Aoyama

Chapter 470 Lying
Princess Liyang was not pretentious.

She took off a jade ring from her index finger and placed it on Zhang Xia's index finger without giving him a chance to refuse: "I hit it off with you the moment we met, and I hope you will take good care of me on this journey south."

Zhang Xia returned the ring to Princess Liyang: "We are here to welcome the envoys as ordered, which is our duty. Your Highness need not be so polite."

At this point, she changed the subject: "Your Highness need not think that just because I am a woman, I will be soft-hearted. I ask that Your Highness cooperate with me along the way and not cause any more trouble."

Princess Liyang turned to curry favor with Zhang Xia because she felt that women were soft-hearted and would not be as stubborn as Chen Ji, and that she could take care of him on the road.

Zhang Xia saw through her thoughts, but she didn't feel embarrassed. She smiled and said, "Miss, I gave you this ring for no other reason than that I think you and your husband are a perfect match. It's a pity that we didn't know each other when you got married. This is my congratulatory gift to make up for it."

Zhang Xia said with a smile, "Actually, we are not husband and wife. We were just pretending to be husband and wife to sneak into Baidadan City."

Princess Liyang was clearly taken aback: "Isn't that right? I think you two are a match made in heaven... One of you stormed the White Tiger Hall for the other, and the other of you held an envoy hostage without fear of swords and axes. If you're not husband and wife, where is justice? Quickly accept it, it's only a matter of time before you get married."

Zhang Xia smiled and ultimately returned the ring.

Xiaoman pouted and said, "He was trying to break up that couple this morning, and now he's pretending to be a good person."

Princess Liyang said sincerely, "I was wrong."

Xiaoman's eyes widened, but the sarcastic words stuck in her throat.

She pouted and said unwillingly, "Why didn't you do this earlier? After all that fuss, you still got captured by the young master and taken to Ningchao."

Princess Liyang smiled and said, "That must be because your young master is so capable."

Xiaoman felt like she'd punched a pillow; she opened her mouth, but after a long pause, she managed to stammer out, "It's good that you know how powerful that is..."

Chen Ji stood outside the carriage and glanced back. Just as Princess Li Yang herself had said, she was a qualified ambitious person who never made decisions based on emotions or past events, and always did the right thing.

He had lost count of how many schemes and tricks this princess had used to avoid a marriage alliance with the Ning Dynasty. If he hadn't appeared on that mountain road, she might have already been rescued by the elite troops of Longyou Road.

At this moment, Chen Ji turned to look outside the carriage.

At the city gate of Baidadan City, Hong Zuer, Zhang Baishi, and Asheng were exchanging glances before getting on the vehicle.

After Hong Zu'er and Zhang Baishi nodded to each other slightly, they walked together toward the carriage.

Just as they were about to board the carriage, they saw Chen Ji standing on the carriage, blocking their way.

Hong Zuer looked up at Chen Ji, narrowing his eyes: "What does this mean?"

After a moment of silence, Chen Ji said, "Master Hong, Jiang Xiansheng is dead, and I have done what I promised you. Let's go our separate ways."

Hong Zu'er sneered: "You're quite the schemer, kid. Now that Princess Liyang has killed Jiang Xiansheng, she's transformed into an envoy. What difference does it make whether Jiang Xiansheng is dead or alive? What, are you afraid I'll find a way to kill Princess Liyang on the way?"

Chen Ji nodded: "Exactly. Master Hong, give up. Even if you and Uncle Baizi were together, you wouldn't be a match for me."

Hong Zu'er said in a deep voice, "You scheming and unscrupulous boy, how could Mr. Wang have a disciple like you?"

Chen Ji was silent for a moment: "I'm sorry, it's my duty. I apologize for the offense."

Zhang Baishi was furious and was about to rush forward to fight Chen Ji when Hong Zuer grabbed his arm.

Standing in the shadow of Baidadan City, Hong Zuer calmly said, "Lord Chen, you should think this through. Yuancheng carries the blood feud of tens of thousands of soldiers of my Ning Dynasty, not only those from Chongli Pass, but also those from the Wansui Army, the Five Armies Camp, and the Shenji Camp. Lord Chen lives far away in the capital, and I'm afraid you don't know what Yuancheng has done."

