All the women of the Sixteen Yanyun Tribes...
Sheng Jiangli covered his mouth and stared at Song Yinghuai for a long while before saying, "You're crazy."
Song Yinghuai narrowed his eyes slightly and let out a low chuckle from the depths of his throat. "Didn't you say you were smitten? Since you're smitten, you should spare no expense to achieve your goal."
Sheng Jiangli's eyes flickered, and he also let out a low laugh. "The Sixteen Yanyun Tribes of the Tatars have an army of three hundred thousand, while my Huqi Camp in Kaiping only has thirty thousand men. Is His Highness the Prince of Yan asking me to go to my death?"
"You don't have to go. I'm not forcing you to go to your death. It's just a woman. If General Sheng thinks it's not worth it, then don't go. But from now on, don't tell me you're smitten again, and give up the idea of exchanging for Caiyu."
Sheng Jiangli: ...
After a while, the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably. His swollen lips formed a comical smile. "His Highness the Prince of Yan wants all the women of the Sixteen Yanyun Tribes in exchange for Caiyu. It seems that Caiyu weighs quite heavily in Your Highness's heart!"
"If that's the case, why don't you lead the troops yourself?"
A gleam flashed in Song Yinghuai's eyes, and his smile was as faint as a gentle breeze. "My Yan army only has two hundred thousand men. The odds are against us... If you don't want to go to your death, do you think I do?"
Sheng Jiangli: "Cough! Your chance of dying is much smaller than mine... You can always give it a try. Your Highness is the God of War of Daye. You've won several battles against the Tatars with fewer troops. Why be so modest, Your Highness?"
Song Yinghuai pursed his thin lips and said meaningfully, "It's easy to win a battle with fewer troops on the battlefield, but it's hard to guard against someone stabbing you in the back. Seven years ago, his men secretly poisoned me during the Battle of Nao'erhai, which left me trapped by the love gu for life. Now that you, my trusted subordinate, are still in Yanjing, if I start a war, won't I be attacked from both the front and the back?"
"Didn't he instruct you to lead the Huqi Camp into the pass to hold me back from sending troops?"
A look of embarrassment flashed across Sheng Jiangli's handsome face. He stared at Song Yinghuai in surprise with his eyes wide open. "Your Highness the Prince of Yan doesn't have to be so straightforward. You've said it so bluntly that I feel embarrassed."
Now that Song Yinghuai had laid everything bare, he lost his patience with this smiling Sheng Jiangli.
He stopped talking, leaped into the air, and disappeared into the distance.
Sheng Jiangli rubbed his swollen lips and stared thoughtfully at the direction where Song Yinghuai had disappeared.
After a while, he slowly walked over to meet Huang Shan.
Huang Shan was sitting bored in a teahouse outside Yannan Lake. When he saw Sheng Jiangli coming, he said angrily, "You said you were going to the middle of the lake to gather information and asked me to wait here. I saw the painted boat had already docked, and the people had left for a while. Where did you go? You made me wait here so long!"
Sheng Jiangli took his finger off his lips and showed a smile. "I'm sorry, Lord Huang. Just now, I saw a beautiful lady under the bridge. I couldn't help but go and talk to her for a while. I made you wait so long."
Huang Shan's eyebrows twitched. "Hey! General Sheng is really a romantic... Hmm? Your lips?"
"The beauty has a fiery temper. She bit me hard when we kissed." Sheng Jiangli rubbed his lips and poured himself a cup of rough tea and gulped it down.
He was really thirsty after the fight just now.
Huang Shan burst out laughing. All his boredom from waiting here was dispelled by Sheng Jiangli's words. "Hahaha! General Sheng is really an interesting person... No wonder I heard that you saved that extremely beautiful maid as soon as you entered the Prince of Yan's Mansion."
Huang Shan rolled his eyes. "Does General Sheng still like Caiyu? Maybe I can ask the prince for her to serve you..."
Sheng Jiangli slammed the cup on the table with a "clank". A hint of killing intent flashed across his eyebrows, and then he resumed his smiling face. "That would be great. Then I'll thank you in advance, Lord Huang."
Asking Shu'er to serve him...
Sheng Jiangli's eyes flashed. It wasn't a bad idea. This Huang Shan liked to cause trouble. Let him cause trouble then.
Anyway, he was looking for his own death. Then he couldn't blame him for not saving him.
