****
In fact, female officials and generals were not uncommon in Dajin, but the Linchuan Army seemed to have some bad luck in certain matters, and was always known throughout the country as a "monk's temple".
Although Yun Lie was a prince, he rarely returned to the capital during his ten years of military service. He spent most of his time in the camp in Linchuan, and his daily interactions were mostly with the rough men under his command.
Suddenly faced with a strange girl who seemed both delicate and feisty, he was unsure how to respond, so he silently pursed his thin lips, straightened his face, and nodded in greeting.
Fortunately, Luo Cuiwei had recovered from the intimidation she felt from his imposing aura and broke the silence with a smile: "It is truly presumptuous of me to come and see you today. Thank you for taking the time to receive me, Your Highness."
She had originally thought she would be turned away several times, and her visit today was merely to show her sincerity. She hadn't expected Yun Lie to agree to see her so easily, which caught her off guard.
When two people who had no prior connection meet for the first time, they certainly shouldn't start talking about their "collusive" schemes. An awkward but polite exchange of pleasantries is probably the most appropriate thing to do.
Everything must be done step by step. Although borrowing a route through Linchuan is urgent for the Luo family, Luo Cuiwei still has the patience to do so.
Yun Lie looked at her, his Adam's apple bobbing, and after a moment he said in a deep voice, "I've been tied up with trivial matters the other day and haven't had the time. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
Luo Cuiwei smiled knowingly, "It's rare for Your Highness to return to the capital, and with the New Year approaching, you must have many things to attend to. It's only right that you wait a bit."
Her smile, which seemed to exude an air of familiarity, was quite unfamiliar to Yun Lie. He secretly pondered her intentions and gave a curt "hmm."
Despite his coldness, Luo Cuiwei maintained her smile and continued, "I have requested to see Your Highness time and again, mainly because I have a small, unsolicited request."
Yun Lie's eyes narrowed slightly, and he raised an eyebrow: "Tell me about it."
“My father had an accident at sea a few years ago, which injured his lungs and internal organs. He has been recuperating at home ever since,” Luo Cuiwei said slowly. “Recently, a doctor said that if a few fresh purple-backed palm leaves are used as medicine every day, it will be very helpful in resolving the blood stasis damage in the lungs and internal organs. However, purple-backed palms are rare in the capital. Even if various medical clinics have a small amount in stock, it is not fresh leaves. Purple-backed palms are mostly found in Linchuan. Perhaps Your Highness’s residence has them…”
She was truly impressed with her own wit; the more she spoke, the more believable it became, to the point that even she herself began to believe it.
It is true that Luo Huai needs the leaves of the purple-backed palm tree for medicine, but with the Luo family's wealth, no matter how rare the purple-backed palm tree is, how could they have been unable to find it for several years?
However, she had just noticed a few pots of them in the courtyard of Prince Zhao's residence, and a flash of inspiration led her to this idea.
“Yes,” Yun Lie readily agreed, hearing it was such a small matter, “You can…”
Luo Cuiwei's eyes flashed with joy at the right moment, her smile tinged with a hint of shyness and gratitude. "The purple-backed sunflower is quite precious in the capital, and I have no right to presume to ask Your Highness to part with it. Just come to the residence every day to ask for a few leaves. Is that alright?"
What a joke! If Yunlie waved his hand and told her to move the whole pot away, where would she find an excuse to come and get acquainted with him every day?
This act of "colluding in evil" cannot be spoken of rashly without a certain level of familiarity with the subject.
Seeing Yun Lie's brow furrow slightly, she quickly added timidly, "I will pay for it. Even if Your Highness doesn't care, I will still pay for it."
Her originally sharp, sweet voice suddenly turned into a timid murmur, revealing a hint of stubbornness and pride, as if the other party would hurt her pride and dignity if they insisted on giving it to her for free.
"...Whatever you want." Yun Lie choked for a while before uttering these three words with some difficulty.
****
After the two reached an agreement, Luo Cuiwei did not linger. She happily picked a few leaves of the purple-backed palm tree, thanked them, and took her leave.
