Chapter 35 Reunion with the Boy
"Once Haozhou falls, she will naturally fall into my hands. Why would I need your help?"
"Your Majesty may not know this, but Ruan Wu is cunning and sly, like a fox, no ordinary woman. Moreover, the Prince of Jin has sent many skilled guards to protect her, and I'm afraid he will help her break through the encirclement before the city falls."
Ji Nuli believed this, and after a moment's thought, she said seriously, "Very well, since the princess is so sincere, I will respectfully comply. I will send you and Madam Shen to Haozhou City, and Miss Shen will remain as a hostage. If you help me capture Miss Ruan Wu within seven days, I will return Miss Shen to you. Rest assured, I will return to you a pure and innocent Miss Shen."
After all that persuasion, Princess Rouzhen was still left as a hostage. How could she feel at ease? Just as she was about to plead again, Ji Nuli said decisively, "Princess, there's no need to say anything more. If you agree to my conditions, then agree. If you don't agree, then stay here with peace of mind. General Lu Wang will definitely not mistreat you."
Luwang grinned and chuckled.
Princess Rouzhen felt nauseous when she saw that he was short and fat, with skin as dark as charcoal and a face full of scars, and dared not argue any further.
Ji Nuli waved his hand, signaling the guards to take the three members of the Shen family out.
As soon as they left, Luwang exclaimed, "Khan, are you really going to release this woman?"
Before Ji Nuli could answer, Meda smiled and said, "General Luwang need not worry. They have nowhere to go except Haozhou City. Once Haozhou City falls, it will naturally fall back into our hands, and General Luwang will still be able to enjoy the favor of beauties."
Luwang was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized what he meant and gave a thumbs up, saying, "Khan, you have a good plan."
“Meda only mentioned one thing; they have other uses as well.” Seeing the curious looks on the generals’ faces, Ji Nuli said with no small amount of pride, “I will use them to exchange for our prisoners and spies.”
Exchanging prisoners goes without saying; every general knows the importance of treating soldiers like sons. Exchanging spies allows them to learn about the situation in Haozhou, including who suggested burying the thunderbolts and who commanded the city's defenses while Yu Qing was away. Everyone understood. They all sincerely praised, "The Khan is wise!"
Ji Nuli smiled, ground the ink, and quickly wrote a letter.
"Someone, deliver this letter to Haozhou City early tomorrow morning."
The next morning, Yu Qing received the letter, looked at it repeatedly, and handed it to Liu Shizhi.
He took it and read it once, saying, "I didn't expect Ji Nuli to write Chinese characters so well."
Yu Qing, both amused and exasperated, said, "Who told you to appreciate calligraphy? Tell me, is this matter appropriate?"
"The Fifth Sister won't allow those hundred-plus prisoners to be killed; we even need to allocate some food to feed them every day, in exchange for the Shen family. I completely agree. But the five spies absolutely cannot be returned. If we return them, wouldn't our city's defenses be exposed?"
"I'm afraid Ji Nuli prefers five spies more than others."
"What's so difficult about that? We can just say we've already killed them." After a pause, Liu Shizhi added, "Or should I go and kill them now? I've wanted to kill them as a sacrifice for the flag for a long time, but Fifth Sister stopped me, saying they might be useful in the future. I just don't understand what use they would be?"
Gu Xiaobai, who had been playing with the sword tassel on the side, looked up when he heard this and said, "A counter-espionage plot."
"Now that everyone's locked up in jail, how can we use a counter-espionage strategy?"
“That’s not necessarily true,” Ruan Bi’s voice rang out from outside the command room. “When I interrogated the spies, I heard that Dunluhe and Ji Nuli didn’t get along. So I kept them around, thinking that if an opportunity arose in the future, I could use them to my advantage and sow discord between them.” As she spoke, the curtain was lifted, and she walked in gracefully.
Yu Qing and Liu Shizhi quickly stood up.
