Chapter 273: Don’t You Bully Me
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Zhao Neng looked at Su Ying helplessly. “Lord Zhu keeps asking to see you, City Lord.”
Zhu Lin had been restless for the past few days. He would be bounding all over the palace when he had nothing to do. He had most likely wheedled every piece of information he needed out of everybody.
However, it wasn’t anything that Su Ying couldn’t let others know, so she didn’t bother herself with his antics.
“Let him in.”
Zhu Lin was tall and thin, and his skin was particularly fair. It was so fair that it looked a little transparent under the light. No wonder Jiang Yang had always despised him for being effete. His bearing and appearance were indeed very effeminate.
“Cousin-in-law…” Zhu Lin opened his foxy eyes wide and looked at Su Ying pitifully the moment he entered the palace hall. His demeanor was practically begging for compassion from all.
Su Ying raised her eyebrows and looked at him in a calm and unruffled manner. “What is it?”
“Did my Elder Cousin go back to the Chu State?”
My Elder Cousin…
This form of address was really revolting.
“Yes.”
Zhu Lin’s face lit up. “So Elder Cousin still misses us. Since Elder Cousin has left, we have to leave too. Oh, right. Why don’t I bring Little Ling and Little Ji back first? When Elder Cousin wins the battle, they can return to the capital with Elder Cousin in triumph.”
Su Ying suddenly chuckled softly, but the mirth did not extend to her eyes. “Zhu Lin, do you want to die?”
Zhu Lin’s fair face trembled and his eyes turned red-rimmed. “Cousin-in-law, please don’t bully me.”
If he didn’t want to die, then why was he having designs on her children?
“I’ll give you two hours to disappear from the city. Otherwise, I’ll make you disappear from this world. Scram.”
Before Zhu Lin left, he gave Su Ying a resentful look as if he had suffered a great grievance.
“Are all the men in the capital of the Chu State so disgusting?”
Zhao Neng hurriedly shook his head. “City Lord, I can guarantee with my character that only Lord Zhu is like this.”
“What the hell is he?”
In Su Ying’s memories, Zhu Lin’s birth mother was the younger cousin of Xiao Jin’s mother, a relative so distant that it reached the end of the sky. As the younger cousin’s family was in dire straits, she sought refuge with the maiden family of Xiao Jin’s mother. Due to the connection of the maiden family of Xiao Jin’s mother, the younger cousin married a minister in the Imperial Court who was a widower.
Although she was only a second wife, if it weren’t for the connection offered by the maiden family of Xiao Jin’s mother, she wouldn’t even be qualified to be a concubine.
Before the Wei family landed in trouble, Zhu Lin was still Xiao Jin’s study companion. After the Wei family got into trouble, Zhu Lin’s birth mother used Zhu Lin’s poor health as an excuse to let him leave the palace and no longer be Xiao Jin’s study companion. That woman did not leave any doubt in the way she totally severed all ties.
On the surface, Zhu Lin always acted as if he was very innocent and very weak and gentle, beseeching people not to bully him. Who could tell if he had a bellyful of devious scheming in reality?
Now that he wanted to leave, he probably felt that he had figured out the situation in the city. Su Ying did not care about his little tricks, but if he wanted to take the opportunity to take her children away and use them to blackmail Xiao Jin, she would make sure he died!
Zhu Lin and the others were thrown out of the city immediately.
As soon as they were kicked out, the Nan State’s soldiers squatting outside sprang up like cats that had seen a mouse.
Previously, due to these few people, they had lost quite a number of soldiers. Now, the Nan State’s soldiers looked at the closed gate behind them and revealed very malicious smiles at Zhu Lin.
Zhu Lin was truly on the verge of tears. How could he have imagined that Su Ying would throw him out straight away? Wasn’t she abetting the soldiers of the Nan State to skin him alive?
“Calm down, calm down, you guys. It’s useless to capture me. Let me tell you. Prince Qi has already gone back to the Chu State!”
Zhu Lin’s words were like a bolt from the blue, causing the Nan State’s soldiers to freeze on the spot.
Zhu Lin took advantage while they were stunned to turn around and flee.
“Damn it! Don’t let him escape. This person must have been sent by the Chu State. Capture him!”
Zhu Lin swore that he had never run so fast, not even when he was chased and beaten by Xiao Jin when he was young!
On the night when the Chu State nearly lost its third city after repeated defeats, Xiao Jin arrived at the Chu State’s military camp.
The moment General Yong Wu saw Xiao Jin, his eyes turned red-rimmed. No one knew Xiao Jin’s combat ability better than him. When Xiao Jin was imprisoned, he had thought of seeking redress for Xiao Jin, but in the end, his greed for power overcame the little bit of conscience in his heart.
Although Xiao Jin was still officially a criminal, General Yong Wu did not dare to put on airs in front of him. The moment Xiao Jin entered the camp, General Yong Wu took the initiative to hand over the other half of the tiger tally.
Xiao Jin took the tiger tally without hesitation. None of his men were here, so he needed the tiger tally if he wanted the soldiers to listen to him.
“Your Highness, the current situation is extremely grim. The mountain city almost fell tonight.”
Xiao Jin glanced at General Yong Wu indifferently. In his impression, this general had always been a conservative and liked to defend. Now that he almost lost three cities in a row, he had suffered a huge blow. He looked very dejected.
The most taboo thing on the battlefield was losing one’s fighting spirit. If one’s fighting spirit was gone, what was the point of fighting?
Xiao Jin came to the military sand table and observed the terrain around the mountain city. General Wei Wu liked to launch quick attacks. When he felt that he could take down the mountain city with confidence, he would definitely attack again within a short time.
Xiao Jin quickly understood the terrain and the distribution of the enemy’s forces. He then asked General Yong Wu to reorganize the army.
The Chu State needed to have a resounding counterattack to boost its army’s morale.
Valiant horses reared as spears sliced through the freezing wind. Corpses littered the battlefield which was dyed red with blood.
Su Ying abruptly opened her eyes and sat up on the bed.
She rubbed the spot between her eyebrows. She did not know why she had such a blood-splattered dream.
After receiving the news that Xiao Jin had returned to the Chu State, the Nan State’s soldiers outside Sky Alpha City retreated that very night.
It was already early spring, and some matters needed to be scheduled. Today, she was going out with Cheng Ming to see if there were any nearby places suitable for planting.
After packing up, Cheng Ming was already waiting outside the palace. The snow had almost all melted away these days, and the weather had become much warmer.
Su Ying rode on horseback, leading Cheng Ming and the others out of the city gate.
Sky Alpha City was located halfway up the mountain. It was difficult to find a large swathe of flat terrain for farming. They could only look in the vicinity of the Tiger Base.
However, the area here was mostly primitive forests. Even if the land was suitable for farming, the forest still needed to be cut down.
After going one round, they still couldn’t locate a suitable place.
“City Lord, why don’t we look in the direction of the tribes?” When Cheng Ming looked at the situation in front of him, he thought it was probably impossible to find a suitable place.
Su Ying nodded. She remembered that the terrain in the direction of the tribe was relatively flat.
“City Lord, I’ve thought of a place.” Zhang Nuo, who was accompanying them, suddenly spoke.
“What place?”
“If we travel in the direction of the tribes, there’s a piece of land that’s relatively flat and doesn’t have many trees. I went there once the year before last, but I was just passing by. I only recalled just now.”
Su Ying didn’t delay and immediately led her group there.
The place that Zhang Nuo mentioned was in the direction after they exited the mausoleum. After traveling for about four hours and going around a forest, they were able to see it.
“It is indeed a large piece of land.”
Cheng Ming immediately dismounted to check the topographical situation..