The Foolish Agent

Chapter 90

"Yuan Zheng told your men to take all the remaining grenades back with them."

Then he said to General Liu, who was standing there in a daze:

"General Liu, lead your men down to clean up the battlefield."

"This subordinate commands!"

"This subordinate commands!"

Yuan Zheng and General Liu replied in unison.

Xuanyuan nodded to them, then turned to the group of dumbfounded officers behind him and said:

"All generals who have been observing the battle, please return to the camp with me for a meeting."

Not only were the Xiping soldiers who had been beaten shocked, but also Cong Duojing and his generals who had come to watch the battle with Xuanyuan were also stunned by the power of those small, dark creatures.

They initially failed to understand why the Emperor had ordered General Liu to feign weakness and lure the enemy in, and why he had only sent a few hundred elite soldiers from the Emperor's personal guard to meet the 15,000 men from Xiping. However, no matter how much they tried to dissuade him, the Emperor remained obstinate, confidently guaranteeing victory in the next battle. He also ordered all officers of the rank of adjutant and above to accompany him to observe the battle.

They dared not disobey the Emperor's decree. Although they dared not contradict him verbally, they were all worried that the Emperor's actions were tantamount to inviting trouble! Moreover, they were all already prepared to go into battle at any time.

It wasn't until they witnessed firsthand the power of the small black pellet the Emperor had thrown that everyone realized the truth. The Emperor possessed a secret weapon with such incredible power!

After this battle, all the generals and commanders developed a strong belief in victory! This also achieved the main purpose of Xuanyuan's insistence on having them come to watch the battle.

Let's talk about Jincheng again.

More than an hour after Sutuhani's army left Jincheng, You Chengxia, the deputy general left behind in Jincheng, received intelligence that the Third Prince was leading a large army towards Jincheng from the direction of Hengcheng. The deputy general was taken aback! Was the Third Prince's intelligence network really that good? He knew the Third Prince's character very well. So he sent someone to confirm.

When the second scouts returned, it was already dusk. The answer was the same: the Third Prince was personally leading tens of thousands of elite troops towards Jincheng. And judging by their speed, they would likely arrive before the city gates closed that night.

You Chengxia was always cautious. Now that the city was undefended, he became even more careful. Upon hearing that the approaching force numbered in the tens of thousands, he immediately mobilized his troops and made preparations for defending the city. He ordered the city gates to be closed as soon as it got dark. Then he personally guarded the city gates, waiting to confirm whether Feng had indeed been brought by the Third Prince.

As night fell, You Chengxia finally saw a large, imposing army arrive. Although they were all dressed in Xiping military uniforms, he still had to be cautious. Therefore, he quietly hid on the city gate to observe the movements of the approaching troops.

They stood in neat rows at the city gate. There was no signaling to open the gate, nor any intention to attack. After a short while, a luxurious carriage roared in from afar, and the army outside the gate immediately parted to make way for it. The carriage stopped at the city gate, and inside sat not their womanizing third prince. Who else would have a few beautiful and alluring women in the carriage of someone leading an army into battle?

At this moment, a messenger beside the third prince shouted loudly towards the city wall:

"General Sutuhani, come forth and receive orders! His Majesty has received the declaration of war from Emperor Jinghe and has learned that Emperor Jinghe is personally leading an army of 100,000 towards Jincheng. To ensure the safety of Jincheng, the Third Prince, on His Majesty's orders, has led 50,000 elite troops to provide support!"

Having witnessed and heard it with his own eyes and ears, You Chengxia naturally had no further doubts. Therefore, without saying a word, he immediately ordered the city gates to be opened wide to welcome the Third Prince into the city. He also instructed the messenger to request that the Third Prince order his troops to withdraw and set up camp three miles away, so as to prevent the main force from disturbing the people upon entering the city. He thought that even if the Third Prince was a fool, he should know this much common sense.

After the city gates were opened wide, the army below the city walls surged into the city like a tidal wave. The carriage of the third prince, who should have been at the front, had already moved to the side.

After realizing what was happening, You Chengxia immediately organized the men on the city wall to go down and resist. However, the city gates had already been opened, which meant that the situation was hopeless. Shi Yu's 50,000 troops easily defeated the 10,000 Xiping defenders who were stubbornly resisting in the city.

