After the Body Swap, the General Chased Me on His Knees for Thousands of Miles Chapter 21

Xin Zhui stood waiting at the entrance of the General’s mansion, a small steamer basket of buns in his hand.

He was thinking to himself: If the General brings me those crab dumplings today, I’ll get to enjoy a real treat.

He’d been too full to eat them yesterday and had taken them back to the military barracks, where they were devoured by those ravenous brats who acted like they’d been starved in their past lives.

They had almost fought over the steamer basket itself.

If the General forgot to bring them, I still won’t go hungry.

This two-pronged approach was practically a foolproof plan.

A hint of a smug smile had just appeared on Xin Zhui’s face when he saw “Huo Ci” storming out of the mansion.

A small head was still peeking out from the crook of his arm, blinking big, round eyes at him.

The General’s hands were empty today. Though a little disappointed, Xin Zhui was glad he had bought the buns.

He grinned and opened the food box, ready to eat, when a pair of large hands reached over and lifted the entire box away.

Xin Zhui was stunned. He looked up to see the General gazing at him with appreciation.

“Not bad. I appreciate you thinking of your General.”

With that, he leaped onto his horse, handed one bun to Xiao Ya, and devoured the rest himself.

After the scene with Baozhu, Jiang Xingyan was in no mood to eat at the main residence.

But the hour was already late; it was too late to have a meal sent to the separate courtyard. She had no choice but to head to the morning court session with Xiao Ya on an empty stomach.

She hadn’t expected this pleasant surprise.

She immediately forgave Xin Zhui for his impertinence yesterday.

Xin Zhui, now empty-handed, felt like the sky had fallen.

He had followed the General for over a decade and had never gone hungry.

Even on the battlefield, they always fought on full stomachs.

Who would have thought that now, he could starve nine times in three days!

This had to be an imposter General!

Xin Zhui fumed inwardly. He had to expose this person’s true nature!

Yesterday, back at the barracks, the centurions had gathered to share strange tales and ghost stories.

One man said that when he was a child, someone in his village passed by the graveyard in the dead of night and returned home a changed person.

A perfectly normal young man started sitting in front of a mirror, applying makeup, and even wearing his wife’s clothes.

It terrified the whole family.

They eventually had to bring in a master from the Great Guanyin Temple to cure him.

The master said he had been possessed by a lonely wandering spirit. While he looked the same on the outside, the person inside had been replaced.

Xin Zhui instantly thought of the General.

Could it be that the General’s inner self has been replaced too?

Gurgle. Gurgle.

His stomach growled on cue, as if agreeing.

Xin Zhui narrowed his eyes, watching “Huo Ci’s” back as he departed for the morning court session.

So, you want to starve me? Just you wait!

Jiang Xingyan suddenly felt a sinister chill creep up her spine. She instinctively turned around and saw Xin Zhui’s resentful expression.

This kid definitely has something wrong with him.

She didn’t have time to worry about what he was thinking. The court session was about to begin, and she needed to muster all her focus to handle it.

Yesterday, after writing the imperial edict, Xiao Ao had begun to have doubts.

How could I have granted such a great reward based solely on “Huo Ci’s” one-sided account?

What if Lady Huo Jiang couldn’t produce that much money and grain?

Could he really take back his decree?

Where would that leave the dignity of the Son of Heaven?

At the morning court session today, Xiao Ao didn’t let Su Sheng speak. He went straight to addressing “Huo Ci”: “My beloved subject Huo, the matter of military provisions is urgent.

“Yesterday, the Imperial Guards discovered that merchant groups from Beiluo have been secretly purchasing grain for some time.

“Some have even been buying ironware, cloth, and leather goods.

“Their wolfish ambition is truly insidious and hard to guard against!”

Xiao Ao sighed inwardly. Among all the civil and military officials, Huo Ci was his only reliable pillar.

Three years ago, a genius young general suddenly emerged from Beiluo—Tuoba Hongxue.

He captured ten cities within two days.

He arrogantly claimed he could annihilate Xizhou within a month.

Huo Ci left his newlywed wife, donned his armor, and went off to war. His 100,000-strong Huo Army not only recaptured the lost territories but also advanced straight to the capital city of Beiluo.

The ruler of Beiluo begged for peace overnight, offering countless gold, silver, and jade artifacts, and signed a five-year treaty of friendship.

When it came down to it, Xizhou was in Huo Ci’s debt.

The civil officials were as quiet as quails, eyes fixed on their noses, noses fixed on their mouths, mouths fixed on their hearts—utterly silent.

Those who usually clamored to impeach Huo Ci didn’t dare utter a single word now, trying their best to make themselves invisible.

They were terrified the Emperor would settle old scores and send them to the front lines.