Chen Ji remained silent.

Hong Zu'er continued, "The twelve brothers of the Wansui Army's Night Scout Gaoyuan were scalped by Yuan Cheng to make saddles; Zhou Chang of the Fifth Army Battalion had his tattooed skin peeled off by Yuan Cheng to make handcuffs; Yang Xi of the Shenji Battalion had his skull used by Yuan Cheng to make wine cups. Lord Chen, our enmity with Yuan Cheng is not as simple as life and death. If you act in this way, I'm afraid you won't go far in the court. Don't be greedy for momentary gains."

Chen Ji shook his head: "Master Hong, this matter has nothing to do with merit."

Hong Zuer bowed and clasped his hands, saying, "Since Lord Chen has made up his mind, I will not say anything more. If Lord Chen comes to Chongli Pass again next time, there will be no good wine to entertain you."

Chen Ji returned the greeting with clasped hands: "Farewell."

He sat in the carriage, flicked the reins, and drove south, taking in the three scouts at the foot of Baidadan City.

Hong Zuer turned back to look at the city wall and saw Jiang Xianzong standing in armor, silently watching the carriage depart.

Zhang Baishi asked, "What do we do?"

Hong Zuer pondered silently for a moment: "The capture officers have already sided with Lu Jin, and they won't let this go easily. If Chen Ji and the others drive on the official road, they will definitely be blocked by the capture officers. If we take a shortcut back, we might not be slower than them."

Ah Sheng asked, "What happens after we get back?"

Hong Zu'er said in a deep voice, "Go back and persuade all the night scouts of the three Imperial Guards. I don't believe they don't want revenge!"

"go!"

The three of them ran wildly south and disappeared into the night.

On the city wall of Baidadan, Jiang Xianzong leaned against the battlement and watched silently, the wind making his cloak flutter behind him.

He calmly asked, "What did Princess Liyang say on the way?"

Jiang Que whispered to him from behind: "Reporting to the General, she said we shouldn't have returned to Jingcheng from Yuancheng. Even if we had, it wouldn't have mattered. She said we should have summoned you to the capital to serve as the Privy Councilor to control Yuan Xiang. No one else would have been suitable."

Jiang Xianzong's expression remained unreadable: "What else is there to say?"

Jiang Que continued, "She always says that the Jiang family should no longer try to rely on Yuancheng. Even if you can't serve as the Privy Councilor, you should still recommend Lu Jin to serve as the Privy Councilor. Our Jiang family should change its allegiance and support Lu Jin from behind."

Jiang Xianzong hummed in agreement: "What are the benefits?" Jiang Que recalled: "She said that Lu Jin is extremely ambitious, and his goal is not just the position of Privy Councilor, but the position of Chancellor of the Central Secretariat. He is bound to be at odds with Yuan Xiang. Everyone is waiting to see whether the Jiang family supports Yuan Cheng or Yuan Xiang, but supporting either Yuan Cheng or Yuan Xiang is just adding flowers to brocade. Only supporting Lu Jin is like sending charcoal in the snow."

"She said, 'To gain the world, one must first win the hearts of the people. Lu Jin has been frugal and hardworking for over ten years and is deeply loved by the people. He also enjoys high prestige in the army. Although Yuan Xiang is also upright, his relatives have been tyrannical for over twenty years and have lost the hearts of the people. It's hard to say whether those who support Yuan Xiang are truly supporting Yuan Xiang or supporting Lu Jin... Yuan Xiang is already showing signs of decline.'"

Jiang Xianzong seemed to be deep in thought.

Jiang Que tentatively asked, "Does the commander trust her?"

Jiang Xianzong calmly said, "When she ordered the Jiang family to kill Lu Jin earlier, she said that Lu Jin was the real threat. The Jiang family didn't listen and thought that Lu Jin was just a minor military strategist and not worth worrying about. Now, everything she said has been proven true."

At this moment, the sound of horses' hooves rang out in Baidadan City. His confidant whispered in his ear, "General, thirty-six capture soldiers have donned their armor overnight and seem to be heading out of the city."

Jiang Xianzong ignored the capture of the general and instead asked, "Lu Jin's envoy has arrived, hasn't he? Where is he?"

