Sunja, Nanying and Beiwu confirmed again that Shenyou was pardoned and given an official title.
Shunzi also brought back another piece of news, saying that Pei Xuanqing would take his men to take up his post later, and would bring Shen Yu's token and order along with him.
What I want to point out here is that Shen Yu is a military commander this time, so it is a token instead of an official seal. The dispatch order is equivalent to an appointment letter.
Pei Xuanqing specifically sent people to catch up with Shunzi and the other two who had left the capital earlier, and asked them to bring this news to Shen Yu.
After Nanny Wu, with the help of Aunt Chen and the others, finished preparing the banquet, Qiu Shi and Shunzi were dispatched to re-invite Captain Hao, Ma Xiaoqi, and a few of their trusted aides. Wan Xueying also had the guards bring food and wine to the remaining escorts who couldn't attend.
This meal, complete with wine, meat, chicken, and fish, would have been a sumptuous feast in any other time, let alone on the road to exile. With the addition of aged wine brought from the capital, after a few drinks, Captain Hao, Ma Xiaoqi, and the others became close friends with Shen Yu. Shen Yu also took the opportunity to learn about military affairs, especially those in the northern border region.
After three rounds of wine and five kinds of dishes, they had to get up early to travel the next day. After eating and drinking their fill, Captain Hao and Ma Xiaoqi happily returned to the front.
Captain Hao had been keeping an eye on Shen Yu's makeshift tent for a while now, even bringing it up at the dinner table. Without Pei Xuanqing, he'd thought everything was a sure thing, but then something unexpected happened. He'd finally gotten the Third Prince to leave, but when he'd sent someone to deliver the banknotes to Shen Yu, they'd taken the makeshift tent and sleeping bag.
Although Captain Hao said these words as if in a joke, and did not explicitly mention that the Third Prince and Shen Yu had been swapped, it was not difficult to guess that he had actually known about it for a long time, which was why he took extra care of the Third Prince after the swap.
Shen Yu had learned his lesson this time and changed the subject. Now or in the future, no matter what Xueying gave him, even if the gods came to ask for it, he would never give it to her! Besides, he didn't have a tent right now, so he was using Shunzi's, so Shunzi would have to share with Nanying and Beiwu. But there was no need to worry about one tent being too small for the three of them. One of them would be on guard every night, so only two of them could actually sleep in the tent.
He was so happy that he accepted all the toasts from others and drank a little too much.
He wasn't well yet, and Wan Xueying urged him several times to go back to the tent and sleep, but he kept talking to her. He talked about interesting childhood memories and his hopes for the future. As they talked, his mood suddenly darkened.
"Xueying, I have nothing now. You are all I have." He whispered softly.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Wan Xueying glared at him fiercely. You don't even have me now.
"I really have nothing left." Under the influence of alcohol, he poured out all his thoughts.
"When the Third Prince left, he wanted to take me with him. Although I would have to remain anonymous for a long time, it meant opportunity, a tremendous opportunity. I would have remained his right-hand man, just like Ye Chengyun, and when he took that position in the future, I could have been granted a title of nobility and appointed as prime minister. But I disobeyed his orders and chose to go to the Northern Frontier, a future I couldn't even grasp."
If he hadn't dreamed of becoming a noble and a prime minister earlier, he wouldn't have agreed to be the third prince's companion, let alone dared to eat poison. One can imagine how determined he was to refuse the third prince.
Wan Xueying looked at him, pointed at herself, and asked, "Is it because of me?" She was not narcissistic, but Shen Yu chose to go to her adoptive parents instead of going to Dingbei Camp where there were more opportunities.
"Not entirely. But before I met you, I never thought of disobeying the Third Prince's orders, and I never seriously considered my own affairs. On the contrary, this journey of exile made me calm down and think a lot."
After a pause, he continued, "In the past, I was able to become the Third Prince's right-hand man because I had the Duke of Ping's Mansion behind me, and Ye Chengyun had the Ye family and the Ye family army. Now, I am alone, with no talent for either literature or martial arts. If I just follow the Third Prince, I will have more opportunities, but I will have to pay more. Moreover, if I have to rely on the Third Prince for everything, it will be too passive. If something really happens, I will most likely be the first to be abandoned, just like this time."
He was referring to the incident where he disguised himself as the Third Prince and faked his own death. In reality, if it weren't for Wan Xueying, he would have been dead.
"So I want to have my own power, a power that is so powerful that no one can ignore it, so that no one can control us at will and make us live or die as they please." He wanted to protect Wan Xueying, wanted to protect her well throughout her life, and not let her suffer any grievances again, even from the royal family.
Wan Xueying sensed from his words that he intended to challenge the imperial family. After all, she wasn't born and raised here, and she didn't have much reverence for imperial authority. Yet, for the sake of her life, she had no choice but to respect it and follow its rules. Shen Yu's idea was truly audacious.
"Go on."
