Chapter 21 "Your Highness, be careful what you say!"

"Princess? When did she arrive?"

Just as Baili Xunzhou picked up his bowl to eat, a guard rushed to the door in a panic, knelt down to pay his respects, and shouted that the princess had arrived. He was nearly hit on the head by a pottery jar thrown by a soldier and was now storming into the camp to demand an explanation.

He raised an eyebrow, looking quite surprised.

The guard who brought the news immediately knew something was wrong. How could His Highness seem to have no idea that the Princess had arrived?

He shrank back and said awkwardly, "The princess arrived at 9:00 AM..."

Baili Xunzhou's face darkened: "Why are you only reporting this now?"

Even setting aside his less-than-ideal marriage with Feng Mian, there's no reason to leave someone stranded outside the camp for almost two hours for no reason.

The guard looked aggrieved: "I sent someone to inform the princess as soon as she arrived, but I haven't received any instructions from His Highness. I really dare not let the princess into the camp without permission."

Damn it, who dared to block the news?

Without a moment's hesitation, Baili Xunzhou looked at the strategist Yao Zhiyuan, who was quietly eating on the other side.

Dressed in a blue scholar's robe, Yao Zhiyuan quickened his chewing pace. After swallowing the food in his mouth, he said, "Yes, I did it."

Baili Xunzhou's brow twitched slightly: "..."

Listen to that tone, so self-righteous!

Bai Lixun took a deep breath, reminding himself that Yao Zhiyuan was a scholar, a rare scholar who was easy to get along with, and that he should not fight with him or raise his voice at him.

He can't be like his father, who gets so angry at one strategist that he faints in three days and runs away in seven.

A general who can't bring a strategist can only cry and do his job until he dies.

Exhaling a heavy breath, Baili Xunzhou forced out two words through clenched teeth: "Why?"

Yao Zhiyuan, after stuffing another mouthful of rice into his mouth, glanced at Baili Xunzhou with a strange look as he chewed.

He had a delicate, unassuming face, with a strong scholarly air about him, but his narrow, fox-like eyes were quite sharp, making everyone look like an idiot.

"Your Highness, don't you want to annul the engagement? If you anger the princess, she naturally won't want to marry you."

Baili Xunzhou: "..."

Baili Xunzhou opened his mouth, then closed it helplessly, unable to refute it. He did want to break off the engagement, but the enthusiasm of everyone from the common people to the strategist in helping him back down was truly overwhelming.

Seeing that Baili Xunzhou remained silent, Yao Zhiyuan continued to eat in silence, his eyes filled with longing for the food. He feared that once the princess arrived, there would be no more food.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when a flurry of footsteps sounded outside.

Yao Zhiyuan glanced reluctantly at the rice bowl in front of him, shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth, and then reluctantly put the bowl down.

If he had known his meal would be interrupted, he wouldn't have done it.

He chewed with his mouth closed, then stood up and, together with Baili Xunzhou, greeted the princess who had entered.

"It's truly not easy to see Your Highness." Feng Mian didn't ask them to dispense with formalities, and with a cold expression on her pretty face, she walked straight into the room and sat down.

Even a clay figure has some temper; after being unjustly ignored like this, she had to put on some airs of a princess. Otherwise, she'd be too easy to bully, wouldn't she?

Feng Mian shot a glare at Baili Xunzhou, her lips curled into ice: "If this princess hadn't almost lost her life at the camp gate, she probably wouldn't have been able to even get in."

As she spoke, she beckoned, and the Imperial Guards brought in the two soldiers who had thrown the pottery jar.

The soldier who had thrown the pottery jar crawled two steps on his knees, his face ashen, and kowtowed, saying, "I, Wang Er, unintentionally offended the princess and deserve to die. But my colleague, Xiao Qi, is truly innocent. I beg the princess to spare him this time!"

A soldier called Xiao Qi looked at him with teary eyes: "Second Brother!"

