Chapter 23: Conquering Yanshan Prefecture (Part 2)

  Zhao Kan looked at the map with a frown, believing that soon on the east bank of the river, the Western Route Army of the Jin army would be led by Zong Han, leaving Datong, along Shu and Wu, directly attacking Bianzhou. The people of Hedong would live in the midst of the Jin country's crazy plundering and killing, but Zhao Kan could only watch with his eyes open, unable to change anything.

  At this moment, a personal soldier came to report: "Report to the palace, there is someone visiting, claiming to be an old acquaintance of the palace." However, the expression on this personal soldier's face was somewhat strange. Zhao Yin thought to himself, only a few people knew that the leader of the Imperial Guard had arrived here, but most of those who knew had either left Bianjing or were busy with important matters, so it was really impossible to guess who this old acquaintance could be. Without thinking or considering, Zhao Yin said to the personal soldier: "Please come in."

  When the curtain was lifted, Zhao Yi's expression was stunned. A slender-waisted woman with a beautiful face and wearing brocade clothes appeared in front of him, holding a pure white fox in her arms. This person was Tang Yuwei, who had met Feng Huang once before. Tang Yuwei said coquettishly: "Your Highness is really making me search hard, not even coming to greet me."

  "I don't know how you found me at Feng Huang Lou." Zhao Jian said calmly. In fact, Zhao Jian didn't hold out much hope that Tang Yuwei would reveal the method she used to track him down.

  "It's actually very simple, have you seen the little cutie I'm holding? He can track down Luo Shen Sha's aura. And oh, that Luo Shen Sha will merge into the body and cannot be removed by just changing clothes and bathing, unfortunately it only has a half-year effect." After finishing speaking, she found a comfortable place to lie down, her posture was very enticing, Zhao Jin's face turned slightly red as he looked away, Zhao Jin also knew that people who had improper thoughts about Tang Yuwei mostly died unnatural deaths, let alone Zhao Jin didn't have that kind of close feeling towards Tang Yuwei.

  Tang Yuwei lazily leaned against her own back, facing Zhao Xiao, and smiled: "Young Master is now a celebrity in Bianjing City, the dream lover of many young girls."

  Zhao Yan didn't respond, walking to the edge of the map and stopping to carefully examine the military map, thinking about his next strategic move. Tang Yuwei saw that Zhao Yan was ignoring her and didn't mind, speaking in a warm and charming tone: "My Feng Huang Lou has a base at the Yan Shan Fu government office, would you like accurate intelligence?"

  "Really?" Zhao Ze excitedly ran over to ask. Although Liang Fangxu had successfully mixed in, the military camp was relatively far away, and if something happened, once Guo Yao Shi controlled the army's power, even if Liang Fangxu had 5,000 people, he would not be able to change the overall situation. But Zhao Ze suddenly felt a shock in his heart, his every move had actually escaped the eyes of Feng Huang Lou, who was the internal traitor? All the people close to him flashed through Zhao Ze's mind, and he really couldn't believe that someone by his side had been betraying him all along, who was helping Feng Huang Lou.

  The door of the tent was suddenly lifted, and Wu Caiyun rushed in, panting. Today, she heard someone say that a beautiful woman had come to find Zhao Yun. At first, she didn't think much of it, but when she heard someone outside whispering that the woman had stayed in Zhao Yun's large tent for a long time, Wu Caiyun couldn't sit still anymore. People are most afraid of wild thoughts, especially after getting a direction to associate with, Wu Caiyun really couldn't hold back and rushed towards the central military tent.

  Wu Caiyun saw Zhao Jian and Tang Yuwei standing together in a very ambiguous manner (psychological effect). In fact, Tang Yuwei only saw the back of Zhao Jian and was lying down in a very ambiguous manner. Wu Caiyun was furious and slammed the door, tears streaming down her face all the way, Zhao Jian secretly called out "oh no", hastily chasing after her, when he finally caught up with Wu Caiyun before she could explain, Zhao Jian only felt a burning sensation on his face, Wu Caiyun stared blankly at her slightly red hand, wanting to go forward and see how badly she had hit Zhao Jian, but thinking of the scene earlier, tears still welled up in her eyes, turned around and ran into the camp.

