"Our deputy general said that you are guests here, young lady, so how can we let you spend money?" Ying Hai sat opposite Hong Xiaoduo, conveying his boss's message.
Upon hearing this, Hong Xiaoduo smiled and said, "I'm sorry to have troubled you with Nie Hai's matter. Of course, I should show my appreciation. I was supposed to treat you last night, but I didn't expect you to have already paid. I'll tell your boss when I get back that we're all straightforward people. We'll be waiting for you at Juxianlou for dinner tonight."
Hearing her say that, Ying Hai felt a little embarrassed; Actually, it's not that our boss is being coy or indecisive, Miss Hong, you don't know, if our boss agrees to come tonight, General Lin will also come, the one who came with him last night.
If he wants to come, our leader can't very well say no.
So that's how it is. Hong Xiaoduo understood and found it quite amusing.
"That General Lin seems to have a good relationship with your boss," Hong Xiaoduo asked curiously.
Ying Hai downed a cup of tea; “Their relationship was really good. They were from the same hometown, joined the army in the same year, and fought several battles together. Our leader once shielded the general from a knife, and the general once charged into the enemy's encirclement to rescue our leader. Later, he was promoted to general, and our leader became a deputy general.”
"Then they can be considered sworn brothers." Hong Xiaoduo also admired this kind of relationship, brothers who were willing to risk their lives for each other.
"So, the general wanted to come along, and our leader really couldn't refuse," Ying Hai explained, then breathed a sigh of relief.
Hong Xiaoduo smiled and poured Ying Hai another cup of tea, saying, "When you get back, tell your boss that if the general wants to come along, he can come along too. It's not like we'll miss his mouth."
“Alright, I’ll go back and tell you right away,” Ying Hai said immediately, standing up.
Hong Xiaoduo also got up to see him off at the door, but then suddenly remembered something: "By the way, does General Lin know about Nie Hai's matter?" She had to find out, lest she let it slip at the dinner table.
“General Lin knows, our boss told him,” Ying Hai replied.
Once outside, they said they'd meet at the restaurant that evening, and watched Ying Hai go downstairs. As soon as they turned around, they saw someone standing at the door of the room opposite.
Hong Xiaoduo nodded as a greeting and was about to go into her room when the other person spoke up: "Young lady, are you treating us, or is someone inviting you?"
"Okay, it's on me." After saying that, Hong Xiaoduo turned around and went into the room.
She wasn't sure if she was overthinking it, but she felt that if she had casually asked the young master if he wanted to come along, the handsome young master with dimples when he smiled would definitely have said yes, and they would have gone together.
Perhaps it's because I just learned from Ying Hai that there was such an impolite person, so it doesn't seem so surprising to hear about another one like this.
It wasn't that Hong Xiaoduo was stingy; it was just that she wanted to thank Peng Xian and the others, and it wouldn't be appropriate to invite unfamiliar people when hosting a dinner party!
The inn wasn't too far from the military camp. Ying Hai rode a horse when he came. He rode slowly on the main street, and after leaving the city gate, he urged his horse on to head straight for the military camp, kicking up a cloud of dust behind him.
"What happened?" the gatekeeper asked, puzzled.
The other immediately said he was talking nonsense, saying that he had seen the man on horseback very clearly just now, and he had a big smile on his face, looking extremely happy.
After hearing Ying Hai's message, Peng Xian immediately ordered his men to boil two buckets of hot water so he could take a bath, change his clothes, and then go to the banquet.
Today's troop drills left me drenched in sweat. If the person invited were also a man, this wouldn't be so troublesome. But she's a young lady, and going to the banquet covered in sweat and grime would seem disrespectful.
Upon hearing that he needed to take a bath and change his robe, Ying Hai quickly ran off to find Qi Feng and the other two.
Upon hearing this, Yang Yichuan and Yuan Chengcai were shocked to learn that they were supposed to take a bath and change their robes. They quickly looked down at themselves, then raised their arms and smelled them. It seemed rather impolite to go to the banquet like this.
The next moment, the other soldiers in the camp saw several of the general's and deputy general's confidants scrambling to go to the kitchen, not knowing what they were doing.
The man who boiled water in the kitchen looked at the wad of money that had been forced into his hand and wondered if he was dreaming. When did a lowly soldier like him, who boiled water, start getting paid?
As the sun was setting, Peng Xian and his four companions, dressed in clean robes and leading their mounts, arrived at the commander's tent.
Peng Xian told his four men to wait while he entered the main tent: "General, it's almost time, let's go."
"Hmm." Lin Ansheng responded, put down the chess manual in her hand, and stood up.
Then they discovered that the lieutenant had changed his robes. No, he had also taken a bath and shaved.
"It's just a banquet, why all this fuss? He could be a groom in a red suit." Lin Ansheng couldn't help but say, having known Peng Xian for years and never seen him like this before.
"Given the special circumstances today, we've been training for several hours, and we're covered in sweat, our robes smell of sweat, and dust. It would be impolite to go to a dinner party like this," Peng Xian explained, then urged them to set off quickly.
Lin Ansheng pursed his lips and walked outside the tent before discovering that Peng Xi's four confidants were also clean and looking very energetic.
"She's just a young woman with a strong江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) spirit, why are you all so upset?" Lin Ansheng shook his head as he walked, muttering to himself.
Ying Hai and the others heard it clearly, but they all pretended not to hear it.
Otherwise, what, a rebuttal? The general has a very close relationship with the leader, but that doesn't mean that the rest of them can casually joke and banter with him.
Outside the main tent, soldiers had already brought the general's mount and were waiting there.
The group of six mounted their horses, left the military camp, entered the city, and headed straight for Juxianlou.
"Look, Lady Yao! It's General Lin!" A maid following the sedan chair in the city exclaimed excitedly to the person inside.
Upon hearing this, Wu Jinyao immediately lifted the curtain of the sedan chair, but she was still a little too slow and could only see the back of the person who had haunted her dreams for three years on horseback.
"My lady, shall we go and take a look?" the maid asked again.
Wu Jinyao hesitated for a moment: "Isn't this inappropriate?"
Upon hearing this and seeing her mistress's expression, the maid understood what was going on and quickly told the sedan bearers to speed up and catch up with the men on horseback.
Everyone in the manor knows that Madam Yao is in love with General Lin. Every time the master invites General Lin to the manor for a banquet, Madam Yao makes her feelings so obvious. However, this General Lin is very good at fighting, but he is not good at anything else. He is completely oblivious to romance and has no reaction at all.
General Lin was always in the military camp during the week, and his wife could only see him during the New Year or Mid-Autumn Festival when the master invited her.
Now that we've encountered General Lin entering the city, wouldn't it be a great pity to miss this rare opportunity?
Although Wu Jinyao, inside the sedan chair, only saw the back of her beloved, her heart was pounding with excitement. She wondered how she could make it seem like a chance encounter...
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