Chapter 276 Secrets

Two days later, outside Songze Town, 500 li from the capital.

For the past three days, General Xiahou led his 50,000-strong army almost non-stop to the southwest. Today, they plan to set up camp and rest outside Songze Town.

A soldier carrying a letter from the post station entered the main camp.

"Young General, this is a letter from the capital."

Xiahou Yin was reading a military book and asked without looking up, "In the capital? Do you know who it is?"

The soldier said, "The people at the post station only deliver the items; they don't know who sent them. They even said that maybe the young general will find out once he sees them."

Xiahou Yin did not take his eyes off the book, but reached out and took the letter.

When he touched the sealing wax on the letter, he knew that the contents were confidential and could not be disclosed. He abandoned his original intention to finish reading the military book first, asked someone to leave, and opened the letter himself.

"Young General Xiahou, Zhan Xin'an."

I am writing to you with some confidential information concerning the war in Nanyue. I hope General Xiahou will treat it with utmost care…

He immediately gripped the letter tightly and stood up abruptly.

After reading the letter word by word, and seeing that it was signed Yu Xuan, Xiahou Yin thought to himself, "Just as I thought."

It seems that she is the only one in the capital who would send him a letter at this time.

She had reminded herself of this twice before, and now that they were about to officially go to war with South Vietnam, she sent him this confidential news again...

Xiahou Yin felt a warmth in his heart. Although the whole thing was just about the situation in Nan Yue and there wasn’t much concern, she still went to such lengths. Besides hoping that the battle could be won, was there even a little bit of concern for his safety?

He didn't delay and quickly gave the letter to his father.

Xiahou Zhong, a seasoned veteran of countless battles, could immediately tell that the person who wrote the letter was intimately familiar with the situation in Nanyue, even knowing who their commander might be, how many troops they had, and what tactics they might use.

He looked at the name at the end of the signature; it sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

Xiahou Yin noticed his father's serious feelings about the letter and took the initiative to explain, "Father, this was sent by Princess Chang Le. Since the epidemic last year, she has been paying close attention to the affairs of Nan Yue, which is why she knows so much about them!"

Xiahou Zhong's expression was somewhat grave:

“Even so, Princess Chang Le has been in the capital for a long time. Even if she has connections everywhere, how could she possibly know more about the situation in Nan Yue than the Qilin Guard? I am worried that the princess is still young and there may be a trap involved.”

As a deputy general, it would be foolish and ignorant of him to rashly believe this suddenly appearing letter, which would harm the State of Qi.

Xiahou Yin was a little anxious. "No, Father, Princess Chang Le is much smarter than me and has always cared about the people. You know about the epidemic last year. If it weren't for Princess Chang Le, so many people would have died."

Xiahou Zhong glanced at his son, and in that single glance, Xiahou Yin seemed frozen in place, stunned for a moment before collapsing into a slump and avoiding his father's gaze.

Xiahou Zhong was not a loving father, at least not when he was with Xiahou Yin. He was a general, a commander-in-chief, and in his eyes, the life and death of his soldiers and the victory or defeat of battles were more important than his son.

Therefore, Xiahou Yin understood his father's distrust at a glance and had no choice but to accept the status quo.

He doesn't dare to talk back to his father, not when he was a child, and not now.

Xiahou Zhong coughed lightly. “However, what you said makes sense. I will send someone to investigate this matter. If it is confirmed that what the princess said is true, I will naturally report to General Duan. Just pretend that you never received this letter and do not make it public, understand?”

Seeing that his son was already so grown up, Xiahou Zhong finally said a few conciliatory words.

Xiahou Yin: "...Yes."

His father was still worried about him, thinking he would reveal such an important matter...

After watching his son leave the barracks, Xiahou Zhong's gaze fell once again on the letter in his hand, and he remained silent for a long time.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Princess Chang Le; he had said that he sent this gift because he was afraid that Princess Chang Le would be framed by villains.

Princess Chang Le knew information that neither the Crown Prince nor the Qilin Guards had been able to obtain. Moreover, why did she not tell the Crown Prince directly, but instead send a message to her son?

It's strange, there are so many strange things.

"Someone come here!" Xiahou Zhong called out, addressing the soldier who rushed in. "Quickly send two people out, one to Nan Yue... and one to the capital..."

The fact that Beiyuan was going to hold a summer banquet made the noble ladies of the capital very happy. As soon as they received the invitation from the Princess, they went to various clothing shops and cosmetic shops to buy everything they could.

These past two days, a cosmetics shop called Qiongyulou, which is even better than Xiangqifang, has opened on Zhuque Street. It is said that using their face cream will give you skin as smooth as jade and a beautiful appearance. Many girls are tempted and flock to Qiongyulou to try it out.

Zhao Mei was greeting customers at the shop entrance when she saw so many young ladies arriving, and her face almost stiffened with a smile.

However, she suddenly spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.

The other person also saw Zhao Mei and gave her a bright smile.

Zheng Yanling hadn't originally planned to come here. She doesn't usually wear makeup or care about her appearance, but her mother knew that a new shop had opened here and insisted on coming to browse before leaving.

She was carrying a bunch of food, drinks and trinkets that her mother had bought for her, and was complaining wearily that she had to go home when she looked up and saw Zhao Mei.

Then, seeing her boss-lady aura, she understood.

Madam Zheng's voice rang in her ears: "We're going to Beiyuan tomorrow, why don't you hurry up and buy some rouge and face powder that you'll need? I see those on your dressing table, I've had them for years and I've never seen you use them even once, they're probably all growing mold."

Zheng Yanling watched as her mother picked up a jar of lip rouge in her left hand and a bottle of perfume in her right; the colors and scents were exactly what her mother liked. She was speechless.

"Alright, alright, whatever Mother says goes. I'll go say hello when I see someone I know. You can take your time browsing."

She squeezed through the bustling crowd of girls and walked up to Zhao Mei.

Before he could even speak, a shrill female voice suddenly rang out from the side:

"What do you mean you saw it first? I've already paid for it. Whoever pays first gets the item. Don't you understand such a simple principle?!"

Zhao Mei and Zheng Yanling both looked over.

It was a pink-clad girl with rosy cheeks and a girl in a light blue dress; they were both acquaintances.

The one in pink is named Jin Yuan, and her father is Imperial Censor Jin. The one in blue is Qu Sisi.

Qu Sisi retorted, not to be outdone, "I held this peach blossom face cream in my hand because I was going to pay the bill. You just tossed the silver to the waiter. How can that be considered paying first?"

Jin Yuan couldn't believe that this poor and down-on-her-luck commoner girl dared to talk back, and rolled her eyes in anger.