  Zhaoyan was beaten until he was a bit dizzy, but Zhaoyan still gently said to Wu Caixia inside the tent: "You misunderstood, I know that now whatever I say you won't listen, calm down first, I'll come back and explain." Zhaoyan sighed, turned around and left. Wu Caixia suppressed her urge to run out and leave Zhaoyan behind, when Zhaoyan was gone, she sat on the ground with her hands clasped around her knees, secretly crying.

  Zhao Yun's heart was gloomy, and he had no desire to return to the main tent. As he walked, he inadvertently arrived at the entrance of the military camp. Zhao Yun sat down on a large stone, waiting to see if there were any urgent military affairs from Yanshan Prefecture. No matter what his mood was like, he couldn't miss the military information sent by Liang Fangxu of Yanshan Prefecture.

  "Your Highness, Your Highness, it's not good!" Zhao Yun's personal soldier Hou Yi ran to Zhao Yun's side, panting.

  "What's the hurry? Don't be anxious, speak slowly." Zhao Yan stood up and said warmly.

  "The two ladies are fighting, if we're late, it will be too late." Hou Yi said breathlessly.

  Zhao Kan was shocked, Wu Caiyun was no match for Tang Yuwei. He had already experienced Tang Yuwei's ferocity at the Phoenix Building and feared that Wu Caiyun would get hurt. Without even thinking about Hou Yi, he rushed to the school field. When Zhao Kan arrived, a large group of soldiers had already surrounded Wu Caiyun and Tang Yuwei. Zhao Kan walked up to the commander's platform on one side and saw Wu Caiyun and Tang Yuwei standing several meters apart. Wu Caiyun was holding an ancient zither with a hint of anger in her eyes, asking in a low voice: "What is your relationship with Zhao Kan?"

  "I'm the young master's lover, and we've known each other for a long time. Are you too?" Tang Yuwei said with a charming smile.

  "Shameless." Wu Caiyun said angrily, Wu Caiyun pinched the guqin with her hand and turned to face the soldiers beside her: "Everyone today will be a witness, we will have a contest of qin sounds, whoever loses will leave here and not be allowed to come back. If you think my qin sound is good in the next round, stand behind me, if you think hers is good, stand behind her, the winner will be decided after the song ends." After finishing, she glared at Tang Yuxi: "Do you dare to accept the challenge?"

  Zhao Song hastily walked through the wall of Imperial Guards to Wu Caiyun's side and said, "Caiyun, you really misunderstood this morning. I had something to entrust her with, not what you thought." After finishing speaking, he ordered the surrounding Imperial Guards, "All of you disperse and return to your respective posts."

  "No one is allowed to leave." Wu Caiyun said angrily. The soldiers of the Imperial Forest Army were neither leaving nor staying, and many people secretly vowed never to watch the excitement again.

  "Zhao Kan, you're still speaking up for her even now. I really misjudged you. Then I'll leave, and you two can continue to be entwined." After saying that, he wanted to walk away.

  Zhao Kan couldn't care about anything else, he hastily pulled Wu Caiyun and asked: "Then how can I make you forgive me?" "Let me compare with her, don't stop me." Wu Caiyun said firmly to Zhao Kan. "Okay." Zhao Kan reluctantly retreated to the side.

  Wu Caiyun placed the guqin on the ground, adjusted her sleeves, sat down on the already prepared cushion, and gently placed her slender white fingers between the strings of the guqin. Tang Yuwei still gazed at Wu Caiyun with a charming expression, without any change in emotion.

  Wu Caiyun gently closed her eyes, dressed in a snow-white dress, exuding an ethereal and otherworldly feeling. Her fingers moved slightly, and a clear, lotus-like piano sound rippled through the air like tiny waves on water, as if a stone had been cast into a serene lake, stirring up ripples of musical notes that lingered for three days without ceasing. It was as if someone was constantly approaching Wu Caiyun from behind, and when the music came to an end, it seemed as though life itself had reached its conclusion, leaving one with a lingering sense of regret and longing for the beautiful passing moment.

  Wu Caiyun stood up and said to Tang Yuwei: "Please."

  Tang Yuwei flashed a charming smile at Wu Caiyun and sat down on the tatami mat beside the guqin, casually stroking the strings with her fingers. The imperial guards who had stood behind Wu Caiyun earlier returned to their original positions, ready to judge Tang Yuwei's music. In fact, most of the warriors didn't understand music theory; as long as it sounded good, that was all that mattered. This way, they could better appreciate the infectious power of the music.

