Chapter Thirteen: Rumors and Clever Tricks Begin a New Chapter
Zhongli An's resounding victory has angered some people. With a single order, a soldier from Qingzhou, carrying a challenge letter, rushed towards Jizhou overnight.
The night passed quickly. The faint morning light, carrying the fragrance of locust blossoms, seeped into Yang Xiao's room, pulling her, exhausted, from her sleep.
For some reason, she woke up today feeling a strange excitement and pleasure. Without giving it much thought, she enthusiastically grabbed her gun and ran to the training ground.
She had woken up early today, and usually there weren't many people around when Yang Xiao came. But this day, before she even started the tutorial, she heard the sound of horses' hooves.
A surge of curiosity welled up within her, and she urged her crimson horse forward, peering into the arena. There she saw a white horse circling around, and a silver spear whistling through the air in the man's hand.
No need to ask, it's Bai Ming.
As if sensing something, just as Yang Xiao rode forward to meet him, Bai Ming sheathed his spear and turned around, meeting Yang Xiao's gaze.
Initially, I was a little resentful that Bai Ming had arrived earlier than me, but when I met Bai Ming's smiling eyes, that resentment immediately vanished.
She greeted Bai Ming with a fist and palm salute as she faced the rising sun, only to discover that Bai Ming already knew about her earlier encounter with Zhong Lishuo at the city gate.
That's not all; he even knew that her new warhorse wasn't very good at riding.
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiao's previously suppressed resentment resurfaced. She crossed her arms and argued, "What does it matter if my riding skills are not good? I can practice slowly in the future. I haven't caused any trouble on the battlefield."
Seeing this, Bai Ming waved his hands repeatedly to explain, "No, no, Lingyu, that's not what I meant."
He smiled helplessly, then looked earnestly into Yang Xiao's bright eyes. "I just wanted to say that I have some experience riding horses, and I'd also like to learn your technique of using an opponent's force against them. Perhaps we can exchange ideas?"
She then realized that she had misunderstood Bai Ming and quickly apologized to him. Bai Ming subconsciously yielded, and the two of them ended up tugging at each other again.
After a while, the two of them finally stopped. They looked at each other with a wry smile, then rallied their spirits and rode around the field in the morning sun, giving each other pointers. What a vibrant and energetic scene!
-
Yang Xiao wasn't previously unable to ride horses; when he was a child in Qingzhou, he often rode his master's horses. However, since leaving home and heading west, he has almost never had the opportunity to ride a horse again.
Having not touched a horse for so many years, and now having to fight alongside a young, not fully trained warhorse, is an incredibly difficult task for most people.
However, Yang Xiao was highly perceptive, and Chi Lian and she were of similar mindset. After working together, going to the battlefield was no problem for her.
That being said, things can still go wrong sometimes. Like when I fought Zhong Lishuo, I almost accidentally injured him.
Perhaps it was because she had the blood of the Northern Qiang people flowing in her veins, or perhaps it was because Bai Ming taught her with great patience and meticulousness, but in less than half a day, Yang Xiao was able to master the spear technique on horseback with great skill and ease.
She twirled the silver spear in her hand, a sense of accomplishment welling up inside her. She excitedly spurred her horse into a trot, then turned back to meet Bai Ming's spear, her face beaming with a radiant smile.
"How did you improve so quickly?" Bai Ming looked at Yang Xiao with surprise. "You've really broadened my horizons."
"Not at all," Yang Xiao said modestly, clasping her hands in a gesture of respect, but her face still held a touch of childish arrogance. "It's all thanks to your excellent teaching, General."
Before he finished speaking, Zhang Ping led several soldiers on horseback to the drill ground.
Yang Xiaochao turned her head to Bai Ming, then pulled on the reins and walked towards them. "You rushed here so quickly, is there something you need to see me about?"
