"Didn't the garrison commander want to pay money to capture me? Now I've delivered myself to his door, alive. So, please just give me the thousand taels of silver, sir." After saying this, Hong Xiaoduo looked at the pastries on the tea table beside her.
This is what officials are like. Even when facing a siege, they are still so particular. Look how exquisite these pastries are. The pastries from Yunwu Kingdom look quite good. She reached out and picked up a peach blossom pastry. Then, looking at the extremely surprised face behind the desk, she took a small bite of the pastry in her hand and raised her eyebrows with considerable satisfaction.
It's really delicious; not too sweet or greasy, and with a subtle floral fragrance.
We should ask which pastry shop it came from, or whether it was made by the cook in the garrison commander's mansion. We need to make some for our elder brother, Feiyan, and the children to try.
"It's you? Someone, someone, where did everyone go?" Coming to his senses, Luo Jinan stood up in panic and shouted loudly towards the door.
But even though he shouted so loudly, there wasn't a sound outside. Could it be? No wonder she was able to swagger in through the door!
"Don't panic, sir. They're not dead yet, they're just sleeping soundly. I advise you not to bother shouting, it won't do you any good no matter how hard you try." Hong Xiaoduo said with a smile, then took another bite of her pastry.
Seeing her arrogant and calm demeanor, Luo Jinan realized the danger he was in. Thinking of his son's death, his legs went weak and he slumped back into his chair.
"I don't care who you are, I'm warning you, even if you have the means to deal with the guards of my prefecture, there are several thousand soldiers stationed in the city right now. Do you think you can escape?" Luo Jinan said, trying to appear calm and putting on a show of force.
After finishing a pastry, Hong Xiaoduo turned her head and saw an official robe hanging behind her seat. She reached out and pulled it over to wipe the pastry crumbs off her hands.
"Sir, whether I can escape or not is none of your concern. Hurry up and give me that thousand taels of silver first, then we can talk about other things."
"I should be sleeping at this hour, but I came to see you despite my sleepiness because I knew you wanted to see me, sir." After Hong Xiaoduo finished speaking, she reached for the teapot on the coffee table, only to find it was empty. She frowned and put it back.
Knowing to prepare snacks but not serving tea shows a lack of competence in serving servants!
"Did you shoot my son?" Luo Jinan asked through gritted teeth after calming himself down.
"You've remembered to ask about this now?" Hong Xiaoduo nodded and said, "Yes, but you can't blame me for that. I'm the kind of person who doesn't bother others unless they bother me."
"It's because you, sir, failed to properly raise your son. Did the person who told you the cause of your son's death say that your son had verbally provoked you first? That's why I acted. I had no choice."
"You, you, you?" Luo Jinan had lived to this age and reached this garrison position, and he thought he had seen all sorts of monsters and demons in the world, but he had never seen anyone so arrogant before.
For a moment, he was so angry, anxious, and scared that he didn't know how to respond.
How could someone be so arrogant and domineering? He killed the son of the garrison commander and still dared to ask him for money.
At that moment, he heard faint sounds of fighting nearby, and Luo Jinan immediately perked up his ears to find out what was going on.
"Don't be nervous, sir. Their influence won't reach this area," Hong Xiaoduo said with a smile, trying to reassure him.
"What, what do you want?" Luo Jinan listened to the sounds of fighting outside, trying to comfort himself. Even if the Fengliang Kingdom infiltrated the city, they would not be able to contend with the troops of Generals Ye and Pang.
But then he thought that if Generals Ye and Pang were really that powerful, they wouldn't have been defeated and forced to retreat back to Red Willow City.
Besides, he, as the garrison commander, knew all too well what kind of people those two generals were.
He was only so-so at leading troops in battle, but once his troops suffered losses and he was at a disadvantage, he had no will to fight the enemy and could not maintain morale.
"Oh, so the garrison commander is quite pragmatic. What, didn't you order my arrest last night, intending to pay for your son's life? Now you can put aside your personal grudges?"
"As expected of the garrison commander, he truly lives up to the saying, 'A magnanimous person indeed.'" Hong Xiaoduo said with a half-smile.
Being mocked by a young girl, Luo Jinan was angry, ashamed, and mostly helpless.
After thinking for a moment, he turned around, grabbed a few silver notes from a wooden box on the bookshelf, and without even looking at them, slammed them on the table and said, "Since you're after money, take them and get out of here."
"My son's death was also due to my failure to properly educate him. He brought about his own demise and offended you. I have no recourse against you, and naturally dare not pursue the matter further."
Hong Xiaoduo was surprised that this person would give her the money so readily. She stood up, stepped forward, and took a few silver notes from the desk. When she looked at the face value, she found that it amounted to two thousand six hundred taels.
Seeing that she accepted the silver notes, Luo Jinan couldn't help but show a mocking expression. "Hmph, where in this world are there so many righteous people? Aren't they all just hypocritical greedy people?"
The mocking look on Luo Jinan's face did not escape Hong Xiaoduo's notice. She smiled and said, "I said I came to get a thousand taels, but you are so generous as to give me more than double that."
"I remind you, one should never be too greedy." Upon hearing this, Luo Jinan was immediately startled. Oh no, how could he have forgotten the nature of greedy people? He shouldn't have given so readily, much less give so much.
"I'm sorry, I understand this principle, but you should also know what to choose between life and money, right?"
"Sir, you are in charge of managing the logistics of the military camp and the allocation of military rations and pay. This is a lucrative job. You have made quite a bit of money over the years. What, you think you can just use this little bit of silver to get rid of me?"
I'm actually quite curious. Generally speaking, shouldn't the garrison commander of a border city be a military officer? Judging from your reaction, you don't seem to know martial arts. How did you become the garrison commander? You're really amazing!
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