Chapter 251 Commanding the Return to the City

Lin Changning has been quite annoyed these past few days. Li Mingxiao is like a leech; even after she dealt with him last time, he still sticks to her.

I wonder if she has some kind of quirk that no one knows about? For the past two days, I don't know if it's because she's bored or what, but she's been coming to see her every day.

When she went on patrol, Li Mingxiao insisted on going with her. When she went to help the refugees, Li Mingxiao still wanted to go with her. Even when she needed to go to the toilet, Li Mingxiao would happily follow behind her.

Lin Changning turned around impatiently and stared intently at Li Mingxiao: "I need to use the restroom, Your Highness, please don't follow me."

Li Mingxiao grinned at Lin Changning: "Oh, going to the toilet? This young master is going to the toilet too!"

Lin Changning was so angry he almost laughed. He sneered and stared at Li Mingxiao without moving or saying a word.

Seeing that Lin Changning was really about to get angry, Li Mingxiao wisely took a few steps back: "I suddenly don't feel like going to the toilet anymore, I'll go first."

I wonder what's gotten into this prince lately?

Lin Changning bypassed the toilet, climbed over the railing, and walked outside.

Now that they have captured several cities, they will likely receive their rewards in a few days and then return to Taiyuan.

I wonder how things are in Daxing?

Thinking of Daxing, Lin Changning couldn't help but feel a little sad. He wanted to go back to Daxing to take a look, as Old Liu's grave hadn't been swept in a long time.

I wonder if that old man, lying all alone down there, misses her.

Lin Changning slowly climbed up a low hill outside the city by himself, looking into the distance with some boredom.

Outside Yongning City was a pile of rotting corpses, with many carrion-eating birds alighting on it and countless flies swarming around it.

If it were her previous life, she probably wouldn't have been so ruthless, but a battlefield is a battlefield. On the battlefield, it's either you die or I live. If the enemy survives even one more person, it's cruel to our own people.

Lin Changning lay on a small earthen slope of the hill, casually plucked a blade of grass and put it in his mouth, enjoying a rare moment of peace.

These past few days, Li Mingxiao has really been bothering me to no end. This Prince of Qin has no airs at all, always following me around, asking about this and that.

As Lin Changning felt the warm breeze and looked up at the azure sky, a sense of unreality washed over her.

Sometimes he couldn't even tell whether he was Commander Lin living on the battlefield or the modern senior sister. As he thought about it, a trace of confusion appeared in Lin Changning's eyes.

How much time had passed? Lin Changning slightly opened her eyes. She must have fallen asleep, as the gentle breeze had been blowing.

After a good night's sleep, Lin Changning stretched and was about to turn over when he was startled by Li Mingxiao next to him.

Li Mingxiao was also asleep at this time, lying quietly next to her.

Lin Changning sat up and looked at the silent Li Mingxiao, noticing that the man was quite handsome, but only when he was not speaking.

Lin Changning stared at Li Mingxiao for a while, and found that he was sleeping soundly. After glancing at the sky, he quietly sat up. Since the young master was sleeping so soundly, he decided not to let him continue sleeping. He would just have someone come and call the young master back later.

She tiptoed away from him, preparing to head towards the camp.

It would be best to conduct another inspection in the afternoon. The people he sent to monitor the Prince's Tomb these past two days have said that the Prince's Tomb has been dug up, presumably by people from Prince Sheng's side who have returned to retrieve the treasure.

It's hard to guarantee that Prince Sheng won't resort to desperate measures and lead a large army to attack Yongning, so we still need to be vigilant.

Lin Changning had only gone halfway when he saw someone riding a horse towards Yongning City not far away. He squinted at them and felt that the person leading the way looked somewhat familiar.

Lin Changning strode towards the city wall, gazing at it from afar; it looked somewhat like his own commander.

As the people slowly approached, Lin Changning indeed recognized him as his second brother. Qi Rong reined in his horse, waved to Lin Changning, and smiled.

Lin Changning waved to Qi Rong and immediately ordered his men to open the city gates and let him in.

After descending the city wall, Lin Changning went straight to meet him.

"Second brother, how is the war going on your side?"

Qi Rong dismounted and looked Lin Changning up and down. After finding that he was alright, he nodded.