“General,” Zhang Ping clasped his hands in a fist salute to Yang Xiaobaiming, “I just went to the pharmacy on the street to buy medicine, but the doctor there told me that most of their hemostatic and analgesic drugs have been pre-ordered, and what’s left is only enough for the people’s occasional needs, and they won’t sell it to us.”
"They've all been reserved?" Yang Xiao's smile vanished instantly. She frowned as she looked at Zhang Ping. "Besides us, who else needs so much medicine?"
Zhang Ping shrugged and shook his head. Just as he was about to say something, a soldier ran towards them and said, "Reporting, Generals, our lord requests your presence."
Yang Xiao and Bai Ming exchanged a glance, then looked at Zhang Ping, "Take the money for the medicine first, we'll talk about this later."
"Alright, then I'll go for my morning exercise, General." Zhang Ping clasped his hands in a fist salute, and then rubbed his eyes.
"Morning exercise?" Yang Xiao couldn't help but smile as she glanced at the sun. "It's clearly afternoon exercise, isn't it? You don't need to exercise either. Come with us and tell the lord about the pharmacy. See if he has any ideas."
She sighed deeply, frowning as she murmured, "How can the army function without medicine?"
"Yes." Zhang Ping smiled bitterly as he watched Yang Xiao's retreating figure, then hurriedly ran to fetch a horse and trotted after the two of them.
The drill ground and the central command tent were not far apart, and they arrived in no time. There, a group of people were busily running around in front of the tent, carrying things up and down.
The three men had just dismounted and exchanged a glance when Zhongli An lifted the curtain and emerged from the tent. He greeted them with a smile, cupping his fists in a fist salute, “You’ve arrived? Come in quickly. Last night I heard that the army was short of blood-stopping medicine, so I sent someone to the city to order some in advance. We’ll deliver it to each camp later.”
"Thank you for your trouble, my lord." Bai Ming nodded and clasped his hands in praise to Zhong Li'an, "In this way, the soldiers will no longer suffer from injuries."
Looking at the piles of medicinal herbs in the corner, Yang Xiao couldn't help but smile and rub his forehead. "My lord, to be honest, I also sent someone to buy medicine just now, but I was a step behind you and didn't manage to buy anything."
"It seems we're on the same page." Zhong Li'an smiled and patted the two of them on the shoulder, then his gaze fell on Zhang Ping's face.
As if he had just remembered something, the smile in his eyes deepened. "But why do the soldiers all say that yesterday I took off my shoes, rolled up my sleeves, and climbed a tree to pick flowers, but I couldn't get to the top even after climbing for a long time?"
"Huh?" Yang Xiao stared at Zhong Li'an, stunned in disbelief for a long time, then felt a pang of guilt and quickly turned to Zhang Ping, "What's going on? What are you spreading?"
"This..." Zhang Ping quickly suppressed the smile on his face. "It was Mu Fei who relayed the message to the other camps. I really didn't know about this."
Yang Xiao couldn't help but chuckle, but quickly stopped laughing and pretended to be displeased as she scolded, "How can that be? How can you talk about our lord like that? Quickly, bring him here to apologize to our lord."
"Hey, alright, alright, it's not that serious," Zhong Li'an waved his hand with a smile. "It was all just a joke, why take it seriously? Besides, I did get carried away last night and helped the soldiers gather some locust flowers with sticks."
"My lord is so refined; picking flowers under the moon is a simple and elegant thing, yet they've spread all sorts of rumors about it." Yang Xiao could no longer hold back her laughter and shook her head gently.
Bai Ming, standing to the side, couldn't help but chuckle and said, "But in the end, isn't it a good thing that the soldiers dare to joke about their lord?"
Before he could finish speaking, Mu Fei came running over quickly with a bag of locust flowers, panting as he was about to kneel down, which startled Zhong Li'an.
He quickly reached out and helped Mu Fei up, "Hey, don't rush, why did you kneel down right away?"
