Chapter 98 Are you pretending to be my dad?

They found a helmet, which looked like the helmet of a soldier from the Jiang Kingdom.

Yan Wuxin gritted his teeth, "Alright, we finally know who to settle scores with. Leave a small team here to continue searching, the rest of you come back to camp with me, let's muster our troops!"

*

At night, the garrison of Jiang Guoye Prefecture discovered many torches lit in the wilderness from the city tower, and it appeared that there were hundreds of people. They reported this to the garrison commander.

Since the last major war, the border situation has stabilized. The people of Jiang Kingdom all know that the old, desolate forest is eerie; anyone who enters has an eighty percent chance of never returning, so they don't pay much attention to it.

Xu Raozhu, the garrison commander of Yezhou, didn't take it seriously and only sent a few people over to take a look.

As soon as the soldiers entered the woods, they fell into a trap pit filled with bones, whether human or wild.

Everyone was terrified and quickly pulled the person up, then immediately took off running back. In the chaos, some lost their shoes, some lost their helmets, and they were all in a very sorry state.

Upon their return, the group reported the truth to Xu Raozhu, who cursed him as useless but said nothing more.

She hadn't thought it was a big deal until dawn broke, when the messenger soldier started banging on the door.

"What's the rush so early in the morning? Are you announcing a death?" Xu Raozhu cursed as she got up, yelling, "If you're keeping me from sleeping over something so trivial, I'll kick you a couple of times. Tell me! What's wrong? Did the sky fall?"

His subordinate, pale-faced, stammered, "The Hua Army...the Hua Army is at the city gates, they're going to...attack us."

Xu Raozhu's head buzzed for a moment. She hurriedly climbed the city wall and saw a dark mass of people below.

Four hundred thousand Hua's troops were sharpening their weapons and preparing for battle. Yan Wuxin, dressed in full armor and holding the Phoenix Cry Longsword, had a cold face like frost and eyes as red as blood, as if he were about to charge in at any moment.

Xu Raozhu's legs trembled slightly. She leaned against the city wall and had to ask a few questions first: "General Yan, what happened? Is there some misunderstanding? Our two countries are in the middle of peace talks, why did you suddenly send troops to attack my Yezhou City?"

Yan Wuxin did not sleep all night, as the fate and whereabouts of his two close friends remained unknown.

At this moment, her eyes were bloodshot and she was filled with rage. She cursed without any politeness, "Shut up with your nonsense! Hand over the person, or my 400,000 troops will raze Yezhou City to the ground."

"Give...give to whom?"

"What are you pretending to be? Did you send men to the wilderness last night? Are Marquis Lu and General Xiang in your hands?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Raozhu immediately protested his innocence, "General Yan, I swear to God, our garrison discovered a light last night, and I only sent a few men to the woods to take a look."

"They tripped and fell and came back. They didn't see Lord Lu and General Xiang at all. Please don't wrong us."

"Don't forget, your Hua Kingdom's delegation is still within the territory of my Jiang Kingdom. Aren't you afraid of losing their lives if you recklessly start a war?"

If she hadn't said that last sentence, Yan Wuxin could have suppressed her anger and considered whether what she said was true or false. But as soon as the threatening words came out, Yan Wuxin erupted like a volcano.

"Go to hell with you! You think you can scare me? What do I care if others live or die? You have the nerve to worry about others? If I storm the city, you'll die too!"

Xu Raozhu wished he could slap himself twice. How could he have been so cheeky?

Why did you insist on having someone take a look last night? And why did you have to say that just now?

This person has clearly gone mad; she might actually start a war regardless of everything.

Xu Raozhu hurriedly said, "Quickly! Go and invite the envoy from Hua Kingdom!"

At the same time, Yu Jifang, the governor of Beizhou, was terrified when he heard that Yan Wuxin had mobilized 400,000 troops to attack Yezhou.

He rode swiftly to the front lines, nearly falling off his horse in his haste. He scrambled to Yan Wuxin's horse and pleaded earnestly, "General Yan, don't be impulsive! What if Marquis Lu and General Xiang are really in their hands?"

