In the Gao family’s mansion.
Gao Yuan shuddered and sat up from the bed. “What did you say? The Xiongnu lost?”
Qi Lin widened his eyes and nodded. “That’s right. The good news has been sent to the Capital. Our army has won a great victory, and the Xiongnu have surrendered!”
“S-Surrendered? It can’t be a rumor, right?” Gao Yuan muttered in disbelief. “Although Prefecture You is out of danger, the Xiongnu didn’t surrender. They only retreated in defeat and made a comeback a few years later…”
Qi Lin’s face darkened. Great Uncle was saying strange things again!
Qi Lin pouted and said, “There’s nothing strange about the Xiongnu surrendering. You forgot that Marshal Xiao went to the border.”
“Ah…” Gao Yuan was enlightened. “Yes, Xiao Zhenting went to the border. It’s different, it’s different!”
Qi Lin was tortured by his great uncle’s nonsense. “Since you’re awake, go to the reception pavilion as soon as possible.”
“What happened?” Gao Yuan asked.
Qi Lin nodded and said, “Eunuch Wang is here. He’s here to see you on His Majesty’s orders.”
Eunuch Wang invited Gao Yuan to the palace. The Emperor had summoned him.
Gao Yuan entered the imperial study and bowed respectfully. “Your humble servant greets Your Majesty.”
“Hmph.” The Emperor sat behind his desk, calmly reviewing the memorials. When he heard Gao Yuan’s voice, he did not even lift his eyelids. “You’re finally willing to recover?”
“Ahem.” Gao Yuan cleared his throat in embarrassment.
The Emperor glanced at him coldly and threw down the memorial in his hand. “You’re really bold. You actually dared to not report the news. Do you think that you won’t be beheaded just because I rely on you?”
Gao Yuan hurriedly knelt down, cupped his hands, and said in fear and trepidation, “I wouldn’t dare!”
“You’ve already done it, but you still don’t dare! You knew that General Xiao didn’t escape from the camp. Are you afraid that I would not send Xiao Zhenting to the border if I knew the truth?”
“Will you, Your Majesty?” Gao Yuan asked.
The Emperor… The Emperor was speechless.
Xiao Zhenting had done a great job. It was impossible for the Emperor to not be afraid of him. All these years, Xiao Zhenting had been behaving himself. However, if it wasn’t to save the only direct descendant of the Xiao family, the Emperor couldn’t guarantee that he would be so generous as to let Xiao Zhenting return to the battlefield and restore his glory.
“How dare you!”
The Emperor hated ministers who speculated about the Holy Decree, especially those who guessed correctly!
Gao Yuan lowered his head and knelt extremely devoutly.
The Emperor was furious when he saw this head, but he could not kill him. “Get lost!”
Gao Yuan quickly got out.
After Gao Yuan left, the Emperor sat in the imperial study for a long time. The battles at the border stopped. It had been so many years, but they had yet to win. However, Xiao Zhenting defeated the Xiongnu army the moment he went on stage.
The Emperor had mixed feelings.
“Your Majesty, Worthy Consort requests an audience,” Eunuch Wang reported from outside the door.
“Rejected,” the Emperor said without thinking.
Eunuch Wang rejected Worthy Consort Xu and brought in the medicine that she had brought. “Her Highness asked you not to forget to drink the medicine.”
The Emperor was seriously ill and almost died. He only woke up yesterday. He frowned and picked up the medicine bowl. He paused for a moment. “What’s the name of the person who was received by Xiao Zhenting?”
“There are quite a few. Which one are you referring to, Your Majesty?” Eunuch Wang said.
The Emperor said thoughtfully, “The one… with the list of spies.”
Eunuch Wang said, “He seems to be a centurion with the surname Yu.”
… .
“Old Yu!”
In General Pang Ren’s mansion in Prefecture You, Wu San stopped Yu Shaoqing, who was practicing his swordsmanship in the courtyard.
Yu Shaoqing put away his sword and turned to look at him. “Have you settled down?”
The price of crossing the snow mountain was huge. The Xiongnu people’s pursuit, the unpredictable weather, and the hidden danger of the snow mountain were all their final nail in their coffins. Fortunately, they met up with Grand Marshal Xiao in time. Even so, their brothers were severely injured.
Wu San patted his chest and said, “Everything is settled. Don’t worry! General Pang Ren was a soldier under Grand Marshal Xiao in his early years. We were personally brought into the manor by Grand Marshal Xiao. General Pang Ren won’t treat us badly!”
“Okay.” Yu Shaoqing nodded. “Your leg…”
Wu San’s leg was crippled. It was the Xiongnu who shot him. Fortunately, his bones were not injured. He would recover after resting for a while.
