Lin Yan'an nodded, his face serious, and said, "Yi Mian, you're going to be my sister from now on. It's alright for me to call you Sister Jiang, right? If you don't want to, how about I just call you Mian Mian?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than his horse neighed suddenly, startling him so much that he grabbed the horse's neck, his face filled with panic.
Lu Cijian's indifferent voice came from behind, "His horsemanship is not good enough, he needs more practice. Wang San, take him to practice riding."
The next second, Lin Yan'an's dissatisfied voice rang out again, "Lu Cijian, I will never forgive you! Ah, help, help, put me down!"
Brother Wang, you can't just stand by and watch us die!
Jiang Yimian looked at the man and horse outside, who were clearly quite frightened by each other, and shook her head helplessly. "At this speed, he's already quite scared. This guy should just stick to the carriage. It's torture for the horse."
Liu'er laughed as she watched.
The reluctance to leave Qingnan vanished instantly because of Lin Yan'an's comical horseback riding posture.
*
The day I returned to Beijing was the third day of the eighth lunar month.
Many people in the capital had already learned that General Wei and Princess Chang were returning, so as soon as the group entered the capital, a large crowd of onlookers gathered and stared at the carriage in the middle of the street, creating quite a lively scene.
The crowd cheered even more when they saw the Southern Guards protecting the procession on both sides.
"It's the Southern Guard, see them? This is the same unit that has fought many victories with General Wei. They're practically invincible on the battlefield, they're really formidable. Hey, where's General Wei? I can't see him."
"Yes, where is General Wei?"
"You don't know, do you? I heard that General Wei was injured in Qingnan and is probably sitting in a carriage."
This time, Qingnan is facing both floods and assassination attempts by people from Xiliang, so things are far from peaceful.
They are lucky to have returned safely.
I heard from a relative who is an official in the palace that not only was General Wei assassinated in Qingnan, but the Princess was also almost injured, but fortunately they were both unharmed.
I heard the floods in Qingnan have been mostly resolved, all thanks to Lord Lu from the Censorate and Miss Jiang. I heard she single-handedly persuaded the city's garrison to fight against the Xiliang people; that's quite impressive.
The surrounding people listened with great interest, not even noticing when the procession in the middle of the street left.
A young scholar asked curiously, "Were the supplies sent by the King of Chu also stolen by the people of Xiliang? I heard that all of the King of Chu's men were injured, and the supplies were also stolen."
"Tsk, who knows if it's true or not? I received a letter from my colleague in Qingnan. The King of Chu's men didn't go to Qingnan at all. Maybe the supplies they sent were just a hoax."
They were robbed! How could those people from Xiliang be so brazen? I heard they robbed the supplies shortly after leaving the capital.
If the people of Xiliang could ambush there, wouldn't they be able to attack the capital directly?
It's possible that the King of Chu orchestrated this whole thing; he might have deliberately claimed that the supplies were stolen when in fact he had secretly hidden them away.
In this way, you gain fame and money without spending a penny; why not?
"That can't be right. The King of Chu is kind-hearted. Over the years, he has often distributed porridge and repaired roads in the capital. He seems to be a benevolent person. Why wouldn't he send supplies to Qingnan? You must be talking nonsense and deliberately trying to ruin the King of Chu's reputation."
"How can you say that? How much silver does it cost to distribute porridge and repair roads? The King of Chu has announced that he has donated all of his royal assets, which must be tens of thousands of taels of silver, right?"
He must have been reluctant to part with it, which is why he did this on purpose.
Do you agree with this logic? Otherwise, why were the King of Chu's supplies intercepted before they even reached Qingnan territory?
If the people of Xiliang are capable of attacking the capital, why don't they just come and plunder the city instead of seizing its supplies? They're not even that far from the capital.
There was no need to set up an ambush in Qingnan to assassinate General Wei and the Princess.
As for bandits, would you believe it if I told you?
Which bandit could possibly rob the army led by the King of Chu?
"The notorious bandits of the Great Jin have been mostly wiped out; those remaining are just small-time thieves. If they dare to rob the King of Chu, they'd better not live."
“That makes sense. Speaking of which, the King of Chu’s supplies have been stolen for so long, and the King of Chu has not been able to clarify who stole them.”
If it were truly a case of bandits stealing goods worth tens of thousands of taels of silver, he would have surely gotten His Majesty's permission to lead troops to suppress them. The fact that His Majesty didn't is precisely what indicates something is amiss.
“Indeed, I think this brother is right. The King of Chu must have orchestrated this whole thing himself.”
The story of the King of Chu staging the robbery of supplies quickly became a topic of discussion in the capital, with people talking about it in every teahouse and restaurant.
Many students from the academy debated the matter, and for a time, the King of Chu was the most popular figure in the capital, overshadowing Wei Jinghai's return of the peace treaty from Tuyuhun.
When Xie Yang learned of this, he smashed an entire wall of expensive teacups and vases in the house.
The maids and servants waiting outside heard the commotion inside and were too frightened to move, fearing that they too would be in trouble.
Outsiders all say that the King of Chu is kind-hearted and gentle, but only they know that he is a madman, a complete madman.
Looking at the mess on the ground, Xie Yang took a while to calm down before calling out, "Someone, bring Zhao Cheng here."
When Zhao Cheng arrived, the mess inside the house had already been cleaned up. Xie Yang was sitting upright in a rosewood chair, drinking tea, looking calm, but his eyes were a terrifying scarlet, like the calm before a storm.
Zhao Cheng was so frightened that his heart skipped a beat. He bowed to the other party and said cautiously, "Your Highness, those people outside have been dealt with. The rumors should gradually subside."
Your Highness's prestige among the people will not be shaken by this; please rest assured, Your Highness.
Although the matter was being discussed throughout the capital, the King of Chu's long-standing good reputation still carried a degree of credibility. Most people believed that the royal palace's supplies had been robbed, and only a minority did not believe it.
The King of Chu simply drank his tea quietly without saying a word.
An eerie silence fell over the room.
Zhao Cheng felt a dull ache in the wound on his chest that had finally healed.
However, the King of Chu showed no intention of urging him to rise. It wasn't until the time it takes to drink a cup of tea had passed that the King of Chu coldly spoke, "Kill Jiang Yimian."
Zhao Cheng was taken aback, and after a long while, he said, "Yes."
Last time, it was the Gu worms inside his body that caused him to lose focus for a moment, giving that woman an opportunity to take advantage of him. This time, he will definitely not let that person off easily.
I'd kill her even if it cost me my life.
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