Chapter 82: A major battle is imminent in Songyang County.

On the road in Songyang County, Jiang Ge's steps were light and leisurely, as if she were strolling in a garden. She tilted her head slightly, squinting at the drifting clouds on the horizon, sunlight dancing on her long eyelashes. Passing merchants bowed to her, and she nodded in return, a faint smile playing on her lips.

What's the rush?

The person who should be worried is not her.

Wei Zhongxian followed three steps behind, his back hunched, his eyes darting back and forth between the Jiang father and daughter. He keenly sensed that this Master Jiang couldn't even muster a shred of paternal authority in front of his own child. The old eunuch's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, and his fingers, hidden in his sleeve, touched the perfume packaging—since it was so insignificant, it saved him the trouble of currying favor.

A gentle breeze carried the unique fragrance emanating from Wei Zhongxian. Unlike ordinary spices, this scent was not strong or pungent. At first, it smelled of crisp cedar, then transformed into the sweet aroma of peaches, and finally left a lingering sweetness.

This subtle sweetness travels far.

"Hmm?" Jiang Yuanshan suddenly sniffed, his fat face twitching violently. He whirled around, his wide sleeves billowing in the wind: "Jiang Ge! What's that filthy smell on you?"

Because Jiang Ge is a woman, Jiang Yuanshan strictly controlled her from a young age, keeping her away from these things, for fear of being exposed. After having his youngest son, he didn't care so much anymore, but now Jiang Yuanshan can't be indifferent. He only has this one handle in his hand. If everyone knows about it, then what kind of handle is it?

Moreover, if Django's true identity as a woman were exposed now, it would inevitably implicate them...

Thinking of this, Jiang Yuanshan couldn't help but take a closer look at the daughter in front of him, even though it was just her back. It was not hard to see that she was much thinner than a man, and from behind, it was clear that she was a woman.

this……

Jiang Ge slowly turned around, causing Wei Zhongxian to turn around as well. The old eunuch was startled by Jiang Yuanshan's sudden rebuke and almost dropped the perfume bottle.

He was extremely distressed; this perfume was very valuable, and if anything were to happen to it, no one could afford to compensate him.

"Is this what Father is talking about?" Jiang Ge gently raised her hand, her sleeve brushing against Jiang Yuanshan's nose, carrying a fragrant breeze. A slight smile played on her lips: "This is a new fragrance I bought. What do you think? Does it smell good?"

Who cares about Jiang Yuanshan's thoughts? Why can't he do things he doesn't want to do?

Django insisted on wearing perfume, and the scent still lingered in the office.

Let's just admit it directly.

Jiang Yuanshan's face turned ashen. After sniffing carefully, he pointed at Wei Zhongxian and shrieked, "It's the stench of this eunuch!" He waved his thick hand fiercely in the air, "A dignified county magistrate, spending his days mingling with such filthy scum, what kind of conduct is this!"

As a grown man, Jiang Yuanshan hated these eunuchs the most; they were neither male nor female, and what kind of people did they look like?

Wei Zhongxian's face turned deathly pale instantly; he was furious. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the sachet, and despite his rage, he forced a smile and said, "Master Jiang is right, I'll..."

If it weren't for the fact that this old scoundrel is Django's father, he would have ordered his men to drag this ignorant fool away, chop him up, and feed him to the dogs. When has the Ninth Prince ever suffered such humiliation?

Upon hearing Jiang Yuanshan's words, Jiang Ge suddenly stopped, her official boots clicking crisply on the bluestone slabs. She turned her head slightly, sunlight casting fine eyelash shadows on one side of her face, making the other side appear even more indistinct.

“Wei Zhongxian.” Her voice was calm and unhurried, yet it silenced the entire street. “There’s no need for that.”

Wei Zhongxian froze in mid-air, his bowing posture still bearing a fawning smile. Jiang Ge reached out to steady him, his fingertips stopping three inches from Wei Zhongxian's sleeve—a distance that was not impolite.

“You were serving the people in Songyang County, acting as an official,” Jiang Ge said, her gaze sweeping over the gradually gathering crowd before finally settling on Jiang Yuanshan. A mocking smile curved her lips. “And my father…” she deliberately dragged out her words, “was just a merchant.”

Since ancient times, the social order has been: scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. This saying is like a red-hot iron, smashed onto the ice.

It's clearly saying that Jiang Yuanshan is not even as good as a eunuch!

Jiang Yuanshan's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red, the jade pendant at his waist jingling violently. He pointed his thick finger at Jiang Ge, his voice barely audible, as if squeezed out between clenched teeth: "You...you..."