No matter how prosperous Yanjing was, it was still a bitter and cold place in the north. After staying here for two days, Huang Shan became impatient and asked:
"I said General Sheng, can I announce the imperial edict summoning the Prince of Yan to the capital now?"
Sheng Jiangli raised his eyebrows. "Wait a little longer."
"Wait again?" Huang Shan complained dissatisfiedly. "The weather in Yanjing is too dry. If I stay here any longer, my fair face will be covered with wrinkles. When I go back and see the ladies in the palace, they won't like me anymore!"
"We agreed that the imperial edict would be announced as soon as we entered the capital. Now you're asking me to wait again. What do you mean?"
Huang Shan looked at him suspiciously. "You're not because you want to spend more time with Caiyu, are you? If you're afraid of being separated from that little maid when escorting the Prince of Yan back to Shangjing, I'll let you take her with you. Wouldn't it be even more enjoyable for you to defile the prince's woman in front of him?"
Sheng Jiangli: ... He wasn't as perverted as Huang Shan.
Moreover, where did this Huang Shan get the confidence to think that Song Yinghuai would be easily captured?
Sheng Jiangli looked at his feminine and snake-like face and said patiently:
"At the beginning, we agreed that you were supposed to enter the capital today, leaving time for me to deploy troops at all the city gates in Yanjing and investigate the escape tunnels in the Prince of Yan's Mansion and other places in Yanjing... Now you failed to hold the prince back, and you were sent into Yanjing two days earlier by the prince. I didn't have enough time to make the arrangements!"
"If you're in a hurry to announce the imperial edict, this is his territory. If he defies the imperial edict, Lord..." Sheng Jiangli leaned closer to Huang Shan and made a beheading gesture. "Two hundred thousand Yan troops are stationed outside Shanhaiguan. They can arrive in one day. Are you sure we won't lose our heads?"
Huang Shan stood there stiffly, feeling a chill from head to toe. He stammered uncertainly:
"The emperor commands the subject to die, and the subject has to die... He, he, he won't defy the imperial edict, will he?"
"If you're sure he won't defy the imperial edict, then go and announce the imperial edict tomorrow." Sheng Jiangli put his arm around Huang Shan's thin shoulder and said with a smile, "I've checked the almanac for you, Lord. Tomorrow is a good day. It's suitable for announcing imperial edicts and for burials!"
Huang Shan: ...
"I'll still listen to General Sheng..."
---
After Song Yinghuai leaped away, Zhu Xiao and Han Fen came forward to meet him.
Zhu Xiao said, "At the beginning, we agreed that as soon as Huang Shan entered the capital, we would kill him. It's already been two days. Why haven't we taken action yet?"
"I know you sent Jiang Jinyue to be tortured by Huang Shan to avenge Caiyu. Now Jiang Jinyue has been tortured enough by Huang Shan, and Huang Shan has already sent someone to send the list for the palace selection to Shangjing. This matter is a foregone conclusion, and everything is settled. It's time for us to take action, right?"
Mentioning Caiyu, Song Yinghuai remembered the reaction of that girl when she heard that he wanted her to arrange the two girls. There was an indescribable emotion in the depths of his eyes. He pondered for a moment and said:
"Wait a little longer."
Zhu Xiao exclaimed in surprise, "Wait again? You're not going to wait until he announces the imperial edict and then cut off his head on the spot, are you? That's not a good idea... If just one person escapes from Yanjing, the charge of defying the imperial edict and plotting rebellion will be known to the world."
"I forced Huang Shan to enter the capital in advance. Sheng Jiangli didn't have enough time to deploy troops. They won't announce the imperial edict so soon."
Song Yinghuai gave a brief explanation and asked Han Fen, "Where's Caiyu?"
Han Fen replied, "Miss Caiyu took Miao Yi and Miss Yun Ling and walked ahead. They went to a silk shop."
She really took people to make new clothes.
She was quite generous. She looked like a sensible maid!
Zhu Xiao twitched the corner of his mouth. "Who exactly planted Miao Yi and Yun Ling? How can we investigate? You're not going to let them be your big maids like you did with Caiyu, are you? Or... make them your concubines?"
Song Yinghuai's expression was obscure and difficult to discern. His voice was gentle and slow, making it hard to fathom his inner thoughts:
"That depends on how Caiyu arranges it."