Yan Wuxin said coldly, "Easy. If she returns the person to me, I will immediately withdraw my troops. If she gives me two corpses, I will immediately storm Yezhou City."

Yu Jifang said anxiously, "General Yan, I understand your feelings. I was also very worried when I heard the news of the two officials' disappearance. However, you can't ignore the consequences! How will this end if a fight breaks out? How will we explain it to the Emperor?"

Yan Wuxin said indifferently, "Jinlan and Ruzhen's fates are unknown, and I have no heart to consider the consequences. If I were to give an explanation, the Emperor would be furious and might just take my head. I have already paid with my life, that's all."

Yu Jifang was speechless, utterly at a loss for words. In her previous interactions with the three of them, this young Master Yan was usually fond of joking and playing around, and she was the easiest to talk to.

But today, her heart is as hard as iron, cold and unyielding, and she won't listen to a single word.

Both those on and below the city walls urged Yan Wuxin not to go to war. The delegations from Hua and Jiang stood together on the city tower. For days, the two sides had been locked in a fierce and meticulous standoff, but now they were united in their efforts to persuade Yan Wuxin not to start a war.

Xu Raozhu practically wore herself out, swearing and vowing that she really hadn't seen Lu Jinlan and Xiang Ruzhen, and that the two were definitely not in Jiang Kingdom.

Yu Jifang grabbed the reins of Yan Wuxin's warhorse and pleaded with him, "General Yan, please think about it again. If something really happens to Marquis Lu and General Xiang, who will take care of their families? Both families have elderly and young members; you can't just abandon them!"

The man on the city wall shouted at the top of his lungs, "General Yan, we have just reached a peace agreement. The Jiang Kingdom will cede three cities to us, and we will stop fighting! We will truce for thirty years, so please withdraw your troops immediately!"

No matter what others said, the 400,000-strong army obeyed only Yan Wuxin's orders at this moment.

Yan Wuxin remained silent, and the army stood ready, showing no intention of returning to the city.

Chi Moyao, who knew a little about the inside story, couldn't help but say to Xu Raozhu, "General, I am related to Marquis Lu. Perhaps I can persuade General Yan."

In her desperation, Xu Raozhu was willing to try anything, even if it meant having relatives or someone who knew witchcraft to repel the enemy.

She waved her hand hurriedly, "Go quickly, go quickly, if you succeed in persuading him, I will reward you!" Chi Moyao rode quickly from the side gate to the front of the battle, "I met with Marquis Lu last night, and he asked me to speak with General Yan in person."

Zuo Suizhi led her over, and Chi Moyao didn't know how to organize her thoughts for a moment, as the whole story was a bit difficult to talk about.

But at this critical juncture, she could only try to be tactful and say, "The man that Marquis Lu was with a few days ago is my eldest brother, but my brother is going back to his wife's home and can't go with her. So my mother asked me to send Marquis Lu back alone. Last night, I led her through the defenses of Yezhou and brought her to the border of Huaguo."

“My brother had told her before that the forest was dangerous and that she shouldn’t go in, but I don’t know why she went there anyway.”

Yan Wuxin frowned and finally spoke: "Because at that time, Ruzhen and I were in the woods."

Chi Moyao said "Oh", "Then it should be. She said before that she would come back before the full moon, otherwise two friends would go to the forest to look for her."

She also said that because of her relationship with my brother, we are considered relatives. She said that you can mention her name when you see her.

"In short... in short, I can guarantee that she is definitely not in Yezhou City. I know the people who went to explore the forest last night, and they did not bring anyone back to the city."

Yu Jifang was still puzzled by what she had said earlier.

What man? What wife's family? What about her mother and brother? How did a married man get involved with Marquis Lu?

But seeing that Yan Wuxin had no doubts and even nodded slightly, she knew there was a chance.

So Yu Jifang disregarded the consequences and advised, "Look, even this relative says so, which shows that this matter has nothing to do with Yezhou City. General Yan, a peace agreement has been reached on the city walls. Let's withdraw our troops and look elsewhere."

