When the Grand Princess spoke, Wutong immediately halted her steps, waiting for General Shen to respond.
Shen Quan abruptly turned around:
“Fifty thousand cavalry? The Little Prince of the Northern Barbarians has brought out his entire family fortune. No wonder Your Highness intends to attack the Northern Barbarians’ Royal Court. With their domestic forces depleted, it is the perfect opportunity to employ the strategy of ‘besieging Wei to rescue Zhao’ and ‘pulling the firewood from under the cauldron.'”
Su Fengyi increasingly felt that conversing with General Shen was effortless—the cost of explanation was low, as one sentence from him carried the weight of three. She continued:
“Xinghe is only a hundred li from Xuanfu, and Xuanfu is merely three hundred li from the capital. A fast horse can travel from dawn to dusk.
General Shen, tell me, if the Shen family were gone, could the current garrison at Xuanfu hold him off?”
In the twenty years since the Grand Ancestor ascended the throne, to eliminate future threats for his sons, nearly all the generals who followed the Grand Ancestor in founding the empire—except for the Shen family—were wiped out by him.
After the Late Emperor ascended the throne, he focused on recuperation and rarely engaged in warfare. Many military households returned to farming, tending the fields during peacetime and fighting in wars when needed. Over the years, their combat effectiveness had long since diminished.
Currently, in the Great Mu Dynasty, the strongest combat forces were concentrated in two places: the Border Army, which had the most practical experience, and the Imperial Guard, which had the best equipment.
Shen Quan mentally reviewed the military officers in the capital:
“It is not out of arrogance, but if the Shen family perishes, among the military officers in the capital, it would be difficult to find anyone capable of opposing the Little Prince of the Northern Barbarians.
What I do not understand is this: he invites the wolf into the house but has no way to drive it out. Wouldn’t that be like drawing water with a bamboo basket—all effort in vain, merely making a wedding dress for someone else? Why would he do such a thing?”
Su Fengyi smiled:
“What if he obtains Shen He?”
Shen Quan’s gaze sharpened as he looked at Su Fengyi. Su Fengyi met his gaze with unwavering resolve. Shen Quan suddenly understood:
“So that’s how it is.”
Su Fengyi nodded:
“Exactly so.”
Wutong stood to the side, listening to the cryptic exchange between General Shen and the Grand Princess, only half-comprehending.
She was the maid who attended to the Grand Princess’s daily needs. When it came to guessing what the Grand Princess wanted to eat, wear, or play with for the day, she could usually figure it out eight or nine times out of ten without needing explicit instructions, preparing everything in advance.
But asking her to guess who “he” was or what “this” meant—she couldn’t fathom it at all.
If Xie Xuan were here, he would surely understand.
In the past, when the Grand Princess only cared about eating, drinking, and having fun, Wutong had never felt so at a loss.
Now, however, a sense of crisis suddenly rose within her. She was frustrated that she couldn’t even guess such things—how could she possibly know the Grand Princess’s innermost desires? And if she didn’t know the Grand Princess’s desires, how could she be the Grand Princess’s foremost personal maid?
On top of that, she hadn’t yet uncovered the origins of the intruder who broke into the princess’s residence today. Failing to handle matters properly one after another, Wutong, being ambitious and driven, couldn’t help but feel somewhat disheartened and anxious. She worried that the Grand Princess might no longer entrust her with important tasks in the future.
After silently escorting General Shen back to his quarters, the kitchen came to report:
“Miss, the Jiangnan Eighteen Banquet is ready. Where should it be delivered?”
In the past, the Gui Kitchen was specifically reserved for the consort. The Grand Princess found the dishes from the Gui Kitchen too sweet and cloying, so she rarely had them prepare meals for herself.
The consort seldom visited the princess’s residence. Despite spending so much manpower, resources, and effort to bring a renowned Jiangnan chef—selected from a hundred candidates—thousands of li from the south, he had been left idle for a long time.
He could only wait for occasions like today, when the master happened to remember him, to finally showcase his skills and prepare these optional, perhaps ultimately untasted, little pastries.
