The manor behind the Southern Zhou military camp.
Although Zhao Cheng was in bed, he was half-lying in the arms of a beautiful young woman, with the back of his head nestled in the embrace. Two women were massaging his legs on either side, while another woman was feeding him porridge.
All four women were stunningly beautiful.
It was the 'plum blossom, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum' that Yang Qingzhi had given to Zhao Cheng, but Zhao Cheng had refused.
Zhao Cheng took a sip of porridge, frowned, and said, "The taste is off today. Did you forget to add sugar?"
"Not sweet?" the girl asked.
"It's not sweet," Zhao Cheng said.
At this moment, Yang Qingzhi pushed open the door and entered. Zhao Cheng's eyes lit up, and he said, "Let him feed me. He'll definitely make it sweet!"
The girls were already used to Zhao Cheng teasing Yang Qingzhi, so they quickly handed the porridge to him.
Yang Qingzhi was already used to it. He took the bowl and sat down by the bed, feeding Zhao Cheng little by little, blowing on it after each spoonful.
"Young Prime Minister, my lord, you've been recuperating for over twenty days from such a minor arrow wound. Can't you even get out of bed and move around?"
Zhao Cheng took a satisfied bite and said lazily, "This is just a minor arrow wound? Why don't you call Zhou Nuo over and have him give you an arrow wound too?"
Yang Qingzhi said helplessly, "Have I served you well enough these past few days? I've never been this good to a man in my entire life!"
Zhao Cheng asked, "Only nice to women?"
"No!" Yang Qingzhi retorted sharply, "I've never served anyone!"
Zhao Cheng then asked, "You've only ever served livestock?"
"Can you stop misinterpreting me? I wasn't joking!"
Yang Qingzhi said in annoyance, "I've never seen a prisoner like you, acting like a tyrant in the enemy camp!"
"Do you think I wanted to?" Zhao Cheng retorted. "Who told you to arrest me? You wasted a month of my time. Do you know how much money I could have made earlier?"
So get well soon!
Yang Qingzhi almost pleaded, "Your father has already stationed troops in Yunshui City, and Yuan Zhang has also reinforced his troops at Muqiaokou. If you don't get out of bed and go to the Weihu Lake to let them see you, they're going to attack!"
Zhao Cheng said nonchalantly, "Don't you love war? Go ahead and fight! Cut off my head and use it as a sacrifice to the flag!"
"Zhao Cheng!!"
Yang Qingzhi put down the bowl and said angrily, "You think I don't want to fight? If it weren't for that bastard Zhou Jinghuan persuading the emperor to make peace with Da Jing, my father would have killed you first without me even lifting a finger!"
Zhao Cheng rolled his eyes at Yang Qingzhi, then lay down on the bed, tapped his back, and said, "You can all get off now. I prefer the young commander's technique. Come on, Qingzhi, give me a good massage."
"You!!!" Yang Qingzhi was so angry that his teeth itched, and he immediately rubbed the area hard.
"Ouch!" Zhao Cheng exclaimed, "I was supposed to be better by tomorrow, but with your dirty trick, I'll probably be bedridden for another ten days or so."
"I'm not serving you anymore! I'm going to find my father right now. He's afraid to fight because he heard His Majesty's will, so I'll lead the troops to fight!" Yang Qingzhi roared in anger.
"Tsk tsk tsk, look at your composure." Zhao Cheng sat up and laughed, "Alright, do you think I care about staying here? The plum blossoms, orchids, chrysanthemums, and bamboo are nice, but I still prefer the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting."
"What's the situation now? How did your father and my father talk?"
During the twenty-odd days that Zhao Cheng was recuperating in Nanzhou, Yuan Zhang stationed his troops at Muqiaokou and never left, continuously reinforcing them.
On the other side, Zhao Huan and He Yin led 20,000 troops under Chai Xin and Li Lu southward to garrison Yunshui City, which frightened the Southern Zhou emperor so much that he quickly sent Zhou Jinghuan to lead troops to garrison Jinjiang County below Yunshui City.
The border situation suddenly became tense.
Originally, the fighting along the southern border was decided by Yuan Zhang and Yang Zhanbei, but since Zhao Huan and He Yin came to rescue Zhao Cheng, the power to decide the matter fell to He Yin and Zhou Jinghuan.
Of course, on the surface it is He Yin, but He Yin will seek Zhao Huan's consent for any decision she makes.
Da Jing's actions this time were too big and his attitude too tough, which made Yang Zhanbei and other pro-war factions very unhappy. The Southern Zhou court went through several days of arguments as a result, but in the end, they could not prevail over Zhou Jinghuan's words.
Zhou Jinghuan was the most beloved younger brother of the Southern Zhou emperor. He had also been an envoy to Da Jing and brought back two princesses of Da Jing. The Southern Zhou emperor trusted Zhou Jinghuan's judgment even more, believing that Da Jing did not really want to fight, but only wanted to redeem the prince consort.
As a result, the pro-war faction suffered a complete defeat, and Zhou Jinghuan took charge of all the negotiations.
Zhou Jinghuan repeatedly instructed the Yang family father and son to treat Zhao Cheng well and to fulfill all his reasonable requests before sending him away.
So Yang Qingzhi did everything he could to make Zhao Cheng happy, and at the most exaggerated moment, he even performed a show for Zhao Cheng himself.
There's nothing we can do; he's the one who caused this trouble.
Fortunately, he is a man who can bend and stretch, just as he was after Lingshan's defeat, and he is still doing so now.
Yang Qingzhi just couldn't understand why, even though he had captured Zhao Cheng this time and avenged the Lingshan incident, he and Zhao Cheng had fought back and forth, and were evenly matched.
But why does the current situation make it seem like we've lost?
With his father Yang Zhanbei above him, as well as Zhou Jinghuan and the emperor, Yang Qingzhi had no right to refuse and could only endure it.
He looked at Zhao Cheng on the bed, and seeing that Zhao Cheng had relented, he immediately pressed his advantage, saying, "Now, who has the right to speak? It was all Zhou Jinghuan who negotiated with your father."
"What was the result?" Zhao Cheng asked.
Yang Qingzhi sat down on the edge of the bed and said, "I told Zhou Jinghuan about our business cooperation, and he agreed. He said that this would give Nan Zhou a way out, and it would be reasonable to release you then."
Zhao Cheng understood and said, "So you're saying that Nan Zhou released me because I'm willing to bring the Eastern Chamber of Commerce's business to Nan Zhou?"
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