Chapter 786: Don't hurt Yuli! [Requesting monthly votes]
Sibao County, government office.
Liao Jia drifted into the government affairs hall, yawning.
His appearance was already somewhat sleazy, and now his shoulders were slightly slumped, his expression weary, his eyes dark-circled, and his eyelids puffy, as if he had been indulging in sensual pleasures and suffered from kidney deficiency. He sat on the mat with his eyes slightly closed, and after a dozen breaths he opened them again, his sleepiness gone.
Qi Shan gave a forced smile: "I've heard some rumors lately."
Liao Jia listlessly picked up her pen, transforming into a ruthless office machine: "What rumors could possibly reach your ears?"
Qi Shan said, "It's rumored that you're partying every night."
Liao Jia paused, a drop of ink falling from his hand. His expression was twisted and contorted in a grotesque manner, and his voice suddenly rose, almost cracking: "Me, partying every night? Who heartless person spread such rumors?"
Qi Shan looked at Liao Jia's listless little face.
Liao Jia, who always loved wearing bright red and purple and adorned herself with flowers all the time, could no longer be so flamboyant; even the flowers in her hair looked withered and lifeless. Some people seem to be partying every night, but in reality, they work 996 every day, so busy that even the epitome of literary elegance can't keep up.
Liao Jia said angrily, "Aren't you going to say a word in my defense?"
Qi Shan said, "I believe that facts speak louder than words."
Liao Jia: "..."
He swore on Qi Yuanliang's head that this guy was definitely gloating behind his back! As a scholar who stayed behind, Liao Jia hadn't rested much since Shen Tang led the troops out. It was only thanks to the good physique of scholars that he was a scholar; how could an ordinary person withstand such torment?
Of course, I'm not always this busy.
However, if the front lines need food and medicine, the rear must arrange cooks to deliver them. Human resources, financial resources, material resources, as well as the food transport routes and guards, all need to be coordinated and settled.
We must take care of the front lines while also remembering the development of the rear.
With so many trivial matters piling up, things just get complicated.
The only saving grace is that with this batch of supplies on its way, Liao Jia can finally rest for a few days and relax his body after working hard for more than half a month.
While they were talking, the battle report reached the gate of the government office.
Liao Jia immediately put down his pen, snatched the bamboo tube containing the battle reports, checked that it was sealed properly, and then opened it to pour out the bamboo slips containing the frontline battle reports. Each bamboo slip contained a message, which he read quickly, and his anxious heart finally settled down.
The last battle report was about Zheng Qiao's death. Before his death, he distributed the Imperial Seal, which triggered internal strife and infighting within the allied forces, splitting their lord's forces in two. The consequences were unknown. Liao Jia and Qi Shan were both worried about this. The only thing that reassured them was that Qi Shan had not been injured during this time, so their lord should be alright. After much anticipation, a new battle report finally arrived.
Liao Jia laughed loudly, "Yuanliang, good news!"
He only realized someone was missing after he finished speaking.
You know, every time a battle report came from the front lines, Qi Yuanliang would try to snatch it from him, and seven out of ten times he would succeed. Today, however, Qi Shan was unusually silent? Was he not worried at all about the whereabouts of the lord and the others? Liao Jia looked over in confusion.
Qi Shan sat there, his face deathly pale.
His raised hands carried a hint of awkwardness, as if he didn't know what to do with them.
Wenxin, a scholar with exceptionally keen senses, had only taken a few steps forward when he detected a faint, metallic scent of blood in the air—a scent he had become all too familiar with over the past few months. He rushed forward, asking urgently, "Qi Yuanliang, are you injured again?"
Unexpectedly, Qi Shan blushed and said, "Shut up!"
"Qi Yuanliang, this is not right!" Liao Jia turned her head to find where he was injured. "Is the injury serious? I'll go find Physician Dong to take a look at you. As for the lord—"
One careless move, and I got silenced.
Liao Jia: "..."
Liao Jia: "???"
Liao Jia: "!!!"