Wan Xueying's words of encouragement instantly ignited Shen Yu's fighting spirit. He had been genuinely worried that Wan Xueying would be scared, would back down, would try to dissuade him from doing something foolish. Facts had proven that Wan Xueying was indeed different from other women.
"It's not that I haven't considered going to Dingbei Camp, but what would I accomplish there? I'd simply be switching my service from the Third Prince to Ji Yun. Comparing the two options, I might as well go with the Third Prince. So I've decided to take a different approach and go to Ningjiang County with you, starting from scratch. It'll certainly be difficult, but it will lay a stronger foundation."
"But Pei Xuanqing said before that Ningjiang County wanted to establish military merit, so the chances of promotion were slim?"
Shen Yu smiled and said frankly, "Everything depends on human effort. Besides, I'm new to the army and need some time to adapt. If I rashly went to the Dingbei camp, I wouldn't even be able to figure out the relationships between those people and wouldn't even know I was being tricked. Furthermore, there are so many talented people there. I'd only be a low-ranking general there. Even if I achieved merit, the credit wouldn't necessarily go to me."
His analysis showed that he had indeed thought it through carefully. Wan Xueying nodded, "Just make up your own mind." Just don't blame her for making a wrong decision later. She then asked curiously, "Why are you so sure that the Third Prince has a great future? Just because you're his study partner?"
"No!" Shen Yu shook his head, "It's because the Third Prince is not as inconspicuous as he appears to be. Everything you know was actually carefully planned by him." There are even many things that he doesn't know.
There really aren't many ordinary people in the royal family. After discussing this, Shen Yu, who had never been to Northern Xinjiang, asked Wan Xueying about it.
"Are the conditions there really as harsh and poor as the rumors say?" he asked.
"The conditions were indeed difficult. I've never been elsewhere, but I only know that the area around us is indeed very poor. But there are actually many treasures there, but the locals don't know about them and sell them to merchants at extremely low prices. It was only when I arrived in the capital that I learned that a single ginseng can be sold for dozens, even hundreds or thousands of taels. My adoptive father found a very good one and sold it for just a few taels of silver, and our family was so happy for a long time."
The people there are simply too simple and unsophisticated, lacking much business acumen, and the big money is made by others. For example, even their medicinal herbs and mountain products can be sold at very high prices in the south.
When she returned this time, she had already made up her mind: to find a way to give due value to those things that the villagers thought were worthless, so that the people in her hometown would not only not become rich, but at least have enough food and clothing.
After so much discussion with Shen Yu, she felt that her previous thinking was still too narrow. Not only him, but she also needed her own power. So besides money, she also needed people.
In the past two years, there have been continuous fire disasters and a large number of refugees. As long as we let those people know that they can have enough food and wear warm clothes if they go to our place, there will be no problem of people not coming to us.
She hadn't been feeling humiliated during those years in the capital, but rather she lacked the strength to fight. Otherwise, she would have been dead. After her exile, Shen Yu had been able to find her place again. It was time for her to be bolder and take a longer-term view.
As for whether the world will belong to the Third Prince, it is still too early to say. What they can do is that no matter how the situation changes, they must have the strength to protect themselves or even compete with it.
The two chatted for a long time. This was the first time they had such a heart-to-heart chat since they met.
As they chatted, a breeze suddenly picked up, bringing a bit of coolness to the sweltering heat. But the wind grew stronger, making their hair fly in the wind, and Shen Yu gradually sobered up.
He looked at the sky and saw that the clouds in the distance were gathering little by little, so he reminded: "It may rain heavily tonight, so let everyone sleep in the carriages of horse carriages and mule carts instead of sleeping in tents." Wan Xueying and her friends had always chosen to camp far away from water sources, so there was no need to remind them of this.
"Okay." Wan Xueying nodded. Their simple tent couldn't withstand strong winds or heavy rain. The fact that it didn't rain during the trip was a relief for them.
Shen Yu's judgment was correct. Soon, dark clouds covered the starry sky, and raindrops as big as beans hit the ground, splashing mud high into the air.
"It's raining! Find shelter!" This was the first rain the exiles had encountered since leaving the capital, and everyone had lost their vigilance. Most people were sleeping soundly. Some people were awakened by the raindrops and called out to their companions.
But there were no other shelters besides trees. The rain kept getting heavier, soon pouring like a bucket. No, pouring is too small an adjective; it should be a basin or a bucket. Even if we hid under a tree, we were quickly soaked.
Wan Xueying was well prepared. Even though it hadn't rained before, she had prepared an umbrella, and also placed several straw raincoats and hats in the space.
Just after Shen Yu asked her to wake everyone up, she distributed the straw raincoats and bamboo hats. Those who got into the carriages and mule carts to shelter from the rain didn't need them, but those who were on duty outside could use them.
Even though they had a place to shelter from the rain, the sound of the rain was still frightening.
With such horrible weather, it’s inevitable that something unexpected will happen.
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