"Father, please don't be angry." Jiang Ge raised her hand to straighten his crooked collar, her movements as gentle as if she were handling a fragile piece of porcelain, but her eyes were icy cold. "Am I wrong? Your thirteen silk shops and seven docks, aren't they all businesses of commerce?" She suddenly lowered her voice, speaking in a volume only the three of them could hear, "Or... do you think that the empty title of 'Imperial Merchant' bestowed by the First Prince can really change the Jiang family's status?"

That's so stupid.

If it weren't for this damned filial piety, she wouldn't even bother with this little bit of pretense.

She was never a dutiful daughter, and Jiang Yuanshan was unworthy of the title "father".

Jiang Yuanshan stared intently at Jiang Ge, his fat face trembling violently, veins bulging on his forehead. He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

The stares of the onlookers made him feel like a dried-up fish.

His expression changed until he forced a smile.

Okay, okay!

Since that's the case, don't blame him for being ruthless as a father!

Jiang Yuanshan originally thought that he should not make a big fuss and that after the siege, he could just take away Jiang Ge's official position as a matter of course. But now he realized that he should teach her a lesson.

Let Django know how powerful he is.

——

A scout reported that Jiang Yuanshan had arrived in Songyang County. Wang Laohu, eyes half-closed, lay lazily on his tiger-skin chair, tapping the armrest with his fingers. The candlelight flickered in the room, casting half of his face in shadow, a faint, cold smile playing on his lips.

"Brother, can this Jiang Yuanshan be trusted?" His underlings were wringing their hands anxiously, pacing back and forth in the hall. "He told us to contact other mountain strongholds to besiege Songyang County tonight, but he is Jiang Ge's biological father after all! Why would he want to harm his own son?"

Wang Laohu didn't even open his eyes, letting out a contemptuous sneer: "Why?" He slowly drew out the words, "The things in this world, when you get down to it, are just a few simple truths."

He suddenly opened his eyes, his sharp gaze piercing his younger brother like a knife: "Django also has a half-brother, understand?"

The younger brother suddenly realized, then a hint of understanding crossed his face: "This...this isn't related to the First Prince..."

Not only did the emperor have his favorites, but ordinary people were also so biased.

“That’s right!” Wang Laohu slammed his hand on the armrest, making the teacups on the table clink. “With the men in hand, brothers, follow me to take over Songyang County.” He stood up, walked to the window, and looked in the direction of Songyang County, his voice laced with sarcasm: “Jiang Yuanshan wants me to bring my brothers to play house with him, dream on. What a pity for that kid Jiang Ge, but…” He turned around, his face contorted with rage, “After tonight, he won’t be the magistrate anymore, but a prisoner!”

Suddenly, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from outside, followed by a jumble of footsteps. Several scouts stumbled in: "Report! The troops from the three nearby prefectures have assembled and are awaiting the leader's orders!"

Wang Laohu's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he snatched the ghost-headed knife hanging on the wall: "Pass down the order, tell all the brothers in the villages to set off immediately!" He licked his dry lips, "Jiang Yuanshan has brought three thousand elite soldiers with the Crown Prince's token, plus our eight hundred brothers and the men from other mountain villages, making a total of five thousand!"

He strode out of the hall, the evening breeze carrying the stench of blood. Below, in Songyang County, wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys, creating a peaceful and serene atmosphere.

“A tiny Songyang County,” Wang Laohu grinned as he drew his ghost-headed dagger, its blade gleaming coldly in the moonlight, “what can it possibly do against an army of five thousand? After tonight, this Songyang County will belong to the Wang family!”

"I demand that Django pay for his crimes in blood!"

——

As the last rays of the setting sun gradually sank into the distant mountains, pedestrians hurried along the streets of Songyang County, vendors packed up their stalls to go home, and brick kiln workers yawned as they handed over their shifts. No one was aware of the impending storm.

Inside the county government office, Bai Qi stood alone under the eaves, gazing at the last rays of the setting sun, his expression inscrutable. He had already learned his fate from Hei Fu—the fate that would be vividly recorded in later historical texts. "Lord Wu'an, Bai Qi, though innocent, is to be executed in Du You..."

A bitter smile tugged at the corner of his lips, a hint of self-mockery flashing in his eyes. The world called him "The Butcher," saying he had waged war his entire life, killing millions and leaving rivers of blood. But who could have imagined that this god of war, feared by six kingdoms, would ultimately end his own life?

"Karma?"

