Li Rusong thought to himself, "It's not just something amiss; it's extremely strange!"
When he came here today, he met the carriage of Zheng Tingyu, the vice - minister of the Ministry of War, on the street.
As was his usual courtesy, he quickly grabbed the reins of his horse, dismounted, and stood at attention with his hands hanging by his sides, waiting for his superior's carriage to pass.
Who would have thought that Zheng Tingyu would get out of the carriage and keep urging him to go first!
At that time, Zheng Tingyu had a beaming smile on his face and said that his carriage had accidentally bumped into him and asked him not to mind.
Li Rusong was startled.
He almost thought that Zheng Tingyu was possessed!
But what followed was even weirder.
Along the way, more and more people greeted him. There was also a strange phenomenon. Those of lower official ranks treated him as usual, but the higher - ranking officials were more and more polite to him!
When he arrived at General Feng's mansion, the young servant who received him even said with a smile, "General Li, you don't need to be overly polite. You may enter the mansion with your sword."
Li Rusong shivered in fright. He almost thought he had come to the wrong place!
Entering the mansion with a sword...
This was a privilege only available to dukes and above. How could General Feng, who was always so rigid, strict, and had strict military discipline, possibly allow him to do so?
Li Rusong froze for a moment and stammered, "That... that's too embarrassing... I'd better... better disarm like everyone else and go in..."
The servant smiled faintly, neither approving nor disapproving. He just took Li Rusong's sword carefully and put it aside.
When he entered the courtyard, his military colleagues who came with him swarmed up and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Not bad, Li Rusong! When did you catch the eye of the great general who guards the state and get the privilege of entering the mansion with your sword? Why didn't you tell us?"
Li Rusong scratched his head, looking completely bewildered. "I also really want to know..."
They were transferred from Min area and were subordinate to the Jiannan Pacification Commissioner's Office. They were not part of the Northwest Army where Feng Yuanji served at all.
He couldn't figure out at all why General Feng would take a special fancy to him.
He didn't even know General Feng!
His colleagues pushed and jostled him, insisting that they didn't believe him. They still held his shoulders and asked him to come clean.
Just as they were having fun, they suddenly saw Han He, the minister of the Ministry of War, coming. The few of them immediately stopped fooling around, lowered their heads, and bowed with their hands clasped. "Greetings, Minister Han!"
But Han He lifted Li Rusong up and asked with a kind smile, "General Li, has it been hard training the troops recently? You must take good care of your health and don't overwork yourself."
Li Rusong was completely dumbfounded.
This was Han He!
The second - rank minister of the Ministry of War, in charge of the country's military affairs.
Even General Feng would give him some face.
But now... he was expressing concern for him?
Li Rusong touched his forehead, suspecting that he had a fever.
"N - n... not hard..."
Li Rusong's calves were trembling.
After Han He left, his colleagues looked at each other. They no longer dared to make random jokes.
Everyone looked at Li Rusong in a very strange way. They only said a few polite words and then went to their seats. They no longer dared to call Li Rusong brother, leaving him standing there in a daze.
...
After hearing her father's story, Li Wanming clapped her hands and said, "See! I said something was amiss today!"
While they were talking, people around them still kept stealing glances at them.
When they looked over, those people immediately turned around and pretended to be chatting.
Li Wanming bit her lower lip and whispered, "I feel like I'm performing on a stage."
Li Rusong frowned and said with a bitter face, "I feel like I've become a Bodhisattva on a high platform in a temple."
...
"Dad, have you made any meritorious deeds recently? Is the emperor going to promote you?"
"No," Li Rusong said blankly. "I've been training the troops to welcome General Feng recently. I haven't even gone to war. How could I make any meritorious deeds?"
"Then... could it be that you were extremely valiant during the troop - training and General Feng saw you?"
"That's even more impossible."
Li Rusong said, "When General Feng came to the suburban military camp to watch the troop - training on the 25th of last month, he only asked the cavalry under the banner of the Cloud - Charioteer General to step forward and perform three rounds. He didn't even let me take the stage. How could he have seen me?"