He suddenly opened his eyes wide, as if determined to fight Qi Shan to the death—he had kindly put aside his prejudice to care about Qi Shan's injuries, but Qi Yuanliang was ungrateful and discarded his good intentions.
Breaking through the spell of words, he angrily shoved Qi Shan.
Caught off guard, Qi Shan fell to one side, revealing a mat soaked in blood. Unfortunately, Qi Shan's clothes were a light blue-green, making the blood stain even more noticeable. Such a large, damp patch was impossible to miss.
Liao Jia blinked, completely bewildered.
He pointed to the bloodstain, stammering, his usually eloquent tongue seemingly tied in knots: "This, this—"
Qi Shan's face switched between black, white, blue, and red.
finally--
Liao Jia whispered, "Is the lord having his period?"
Who could understand the embarrassment he felt at that moment, a young and promising man? He wished he could grab a martial artist and split open a crack in the ground to disappear into!
However, nothing is more embarrassing than Qi Yuanliang.
He only knew that this fellow could share the pain of the lord's injuries, but he didn't mention that menstruation, which is unique to women, also counts as an "injury"!
For someone of your age, your period is a bit late.
"roll--"
Upon hearing the words "scalding hot," Qi Shan broke down.
Its momentum was like a rainbow, soaring straight into the sky.
Seeing this, Liao Jia realized she had misunderstood and breathed a sigh of relief: "...Could it be that you have hemorrhoids?"
With a whoosh, the longsword was drawn.
Qi Yuanliang, sword in hand, was about to stab Liao Shaomei's buttocks. The clerks who happened to witness this scene could never forget the ferocious, bared teeth of their clerk, Qi. Liao Jia, clutching her bleeding buttocks, lay on the sickbed, listening to the old doctor Dong's lecture.
Upon seeing Qi Shan's injuries, Dr. Dong knew that Shen Jun had been injured again, and felt a sense of pity and sympathy for Qi Shan.
"Applying the medicine will hurt, Registrar, please bear with it."
Doctor Dong carefully applied the medicine, washed his hands, and then looked at Liao Jia, asking, "How did Liao Wei Cao get injured?"
Liao Jia said, "Speaking the truth has brought retaliation."
After saying that, Qi Shan grabbed a wooden pillow and threw it at Liao Jia's head, making him wince and the flower at his sideburns crooked.
Ignoring the two young men, who looked no more than three years old when they were tied up, Dr. Dong asked, "Does the registrar have any other injuries?"
Qi Shan shook her head: "No."
Dr. Dong said in confusion, "That's strange."
What kind of enemy did Shen Jun encounter that only injured his buttocks? Judging from the size and depth of the wound, it's similar to Liao Jia's. This means the enemy ambushed Shen Jun with a sword, leaving this injury. Doctor Dong couldn't guess, but compared to being covered in blood, this injury was relatively minor, only its location was awkward.
Doctor Dong turned to write a prescription, leaving only Liao Jia and Qi Shan in the room. Qi Shan tried to shift her attention away from the injury on her back and asked, "What did the battle reports from the front say?"
Liao Jia: "The first battle report is that Gu Ziyi is dead."
Qi Shan was taken aback: "Shang Nan Gu Ziyi?"
Liao Jia nodded: "Mm."
He then added, "They say they were ambushed by Huang Lie's troops, and the thirteen brothers fought to the very end, completely wiping out Shangnan's elite forces. Qi Yuanliang, before the other forces return, should we do something?"
Qi Shan rested her chin on her clasped hands, too lazy to even open her eyes: "What do you want to do? Take advantage of our misfortune?"
Liao Jiayang grinned lewdly: "How can this be called taking advantage of someone's misfortune? The Gu brothers sacrificed their lives, leaving behind a group of orphans and widows. Now, in this chaotic world, they are adrift and have no one to protect them. Our lord, out of kindness and pity for their plight, has taken them all in and settled them. Isn't that a good thing? If this story spreads among the people, it will surely be a beautiful tale..."
It is perfectly reasonable to take over the estate at the same time as taking over the orphans.
Qi Shan asked him, "Did you act on your own initiative?"
