Chapter 91: Lustful Yet Cowardly |
Song Shi'an and Xinyue rode their horses at the head of a two-hundred-strong cavalry unit.
"This trip—is it really as free of danger as you claim?" Xinyue asked.
"Whether there's danger or not depends on what we're trying to accomplish," Song Shi'an replied.
"Then there's definitely some danger."
With that response, Xinyue roughly understood the level of risk involved in this operation.
Though in terms of significance, it wasn't all that great.
Langya was five stars; this mission was three stars at most.
But in terms of danger level, Langya was three stars while this one was a full five stars.
After all, no matter how powerful General Luo was, he was ultimately a general of Great Yu. With the Sixth Prince present, their lives could be preserved.
Moreover, the arrow was already on the bowstring—it had to be released.
"Besides, who says Duke Wang is completely without options regarding my arrival?" Revealing a smile, Song Shi'an looked at Xinyue and said, "Even if he doesn't kill me, he could simply detain me."
"..."
Xinyue's heart immediately sank.
Indeed, if that happened, firstly he wouldn't completely fall out with the Sixth Prince, and secondly he could maintain a certain degree of initiative.
The Sixth Prince needed Song Shi'an badly right now. If they forcibly attacked the stronghold, Wang Shen could use his life as leverage.
"We need to go back."
Xinyue pulled on the reins, immediately stopping her horse and staring at Song Shi'an with utmost seriousness.
Originally, she had been persuaded by Song Shi'an's arguments.
But now that she realized Wang Shen had even better options available, this operation had become filled with uncertainty.
"I've already come out here—how could I possibly go back?"
Song Shi'an wouldn't accept that. He refused outright.
"According to what you said, I could accomplish this task alone. There's absolutely no need for you to go," Xinyue wasn't joking with Song Shi'an.
"Only if I go can we achieve our objective. We were never just about mindless slaughter—we want to gain as much support as possible." Song Shi'an said, "Besides, how is it that you can die but I can't come along with you?"
"To the Sixth Prince, you're more important than me," Xinyue said.
"You really..."
Song Shi'an was somewhat amazed by the loyalty of these death-sworn warriors, but what came out of his mouth was: "Has our relationship already gotten this good?"
"That's not what I mean." Xinyue said, "You pulled all of Northern Liang into this. If you die now, then later many more people will die in vain."
That was true enough.
Xinyue seemed to always subscribe to the 'people's historical view.'
Regarding nobles, loyal ministers, and even soldiers, she had never hesitated. The moment something went wrong, her first thought was 'should we kill them?' But when it came to ordinary citizens, she always showed considerable favoritism.
She really did have a bit of that wandering hero feeling.
"Then let me tell you—this time I'm going precisely so that fewer people will die. Once we resolve the problem of the clan bandits, all of Northern Liang will be united in purpose. Of course, Ji Yuan will unite the hearts of the people north of the river, while His Highness will unite the hearts of those south of the river."
"But what if you're detained?" Xinyue asked.
"No, as long as we follow the plan, I won't be detained," Song Shi'an said seriously. "Your life and mine are tied together by one rope. As long as we cooperate well, we'll live together. Only if something goes wrong will we die together."
"So you won't make any mistakes?" Xinyue asked.
"Of course not—I'm just moving my lips. What mistakes could there be?"
"Then I understand."
Lowering her head, Xinyue took a shallow breath with her eyes closed, then opened them: "Then let's go."
In other words, Song Shi'an's life was in her hands.
As long as she didn't have any problems, it would be fine.
She didn't know why this guy trusted her so much...
Similarly, Xinyue didn't know why she trusted him so much either.
The cavalry continued their advance.
Finally, they reached the large forest directly south of Wang Shen's fortified stronghold.
"Everyone, wait here. Don't show yourselves, don't move around carelessly. If you encounter outsiders, shoot them dead immediately," Song Shi'an ordered.
All the cavalry nodded in unison, their expressions solemn.
Then Song Shi'an continued: "When the shadows are shortest, everyone take out the flags you're holding and ride your horses around the stronghold, mainly running in front of the front and rear gates. Tie a wooden branch to each horse's tail."
This time, Song Shi'an had brought two hundred cavalry. He also had two hundred flags bearing the Wei character.
With this small force of light cavalry, attacking the stronghold would basically be suicide.
Therefore, that wasn't their purpose.
After settling everyone in position, Song Shi'an and Xinyue rode their horses together into the forest.
Their vision immediately darkened.
Bird calls surrounded them on all sides.
The birds chirped incessantly at these two uninvited guests.
"That Wang Shen is quite different from Duke Zhang," Song Shi'an said. "Though he's also considered a powerful clan, he lacks much of the refinement. Relatively speaking, he's easier to deal with."
That day, Song Shi'an had disparaged Duke Zhang quite severely, saying he was worthless and hurting the old man's heart, but in reality, he truly wasn't bad.
Even if he didn't count as a final boss behind the scenes, he at least had the strength of a mid-level boss—definitely not as weak as an elite monster.
He probably ranked at the level of a minor boss.
This Wang Shen couldn't compare.
Mainly, his dependents were stronger.
The so-called clan bandits were clan alliances that banded together. Besides having fortified strongholds for self-defense against mountain bandits, refugees, and small warlord forces, they also possessed private soldiers where everyone could fight.
