Chapter Forty-Five: Joking and Laughing

  I had something to attend to tonight and updated a bit late, please forgive me.

  Next week's split page will be strongly promoted, and Ah Cao will naturally double his efforts. In fact, Ah Cao has been writing about 3,000 words per chapter, and the updates are not too slow after all. After all, Ah Cao is not a professional writer...

  Besides, Mai's insertion is necessary for the later plot development. As for Acao's writing, it's not martial arts, so everyone can rest assured...

  "The General's Order, commands Li Jizong, Li Renquan, Han Shi, and Zhang Deliang to report to the military camp outside the city immediately. If they do not arrive by three o'clock in the afternoon, they will be beheaded."

  Li Shu stood stiffly with his chest out, like a nail, on the main hall of the Qingyang Commandery, facing the crowd of generals and officers from Qingyang. His nose was almost pointing to the sky, showing off the prestige of the General's guard, but in reality, he was extremely nervous, with cold sweat seeping down his back. In his heart, he was silently praying, "Heaven help me, don't let anyone notice any flaws, or else I'll be chopped into pieces."

  The expressions of the many generals in the hall were also colorful, with some being nervous and uneasy, some calmly waiting to see how things would develop, others secretly rejoicing, and still others shocked and frightened, all different and not one the same.

  Li Jizong, sitting at the top, swept his eyes over the crowd and then stared tightly at Li Shu, saying slowly: "General Zhe? Which General Zhe? Isn't Commander Zhe in Yanbian Town? How did he end up here?" When he saw the banner with the character 'Zhe' on it outside the city walls, he immediately thought of Zhe Muqing. His heart was filled with joy, although he didn't know why Zhe Muqing had run to this place. As long as General Zhe was present, he would definitely be given a chance to speak. This man's straightforwardness in the Western Army was renowned, and the Crown Prince would surely have some apprehension. This was his opportunity.

  But the other party extinguished his last hope with a single sentence, "It's not General Su Muqing, but General Su He from the capital. The messenger has already brought the words, and now he will return to report. General Su ordered the messenger to bring a message to all the generals: the matter of Qingyang is reasonable, and I hope all the generals will come to the camp to explain clearly. General Su will not wrong any of you, but if by noon none of you have arrived, it will be considered as rebellion. When the army arrives tomorrow, both good and evil will be destroyed together. I hope all the generals will think thrice to avoid making a mistake."

  He finished speaking and turned to leave, leaving the generals staring at each other in shock. Li Jizong had no other thoughts in his mind, as everyone knew that Zhu Muhe was a member of the Crown Prince's faction, and this time he led the army, so there was no chance for himself. His eyes were fixed on Li Shu's back, with a cold glint, obviously already harboring murderous intentions. But when he turned to look at Li Renquan beside him, who seemed to be smiling but not quite, he let out a sigh and said nothing more.

  Li Shu walked out of the city gate, and when he was far away from the city, the cold sweat on his back was blown by the cool breeze, and he shivered with a chill. In his heart, he cursed, if this kind of thing happened two more times, he would not survive. It was all because of that little team leader's stupid idea, which even the young lady listened to. He didn't know what she was thinking. Fortunately, old Li still had some guts left. If it were someone else, could they have walked out of the city gate? Thinking of himself speaking eloquently in front of those high-ranking generals, he couldn't help but feel secretly proud.

  。。。。。。。。。。。。

  Li Jinhua walked back and forth in the big tent, wanting to leave the tent and look at Qingyang City before feeling at ease. She was also afraid of being seen by her subordinates, so she sat down for a while, then stood up again. Zhao Shi frowned as he watched her, but when he saw that Li Jinhua's face was pale like paper and there were dark eye bags under her eyes, he was worried about this young lady's behavior.

  "Come, sit down and rest..." Zhao Shi had also gained some experience as a nanny over the past few days. To be honest, he was an expert in tactical arrangements, but not so much when it came to grasping the overall situation. It was just that this time was special, and being able to get to this point was also due to luck. But this feeling of being on the battlefield, with the fate of many soldiers in his hands, made him somewhat unstoppable. In his past life, he didn't have such an opportunity.

  The more it came to this, the more patient Zhao Shi was. Now everything has been arranged properly, what needs to be done is to let the woman perform well in this last play. "There's no need for that, those generals are also human beings, and they may be even more worried than you now. As long as you remain calm, there's nothing to worry about."

