Chapter 21: Preparing for the Unexpected

  As the freezing season is about to pass, spring is approaching, and all things are reviving. However, this year's spring seems to be heralding a storm that will sweep across the land. Zhao Jiong and Wang Xichen led the Imperial Guards back to the Golden Scales Garrison, where they were naturally greeted with celebrations. The returning soldiers regaled the guards with tales of their bravery, making them wish they could go again to the Zhuangyuan. Xue Yue was busy planning how to enjoy his newly acquired 100,000 taels of silver. Ji Fanglian walked up to Xue Yue and said, "General, you're so brave and impressive! I really admire you." "That's right," Xue Yue replied smugly, "I'm not just anyone, after all."

  "Bring it here, the 100,000 taels of white silver have been received." Ji Fanglian returned to her usual self and said seriously.

  "What? No, what silver?" Xue Yue pretended to be foolish. If he admitted it, he believed that not a single child would be left behind.

  "You give it to me and I'll help you keep it for future use." Ji Fanglian said with a mix of emotions and reason.

  "Really... there really isn't." Xue Yue gave up for his own luxurious life.

  "Are you going to give it or not?" Ji Fangling said angrily.

  Xue Yue looked at Ji Fanglian's appearance and immediately lost his courage, whispering: "Can you spare a little for me?"

  "Alright, but you can't control yourself and spend all your money in just a few days, got it?"

  "Alright, anyway, mine is yours." After finishing speaking, he handed over the 100,000 taels of silver ticket to Ji Fanglian. Then, he looked at Ji Fanglian with eager eyes, hoping she would give some to him. Ji Fanglian gave a 1,000-tael silver ticket to Xue Yue and reminded him again to be frugal. Holding the silver ticket, Ji Fanglian happily turned around and left, muttering to herself that she would first buy some beef to make sauce beef for Xue Yue, and then buy some thicker clothes for Xue Yue to prepare for winter. Xue Yue felt happy in his heart when he heard this. Wang Xi Zhen walked over and patted Xue Yue's shoulder, saying: "General Xue is so lucky, soon you will marry a virtuous and thrifty girl who knows how to manage the household."

  Xue Yue also smiled and said, "Who made me look so handsome?" At this time, Ji Fanglian was heard muttering to herself as she walked: "That coat is not bad but it's quite expensive, that lip gloss seems expensive too, and that porcelain looks great, what to do? Which one should I choose? Forget it, I'll just buy them all."

  Wang Xichen and Xue Yue were both stunned, Wang Xichen said to Xue Yue: "I still have something important to attend to, I'll take my leave first, Brother Xue take care." Xue Yue held the 100 taels of silver notes and suddenly felt an urge to cry. At this time a small school runner ran over laughing and said: "General Xue, you must treat us to food, all the brothers are waiting."

  "Tomorrow, cancel all leave and conduct emergency training. I will be with you." On the second day of Zhao's order to grant leave to the entire army, Xue Yue led hundreds of Imperial Guards in a life-or-death training session on the drill ground. Ji Fanglian also bought many food and drinks to reward the soldiers, and the Imperial Guards felt like they were all one family. How could there be such a big difference? When Xue Yue heard this remark, he was speechless. In fact, Xue Yue didn't mind Ji Fanglian's behavior at all. Since Ji Fanglian was willing to follow him, even if it meant sacrificing his life, he wouldn't begrudge it. What's more, it was just a small amount of silver, and only through such exchanges in daily life could emotions flow sincerely.

  Zhao Kan and Xue Yue gained immense benefits from this place. The most important thing was that with the shipyard, they had hope to control maritime trade. The Song Dynasty's ships were already equipped with a complete compass navigation system, and with their sturdy hulls, they had the ability to navigate the open ocean. Zhao Kan had a grand plan in his heart, but now was not the time to implement it.

  Zhao Kan handed over the shipyard's contract to Wu Haotian, letting him control the southeastern shipyard first, especially keeping the technical workers and preserving the shipbuilding drawings for future use.

  Returning to Jinling Barracks, Zhao Kan spent many days with Xiuer. Every day, when he had time, Zhao Kan would watch Xiuer dance, her movements as ethereal as a dream. Although Xiuer was often up late at night working on accounts, despite there being less than two thousand soldiers in the Jinling Barracks, the complex accounting tasks were not something that could be easily handled by a young girl.

  Zhao Kan had advised her many times to put down her work, but Xiuer's gentle appearance belied her stubborn personality. She was unwilling to give up her work because it gave her a sense of fulfillment and allowed her to help Zhao Kan.

  Zhao Yin personally went to the kitchen to make soup for Xiuer to nourish her body, saying "A gentleman keeps a distance from the kitchen." But Zhao Yin didn't care about these things. The more he felt that he wasn't a gentleman, the more moved Xiuer was, but she also advised him not to go to the kitchen, lest others find out and make fun of him. Zhao Yin smiled and agreed, yet still made soup for Xiuer every day.

  However, nothing can be kept secret forever, and soon it spread that Zhao Yin was making soup for Xiuer in the kitchen every day. The scholars said that Zhao Yin had been bewitched by his daughter's private affairs and was beyond salvation. Poets and writers praised Zhao Yin for being kind-hearted and sincere. People from the jianghu (martial arts world) said that Zhao Yin dared to be himself, without pretenses.

  Young girls in their chambers took Zhao Yin's actions as a standard for choosing a partner, but most people with social status wouldn't do such things. For a time, Zhao Yin became popular, yet opinions about him were divided.

  Zhao Yin didn't care about others' opinions, and after several days, he returned to Bianjing with Wang Xichen and dozens of soldiers. Xue Yue and Liang Fangxu selected 50 people from the army as Zhao Yin's personal guards, and Zhao Yin immediately divided half of them to Wang Xichen. Although Wang Xichen didn't say anything on the surface, he was actually quite moved in his heart.

