Chapter 69 Shall we take care of something else...?

He's a senior colleague.

Seventeen was filled with awe. Very few could survive the battlefield, and most of them were missing limbs. It was truly rare to find someone like him who was only lame.

The soldier handed Seventeen a handful of hay, saying with a smile, "The north wind isn't very kind to people, try feeding it to him."

Seventeen nodded and had just taken the hay when Shuofeng, who had been ignoring the soldiers, immediately nudged the horse's muzzle into Seventeen's palm, picked up a clump of hay, and began to chew.

The soldier looked on with curiosity and said with a smile, "Perhaps it's because you've been by His Majesty's side for a long time, Shuofeng seems to like you quite a bit."

Thinking back to when he came to feed Shuofeng, no matter how he tried to persuade him, he refused to eat. Fortunately, His Majesty knew Shuofeng's character and did not blame him.

"Probably." Seventeen handed the hay forward, and Shuofeng ate it with great pleasure.

After feeding Shuofeng, Seventeen rolled around on the grass with him for a while, and the two of them had a great time.

The soldier smiled and, after distributing the rest of the hay, caught a glimpse of a figure standing outside the horse pen.

He turned his head to look, about to speak and pay his respects, but Long Langyue slightly raised her hand, making him stop speaking.

Following Emperor Jing's gaze, they saw Seventeen and Shuofeng, who were having a great time playing on horseback.

I don't know how they communicated, but they somehow managed to get along so well.

The soldier looked at Seventeen, then at Emperor Jing, and seemed to understand something.

This young guard is quite skilled and beautiful. In their long military careers, it is not uncommon for men to live together.

We're all young and vigorous men, so it's normal to have some thoughts about a good-looking colleague.

The soldier was lost in thought, but he simply turned slightly to continue his work.

Looking at Seventeen bathed in sunlight, Long Langyue suddenly understood why so many people only sought a peaceful life.

"Seventeen."

Seventeen, who was having a great time playing with Shuofeng, heard someone call his name. He looked up and saw that it was His Majesty. He quickly got up, ran to the other party, and bowed: "Your Majesty."

Even the north wind seemed somewhat intimidated by the dragon and the bright moon, and obediently tucked its four hooves into its body and lay on the ground.

Seeing the man and horse acting so obediently, Long Langyue suddenly realized that she might have been too harsh on people usually.

Seventeen stood respectfully in front of him, feeling somewhat guilty.

From any perspective, as His Majesty's secret guard, I shouldn't be so presumptuous.

Then he saw Long Langyue raise his hand and stretch it out in front of him. Seventeen thought to himself, "Is he going to beat me up? His Majesty isn't the kind of person who would do such a thing."

But he soon found out, because Long Langyue was still holding a piece of hay in her hand.

It turned out that he and Shuofeng had been playing too wildly and gotten themselves all dirty.

"It's normal to be playful when you're young, but you shouldn't neglect your responsibilities."

Long Langyue's tone was very light, and he didn't seem to blame him much. Seventeen knew he had made a mistake, so he nodded and leaned closer to the other person to ask, "I wanted to go find His Majesty just now, but I heard that His Majesty was discussing matters, so I didn't disturb him."

At this point, he didn't even care about the north wind anymore, and the two walked back side by side. The aggrieved north wind, seeing that the person had gone far away, started to run wild again.

When they returned to the main tent, Yuanfu was still waiting outside. Seeing that Seventeen had returned with His Majesty, he quickly stepped forward to greet him and said, "His Majesty has returned."

"Um."

Seventeen scratched his chin behind his back, feeling a little embarrassed. Why did it sound like Eunuch Yuanfu was implying that His Majesty had come to see him specifically?

Deputy General Wu saw Seventeen peeking out and said with a smile, "Seventeen, the guards are back. They were just looking for you."

They really came specifically to find him. Seventeen felt a pang of guilt and embarrassment; he had neglected his duties and deserved to be punished.

Long Langyue spoke calmly: "He's young, so it's normal for him to be playful. Let's get down to business."

After saying that, he tapped the table lightly. Seventeen looked at the other man's slender fingers and thought of another similarity between Mingyue and His Majesty: they both liked to tap the table lightly when they were thinking.

At that time, he thought it was because Mingyue had been by His Majesty's side for too long and had become accustomed to it.

*

Although Shen Weige has been away from Beirong for many years, Beirong is a vast and sparsely populated land, and its people are not good at construction, so the terrain should not have changed much.

In fact, Da Jing also had a map of the Northern Rong from back then, but they were unsure whether there had been any other changes, so they did not send troops rashly.

After handing the map over to Shen Weige for verification, they indeed found quite a few problems.

It seems that when the Northern Rong were a vassal state of the Great Jing, they were not sincere. They even took a fake map. No wonder they were so eager to antagonize the Great Jing.

After Shen Weige pointed out several easily breached points on the Northern Rong border, Long Langyue pondered for a long time and decided to first send people to explore the area according to the map that Shen Weige had redrawn.

After searching high and low, they found that although the soldiers in the Northern Army were highly skilled in martial arts, they were not good at concealment and tracking. As they were pondering, Vice General Wu suggested a candidate: "Your Majesty, shouldn't the Seventeen Guards be able to handle this task?"

To be fair, Seventeen is quite skilled, and his lightness skill is top-notch, making him the most suitable person to infiltrate the Northern Rong and scout ahead.

But Long Langyue's personal reasons prevented him from going.

This mission is extremely dangerous. If they fail to find anything, they can make other plans, but if something happens to anyone...