Xiao Qi choked back tears and kowtowed, saying, "If I hadn't insisted that Brother Wang Er fetch a pot of vegetable soup, this accident wouldn't have happened. If anyone should be punished, please punish me!"

Two sobbing sounds rose and fell, sounding quite pitiful.

Feng Mian rested one hand on her forehead, her fingertips pressing against her brow bone, her palm shielding her eyes from her unbearable gaze. To onlookers, she appeared completely cold-hearted and utterly merciless.

Baili Xunzhou glanced at Feng Mian from head to toe, "I wonder where the princess is injured?"

Feng Mian rolled her eyes and gave a displeased snort: "Although I was not injured, I was frightened."

"Look at Lord Lu, even his fine robe is stained. How can he wear it now?" She casually pointed at Lu Mingzhu.

Standing to her right, Lu Mingzhu naturally saw the cunning hidden in her eyes and knew that she wanted to get revenge for being neglected. He found it amusing and cooperated by lifting the corner of his robe to show the soup stains left by the dish, raising his chin and letting out a soft hum that was exactly the same as Feng Mian's.

A fierce glint flashed in Baili Xunzhou's eyes. After only a few days in the northern frontier, he had already revealed his true, unruly and domineering nature.

Forced to stop eating, Yao Zhiyuan couldn't hold back any longer and strode forward, bowing and pleading guilty: "If we consider the order and severity of the offenses, they all stem from this humble servant. This humble servant failed to inform the Crown Prince of the Princess's arrival, which led to the Princess's neglect..."

Before he could finish speaking, Baili Xunzhou interrupted, "It is my fault for digging so deep. We were just discussing military secrets, and I ordered that no one should pass on any information. I have neglected the princess, please punish me."

The scene of soldiers working together with one heart to fight against a common enemy is truly deeply moving.

Feng Mian pursed her lips, intending to scare them a little more before stopping: "Oh, is the military secret that the young master wants to discuss the military's food and drink?"

As she spoke, she glanced at the table and then paused.

On the table were four rough earthenware bowls. One bowl contained millet rice, which looked golden and plentiful, but the grains were dry and hard, and the taste was probably not very good. Next to it was a bowl of thin vegetable soup, with a few wilted yellow vegetable leaves floating on top. There was also a bowl of dark brown pickled vegetables and a plate of coarse grain cakes.

The Crown Prince of Dingbei, a young general of the Dingbei Army, eats this for lunch in the military camp? What good food do the soldiers under him get?

The words he hadn't finished choked him up. Feng Mian looked at Baili Xunzhou with a sullen expression and asked cautiously, "Is this all the soldiers eat?"

Baili Xunzhou subconsciously looked at the food on the table in front of him, following her words; it did indeed look rather meager.

Before he could understand why Feng Mian had suddenly brought up the topic of military meals, Yao Zhiyuan had already argued earnestly, "Princess, please don't look down on the food in the army. The grain and fodder were burned a few days ago, so it's understandable that we're being frugal."

"However, today's flatbread contains half fine flour, making it taste very good. This pickled vegetable is also a family recipe passed down by the cook, and everyone in the Dingbei Army loves it."

"The camp slaughters a sheep every two weeks to improve the food. The soldiers patrolling the beacon towers don't get to eat these things."

Every meal he ate was a gift from heaven, and he vowed to defend it to the death!

Feng Mian listened, speechless. She had thought the soldiers would eat better in the camp than on the march, but now it seemed that it wasn't much better.

She looked at the two soldiers still kneeling, thinking about how they had excitedly carried a pot of vegetable soup to eat, only to slip and fall halfway through, causing her such a big problem...

Feng Mian clenched the hem of her clothes with her fingers hidden under her sleeve, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she felt a little annoyed. She should have known better than to scare them.

