Chapter 125: She drugged him but she had ulterior motives in being nice to him.
As soon as Ying came to mind, she received the imperial edict from Emperor Fengqi summoning her back to Yunjing.
The imperial edict said that the Prince of Jin was seriously ill and might not live long, so the Princess of Jin was requested to return to the capital as soon as possible to take care of him.
Just as Cong Ying was about to receive the decree, Xie Xuanlan, who had rushed over after hearing the news, snatched the bright yellow satin scroll away. He then addressed the eunuch who was delivering the decree, saying, "General Jiang is a talented strategist. The Xizhou army cannot do without her. Go back and report to His Majesty, and tell him that it is I who will not let her go."
The eunuch delivering the imperial eunuch looked embarrassed: "This...this..."
Xie Xuanlan didn't waste any time talking to him and left with the imperial edict in his hand. Cong Ying got up and chased him to his tent, just in time to see him throw the imperial edict into the brazier, and the words on the satin quickly twisted in the flames.
Cong Ying was shocked: "Are you crazy? This is an imperial decree!"
She tried to move forward to free it, but Xie Xuanlan locked her arm. He sneered, "So what if it's an imperial decree? You can change it, but I can't burn it. Or do you really intend to abandon me?"
Cong Ying watched helplessly as the imperial edict burned completely, and said dejectedly, "His Royal Highness Prince Jin has not much time left. I should go back and see him."
Xie Xuanlan said, "He hasn't personally written to ask you to return, so why are you so quick to believe everything he hears? You don't realize how much he's been busy in Yunjing, forcing the King of Ying to die, rectifying the Xie family, and seemingly on the verge of total control. If you return now, you'll only hinder his efforts to kill people and seize power."
Cong Ying said, "His condition is so serious that it's not optimistic."
Xie Xuanlan said gloomily: "You care about him. I almost died several times in Xizhou, but you never took the initiative to come and see me."
Every time she compared herself to the King of Jin, she would always end up in a quarrel. Xie Xuanlan did not want to argue with her at this critical moment, so he took up his sword and went out to patrol the camp before his temper flared.
Before leaving, he said coldly: "Even if he dies, you can't leave unless I die before him."
Cong Ying watched him leave and sighed to herself, "I didn't want you to end up like this. Why... don't you appreciate it..."
Along with the imperial edict recalling Cong Ying, there was also news that Prince Consort Ma would arrive in Xizhou soon as the new military supervisor. Inevitably, the military camp in Xizhou was in a state of unrest, and everyone was discussing this matter.
Cong Ying and Xie Xuanlan had been cold to each other for two days. That night, she warmed up a pot of wine and took the initiative to find Xie Xuanlan's tent.
"I've come to apologize to you." Cong Ying's attitude was very gentle. He filled a cup of wine and handed it to Xie Xuanlan, saying, "I understand your feelings. You don't want me to return to Yunjing because you're afraid that my tampering with the imperial edict will be exposed and the emperor will punish me."
Xie Xuanlan's expression immediately softened upon hearing this: "You still have some conscience."
He took the wine cup and raised it to his lips. Seeing Congying's beautiful eyes looking at him, his heart softened and he put down the wine cup to talk to her.
He said, "You have incurred the wrath of the Emperor, and you must be protected. In Yunjing, the Prince of Jin and your Lordship may be able to do so, but the Prince of Jin is gravely ill, and your Lordship may not be willing to disobey her father for you. Right now, you can only be safe in Yunjing. I have you for now, and I can also make up for it with military merit in the future."
Cong Ying glanced at the wine cup beside him and asked, "What military power can justify the crime of deceiving the emperor?"
Xie Xuanlan said, "If I can defeat the Western Tartars in one fell swoop, and the soldiers obey my orders, it will be the military supervisor's achievement, and the people of the world will plead for you."
Cong Ying asked, "I took the military merit, what about you?"
Xie Xuanlan thought for a moment and said, "I will take off my armor and return to the capital, where I will be an idle wanderer, waiting for the night to climb over the wall of the Prince Jin's mansion and sneak into the Princess Jin's tent."
