The thunderous hooves of horses echoed at the city gate, raising clouds of dust. The overweight and bloated governor of Xizhou, having knelt on the ground for so long and been frightened, was too weak to get up.
Fortunately, his subordinates were perceptive and quickly got up, helping him to his feet and brushing the dust off his official robes.
"Sir, what do you think of this?"
Having been a local tyrant in the northwest for so long, this was the first time the governor of Xizhou had suffered such a great loss and humiliation. With a grim face, he pushed aside his two subordinates, straightened his official hat which had been askew in fright, and the fat on his face trembled three times: "Go back to the city first! He won't be here for long. These days, following his lead is to tell everyone to be smart and keep their skin on the edge, so as not to cause any trouble."
The subordinate respectfully agreed, then leaned closer and whispered, "This King of Qin is no ordinary man; I've heard he has a terrible temper. But I've made some inquiries, and I've heard he loves beautiful women. Even when he came to the Northwest to quell the remnants of the Northern Rong, he didn't forget to bring along a stunningly beautiful woman. My underlings reported that the King of Qin had a residence prepared ten days ago, and before he even arrived, the beauty had already moved in."
The governor of Xizhou rolled his eyes: "Really?"
The subordinate nodded repeatedly: "Didn't you instruct me to keep a close eye on things in the capital? I've had people watching very closely. You'll see, the Prince of Qin will definitely be going back to that residence tonight."
Upon hearing this, the governor of Xizhou grinned wickedly: "If he is fond of beautiful women, then things will be easier. Go and gather a few beauties to prepare, find out the details, and I will find a day to visit him and sound him out."
He recalled the Qin King's heroic demeanor earlier and chuckled coldly, "I thought she was as unyielding and slippery as Shen Xiuyi. Since you have a preference, things will be much easier."
*
While the governor of Xizhou and his subordinates were plotting outside the city, Xue Shen had already led his troops into the city.
He went directly to the government office, showed his token, occupied the office, and had Pang Lai and his men clear the area. The remaining soldiers were temporarily stationed in the military camp outside Xizhou City.
Logically, Xizhou should have had 100,000 garrison troops, with outposts outside the city. However, Xue Shen, having traveled this route, discovered numerous problems in the northwest, and the local garrisons were completely empty. Upon seeing the bloated and smug governor of Xizhou today, he understood the root of the problem. Therefore, instead of following the usual practice of stationing his 50,000 soldiers in the outposts, he pretended to be unaware of the local situation and ordered the army to temporarily remain outside the city.
Xue Shen led his men on a tour of the governor's office. Looking at the antiques and jade displayed there, he smiled with interest: "This governor of Xizhou certainly knows how to enjoy life."
Pang Lai was a rough man who knew nothing about antiques and jade, but he recognized the value of the gold Buddha on the display shelf. He picked up the gold Buddha, weighed it in his hand, and tapped it to listen to the sound. Then he exclaimed, "It's solid, pure gold. This governor of Xizhou's entourage looks no less impressive than the emperor's. He's a fat sheep."
Xue Shen said, "Xizhou is an important city in the northwest and borders Tibet. There are more than 100,000 troops stationed there. The court allocates millions of taels of silver for military expenses every year. However, along the way, the garrisons we passed were either empty or only had remnants of defeated soldiers. It is easy to imagine how much shady business there is."
Pang Lai took off a chair and sat down. He picked up the expensive-looking teapot on the table and gulped down a large amount of tea. He spat and said, "No wonder the Northern Rong people are becoming more and more rampant every year. Letting these people lead troops to guard the city, it's no wonder that the Northern Rong people were able to reach the outskirts of Tokyo without making a sound. It's only because the Northern Rong King is a good-for-nothing. If it were the Prince or us brothers, this dragon throne would have been taken by someone else."
Free from the constraints of being away from the capital, Pang Lai spoke without restraint when discussing his attire. It was only after someone nudged him that he realized what he had done, chuckled awkwardly, and stopped talking: "Your Highness, what are you planning to do with them next? The Emperor is wary of us, so the military pay that should have been allocated has been delayed, and the armor and weapons we've been given are the worst. This trip is a good opportunity to slaughter some fat sheep and improve the brothers' meals."
Xue Shen glanced at him: "We are now regular soldiers, don't talk like bandits in the mountains."
Upon hearing this, Pang Lai immediately changed his tune: "Your Highness is right, this isn't slaughtering a fat sheep, it's... well..." He scratched his head for a long time before finally coming up with a suitable explanation: "It's friendly forces, friendly forces helping each other! Yes, friendly forces helping each other!"
The others immediately agreed and discussed how to get the governor of Xizhou to help them.
Xue Shen listened for a while, then chuckled and tapped the table, saying, "Don't rush, let's wait for them to make the first move. Maybe some money will just come to us."
Upon hearing that silver was being offered to them, Pang Lai and the others immediately calmed down and said they would listen to the prince.
Xue Shen glanced at the time, stood up and said, "It's getting late, I'll go back and see the Princess Consort first. You don't need to be so reserved these next two days, drink and play as you please. If the Prefect of Xizhou sends someone to invite you, don't refuse."
Everyone understood his meaning, knowing that their prince was about to catch a big fish again, and they all began to rub their hands together in anticipation.
After giving his instructions, Xue Shen rode his horse toward the newly acquired residence.
In fact, given Xue Shen's status, he was ordered to Xizhou to quell the remnants of the Northern Rong army, and could have stayed directly in the governor's mansion. However, he was concerned about the mixed crowd in the governor's mansion, and also wanted to give Shen Youying some peace and quiet, so he arranged for a separate residence.
The house in Xizhou City was arranged by him in advance. The house, which had two courtyards and two entrances, was not large, but it was elegantly decorated by the owner in front of the house, and the furnishings were also quite good. Xue Shen thought that a large house would make it easier for people to find loopholes, so he decided on this house.
Shen Youying arrived a step earlier. When Xue Shen returned to the house, the servants had already cleaned the house inside and out, while Shen Youying was sitting on the porch enjoying the breeze and teasing the talking myna bird.
The myna bird was also left behind by its former owner, and was kept by the servants because it could say a few auspicious words.
Shen Youying had seen talking mynahs in the capital before, but this one seemed particularly intelligent. Shen Youying would say a sentence and it would reply with a sentence, and the question and answer seemed to understand human speech.
When Xue Shen was led in by a servant, he saw her sitting sideways on the veranda, with a small handful of millet in her palm, and she was teasing the myna bird to talk with a smile on her face and bright eyes.
The myna bird was extremely intelligent. It stood on the crossbar and didn't fly away. She lured it with millet and it would peck at her palm and say auspicious words, such as "Wishing you prosperity," "May you have a long and happy marriage," and "May you have a son soon." They would hop out one after another.
As Xue Shen approached, the myna bird spotted a stranger first. With a flap of its wings, it flew to a higher railing, fluttering its wings and crying out, "How terrifying! How terrifying!"
Shen Youying turned around when she heard the sound and saw Xue Shen glaring at the myna bird with a dark face. She laughed so hard that she was doubled over.
"Look at you, you scared the myna bird." After Shen Youying finished laughing, she teased him on purpose.
Xue Shen glanced at the servants, who immediately withdrew. Only then did Xue Shen sit down opposite Shen Youying, raising his hand to pinch the back of her neck threateningly, and said, "Zhao Zhao actually helped a bird make fun of me?"
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