025
Chu Zhaoyan seemed to have lost her soul, kneeling there with her body slumped, her eyes lifeless like a withered corpse.
"Zhao Yan, I'm sorry."
Song Ling had only recently learned the reason behind this, and now she didn't know what to say. Should she say that Sui Yan's death was an accident? Or that Shi Yu was not innocent?
“I thought you would plead for him,” Chu Zhaoyan said with a slight smirk, “after all, you’ve always been close to him.”
Song Ling said with a hint of self-deprecation, "You all know I'm always ruthless, so why bring this up to provoke me again?"
"If you're not satisfied, chase after him now; he can't beat you."
Chu Zhaoyan's right hand, gripping the short sword, bulged with veins. After struggling for a long time, she finally gave up. "She had repeatedly told me not to kill anyone again."
"I will not break my promise."
Seeing his appearance, Song Ling felt a little sorry for him. Why did he have to ruin himself to the point where he looked like neither human nor ghost?
Her voice was a little hoarse, "Was it worth it?"
Chu Yan wasn't like this when he was in Huailai.
But the girl who taught him to live freely... who was fearless and chivalrous... the girl who was skilled with a short sword and loved to wear pink clothes, is gone.
As for him, should he now be called Chu Yan... or Chu Zhaoyan?
Why bother, in the end you ended up living like her.
"Seventeen, you've never liked anyone."
You don't understand.
"I want to be alone for a while." He struggled to his feet, supporting himself with his short sword, and dragged his heavy body away from the courtyard, step by step.
Song Ling gripped the teacup in her hand tightly, a slight pain in her heart.
"Is this what they call fate..." she murmured, "But by what right?"
She suddenly crushed the teacup with all her might, not even noticing the shards digging into her flesh.
When Yu Baizhou cautiously sneaked into the courtyard after much hesitation, this was the scene he saw. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her hands covered in blood.
"But what did I do wrong?"
He's so angry.
After forcefully pulling her wrist to wash away the blood, he saw several gruesome wounds on her palm with the skin turned outwards, and his expression turned cold.
"Hiss—" The medicine powder burned a little, and Song Ling subconsciously tried to pull her hand back, but it was grabbed and held back.
"Does it hurt?" Although his tone was cold, he didn't dare to speak harshly to her, and his movements became gentler. "If you know it will hurt, why do you make yourself suffer?"
His palms were somewhat rough, and felt slightly itchy after being rubbed against his skin; these were probably calluses from years of martial arts training and wielding weapons. Song Ling also had them on her right hand, though they were not very noticeable.
Seeing Yu Baizhou bowing his head and carefully wrapping the burlap strips around himself as if afraid of hurting himself, Song Ling was taken aback and suddenly said, "General, you must be obedient in the future. Only by truly seizing that position can you save more people."
Yu Baizhou looked up at her with slight surprise, then lowered his eyes and said softly, "I will listen to you."
His eyelashes were long and trembled slightly; he was probably a little nervous too.
If those lieutenants were here, they'd probably laugh their heads off. Their general obeying orders? The sun would probably burst out of the ground then.
“Indeed…” Good boy.
For some reason, the word suddenly popped into Song Ling's mind, and then she realized it was offensive.
"Alright, alright, that's enough for now." She withdrew her hand, seemingly unintentionally changing the subject. "General, is there something you need?"
If there's nothing else, she'll send them away.
“Yes,” Yu Baizhou said casually, “I sent someone to buy some medicinal herbs, and I’ll send them to you tomorrow.”
Since he came specifically for this purpose, it certainly doesn't seem to be an ordinary medicinal herb.
"As far as I know, the general's money wasn't used to subsidize the army; it was probably all spent on buying houses."
Seeing Song Ling's barely suppressed laughter, Yu Baizhou realized she had seen through his excuse from that day, and his ears couldn't help but turn red. "I..."
"Um?"
“I have a lot of gold bestowed by the emperor. If it had been left unclaimed in earlier years, no one would have dared to accept it. But now that things are in chaos, there are always some people who will take risks. So I asked him to contact some old and precious medicinal herbs to exchange for the gold.”
In times of chaos, gold is valued; in times of prosperity, antiques are prized. Spread the word, and someone will surely be tempted.
"How much gold did the general spend?"
But when he looked away somewhat guiltily, she understood.
A warm feeling welled up inside me; it would be a lie to say I wasn't moved. But right now, they were short of food and money, and this was truly a loss for them.
"General, you need not concern yourself with such trivial matters in the future. If you later gain power, recruit talent, and support your army, what aspect of it will not require gold and silver?"
Yu Baizhou disagreed with her, and his tone was somewhat angry, "Song Ling, your illness is so serious and still unresolved. Can you stop talking about putting the people first and think about yourself more?"