Gu Xiaobai's heart skipped a beat. He lowered his head and continued playing with the sword tassel, his ears involuntarily perking up and his eyes following her. It had been a full year since he last saw her at the racecourse of the Huiwen Grand Duke's mansion last October. She had grown up, tall and slender, a beautiful young woman in the prime of her life.
Ruan Bi picked up the letter, looked at it, frowned, and asked, "Why did Prime Minister Shen's family stay in Sizhou for so long instead of continuing south?"
"I heard that when they fled the capital, they didn't have time to prepare a boat and traveled by land. They originally planned to take a boat south from Sizhou, but Old Master Shen was too old and fell ill when they arrived in Sizhou. As a result, Sizhou was besieged. When the city fell, Old Master Shen died of a heart attack from anger and grief, and the others fell into the hands of the Northern Rong."
"Oh." Ruan Bi read the letter carefully again and said, "Yu Qing, tell Bei Rong to make a list of Shen Xiang's family members."
Yu Qing was taken aback for a moment, then understood. "Okay, I'll write the letter right away."
Spread out the paper, grind the ink, and write a letter.
Ruan Bi sat down beside her, holding her tea and lost in thought with her eyes lowered.
Seeing that she hadn't glanced at him once she entered the room, and had avoided him the previous night as well, Gu Xiaobai was furious. He abruptly stood up and said, "I'm going to the city wall to check on the enemy's movements." Without waiting for anyone's reply, he lifted the curtain and strode out. Outside, Anping and Anshun, holding his cloak, were sitting and chatting. Seeing him come out, they quickly stood up and followed, asking, "Young Master, where are you going?"
Gu Xiaobai said rudely, "I'm just wandering around by myself, don't follow me." He had been pampered and pampered since childhood, always surrounded by servants, and was used to being the one to give others attitude; he had never suffered such humiliation before.
Anping and Anshun looked at each other, feeling uneasy but not daring to follow.
Gu Xiaobai walked straight to the city wall, stroked the battlements, took a few deep breaths, and looked into the distance. Frost had fallen last night, covering the entire Huainan Plain with a thin layer of fine white frost that stretched to the horizon, contrasting beautifully with the cold dawn sky. The morning wind was fierce, feeling like a sharp knife cutting into his face. If it weren't for the Northern Rong camp with its fluttering banners in the distance, this would have been just an ordinary, peaceful early winter morning.
I don't know how much time passed, but then I heard soft footsteps approaching from afar.
Actually, Gu Xiaobai had never paid attention to her footsteps before, but for some reason, he recognized them immediately, and the image of her gracefully walking towards him, her clothes fluttering, instantly appeared in his mind. He remembered that she was wearing a plain white jacket and skirt today, with no other decorations except for the green cloud patterns on the cuffs and hem.
He didn't turn around, still gazing at the horizon. Yet his ears involuntarily perked up, listening to her every move. He heard her walk to a spot a wall away from him, heard the wind rustling her clothes, heard her soft breathing…
Her breath blew onto his face on the wind, and even the cold wind seemed to soften instantly.
After a long while, I heard her ask in a low voice, "Is Xiao Cui alright?"
"I don't know. I was in such a rush when I left home that I forgot to tell them. Jingyi is probably taking care of it." Gu Xiaobai paused, then said with a hint of sarcasm, "You actually remember it?"
"Of course I remember." She paused, then added, "Such a beautiful and intelligent bird, it's lovable from the bottom of one's heart."
Gu Xiaobai's heart skipped a beat, a surge of indescribable emotion welling up inside her, instantly overwhelming her earlier anger. After a long pause, she feigned a nonchalant tone and said, "If you liked it, why did you return it to me?"
She remained silent for a long time before saying, "It's simply because it's too beautiful to bear..."
The sound was very soft, and it was blown away by the wind as soon as it was uttered.
Gu Xiaobai didn't say anything more. He turned his head to look at the changing clouds on the horizon, and suddenly his eyes stung.
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