  Li Jinhua slowly sat down, but she twitched the corner of her mouth and said, "You're the one who came up with this idea, but I'm the one who's suffering from it. I really don't know if I owed you something in my past life."

  After last night's events, their relationship took another step forward. This sentence sounds somewhat flirtatious no matter how you listen to it.

  Zhao Shi smiled, although his smile was a bit stiff, but it made his face look lively for an instant. Li Jinhua was taken aback and then heard Zhao Shi say: "This time, the success is due to your hard work, but the greatest credit also goes to you, what's there to complain about?"

  Li Jinhua saw him smile so strangely, as if it was squeezed out, and his words also had a few points of human air, not like the previous always stiff face, few words, and also happy in his heart, couldn't help but laugh out loud, "The little woman dare not take credit, if there is no hero's assistance, where will the little woman be today? Say it, let the little woman how to repay the hero's assistance?"

  Although her words were light, they were also extremely serious. Li Jinhua finished speaking and looked at Zhao Shi's face, waiting for his response.

  Zhao Shi suddenly bowed and said, "I don't dare to accept."

  Li Jinhua's eyes showed a hint of disappointment, but she immediately burst out laughing, just like Sun Wukong suddenly saying to Zhu Bajie, "Pig brother, I'm hungry, go get some food." A person who is always cold and distant to everyone suddenly cracks two jokes, although they're not funny at all, and her expression is stiff as well. But the more she does this, the more astonishing it becomes.

  Li Jinhua laughed heartily, but felt no joy at all. Her anxious and tense mood had long since disappeared. The two of them chatted and talked, although their thoughts were worlds apart, but it was undeniable that both of them got a share of happiness from the conversation. Li Jinhua thought that the young man appeared to be exceptionally cold on the surface, but in fact, he was clever with words and often showed his extraordinary side unintentionally. Talking to him was completely different from talking to others. Zhao Shi, on the other hand, felt that this kind of conversation was a rare experience in his life, and his mood became more relaxed and pleasant than when he was thinking about aimless things by himself.

  Before he knew it, an hour had passed, and the sound of footsteps came from outside the account. Li Shu burst in under the escort of Li Xunyi and Li Fei, pushing open the curtain.

  Li Shu walked in, and with a glance, he saw Li Jinhua sitting there, beaming with joy, waving her hands and feet, looking as if she couldn't help but burst into laughter. For a moment, his footsteps stopped, and Li Xun, who was walking behind him, bumped into his back. His face still hurt from the injury, and he let out a muffled groan, opening his mouth to curse, "Li Lao San, is this intentional?"

  Seeing three people rushing in, Li Jinhua quickly hid her smile, sat up straight, and coughed a few times, trying to look more serious, but the flush on her face had not faded, and the corners of her mouth were still raised, looking quite strange.

  Zhao Shi looked at her like this, immediately turned his face away, but thought in his heart, this woman is not young anymore, why is she still acting like a child, it's really strange. Actually, he just didn't have much contact with women, no matter how old they are, there will always be some childishness, which is not worth being surprised about.

  Li Shu felt a bit depressed, he had worked hard and worried about everything, but Miss was fine, she was still the one he had raised himself. She laughed happily here, without any worries at all. However, since Master's death, it seemed that Miss hadn't been so happy again...

  He glanced at the two of them, and in his heart, he thought that this Zhao fellow was quite skilled with women despite being young. This was still in the military, if it were in a brothel, with some wealth, who knows if he wouldn't be a ladies' man...

  As he was lost in thought, Li Xun pushed him from behind. Due to the injury on his face, his laughter sounded a bit muffled. "I'm saying, Old Three, did you get scared silly after entering Qingyang City? Brother said to follow you, but you didn't want to, insisting on being a hero by yourself. Alas, I'm telling you...

  Everything was as Miss expected, the generals in the city each had their own thoughts, and Li Renyuan even secretly sent someone to say that if things didn't go well, he would be willing to open the east gate to respond... He also said that Li Jizong was arrogant and domineering, and the other generals were forced by circumstances to pretend to obey him, but in fact they all had loyal and righteous hearts.

  However, these words are meant to inform General Zhaoda, we... ...we are fake after all. Miss, I think this matter is a bit strange, those generals I have seen them all, each and every one of them has a murderous aura, no one can be underestimated, cheating them is not a joke.