Thus, Shi Yu first used powerful explosives to catch the third prince of Hengcheng off guard, quickly eliminating the relatively weak defenses of Hengcheng. Then, together with Xuanyuan, he executed a brilliant series of stratagems. Xuanyuan first deliberately "stirred up trouble," exposing himself to Sutuhani, the general defending Jincheng. Next, he used a "luring the tiger away from the mountain" maneuver to draw Jincheng's general out of the city, creating an opportunity for Shi Yu to arrive. Then, using the strategically vital "One Line Sky" (a narrow gorge), he lured 15,000 troops from Xiping into his trap, eliminating them without firing a single shot. Finally, Shi Yu used a "deceiving the heavens" tactic to infiltrate Jincheng, easily capturing the most difficult city to conquer.

In a single day, they captured two key border towns in Xiping. Jinghe's 150,000-strong army converged in Jincheng. After resting for half a day, they split into three routes and advanced swiftly towards the heart of Xiping, the imperial city…

Meanwhile, Leng Jie and her group's struggle in Beifeng had entered a fierce stage. With only five days left until the day of the divine sacrifice, all factions were making final preparations for their own goals. Leng Jie, Qingfeng, and Ziying, who were involved in this, were no exception.

After Leng Jie's chance encounter with the Second Prince, Qing Feng deliberately revealed in the Emperor's study that he had agreed to become the Crown Prince to the Chief Steward of the Imperial Household Department, who had come to report the matter to the Emperor.

Then Ying followed the steward. As they expected, the steward sold the information to the Imperial Concubine for a high price that very night. What followed unfolded exactly as Leng Jie had planned.

What really gave Leng Jie and her team a headache was that, over the past ten days, they had only completed the first of their two plans. The second plan was stalled because they couldn't find a suitable opportunity to deliver the peace treaty bearing the seals of the rulers of Jinghe and Beifeng to the Xiping envoy.

Fortunately, Leng Jie had deliberately tampered with the Emperor and Empress's medicine, causing their illness to recur repeatedly, improving for one day and then relapsing for two. Therefore, the old Emperor lacked the energy to discuss the alliance with the Xiping envoys regarding the invasion of Jinghe.

Sure enough, at noon on September 25th, both the Emperor and Empress fainted. Thanks to Xiao Jie and Qing Feng's strenuous efforts, they finally regained consciousness. Afterwards, Xiao Jie and Qing Feng used their internal energy to treat the poison in the old Emperor's palace, one for each of them. Leng Jie winked at Qing Feng. The two of them simultaneously finished their exercises.

"How does Your Majesty feel?" Leng Jie asked with concern.

"Yes, I feel much better now!" The queen, covered in sweat, nodded in response.

After pursing her lips slightly, Leng Jie said thoughtfully:

"Hmm! It seems that Her Majesty's body has reached its limit in terms of the ability to absorb medicine. How about this, from now on, Xiao Jie will use her internal energy to treat Her Majesty's poisoning every day."

The Empress was naturally delighted upon hearing this. She immediately nodded in agreement:

"That would be wonderful!"

"Hmph! Of course you're so great! You make me suffer while you enjoy yourself," Leng Jie thought angrily to herself. However, for the sake of her plan, she had to swallow her anger for the time being.

The Empress turned to look at Qingfeng and said:

"My son, do you also use your inner strength to heal your father's poison every day?"

Qingfeng glanced at Xiaojie and saw her nod at him. He nodded back, albeit reluctantly.

Seeing Qingfeng nod in agreement, the Empress immediately beamed. Suddenly noticing a change in Qingfeng's expression, she turned to Xiaojie with concern and asked:

"But won't this affect the prince's health? After all, the toxins in his body have only just been cleared!"

Looking at the Empress's hypocritical behavior, Leng Jie really wanted to slap her. However, she held back, but she remembered this debt for Qingfeng.

Chapter 120 Trip to the Temple

Composing herself, Leng Jie replied earnestly:

"Senior Brother's body has not fully recovered, and it is indeed very dangerous for him to use his internal energy frequently. It is only because Senior Brother cherishes the bond between himself and the Emperor that he disregards his own safety and forcibly uses his internal energy."

The Empress and the Emperor immediately showed expressions of joy, and four pairs of burning gazes were simultaneously cast toward Qingfeng, as if they wanted to get confirmation from his expression.

The breeze remained as cold and aloof as ever. Ignoring their pleading gazes, he rose and coldly uttered:

"You're all alright now, Xiaojie and I are going back."

Before the emperor and empress could react, she pulled Leng Jie out.

"My son..."

"Your Majesty, please stop calling..."

Behind her came the Empress's slightly forlorn call and the Emperor's helpless words of advice. If it had been half a month ago, Leng Jie would have thought to herself, "How pitiful are the hearts of parents everywhere." But now, after seeing through their manipulation and scheming against their own flesh and blood while simultaneously craving affection from him that came after their own interests, Leng Jie could only despise these selfish and heartless parents in her heart.