That would be a sure way to get themselves killed.

The military officials weren’t gloating either; they felt deeply ashamed.

It wasn’t that they were incompetent, but Tuoba Hongxue’s tactics were too bizarre and unpredictable, making him incredibly difficult to defend against.

If not for Young General Huo, wouldn’t they have become conquered slaves?

Sensing the subtle atmosphere in the court, Jiang Xingyan finally understood just how crucial Huo Ci was to Xizhou.

She lowered her head, concealing the unwillingness in her eyes, and calmly laid out the strategy she had devised last night.

“Replying to Your Majesty, your humble subject is untalented, but I privately believe the Beiluo merchant groups would not dare openly purchase large quantities of grain, ironware, and other supplies from established shops, large or small.
“Their piecemeal transactions with individual farmers are truly nothing to fear.”

Jiang Xingyan took several shop deeds from her sleeve.

“Your Majesty, please see. My wife owns four grocery stores. We can use them as a front to purchase large quantities of rice and grain.
“We will spread the word that the government will severely punish private grain sales, but if sales are made through designated shops, the price per bushel will be doubled.
“This way, the Beiluo merchants will be unable to purchase grain from the common people.
“Then, we will sort the grain we’ve collected into high, medium, and low grades. We will sell the lowest grade grain to the Beiluo merchants at ten times the price.
“They will have to take it, whether they want to or not.”

The officials were silent.

What’s with this man?
He’s well-versed in military strategy, fine, but how does he know so much about commerce too?
Is it because he has a wife who was formerly the richest merchant in Jiangnan? How unfair!

Xiao Ao took the deeds passed to him by Su Sheng. His pupils constricted slightly.

He had even heard of two of these shops himself, proof of their significant scale and strength—they were far from ordinary.

Jiang Xingyan continued, “As for ironware, cloth, and leather goods, we can raise the prices across the board.
“These are already controlled by various levels of government offices anyway. What’s available among the common people are merely defective products. If the Beiluo merchants want to buy them, let them pay multiples of the cost.”

Xiao Ao’s heart finally settled back into place.

“Excellent! Everything shall be done as you say, my beloved subject Huo.”

The Emperor was delighted.

Jiang Xingyan breathed a sigh of relief, clenched her fists, and forcefully suppressed the excitement in her heart.

Only by regaining control of these shops would she have the confidence to seek a divorce later.

“The matter of provisions is settled, but we must also focus on training the troops,” Xiao Ao said.

His intention was to remind Huo Ci not to forget training the soldiers while enjoying time with his beloved wife and daughter.

Unexpectedly, the “Huo Ci” below immediately knelt and bowed. “This subject will station himself at the military barracks tomorrow to focus on training the troops.”

Xiao Ao gave a light cough. “There’s really no need to go that far—”

“Your Majesty, I partake of the ruler’s salary, and must loyalty serve the ruler’s affairs, let alone matters of military and state importance!
“This subject must exert himself to the utmost, dedicate his loyalty to repay the country, and dare not slack off in the slightest!”

Xiao Ao was helpless.

Having a workaholic official was also quite troublesome.

What he didn’t know was that Jiang Xingyan had already thanked him eight hundred times in her heart—she was practically ready to burn incense in his gratitude.

High pay, few tasks, far from home—isn’t this the life I’ve always dreamed of?!

Creeeak!

The doors of the Taihe Hall opened again.

The familiar scent of pine and the sound of the plain wheelchair’s wheels made the civil officials’ temples throb.

What’s going on with the Grand Preceptor?
This is already his third time attending court.
The first was for his investiture, the second was yesterday.

The military officials were also muttering to themselves.

The Grand Preceptor has been attending court rather frequently these past two days.

Yun Chunfeng seemed oblivious to the astonished gazes of the officials. Gently waving his feather fan, a slight smile on his lips, he slowly appeared before Jiang Xingyan, who stood with her eyes demurely downcast.

Jiang Xingyan stared at the wheelchair wheels that had suddenly stopped right before her toes, her heart sinking.

Could he have noticed something amiss?

Her heart filled with trepidation, she slowly raised her head and saw the man sitting composedly in his plain wheelchair before her.

Though his eyes were covered by a layer of misty blue yuruo silk gauze, the teardrop mole at the corner of his eye was faintly visible.

It added a touch of allure to those peach-blossom eyes, which remained captivatingly charming even when closed.

Yet, the aura around him was as cold as frost, keeping others at a distance of a thousand miles. He was truly an untouchable flower on a high peak—one could only admire from afar.

Jiang Xingyan was spellbound.

She had seen this Grand Preceptor before.

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After the Body Swap, the General Chased Me on His Knees for Thousands of Miles Chapter 21

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