When the secret guards of the prince's mansion brought an old man to pay a visit to Wei Dongling, she was sitting cross - legged on the thick ice of Tianhu Lake, gently caressing the pear - wood guqin in front of her.
At the bottom of this ice - covered lake was the place where Shangguan Yun had passed away.
Many soldiers came here one after another to pay their respects to their beloved leader. When they heard the familiar sound of the guqin again, they couldn't help but shed tears.
When the tune ended, Pin Hao stepped forward softly and reported, "Miss Wei, the person you've been looking for has been brought here."
Wei Dongling nodded and asked them to bring the old man up. This old man was the local who had helped them pass through the ice last time and had once been an old subordinate of the prince's mansion.
Wei Dongling bowed to the old man and said, "Thank you, senior, for your great help last time. I'm extremely grateful."
Hearing the news of the prince's death, the old man's eyes turned slightly red. He lowered his head and bowed to Wei Dongling.
Wei Dongling got straight to the point. "Since ancient times, wherever there is war, the innocent local people have suffered. I've invited you here today actually to ask you for a favor."
The old man replied respectfully, "As long as there's anything I can do, just tell me!"
Wei Dongling nodded and summoned Cheng Hao and Luo Xunlong. After whispering some instructions to them in private, she waved them away.
Since Wei Dongling had repeatedly emphasized to the generals of both armies that they must not kill the local people indiscriminately, there were no casualties among the residents in the stockade. However, they were in a hurry to sell their properties and planned to move their families.
Jiangcheng had not experienced such turmoil in the past decade. The local people were worried about being affected by the war, so they all intended to sell their properties and seek refuge with their relatives elsewhere. Thus, they sold their properties at discounted prices.
Pin Hao was surprised to find that Luo Xunlong and Cheng Hao, following the local old man, were inquiring around in the stockade. They were buying houses and land deeds in Jiangcheng at extremely low prices! They actually carried a large number of silver notes and didn't hesitate to buy the low - priced houses. In this way, most of the properties were sold at 40% or 50% of the market price.
For three consecutive days, the house deeds and land deeds of most of Jiangcheng had fallen into the names of Luo Xunlong and Cheng Hao.
At night, when they presented the account books and house deeds to Wei Dongling for a summary, Pin Hao's eyes almost popped out.
Miss Wei was so rich!
But she still held the account book and abacus, clattering away. Then she sighed faintly, "Suddenly, I'm as poor as a church mouse. If the God of Wealth doesn't come, we'll all be starving!"
Pin Hao: …
Cui Huan brought over a pot of well - cooked mutton soup as a midnight snack. Wei Dongling glanced at the food box and pouted, complaining, "It's mutton soup again. It's making me get inflamed!"
Cui Huan glared at her fiercely and said impatiently, "Nanny Ruan said that you're so cold - bodied! You must eat it as a regular meal!" Miss Wei had lost so much weight these days that it was really heart - wrenching. It was rare that Nanny Ruan was so kind - hearted to cook medicinal cuisine for her every day. If she didn't eat, Cui Huan was determined to force it into her mouth.
Wei Dongling wanted to cry but had no tears. She picked up her chopsticks and slowly ate the mutton soup.
Jingzhe knocked on the door and came in, bowing. "Miss Wei, the prince of Xiliang has come. He's brought about 80,000 soldiers and is stationed outside Jiangcheng. He sent a visiting card and said he wanted to see General Fei."
Wei Dongling smiled faintly. "The God of Wealth is here! Alright, Cui Huan, go and ask General Cui to meet him first. Secretly tell General Cui that no matter what conditions that cunning fox proposes, don't pay any attention to him."
Cui Huan nodded and went out.
Not long after, Li Mingyang, who had been rejected by General Cui, was full of bitterness. He could only find a way to send another visiting card to the Ninth Prince.
The Ninth Prince took Pin Hao with him and went.
The two princes sat facing each other. The prince of Xiliang was extremely nervous and tried his best to curry favor. The Ninth Prince of the Celestial Dynasty, Murong Yuchen, just kept a straight face and remained silent.
Li Mingyang tried to persuade him with emotion and reason, talking non - stop.
Murong Yuchen listened silently. Finally, he couldn't bear it anymore. He let out a cold snort and glanced at Pin Hao beside him.
Pin Hao had long harbored resentment. Upon receiving the signal, he stepped forward without hesitation and started scolding. He accused Xiliang of breaking its promise, condemning them for signing the contract voluntarily to send troops to fight against the Northwest Iron Cavalry while secretly deliberately making things difficult and harming the Fifth Princess of the Celestial Dynasty.
This had caused Shangguan Yun, who had come to send the princess in marriage, to die in a foreign land!
The anger that Pin Hao had been accumulating in his chest burst out. He scolded Li Mingyang so severely that Li Mingyang felt ashamed and could only lower his head and grit his teeth, listening silently. At first, he still wanted to defend himself a few times, but later he didn't even dare to make a sound.
When Pin Hao was tired of scolding with his hands on his hips, a servant came to report to the Ninth Prince that General Fei had come.
Hearing this, Li Mingyang felt as if a savior had arrived. He rushed out impatiently, and his hasty steps looked extremely embarrassed.
Outside the door, Wei Dongling put on her ghost - face mask and stood on a tree branch, looking down at everyone. Facing the shrewd and cunning Li Mingyang, she didn't dare to be careless at all, for fear that the truth would be seen through.
Li Mingyang had already been humiliated by Pin Hao's scolding. Coupled with the fact that the two armies had occupied Jiangcheng, he had lost all his former arrogance. He quickly stepped forward, lowered his head, and bowed. "I didn't know that General Fei was coming. Please forgive me for not greeting you from afar!"
Wei Dongling let out a cold snort and waved to Luo Xunlong, who was standing not far away in black clothes.
Luo Xunlong, with a black veil covering his face, stepped forward and bowed. "Your Highness Prince Mingyang, our general came to see you specifically out of the old acquaintance with you. If you have anything to say, say it quickly and then leave!"
Li Mingyang was overjoyed. The fact that General Fei was willing to come out and see him meant that there was room for negotiation. Otherwise, how could these mere 80,000 Xiliang soldiers be a match for the joint forces of the Celestial Dynasty and the Iron Cavalry? Li Mingyang quickly stepped forward to admit his mistake. "General Fei! The death of the Fifth Princess of the Celestial Dynasty was indeed an unintentional mistake of my subordinate. I deeply regret it! I'd like to express my deep apology to you here. I hope that General Fei will withdraw the troops from Jiangcheng for the sake of my sincere repentance!"
Li Mingyang had received the news that it was the death of the Fifth Princess of the Celestial Dynasty that had enraged General Fei. That was why the Northwest Iron Cavalry had joined forces with the Ninth Prince of the Celestial Dynasty and captured the gates of Jiangcheng all the way westward.
Facing the enemy's large - scale army approaching, Li Mingyang was extremely panicked. If there was another war, he would get nothing good. So at this moment, he was even willing to kneel down and submit himself to appease General Fei's anger.
Luo Xunlong gently placed his hand on Li Mingyang's shoulder.
This seemingly gentle touch made Li Mingyang feel as if an invisible pressure was pressing on him so hard that he could hardly breathe, and cold sweat was rolling down his back.
He never thought that this black - veiled man would be that young and gifted man beside Li Lang.
Luo Xunlong said in a sarcastic tone, "General Fei has said that it's not impossible to forgive you!" As he said this, he took out a map of the Xiliang territory from his sleeve and pointed at thirteen cities on it one by one, sneering. "As long as you're willing to cede the land as compensation, we can just turn a blind eye to this matter and let it go!"