“How can this be called acting on one’s own initiative? If our lord were here, she would agree to do the same.” Before leading the troops into battle, Shen Tang made it clear that all matters would be discussed between him and Qi Shan. “Qi Yuanliang, aren’t you even a little bit tempted?”
Goodness, when did you change your ways?
Qi Shan remained silent, but Liao Jia understood him. Taking advantage of someone's misfortune and kicking them when they're down are the most despicable things that evil schemers love to do.
After a long silence, Qi Shan said, "Do it secretly."
Liao Jia made a gesture to him.
"You can rest assured that I'll handle things."
Qi Shan asked, "Is there anything else?"
Liao Jia continued, "Yes, there is flooding in Yanzhou, and there seems to be an epidemic among the people. Kang Jishou has led his troops to occupy Chaoli Pass and successfully reunited with our lord. However, Chu Wuhui's whereabouts are unknown—"
Besides these, there were some other scattered pieces of news: which forces were suspected of being annexed, which forces were wiped out, which forces were so ruthless in exploiting the common people that they caused a riot, and the common people of Yanzhou and Ganzhou, upon hearing that Huang Lie was standing up for them, brought their families to join him...
Qi Shan asked, "There's been no movement from Tianhai?"
Liao Jia sighed, "Not yet."
Because the distance between the front and the rear was too far, and there were many unstable factors along the way, it took anywhere from ten days to half a month for a message to be relayed. The two could only guard the rear while trying to deduce the situation at the front based on brief battle reports, which made them very worried.
If they sent skilled and courageous warriors to deliver battle reports, rushing day and night, the time could be compressed to the extreme. But that was a condition that even if their lord became the overlord of the Northwest, he couldn't afford it, let alone his own lord. Thinking of this, Liao Jia sighed again.
For a scholar with a literary mind, a minor injury is a small matter.
At midday, Liao Jia is lively and energetic again.
He had just come out of the canteen, casually bringing a portion for the wounded Qi Shan, when he heard the sound of horses' hooves and the cracking of whips clearing the way from the main street of the government office, just a wall away. His expression sharpened—
Hasn't the battle report already been sent?
"Frontline battle report—"
The voice sounded somewhat familiar.
Liao Jia strode to the gate of the government office and immediately saw a face reddened by the sun, with sweat dripping from under the helmet.
He said, "Tu Xianrong? Aren't you on the front lines?"
The messenger dismounted, still catching his breath.
"Liu Wei Cao, this is a letter written in my own hand by the lord!"
Tu Rong took out a secret letter with messy handwriting from his bosom. He knew without opening it that it was written by his lord himself. Liao Jia did not open it directly, but instead took Tu Rong to see Qi Shan.
Qi Shan was also surprised to see Tu Rong.
Tu Rong plopped down and began to regulate his empty dantian.
To deliver the letter back, he conjured a warhorse from his martial energy and traveled day and night without stopping. When his martial energy was exhausted, he would meditate and regulate his breathing, taking the opportunity to rest and recover his energy before continuing his journey. Tu Rong was lucky; he didn't encounter any obstacles along the way.
"Does the Lord order Lingde and the other two to rush to the front lines immediately?" Qishan and the other man huddled together, the contents of the letter were very concise.
Tu Rong said, "Yes!"
"Is there a shortage of food at the front?"
His mind raced through the remaining grain in the various warehouses.
Tu Rong poured himself a glass of water to quench his thirst, wiping the dense beads of sweat from his face with the back of his hand: "Our army is not short of food, but the places of Yanzhou and Ganzhou are short of food. Spring planting was ruined, and it is too late to sow now. Fortunately, our lord accidentally discovered a crop that can be planted in summer and will ripen in March or April, so it can be caught in the autumn harvest. It's just that the crop seeds are not good, and we need our junior sister's help."
As he spoke, he untied the small box he was carrying on his back.
Inside were a few slender ears of corn that the officials had painstakingly found after a thorough search in the fields.
Liao Jia asked disdainfully, "Can this be eaten?"
