Chapter 56 [56]

【56】/First release

The war is about to break out.

The assassin who refused to speak was thrown to Jinli Garden according to Xiao Jingting's instructions and became a snack for the little ancestors.

Unexpectedly, after having one of his legs bitten off by Dahua and Erhua, he confessed the mastermind behind the incident: "It was Zhao Wenshao! We were all sent by Zhao Wenshao!"

Even though he confessed, it was too late. Once blood was seen, no one dared to snatch the food from the tiger's mouth.

At this point, it became an established fact that Prince Yuzhang had sheltered a wanted criminal and secretly sent assassins to kill the king.

At the court meeting, Lu Zhiwan disguised himself as a young eunuch and accompanied Xiao Jingting to court. When Xiao Jingting announced that he would send troops to attack Prince Yuzhang, all the civil and military officials in the court were united in their hatred of the enemy and no one objected. He couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

The final commander agreed upon was the King of Liaodong, Xiao Xian.

Prince Yuzhang is a brother of the late emperor and of royal blood. When the other generals led the troops, when the two armies really came to war, they would inevitably hesitate to take action because of their royal blood.

Prince Xiao Xian of Liaodong and Prince Yuzhang were both uncles of the imperial family. Even if he chopped off Prince Yuzhang's head on the battlefield, he wouldn't have to worry about anything. Furthermore, Prince Xiao Xian of Liaodong had been garrisoning the border for many years and possessed extensive combat experience. The court could rest assured in having him lead the troops.

The Queen Mother was also relieved.

"Xiao Xian is the sharpest sword to protect A Yin's kingdom."

When deciding on the commander-in-chief with Lu Zhiwan, Empress Dowager Gu's attitude was clear and firm: "This is a critical moment. No one can lead the army better than him. Concubine Zhao, if you trust me, let His Majesty appoint the Prince of Liaodong as commander-in-chief. It will not be a mistake."

Lu Zhiwan, who knew everything about the past between Queen Mother Gu and Prince of Liaodong, couldn't help but be curious about their couple and secretly glanced at Queen Mother Gu several times.

Seeing Lu Zhiwan's meaningful look, Empress Dowager Gu blushed and coughed twice, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Perhaps because Xiao Jingting was unable to govern the country these days and had frequent interactions with Queen Mother Gu, Lu Zhiwan became much closer to her.

Seeing Empress Dowager Gu asking this, she answered smoothly: "Actually, at your birthday banquet last year, I accidentally saw you meeting with the King of Liaodong..."

Empress Dowager Gu's expression froze instantly.

Lu Zhiwan guessed she must be feeling very awkward at the moment, so she quickly laughed dryly and lightened the mood, saying, "Your Majesty, don't take it to heart... Later, Your Majesty told me about you and the Prince of Liaodong, and both Your Majesty and I understand you very well. Especially since I'm a woman, I naturally side with you, Your Majesty."

Empress Dowager Gu choked for a long time before she slowly recovered.

Looking at Lu Zhiwan's forced laughter, she couldn't help but shook her head and smiled bitterly: "It seems that A Yin really regards you as his sweetheart and doesn't hide anything from you."

Lu Zhiwan lowered her voice and looked at Queen Mother Gu's expression: "If the Queen Mother minds, I can forget it and never mention it again."

"Never mind, it's not a big deal." Queen Mother Gu smiled in relief, "It's been so many years."

Lu Zhiwan actually wanted to ask Queen Mother Gu, have you really let it go?

But the Empress Dowager is not Xiao Lanchun, Xiao Ningning and the others after all. It is always impolite to ask such questions to such a respected elder.

She simply looked at Empress Dowager Gu and said, "Since the Empress Dowager has nominated the Prince of Liaodong as commander-in-chief, I will discuss this with Your Majesty when I return."

Queen Mother Gu hummed softly, her long fingers twirling the sandalwood Buddhist beads in her palm, her gentle brows lowered. "He promised me that he would protect A Yin's kingdom for me, and he will not break his promise."

***

The date of the expedition was soon set. On May 23, the King of Liaodong was appointed commander-in-chief, and Xing Zhou was appointed deputy commander-in-chief. They led 20,000 elite troops to Yuzhang County to quell the rebellion.

On the eve of departure, a banquet was held in the palace to send the King of Liaodong off.

Queen Mother Gu raised her glass and offered a toast to the King of Liaodong from afar.

