Ye Qingyu was about to say something when Lü Tu choked him back. He was 25 years old this year, but he had never felt speechless so many times.
Zhao Qingyao sneered, "General Ye's soap is really good. You can ask Lu Tu for a few bars and take them back to your wives."
Ye Qingyu said with a grim expression, "Those are not my wives, but merely my concubines."
Zhao Qingyao didn't bother to listen to his explanation at all, and looked intently at Lü Tu, saying, "Thank you for the soap, Commandant Lü. I like it very much. By the way, you didn't come here today to bring me soap again, did you?"
Upon hearing this, the eyes of the palace maids nearby lit up instantly, especially Xiao Huan, the palace maid who had delivered the jade pendant to Lü Tu, who excitedly wondered if she would get one.
Lu Tu cupped his hands and said, "This humble general has come with important news to report. Yesterday, Zhao Wuyou from Huai Shuo specially drove thousands of refugees infected with smallpox to attack my village."
Zhao Qingyao frowned and asked, "Is that so?"
These questions were naturally directed at Yun Tian, who quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "That's true. Zhao Wuyou has targeted our Wuchuan many times. Relying on their strong army, they have harassed the people of Wuchuan repeatedly, causing them great suffering!"
Ye Qingyu snorted coldly: "Could it be that you provoked Zhao Wuyou first? Is there some hidden story behind this?"
Yun Tian immediately prostrated himself on the ground: "This subordinate is not lying. We have never provoked them. It was the Huai Shuo Border Army that sent people to seize our coal mine first, which is why some conflicts occurred before."
He then gave a brief account of the matter concerning Lü Tu and Yuan Xu. Prince Duan then spoke up, saying, "I've heard about this. Yuan Xu has already been executed by order of His Majesty."
Ye Qingyu then looked at Lü Tu: "You just said that thousands of refugees came to attack your village, and they were all infected with smallpox? Does that mean your village is doomed?"
Lu Tu's lips curled into a mocking smile: "I'm sorry to disappoint General Ye, but the village has been saved thanks to the concerted efforts of me and the people. We suffered no casualties and have taken in 4,000 refugees outside the village. They have already pledged their allegiance to me."
Upon hearing this, Ye Qingyu, Prince Duan, Yun Tian, and the others exclaimed in surprise. Only Zhao Qingyao gave Lü Tu a deep look, seemingly already certain of his abilities.
"It seems you do have some skills, but not many. Now that you've already subdued the refugees, what are you doing in Wuchuan?"
Lu Tu showed no respect for Ye Qingyu: "I came to Wuchuan not to see you, but because Princess and I had a gentleman's agreement."
"You! How dare you make a date with the princess?"
As soon as Ye Qingyu uttered those words, he knew he had broken a taboo and quickly shut his mouth.
But Zhao Qingyao had no intention of letting him off the hook, and said sarcastically, "What, General Ye? You were just following the imperial decree to urge me to go to Wuhuan, and now you're already making decisions for me? Does that mean you can make decisions for the Emperor in the future?"
This accusation was so outrageous that Ye Qingyu could no longer maintain his dignity and quickly knelt down, saying, "This humble general dares not, Your Highness, this humble general has misspoke!"
"Hmph, I knew you wouldn't dare. Get up."
Ye Qingyu glanced at Lü Tu furtively. He had only been with Lü Tu for less than an hour, yet he had fallen for Lü Tu's tricks one after another, and even felt a sense of humiliation at being manipulated by Lü Tu.
With such cunning, it's no wonder he was able to rise from a lowly soldier and achieve his current military merits in the brutal environment of Wuchuan.
There was also the reason why Yun Tian deliberately suppressed Lü Tu; otherwise, with Lü Tu's military achievements, he would be on par with Yun Tian right now.
"Commander Lü, you've come today to say that your smallpox treatment has been effective?"
Lu Tu nodded calmly: "It's been quite effective. So far, I have cured a total of 38 smallpox patients!"
"What?"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
Yun Tian and Prince Duan stood up. They had been ordered to contain the smallpox epidemic, but after searching for renowned doctors for many days, they were all helpless. Now, hearing that Lu Tu, a mere warrior, had actually cured so many smallpox patients, they naturally did not believe it.
"According to Lü Tu."
Faced with their skeptical expressions, Lü Tu had naturally anticipated this: "I know words are meaningless, but I have no way to bring those patients here. I came here today only to tell Your Highness not to worry too much about the country and its people, and to take care of your health!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Qingyu could no longer contain himself and flew into a rage, saying, "Lu Tu, you've gone too far! Did you come here to report on military affairs or to get close to the princess?"
Faced with his anger, Lü Tu became even more indifferent, looking at him as if he were a fool: "The princess is a model for all women in the world. She is even willing to risk her life for the sake of the country. I admire her character and virtue. Isn't it only natural for me to care about Her Highness? Do you want to see the princess in trouble?"
"You! You're just being unreasonable. I never expected your verbal skills to be even better than your physical skills!"
Lu Tu smiled wickedly: "I have even more amazing skills, but unfortunately you'll never see them in your lifetime."
Ye Qingyu had married many concubines, so he naturally understood what Lu Tu was implying. He immediately gasped for breath: "Speak properly! If you dare to be disrespectful in front of the princess, I can kill you on the spot!"
Lu Tu asked in bewilderment, "I meant my medical skills are even better, what were you thinking?"
"Lu Tu, do you dare to fight me?" Ye Qingyu was completely enraged by Lu Tu and was shouting that he wanted to fight him.
Zhao Qingyao watched this scene with a mixture of amusement and disbelief. She had never seen Ye Qingyu, the eldest son of the Ye family, suffer such repeated setbacks, especially at the hands of the same person.
What was even more unexpected was that Lü Tu was not as rough as he appeared; he was actually brave, resourceful, and interesting!
"Alright, alright, haven't you resolved your grudges already? Besides, Commandant Lü didn't mean any harm; on the contrary, he made a great contribution! Don't you want to go back and report the good news to the Emperor?"
This sentence can be seen as a reminder to Ye Qingyu. If Lü Tu can really cure the smallpox plague, this matter can naturally be counted on Ye Qingyu, and he can get a share of the profits. Why not?
"Your Highness is right to reprimand me. I was out of line just now!" Ye Qingyu then pretended to sit back down with a calm expression and drank the tea in front of him in one gulp.
At this moment, Lu Tu spoke up: "However, the cost of my treatment is very high. In addition, there are many refugees and commoners who have fled to my place. My original intention was to keep them all with me so that they would not wander around Wuchuan City and infect you all."
So what you mean is?
"I want to apply for some funding, money and supplies!"
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