Lu Mingzhu noticed Feng Mian's change in mood and immediately cleared his throat, offering Feng Mian a way out, "Princess, although their mistake was unintentional, it still frightened you. I wonder how you intend to deal with them?"

Feng Mian glanced at Lu Mingzhu gratefully, her eyes clear as a deer's. Lu Mingzhu had to forcefully tighten the corners of his lips, suppressing the upward curve of his smile.

Feng Mian eagerly replied, "They are the young master's soldiers, so let the young master decide. However, since it was unintentional, and neither Lord Lu nor I were injured, there's no need to be too harsh on us."

Bai Lixun's brows relaxed slightly, and he winked at the two soldiers: "Did you all hear that? Hurry up and thank the princess."

Wang Er and Xiao Qi, having survived the ordeal, were overjoyed: "Thank you, Princess!"

Fearing that the princess might change her mind again due to her capricious temper, Baili Xunzhou quickly waved his hand to shoo her away: "Go down first, and come find me later to receive your punishment."

Knowing that this meant they wouldn't be punished, the two immediately responded with great enthusiasm, and, supporting each other, ran away as fast as they could.

Yao Zhiyuan watched their retreating figures with a hint of envy, and he too wanted to pick up his rice bowl and leave. What on earth was Princess Qingping doing at the Swift Feather Camp?

"What brings the princess here today?" Baili Xunzhou asked warily. No one comes here without a reason. She has been waiting outside the camp for half a day and is probably up to something big!

Feng Mian glanced at Wu Liu, who then walked up to Bai Lixun's boat and handed him the map of the east and west streets she had drawn.

Feng Mian: "The shops circled in ink are the ones that were part of my dowry in Yunzhong County, and the ones circled in vermilion are the ones that I plan to buy soon."

Baili Xunzhou gave him a questioning look: "So?"

Not enough money?

I don't have any extra money to lend her.

Even if I had it, I wouldn't lend it.

Feng Mian smiled, her eyes crinkling. "I plan to make some vouchers to give to the Crown Prince. In the future, soldiers and their families can get a 20% discount when they shop at the store."

Bai Lixun was taken aback. The shops circled on the map covered all aspects of people's livelihood, which was definitely a good thing for the soldiers.

Yao Zhiyuan's eyes lit up slightly as he looked at the several taverns and restaurants circled on the map.

He and Baili Xunzhou exchanged a glance. They both felt that this windfall was too heavy, and they could hardly believe it. What was she after?

Yao Zhiyuan suddenly thought of something, "I heard that the princess's shop is currently being boycotted by the people. Is she trying to find another way, by leveraging the prince's popularity, to create a breakthrough for your shop's business?"

He winked at Baili Xunzhou: She has something to ask for, so let's discuss the terms quickly.

Baili Xunzhou realized that it was indeed a good thing to enjoy some discounts when shopping at the store, but they didn't necessarily need this favor. On the contrary, if the store couldn't continue operating, it would be detrimental to the princess.

He raised his eyebrows and said, "If you are willing to annul the engagement, I am naturally willing to solve the problems for the princess's shop, without the princess having to make any concessions."

How could this be brought up as announcing the engagement? How unwilling were they?

Feng Mian frowned slightly, gritting her teeth inwardly. This repeated rejection made it seem as if she was desperately eager to get married!

"Your Highness, be careful what you say!"

Unexpectedly, Lu Mingzhu, who was usually gentle and shy and had never argued with anyone on the journey, was the first to have his sleep flare up. His soft eyes held a hidden fire as he said in a hard voice, "The Crown Prince has repeatedly mentioned breaking off the engagement, but the Princess is kind and has not taken it to heart. Now she is sincerely trying to improve the lives of the soldiers in the Northern Frontier, not to be humiliated like this by the Crown Prince!"

His words were powerful and resonant, drawing admiring glances from the already displeased Firefly and Mist Willow, who were practically ready to applaud him.

The room suddenly became as cold as an ice cellar, so cold you could hear a pin drop.