He murmured to himself, his fingers unconsciously stroking the hilt of the sword at his waist. This sword had beheaded countless enemy generals and had helped him achieve unparalleled feats, but in the end, it would become the murder weapon that ended his own life?

Bai Qi slowly closed his eyes, his heart churning with resentment and helplessness. He was not one to cling to life or fear death, but to die like this would leave him with a deep sense of unease. He had spent his life fighting on the battlefield, expanding the territory of Qin, yet he had ended up like this…

"Perhaps, this is fate."

He opened his eyes and looked at the darkening sky in the distance, as if he could see the relentless wheel of fate crushing him. He knew that the tide of history was unstoppable, but even so, he still wanted to struggle.

"But if there's a chance..."

His eyes suddenly sharpened, and his fingers clenched tightly.

"How could I, Bai Qi, sit idly by and wait for my death?"

Bai Qi gripped the sword at his waist. He no longer wanted to turn back time. The feud between them was already established and couldn't be easily changed. All he needed now was something good, something that could change the situation in Qin.

If a killing god like Bai Qi can die so easily, would someone of even greater value like Bai Qi die so easily?

Bai Qi didn't know, but he trusted King Zhaoxiang of Qin.

Jiang Ge sat in the office. Jiang Yuanshan had been assigned to the room furthest from her, but she still didn't want to see him.

When Bai Qi's tall figure stepped into the office, the people who should have already finished their duties remained in place. These capable ministers and generals from different dynasties, although unaware of the grudges and entanglements between Jiang Ge and Jiang Yuanshan, their keen intuition honed through the battlefield made them stop in their tracks.

A suffocating sense of oppression hung in the air, like the oppressive low pressure before a storm. The veterans' brows furrowed unconsciously, and the civil officials' fingers tapped nervously on their desks—everyone felt the invisible crisis, yet couldn't quite put their finger on it.

"Strange..." Yuchi Jingde muttered, stroking his beard, "Why do I feel so uneasy, like a cat is scratching at my heart?"

The feeling was like a tangled ball of yarn; you knew something was wrong, but you couldn't find the end. The group exchanged puzzled glances, none of them looking suspiciously at the room where Jiang Yuanshan was. In their eyes, how could the Magistrate Jiang's father be the source of the crisis?

"It's probably because those bandits are up to no good again," Qin Shubao guessed, stroking his beard.

They complain all the time that the work is tiring, and some even want to run away.

"Damn it!" Upon hearing this, Yuchi Jingde slammed his fist on the table and stood up, his copper bell-like eyes wide open. "I'm going to loosen their muscles right now!" With that, he grabbed his whip and rushed out, his heavy footsteps making the roof beams tremble slightly.

Jiang Ge looked at the crowd that refused to leave and rubbed her temples helplessly. She knew, of course, where the real danger came from, but she couldn't say it outright. Seeing that it was getting late, she raised her voice and said, "Everyone, please disperse. Go back to whichever dynasty you need to go. Staying here isn't a solution..."

She paused, then added half-jokingly, "Besides, we don't have overtime pay here."

Just as everyone was dawdling and preparing to leave, a crisp system notification suddenly rang in Jiang Ge's mind. With the recent breakthrough in the number of historical figures recruited, the system interface glowed with a pale blue light, completing its most important upgrade since its launch.

[System notification: Monitoring range expanded to a radius of five kilometers]

Django casually unfolded the new map interface, which had previously only shown the county town but now expanded to include the surrounding scenery. She swiped the image aimlessly, wondering what could be so interesting about this desolate wilderness.

It's just a matter of seeing a few more groves of trees and a few acres of farmland.

Suddenly, her fingers froze in mid-air.

Outside the city wall representing Songyang County, countless scarlet human figures surged towards the wall from all directions like a tide. These densely packed dots formed several well-trained square formations, advancing rapidly along the official road, fields, and mountain valleys under the cover of night. Each human figure was clearly marked with a sword or other symbol signifying "armor," and some even dragged complex symbols representing siege equipment. These countless figures, forming several columns, were rapidly approaching the city gates of Songyang County under the cover of darkness.

However, at this time, there were only two yamen runners at the city gate who had switched from working in brick kilns.

Jiang Ge's fingertips dug deeply into his palm. Huo Qubing and the others had already returned to their respective dynasties. Thinking of the enemy army surging like a tide outside the city, a chill ran from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

A major battle is about to break out.

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Author's Note: The pacing of these past few chapters was a bit slow, so I've made some revisions. Here comes a major battle! [Let me see][Let me see][Let me see] Work is just too tiring; I'm thinking of changing careers.