Shall We Go Play As Well?
The camp blazed with torchlight through the night.
Lu Ronghuai tossed the letter paper onto the table, then raised his head to look at the others. His dark black eyes were bottomless. “Latest news, Duan Kingdom has already taken Heihu Pass.”
Bai Qingyu sat beneath the lamplight, his brows faintly drawn together. “It seems that quite a number of officials in the south have already been bought over by Chu Kingdom.”
Lu Ronghuai said, “Many over there were once former subordinates of the Deposed Crown Prince. Liu Mingyue is now allied with Chu Kingdom and Duan Kingdom. With him stepping forward, it is only to be expected that those people would defect.”
Nie Siran said, “At this pace, in two months at most, they will break through the southern natural barrier. Once that barrier is gone, they truly may be able to fight their way to Ye Jing.”
Zhao Lu drew in a sharp breath. “I truly underestimated them. How in the world did those several hundred thousand troops cross the Ye River so silently? No matter how I rack my brains, I cannot make sense of it.”
Fu Qing said, “There is no use tangling over that now. We would do better to think about our present situation.”
Zhao Lu patted his belly and declared with complete confidence, “What is there to fear? With His Highness here, no matter how many men they have, they still will not be His Highness’s match.”
Lu Ronghuai propped up his chin. “This Prince does not possess as much confidence as you do.”
At that moment, Nie Xuxing and Jiang Ni pushed aside the tent flap and entered. The candle flame swayed for a breath.
Nie Siran immediately rose to his feet. Deep worry filled his eyes. “How is it? Have you made contact with Grandfather?”
Jiang Ni pressed his lips together. Nie Xuxing stood beside him, the two of them shoulder to shoulder, and neither wore a good expression.
After hesitating for a while, Nie Xuxing spoke in a heavy tone. “We have not contacted him, but we have learned that your grandfather is very likely in the south.”
Nie Siran made his decision on the spot, with almost no hesitation at all. “I will go find Grandfather.”
“Wait.” Lu Ronghuai spoke to stop him. His tone was even, his expression calm. “Grandfather should be safe for the time being. Xian Yue and Xian Feng will go find Grandfather. If there is any situation, they are to contact us at once.”
“Yes.” The two accepted the order and departed.
Jiang Ni nodded. “That would be for the best. His Highness holds a powerful intelligence network in his hands, and the shadow guards are nimble and skilled. If they go to protect Father, we will be more at ease.”
Nie Xuxing helped Jiang Ni sit down, then turned and asked, “Has Your Highness discussed who will be sent to the south?”
Everyone looked toward Lu Ronghuai.
Lu Ronghuai pressed at his knuckles and said with perfect composure, “No one will be sent. We will all remain here.”
Zhao Lu said, “Was that not exactly what we were discussing tonight, who to send to the south? Why are we not going now?”
Lu Ronghuai said, “Naturally not.”
Zhao Lu was thoroughly baffled.
Nie Siran gave a sigh and reminded him, “At present, His Highness and Empress Dowager Xu have completely torn their faces apart. Opposition to His Highness at court grows by the day, and conditions are very unfavorable for him. Even if he went south, the people might not receive him well.”
“Besides, if they are not in a hurry, then all the more must we keep our composure.”
Zhao Lu suddenly understood and smacked his palm. “Fine. Then let us fight Kang Kingdom and Liu Kingdom to the bitter end!”
Lu Ronghuai curved his lips. Beneath the warm yellow candlelight, those deep-set eyes concealed a cold sharpness like the edge of ice. “Not only are we going to fight, we are going to fight beautifully and cleanly, until everyone is convinced.”
“It is not only Duan Kingdom and Chu Kingdom who know how to launch a surprise attack.”
“Qingyu, starting tomorrow, you will take three hundred thousand men to attack Kang Kingdom. Of the remaining one hundred thousand, I will lead them myself and block Liu Kingdom.”
Bai Qingyu said, “Your Highness should keep two hundred thousand troops. Liu Kingdom’s army is also a full two hundred thousand strong. Too few soldiers will easily put you at a disadvantage.”
Lu Ronghuai shook his head. He had clearly planned it all long ago. His speech was slow and steady. “One hundred thousand is enough. But Qingyu, I want you to take Kang Kingdom within twenty days. Do you have confidence?”
Bai Qingyu rose to his feet and cupped his hands solemnly. “Your Highness, rest assured.”