Wu San smiled and said, “It doesn’t hurt anymore! Aiya, I didn’t expect to be so lucky this time and really come out of the snow mountain! Old Yu, before us, no one had left the snow mountain alive.”
Yu Shaoqing narrowed his eyes and said, “It’s a pity that General Xiao and his brothers were buried there.”
Wu San felt sad. He thought of Da Niu and his brothers who had risked their lives in the camp.
“Stop talking about this!” Wu San forced back his tears and forced himself to think of something happy. “We won the battle. Do you think His Majesty will award us?”
“Award?” Yu Shaoqing looked confused.
Wu San nodded vigorously. “That’s right! The information you risked your life to bring over saved 100,000 citizens of Prefecture You. The reason why Grand Marshal Xiao was able to hit the vital points so quickly is more or less because of that list. You’ve made such a great contribution. When you return to the Capital, you should at least be conferred the title of General! If you become a General, I’ll be a Deputy General! Sister-in-law will be the General’s wife! My obedient niece will be the daughter of the General Manor!”
The two of them didn’t know that Yu Shaoqing already had a son.
Yu Shaoqing didn’t think too much about it. He just wanted to end the war and go home as soon as possible to reunite with his wife and family.
“Ah—”
As the two of them spoke, a woman’s scream came from the pavilion not far away.
“What happened?” The two of them left the courtyard one after another.
In the pavilion, a thin and weak Central Plains woman was kneeling on the ground. Another young girl in a Hu suit was holding a whip and whipping her back.
Yu Shaoqing and Wu San had been at the border for so long, so they knew some Xiongnu.
The young girl said, “You still dare to talk back after bumping into me! Aren’t you Central Plains people very powerful? If you have the ability, fight back!”
This young girl clearly knew martial arts. Every whip carried powerful internal energy, and that Central Plains woman was powerless. How could she be her match? In a short while, she was beaten until her skin and flesh were lacerated.
“It’s the Princess of Xiongnu!” Wu San recognized the girl.
After the Xiongnu had been defeated, Xiao Zhenting threatened to fight his way to their Imperial Court. The Xiongnu King was frightened and immediately sent envoys to negotiate. They would return to the Capital with Xiao Zhenting and the others.
The Xiongnu envoys also lived in General Pang Ren’s residence. This princess was one of them.
Wu San did not understand why the Xiongnu people sent a woman here. The noble ladies of their Great Zhou did not leave their homes.
The two of them could not let the servants of the General Manor be killed by the princess. Wu San went forward to dissuade her. Unexpectedly, the princess did not say anything and whipped Wu San’s face.
In the blink of an eye, Yu Shaoqing raised his hand and grabbed her whip.
The Princess of Xiongnu tried to pull it twice but failed. Only then did she look at Yu Shaoqing. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she said in fluent Chinese, “Who are you? Why can you catch my whip?”
She did not ask him why he dared, but why he could. It seemed that this princess was confident in her martial arts.
Yu Shaoqing said neither servile nor overbearing, “My surname is Yu, and I’m a centurion of the Northwest Army Camp. Princess, if you’ve vented enough, can you let this maidservant leave?”
The princess glanced at the trembling maidservant. “I won’t let her leave.”
Yu Shaoqing said, “Then I can only report to Grand Marshal Xiao.”
Xiao Zhenting’s name was simply a nightmare for the Xiongnu people. As expected, when she heard this, the princess’s arrogance was no longer as arrogant as before. Her eyes moved. “Get lost!”
“Thank you, Princess! Thank you, Centurion Yu!” The maidservant choked and ran away in fear.
“Let go!” The Princess of Xiongnu tugged at the whip.
Yu Shaoqing let go of the whip and led Wu San down the pavilion. However, just as he took a step, a strong wind whistled past his ears. Yu Shaoqing’s eyes turned cold as he pushed Wu San down the steps while he dodged. However, the whip seemed to have eyes and chased after him.
Yu Shaoqing grabbed the whip again. This time, he did not let it go easily. He pulled it with his bare hands! He originally planned to pull the whip over, but the Xiongnu Princess used the force to pounce over and into his arms.
Yu Shaoqing hurriedly pushed her out as if he had been electrocuted!
“Ouch!” The Princess of Xiongnu staggered and almost fell to the ground. After she stabilized herself, she turned her head while panting. “You’re the first man who dares to push me away!”
Yu Shaoqing ignored her. He threw away the whip in his hand and brought Wu San back to his courtyard.
“Princess!” The maidservant hurried over.
The Princess of Xiongnu picked up the whip on the ground, weighed the “jade pendant” she had taken from Yu Shaoqing, and smiled. “I like this man!”