Lu Zhiwan also brought Xiao Jingting to toast the King of Liaodong.

The next morning, Lu Zhiwan stood on the towering city wall, looking at the soldiers in shining golden armor on the Taihe Hall Square, and his chest was filled with an unprecedented sense of righteousness.

She was fascinated by what she saw, her heart was pounding. Xiao Jingting, who was standing beside her, was also mesmerized as he looked at her profile.

Only after the army had stormed out of the city gate did Lu Zhiwan retract his gaze and turn to meet the man's dark, bright eyes.

In the bright sunlight, his eyes were so pure, as crystal clear as the splashing water in a mountain spring.

Lu Zhiwan was slightly stunned: "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Xiao Jingting said: "It looks good."

Lu Zhiwan: “……?”

Xiao Jingting raised the corner of his mouth and smiled childishly. He didn't say much. He just glanced at the tail of the team outside the city gate and said seriously, "Don't worry, Wanwan, they will definitely return victorious."

Lu Zhiwan liked to hear this.

According to the original plot, this will be their final and most important struggle with Prince Yuzhang.

In the original novel, she and Xiao Jingting lost.

But now the plot has moved forward so much. Their king and his subjects are united, their soldiers and horses are strong, while Zhao Wenshao and Prince Yuzhang directly skipped the three-year hibernation and recuperation. It is still uncertain who will win or lose.

May passed in a flash, and by the end of June, the army that was sent to suppress the rebellion crossed the Yangtze River and confronted the army of Prince Yuzhang.

When the latest battle report arrived at the imperial palace in the capital, Xiao Jingting and Xiao Fugui were glaring at each other, disliking each other.

Lu Zhiwan read the battle report word for word, put down the document, and looked up to see the tall man still arguing with Xiao Fugui. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "You gave it to me in the first place, and now you think it's too clingy. Who can I blame?"

"It wasn't from me."

Xiao Jingting waved his fist at Xiao Fugui as if to intimidate him. Seeing Xiao Fugui shrink his neck and whimper in grievance, he put on a triumphant and satisfied look, brushed off his sleeves, and slowly stood up and walked towards Lu Zhiwan: "This is a gift from my grown-up self. It has nothing to do with the me of today."

"I really don't understand what I was thinking at 23. I had to attend court and handle government affairs every day, so I didn't have much time to spend with Wanwan. And I gave her a leopard to occupy her energy."

He blamed the other Xiao Jingting for never speaking softly, and sometimes he would hint at it in front of Lu Zhiwan, saying bad things about the 23-year-old Xiao Jingting to prove that the current him was the one who was most worthy of her love.

Lu Zhiwan was no longer surprised by this guy's excessive jealousy. He raised his hand and waved at him, "Okay, okay, you're the best. Come and see the latest battle report."

Hearing her affirmation, Xiao Jingting walked lazily to the table like a tiger whose fur had been stroked, picked up the battle report and began to read it.

"The letter said that the other party closed the city gates and refused to fight, and seemed to be deliberately delaying." Lu Zhiwan frowned, his mind racing, trying to recall what other plot points he had missed.

Xiao Jingting put down the battle report and sat down next to Lu Zhiwan, seeming to be lost in thought.

The two were quiet for a while.

After Lu Zhiwan was sure that he couldn't remember any unnecessary details, he turned to look at the unusually quiet man beside him: "A Yin?"

Xiao Jingting turned his face away: "Yeah."

Lu Zhiwan: "What are you thinking about? So serious."

Xiao Jingting: "I want to give a turtle to each of those two uncles."

Lu Zhiwan: “……?”

Xiao Jingting said seriously, "The turtle is hiding in its shell. Let the King of Liaodong find a way to get it out."

Lu Zhiwan was stunned for a moment: "Then what's the point of giving it to Prince Yuzhang?"

"Scold him."

Xiao Jingting spread his hands, his dark eyes smiling at Lu Zhiwan: "Wanwan is so stupid."

Lu Zhiwan: “…”

Are you childish?

***

Half a month later, the two turtles were sent to the front line along with the order from the capital.

Lu Zhiwan never expected that the most intense wars often only used the simplest ridicule, and the two turtles sent by Xiao Jingting actually played a role -

The gates of Yuzhang Prefecture were opened, and the enemy finally sent troops to fight.

The war was in full swing at the front, and Lu Zhiwan and Xiao Jingting were also busy at the palace.