Tu Rong chuckled, "If my lord says it's possible, then it certainly is."
Qi Shan sent his clerk to find Lin Feng and Shen Zhi, and in the meantime, he inquired about the situation at the front. Upon learning that Shen Tang had personally dispatched troops to rescue Chu Wu Hui, Qi Shan was visibly displeased. When he heard that Tian Hai had requested aid and that the two families had formed an alliance, both Qi Shan and Liao Jia were relieved.
As long as the two sides form an alliance, they will be confident in facing Huang Lie.
As for the scarce medicinal herbs...
Qi Shan said, "I will find a way to raise the funds."
If not, they should follow Xu Jie's lead. Medicinal herbs are essential supplies in war, and Xu Wenzhu, serving Tianhai, would certainly be hoarding them privately. Qi Shan didn't ask for much; he only needed the remaining herbs after satisfying Wu Xian.
Qi Shan and the other person wrote another letter to Shen Tang, which Tu Rong took along the way. In it, they mentioned Gu Ren's widow.
Tu Rong placed the two letters under the breastplate.
At this moment, Lin Feng and Shen Zhi also arrived.
Each of them carried a small bag on their shoulder containing two sets of clothes; they didn't bring anything else, demonstrating their swift and efficient work style.
Before leaving, Lin Feng entrusted the household affairs office to Qi Shan and the other person.
Bei Jiu was appointed as the temporary head of the Household Affairs Bureau.
Qi Shan said, "You can rest assured."
Before nightfall, the three warhorses galloped away.
Watching the three disappear from sight, Liao Jia stretched and asked, "By the way, why was the lord injured this morning?"
He got stabbed in the butt twenty or thirty times and then nothing happened?
Qi Shan nearly snapped in anger: "Shut up!"
That's really rubbing salt in the wound!
Little did they know, their master was suffering during the day.
The moment Shen Tang rushed to Xun Zhen's side, her quick thinking worked. Three-year-old Shen Tang hadn't figured out what was going on. The instant she woke up, she lost control of her body and fell on her bottom, hitting her wound squarely. She let out a scream.
I looked up and met a pair of angry eyes.
Three-year-old Chen Tang blinked and tilted her head: "What's wrong?"
Moving the gaze downwards, one can still see bloodstains on the tip of the Mother's Sword.
Three-year-old Chen Tang instantly understood what was happening and asked with a wronged expression, "Youli is such a good girl, why did you hurt her?"
She pouted and said, "The other kids already shared half with you."
Evil Heart's expression remained grim; she truly hadn't expected Shen Tang to be capable of such a shameless act...
Or perhaps I was so shameless when I was young?
Evil thoughts refuse to acknowledge this.
Lost in thought for a moment, a cold light flashed towards her, and that seemingly confused face revealed a naive yet cruel expression: "Anyone who harms Youli, Youli will tear them to pieces with her own hands!"
A chill ran through him, and he drew his sword to meet the attack.
He sneered, "You think I'm afraid of you?"
She looked down on herself at any point in her life, regardless of the era.
Wu Xian was startled by the commotion of the earth turning over. He hurriedly led his men over, only to find Shen Tang's troops gathered on the city wall watching something. He exclaimed urgently, "Is the enemy attacking?"
Upon inquiry, it was determined that they were not enemies.
Wu Xian asked again, "Then what about this commotion—"
At the edge of the horizon, smoke and dust filled the air, and sand flew everywhere as two distinct auras, one of literary and the other of martial, clashed head-on.
The sky in that direction was covered with thick thunderclouds.
It seems like a thunderbolt could strike at any moment.
May your efforts be rewarded and your success be fruitful. May all your efforts be worthwhile! Best wishes for the college entrance examination!
P.S.: Tenosynovitis seems to be an occupational hazard for online novelists. I remember my right wrist hurt before, and after applying plasters a few times, it got much better. Last year, I didn't write much, so it didn't recur. This time, it's my left wrist. I asked my mom for two bone-strengthening plasters, and they're working quite well.
I'm considering whether to get an Alice keyboard...
(End of this chapter)
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