Chapter Thirteen: The Meritorious Officials of the Jingnan Campaign

  As soon as she woke up, Ling Xue saw an unfamiliar environment, and then felt a hand on her chest. The hand was rubbing her chest back and forth, making Ling Xue moan softly, but all that came out was a low snore, the sound lingering...

  What's going on here?

  Ling Xue broke out in a cold sweat, last night's memories suddenly flooded her mind, and thinking of the hand on her chest, she thought of the strange teacher from last night, Ling Xue was shocked, she only remembered that when she arrived at Lu's residence, her consciousness was already blurry, what happened afterwards...

  She suddenly sprang up like an explosion, flipped over her palms and gathered strength to slap the owner of the evil hand into a pulp.

  But just as his palm was about to strike down, he found that the one sleeping beside him was a little girl.

  "Are you awake?"

  Someone lifted the curtain, and Hao Fenglou's smile was still confident with a few points of complacency.

  "Shh, keep your voice down, this girl was busy taking care of you till midnight last night, let's go out and talk."

  Ling Xue was shocked and uncertain, discovering that he, the capable King of Yan, had been manipulated by this sour-faced instructor who had him in the palm of his hand, and was willingly following his lead.

  Ling Xue stepped down from her shoes and followed Hao Feng Lou to a small hall outside.

  Hao Fenglou sighed and said, "There are many kinds of encounters in life. For example, there is a kind of person who has bad luck, being driven out by his parents at home, his fiancée also ran away, with no prospects, and not much silver money left on him. Isn't this poor man very pitiful?"

  "Sir, why so melancholy?"

  Hao Feng Lou pointed at his own nose: "I'm the one who even gets toothaches from drinking cold water."

  Ling Xue felt being forced everywhere and couldn't help but say, "A pitiful person must have a hateful side."

  Hao Feng Lou burst out laughing and said: "My name is Hao Feng Lou, from Songjiang Prefecture. I came to the Lu family, but it's embarrassing to say, actually I'm here to pursue Miss Lu. Originally, Miss Lu and I had a marriage agreement, but unfortunately, the Lu family has some misunderstandings about me. Helpless, I had to hide my identity and hope that in the future, these misunderstandings can be cleared up. However, for now, I've decided to put this matter aside."

  Ling Xue was suddenly enlightened, but Hao Feng Lou's open and honest attitude made her slightly stunned. Hao Feng Lou's behavior yesterday was indeed a bit too cunning, although if it weren't for him, she would have probably fallen into the hands of those Brocade Guards by now. However, deep down in Ling Xue's heart, she didn't trust Hao Feng Lou.

  This sounds a bit strange, this guy really has no talent, he ran to this place of right and wrong, it turned out that he just came to pursue Miss Lu. But he said that he would put the pursuit of Miss Lu on hold for now, combined with the scorching gaze that Hao Feng Lou is looking at himself... what does he mean?

  Ling Xue involuntarily took a slight step back with her foot, thinking to herself, "This scoundrel, could it be that he's given up on Miss Lu and is now turning his attention to me..."

  She couldn't help but laugh to herself, what was she afraid of? The other person was just a weak scholar who couldn't even truss a chicken, she could kill him with one slap, it must be that he was afraid of her.

  Hao Feng Lou said: "Miss Ling Xue, what do you think of me?"

  Ling Xue was extremely embarrassed, and in her heart she cursed: "What a good-for-nothing who falls in love with every girl he sees!" However, on her cheeks, a blush rose involuntarily. She couldn't help but discover that she didn't have much resentment towards this guy after all.

  Ling Xue reluctantly said: "Actually, you don't look very good either."

  Hao Fenglou said solemnly: "Of course, appearance is one aspect, what about inner qualities?"

  "Hubris..." Ling Xue found it hard to utter, she had been practicing swordsmanship since childhood, and later on, she was running around for Prince Yan, although she had seen a lot and knew much, but she had never seen a man with such a thick skin.

  Hao Feng Lou sighed: "Don't you see that I am fearless in crisis and have a hundred clever plans?"

  Ling Xue could only nod in agreement, as Hao Feng Lou's performance yesterday was indeed not like that of a useless bookworm.

  Hao Feng Lou said: "So what do you think of me as a spy?"

  "Y...". Ling Xue was both laughing and crying at the same time, it turned out that this guy actually wanted to serve under Prince Yan.

  "Hao Fenglou sighed, "A man like me is hard to come by in this world. This isn't self-praise, but if I were to serve the King of Yan, there are three advantages. Firstly, the King of Yan is currently in need of talented people, and someone like me is rare. Secondly, I already have a position in the Lu family, so you don't need to rack your brains to find a way to insert me. Thirdly, I've already offended the Imperial Guards, they see me as a thorn in their side, so you don't need to worry about me being two-faced and colluding with the imperial court."

  After last night, Hao Feng Lou had given it a lot of thought. Firstly, he was a man who feared death, and if it were any other time, he wouldn't have taken this risk. He would have just lived his own life, and pursuing Miss Lu would have been the right thing to do. However, now that he had already offended the Brocade Guards, he had no way out, so he might as well go all in. On the other hand, he knew that Yan Wang Jing's rebellion was unlikely to succeed, and if he didn't take this opportunity to gain some merit, it would be a waste of his own life.

  Ling Xue: "......"

  "Miss, why don't you say a word?"

  Ling Xue could only say: "Since you have already offended the imperial court, I also believe you. The King of Yan has stationed his troops in Jiangbei, but is unable to cross the river. The general defending Zhenjiang is torn between fighting and surrendering. It indeed concerns the life and death of the King of Yan and tens of thousands of soldiers... But can you really..."

