Chapter 23 Return to the City
After stepping out of the room, he turned back to look at the tightly closed door, a doubt rising in his heart: was it because he knew too little about Heng'er, or was this just her nature all along?
Or perhaps she was provoked by Xingjian today and no longer wants him to call off the engagement.
He was more inclined to believe the latter than the former.
It was already late at night.
It was the second watch of the night, and curfew had already been imposed in Chongzhou.
"Da da da—"
The sound of hooves echoed from a forest twenty miles outside the city, led by Marquis Yan, Pei Yanzhi, galloping at full speed.
Five thousand elite soldiers followed closely behind him.
Lu Changming said, "My lord, may we rest for the night?"
Pei Yanzhi glanced at the cavalry behind him, most of whom were exhausted after a night's journey, and said in a deep voice, "Set up camp."
"yes!"
Inside the main tent.
Pei Yanzhi removed the copper tube from the eagle's leg, took out the note, and narrowed his eyes when he saw what was written on it.
After looking at it for a long time, he finally placed the letter on the candle flame. The flame burned, and the letter turned to ashes.
His calm and expressionless face was reflected in the flickering firelight as Lu Changming walked in carrying hot water.
Pei Yanzhi took the handkerchief and casually wiped himself. Looking at the map in his hand, he said, "You will rest here tonight. Tomorrow morning, have General Mei Xun lead the remaining troops back to Chongzhou."
He turned to Lu Changming and said, "Have you finished eating? If you have, come with me back to the Prefect's Mansion."
Lu Changming, still with the biscuit in his mouth, said with difficulty, "My lord, shouldn't we rest here?"
After seven or eight days of travel, anyone would be exhausted, hungry, and desperate to find a place to sleep.
With Chongzhou so close at hand, they didn't care about the day's journey and insisted on rushing back tonight. Anyone who didn't know better would think someone was waiting for them at home.
Oh, no, that's right, someone is waiting for us. The young master is still waiting in the manor.
Pei Yanzhi glanced at him indifferently, which startled Lu Changming so much that he quickly stuffed a few more bites of biscuit into his mouth, choking him until he couldn't swallow or eat anymore.
"Ahem, my lord, please allow me to have some water."
Pei Yanzhi tossed him the water pouch beside him, saying, "Eat your fill and then we'll be on our way."
...
Before they had gone twenty li, the two men had spurred their horses on, and it was already dusk.
The gates of Chongzhou City were already closed.
Lu Changming stepped forward and knocked on the city gate.
"Who goes there? It's curfew. No one is allowed to enter. If you want to enter the city, come back tomorrow morning," the soldier at the city gate shouted sternly.
Lu Changming said loudly and solemnly, "How dare you! You even dare to obstruct the Lord?"
The guard, Wang Shun, squinted and looked closely. He immediately shivered, knelt down, and said loudly, "Greetings, Your Majesty! Your subordinate is blind and failed to recognize you for a moment!"
The flag bearers standing guard behind him knelt down in unison, shouting, "Greetings, Your Majesty! Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Pei Yanzhi waved his hand. These bannermen were originally the garrison of Chongzhou, so it was normal that he didn't recognize them at first.
"Open the city gates."
Yes, yes, yes.
Pei Yanzhi looked up at the bright moon hanging high in the sky. The moon was round and shone brightly, while the man's eyes were as black as the vast sea.
Riding his horse all the way to the prefectural governor's mansion, before even passing the main hall, he saw Pei Xingjian coming towards him from afar.
"Father is back?" Pei Xingjian called out loudly.
Seeing that he was still awake, Pei Yanzhi asked, "What are you doing at this hour?"
"I couldn't sleep, so I took out the military book that you had asked me to read and read it."
Pei Yanzhi approached and noticed that he had gotten quite tanned these days. He nodded in satisfaction and said, "Hmm, not bad. The strategist said you have made a lot of progress these days. I am very pleased. Go to the training ground to try it out in a few days."
Seeing his father return travel-worn, Pei Xingjian asked with concern, "Father, did your journey go smoothly? I heard that although the rebel army has not been up for long, its numbers are huge. Were you injured?"
Pei Xingjian glanced at him subtly and said in a deep voice, "Alright, why are you dawdling like a woman? It's normal to get injured while marching and fighting."
"Alright, get some rest."
"Yes, Father."
As I watched my father's imposing figure disappear from sight, I wondered if he knew about the words I had spoken to Hengmei today.
Judging from his father's expression, he seemed unaware of the situation, after all, everyone in the mansion was his eyes and ears.
He muttered to himself, "As long as I can get my father on my side, I'll finally have something to report to Shu'er."
The second day in the study.
Gongsun Li stood at the lower end, cupped his hands and said, "My lord, Kangzhou and Suizhou are poised to fight soon. General Jiang came to Chongzhou a few days ago to ask you to send troops to help us."
Pei Yanzhi scoffed, "If they start fighting, what does it have to do with the people of Yanzhou? If you don't have enough leverage, you want me to send troops?"
Hanzhong has long existed in name only. If it weren't for the fact that it's not the right time yet, it could be replaced at his command.
If Kangzhou and Suizhou were to fight, Chongzhou would be the one most at risk of conflict.
Sure enough, Pei Yanzhi said, "Let's see what sincerity Jiang Boyang can offer in his talks with me."
As for Pei Yanzhi, if the two states were to fight, as the commander-in-chief of Yanzhou, he would be more than happy to have a few more mediocre people like him, to stir up the mess as much as possible.
The more chaotic Kangzhou and Suizhou are, the more he can take advantage of the chaos to plunder. In war, the most consumed resources are food and soldiers.
Now, what Chongzhou can no longer afford is war. If we could take Kangzhou and Suizhou without losing a single soldier...
Pei Yanzhi lowered his eyes and remained silent.
Gongsun Li understood and accepted the order.
Lu Changming relayed: "My lord, the Wei siblings are outside requesting an audience."
Pei Yanzhi already knew that the Wei family had arrived in Chongzhou, and even what had happened there, so he was naturally fully aware of it.
He nodded and said, "Yes, let them in."
Wei Ziming led Wei Heng in, and the two bowed to Pei Yanzhi.
"This junior greets Uncle Pei."
Pei Yanzhi glanced casually at the brother and sister, his voice steady: "Get up."
The Wei siblings grew up together since childhood. The previous Marquis of Yan and the Wei family's grandfather were sworn brothers. In order to strengthen the kinship, it was decided that the Pei family and the Wei family must form a marriage alliance within three generations.
By Pei Yanzhi's generation, the Wei family had no suitable daughters, so the matter was put on hold; otherwise, the marriage would have fallen to Pei Yanzhi.
Later, the marriage was continued by Pei Xingjian's adoption. Unfortunately, the Wei family had long since declined, and only Wei Ziming was considered one of the few outstanding young people of this generation.
At first, he even considered having Wei Ziming accompany Xingjian in his studies, but ultimately this did not come to fruition.
It's just a pity.
Pei Yanzhi's gaze then fell on Wei Heng below. He frowned almost imperceptibly. He had vaguely heard sobbing when he was outside the door, and tears started falling as soon as he entered, before he could even speak.
She's going to be the Crown Prince's wife; this is improper.
His voice was devoid of emotion, yet it carried an imposing aura: "What happened? What's wrong with Wei Heng?"
Upon hearing the imposing voice from above, Wei Heng was so frightened that she quickly stopped crying. She had forgotten that this tactic might be effective against the Wei family, but she was now facing the lord of Yanzhou.
Marquis Yan was never one to show mercy to women!
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