Chapter 357: Excuse
Editor: Atlas Studios
No one knew how Qi Haoran infiltrated Chang’an County and ran to Hangu Pass. In any case, he had ambushed the guards at Hangu Pass from behind. The Jin soldiers had lost their momentum, so they could only retreat from Xiao Pass from behind.
Qi Xiuyuan, Jiang Ze, and Mo Xiong joined forces and officially occupied the entire Jingzhao Prefecture. After 20 years, the Jingzhao Prefecture finally returned to the hands of the Great Zhou.
20 was Qi Xiuyuan’s age.
20 years ago, his father and mother fled south together. In order to ensure their safety, his father deceived his mother and married her on the way. Even he was conceived on the way south. As such, this city had a different meaning to Qi Xiuyuan. He hated it, but he also loved it!
“General.” Jiang Ze strode over and bowed. “Fourth Young Master is back.”
Qi Xiuyuan got up to look at his younger brother. Qi Haoran was sitting in the study with his upper body bare while a doctor carefully bandaged the wound on his chest.
Qi Xiuyuan strode over and stopped in the outer room for a while. After confirming that the cold air on his body had been dispelled by the fire, he entered. Jiang Ze, who was a little dirty, decided not to follow him in after hesitating for a moment.
He was afraid of being thrown out by the general.
Qi Xiuyuan saw that the doctor was bandaging his brother’s wound, so he stopped for a while. Seeing that he was done, he put on his brother’s clothes and asked, “How’s his wound?”
The doctor said respectfully, “There was something blocking his chest, so it didn’t hurt his vitals. However, the heavy blow did affect his internal organs. I’ll prescribe a few herbs to nurse him back to health. He should be fine after resting for a while. The weather is cold now, so his wound won’t inflame.”
Qi Haoran was lucky. Otherwise, such a huge wound could easily become inflamed in the summer. Inflammation meant a high fever and death.
Qi Xiuyuan nodded and got someone to bring the doctor out.
Only then did Qi Xiuyuan want to look at the wound on his brother’s chest. He felt guilty and angry. He felt guilty for letting his brother get injured again, and he was also angry at himself. Haoran had only been here for three years, but he had already been injured twice. Last time, he had almost entered the gates of hell. This time, if not for the iron piece protecting his heart inside his clothes, he would have gone to see his mother directly.
Qi Xiuyuan touched the wound on his chest and frowned. “How is it?”
Qi Haoran said casually, “Big Brother, don’t worry. The wound looks deep, but it actually didn’t hurt the bone. There’s only a shallow scar on the chest. It’s just a small cut.”
Qi Xiuyuan looked at the bandage from his shoulder to his lower right abdomen without saying a word. Although he didn’t see the new wound, he knew how deep it was. The other party was quite strong. If not for the iron piece blocking his chest, the wound on his lower right abdomen would have been even worse.
Qi Xiuyuan patted his shoulder and helped him put on his clothes. “You’ve got to thank Ah Ling when you get back.”
The smile on Qi Haoran’s face widened. He nodded fiercely and said, “I’ll definitely thank her. She saved my life again.”
Seeing that his younger brother was trying to please him, Qi Xiuyuan patted his head with a smile and said, “Alright, Big Brother knows that you like her. When you grow up, I’ll help you propose marriage to her family.”
Qi Haoran became happy. Then, he said worriedly, “I wonder if those people in Lin’an Prefecture will agree.”
Qi Xiuyuan’s eyes darkened, but the smile on his face did not diminish. “This is not for you to worry about. Big Brother will take care of everything.”
When Qi Haoran heard this, he cheered up again.
“I’ll get someone to send you back tomorrow. Rest well.”
This time, Qi Haoran did not argue since his injuries were indeed not light this time. He knew the importance of his health, so he nodded in agreement. “Big Brother, do you still want to push forward?”
Smiling, Qi Xiuyuan said, “We won’t go north. We’ll go east. With Hangu Pass as our backing, we should be able to help General Yuan clear some obstacles.”
A look of pity flashed across Qi Haoran’s eyes. “How good would it be if I wasn’t injured? I wonder how much land General Yuan and the rest have recovered.”
The news of Qi Xiuyuan conquering Jingzhao Prefecture should not have spread to Lin’an Prefecture yet, but they would probably know soon. On the other hand, everyone in the north knew that Qi Xiuyuan was a young hero.
However, just as the news of the recapture of Jingzhao Prefecture arrived, the news of General Yuan using troops to the north also spread. After Qi Xiuyuan recaptured the Jingzhao Prefecture, General Yuan also recaptured six counties in Henan Prefecture and eight counties in Kaifeng Prefecture. Now, he was even advancing north.
Not to mention the Imperial Court, the commoners in the world were in an uproar. Although they had just experienced a natural disaster this year, everyone was still gathered in the teahouse to listen to the latest news. They were even excitedly discussing how much land General Yuan and General Qi could recover.
Only General Yuan and Qi Xiuyuan were waiting for the Imperial Court’s order to stop the war. Qi Xiuyuan was trying his best to push east, while General Yuan was trying his best to advance west. He only hoped that the east and the west could be connected before the imperial edict arrived so that they could defend better.
Hence, Qi Xiuyuan only left 20,000 men to guard the Jingzhao Prefecture. The others were brought to the battlefield by him. It was sad to say that they were clearly taking back their homeland for the Emperor, but the Emperor was obstructing them in every way. Every time he thought of it, Qi Xiuyuan would be sad and furious. He could not say it to his younger brother, but his eyes turned red when he faced Rong Xuan.
Qi Haoran didn’t know that Qi Xiuyuan was in such a hurry to fight again because he was afraid that the Emperor’s imperial edict would arrive. He thought that Qi Xiuyuan simply didn’t want to lose the opportunity, so he rushed back to Xingzhou Prefecture, not wanting to drag his older brother down. If he knew the real reason, he would probably make a fuss.
Qi Haoran returned to Xingzhou Prefecture and recuperated alone in the General’s Residence. For some reason, he felt sad. It was too lonely to recuperate alone. He thought for a while and finally shamelessly wrote a letter to Fan Zijin, asking him to come back and accompany him.
Then, he wrote to Mu Yangling and asked him to settle the dividends and visit him.
Fei Bai wanted to say something but hesitated. In the end, he could not help but say, “Master, Young Master Zijin has already given all his money to Young Master Xiuyuan to buy armaments. How can there be any dividends?”
Qi Haoran glared at him and said arrogantly, “I don’t care. I just want Ah Ling to come over and accompany me. If you think this excuse isn’t good, think of one for me.”
“…” As Fourth Young Master had been too obedient for the past two years, Fei Bai had almost forgotten about his dandy manner. Fei Bai thought hard before probing, “How about you tell Miss Mu that you want to eat venison and ask her to send some over?”
Qi Haoran lowered his head to look at his wound. “Can an injured person eat venison?”
Fei Bai immediately said, “I’ll just say that you were clamoring to eat and I couldn’t talk you out of it. If Miss Mu heard this, she would definitely come over to persuade you…”
Qi Haoran’s face darkened. “Am I such an unreasonable person?”
‘Isn’t this being unreasonable?’
“Then why don’t we just say that you miss her?” Seeing Qi Haoran glare at him, Fei Bai immediately straightened his back and stared at the roof. “Just kidding. How can one say something like that so easily? Then what excuse do you think we should use?”
Qi Haoran hesitated for a long time before saying, “Then, then do as you please.”
Fei Bai immediately knew that he had agreed to the previous method. He immediately smiled and went out. He got someone to rush to Mingshui County to deliver the news and tried his best to get Mu Yangling to come over the next day.