A sudden jolt went through her, and she closed her eyes.
[Seventeen, saving the world and the people is the mission of the Lord of Huailai Pavilion, and also your destiny...]
Her master's words echoed in her mind again; though they were instructions, they seemed more like a curse that bound her tightly.
Suppressing the fleeting thrill that had welled up inside her, her voice was hoarse. "General, I was born for this. I am insignificant... and cannot compare to the world."
How could someone so young say such discouraging things? Yu Baizhou insisted on correcting her mindset today, saying, "No one is born with a specific purpose."
"some."
"No."
"Alright...then there isn't one...Why is the general so stubborn?"
The gloom in Song Ling's heart vanished instantly. She had truly regressed in her thinking, and was now acting childishly with him.
“You’re the one who’s stubborn,” Yu Baizhou said, bowing his head as he bandaged his wound and tied it into a pretty bow. “Alright, don’t get it wet for the next few days.”
Song Ling looked at the beautifully bandaged knot in her hand, flipped her palm, and raised an eyebrow. "General, you must have forgotten that I myself know medicine."
"That's precisely why I need to give instructions."
People like this are the most disobedient.
He stood up nimbly but swayed slightly, probably because he had been squatting for a while. He shook his head to clear his head.
"Well... I'll head back to the barracks now."
"Didn't you say you were on leave?" Song Ling got up and walked to the desk next to her, pointing to a bundle. "Take these books back and read them. If you have any questions, just write to me."
"These... these are all?" He swallowed nervously, staring at the book that was almost half his height. "When will we ever finish reading this?"
"That's too much? It's nothing..."
Before Song Ling could finish speaking, she was interrupted by a knock on the door. It was Mu Yuan.
His tone was somewhat grave. "Strategist, Governor Lin has sent a group of men, saying they wish to 'invite' the general to the governor's residence for a chat."
"Please?" Song Ling's lips curled slightly. "In that case... General, I'm afraid you won't be able to read this book."
Yu Baizhou naturally noticed the interest in her eyes, as if she had read his mind. "Then let's go see a play."
"Would you like to come along, young lady?"
………
On the other side, Su Duan had already been treated as an honored guest by Governor Lin, and they had begun to address each other as brothers during their conversations.
Before they knew it, the sun was setting, and Governor Lin was starting to get impatient. "What if Yu Baizhou really doesn't come?"
"If he doesn't come, it's because he doesn't respect you, Governor. How can you talk to the Emperor? It's just a matter of you saying a few words."
"What if he comes?"
Su Duan chuckled, "Now that you're here, there'll be room for improvement in what I've been discussing with you, sir."
"Okay, okay!"
Governor Lin slapped his thigh several times in excitement, "As I knew, I was right! My brother is truly a man of great talent!"
"I dare not accept such praise. Without a discerning eye to recognize talent, all my knowledge and erudition would be wasted."
"Hahaha……"
A quarter of an hour later, the informant indeed reported that Yu Baizhou would arrive at the governor's mansion in about half an hour.
On the way to the gate of the prefecture, Governor Lin noticed that Su Duan was constantly pinching his chin. He thought to himself that as the governor, he should show some concern. "Brother, are you feeling unwell?"
"It's nothing, it's nothing," Su Duan said somewhat embarrassedly. "I'm not afraid of being laughed at, sir. I got up in a bit of a hurry this noon and fell off the bed, which happened to hit my jaw. It's just a little bruised now."
“My dear brother, you should be careful,” Governor Lin said, then asked, “Should we ask the prefectural physician to take a look?”
"No need, no need," Su Duan said, looking flattered. "It's just a minor bump, why bother? Besides, it's nothing serious."
Seeing that Governor Lin was no longer pressing the matter, Su Duan sighed inwardly.
What a joke! If we actually called the imperial physician to examine him, wouldn't that expose the deception?
He raised his hand again and pinched his chin. If people noticed that the skin on his chin was peeling off, then he would have really gone too far.
He sighed inwardly. Not having money was a real problem. Even a human skin mask could only be made of inferior quality. What if it damaged his wise and mighty face?
"Whoa—"
Yu Baizhou dismounted with two personal guards, strode forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Your Excellency, you are still as dashing as ever after just a few days."
Even though he was suspicious and unwilling, Governor Lin had no choice but to put on a smiling face.
"General Yu is joking. How can we compare to you? You overcame the epidemic in such a short time. The people of Shannan will probably have to build a shrine for you."
He seemed to be smiling, but his tone was laced with sarcasm. What kind of person was Linden, who controlled Shannan Prefecture, yet worshipped a border general?
The air suddenly froze.
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