Yan Wuxin frowned, for where else could the beloved be but Yezhou?

Yan Wuxin sighed helplessly, "Withdraw the troops."

*

Lu Jinlan felt a warm sensation on her face. When she opened her eyes, she heard a familiar voice say, "You're awake? You scared me to death. You were unconscious all day."

Lu Jinlan's vision gradually cleared. "Xiao Heng?"

She looked around at the unfamiliar furnishings with surprise. "Where am I?"

Xiao Heng hurriedly said, "This is Chizhou City of our Qu Kingdom. Don't move yet, let me wipe your face."

Lu Jinlan shook his head repeatedly, "Where is Ruzhen? Where is she? I need to see her."

As she was about to get out of bed, she suddenly heard a loud crash.

Lu Jinlan frowned as she looked at the iron chain on her wrist. "What do you mean by this?"

Xiao Heng quickly explained, "This is not my intention. It's my elder sister... she wants to keep you here and talk to you about something. She will release you after we've finished talking."

Xiao Heng lowered his voice and whispered, "Don't worry, give me some time. I'll definitely steal the key and release you when I get the chance. As for General Xiang, don't worry. Several doctors have been treating her for several hours, and she's out of danger."

"real?"

"It's true, but she's still unconscious due to excessive blood loss. My elder sister has assigned someone to take care of her, and she'll make sure nothing happens to her."

Lu Jinlan thought that since Xiao Chengying wanted to negotiate with her, he wouldn't hurt Xiang Ruzhen.

Xiao Chengying is not stupid. If Xiang Ruzhen gets into trouble while she's in charge, then she can forget about negotiating anything. She should be clear about that.

Lu Jinlan nodded and lay back down on the bed. "Then send someone to inform her that I'm awake. Let's talk about what we need to talk about now."

*

Xiao Chengying rushed over and, upon entering, saw Lu Jinlan leaning against the quilt with her arm as a pillow, looking quite composed.

Xiao Heng sat on a low stool by the bed and fed her bird's nest porridge spoonful by spoonful.

If it weren't for the iron chains on Lu Jinlan's wrists, outsiders might have thought that her younger brother was the prisoner.

Xiao Chengying gritted his teeth and threw the key over, "Open it for her! Don't treat us royals like servants."

Lu Jinlan snorted coldly, "Oh, didn't Your Highness want to keep me here? Untie these chains, aren't you afraid I'll run away?"

Xiao Chengying rolled her eyes at her. "Your friend just woke up."

Lu Jinlan sat up quickly. "How is she?"

Xiao Chengying said, "Fortunately, they are all superficial wounds, but you have lost too much blood and cannot move for the time being. She asked you how you were, and I said you were fine, and then she fainted again. I think with General Xiang here, you shouldn't run away."

Lu Jinlan didn't speak, but quickly analyzed the situation in her mind.

Now that Zhen is injured like this, it's best to wait until she recovers before making further plans. Actually, there's no loss in staying here. Lu Jinlan is certain that Xiao Chengying wouldn't dare to harm them, nor has any reason to do so.

Lu Jinlan retorted, "Why should I run away? I've heard that your Qu Kingdom has a lot of delicious food, so I'll just have to try it out."

Xiao Chengying smiled slightly, "That would be best. Fourteenth brother, go and get some wine and dishes, and Lu Hou and I will eat and chat."

Lu Jinlan took a bath and changed his clothes, and didn't forget to feed Nianli, who was huddled in the cage.

The table was laden with delicious food and wine. Gazing at the night view of Qu Kingdom outside the window, Lu Jinlan let out a soft sigh, clinked glasses with Xiao Chengying, and said with emotion, "It was truly not easy to escape death this time. You have to do me a favor. Go to Qiulong Pass and let them know that we are here, so that they won't worry."

Xiao Chengying said helplessly, "To be honest, I originally wanted to send someone to inform them, but you didn't see General Yan's demeanor."

Even though Xiao Chengying was used to seeing big scenes, he couldn't help but feel terrified when he talked about it.

Lu Jinlan was taken aback. "What kind of situation is this?"