The sound of horse hooves was neither hasty nor slow, and the general on horseback was calm and unhurried.
Hu Junxian fit every imagination Chen Ji had of a border general. Like a mountain range weathered by tens of thousands of years, he spanned across the vast northwestern land—rugged, magnificent, and steadfast.
Before this, Chen Ji had never seen Hu Junxian's true appearance from up close, but the moment the other party appeared, he was certain: this must be Hu Junxian.
In the dim, narrow street, amidst a dangerous and eerily solemn atmosphere, Chen Ji gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, staring coldly at the other party. It was as if a taut string stretched between them, and with every step the other party took closer, the string was on the verge of snapping.
Suddenly, the Crown Prince, sitting steadily on horseback, said in a gentle voice, "Since coming to Guyuan, this is the first time I've seen General Hu up close. It is a profound honor. I often hear the Grand Secretaries in the Hall of Literary Brilliance say that as long as General Hu is in the Guyuan border town, there is no need to worry too much. Seeing the General's bearing today, it truly inspires admiration in one's heart."
Hu Junxian's warhorse stopped ten paces away from the Crown Prince. He spoke, "Your Highness overly praises me. This Hu actually wishes he wasn't so formidable in the hearts of the Grand Secretaries."
"Oh?" The Crown Prince was puzzled. "What do you mean by that?"
Hu Junxian's voice was as calm as a lake. "If the Grand Secretaries weren't so reassured by me, presumably they would allocate a bit more military ordnance and rations to my Border Army, instead of making the soldiers under my command wear rattan armor, use rusted blades, and treat even ox-sinew bowstrings like priceless treasures. When Jing Dynasty archers march to war, each person carries three bowstrings to prepare for unforeseen needs, while my Guyuan Border Army doesn't even have enough for one per person."
Hearing this, the Crown Prince slowly surveyed the roof ridges all around. However, he saw the archers, draped in rattan armor one by one, with indifferent expressions.
After pondering for a moment, he said, "What I have seen and heard during this trip to Guyuan is indeed shocking. After returning to the capital, I will definitely submit a memorial requesting His Majesty to prepare military ordnance and rations for Guyuan, absolutely not allowing the Border Army soldiers' hearts to turn cold."
Hu Junxian said expressionlessly, "If the Crown Prince can truly petition for military ordnance and rations for the Border Army, this Hu will erect a living shrine for the Crown Prince, burning incense daily and making offerings nightly."
A sudden silence fell between them, and undercurrents surged within the narrow street.
Why did the Border Army appear here? This was the question the Crown Prince wanted to ask the most, but he couldn't, so he could only remain silent.
At this very moment, the hearts of the Feather Forest Army soldiers were already in their throats, deeply afraid that someone would tear away that thin layer of window paper and force the Border Army to commit murder to silence them.
Li Xuan secretly gave a signal with his eyes, and the Feather Forest Army soldiers successively raised their swords to guard beside the Crown Prince's white horse.
The next moment, Zhou You spoke out, "Your Highness, we received a folk report saying someone was hoarding Golden Juice here, so we immediately rushed over to apprehend the rebels. We hurried and hurried, but didn't expect the primary merit to still be snatched by you."
"Hmm?" Everyone's gaze turned toward Zhou You.
The Crown Prince's body relaxed slightly. Following Zhou You's words, he asked, "So the Border Army was already prepared. It seems I made a superfluous move."
Zhou You smiled and explained, "In the twenty-fourth year of Jianing, the Jing Dynasty army arrived at the gates of Guyuan. First, they buried several hundred corpses of cattle and sheep at the source of the Ziwu River in Mount Quwu, and then they threw arsenic into the wells. My Guyuan Border Army was besieged for two full months. Fortunately, reinforcements arrived in time, and we fought a decisive battle with the Jing Dynasty Heavenly Strategy Army at Mount Quwu, winning by a stroke of luck. In the twenty-eighth year of Jianing, the Jing Dynasty tried to play the same old trick again, wanting to pollute the well water in the city with Golden Juice, but they were discovered by us beforehand."
Zhou You continued with a smile, "Ever since then, our Guyuan Border Army planted informants among the arsenic peddlers and night soil collectors to guard against the Jing Dynasty rebels making a comeback."