  As soon as Tang Yuwei's hands swept across one side of the strings, a tremolo sound emerged, accompanied by a hint of vibrato, like someone pouring out their heart in silence. Later, the music gradually reached its climax, becoming increasingly intense and passionate, like clouds drifting across the sky or a thousand horses galloping forward. The atmosphere was majestic, and then it seemed as if countless soldiers were sending off their sons to the front lines. The music rose and fell, ethereal and haunting.

  Some of the warriors thought of their families back home and couldn't help but shed tears. Tang Yuwei's playing style differed greatly from Wu Caiyun's; she used both hands to play both sides of the guqin. When the piece ended, Zhao Jiong felt as though he had experienced an entire lifetime, from infancy to old age, so real was the music. But instead of feeling regret for what was lost, he felt a sense of satisfaction and joy.

  If Wu Caiyun's music was like a beautiful oriole, then Tang Yuwei's music was like the phoenix, king of all birds. The difference between them was clear-cut.

  Because she was too absorbed in listening, there wasn't a single person behind Tang Yuwei. Zhao Jiong said: "Since that's the case..." Wu Caiyun interrupted Zhao Jiong and said dejectedly: "I lost." After a moment of silence, Wu Caiyun said: "Miss Tang, do you dare to compete with me in painting? Let's each paint one piece and see who's better."

  "Alright, I'd be happy to accompany you." Tang Yuwei said with a smile.

  Two tables were quickly brought up, and the four treasures of the study were prepared. The two women separately ground ink, placing the soaked brushes in order of size at the front, with Wu Caiyun being the first to take action. The theme was a landscape painting, and all that could be seen was Wu Caiyun lightly lifting her sleeve, using the brush to draw several small dots on the paper. This was called "buju", making it convenient to determine the position of all the landscapes later on. Before long, half of the painting was completed, with pavilions and towers standing tall amidst the clouds and mist, as if they were ethereal divine dwellings. Snow-capped mountain peaks rose high, with green pine trees standing upright - a truly magnificent landscape painting. Wu Caiyun had been learning from famous masters since she was young, and her paintings were extremely vivid. With her excellent control over the brushstrokes' direction and strength, people couldn't help but be deeply moved.

  Tang Yuwei didn't make any moves, and the rice paper in front of her was blank, without a single stroke. She just kept grinding ink with her hands, watching Wu Caiyun paint with great interest, her eyes filled with admiration. Zhao Kan secretly let out a sigh of relief, thinking that if they were evenly matched, it would be for the best. It seemed that Tang Yuwei also wanted this outcome and was preparing to concede defeat in this round. However, when Wu Caiyun saw that Tang Yuwei wasn't painting, she became unhappy and her temper flared up. She stopped her brush and said to Tang Yuwei, "I see that your ink-grinding technique is skilled, you must have at least ten years of experience to grind ink like that. If you lose to me, it will prove that you are a lowly and promiscuous woman."

  Zhao Yan furrowed his brow and scolded: "Cai Xuan, how can you speak like that?"

  Tang Yuwei forced a melancholy smile and said: "It's okay, actually I didn't want it to be like this either." This was the first time Zhao Yan heard Tang Yuwei refer to herself as "I".

  Tang Yuwei picked up her brush and began to paint on the rice paper, and soon a peony appeared on the paper. At this time, a butterfly landed on the peony Tang Yuwei had painted and refused to leave for a long time. Wu Caixia's brush fell from her hand and stained a piece of the painting black. Wu Caixia stood there in a daze, at a loss for what to do. Suddenly, she burst into tears and said, "I'm more beautiful than you, you're not worthy of Zhao Yan." Tang Yuwei walked over and took Wu Caixia's hand, smiling slightly as she led her into the big tent. After a long time, the two women came out, and what happened next left everyone in shock: they were walking hand in hand, laughing and calling each other "sister" and "younger sister". The animosity between them had vanished. Tang Yuwei took advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention to give Zhao Yan a sly glance, leaving him feeling extremely frustrated. Just then, a small school official ran up to Zhao Yan, sweating profusely, and reported, "Your Highness, there's an important military matter."

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