The acupuncture technique of the head of the Imperial Medical Bureau was generally ineffective. After more than a month of acupuncture, Xiao Jingting still showed no improvement.

In order to prevent him from being exposed during court meetings, Lu Zhiwan had to dress up as a eunuch and accompany him to court every day. After the meeting, he had to coax him and read and comment on memorials for him.

In the past, Lu Zhiwan felt that serving the emperor every night was a draining, weakening state. Now, although she no longer had to serve him, attending court every day wasn't much better than serving him. It was true that the palace didn't keep idlers, and being the virtuous empress of the bastard emperor was not easy!

In the blink of an eye, it is August, and the golden osmanthus is fragrant and the chrysanthemums are fragrant.

Prince Yuzhang's side had many talented people and used many ingenious strategies, while Prince Liaodong's side had strong soldiers and fought steadily. The war on the front was temporarily stalemate, and the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet in the palace was not as lively as in previous years.

All civil and military officials were concerned about the war on the front line. Empress Dowager Gu and Xiao Lanchun were both concerned about the King of Liaodong on the front line, while Lu Zhiwan was worried that something might happen on Zhao Wenshao's side.

Compared to the worries of others, Xiao Jingting seemed heartless. He ate and drank as usual, and even secretly drank half a pot of osmanthus wine when Lu Zhiwan was not paying attention.

His mental state regressed to that of a five-year-old, and his alcohol tolerance was not as good as before. Although the osmanthus wine did not show up on his face much after entering his stomach, he leaned on Lu Zhiwan's shoulder and kept shouting, "Wanwan, I feel dizzy."

Lu Zhiwan reached out and touched his face. It was so hot that it could boil an egg. She was speechless and helpless: "Who told you to drink so much?"

Even though she complained, she couldn't just ignore him seeing him so drunk, so she left the table early and took him back to the Yangxin Palace to rest.

On the way back in the sedan chair, he was even more clingy than Xiao Fugui. A tall man of about 1.8 meters, he hugged Lu Zhiwan's waist, kept burrowing into her arms, and kept muttering drunkenly.

Words like "Wanwan, you smell so good", "Wanwan, you're so soft there", "I like Wanwan" came one after another, making Lu Zhiwan, who prided herself on being thick-skinned, feel her cheeks flushed.

Seeing that the palace ladies on both sides were trying to suppress their laughter, she couldn't help but raise her hand to cover Xiao Jingting's mouth, blushing and saying, "Don't say that anymore."

Xiao Jingting fell into her arms, his handsome face showing a bit of charm due to drunkenness. Although his mouth was covered, his black eyes were half open and half closed, looking at her lazily, as if silently asking why she was not allowed to speak.

"You better take it easy in public."

Lu Zhiwan lowered her voice, and seeing that he looked like a dazed drunk, she couldn't help but sigh, "You don't think it's a big deal now, but if you have the chance to recover your memory in the future and remember this dark history, I wonder if you'll be embarrassed."

Xiao Jingting couldn't hear clearly what she said, he only saw her two rosy lips opening and closing, like slowly blooming petals, which was very beautiful.

Suddenly, he wanted to kiss her.

But before he could kiss her, Lu Zhiwan covered his mouth again with a snap. Her dark eyes widened as she stared at him in disbelief: "What are you doing!"

Acting like a hooligan at such a young age!

Xiao Jingting frowned, reached out and took away her hand covering her mouth, and said in a hoarse voice with some confusion: "I can't kiss you?"

Lu Zhiwan: “…”

In theory it is possible, but psychologically, I have an inexplicable weird feeling of doing something bad with a child.

"Not now."

She lowered her eyes and said seriously, "Wait until you recover."

Hearing this, he was like a cabbage hit by frost, with a look of loss that could not be concealed between his handsome eyebrows, and his long eyelashes drooped like butterfly wings.

"But after I recover, I won't kiss you the same way I do now."

The dim voice of the heart was like a flickering firefly, touching Lu Zhiwan's heart.

She lowered her eyes and looked at the man who was hugging her tightly and did not hide his dependence at all. It was as if she saw a weak, dark and thin little boy through the body of this tall and strong adult man.

After a while, she held his face in her hands, slowly leaned over, and placed a kiss on his forehead.

In his eyes that were filled with surprise and a strange brilliance, Lu Zhiwan smiled softly and said, "This kiss is for the current Ah Yin."