He leaned back in his armchair, his two straight long legs folded on the edge of the table, and smiled meaningfully. Although the words were vulgar, his posture was very charming, making the vulgarity become a youthful charm that made people reluctant to scold him.
Zeng Ying's eyes moved away from his face: "You can fight for your pride if you want, but don't drag me into the lawsuit when the time comes."
Xie Xuanlan pondered her words and asked, "Are you agreeing?"
Cong Ying pretended to be dumbfounded: "What did I promise?"
"Promise that even if you return to Yunjing, you will still be with me like a mandarin duck, and promise that you will not abandon me just because you have the Prince of Jin."
Cong Ying said nothing, but just smiled slightly, and her smile made Xie Xuanlan drunk even before he drank. His soul was about to melt, and he reached out and pulled her into his arms.
Cong Ying picked up the wine glass and brought it to his lips: "Would you like to drink this wine of apology from Wild Mandarin Duck?"
Xie Xuanlan drank the whole bottle from her hand, smacking his lips and frowning slightly: "Is this Xinyang wine? It tastes a bit strange."
Cong Ying said, "I added some peppercorns and cinnamon when I warmed the wine."
Then he filled another glass and handed it to Xie Xuanlan: "Try it again, don't you really like it?"
There was expectation in her eyes, so Xie Xuanlan felt embarrassed to say that he was not used to drinking. He chatted with her and soon finished the wine pot. The wine was a bit strong, and Xie Xuanlan rubbed his head dizzy.
Zeng Ying rose from his arms: "I'll go make the bed."
She spread out the quilt and lit some soothing incense beside the couch. Xie Xuanlan came out of the bathroom and saw her graceful and gentle figure illuminated by the dim candlelight. He felt as if the wine he had swallowed had turned into honey and flowed into his heart.
He hooked his arm around her waist from behind, and they both fell into the soft quilt. He asked her with a smile, "Why are you treating me so well today, huh?"
Cong Ying endured his caresses and kisses, and whispered between gasps, "Don't I treat you well normally?"
Xie Xuanlan said, "It's good at all times, but especially so today, it's like there's something else going on."
He was joking, but Ying's eyelids twitched violently.
Xie Xuanlan's energy always exceeded her imagination. After drinking a whole pot of wine, he could still hold her down until the moon was at its highest point in the sky.
Cong Ying bit her tongue to force herself not to fall asleep, and waited for a long time before she heard Xie Xuanlan's even breathing beside her.
She called out tentatively, "Sanlang."
Xie Xuanlan's breathing stagnated slightly, and he uttered a very light "hmm".
Cong Ying said, "I'm thirsty."
Xie Xuanlan reached out of the tent and wanted to get up to pour her some water, but he couldn't get up. He just felt drowsy and as if he had lost control of his body.
Seeing his hands hanging down limply, Zong Ying breathed a sigh of relief.
The Ma Fei San in the wine finally took effect.
Cong Ying stepped over him and got down to the bed, dressed, tied her hair, and tied her cloak to cover herself completely. Before leaving, she turned back, lifted the bed curtains and looked at him for a while.
"General, you've died in hundreds of battles. You never thought you could return to Yunjing alive, did you?"
Xie Xuanlan's eyelids were twitching like boiling water, and seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, and he couldn't open them.
But he could feel Cong Ying holding his hand and stuffing it back into the quilt, then lowering her head to place a moist kiss on his nose.
I heard her carefully instructing me, "I've made an agreement with Sarando. She's going back to seize the throne, and there's a temporary truce with the Great Zhou. When you wake up, don't pursue the enemy. Be careful to deal with Prince Consort Xuan first. If he comes to replace you under a secret order, you can kill him if necessary. Protect yourself first."
"If I stay here, your concern for my status as an imperial envoy will only hinder you, so I'm going back to Yunjing now... Sanlang, please take care. Things change, and we will meet again someday."
After saying that, he let out a light sigh, turned around and left mercilessly.
During the long second half of the night, Xie Xuanlan clung to the last shred of consciousness and struggled angrily in a state of half-awakeness.