It was a gesture of trust, and equally a challenge. Hot blood surged in Bai Qingyu’s chest, boiling even more fiercely than when he had gone with Lu Ronghuai to Xiqiang.
After the time it took to burn a quarter of an incense stick, the gathering dispersed.
Before dawn the next day, Bai Qingyu led the troops forward, sounding the horn of attack.
Zhao Lu, Fu Qing, and Lu Rongshen went with him. Those who remained stayed behind with Lu Ronghuai to block Liu Kingdom’s army.
With Nie Siran and Su Ruhe present, Lu Ronghuai still went through the motions during the first two days by appearing on the city wall and making some defensive arrangements. After that, however, he simply vanished from sight.
“Where is His Highness?” Su Ruhe climbed the city wall, looked left and right, then finally walked over to Nie Siran’s side and asked in a low voice.
Nie Siran stared at Liu Kingdom’s great army, stationed five li beyond the city, and smiled slightly. “His Highness? At this moment, he is most likely strolling the streets.”
Su Ruhe: “?”
Su Ruhe said, “The great army is already pressing against the city, so how is His Highness still at play?”
Nie Siran took hold of his hand. The two stood shoulder to shoulder and looked toward the distance. “Our city gates stand wide open, yet the other side has halted for half a day without daring to advance. His Highness has no fear that they will attack the city, so naturally he continues lazing about.”
“Shall we go play as well?”
Su Ruhe gave a start. His hand was held firmly, and the warmth of skin passed through his palm, little by little reaching his heart.
There were still soldiers keeping watch behind them. At that moment, Su Ruhe felt acutely self-conscious all over. On the surface he looked composed yet sweat quickly gathered in his palm.
The cool wind swept past, stirring the hair of the two of them. Nie Siran turned his eyes toward Su Ruhe. In his gaze there was laughter like lake ripples, wave after wave.
Lu Ronghuai spent three days accompanying Chu Yuan and Lu Duoyu at play. The little fellow was not afraid of strangers in the least and was full of curiosity about everything. He was fair and tender, with large eyes, and he loved to smile. Without any effort at all, he won over the hearts of Kang Kingdom’s people.
Liu Kingdom’s great army camped outside the city for one day. At first, they had been frightened by the city gates standing wide open and thought Lu Ronghuai had laid a trap inside for them. After observing for a day and discovering no movement at all, the generals of Liu Kingdom began to grow suspicious.
After some discussion, the generals of Liu Kingdom decided they could not continue waiting. The ruler of Liu Kingdom had given them a death order. No matter what, they had to hold back Prince Li’s advance.
They sent a small force beneath the city wall to probe the enemy’s position. Yet the moment those men entered the city, in less than half a shichen, that small force was hauled up onto the wall by Lu Kingdom’s soldiers, their hands bound, hanging there upon the city wall.
The general of Liu Kingdom stared with bulging eyes at those dozen-odd bloody corpses and was so frightened that he withdrew seven or eight li overnight.
Prince Li had indeed set a trap within the city. The general of Liu Kingdom rested in fear and alarm for another day, then held urgent discussions with his subordinates. Fortunately, they had brought many troops with them, and that gave them some comfort.
On the third day, Liu Kingdom attacked.
Once Lu Ronghuai received the news, he rode alone to the front of the city gate.
A hundred zhang away, dust billowed. Two deputy generals, each leading troops on horseback, charged straight toward him.
Seated atop his horse, Lu Ronghuai had not even put on armor. He took up a curved bow and casually shifted through the arrows in the quiver with his long fingers, selecting a black-gold feathered arrow.
He nocked the bow and drew the string.
The feathered arrow split the air.
Then came a second feathered arrow.
Thud. Thud. With two thudding falls, the two deputy generals did not even have time to make a sound before they dropped one after the other from their horses. Feathered arrows had struck straight through their necks, and the galloping horses behind them trampled their necks apart in one kick. Very quickly, they became two pools of bloody mud.
Immediately after, two groups of black-clad figures, swift in movement, slipped into Liu Kingdom’s chaotic ranks. They slipped through the formation, harvesting heads with clean efficiency.
Before Liu Kingdom had even tasted success in battle, they had already lost two deputy generals. Lu Ronghuai’s fierce power in shooting down enemies from a hundred zhang away spread not only through Kang Kingdom, but also traveled northward with the wind, all the way to Ye Jing.
