Jiang Xingyan’s fingers twitched, and her eyes slowly fluttered open.
Her first sight was of ornately carved beams and pillars, completely different from their previous lodgings. She blinked in confusion.
“Where… is this?”
A broad figure suddenly sprang up from beside her.
Jiang Xingyan jumped, startled.
The genuine delight in the man’s voice was unmistakable: “A’Xing, you’re awake!”
Jiang Xingyan furrowed her brow.
The voice was definitely Xin Zhui’s, but why were his words so hard to understand?
Just the day before, hadn’t he been formally addressing her as ‘General’s Wife’?
And now he was calling her ‘A’Xing’?
What was going on?
Xin Zhui had spent the entire previous night wrestling with what to call Jiang Xingyan from now on. He’d even fallen asleep slumped by the bedside without finding an answer.
In his excitement now, the address he most deeply wished to use had just slipped out.
He didn’t want to call her ‘Elder Sister,’ even though she was indeed a year older than him.
He also didn’t want to use the same address as anyone else; he wanted one that belonged solely to him.
Jiang Xingyan narrowed her eyes, watching the flustered, stammering Xin Zhui. An almost impossible thought surfaced in her mind.
Could it be… has this kid developed feelings for me?
A shiver ran down her spine.
Wait, I’m Huo Ci right now! So just who are these feelings of his actually for?
Seeing the complicated look in Jiang Xingyan’s eyes, Xin Zhui’s intuition screamed that things were going south. Gritting his teeth, steeling his heart, and stamping his foot internally, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind: “General, we are missing one brother from the Huo army we brought with us.”
The corner of Jiang Xingyan’s mouth twitched.
She had never seen someone change the topic so clumsily.
Since he clearly wasn’t going to explain himself, she decided to act as if nothing had happened.
“Where are we now?”
Speaking of official matters, Xin Zhui shed his youthful bashfulness and became serious. “We are currently in the residence of the Qingzhou Provincial Governor.”
Rubbing her temples, Jiang Xingyan pushed herself up. “Tell me everything that happened after I passed out yesterday. Leave nothing out.”
Xin Zhui cleared his throat and began his report.
“After I carried you back, I relayed your intentions to the Second Prince.”
“He immediately decided to launch a night raid on the Governor’s residence.”
“While mustering the troops, we discovered one soldier from our Huo army unit was missing. It was Xiao Mi, the one who disguised himself as a young beggar today.”
Jiang Xingyan frowned. “Was he lost somewhere in the city?”
Xin Zhui nodded repeatedly. “You guessed right, General. Our group headed straight for the Governor’s residence.”
“Guard Su Mo infiltrated the residence and subdued the Governor.”
“Unexpectedly, the Governor offered no resistance and surrendered without a fight.”
“After we detained all the original staff of the Governor’s residence in the dungeons, we found Xiao Mi locked up in one of the cells.”
“Oh? Why was he imprisoned?”
Xin Zhui paused and called towards the door, “Xiao Mi, come in!”
Xiao Mi, now clad in armor and restored to his imposing bearing, walked in respectfully. He clasped his hands in a salute and knelt on one knee before Jiang Xingyan. “General!”
“Tell the General about what happened to you yesterday.”
Xiao Mi’s expression was grave, his tone hesitant. “General, in my opinion, the Qingzhou Governor’s apparent defection to Beiluo was an act of desperation.”
“I beg you to investigate the truth and clear his name. We must not chill the hearts of loyal subjects and capable generals.”
Jiang Xingyan’s interest was piqued. “Oh? Tell me more.”
“General, this is what happened—”
Yesterday, Xiao Mi, disguised in filthy rags, entered the city. He found a sunny spot, lay down, and began begging for coins.
Before long, a man who looked like a steward stood before him and asked with a smile, “Young man, why is someone so young already out begging for food?”
Xiao Mi rubbed some of the grime on his body and answered nonchalantly, “So what? Is it any of your business?”
The man wasn’t angered by the retort and remained amiable. “Young man, my master is a kind-hearted man. He can’t bear to see poor folks like you, displaced and homeless.”
“He specifically sent me to ask if you have any parents or older brothers at home. Could you call them to come and receive some silver too?”
Xiao Mi scrambled to sit up. “What? There’s such a good thing?”
“Absolutely true. Here!”
As he spoke, the man took out a piece of broken silver and handed it to Xiao Mi.
Xiao Mi bit it with his teeth, carefully tucked it into his clothes, quickly picked up his broken bowl, and grabbed the man’s wrist urgently. “Let’s go quickly! If we’re late, it might all be given away.”
“Don’t rush. What about your family?”
“What family? They were all killed by the Beiluo dogs. I’m the only one left.”
The man’s face stiffened momentarily, a flash of shame disappearing rapidly. He led Xiao Mi to the Governor’s residence.
“Hey, don’t try to trick me. This is an official’s home. I’m not going in.”
Xiao Mi struggled, trying to leave. Suddenly, many servants rushed out from the gate. They pushed and pulled, forcibly dragging him into the residence and locking him in a room.
Xiao Mi pretended to be terrified, yelling and screaming, knocking things over.
“Who are you people! Why are you grabbing me!”
“I was just begging for food, what did I do to you!”
“I won’t come back here again, alright?”
“Let me out! Waaah!”
Strangely, no one scolded him.
Suddenly, an elderly, lean man opened the door. Servants behind him carried fine wine and good meat, which they set on the table.
Thump!
Before Xiao Mi could make sense of this series of events, he was stunned by the old man who suddenly knelt before him!
“Warrior, please do not be afraid. This old man is Che Hongluo, the Governor of Qingzhou.”
“Resorting to such a lowly trick today and treating you with such disrespect is entirely due to my own incompetence, my failure to protect the people of Qingzhou.”
“I beg you, in the name of duty to our country and the lives of thousands of innocent people, to help this old man!”