It was like going to the Golden Triangle—even a seemingly unremarkable child might be a killer with several lives on their hands.
An old woman might be drying tofu one second, then pull out a hammer the next.
Of course, if you talked about actual combat ability, that was another matter.
A hundred armored Forbidden Army soldiers entering the city could slaughter everyone inside and still have half their force remaining.
The hardest part was that first step of entering the city.
"Also, compared to Duke Zhang, Wang Shen has one more fatal weakness."
"I know," Xinyue said expressionlessly. "Lust."
Song Shi'an smiled: "Exactly. For a man, this is a fatal weakness."
Hearing this, Xinyue looked at Song Shi'an and couldn't help but say: "You seem to have this weakness too."
"Huh?"
Song Shi'an was momentarily stunned.
"Don't you frequently go to pleasure houses to listen to music?"
"Mind your own business!"
How ridiculous—that other Xiao Song's hobbies, what do they have to do with me, this Xiao Song?
"Let's stop here."
Just as they were about to emerge from the forest, Song Shi'an dismounted and tethered his horse to a tree. Then he took down the white staff from his mount and held it in his hand.
Xinyue also dismounted and took down a bundle.
When she opened it, inside was a set of pink ceremonial robes.
"I'll go out first. You can change here," Song Shi'an said.
"No need."
Xinyue said without any concern.
"That works too."
Seeing that she wasn't being coy at all, Song Shi'an didn't deliberately avoid her.
The two of them just looked at each other like that.
After a long moment, Xinyue pressed her lips together.
"...Oh, oh, you should have said something! That's definitely not what I meant."
Song Shi'an turned around, holding the ceremonial staff, completely facing away from her.
Behind him, Xinyue untied her belt and slowly removed the plain, somewhat androgynous robe she wore, slipping it off. Standing slightly on her toes, she draped it over the horse's back.
Then she put on the pink, soft silk formal gown.
The cool fabric slid across her skin.
"Done."
A voice still without any tonal variation came from behind Song Shi'an.
"That was fast."
He turned around in surprise, then froze in the next instant.
This exquisite feminine outfit appeared on her body without a single flaw.
He had originally thought that with her solid and tough physique, it would look somewhat awkward.
After all, this was a female lead who had ridden thousands of li on horseback without any reaction whatsoever.
"What's wrong?" Xinyue asked.
"Your hair," Song Shi'an reminded her.
"Oh." Xinyue undid her high ponytail.
Her jet-black hair cascaded down.
Song Shi'an froze again.
"What now?" Xinyue's tone grew slightly impatient.
"What do you mean 'what now'? I didn't say anything," Song Shi'an also felt exasperated, but not wanting to waste more time, after a brief appraisal he suggested: "Smile."
Xinyue's brow furrowed slightly, then the corners of her mouth lifted a small amount, but she quickly pulled them back down.
"You need to really smile. Don't be all cold and icy making people think you're an assassin—Wang Shen will be on guard," Song Shi'an urged. "Relax your face and smile."
Doing her best to relax her face, Xinyue once again smiled in vain.
"Can you even smile?"
"I'm going back."
After being criticized like this, Xinyue turned around directly.
"Hey! You're going back—"
Song Shi'an grabbed her hand directly and pulled her back.
Then, looking at this woman who truly couldn't smile, he simply gave up: "Fine, fine, let's go, let's go."
"You're really troublesome."
.........
"Duke Wang, Wei Wusheng has sent someone!"
In the great hall, Wang Shen was savoring wine and watching servant girls perform song and dance when the chief steward rushed in, speaking somewhat urgently.
The wine cup in his hand immediately fell over in panic, startling the beautiful women before him. He also rose in shock, waving his hands: "Out, everyone out."
All the women left.
Then he began pacing in place, muttering uneasily: "Could it be that the letter really was intercepted by Wei Wusheng's people?"
"Most likely. Those two haven't returned after all this time," the steward said.
"Then if they're coming now, they come with ill intent?" Looking up, Wang Shen asked, "How many troops are outside?"
"Just two people," the steward said.
"Two people?" This time he relaxed somewhat. "Looks like they're not here to fight—they want to negotiate."
"We can't negotiate. If we try to hedge our bets now, His Majesty won't spare us either," the steward said. "At a time like this, what we must avoid most is betting on both sides."
"Then what official rank is the person who came?"
"A county magistrate."
"A county magistrate?"
"But not an ordinary county magistrate," the steward said. "It's that Song Shi'an who's gained some fame recently."
"Oh, him."
Wang Shen knew of this person. However, because the city gates were tightly sealed, he still didn't know about the events in Shuofeng. But the gossip from within Sheng'an had long since spread everywhere.
Thinking of this, he grew worried again: "He even scolded that Minister Sun. If he comes in and I can't out-argue him, what will we do?"
"At this time we shouldn't fall out with Wei Wusheng. If we just drive them back directly, it would be somewhat lacking in decorum..." the steward speculated. "Besides, he brought a woman in fine robes. It seems Wei Wusheng wants to show goodwill?"
"A woman in fine robes?"
Hearing this, Wang Shen's eyes lit up, his smile turning lewd and oily as he asked with considerable anticipation: "What does she look like?"
To this question, the steward answered earnestly: "Extremely beautiful."