Who is Master talking to?
After making sure he wouldn't be discovered, Zhan Xinjia lowered his body and lay close to the roof, carefully removing a tile.
She remained in the position of lifting the tile, squinting through the crack to look inside. However, what puzzled her was that there was only her master in the house from beginning to end; there was no one else.
The room was dimly lit and filled with the bitter smell of Chinese medicine.
The woman sat upright on the edge of the couch, her hands neatly folded on her knees, her gaze vacant and blank as she stared ahead.
There was nothing there except a screen painted with osmanthus flowers.
Even so, she continued to mutter to herself, her voice hoarse and flat, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
"Isn't there any other choice?... I will give you what you want, but you'd better keep your word."
After a moment of silence, she spoke again softly.
"As long as the outcome is what you want, that's all that matters. As for the process, don't interfere. We're just partners; you have no right to control or manipulate me."
After saying this, the woman fell silent again.
Recalling some painful past event, she lowered her eyes, her pale fingers covering her head, looking as if she wanted to escape.
After a few more breaths, she suddenly and slowly furrowed her brows.
It was as if I had heard something unbelievable.
"You mean, someone is eavesdropping?"
!!
The moment the woman looked up, Zhan Xinjia, whose heart was pounding in his throat, immediately put the tile back in its place, retreated, and disappeared from the Prince Yan's mansion as quickly as possible.
She jumped along the wall all the way to the street, her heart still pounding violently.
With heavy, rapid breathing, Zhan Xinjia leaned against the wall and slowly slumped down, her back trembling. She placed her hand on her chest, trying to suppress the chilling fear that was radiating from her chest.
Impossible, she's very confident in her skills...
Even Fu Shou'an didn't notice her when she was eavesdropping before. Her master doesn't know martial arts at all, so how could he know she was there?
Unless, there really is a second person in the house.
She just can't see it.
Upon reaching this conclusion, Zhan Xinjia broke out in a cold sweat. Regardless of who that person was, this trip at least confirmed that her master had been lying to her from the beginning. Perhaps, even Lan Jiang...
She walked home listlessly when someone, in a panic, bumped into her shoulder.
"Excuse me, just letting me pass... Hey, Ah Zhi?!"
The man stopped and turned around; it was Meng Qiao.
Although she looked anxious as if she was in a hurry to deal with some important official business, Meng Qiao's face still lit up with surprise and joy when she saw Zhan Xinjia, and her eyes instantly became bright.
She hadn't seen Ah Zhi for a long time since the last tribute festival.
After being bumped by Qiaoqiao, Zhan Xinjia was a little bewildered.
Are you going there?
You won't know until you ask, and what you find out is quite surprising.
Meng Qiao wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, her voice filled with barely concealed anxiety.
“Something big has happened! ... After the incident at Sifang Pavilion a few days ago, the envoys sent by Nanjun have all secretly left the capital under the cover of night. Today, a large number of Nanjun soldiers suddenly appeared on the border between Dasheng and Nanjun, equipped with special weapons and armor. It is possible that war is about to break out.”
"fight?!"
To be honest, this word is a bit distant for Zhan Xinjia, even though she is the daughter of a general.
Dasheng was almost the undisputed hegemon of this territory. It was vast and rich in resources. Although some small countries had tried to take advantage of the situation to get a share of the pie over the past ten years or so, with her father in charge, things were relatively peaceful.
The last time we fought a war... it must have been nine years ago, when my father led his troops to break through the gates of Nanjun.
However, although they won, they paid an unbearable price in the end. After that, Father never left the capital again, staying by Mother's side every step of the way. If the Emperor hadn't refused to budge, Father would definitely have resigned from his post.
The current war is not a good thing for the Zhan family.
Although Da Sheng has many generals who can lead troops into battle, her father has twice attacked Nanjun. Whether it is terrain or experience, he far surpasses other generals. As long as war breaks out, her father is the best choice.
Seeing Zhan Xinjia frowning and falling silent, Meng Qiao patted her shoulder and tried to comfort her in a softer voice.
"However, the soldiers from Nanjun are only occasionally sending a few men to harass the border caravans. They haven't crossed the border yet. Besides, General Qu is still guarding the border, so Azhi doesn't need to worry too much."
The General Qu that Meng Qiao mentioned is Zhan Yue's old subordinate and also the older brother of Meng Qiao's current female martial arts master.
Zhan Xinjia calmed down slightly, but the anxiety in her heart lingered, preventing her from completely calming down. After saying goodbye to Qiaoqiao, who had urgent business to attend to, she turned and headed towards the General's Mansion.
It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early; she arrived just as the soldiers were ransacking her home.
Goodness, I've witnessed it firsthand this time.
However, her family used to be raided twice a month on average, and now half a year has passed since March. The fact that the emperor only came to raid her home after half a year is quite pleasing to him.
Zhan Xinjia stood awkwardly at the corner behind the wall, scratching her head, unsure whether to go over.
As she hesitated, she overheard the two soldiers at the door, who were sealing the entrance, whispering and sighing, taking advantage of the fact that no one was around.
"Hey, why is General Zhan so stubborn? The Emperor only wants him to return to the border, but for the past nine years, General Zhan would rather be dismissed and have his property confiscated than leave the capital."
"It's said to be because of that incident... I don't know the specifics, because the Emperor issued an edict that no one should mention it again. I've heard it was quite tragic, so it's understandable that General Zhan didn't dare to leave."
"I heard that war is coming soon. With General Zhan not here, can we still win this time? I've heard that a strange iron ore has been mined in Nanjun..."
"...It's a bit uncertain. In short, if General Zhan doesn't budge, then this time the judge will probably never be reinstated after the raid."
At this point in the conversation, the two officers exchanged a glance and sighed.
After listening to the whole story, Zhan Xinjia was terrified. If she recalled carefully, she realized that her family's old tradition of having their home raided from time to time only started after she was seven years old and her family moved to the capital...
After all, before she was seven, her family lived on the outskirts of Beijing, a place filled with nothing but rivers and mass graves. Their lives were practically like those of wild men hunting in the mountains; there wasn't much to confiscate.
So, the reason her family's property had been confiscated for so many years was because the emperor wanted her father to return to the border, but her father was unwilling to leave the capital.
Suddenly remembering something, Zhan Xinjia's pupils contracted, and she quickly walked towards the small, dilapidated courtyard where she still owed a loan for nineteen years.
She remembered her master saying that, according to the plot, her father's fate was to die on the battlefield...
If her master wasn't lying to her, then she absolutely couldn't let her father compromise.
Anyway, the court only lacks a general who can lead troops to fight and repel foreign enemies. As for who that person is, it doesn't really matter. She is also a member of the Zhan family. At worst, she can leave the capital and secretly take over at a critical moment!
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