On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Princess Jinhui, Yun Pei, arrived uninvited early in the morning, once again hindering Yun Lie's plans to go to the Luo family to clear up the misunderstanding.
"Didn't you get a heads-up?" Yun Pei asked angrily.
Yun Lie was quite annoyed by her sudden visit, but he couldn't show it, so he could only sullenly lead her to talk in the central garden.
I didn't want to invite her to sit down in the hall to talk, but instead made her stand in the garden in the wind. Humph.
Yun Pei didn't notice the small detail that he was "standing in the garden drinking the wind," and was only focused on venting his anger.
"Those bastards, they really dare to think of anything on a whim!" Yun Pei angrily shook his sleeves. "I plan to advise Father Emperor after the court is established and the copies are made, and ask him to reorganize the army!"
"What's wrong with reorganizing the army?" Yun Lie glanced at her gloomily and casually plucked a handful of flower buds from the red plum branch beside him.
Can't you just say everything at once? If you keep going on like this, it'll go on until dark.
Yun Pei put one hand on his hip, took a few steps along the gravel path, and stomped heavily. "Do you know what they're planning to do?!"
"I don't know, I'm waiting to hear what you have to say."
Increasingly frustrated, Yun Lie answered with utmost bluntness, then plucked another plum branch and ruthlessly plucked it clean.
"They plan to reduce our troop numbers!" Yun Pei was furious. "It's only been a few years?! They've already cut three times! Fine, before they said they'd cut those who were too wounded or sick to fight, that was a reasonable explanation, and even though I felt bad, I didn't say a word!"
"Hmm," Yun Lie responded casually, indicating that he was listening attentively.
“But there haven’t been any major battles in Yuancheng and Linchuan in the past two years, and there haven’t been many new seriously wounded or sick soldiers,” Yun Pei said, each word spitting out through clenched teeth, sounding extremely angry and resentful. “What do you mean by wanting us to disband our entire army at this time?!”
It's clear that those people want to reduce the size of the forces and weaken the power of the commanders-in-chief of these two armies.
"They're here for us," Yun Lie snorted lightly, not as angry as Yun Pei. "Fourth Imperial Sister, are you done talking? Are you leaving?"
"You haven't finished!"
"Getting angry now won't help; it's just hearsay. If they actually offer advice... we'll just have to deal with it as it comes." You go quickly; I have urgent business to attend to.
"But I'm just angry! All they know is backstabbing and factionalism, they're really shameless!"
“Father is not that confused. There are wolves and tigers in both Linchuan and Yuancheng that we must guard against. If we really lose men, we will be handing a knife to the enemy.”
"Even if he's not confused, he can't withstand 'some people' constantly showering him with sweet talk!" Yun Pei said angrily. "Those bastards! They're scheming! They have no sense of the bigger picture... Hey, can you please leave your little flower alone?!"
Yun Lie glanced back, froze awkwardly, and sheepishly lowered his hand.
Looking back at the direction they had come from, the red plum branches that stretched out to their right were now bare and desolate.
20. Chapter Twenty
In fact, the relationship between Yun Lie and Yun Pei was never close enough for them to be able to talk about anything.
Although they were both in the inner city during their innocent childhood and studied at the same royal academy in Beiyuan during their youth, due to the difference between boys and girls, the palaces and courtyards of princes and princesses always had to be kept at a certain distance. Later, one went to Linchuan and the other went to Yuancheng. Even if they occasionally returned to the capital for business, they might not be able to do so at the same time.
Having only met once every year or two, it's really difficult to have any close interactions.
"What do you mean by looking so sullen?" Yun Pei frowned, his eyes narrowing into slits.
Yun Lie coughed twice and looked up at the sky: "I originally had something to do and needed to go out."
"You still have the mind to think about going out and having fun?!" Yun Pei put one hand on her hip and pointed angrily at him with the other.
"It's not that we're going out to play, it's..." If this person wasn't his own sister, he really wanted to kick her out the door.
Unfortunately, this person was his own sister.
You can't hit them, you can't scold them, and you can't drive them away.
"They're practically ready to turn on us!" Yun Pei interrupted him, hooking his arm around his shoulder and dragging him away. "No way! We're both in this together. There's no reason for me to be the only one angry! You have to drink with me! You have to curse them with me!"
Of the five princes who have established their own residences, only Yun Lie and Yun Pei are commanders leading troops to defend the borders. Therefore, Yun Pei is absolutely right; the two of them do indeed have a stake in this matter.
Yun Lie did not object to standing with Yun Pei on this matter. After all, if the disarmament was decided, both the Linchuan Army and the Yuancheng Navy would suffer a heavy blow, and he certainly would not stand idly by.
But he didn't want to drink and curse with the angry Yun Pei, since it was boring and useless and wouldn't help solve the problem. Besides, the two of them didn't have such a close relationship.
Most importantly, he really wanted to find Luo Cuiwei as soon as possible and clear up the misunderstanding.
"I don't have money to buy wine, go back to your own home and drink it." Yun Lie said sternly, breaking free from her grasp.
“I don’t have any money either,” Yun Pei said, undeterred by his cold expression, hooking her arm around his shoulder again. “But you’re right, I do have a few jars of good wine, a gift from someone.”
Yun Lie hurriedly said, "Then you go back..."
"Uncle Chen!" Yun Pei saw Steward Chen's figure and immediately shouted, "Quickly send someone to my residence to fetch my few jars of wine. I want to eat here today!"
Yun Lie wanted to hit someone after hearing that, "I didn't invite you to dinner!"
As a result, Yun Pei not only ate at his place, but also ate at his place twice. In the end, he even dragged Xiong Xiaoyi along, and they drank and cursed until night fell.
****
The following day, an imperial edict arrived from the inner city, ordering Yun Lie to enter the palace ahead of schedule to pay his respects to his mother and participate in discussions regarding the list of those to accompany the emperor on the spring hunt after the New Year.
Because the arrangement of the list for the spring hunt involves many complex factors, it is usually decided by the Imperial Household Department, which is responsible for the emperor's food, clothing, and lodging, with the participation of at least three subordinate officials. This is to ensure that the list can balance the interests of all parties as much as possible, avoid oversights and omissions, and prevent unnecessary speculation and fear about the emperor's intentions.
In addition to princes and princesses, the accompanying list must also include an appropriate number of relatives, noble families, meritorious officials, civil and military officials.
In addition, there must also be households engaged in agriculture, industry, and commerce, in order to demonstrate the Yun royal family's tradition of "sharing joy with the people".