Young Prime Minister, a Hermit

Chapter 109

Feifei stared at me intently, a brilliant light shining in her dark eyes, and nodded gently.

Just as I stepped out the door, Shen Hong, the captain of my infantry guards, rushed over, saluted, and said, "My lord, news has come from the southwest that the young Marquis of Ningbei has mustered an army of 100,000 and set off from Xinyang this morning to officially attack Woyang City."

"So, you've finally stopped with the small skirmishes?" I nodded with a smile and asked, "What about the remaining 30,000 troops?" Yang Qian originally had 160,000 troops, but Ling Chu lost nearly 30,000 in the defeat, leaving him with less than 140,000.

Without even panting, Shen Hong quickly replied, "General Hu will lead the guards to protect the grain supplies at the border between Xinyang and Qingyuan."

My mind naturally conjured up a map of the mountains and rivers of Fengyin's various cities, and after a moment's thought, I couldn't help but feel a chill: "Could it be near the long-dried-up Ruojiao River?" That area didn't belong to Qingyuan; it was situated on higher ground between Qingyuan and lower ground between Xinyang, a location inaccessible to the Qingyuan garrison, and also closest to Woyang upstream, allowing for timely support of Yang Qian. It should have been the perfect place to store provisions and regroup troops, but…

Shen Hong nodded, looking puzzled, clearly not understanding why I suddenly changed color: "Sir, is there a problem?"

I shook my head and said helplessly, "Yi Bo (Shen Hong's courtesy name), continue to gather information. If Yang Qian attacks the city, or if Hu Yang's entire army is wiped out, then come and report back to me."

"My lord?! You mean..." Shen Hong stared at me, his eyes wide with disbelief.

I smiled, took Feifei's hand and walked forward, saying indifferently without turning my head, "If you want to, you can send a warning to Hu Yang, saying, 'The Yaojiang River is turbulent, the riverbank is unstable; the tributaries are flowing against the current, Ruojiao is in danger.' However, he and Yang Qian are arrogant by nature and absolutely cannot tolerate others' criticism of their shortcomings, so they will most likely not believe it."

It was around 8:30 in the morning.

I, Yihan, Feifei, and Hanjue were having breakfast in the living room of Fei Ji's house, the former city garrison commander of Shangyong City. Actually, people here eat earlier than in modern times. Breakfast starts around six o'clock, lunch around eleven o'clock, and dinner around four o'clock. Those of higher status, like me, have a late-night snack around ten o'clock, called "roasted meal".

However, I'm used to being lazy at home, and having to attend the morning court is something I can't help but do. It's rare for me to be out fighting, and as the supreme commander, I naturally want to squander as much of the power that gives me benefits as possible. Fortunately, the soldiers and officers, seeing how weak and sickly I looked, not only never complained, but actually seemed to want me to rest well, probably afraid that I might collapse on the battlefield if I didn't take proper care of myself.

The three men opposite her all looked at the pastries on the table with troubled expressions. If it was a dark, murky mess that looked neither burnt nor rotten, and was terrifying no matter how you looked at it, could it really be called a pastry?

I put on a stern face and swept my searchlight-like gaze across them one by one: "What, don't you want to eat?"

Feifei was the first to shake her head, faster than a knee-jerk reaction to a hammer hitting her knee. But as soon as she finished shaking her head, her beautiful, long eyelashes trembled slightly, and a very clear and pure fear appeared in her eyes.

Han Jue glanced at the pastries in front of him, then at the soldiers beside him who showed pity and sympathy, and finally fixed his gaze on me. His face showed a struggle for survival as he carefully chose his words: "Lin Yu, you... although you are a bit delicate, a bit thin, and a bit sickly, you are still a man. Actually... it's quite normal that you can't do these things that women are good at."

"Cough..." It was Yi Han who made the sound. He suddenly lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly, and he pressed his fist to his lips. Even an idiot could see that he was trying to suppress a laugh. After a long while, he looked up and met my face, which was on the verge of exploding with anger. He wisely picked up the pastry in front of him and started eating it nonchalantly.

Feifei and Han Jue were probably quite surprised that Yihan seemed unaffected after eating so much, and they stared at him intently. They didn't react until Yihan had finished the entire plate of snacks. Yihan wiped his mouth with the napkin I had prepared for each of them, looked up at Feifei, and said very, very concisely, "I can do it for you..."

I slapped it to silence it. Then, I looked at Feifei with very gentle and kind eyes.

Feifei's face was contorted with anguish, both in her eyes and in her muscles, clearly struggling with a painful and contradictory choice.

It must be said that Feifei is actually a very picky person. He must drink tea brewed with cold herbs, wear clothes made by the "Imperial Clothing Workshop," eat dishes of the imperial chef's caliber, and even his room must be sunny and cool. So, getting him to eat this plate of grayish-brown pastries that clearly lacks color and aroma is quite a challenge.

I leaned back in my chair with a leisurely smile, maintaining that posture as I glanced at him sideways, my entire being conveying only one message: You dare not refuse to eat? I'm sure someone as intelligent as Feifei couldn't possibly miss it.

Finally, Feifei picked up her chopsticks, frowned deeply, and with a look of resignation, picked up a piece of pastry, stuffed it into her mouth, and chewed it haphazardly.

At this point, I finally felt a little nervous, my eyes glued to his reaction. You ask why I wasn't nervous when Yihan was eating? Of course, he'd tasted all sorts of things I cooked years ago, what was there to be nervous about?

With food stuffed in her mouth, Feifei mumbled a single "ah" sound, her expression a mixture of confusion and shock. She chewed hard, her shock growing even more intense, and her usually dark eyes brightened considerably.