His explanation was detailed enough. Whether it was true or false, now that a stepping stone was provided, the Crown Prince had to step down.
The Crown Prince said with a smile, "No wonder the Grand Secretaries praise General Hu; you indeed command your troops with proper methods."
General Hu didn't look at the Crown Prince, but instead looked into the Feather Forest Army at the Border Army armored soldier who had been captured by Chen Ji earlier. "Your Highness, what crime did this subordinate of mine commit to justify being escorted by the generals of the Feather Forest Army?"
The Crown Prince weighed his words for a moment and ultimately decided to answer truthfully. "To answer General Hu, earlier we asked him to lead the way to Shache Street, but he deliberately took us to Kule Street and even wanted to come to Shache Street to pass on information. I suspect he is a spy planted in the Border Army by the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Division, so we apprehended him."
Zhou You suddenly said, "Then hand this person over to our Border Army. We will definitely interrogate him carefully and find out the person behind him. Your Highness possesses a noble and precious body, and the Feather Forest Army is the imperial guard; presumably, you are not very familiar with filthy methods like extorting confessions through torture."
Li Xuan's heart jumped in surprise, and he subconsciously turned his head to look at the Crown Prince. Zhou You clearly wanted to murder him to silence him!
If they handed the Border Army armored soldier over to the other party, perhaps the other party would make that armored soldier 'commit suicide out of fear of his crimes' tonight.
But... with dozens of archers lying in ambush on the roof ridges on both sides, and an unknown number of Border Army soldiers hiding outside Shache Street, they had to hand him over.
The next moment, the Crown Prince smiled. "Since that's the case, then hand him over to General Zhou... It's getting late. Shall we leave this place for everyone to clean up?"
Zhou You cupped his hands. "You've worked hard tonight, Your Highness. Please return to the Regional Military Commission to rest early; we can handle things here."
As his words fell, the archers on the roofs lowered their bows and disappeared behind the roof ridges.
The Feather Forest Army's suspended hearts suddenly relaxed, but they also felt a wave of bewilderment: Did the Border Army just let them go like that?
The Crown Prince gently squeezed the horse's belly and slowly rode forward.
In the narrow street, one step, two steps, three steps... The Crown Prince slowly brushed past Hu Junxian and Zhou You. They both kept their heads high and chests out, staring straight ahead, not glancing at each other even once.
After all the Feather Forest Army soldiers had passed by Hu and Zhou, fragmented sounds of horse hooves rang out behind them. Li Xuan knew that this sound was Hu Junxian and Zhou You turning their horses around, currently staring deeply at them from behind with gazes like swords, but he didn't dare turn his head.
From Shache Street to Kule Street, and from Kule Street to Xuwei Alley, everyone in the Feather Forest Army remained silent the entire way. Only after Li Xuan repeatedly confirmed that the Border Army wasn't following did he let out a long sigh of relief.
He looked down and saw that the palm holding his sword hilt was already covered in sweat.
Li Xuan came to the Crown Prince's side and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, the Border Army already has rebellious intentions. They must have definitely colluded with the Jing Dynasty rebels to surrender Guyuan to the Jing Dynasty. If not, how about you follow this subordinate and leave through the secret passage out of Guyuan? This subordinate has asked around; there are two secret passages in Guyuan city. One is in the City God Temple, and the other is in the Longmen Inn. You have a close relationship with Daoist Priest Zhang Li of the Huangshan Daoist Court; the City God will definitely let you borrow the path to leave. When the time comes, we will fight to the death to escort Your Highness back to the capital."
Everyone looked toward the Crown Prince; whether to leave or stay depended on his single thought.
The Crown Prince pondered for a moment, turned his head, and looked at Chen Ji beside him. "What does worthy little brother Chen Ji think?"
Chen Ji said calmly, "No need to leave."
Li Xuan frowned. "Why?"
Chen Ji said casually, "The Border Army hasn't rebelled. At the very least, Hu Junxian doesn't want to rebel."
Qi Zhenzhuo said disdainfully, "Just now, the Border Army was one step away from pointing their arrows at His Highness's forehead, and you say they don't want to rebel? If the Border Army wasn't colluding with the Jing Dynasty, how could they have arrived at Shache Street so quickly? And why did they want to kill the Jing Dynasty rebels to silence them?"