  Zhao Yin first went to the Hanlin Academy, where the Hanlin scholars were all elegant and refined in their writing, and language was a common pursuit. Even if Zhao Yin wasn't there, they could still complete the work of creating the auspicious melody according to routine. After entrusting them with a few words, he brought everyone to the Yue Wang Fu, which was located on a not particularly bustling street in Bianjing. In front of the gate, green trees grew in clusters, neatly arranged and apparently regularly trimmed.

  The guards at the gate saw Zhao Yi bringing people and didn't dare to slack off, so they quickly went to report. The King of Yue hurried out to greet him, holding Zhao Yi's hand warmly and saying: "My virtuous nephew hasn't come to see me for many days, I've been thinking about you in my heart, my son Zhao Mu also misses you, often saying he wants to go hunting with you, unfortunately today he is busy with official duties, entrusting me to take good care of you, come, follow me inside."

  Zhao Yin did not refuse, and the King of Yue pulled Zhao Yin into the Wenxuan Hall, sitting down together without stopping to ask about each other's well-being, with a warm and kind demeanor like an elder. If it weren't for Zhao Yin knowing the King of Yue's cunning nature, he might have been deceived by the king's acting skills.

  Before long, the King of Yue ordered someone to bring out food and drinks, and everyone sat down in their respective seats. The King of Yue frequently toasted Zhao Yin with wine, occasionally discussing the cultural characteristics of the north and south of the Yangtze River. The King of Yue had rich experiences and was extremely eloquent, vividly describing many things as if they were right before their eyes.

  Zhao Yin also asked questions frequently, and the King of Yue answered them all. At this time, a burly man walked in, his footsteps fierce and powerful, exuding an aura of dominance - it was the general who had broken through Zhao Yin's encirclement at Mount Yueze. Both Zhao Yin and Wang Xizhen's eyes flashed with a hint of sharpness at the same time.

  "General Wu, this is Prince Zhao Yin. There may have been some misunderstanding last time. Let's have a drink and let the prince forgive you." The King of Yue said with a smile.

  The robust man picked up a small jug of wine, walked to Zhao Jie's side and said: "I am Wu Lingfu, the last general. I was wrong many times before, please forgive me." After finishing speaking, he raised the jug of wine and drank it all in one gulp, with the wine spilling from his mouth and dripping down his iron armor. Zhao Jie couldn't help but admire this robust man. However, from the man's footsteps earlier, Zhao Jie noticed many unusual things, which were characteristic of the Golden Country's imperial guard. Although the robust man had intentionally hidden it, ordinary people might not notice it, but Zhao Jie knew about this special walking method from his previous studies on Song history. Zhao Jie understood that this king must have defected to the Golden Country, and the problem seemed to be getting more complicated, so he could only return and deliberate further. Zhao Jie also picked up a cup of wine and said: "I respect General." After finishing speaking, he drained the cup in one gulp.

  King Yue said: "This wine is a drink that represents the release of past grievances, let bygones be bygones. From now on, you are not allowed to hold grudges again." The strong man nodded, and Zhao Yan said: "Of course it is."

  Everyone returned to their seats. "King of Yue," Zhao Gao said, his face pale with anger, "the other day I led the army to defeat the mountain bandits. The leader had already disappeared without a trace. Unexpectedly, among the bandits' weapons were some made by King Feng. King Feng and I have no grudge against each other, so why did he want to harm me, causing my soldiers to die? If you don't give me an explanation for this, I will take revenge. Please, Your Majesty, do justice for your humble servant." Zhao Gao bowed his head in grief.

  "Please get up, wise nephew." The King of Yue saw that Zhao Yi had not discovered his own plot and put down his guard, but still asked in a probing tone: "Wise nephew may have misunderstood, the King of Feng has always been upright and just, how could he harm you?" "It's impossible, I heard the other day that the King of Feng has already assembled the imperial guards, saying that he feels the palace is not safe enough, but actually it's to station troops at his side to do unjust things." Seeing Zhao Yi say this, the King of Yue became even more relieved and pushed the boat along: "Alas, people's hearts are hard to measure, wise nephew rest assured, as long as I am here, I will not let the King of Feng do unjust things. I will send someone to keep a close eye on him day and night, but what was said earlier must not be told to others, do you understand?"

  "Nephew obeys, nephew also has to go deal with Jiqu's work, won't accompany uncle anymore, hopes uncle will redeem his guilt." Zhao Xun said with a bow.

  "Ah, my dear nephew, as long as you can come visit me often in your daily life, I will be content." King Yue said with a warm smile. After Zhao Can and Wang Xizhen left the Wenyuan Hall, that sturdy man suddenly spat out: "I actually apologized to those detestable Song Dynasty royal family members, what a shame for a warrior like me!"

  King Yue coughed lightly twice, and the burly man sneered: "You still think you are a descendant of the royal family? Your father died at the hands of Song Huizong, have you forgotten? Now it's too late to turn back, your crimes are enough for the emperor of the Song Dynasty to kill you a hundred times. Remember to do well for our Jin country, and the benefits that will be given to you in the future are beyond your imagination."

  The king of Yue remained silent, sitting in his chair quietly.

  Zhuang Han was most annoyed by Song Ren's weak and silent nature, so he snorted and turned away with a flick of his sleeve.

  On the way back, Zhao Kuang and Wang Xizhen furrowed their brows. The Jin State had already set up its formation and was ready to destroy the Northern Song Dynasty in one fell swoop. Now that the Jin army has arrived at Bianjing, where will it attack first? Suddenly, both Zhao Kuang and Wang Xizhen shouted: "Yanjing."

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