Seeing that His Majesty seemed reluctant, Vice General Wu didn't understand why. Did he think that the little guard was too bad at fighting? But in the short time he fought with him, he could tell that the other party's skills were no less than his own, and his movements were unpredictable, clearly indicating that he often did the kind of work of squatting on the roof beams.

Moreover, she was a new face. Although she was a bit petite, there were people of short stature in the Northern Rong.

Although Vice General Wu did not understand, he did not say anything rashly. Shen Weige, who was standing to the side, pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, why don't you summon the Seventeenth Guard and ask him what he thinks?"

This led to the scene where Long Langyue went to find Seventeen.

After listening to their explanation, Seventeen tilted his head and thought for a moment before agreeing: "From what you've said, I do seem very suitable. Besides, my lightness skill is quite good. There probably aren't many people in your camp who know lightness skill, right?"

Deputy General Wu nodded: "Yes, the moves we learned are all powerful and wide-ranging, suitable for fighting on the battlefield. We are not really proficient in this kind of light and agile lightness skill."

"That's right, and it was also said that all we need to do is scout around the perimeter to make sure it matches the map. It's not a difficult task."

Seventeen spoke lightly, but Long Langyue's expression remained somewhat serious. He glanced at the other person, blinked, and didn't say anything more.

Eunuch Yuanfu keenly sensed the tense atmosphere and quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "Gentlemen, please rest first. This matter cannot be decided overnight. How about His Majesty discusses it with the seventeen guards again?"

With the chief eunuch speaking, no one dared to say anything more and they all took their leave.

Long Langyue glanced at Eunuch Yuanfu, who also left with great tact, making sure to close the tent curtains tightly behind him.

Seventeen was somewhat bewildered. What happened? Why did he suddenly leave?

"Seventeen, are you really willing to go to the Northern Rong?"

"Why wouldn't I be willing? This matter itself isn't very difficult. If I can go and return sooner, His Majesty can resolve the matter sooner. Wouldn't that be better?"

Seventeen frowned in confusion, wondering why His Majesty didn't want him to go.

"Besides, Vice General Long's fate is currently unknown. The sooner we find out, the sooner we can bring him back."

In fact, Seventeen was right. Long Langyue knew that what the other party said was true, but she was still very unhappy and did not want the other party to do such a dangerous thing.

Although Seventeen did not understand what His Majesty was worried about, he thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, ever since you took me in that year, I have been thinking about how to repay you."

"I have no need..."

"After much thought, I feel that the only way to repay His Majesty is to practice my skills diligently. If His Majesty sends me to do something in the future, and I do it well, it might be a way to repay him."

Seventeen smiled and moved closer to Long Langyue. This was one of the few times he had been this close to her, and Long Langyue's breathing became a little heavy.

"I don't know if Your Majesty is aware, but actually my talent is quite poor. In addition, I was too old when I went to learn martial arts, and my body had already reached its limit, which made it very difficult for the instructor."

Long Langyue knew, how could he not know? For a period of time afterward, he would ask Coach Li about Seventeen's situation almost every day, and would even hide in the shadows to watch him.

When his bones were broken, when he was accidentally injured, when there wasn't a single good piece of flesh on his body, Seventeen never cried, nor did he show any sign of dejection.

This led Coach Li to praise him several times, which may explain why he cared so much about Seventeen.

Seventeen didn't expect any response from this person, but just kept talking to herself. As she talked, she leaned over the table in front of Long Langyue and looked him in the eye.

"It is my honor to share Your Majesty's burdens, and it has always been my pursuit. I know Your Majesty is worried about me, but I want to say that if I am not allowed to do things, I may be even more heartbroken."

Long Langyue knew from her time as Mingyue that this child's feelings for Emperor Jing were truly rare.

Many people would choose to flatter for personal gain or other reasons, but Seventeen was different; he did it simply because he saved a life.

How many people has Long Langyue saved in the past twenty years? He has rescued countless people from the battlefield alone, but only one is as pure and steadfast as Seventeen.

He knew he was the most esteemed person above all others, and even a single glance from him was enough for others to guess his meaning.

Similarly, he also came to understand what it meant to be a lonely person.

But does he regret ascending the throne? Of course not.

Power is alluring, but so is responsibility, and Long Langyue happens to be a very responsible person.

But sometimes, in the middle of the night, he would wonder if he were just an ordinary person, would he be happy living a life with only one partner?

He didn't know, nor would he delve into it, because he would never experience that kind of life.

"It's not that I disagree, but the situation in the Northern Rong is unpredictable. If there's even the slightest mistake, it could easily put me in a difficult position..."

Long Langyue had already compromised, but he wanted to try again. However, before he could finish speaking, Seventeen's face loomed large in front of him, followed by a soft and warm touch.

This action left Long Langyue stunned, unable to recover for a long time. Seventeen's voice kept reaching his ears: "Your Majesty can rest assured. My skills are only inferior to those of my other senior and junior brothers, but they all have their own tasks to complete. It would be best to leave this matter to me."

"I also promise Your Majesty that if I encounter a dangerous situation, I will immediately leave and never linger in battle, putting my own safety first. Is that alright?"

If the timing hadn't been wrong, Long Langyue wouldn't have let the other party keep rambling on and on. Now, all he could do was close his eyes, take a deep breath, and then exhale heavily.

"Alright, let Vice General Wu tell you about the situation in the Northern Rong these days. Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle."

Seeing that the person had agreed, Seventeen belatedly realized what she had just done. Her cheeks turned bright red, and just as she was about to get up from the table and leave, someone suddenly pressed down on her shoulder.

Long Langyue's deep, smiling voice reached my ears, making me feel a little ticklish: "Now that this matter is resolved, would Seventeen like to take care of something else?"