  Hao Feng Lou hastily said: "I'm sincere, I've long admired the great name of King Yan's palace, and I've been wanting to sell myself to rely on it, but unfortunately there was no way. King Yan's palace entrusted such an important task to you, thinking that you must be a person whom King Yan's palace trusts extremely, please don't dislike me, sister, take me in."

  Ling Xue hesitated for a moment before being persuaded by Hao Feng Lou, and said: "Alright, I also happen to need an assistant."

  Hao Feng Lou was overjoyed: "But for now, how is the battle going? Please tell me, sister."

  After sharing hardships the night before, Ling Xue opened the door and said: "At present, the most critical thing is still this Zhenjiang. Now, the imperial court's various armies in Jiangbei are rushing towards the Yan army, while the Yan army has the Yangtze River as a natural barrier in front and tens of thousands of tigers and wolves chasing behind. If they don't cross the river within ten days, the Yan king will be in danger. However, when the Yan king marched south, the various prefectures and counties on the left bank of the river had already closed their gates and cleared the fields, burning all the boats. The Yan army had no ships and was not accustomed to water battles, so it was extremely difficult for them to force a crossing. Therefore, the key to the Yan king's fate still lies in this Zhenjiang Prefecture. If the defending general of Zhenjiang is willing to surrender, then everything can be settled."

  Hao Feng Lou frowned: "Only ten days?"

  Ling Xue said, "There's no way around it. The King of Yan actually had the intention to head south long ago, so half a year ago he ordered me to disguise myself as a distant relative of the Lu family and come to seek refuge; I just didn't expect this journey south to be so smooth, by the time I wanted to plant more people, Zhenjiang Prefecture was already on high alert, the waterways had been sealed off, and even if the King of Yan wanted to send more people, it would have been too late."

  Hao Feng Lou smiled wryly, he suddenly realized that he seemed to have jumped into a pit.

  Ten days, to persuade a general to surrender, they have no relation with you, why should they listen to you?

  But to put it another way, the Jingnan campaign was indeed fraught with danger, but whether the King of Yan could become emperor depended on crossing the Yangtze River. If they didn't cross the river, the Yan army would just be bandits; if they did cross, they would instantly turn from mud-legged commoners into golden dragons. It can be said that this was a great achievement. Now thinking about it, Hao Fenglou felt his heart racing with excitement - could it be that Young Master wanted to establish a great merit?

  But it's too early to be happy, although I know that the defending general of Zhenjiang will surrender, but heaven knows how he will surrender, maybe he won't surrender at all, then this young master will become a traitor.

  Hao Fenglou was very entangled, painful and happy at the same time.

  He decided to ask more clearly, and after a round of questioning, he found out that Ling Xue's martial arts were not bad, but she had secretly assassinated a loyal and dedicated military officer, and had also spread rumors outside, saying that the Lu family would definitely rebel, wanting to use the imperial court's hands to force the Lu family to rebel, but apart from this, there was no other achievement.

  Hao Feng Lou wanted to cry but had no tears. Unprofessional, sister! This little trick of yours wants to force a confession from the defending general or make the imperial court suspect Lu Du Dian, but they're not idiots, how could they fall for your trap?

  Hao Feng Lou said with a sigh: "I have a way."

  "What's the method?" Ling Xue also knew that her little footwork was a bit unsophisticated, but at this point, she was willing to try anything, whether it was veterinary medicine or quackery.

  Hao Feng Lou said: "Spread the rumor again, saying that Lu Dudu is a great loyal minister of the imperial court, guarding Zhenjiang for the imperial court with hard work and high merit. He often tells his family members that the current emperor is wise and he wants to dedicate himself to death... That sentence is enough, in short, Lu Dudu is a great loyal minister."

  Ling Xue doubted: "Is this effective?"

  Hao Feng Lou bitterly smiled: "There are still ten days left, hopefully it will be effective."

  Ling Xue also let out a sigh, as if worried about this matter. She seemed to have thought of something and said: "Oh, I see, you are that Hao Feng Lou, the Hao Feng Lou from Songjiang Prefecture?"

  Hao Feng Lou thinks it's very tragic, sister, you're so slow-witted, you're so deep in the ocean, how come you only realized now? I just told you that I'm Hao Feng Lou from Songjiang Prefecture, and now you're finally reacting. You need to be more professional!

  "Has your syphilis been cured?"

  Hao Feng Lou was thoroughly convinced, prostrating himself on the ground, his legs going limp, and he fell headfirst to the ground.

  Ling Xue was startled and hastily helped him up with hands and feet flying everywhere.

  He carefully looked at Hao Feng Lou's forehead and found that Hao Feng Lou's forehead was cracked with a small wound, and he couldn't help but say: "It's bleeding, does it hurt?"

  Hao Feng Lou gritted his teeth and said, "It hurts." Then he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  "What are you laughing at?"

  Hao Fenglou gently wiped the blood from his fingertips, lifted his chin slightly, and tilted his head at a 45-degree angle. His eyes were misty, shining with a silver light as he spoke emotionally: "Although it hurts, I bled for Prince Yan, I made contributions to the Jingnan campaign. Thinking about this, my mood cannot calm down for a long time. You see, the blood on my fingertips is proof. Ling Xue sister, when you meet Prince Yan in the future, be sure to tell him that behind his carefree back, there was a young man who was physically and mentally healthy, who shed blood and sweat for him, and would not hesitate to risk his life."