transfer order

Li Yunrui abruptly stood up from his seat, staring at Fu Ming'an in disbelief. "Insolence! I've tolerated your Pu Yuan delegation for a long time. Your abrupt marriage proposal was one thing! Your rudeness was another! But now, you've come to my Yan Yun with 100,000 troops to besiege my Xiling! Do you think Xiling is an empty city because the Emperor of Yan Yun isn't here?!" Seeing Li Yunrui's anger, Fu Ming'an remained calm and smiled. "If Your Highness doesn't believe me, I don't care. Just have someone check the tents outside Xiling to see if what I just said is true. Besides, if war breaks out, we Pu Yuan won't suffer any losses, but it's different for you. Xiling, as you said, is Yan Yun's territory, Yan Yun's capital. As Pu Yuan's envoy, dying on the battlefield would be a victory for the Fu family." "I breathed a sigh of relief, and I've done justice for Pu Yuan, but what about the people of Xiling?" Fu Ming'an said, turning to leave without waiting for Li Yunrui to speak. However, a guard at the gate blocked his way. "Let him go." Li Yunrui knew that as long as Fu Ming'an hadn't attacked Xiling, he had no right to do anything to him. He waved his hand and let Fu Ming'an go. No sooner had Fu Ming'an left the palace than Li Yunrui summoned a guard and Shen Qinghang. "Quickly go outside the city and see if what Fu Ming'an said is true." Seeing Li Yunrui's anxiety, the guard immediately obeyed and went out to investigate. Shen Qinghang, meanwhile, was deep in thought. "Your Highness, don't you think this matter is a bit strange?" Li Yunrui had calmed down by now. Hearing Shen Qinghang's words, he quickly asked, "What's your idea?"

"I believe we should investigate this thoroughly first, but before that, shouldn't we first recall the troops to Xiling?" Shen Qinghang, fearing Li Yunrui might have reservations about troop deployment, quickly explained, "Your Highness, the Ministry of War has soldiers from Yanyun stationed in the south, west, east, and north. I understand Your Highness's concerns, and that His Majesty will be very bothered by this. However, you can simply recall Zhou Ziliang, who is stationed in the northwest. Zhou Ziliang's father was a subordinate of His Majesty when he was still a prince, and Zhou Ziliang has led troops for many years; he can handle the mere Puyuan rabble." Li Yunrui thought it over and found it reasonable. After all, as the Crown Prince, he was already dissatisfied with being contradicted by the envoy, and now Fu Ming'an was threatening him with the Puyuan army outside the city. If it weren't for Emperor Yun's sake, Li Yunrui would have already lost his temper.

He took half a military tally from his sleeve and handed it to Shen Qinghang. "Immediately issue the order to Zhou Ziliang to transfer troops back to Xiling from the border as soon as possible."

Since Zhou Ziliang and Tang Feng were ambushed that day, the military camp had increased its patrols. Although the two weren't attacked in the camp, Chen Ke still felt a lingering fear; if the arrow had been just a little off, it would have pierced their hearts. Although Zhou Ziliang treated his wounds fairly well that night, he inevitably developed a high fever after returning. Tang Feng had been extremely busy these past few days, taking care of Zhou Ziliang during his illness, inevitably working irregular hours and not getting enough rest. "Really, couldn't you have dodged?" Tang Feng soaked a handkerchief in a basin of water, wrung it out, and then wiped Zhou Ziliang's forehead. "You might as well not have gone to block that arrow for me... You came back injured and haven't been able to sleep for three days and three nights, and I haven't been able to sleep at all." Although Tang Feng complained, he was actually happy. A few days ago, Zhou Ziliang was unconscious, which scared Tang Feng so much that he developed several large blisters on his lips. Now that he was awake and showing signs of improvement, Tang Feng's worries had eased considerably.

"What can I do?" Zhou Ziliang smiled helplessly. "I can't just let this arrow hit you..."