"My lord, you are wronged! I did not spread rumors, but the rumors have become more and more outrageous," Mu Fei said breathlessly, looking at Zhong Li'an with a wronged expression. "It is my fault for not explaining things clearly to them. If my lord does not mind, I am willing to use these locust flowers to cook a porridge for you and the generals as an apology."
“It’s alright, it’s alright,” Zhong Li’an chuckled and shook his head. “These kinds of jokes are quite amusing, it’s fine to talk about them a bit more.” He raised his hand and patted Mu Fei’s slightly thin shoulder. “But ever since you joined the Eagles team, I’ve known that you’re an outstanding cook. Since you’re already here, why not show us your skills?”
Mu Fei, carrying the bag of locust blossoms, looked at Zhong Li'an with shining eyes, "Really? My lord, you don't blame me?"
"Don't worry, I really don't blame you."
Mu Fei laughed heartily, "It is my honor to cook for the lord and the generals. Please wait a moment, I will be right back."
“Okay.” Zhong Li’an nodded, watched Mu Feifei run away like a bird, and then looked at Yang Xiao and Bai Ming and smiled, “Let’s go back to our tent too. What’s the point of standing outside like this?” He lifted the curtain and walked in, “Coincidentally, I just brewed a new pot of locust flower tea. You can try it.”
As the two followed Zhong Li'an into the tent, the sweet fragrance of locust blossoms filled the air. Yang Xiao stretched out her arms and took a long, pleasant breath. "Thank you for your kindness, my lord. We will gladly accept your offer."
-
The warmth of late spring, along with the sweet fragrance of locust blossoms, filled the entire room. There were no servants in the central tent. Zhongli An walked to the table, picked up the teapot, and poured hot tea for the two of them.
Yang Xiao picked up the cup of flower tea, smelled it, and nodded with satisfaction. "This flower tea is so fresh. Was it picked last night?"
“Yes,” Zhong Li’an said with a smile as he sat back down in the main seat, “I picked them last night by climbing the tree, quite a lot of them.”
The three of them burst into laughter. Yang Xiao chuckled and teased, "I told you the rumors were unreliable! How could our lord not be able to climb the tree?"
Zhong Li'an smiled and waved his hand, looking at Bai Ming, "They say that a general can lead a certain kind of troops. Look, after just one battle, the soldiers and officers are already so in sync."
“Who says otherwise?” Bai Ming smiled and shook his head, put down his teacup, and looked at Yang Xiao. “Looking at it this way, I don’t think our lord has it much easier than us soldiers.”
"Oh?" Yang Xiao took a sip of tea and looked back at him with interest. "What do you mean?"
“General, look, we only conquered cities and territories with our martial skills,” he said, looking back at Yang Xiao with a smile in his eyes, “while our lord not only has to run around dealing with this mess, but also gets teased by the soldiers…”
“Zhaoqing, you…” Zhongli An shook his head with a helpless smile, “How did you get led astray by Lingyu so quickly?”
Yang Xiao looked at the two of them and couldn't help but laugh. "It seems that I not only have a good understanding with the soldiers, but also with General Bai."
Bai Ming nodded and rubbed his nose, his eyes full of smiles.
"Alright, alright," Zhong Li'an shook his head with a helpless smile, "If you return victorious next time and the locust flowers are still in bloom, I will pick the flowers from the tree in front of you, how about that?"
"No, my lord, no, it's not that bad," Yang Xiao waved his hand with a smile. "If you climbed the tree, wouldn't you become famous throughout the land?"
“So what? If you want to see me, go ahead,” Zhong Li’an picked up his teacup, took a sip, and looked at the two of them with a gentle smile. “They can’t control me.”
Bai Ming chuckled and shook his head, then his joking expression vanished as he looked at Zhong Li'an. "So, my lord, what you just said means we have a new battle to fight?"
Zhong Li'an nodded, his playful expression fading, and looked at the two of them solemnly. "It is true. I originally wanted you all to rest for a while, but things happened so suddenly that I have no choice but to ask you to step in again."
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