Yu Zhen vaguely felt that she was taken down. She thought Xu Yanchi was going to kill her, but instead, that person put her on the bed and cleaned and dressed her wounds.
"The young master is kind - hearted. That's why the marquis released you. Don't talk nonsense in front of the young master, or you'll be in trouble!"
Yu Zhen was stunned. So it was Xu Chenghui who saved her?
Was it a coincidence, or...
...
Shen Qing was escorted into the dungeon. The King of Jin still had a twitching eyelid and a splitting headache.
He didn't know how a woman could be so troublesome.
Xu He tentatively said, "Your Highness seems very troubled. Is it because of the front - line situation?"
Since the last defeat, he could clearly feel that the king was no longer as close to him as before. It seemed that the king was deliberately avoiding him.
Xu He was also trying hard to turn the situation around.
"No, it's a woman."
Xu He was puzzled. "Who could trouble Your Highness like this?"
The King of Jin was already extremely annoyed and didn't want to talk to the women in his backyard. Now that he had an outlet, he poured out the whole story.
"Mr. Xu, tell me, what should I do?"
Xu He said, "It depends on Your Highness's attitude. I wonder what Your Highness's plan is for this woman?"
"Originally, I wanted to use her to threaten Ji Junye. Later, I thought I could get the Shen family's army behind her. Who would have thought..."
Who would have thought that she would be so audacious even in his territory.
Xu He said, "If it's the former, she's just a hostage, and Your Highness can do whatever you want. If it's the latter..."
"What about the latter?"
Xu He stroked his beard. "If it's the latter, Your Highness has to treat her as an honored guest and make her sincerely submit."
The King of Jin's face looked ugly. It would have been easier to say yesterday. He had just locked Shen Qing in the dungeon, and now if he turned around and released her and treated her as an honored guest, where would he put his dignity?
Previously, he had considered taking Shen Qing into his harem, but in just two days, he gave up this idea. She would beat people at the slightest provocation and set fires when she was a bit aggrieved. He was afraid that before long, his entire backyard would be burned down by her.
Xu He looked at the King of Jin's face. Considering what the king had said about Shen Qing's military achievements, he also tactfully didn't mention taking her into the harem.
Xu He said, "If Your Highness trusts me, you can let me go and persuade her. Women always have their weaknesses. As long as we take the right approach, we don't have to worry about not winning her over."
The King of Jin thought it made sense. "Then I'll leave it to you, Mr. Xu. Do it as soon as possible. If the border situation stabilizes, the Shen family's army will probably march south."
By then, they would have even less chance of winning.
Xu He naturally knew this. It was he who proposed the strategy of cooperating with Xing Shu. As long as there were wars on the northern border and in the south of the Yangtze River at the same time, they could gain the greatest advantage.
Who would have thought that there was a civil strife in Xing Shu, and Yelv Wujie stopped fighting!
It was like a piece of cloth. When it was intact, it was very tough, but once there was a tear, the rest would be easily torn.
Sometimes, luck was also an important part of achieving great things.
He chose to come out of seclusion and follow the King of Jin because he saw great luck in him.
Xu He immediately nodded. "Yes, I'll go to the dungeon later."
Since Xu He had taken on the task, a huge stone in the King of Jin's heart finally fell.
The King of Jin had nothing to say about Xu He's ability, but...
Thinking of something, the King of Jin's face turned ugly again.
But as long as Xu He could win over Shen Qing and the Shen family's army, they still had a chance of winning!
To intimidate Shen Qing, the King of Jin deliberately put her in the cell for male prisoners. There were all kinds of villains inside. Although there were guards, an ordinary woman would have been terrified.
When Xu He found out, he immediately quickened his pace, afraid that it would be too late to make up for it.
But when he rushed to the dungeon, the scene he saw almost made him think it was an illusion.
In the largest cell, Shen Qing was sitting on the straw - covered bed, eyes closed, in meditation. No burly man dared to approach her.
He recognized one of them with a scar on his face. He was the leader of this group, the most belligerent and the most powerful. In a place like the dungeon, the powerful had the right to speak.
But now, the scar - faced man was also sitting quietly on one side, not allowing others to go and disturb...
Xu He had never carefully looked at Shen Qing's face before. Now, taking a closer look, he was shocked.
She had the appearance of a dragon stranded in shallow waters.
At this moment, Xu He only had one thought: this woman must never be offended.
"Open the door quickly."
With a creak, the cell door opened.
Xu He walked in and said with a smile, "Miss Shen, it's been a few days. How have you been?"
Hearing this, Shen Qing opened her eyes. She was a bit surprised to see Xu He. "It's Mr. Xu. May I ask what brings you here?"
"This place is not suitable. I'm here to invite Miss Shen out."
Hearing this, Shen Qing stood up, patted the dust off her body, and said, "Then let's go."
Xu He didn't expect Shen Qing to be so easy - going. He immediately made a gesture of invitation. "After you, Miss Shen."
As soon as Shen Qing left, the cell door was locked again.
"I'm a bit confused. How did Miss Shen make those prisoners so obedient?"
"Because of this." Shen Qing opened her hand, and there was a sharp piece of broken porcelain in her palm, obviously from a broken bowl in the dungeon.
"Just this?"
Shen Qing smiled. "I told them that I definitely couldn't beat all of them, but the first one who came up would definitely have his throat cut by this piece of porcelain."
Xu He shivered involuntarily. "Miss Shen is really joking."
Xu He took Shen Qing to a clean cell. It was really clean, without any strange smell, and there were few people around.
"Is this Mr. Xu's idea?"
Xu He said, "Naturally, it's our king's idea."
"The king had no choice but to punish Miss Shen. Otherwise, with so many people around, how could he silence the gossips?"
"The king has a mind to cherish talents and specially sent me to recruit Miss Shen."
As Xu He was speaking, Shen Qing had already sat on the bed. There were good mattresses under the bed instead of hay.
"Then Mr. Xu may as well go back. I won't agree. Aye won't abandon his kingdom for me, and the Shen family's army won't abandon their long - held beliefs for me either."
Shen Qing shut the door firmly at once.
Fortunately, Xu He had a strong psychological quality. "Miss Shen, don't be so categorical. There's always a possibility, isn't there?"
Suddenly, Shen Qing looked at Xu He. "If I wanted to recruit you, would you agree?"
Xu He said, "I'm living well in the south of the Yangtze River. Naturally, I won't think of switching to someone else."
"I'm the same," Shen Qing said. "Sir should know that one should not do to others what one does not want others to do to oneself."
Xu He was at a loss for words. "Miss Shen is not an ordinary woman. Why should you be trapped by love?"
Shen Qing smiled faintly. "Sorry, I'm just a mundane person."
In the first round, Xu He ended in failure.
But he wouldn't give up so easily.