"Brother, I brought the food in for you." Qin Liuli peeked out from outside, seeing Zhou Ziliang and Tang Feng still talking. Not daring to go in rashly, she waited until Tang Feng waved to her before running in with the plate of food. "My goodness! Slow down! Why are you so clumsy carrying food? Aren't you afraid of burning yourself?" Tang Feng quickly stood up to help Qin Liuli, but it was too late. The soup spilled all over Tang Feng. Realizing her mistake, Qin Liuli, forgetting the food in her hands, quickly ran behind Zhou Ziliang. "Brother... I'm sorry, don't be angry." Zhou Ziliang... Qin Liuliu, standing behind him, tried to smooth things over, "Alright, alright, Liuliu is still a child. She's never taken care of anyone before, so don't be angry." Tang Feng wasn't angry at first, but Zhou Ziliang's words only added fuel to the fire. "Child? Qin Liuliu, tell your brother Ziliang how old you are this year, huh? Sixteen years old. When I was sixteen, I went to a brothel..." Tang Feng was so angry that his mind went blank, and he almost blurted out that he had gone to a brothel when he was sixteen. Fortunately, he stopped himself in time, otherwise, if Zhou Ziliang had heard him sitting next to him, he would have had no way to defend himself.

"Where are you going at sixteen, Xiao Feng?" Zhou Ziliang squinted, staring intently at Tang Feng. "Where I go is none of your business! Don't pry into the life of an injured person." Tang Feng pulled Qin Liuliu, who was hiding behind Zhou Ziliang, out of his sight. "And you, you're always causing trouble. I really should send you to Fu Chenchen's place for some training someday. I've spoiled you rotten these past few years." Qin Liuliu stumbled from Tang Feng's pull and quickly begged for mercy, saying he wouldn't dare. Taking advantage of Tang Feng's momentary lapse in attention, he darted out, only to bump into Chen Ke, who was just about to enter. "Young Master, why are you in such a hurry!" Chen Ke helped Qin Liuliu up and then bowed to Zhou Ziliang and Tang Feng. "Young Marquis, Young Madam, outside... um... perhaps the Young Marquis should go check."

"Can't I go?" Tang Feng frowned. Zhou Ziliang was still injured, and it would be inconvenient for him to go out. "That really won't work... I heard it's a tiger tally being delivered from Xiling." Chen Ke saw Zhou Ziliang about to get down and quickly stepped forward to help Tang Feng. Zhou Ziliang stood up and said sternly, "If it's a tiger tally, then we can't afford to delay. A'ke, change your clothes!"

Although Tang Feng was worried, there was nothing he could do. After all, it sounded like a matter of the imperial court. Even though Tang Feng disliked officialdom, he still knew what was important. He took Zhou Ziliang's clothes from the rack and said, "Brother Chen, take Liu Liu away first and tell him not to go out and talk nonsense. I'll handle things here." Watching Chen Ke take Qin Liu Liu away, Tang Feng dared to ask again, "Could something have happened in Xiling?" Zhou Ziliang used Tang Feng's help to put on his outer robe and shook his head. "I'm not sure. Since I started training soldiers with my father, I've never received a tiger tally." Zhou Ziliang fastened his belt and patted Tang Feng's shoulder. "Don't worry, I've got everything covered!"

As Tang Feng helped Zhou Ziliang out, they saw a mounted imperial guard. "This humble general greets Young Marquis," the guard said, bowing slightly. "His Highness the Crown Prince has ordered that Young Marquis lead his troops back to Xiling immediately! Please depart at once." He then dismounted, knelt on one knee, and handed the military tally to Zhou Ziliang. "The Crown Prince?" Zhou Ziliang took the tally with some confusion, examining it closely. "Is there a problem?" Tang Feng, seeing Zhou Ziliang's silence and glancing at the guard, was puzzled. "The Emperor uses the Tiger Tally, the Crown Prince..." "I need the military tally. But... is the Emperor in Xiling now?" The imperial guard shook his head. "I only received the Crown Prince's order and rushed here." Zhou Ziliang looked at the military tally in his hand and pondered for a moment before saying, "Please don't mind me, there are some things I need to clarify. To be honest, I'm hesitant to accept the Crown Prince's military tally. If it were the Tiger Tally, I, Zhou Ziliang, would definitely return even if it meant going through fire and water. But I don't know if the Emperor is in Xiling now, and I'm afraid it would be inappropriate to return rashly. I have over ten thousand soldiers in the Dingbei Army, and I must protect everyone's lives, so..."