Cong Ying acted quickly. He first took Xie Xuanlan's private seal and interrogated Sarando in the capacity of Xizhou's military supervisor. However, he actually replaced her with another and released her quietly.
Before leaving, Cong Ying fed Sarandal a pill and warned her, "This poison will be fatal in about a year. As long as you sincerely cooperate, I will provide the antidote in time."
Sarando snorted coldly: "It seems that you don't believe I can do it."
Cong Ying smiled and said, "In the words of the Great Zhou, this is called treating the villain first and then the gentleman."
She said goodbye to Saranduo, and then she and Conghe mounted their horses and headed towards Zhanzhou City. Conghe asked her, "Sister, do you really have poison?"
Cong Ying smiled and shook her head. "The pills are made of the juice of the blue-phoenix algae. The blue-phoenix algae only grows in the extremely humid and hot southern regions of our Great Zhou. Most Western Tartars react to it, and purple veins will appear on their arms, which will disappear after a while."
This was an anecdote she read in an anonymous travelogue when she first came to Xizhou. She thought it might be useful, so she asked someone to prepare some things in advance.
Cong He immediately exclaimed "Wow" and said admiringly, "Sister is really amazing, she knows everything!"
Cong Ying smiled and lowered the edge of the fence: "There are more powerful people chasing my sister. You and I will hide in Zhanzhou City for two days. After the storm has died down, we will set off to return to Yunjing."
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After the effect of the medicine wore off, Xie Xuanlan had a huge tantrum in the military camp, scolding the dungeon keeper and the gate guard.
No one dared to argue, and everyone was secretly dissatisfied in their hearts: It was General Xie himself who said that the imperial inspector should be respected and obeyed, and he himself obeyed his orders, so who else would dare to question the inspector's orders?
Only Zhao Mingchuan dared to laugh at him to his face: "As expected, beautiful women can be deceiving. Our Xie Shuai has fallen for the beauty trap!"
Xie Xuanlan ordered with a gloomy face: "Call the troops! I want to go find them myself!"
Zhao Mingchuan said, "Prince Consort Xuan will be arriving in a couple of days. Why are you still bothering me if you don't think of a way to deal with her? Princess Jin is determined to escape. You can't chase her all the way to Yunjing."
Xie Xuanlan said, "I bet she's worried about Prince Consort Xuan. I bet she's still watching me in Xizhou."
He selected several teams of personal soldiers and went to the four prefectures of Xizhou and cities such as Tiehuaer City to post recruitment notices, deliberately revealing in the notices the news that he wanted to pursue the victory and fight a decisive battle with the Western Tatars.
He also sent people everywhere to buy wine and prepare banquets, announcing that a welcoming banquet would be held that evening for the new imperial military supervisor.
Then he sent people disguised as peddlers to guard near the notice board and ordered that anyone who stopped to read the notice on the night of the welcoming banquet, regardless of gender, age or status, would be arrested and interrogated.
The next night, at the welcoming banquet held for Prince Consort Xuan, Xie Xuanlan had a cold face and did not drink a drop of alcohol. Sure enough, he had waited for a clue.
A personal guard came quietly to report: "An illiterate beggar tried to secretly remove a notice, but was caught. He said he was hired by a lady to gather information."
Xie Xuanlan slammed the table and stood up, said "Excuse me" to Prince Consort Xuan, and turned away.
Zhao Mingchuan was left behind, making an awkward apology: "Don't mind, Prince Consort. Commander Xie is just that bad-tempered. He has urgent military information to deal with."
"Is it urgent military information?" Prince Consort Xuan smiled calmly, "This isn't the first day I've known Third Young Master Xie. Last year, I went to Ghost Crying Peak with him, and he was just as anxious."
Xie Xuanlan rode his horse at top speed to Zhanzhou. The newly appointed prefect of Zhanzhou came trembling with fear and waited on him. "We've followed the commander's orders and blocked the alley from front to back. Not even a sparrow can fly out."
Xie Xuanlan said coldly: "Lead the way!"
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The author has something to say: I left my computer outside during the National Day holiday. I just received it last night and came back to update it [Pigeon]
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