Chen Ji didn't even glance at Qi Zhenzhuo. "If Hu Junxian wanted to rebel, why would he need a method like polluting wells with Golden Juice? Wouldn't opening the city gates directly be more convenient? There might be people within the Border Army who want to rebel, but it's definitely only a minority. There are certainly some things we don't know mixed in here, which is why the situation appears so confusing and complicated."
Qi Zhenzhuo said in a grave voice, "If the Border Army takes His Highness hostage, can you bear this responsibility?"
The Crown Prince smiled and said, "I know you are all doing your utmost. Now is the time to pool our wisdom and efforts; do not let rifts form. What Chen Ji said makes some sense. If Hu Junxian wanted to rebel, he wouldn't have let us leave just now. Put your hearts back into your stomachs and quietly watch how things develop. As for fleeing through the secret passage, do not mention it again."
Li Xuan said urgently, "Your Highness..."
The Crown Prince interrupted, "General Li, if I were a commoner, I could naturally prioritize preserving my life in troubled times. But I am the Crown Prince of a nation. My life can be forfeited, but I absolutely will not compromise my integrity."
Li Xuan sighed with emotion, "For our Ning Dynasty to have such a Crown Prince, it is a blessing to the nation."
The Feather Forest Army crowded forward, their morale soaring. "We swear to defend Your Highness's safety to the death!"
While talking, the crowd returned to the front of the Regional Military Commission.
The Crown Prince turned his head and said, "By the way, worthy little brother Chen Ji, where are Zhang Zheng and Second Miss Zhang right now? In a while, General Li will dispatch people to bring them back to the Regional Military Commission... Where is he?"
Li Xuan abruptly turned his head. Earlier, while they were expressing their loyalty and flattering, Chen Ji had silently retreated to the back of the contingent. But now, where was Chen Ji's shadow behind them?
...
...
Qiuci Street, Longmen Inn.
The shopkeeper stood behind the counter, auditing the day's account books.
Little Six leaned diagonally against the counter, yawning in profound boredom. "Shopkeeper, the day after tomorrow is New Year's Eve. How do you plan to spend it?"
The shopkeeper didn't raise his head. "I'm not spending it."
Little Six rolled his eyes. "Then is our inn closing for the holidays?"
The shopkeeper cast a sidelong glance at him. "What, you don't even have a family and you're thinking about New Year's Eve? You can't even get a wife; just stay honestly in the shop and work. Right now, all sorts of monsters and demons have descended upon Guyuan city, and you still want to close? It's plain to see that the biggest business deals are happening in these next few days."
Little Six let out a dejected 'Oh'.
The shopkeeper closed the account books, looked up, and stretched his neck. "Tonight, send away the fat sheep in Earth Room C and Earth Room G. Remember to send them separately. If I see you slacking off again, I'll smash your head open. Also, be more nimble when you work. Last time, a corrugated black gauze hat was left discarded in the stable, almost being seen by someone! Be careless again, and I'll still smash your head open!"
Little Six shrank his neck. "Understood!"
The shopkeeper gazed out the window absent-mindedly. "Who knows where the Boss is right now? Is she doing well or not."
Little Six twisted his mouth and muttered quietly, "Who~ knows~ if~ the~ Boss~ is~ doing~ well~ or~ not~"
Smack
, the shopkeeper slapped the back of his head. "Get out of the way."
At this time, the thick cotton door curtain was lightly pushed aside. Chen Ji entered carrying a gust of cold wind, standing at the door and patting off the dust.
Little Six hurried over and used the white cloth draped over his shoulder to help him brush off the dust, casually inquiring, "The guest went out in the evening and only came back in the middle of the night. Did you go handle an urgent matter?"
Chen Ji smiled. "If you want to spy for information, you have to use silver to buy it."
Little Six laughed awkwardly. "I was just casually asking..."
The shopkeeper looked over from a distance behind the counter and asked casually, "Guest, will you place a jar tomorrow?"
Chen Ji thought for a moment. "Strong Distilled Liquor, open a jar. It's also a good chance to taste what this Guyuan Strong Distilled Liquor tastes like."
The shopkeeper abruptly narrowed his eyes.
Open a jar? That meant he was going to sell earth-shattering information!