"Just arrived, at the post station."

"Who's coming?"

"Jiang Liuxian".

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xianzong's expression shifted: "It's her? What does Lu Jin want?"

A trusted aide whispered in Jiang Xianzong's ear, "If Lu Jin wants you to do nothing, the position of Privy Councilor will be yours sooner or later."

Jiang Xianzong turned and walked into the city: "Then let's do nothing."

The confidant asked doubtfully, "But Princess Liyang..."

Without turning his head, Jiang Xianzong said, "Her ambition is even greater than Lu Jin's. The Jiang family is in dire straits and cannot support two ambitious people. Let her leave it to fate. Besides, didn't I do as she said? I chose Lu Jin."

The next moment, the Zhongyong Gate roared open again.

Thirty-six hunters rode out in single file, pursuing the enemy southward.

……

……

The carriage swayed and rocked as it headed south under the moonlight.

Chen Ji leaned against the car, gazing silently at the distant mountains.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and he turned to see Zhang Xia bending down and crawling out of the carriage, sitting next to him. The wind blew past them, making their hair fly backward.

Zhang Xia asked curiously, "Are you thinking about what Master Hong said earlier? You didn't let Master Hong and the others get on the car because you were worried about the danger on the way back, right?"

"I didn't think that much about it," Chen Ji said softly. "I was thinking that after bringing the envoy back to the capital this time, I'm afraid I'll be despised by people, and I'll also drag Li Xuan and Qi Zhenzhuo into being scolded."

Zhang Xia leaned against the car: "It's not a pleasant feeling to be misunderstood."

Chen Ji was unwilling to discuss the matter further and changed the subject: "I heard you broke into Jiang Xianzong's White Tiger Hall?"

Zhang Xia looked into the distance, raised her hand to gather her wind-blown hair, and put the hairpin back in place.

When Chen Ji saw her raise her hand, the jade bracelet with auspicious cloud patterns was still hanging on her wrist.

Zhang Xia lowered his hand and said, "When we stormed the White Tiger Hall, we were chased by hundreds of martial arts masters. I really thought I was going to die there. Luckily, Master Hu appeared and helped me and the little monk out of the predicament. At that time, I was thinking..."

"What are you thinking about?"

Zhang Xia said softly, "I was thinking, you've been through similar desperate situations many times before, haven't you? The time you comforted the disaster victims outside Luocheng, the time you lured away Liu's private soldiers and Mr. Feng at Longwangtun, the time you stormed the Thousand-Year Army's camp, the time you faced the Tian Ce Army inside the Longmen Inn in Guyuan..."

Chen Ji smiled: "You remember so clearly."

Zhang Xia pointed to her head: "I have a photographic memory."

Chen Ji suddenly said, "Don't do this anymore, and don't follow me anymore. You are a woman, you should stay at home and learn needlework and read the 'Admonitions for Women,' why do you have to come out and show your face? This is not something that women should meddle in."

Zhang Xia calmly asked, "Is that what you think?"

Chen Ji replied firmly, "Yes."

At this moment, Xiaoman suddenly flung open the carriage curtain behind them: "Young master, how can you say that? If you say that, I will never speak to you again, never make your bed, and never wash your clothes..."

Chen Ji said irritably, "When have I ever asked you to fold the blankets or wash the clothes? I always fold and wash them myself."

Xiaoman hesitated for a moment, then said, "Then I won't make you scallion pancakes."

Zhang Xia laughed: "Your young master is still the same as always, he never lies to those close to him, and every time he lies, he has to say something very, very long. He just thinks that the journey may be very dangerous, or perhaps he doesn't want me to share the blame with him after I return to the capital, so he wants to make me leave in anger... This trick may work on others, but it won't work on me."

She stood up, patted Chen Ji on the shoulder, and said in a way that left no room for refusal, "I'll sleep for a while, and I'll take over for you in the middle of the night... By the way, you looked pretty bad when you were talking just now."

Chen Ji was taken aback.

The carriage curtain was lowered, leaving him alone to drive the carriage.

A moment later, he rubbed his cheeks with both hands and smiled unconsciously.

(End of this chapter)