Wutong thought that if the consort came to the princess’s residence, the pastries made by Chef Gui should be sent to him. Now that the consort was not here, they should naturally be sent to the princess. Surely they wouldn’t be sent to General Shen, would they?
General Shen didn’t seem like someone who enjoyed pastries.
But the words “send them to the study” lingered on the tip of her tongue before she forcefully suppressed them. Relying on her intuition, Wutong instructed:
“First, send them to General Shen. Then prepare another portion and deliver it to the study.”
It was well-known throughout the Eldest Princess’s Residence that the Grand Princess was impatient and disliked waiting. How could the kitchen dare to keep the Grand Princess waiting? That would be akin to courting death.
As soon as the head chef received the Grand Princess’s order for a late-night snack, he halted all other tasks and gathered the entire kitchen staff to assist Chef Gui.
Some kneaded dough, others washed rice, and still others cleaned beans. Various types of flour, rice, and beans were laid out across the kitchen, all prepared for Chef Gui’s use.
For the lotus flower pastries alone, Chef Gui had mixed seven or eight shades of pink, ranging from light to dark, and fried at least a full basketful.
So when Wutong ordered that both portions be delivered, it posed no difficulty for the kitchen. Not only could they easily produce another portion, but even ten or eight more would be effortless. In fact, if the Grand Princess were to host guests today, there would be enough to set out a feast.
Chef Gui made each pastry bite-sized, selecting the most evenly colored and perfectly shaped ones—four of each variety—and arranged them delicately on a plate. He then packed them into a food box and had several kitchen attendants promptly deliver it to the study for the Grand Princess.
Following the same method, he prepared another full set from the remaining pastries, packed it into a food box, and sent it to the bedchamber for General Shen.
Thus, by the time Wutong went to report back to the Grand Princess, Su Fengyi had already received a full set of the Jiangnan Eighteen Banquet.
Thinking the kitchen had made a mistake, Su Fengyi said to Wutong:
“Send it to General Shen.”
Wutong was immensely grateful for her earlier intuition. Had she misunderstood her mistress’s intention and only sent the pastries to the study, how awkward would it have been to take what had already been presented to the Grand Princess and send it to the general?
That would have been a terribly clumsy way to handle the matter.
Wutong stepped forward with a smile and said:
“How could we possibly shortchange General Shen? It was sent over long ago.
This portion was specially reserved for Your Highness by the kitchen.”
As long as General Shen had his share, all was well. Otherwise, if Shen He didn’t get to eat it after being promised, he might throw a tantrum.
It was her own fault for not giving clear instructions, but Wutong had understood on her own. Su Fengyi praised her appreciatively:
“Well done. Has Xie Xuan returned? If he has, tell him to come to the study to see me.”
Upon hearing this, Wutong thought to herself: It’s so late, yet Her Highness is specifically waiting for Thousand Household Xie. It’s clear she still has important matters to attend to. Since she hasn’t assigned any tasks to me, it must be something I’m incapable of handling.
She could only lament her inability to assist in such serious matters. Looking at the Jiangnan Eighteen Banquet, which Chef Gui had put immense effort into but the Grand Princess hadn’t even tasted, Wutong felt as useless as that plate of pastries.
A sense of gloom settled in Wutong’s heart, and a trace of unease inadvertently showed on her face, which Su Fengyi noticed.
Su Fengyi had been drawing a map of the underground palace at Shennü Lake but paused her brush upon seeing Wutong’s troubled expression. She asked:
“What’s wrong? Has something happened?”
The Grand Princess rarely showed such concern, and Wutong was not one to hesitate. She replied immediately:
“If only I could be like Thousand Household Xie and share Your Highness’s burdens.”
Su Fengyi instantly understood the unspoken meaning behind her words and was somewhat surprised:
“You’ve seen Xie Xuan handle affairs. The methods of the Imperial Guard are always stained with blood, as you well know. Yet you are not afraid?”
Wutong was filled with longing:
“This servant is not afraid. This servant only regrets being useless, unable to wield such methods.”
“This servant does not wish to be a useless, worthless trifle. I aspire to follow the example of Commander Xie, to become a useful blade in Your Highness’s hand.”