After conquering three cities in succession, everyone’s spirits were high.
Su Rong’s injuries were by now largely healed. Before the banquet began, she grabbed Doctor Zhang and asked, "Can I drink now?" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
Doctor Zhang stroked his beard, "Technically..."
"Oh come on, not technically. Yes or no?" Su Rong interrupted him.
Helplessly, Doctor Zhang said, "Yes, but only in moderate amounts."
Relieved, Su Rong said, "Don’t worry, I won’t drink too much."
With those words, she cheerfully went into the banquet hall.
Watching her excitement, Doctor Zhang wanted to laugh. He also thought about how young the princess was. She had her Coming-of-age Ceremony last summer and had just turned twenty-eight years old.
The banquet hall was lively. Everyone, like Su Rong, had mostly recovered from their injuries, except for Cui Xingzhi, who was now starting to nurse his own wounds.
Zhou Gu noticed Su Rong returning and asked her, "Where did you go?"
With a wide smile, she replied, "Asking Dr. Zhang if I could drink."
"And what did Dr. Zhang say?"
"Yes."
Zhou Gu let out a sigh of relief, "If you can, then I must be able to as well."
Su Rong nodded and added, "In moderation."
Zhou Gu hummed in agreement, then turned to Ye Guixue and said, "Brother Guixue, don’t even think about it. You’re not allowed to drink."
Ye Guixue already had a cup of tea poured for himself and said with a smile, "I’ll just drink tea."
Fen Ling, sitting on the other side of Su Rong, saw Zhou Gu and Su Rong both pouring themselves full glasses, and he couldn’t help feeling envious. "Wouldn’t it be fine to drink a little?"
Su Rong swatted his hand away from the wine bottle and said, "No for you. You’ve gone from bedridden to being able to crawl out of bed; you need to behave."
Fen Ling sighed, "This is downright tempting."
Cui Yanjin leaned over and said to Fen Ling, "Brother Feng, would you like some flower tea?" As he spoke, he offered a cup of tea, "This is it. It’s refreshing."
Fen Ling looked at the cup and was speechless. "You call this flower tea?"
It was just a few flower petals in a cup of water.
"Then what would you call it if not flower tea?" Cui Yanjin murmured, "The bath with flower petals is quite refreshing, but there were no fresh flowers grown in the city or the Governor’s Residence. I merely managed to get some from a few pots, giving you one cup."
Fen Ling looked at him and said, "Why are you so obsessed with flower petal baths?"
He had heard that right after taking Ding Nan City, this young master of the Qinghe Cui family, Cui Yanjin, took a bath with flower petals immediately. It seemed to be even more extravagant than his sister. Where could one find such an abundance of fresh flowers in winter?
Cui Yanjin giggled, "I learned it from my cousin."
Hearing what was said, Zhou Gu, who was sitting on the side, visibly twitched. "Don’t tell lies. I never taught you that."
Cui Yanjin snorted lightly, "After entering Dingnan City, you and my cousin-in-law immediately had people gather fresh flowers for a bath. I learned it from you."
Zhou Gu: "..."
No way to argue.
Su Rong on the side, who also clearly heard the conversation, praised him with a smile, "That’s good. It’s essential to have a sense of ceremony after a victory."
Cui Yanjin was overjoyed immediately. "Cousin-in-law is right."
Whether it was bathing with flower petals or drinking flower tea, he was quite happy.
Fen Ling patted Cui Yanjin in appreciation, "Thank you, little brother."
Cui Yanjin laughed happily, "Brother Feng, you’re welcome."
After that, he left.
A moment later, Fen Ling discovered that everyone who couldn’t drink was served a cup of Yanjin’s homemade flower tea. He couldn’t help but laugh.
The soldiers of Nanchu, who had conquered three cities in a row, were also exhausted. After rewarding the three armies that day, Su Rong issued an order the next day for everyone to rest.
Another day passed, and the army set off for the next city, Xinqi city.
Because Su Rong’s army had taken a day of rest, the ten thousand soldiers that Helan Jue had ambushed in Wuyin Mountain had to wait out a day and night, frozen stiff. When the Nanchu army arrived, they had no desire to fight and removed themselves from their position.
Seeing their disappointing return, Helan Jue became furious and wanted to punish the person in charge. But they were stopped by Nangong Zheng, "General Helan, calm your anger. After a day and night of waiting in this freezing weather, even an ambush would be a waste of life."
"But orders are binding." Helan Jue protested, "If everyone becomes a deserter, then what’s the point of military orders and laws?"
Nangong Zheng said, "Now is not the time to punish. The Nanchu army has arrived. Let them redeem their mistakes through their defense."
Helan Jue took a deep breath and eventually nodded.
The failure to ambush the Nanchu army halted Helan Jue’s plans. Without reinforcements or effective military deployment, Helan Jue and Nangong Zheng could only hold on for three days before being defeated. They had no choice but to abandon the city with their troops.
Su Rong received Xinqi City without any difficulty.
Helan Jue and Nangong Zheng retreated to the next city, Xuzhou.
As soon as they arrived in the city, a man rushed up to greet them. Both Helan Jue and Nangong Zheng recognized him as Zhu Zhun, a confidant of the Crown Prince.
Upon seeing Helan Jue and Nangong Zheng, Zhu Zhun immediately bowed, "General Helan, Young Master Zheng, I bring a letter from the Crown Prince. Please read it as soon as possible."
Helan Jue immediately took the letter, "What does the Crown Prince say?"
Zhu Zhun replied, "Everything the Crown Prince wishes to convey is in the letter."
Helan Jue hurriedly opened the letter and was astonished by the contents. After confirming its authenticity for the third time, he looked at Nangong Zheng with a complex expression and handed him the letter.
Nangong Zheng took the letter and read it. His expression remained calm.
In frustration, Helan Jue said, "Nanchu’s aggressive incursion has led to our loss of four cities, and we are unable to resist. Several days ago, Master Zheng suggested that perhaps the Crown Prince would negotiate peace with both Daliang and Nanchu. As expected, it was the most beneficial strategy for Dawei. Your prediction was correct."
After he finished speaking, he sighed and admitted to Nangong Zheng, "When it comes to calculating human heart, I must admit, you far exceed my intelligence."
At this point, he admitted that Nangong Zheng was indeed the most brilliant descendant of the Nangong family. He never thought they would negotiate for peace.
Nangong Zheng shook his head, "General, you learn military tactics, while my learning is different from yours."
He put away the letter and said to Zhu Zhun, "Since this is a direct order from the Crown Prince, shall I accompany you?"
Zhu Zhun shook his head, "No need, Master Zheng. All I need to do is meet them in person, as it is a universally accepted rule in warfare not to kill envoys. I’m confident the Nanchu Princess will not kill me."
Nangong Zheng nodded.
Since it was an order from the Crown Prince, Helan Jue had no objections either.
So, Zhu Zhun immediately left Xuzhou City and headed to Xinqi City.
The hundred-li journey ended quickly. He reined in his horse under the city walls and shouted to the soldiers above the city gate, "I am Zhu Zhun, here on the orders of the Crown Prince of Dawei. I bring a letter for the Nanchu princess."
The soldiers above the gate were stunned.
Zhang Yun was standing on the city wall. He looked down and said to the person next to him, "Lang Ying, go capture him and bring the letter."
Lang Ying acknowledged.
Zhang Yun then ordered to the man standing next to him, "Inform the princess that the Crown Prince of Dawei has sent a letter."
"Yes," someone immediately went off.
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