Yun Lie sat solemnly in the main seat for a while, then walked to where Luo Cuiwei had been sitting and bent down to pick up the brocade sachet with dark patterns that she had left behind.
He gently opened the sachet, took out a medicinal leaf from inside, and smelled it.
This Luo Cuiwei was indeed a swindler.
The Luo family can get live specimens of even rarer Nandina domestica, so why would they need to go through so much trouble and beg him for a few leaves of the Purple-backed Palm?
What is it that she really wants?
Just as Yun Lie was lost in thought, the voice of the old steward Chen An came from outside the hall: "Your Highness, Lieutenant General Xiong requests an audience. Should we ask him to wait in the study for a while?"
To get to the study, one has to pass through the main hall. Yun Lie was too lazy to go through those unnecessary formalities, so he said to the boss, "Just bring him here."
The Xiong Lieutenant General mentioned by the old steward is Xiong Xiaoyi, the military lieutenant general of the Linchuan army who was ordered to escort Yun Lie back to the capital. He has served under Yun Lie for seven years, and the two have shared life and death in the army, being both comrades-in-arms and close friends.
Such a friendship doesn't require formalities when no outsiders are present.
Xiong Xiaoyi lived up to his surname, with a broad back and a dark complexion. His stride was so large that it took him two steps to take someone else.
He had just entered the main hall when his sharp eyes spotted the teacup on the guest seat, and then, upon seeing the exquisite yet conspicuous sachet in Yun Lie's hand, he immediately exclaimed, "Unbelievable! A young lady has actually come to your residence?! And she even gave you a sachet?!"
Yun Lie gave him a disdainful look, offered no explanation, and simply walked alongside him toward the study. "How's the investigation going?"
When it came to business, Xiong Xiaoyi immediately stopped joking and said as they walked, "I've been going through all the shops in the capital these past few days. Only three have been trading through Songyuan in the last two years. Among them, the younger generation of the Xu family in the north of the city are all young men, so we can rule them out. Our creditors should be either Luo Cuiwei, the eldest daughter of the Luo family in the west of the capital, or Huang Jingru, the eldest daughter of the Huang family in the south of the city."
Luo Cuiwei...
Yun Lie's expression grew increasingly solemn, and the sachet in his palm inexplicably became burning hot.
“After all, I wasn’t there at the time, so I really can’t confirm which one it is right now,” Xiong Xiaoyi said, pulling at his hair in frustration. “I can’t just rush up and ask him, can I?”
He was clearly a burly man, but now he shrank back like a guilty little wife, his voice growing softer and softer. "Besides, even if we shamelessly asked and got the answer, we still couldn't repay those five cartloads of grain right now. A mere empty 'sorry' won't wash away the mistake we made back then."
Two years ago, Xiong Xiaoyi sent a small team of soldiers to bypass Songyuan and secretly investigate the deployment and mobilization of the neighboring country's defenses on the border. After completing their mission, the soldiers encountered a caravan carrying five carts of grain on their way back to Linchuan from Songyuan.
Because of sabotage by someone in the court, the Linchuan army often faced the predicament of having its food and pay withheld or delayed. These young men who risked their lives to guard the border were also extremely hungry. In a moment of impulse, they had a wicked idea and disguised themselves as mountain bandits to rob the merchant caravan of its grain.
Although it was a last resort, the victim did not report the incident to the authorities afterward, but a mistake is a mistake.
This incident is a disgrace to the Linchuan army, and Yun Lie, the commander-in-chief, and Xiong Xiaoyi, the deputy commander of the central army, feel even more responsible.
It was dark at the time, and the soldiers, feeling guilty, did not pay attention to the caravan's signboard. They only remembered that the person in charge was a young woman, and that someone in the caravan had mentioned the words "returning to the capital."
Although the clues were few, there was still a direction. Taking advantage of the opportunity to return to the capital by imperial decree, Yun Lie planned to find out exactly which family was the victim from back then.
He was the commander-in-chief of the Linchuan Army, and the debts of the Linchuan Army were his debts. Although he couldn't repay them right now, he would have to repay them eventually.