Chapter 3500: A Small Fight
Xinping's eyes lit up, and when he looked at the man again, he found him unfamiliar.
She blinked: "Who are you?"
The servant smiled and said, "My humble name is Jia Si."
Xin Ping said, "Why has this princess never seen you before?"
Jia Si looked to be in his early twenties, with very dark skin and a pointed nose and mouth, resembling a full-grown weasel. He laughed and said, "Your Highness, of such high status, how could you have met someone as lowly as me? I originally worked for the government office, and here in the South Courtyard I only do menial labor. It's not my turn to serve Your Highness on weekdays."
Xinping nodded.
They lived in the South Courtyard. Although they brought palace maids and eunuchs with them, it was not enough to have only these people to serve in such a large place. Therefore, Cui Yuanmei had arranged some servants in advance. However, these people were not allowed to get close to the emperor, the imperial concubine and the princess, and could only do some rough work around the edges. No wonder he had never seen him.
Xinping then asked, "How did you know that this princess wanted to watch the battle outside?"
Jia Si said with an apologetic smile, "Everyone in the Southern Court knows that Her Royal Highness is a tough nut to crack. The people of Yongzhou City deeply hate the Yue people, but due to the imperial court's orders, they dare not speak out. They don't feel bad about sending the grain they've worked so hard to grow all year to be used as a drain over there. We've actually been looking forward to a battle for a long time, to show those Yue people how powerful we are."
“…”
"Everyone knows that Her Royal Highness the Princess is the most compassionate to the people, so everyone respects you very much."
Xinping blinked.
She had been pampered since she was little and had heard too many nice things, so these flattering words did not make her happy. She just said, "I am asking you, how did you know that I wanted to watch the battle outside the city?"
Jia Si had never expected that the princess, although small in stature, was not so easy to please.
He smiled and said, "Your Highness the Princess is still awake so late and looking towards the south. Isn't that what you mean?"
Only then did Xinping notice that not only had he been standing on tiptoe, but his neck was also stretched longer than usual.
She coughed twice, then said angrily, "What's the point of thinking about it? You can't see it."
Jia Si laughed and said, "Your Highness is the Emperor's most beloved eldest princess. She has everything she wants, so why can't she even go and see the war going on outside?"
Xin Ping became increasingly unhappy and said, "So many people are following me."
“…”
"How could they possibly let this princess go outside and watch the battle?"
Jia Si's eyes twinkled with a gleam of brilliance as he said with a smile, "Can they still grow on Her Royal Highness the Princess?"
Hearing this, Xinping opened his eyes wide.
At this moment, footsteps were heard from behind. It was Chu Yun returning. Jia Si immediately apologized with a smile, "Oh, I lost my mind. How could I come to speak nonsense in front of Her Royal Highness? Please forgive me, Your Highness."
After saying that, he turned and ran away.
"Why--"
Xinping wanted to say something, but Jia Si had already run away. Chu Yun came over with a bowl of sour soup. Seeing Xinping standing alone in the yard, looking lost, he asked curiously, "Your Highness, who were you talking to just now?"
Xin Ping said: "No."
"No?"
Chu Yun was extremely cautious. He walked over and looked outside the door. He could only faintly hear the rustling of leaves in the wind. Xin Ping said impatiently, "Don't be so suspicious. I don't want to drink the soup anymore. You can pour it out."
After saying that, he went back to his room.
Chu Yun looked at the dark night ahead with some confusion, said nothing, and turned away.
This was the first war between the two countries after more than ten years of establishing a peace agreement. Although the scale of the war was not large, the oppressive feeling of impending storm was destined to make many people unable to sleep that night, even the military camps on both sides were the same.
Because they were worried that the enemy would launch a surprise attack at night, torches were lit in the camp outside Yongzhou City all night, and more than half of the soldiers stayed up all night.
However, this night passed peacefully.
Early the next morning, before daybreak, the army received news that the Yue State had assembled a large group of troops to attack Yongzhou City.
This time, it was clear that they were targeting the Emperor of Yan, the Imperial Concubine and others in the city.
Naturally, the people in the army did not dare to be negligent. Although they had not fought with the Yue people in real swords and guns for more than ten years, everyone here knew clearly about the war more than ten years ago. Although Yongzhou City was not as big as Nanjing and Beiping, as a border city, it was still a strong city with tight defense. In particular, although there had been peace in the past ten years, the court had been allocating money to Yongzhou to build city walls. Today, the city walls of Yongzhou are more than ten feet higher than they were back then.
In a siege, a city wall that is only one foot higher will increase the chances of victory by at least 30%.
Therefore, for the Yue soldiers who had not experienced war for more than ten years and had neglected training, attacking such a city was more difficult than before.
However, we can't really let them reach the edge of the city.
After all, the emperor, the imperial concubine, and the eldest princess were all in the city. If the Yue people were allowed to reach the city gate, it would be their dereliction of duty.
Xiang Yuanbo immediately led his troops out of the camp to intercept them.
So, the two sides fought again on the steep north slope.
This time, the news reached the South Courtyard faster than last night. When Zhu Feng received the battle report, Nan Yan was sitting next to him. She immediately stretched her neck, wishing she could focus all her eyes on the battle report.
However, Zhu Feng only took a glance at it and threw it to Xiao Shunzi to deal with.
He didn't even look like he wanted to say another word.
Nan Yan asked, "Your Majesty...?"
Zhu Feng looked up at her and asked, "What's wrong?"
Nan Yan asked, "What happened?"
Zhu Feng remained calm: "What can we do? It's just a fight."
Nan Yan couldn't help but frown.
He said this casually and lightly, as if he was talking about his own child pulling the hair and clothes of the neighboring child. However, this is a war between two countries after all, how can we take it so lightly?
Nan Yan asked, "Your Majesty, won't you go and take a look?"
Zhu Feng said calmly, "Is it really necessary for me to go and see such a minor incident?"
Nan Yan's brows furrowed even tighter.
Compared to his past contempt for the enemy and emphasis on strategy, this time, Zhu Feng seemed a little too reckless. Moreover, this recklessness did not seem like the ease of someone who had everything under control, but rather seemed like—
Seeing her frown, Zhu Feng asked, "What are you worried about?"
Nan Yan said: "I am worried——"
But before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by the sudden sound of heavy and hurried footsteps coming from outside, as if someone was running towards her in a hurry.
Nan Yan couldn't help but ask, "Who?"
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