Seeing Zhou Ziliang hesitate, the guards had no choice but to say, "His Majesty went to the Grand Palace for summer retreat this past summer and hasn't returned yet, but he has entrusted the affairs of state to the Crown Prince. Young Marquis, this is an extremely urgent matter, so please don't ask any more questions. If you ask too many, even I won't be able to answer them." Seeing that he couldn't refuse, Zhou Ziliang had no choice but to nod in agreement and summoned Chen Ke, who was beside him. "Give the order: split into two groups. One group will continue to guard the border and await the handover, while the other group will pack their bags tonight and return to Xiling with me."

"Could it be that the Crown Prince is about to force the emperor to abdicate?! Waaah..." Tang Feng had barely uttered a word when Zhou Ziliang covered his mouth. He then glanced at the imperial guard, who, seeing Zhou Ziliang's gaze as if he could see right through him, trembled and quickly said, "This...this humble general will return first." Only after the guard left did Zhou Ziliang release his hand, whispering in Tang Feng's ear, "What were you saying! Didn't you know the occasion? Were you trying to scare me to death?" Tang Feng chuckled, "I was wrong. It's been a long time since I've seen such a grand occasion, so I inevitably spoke without thinking." Zhou Ziliang sighed. Tang Feng's reaction meant he knew he wouldn't scold him, so he could only instruct, "Hurry back to Xiling. Don't ask too many questions... This time back in Xiling, things might change drastically."

Tang Feng laughed at Zhou Ziliang for making a mountain out of a molehill. Born in a prosperous era, where did he get so many conspiracies and schemes to weigh right and wrong? He comforted him, saying, "Even so, with you and me, what are the obstacles on the road ahead?"

Since arriving at the Grand Palace for summer retreat, Emperor Yun had shown no intention of returning. The old eunuch, though he dared not speak openly, was anxious. What kind of monarch neglected morning court? Even with the utmost trust in his son, this was unacceptable! Emperor Yun sat in the bath with his eyes closed, lost in thought. It was unusually quiet outside, with only Eunuch Feng attending to him. The old eunuch, carrying a tea tray, started to dawdle, saying, "Eunuch Feng, let's chat for a bit! It's lonely without talking." Startled by the emperor's call, Eunuch Feng, seeing that the emperor wasn't looking at him, secretly breathed a sigh of relief and then said, "Your Majesty, please speak. This old servant has always been here." "Hmph! Always been here? I've heard that at least a hundred times. He said the same thing back then, and didn't he also leave me?" Eunuch Feng had served Emperor Yun for so many years; how could he not know who that "he" was? But he dared not offend the emperor, and blamed himself for speaking carelessly. "Your Majesty, that person is gone; do not dwell on him."

"Even you think he's gone? I don't think so." Emperor Yun slowly rose from the water, his body covered in battlefield wounds, the scars of which, though many years had passed, remained. Seeing Emperor Yun rise, Eunuch Feng quickly draped a towel over him. "I feel like he's sometimes right beside me, just like back then. He left in the dead of winter, with heavy snow falling. He knelt to bid me farewell, saying he hoped Your Majesty would take care of your health. He said that while state affairs were important, the Emperor's health was paramount, and he could rest assured entrusting Qiao'er to you. He also said, 'We are both in love, yet we share the snow; we will grow old together.' You tell me, how can I not let him go after all these years..." Eunuch Feng sighed. "Your Majesty... everything has changed, time has passed."

"Let's return to Xiling tomorrow... It's been so long since I've seen Wuyou." Emperor Yun picked up an orange from the table and peeled it, casually asking, "That child Wuyou, she's not young anymore, but she hasn't found a good husband to match her all these years."

"His Majesty dotes on the Eldest Princess, so naturally ordinary men are hard to catch his eye," Eunuch Feng quickly interjected, his hands also busy, handing the fruit plate next to Emperor Yun so he could pick it up. "I have so many children around me, but the one I truly love and care for is Wuyou. Those eyes are so much like his, ah... Have you ever heard of 'Carefree and joyful, boundless and without worry'?"

"This old minister is dull-witted," Eunuch Feng lowered his head, waiting for Emperor Yun to speak. "Don't you even know this? It's just the literal meaning! If a person lives a carefree life, they will naturally be without worries..." Emperor Yun threw the orange peel on the table, then clapped his hands. "Perhaps I'm really getting old, always thinking about the past. But so be it, everyone has to be born, grow old, get sick, and die someday. Tomorrow I'll return to Xiling to see Wuyou and also to see how the Crown Prince is doing these days!"