at the sound of my name before they ever see my face."

Mingyu leaned back in his chair. "If we move now, the Emperor won't be able to react in time. Not politically. Not militarily."

"And if he does?" I asked.

Mingyu smiled slowly. "Then he can watch from his locked tower like the rest of them."

Deming sighed. "It's madness."

"It's strategy," I said. "War is just chess played with bodies."

"And you intend to move yourself as a pawn."

"I'm not a pawn," I said, eyes narrowing. "I'm the trap hidden under the board."

They fell silent.

Outside, wind pressed against the stone walls, carrying the scent of smoke and frost. Winter was coming early. The trees knew it. The birds knew it. The world was growing sharp again. And so was I.

Deming shifted beside me. "What do you need?"

"A day," I said. "I'll gather supplies. Yaozu will want a clean pack. Shadow's already restless."

"Shadow?" Mingyu asked, brow raised.

I shrugged. "The wolf that follows me everywhere. Might as well make it official."

Mingyu hesitated. "He scares the servants."

"Good. Maybe they'll stop trying to poison me."

Deming chuckled softly.

I leaned down and brushed my finger over the X I'd carved into Baiguang's grain depot two nights ago. "We cut the supply chains first. Then the trade routes. Then the voices."

"Voices?" Mingyu asked.

"The ones spreading rebellion. Traitors. Rats. We silence them."

"Ah," Mingyu said. "So a quiet winter after all."

"Quiet," I agreed. "But not peaceful."

He stood and stretched, reaching for the scroll I'd marked in red. "I'll assign false movements to the court records. If the Emperor checks, it'll look like we're reinforcing the mountains, not moving east."

"Good."

Deming stayed seated, fingers drumming against the edge of the table. "Promise me you'll come back."

"I don't promise," I said, reaching for my cloak. "But I don't die easily."

He frowned. "That's not enough."

"It'll have to be."

I was halfway to the door when Mingyu's voice stopped me.

"Xinying."

I paused.

"Make it ugly."

I smiled without turning around.

"Oh, I will."