Li Wanming pondered. "So, up until the 25th of last month, there was nothing wrong..."
"Girl," Li Rusong suddenly remembered something. "Could it be that your Jinyutang Wine was commended by the emperor and the empress dowager, so people look up to me as well?"
"No." Li Wanming said. "The Chongyang Palace Banquet was on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. If it was because of this, you should have been promoted after the Chongyang Festival. Why was there no sign until the 25th?"
"You're right..."
Both the father and daughter lowered their heads and thought hard. They both felt that this matter was extremely strange. It was simply beyond their comprehension!
...
In the Autumn Curtain Studio of the general's mansion, Feng Yuanji sat upright in the middle. His hair was graying, but his tiger - like eyes were wide open, showing an awe - inspiring presence even without anger.
Even in his regular clothes, the killing aura on him still rushed towards people.
"Your Highness's actions are simply absurd!"
Feng Yuanji slammed his teacup on the table heavily.
Opposite him, the Prince of Ning was sipping his tea unhurriedly. When he saw General Feng getting angry, he slowly put down his teacup and said with a smile, "General, don't be angry. I'm doing this for Jingnan's marriage."
"The people from the Ghost - Crying Path have already come to the door, yet you still let Jingnan live in Pingkangfang, showing himself in public every day and wandering around the streets. Isn't he just a living target?"
Feng Yuanji was both angry and anxious. "Back then, the third young master was so brave that he sneaked into the Anluo camp and assassinated the old king of Anluo..."
"Although we managed to suppress this matter and no one in Anluo knew who did it, Jingnan looks so much like his third brother. They will surely mistake Jingnan for..."
Xiao Jingnan said calmly, "Even if they don't mistake me for my third brother, the younger brother should pay for the elder brother's debts. It's not unfair for them to come to me for revenge. Moreover..."
His fists tightened gradually. "That old king deserved to die!"
When the old king of Anluo was still alive, he had waged war against the Great Sheng Dynasty for decades. There were hundreds of battles large and small, with countless casualties on both sides and rivers of blood.
The eldest and second sons of the Xiao family were captured in a certain battle and later tortured to death by this old king.
Coincidentally, at that time, the Princess of Ning was pregnant with Xiao Jingnan and was about to give birth.
When the news reached the capital, the Princess of Ning was so shocked that she had a miscarriage, which led to Xiao Jingnan's premature birth and his poor health since childhood.
The Princess of Ning was also so heart - broken that she had been bedridden ever since.
So the third young master of the Xiao family went to assassinate the old king, partly for national hatred and partly for family revenge.
It was a pity that after the successful assassination, the third young master of the Xiao family was unfortunately shot on his way back. Although he finally dragged his wounded body back to the Sheng army camp, he still died of his serious injuries that night...
Xiao Jingnan had told Li Wanming about this, but in his story, he replaced the assassin with his father.
Firstly, this matter was very secretive, and it was hard for Li Wanming to find out the truth, so it was easier to hide his father's identity.
Secondly, the death of the three sons of the Xiao family on the battlefield was a great pain in the Xiao family's heart, and he didn't want to mention it.
Thirdly, the people from the Ghost - Crying Path didn't know that his third brother was no longer alive, and they couldn't tell the ages of the brothers clearly. They might mistake the person who assassinated the old king for him... Telling Li Wanming rashly would only make her worried.
"Grandpa Feng, don't worry. If the people from the Ghost - Crying Path really want to cause trouble for me, my current identity as the owner of a wine shop is actually more convenient. Moreover, Father has strengthened the secret guards. There won't be any problem." Xiao Jingnan's expression softened a bit, and he said with a faint smile.
But Feng Yuanji snorted. "In the end, you're still afraid that your wife will find out! Even with more secret guards, is Pingkangfang safer than the prince's mansion? I really don't understand you people. Is your wife more important than your life?"
Xiao Jingnan touched his nose and thought to himself, "If it weren't for this wife, I might have lost my life long ago."