Chapter 263 Who wants to silence you?
Shen Yuanjing didn't reply, but just lowered his head, looking as if he was really reminiscing about the past with Zhou Ruan.
"I never imagined that you would become a general so quickly!" Zhou Ru'an said with great emotion.
Shen Yuanjing smiled bitterly and said, "Everything is predestined, and nothing is up to us. If this were before, I would never have imagined that I would one day join the army!"
Seeing that Shen Yuanjing's tone did not seem to be resistant, Zhou Ruan's eyes flashed with calculation. He then gradually got to the point: "Yuanjing, Yunyue is younger than us. She didn't show up much in the palace, so it's normal that you don't have any affection for each other. But Yunyue is a princess after all, and her status is what it is. If Father finds out that you have neglected her like this, he will punish you. I, your brother, can't cover for you!"
This statement both brought him closer to Shen Yuanjing and carried a warning; as long as Shen Yuanjing wasn't stupid, he would understand his good intentions.
Shen Yuanjing immediately retorted, "The Second Prince has also experienced assassination attempts before, so you should understand our current situation very well."
Zhou Ruan looked at Shen Yuanjing with a puzzled expression. What did he mean?
"Besides the three Turkic tribes who are still harboring treacherous intentions, other foreign tribes also do not hope for a successful marriage alliance. I don't know if the princess told you that we encountered several assassination attempts on our way here."
Zhou Ru'an's eyes turned cold, and he cursed, "Damn foreigners."
Zhou Ru'an: "The foreign tribes' goal is to assassinate the princess who was sent for a marriage alliance. Now that you've made such a high-profile appearance in the Northwest, they have another target. Their goal is to assassinate members of the royal family and throw our hard-won Zhenbei Army into disarray!"
Although the assassination attempt was more of a close call than a relief, it gave Zhou Ru'an a taste of life and death. Several times he nearly died at the hands of foreign assassins.
If what Shen Yuanjing said is true, then wouldn't that mean...?
“My eldest sister had someone impersonate the princess and placed her outside, all to protect her life. That fake princess was attacked once or twice a day, either by poison or by assassins. The fake princess was there to shield the real princess from harm.”
Zhou Yunyue, who was eagerly waiting on the side, seemed to be deep in thought. She had originally planned to have Zhou Ruan find a way to kill that little slut, but she never expected that the slut would be of such use.
Shen Yuanjing's words make a lot of sense!
"What about that foreign princess?" Zhou Ru'an was not someone who could be easily fooled.
Shen Yuanjing explained, "It's to appease those foreign tribes, to show them what we're made of. You must have seen it these past few days as you've been traveling through the army. Most of the guards outside are women. Although our Zhenbei Army has a very imposing name, only our own people know what's inside."
Zhou Ru'an frowned deeply. He knew that if the troops were truly elite and capable, his father would not have so easily agreed to let him take over.
Shen Yuanjing added, "Although the foreign princess cannot provide our army with food, she can provide half of the fodder for our horses. If it were you, would you want such a marriage partner?"
Zhou Ru'an was taken aback by this question. He seriously considered his current predicament. To be honest, if he could exchange food supplies for a marriage alliance with a foreign princess, he would actually agree.
Even if he doesn't agree, his father will make him agree once he finds out. Didn't you see how his father appointed Shen Yuanjing as the Grand General Who Pacifies the Barbarians after he found out about Shen Yuanjing's marriage to a foreign princess?
Zhou Ru'an's silence was, in effect, an answer.
Shen Yuanjing didn't urge him. After he had thought it over, they chatted for a few more minutes before he told Zhou Yunyue to go back.
This time, Zhou Ru'an didn't stop her. Instead, he turned to Zhou Yunyue and subtly hinted, "We siblings may be staying in the Northwest for a long time. If you get bored, come find me!"
Zhou Yunyue understood the implication and dared not ask for anything more.
"Second brother, I'll come to see you again tomorrow."
Zhou Ru'an nodded in satisfaction and personally saw the two off.
After the two men left, he immediately ordered his guards, "Send someone to carry out the plan!"
"yes!"
...
"General, I have spotted several suspicious individuals in the vicinity. Two are spies sent by Zhou Ru'an, and the other claims to be Sun Qian, the grain transport officer of the Wei family army."
Shen Lanxi was somewhat incredulous. Didn't Sun Qian have another escort officer who fell off a cliff and went missing?
They say he's missing, but that cliff is so deep, falling off would mean certain death.
Wei Dongzhu personally led a team to search the area below the cliff. From the top of the cliff to the bottom, without trees or rivers to reduce resistance, it was impossible for two people to survive.
Unless they never fell in at all.
"Bring Sun Qian here."
"Go and summon General Wei!"
"yes!"
Wei Dongzhu and Sun Qian approached Shen Lanxi one after the other.
Sun Qian was wearing the uniform of the Zhenbei Army. His face was covered with a thick beard, and his skin was dark. He looked disheveled. If it were before, Shen Lanxi would definitely have thought he was an unclean person.
This man now claims to be the Wei family army's grain and supplies escort officer, and his attire makes it seem as if he is deliberately concealing his true identity.
"It's quite a coincidence, I happen to have a portrait of you here!" Shen Lanxi took out Sun Qian's portrait, as well as documents related to the transport of Wei family army's grain supplies.
Wei Dong took the portrait and compared it with Sun Qian.
After seeing the portrait, Sun Qian asked Shen Lanxi a question.
Are you a member of the Shen family?
Shen Lanxi: "That's right, do you see the person next to you? He is Wei Dongzhu, the young general of the Wei family army."
Sun Qian looked at her cautiously with a very wary gaze, then quickly turned her attention to Wei Dongzhu.
"Are you Wei Dongzhu?"
Wei Dongzhu looked at him with a resolute gaze and said, "My father is Wei Qianfan, the garrison commander of the Northwest."
Sun Qian's wariness did not dissipate as he cautiously asked the question that had been nagging at him.
"Everyone says the Shen family stole the military funds. The Shen family and the Wei family should be mortal enemies. You two don't seem to be."
Shen Lanxi chuckled and said, "Does it mean we have to kill each other to be considered enemies?"
"From what you're saying, you're already convinced that our Shen family stole the grain and provisions?"
Upon hearing the last sentence, Sun Qian's pupils dilated, and it took him a long time to speak in detail: "Our group was escorting provisions and wages. We set off from the capital and were extremely careful along the way. We even left people on guard at night. Even if a dog came near, we would chase it away. It was impossible for the provisions and wages to be stolen!"
To this day, he still doesn't understand how the rations and pay were stolen.
Shen Lanxi wasn't in a hurry to respond; first, she needed to confirm Sun Qian's identity.
"You don't look like the person in the portrait!"
Sun Qian hesitated for a moment, then pulled off his beard, asked Chunxue for a basin of warm water, and began to wash and groom himself in front of them.
"To be honest, generals, I was forced to disguise myself to save my life!"
Sun Qian smiled wryly, wiped his face clean, and looked exactly like the one in the portrait.
Shen Lanxi's tone suddenly sharpened: "Who wants to silence you?"
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