After swallowing the food in his mouth with difficulty, Feifei smiled happily at me and said in his deep, clear, and almost holy voice, "Yu, it's delicious!"

I breathed a sigh of relief, a smug smile spreading across my face. I glanced at Han Jue with a disdainful yet provocative look, picked up my knife and fork (I was the only one of the four of us who used one) and began to eat my portion.

To be honest, this pie was so awful that even I took a long time to get used to it. No wonder they all looked pale when they ate it. Ultimately, it's all because Lin Yu's body is just too bizarre. He's incredibly talented in everything from literature and martial arts to military strategy, yet he's completely clueless about everyday things like cooking and sewing. Every time he enters the kitchen, he makes a series of mistakes, and several times he almost blew the kitchen up.

"The taste...it's really good." Han Jue looked at me in disbelief, then looked down at the truly unappetizing pastries, seemingly unable to understand why there was such a huge difference in his opinion. However, honesty was one of his greatest virtues, so from the very first bite, he praised me endlessly: "Lin Yu, you are truly a genius! You can handle the court, the battlefield, and the kitchen. If you were a woman, I, Han Jue, would definitely marry you!"

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The air pressure in the room suddenly felt a little low. I smiled nonchalantly, gave the two remaining pieces from my bowl to Feifei, and said softly, "Eat more. I prepared this for you anyway." Feifei smiled, her beautiful face revealing a childlike innocence.

I was about to speak when I looked up and saw Linglong carrying a bundle, preparing to leave with Li Shuming, the judicial official, to return to Luonan. She should have left earlier, but two heavy rains a few days ago delayed her departure.

I beckoned her over and asked with a smile, "Have you brought all your things? Where's the letter I wrote to Yunyan?"

"I brought everything, young master." Linglong's face shone with excitement and anticipation, as if leaving me and returning to Yunyan's side was something to be overjoyed about.

This really annoyed me. Even if Yunyan really treated her better than I did, she didn't need to make it so obvious. It was as if I was abusing her every day. So I couldn't help but tease her, "Linglong, actually Yunyan doesn't really need any help. On the contrary, I'm short-handed here. How about you..."

"Ah! Young master!" Linglong exclaimed, carrying her bundle on her back. "It's almost time, I have to go, otherwise Uncle Li will scold me." After saying that, she ignored my expression and disregarded the fact that I was the master and she was the servant, and just slung her bundle over her shoulder and left.

After a moment of silence, the room erupted in unrestrained laughter, interspersed with the suppressed chuckles of soldiers. Only Fei Fei continued her struggle with Pai, ignoring the strange occurrences around her.

I glared at Han Jue, and he finally stopped smiling and said solemnly, "Lin Yu, your maid is indeed just like you!"

Seeing that I was about to get angry, he quickly coughed twice and wisely changed the subject: "But you remind me of an interesting tribe in southern Jinyao - the Muyi tribe."

"Hmm?" I raised an eyebrow slightly, showing my interest in listening.

Han Jue smiled, eating the ugly but delicious pie in front of him, and said, "Many women in the Muyi tribe have tea-gold hair, though the color is lighter than your maid's."

After swallowing a bite of pastry, he continued, "It is said that when the ancestors of Jinyao established the country, they made outstanding contributions but were unwilling to serve as officials. Therefore, Emperor Qiying promised that any intelligent and clever daughter among the descendants of the Muyi clan could be selected to enter the palace as a concubine."

A slight tremor ran through me; something flashed through my mind, but I couldn't quite grasp it. I could only gesture for Han Jue to continue.

Han Jue laughed and said, "What's strange is that, for some reason, this promise later evolved into the rule that any woman from the Muyi tribe who enters the palace as a concubine must be the most intelligent and beautiful, with tea-gold hair, and all her children will be returned to the Muyi tribe to raise... So now, almost everyone in the Muyi tribe has tea-gold hair."

This topic did indeed pique my interest, and I was about to ask again when Shen Hong's loud voice suddenly came from outside the door: "My lord! My lord! Hu Yang... Hu Yang... really..."

Looking at Shen Hong, who was panting heavily, his face flushed, and unable to speak properly, I kindly handed him a glass of water: "Take it easy, it's just that Hu Yang lost, what's the big deal?"

I gave Han Jue a meaningful look, and he wisely stood up and left immediately.

Shen Hong drank the tea I offered, choking slightly from the speed before he could continue speaking. His eyes shone brightly as he looked at me with adoration: "Hu Yang... no! General Hu's 30,000 troops, including 5,000 carts of grain, were all... all of them were submerged by the Yao River, almost... completely wiped out. My lord... my lord is truly a prophet!"

"A master strategist?" I frowned slightly and shook my head. "The one who truly has the foresight is Mu Shuangshuang." I glanced at Yi Han, who remained expressionless, and continued, "From the time Yang Qian set off at dawn until now, only an hour has passed. Assuming the supplies were transported a day ahead, Hu Yang could have reached the vicinity of the Ruojiao River no earlier than this time yesterday. Mu Shuangshuang needed at least ten hours to both feign a decisive battle with Yang Qian and secretly order her men to block the tributary of the Yao River, causing it to flow backward. In other words, she had already conceived of the plan to cut off supplies with water when Hu Yang first arrived at the Ruojiao River, or even earlier. That's truly terrifying!"

Shen Hong nodded solemnly and said with his head bowed, "My lord, if we lose our provisions and 30,000 troops so easily, the young Marquis of Ningbei will probably go crazy with rage."