After leaving the emperor's palace, Qingfeng suddenly said:

"I'm sorry, Xiaojie, I've made you suffer!"

Uh! Leng Jie suddenly looked up at Qingfeng's apologetic gaze and asked inexplicably:

"What have you done to wrong me? You're the one who's been wronged, aren't you? I was just standing up for you!"

Qingfeng gazed affectionately into Lengjie's bright eyes, then shook his head and said:

“I’ve never felt wronged. Didn’t I tell you before? I’ve always treated them as strangers. My master taught me to be indifferent to people from a young age, so that I could handle this situation. But their behavior made you unhappy, and that makes me feel bad.”

Oh dear! So it was she who had been putting pressure on him all along! Leng Jie involuntarily pursed her lips and chuckled:

"Turns out I was worrying unnecessarily. Alright then, from now on we'll only treat them as opponents, without any emotional attachments. Is that alright?"

Qingfeng naturally raised his hand to tidy a strand of hair that was damp with sweat from Leng Jie's forehead, smiled, and said sentimentally:

“Silly girl, they were always your rivals! You just kept seeing them as your pitiful parents.”

So she really was quite foolish, Leng Jie was speechless.

Seeing Xiaojie lower her eyes and remain silent, Qingfeng gently patted her shoulder and said:

"Alright, stop thinking about it. You've been in Beifeng for almost half a month now, stuck in this lifeless palace. Today I'll take you out of the palace for a stroll."

Upon hearing Qingfeng say he would take her out, Leng Jie immediately perked up.

"Great! I was just about to tell you about what I was going to tell you!"

Qingfeng seemed to have expected Xiaozu Jie's reaction. He smiled knowingly and asked:

"Do you have a place you want to go? Do you want to go to the gathering in the capital? I heard there are a lot of ornaments that girls like there."

A gathering? She never seemed to have any desire for such a scene! But if it were just a convenient opportunity to witness it, it wouldn't be bad. Leng Jie smiled mysteriously:

"Go and call Ying first. I'll tell you where to go after we get out."

It's been over half a month since I reunited with Xiaojie, but the longest we've ever spent alone together is no more than a quarter of an hour. And that quarter of an hour was the one the Emperor deliberately reserved for us when we were enjoying the snow in the Imperial Garden. Apart from that, we're either entangled by the Emperor and Empress or have someone else in between us. At most, we're walking alone back to Qingfeng Residence like this.

It was only because Ying had finally gone to keep an eye on those Xiping envoys that he suggested going out to play. Qingfeng immediately reminded him:

"Didn't Ying go out?"

“So we need to go find him now!” Leng Jie answered matter-of-factly.

Qingfeng's face lost its luster. Did Xiaojie really not want to be alone with him? He tried his best to calm himself and soften his tone as he spoke:

"Why do you insist on going out with Ying? Are you afraid I can't protect you?"

"Protect me?" Leng Jie looked at Qingfeng in surprise, only then realizing his thoughts in his eyes. She couldn't help but laugh and explain:

"What are you thinking? I'm looking for Ying because I have serious business to discuss. Do I think I'm the kind of person who needs bodyguards every time I go out?"

"Leave all the important matters to me." With that, Qingfeng grabbed Leng Jie's hand without further ado and quickly headed towards the palace gate.

Leng Jie didn't necessarily want to find Zi Ying, but seeing Qing Feng's insistence, she didn't object anymore. She figured she could just tell Zi Ying the situation when she got back.

After leaving the palace and walking along a long, wide, deserted street, they came to a crossroads. Qingfeng stopped and turned to Xiaojie beside him, asking:

"To the left is the busiest market in the capital, to the right are the gambling dens frequented by nobles, and straight ahead is the temple of the Northern Feng Kingdom. Which way do you suggest we go?"

“Of course we should go straight ahead!” Leng Jie blurted out.

Seeing Qingfeng's puzzled expression, he asked:

"Are you going to worship the gods?"

Leng Jie glanced around to make sure no one was following her before quietly explaining to Qingfeng:

"The sacrificial ceremony in a few days will be held at the temple, right? Shouldn't we go and scout out the terrain first?"

"Is this the serious business you were talking about?" Qingfeng asked, raising an eyebrow.

Leng Jie nodded solemnly and replied:

"Yes, this is very important!"

Qingfeng smiled and said:

"You don't need to worry about this. Ying and I went to check on it last night."

"You went out last night?" Feeling suddenly excluded, Leng Jie asked unhappily:

Why didn't you call me?