Within a few days, good news also came from Bai Qingyu’s side.
They had already broken through Shuining Jun and were now concentrating their troops to strike Kang Kingdom’s capital.
Here, victories came one after another. In the south, however, defeat followed defeat.
The common people were full of grievances and complaints. They ran to the government offices and begged the court to send troops south and recover the lost prefectures and counties.
Yet the court remained silent as a crowless stillness.
Originally, Empress Dowager Xu had wanted Min Chao to go to war. Yet after Min Xiaomiao was married, Min Chao had already resigned from office and returned home, where he passed his days delighting in flowers and tending grass.
As a result, within Lu Kingdom’s court, they could not actually find a second person capable of leading troops into battle.
Looking over the wine sacks and rice bags that filled the court, Empress Dowager Xu only then realized that they had never truly won over Lu Ronghuai.
The officials of Lu Kingdom were, for the most part, like rotten, decaying wood, breeding selfish greed and malicious thoughts. They were greedy for ease and pleasure, without the will to strive. Each day, they knew only how to discuss war upon paper and boast grandly.
When true danger arrived, they could not produce even one useful person.
No, Lu Kingdom had talented people, but those people...
Were all at Lu Ronghuai’s side.
At this thought, Empress Dowager Xu could not help but feel a chill crawl over her scalp.
The Eighth Prince and the Bai family, the Ye family, the Han family, the Min family behind him... even the Nie family had all cast themselves into Prince Li’s camp.
She rubbed at her forehead with a headache, and even now could not understand why the Nie family had chosen Prince Li.
“Reporting to the Empress Dowager, an urgent report has come from the south.” A eunuch’s voice sounded from outside.
Empress Dowager Xu opened her eyes and lifted the forefinger of her right hand slightly. The palace maid behind her immediately understood, lowered her head, and went out to bring the eunuch inside.
“What is it?”
The eunuch said, “Replying to the Empress Dowager, news has come from the south saying... saying that with his strength alone, Old Master Nie persuaded Duan Kingdom. At present, Duan Kingdom has already withdrawn its troops.”
“What?!” Empress Dowager Xu sprang to her feet in disbelief. A palace maid hurried forward to steady her.
Empress Dowager Xu flung her away with one sweep. She strode forward, her gaze sharp as she fixed it on the eunuch. “What did Nie Chouwen do? How could Duan Kingdom withdraw so easily?”
“Th-this servant does not know.” The young eunuch trembled all over.
“Get out!” Empress Dowager Xu sharply scolded.
The eunuch scrambled out in utter panic.
Empress Dowager Xu calmed the anger inside her. Her nails, painted a vivid red, dug hard into the edge of the table.
The expression on her face twisted one moment more hideously than the next. Yet very soon, she suddenly began to laugh again.
“Luo’er, go to the Xu family and have them spread word outside. Say that... this Dowager issued an order for Prince Li to go south and defend the kingdom’s lands, but Prince Li refused. Say that he has deliberately allowed the armies of Duan and Chu to slaughter the innocent common people of our kingdom. Also, tell the people that Duan Kingdom had long ago already entered into secret collusion with Prince Li. Their attack on the cities was false, but ill intent was real.”
The palace maid answered and was just about to leave when Empress Dowager Xu called her back.
“Go summon the Young Lord of Xuanning Marquis and Prince Qi. This Dowager wishes to see them.”
Empress Dowager Xu toyed with her nails. At the corners of her eyes flowed a calculating, sinister light.
Duan Kingdom’s withdrawal was good news to her. With only Chu Kingdom remaining in the south, matters would be much easier to deal with.
Nie Chouwen’s action had not only resolved her urgent difficulty, but had also, without intending to, provided her with an excellent opportunity. So long as the people of Lu Kingdom believed those rumors, then he would be finished.
✧ A Word from the Author ✧
Lu Ronghuai: I am quietly watching you perform.
IsitRo: I now know the reason why I was upset. I was actually upset with the author. Making the child and Lu Ronghuai “fight” for Chu Yuan’s attention or rather, Lu Ronghuai seeing his child as a rival of some sort. *Sigh* Would have been better if Lu Ronghuai shows his love openly to the child and Chu Yuan. I know behind the scenes he truly cares for his son but publicly, it was more shown that he was a jealous man because Little Fish got his Ah-Die’s attention :\
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