"Several cities have been recaptured. I heard you encountered 2,000 Tartars here, and you also sent me a message saying you dug up the treasures and weapons of Prince Sheng. I was worried that it wouldn't be safe for you to guard this place alone, so I came over first. Old Han is leading our troops behind us, and they should arrive early tomorrow morning."

Lin Changning chuckled: "I had it sent back to Taiyuan the night it was unearthed. It's fine. Even if they send troops to Yongning, they won't be able to take it back."

Qi Rong chuckled: "The imperial court's rewards should be announced soon, and we should be able to return to Taiyuan in at most half a month."

Lin Changning nodded and asked with some worry, "What should we do about the Prince of Zhou? We've really offended him this time."

Qi Rong sneered: "It doesn't matter. We've already recovered several cities. The Emperor probably won't touch us meritorious officials. Otherwise, who would be willing to risk their lives for him in the future? Besides, it was Prince Zhou who was at fault in this matter. There have already been seven or eight memorials sent to the Censorate to impeach him."

Seeing Qi Rong's travel-worn appearance, Lin Changning hurriedly pulled him inside, saying, "Look at my memory! You must not have eaten much on the way here. Second brother, come on, let's go back to the camp first, and we can eat, drink and talk at the same time."

After saying this, he had someone bring over a horse, and rode it with Qi Rong towards the camp.

Upon arriving at his tent, Lin Changning instructed his personal guards: "The commander has arrived. Have the kitchen prepare some of their best dishes for tonight, and bring them over in large quantities. You and Zhiqi and the others can also go down and have a meal. There's no need for night watch tonight."

The two exchanged a glance. Tonight, they weren't on duty and could sit with the commander, Qingwei, and enjoy a delicious meal—a stroke of good luck.

The two men smiled and accepted the order, then left.

Lin Changning settled Rong on a simple chair and handed him a wet towel: "Second Brother, wash your hands and face first. The food will be brought over in a little while."

Qi Rong looked at Lin Changning with gentle eyes and teased, "If Liu Lang were a woman, she would be so considerate, her doorstep would probably be worn out by everyone."

Lin Changning chuckled twice: "With my superhuman strength, it would be strange if I didn't scare the groom away."

After exchanging a few jokes, the cooks brought in a food box. Lin Changning was taken aback when he saw the exquisitely prepared dishes in the box: "I just had someone tell you to prepare it, and it's already ready? How come it's so fast today?"

The cook was a little confused, but still answered truthfully: "Ah? This is the wine and dishes that the Prince of Qin ordered to be prepared in advance this afternoon, and we are to deliver them to the commander this evening."

Lin Changning's left eye twitched, and he slapped his forehead: "It's over!"

He forgot to send someone to inform the Crown Prince of Qin, who is still lying on the low slope.

Qi Rong asked, somewhat puzzled, "What's finished?"

Lin Changning felt a little guilty and was about to run out when Li Mingxiao, whose face was covered in mosquito bites, walked in from outside with a forced smile.

"It's because Commander Lin left me alone on the low slope this afternoon to be eaten by mosquitoes!!!"

Lin Changning cupped his hands and lowered his eyelashes to cover his somewhat guilty look: "Greetings, Your Highness."

Li Mingxiao scratched the bump on his face and said irritably, "You surnamed Lin, you really have no conscience. I'm waiting to serve you good wine and good food, but you treat me like good wine and good food, serving mosquitoes???"

Lin Changning: ...

She swore she really didn't mean it; she was so excited to bump into the commander that afternoon that she completely forgot about it.

Qi Rong glanced at Li Mingxiao, whose face was covered in bruises, and chuckled to himself, his shoulders shaking with laughter. Seeing the two of them locked in a stalemate, he coughed with a smile and said, "Alright, alright, the food has been served. Sit down and eat together."

Li Mingxiao seemed to have been provoked, and snorted coldly: "You talk as if this meal is your treat. What do you mean, 'I'm sitting down to eat with you'? This is clearly my banquet for Commander Lin."

Feeling guilty, Lin Changning rummaged through his bag for a while and found a bottle of cooling and anti-itch ointment that Shilang had prepared for him, and silently handed it over.

"Your Highness is very generous. This is a medicated ointment for mosquito bites. Please try it. It's getting late, let's sit down and have some food."

Li Mingxiao's expression softened a bit: "You're kind enough. Alright, I won't hold it against you. Qi Lao Er, come and eat."