Chapter 148: Not Up to Him

Chapter 148: Chapter 148: Not Up to Him

In ancient times, it was customary for men to grow beards. A well-grown and well-groomed beard was a sign of a handsome man, and could even earn one the title of "Mr. Mei."

Of course, not everyone grew a beard out of vanity. Some did it to appear more authoritative.

For most, however, a beard was the mark of a man—an indispensable part of his identity.

Furthermore, the ancients abided by the saying: "Your body, from your hair to your skin, is a gift from your parents. You must not dare to harm it."

This didn’t mean one couldn’t ever cut their hair or beard. Otherwise, wouldn’t it all be dragging on the floor?

So, the custom likely meant that one couldn’t wantonly damage their hair and beard without good reason, but routine trimming and grooming were acceptable.

Therefore, when considering a gray-haired old man who didn’t even have a beard, Ji Huan could think of only one possibility: a eunuch.

Then, her mind flashed to the news the village chief had gathered from the county government.

’Someone from the Capital City is coming... a eunuch of high standing...’

She had speculated at the time about why the Capital City would send someone at this juncture.

The village chief said it was to bestow rewards, but she felt it couldn’t be just for that.

Given the terrible weather and travel conditions recently, even if the court dispatched someone the moment the battle report arrived in the Capital City, they couldn’t have gotten here this fast.

And besides, the person who came was a eunuch.

When a eunuch appeared in the army, it was either to act as a military supervisor or to deliver an imperial edict.

’With the overall situation still uncertain, would they really send a eunuch all this way just to deliver rewards for a few minor victories? Is that even possible?’

Moreover, the most recent major victory had only happened a few days ago. The battle report was probably still on its way, yet the Emperor’s man had already appeared in the Northern Pass.

’What could the reason be...?’

Ji Huan didn’t want to overthink it. She was truly afraid and only hoped the war would end quickly, completely, without any more turmoil.

"Wan, what are you thinking about?"

Hu Ximei’s voice snapped Ji Huan back to reality, and she realized her thoughts had strayed.

"You said that eun— ahem, that old man, he was looking at Dabao?"

Hu Ximei nodded affirmatively.

"Could you have been mistaken?"

For example, maybe he was actually looking somewhere else, but from your angle, it just seemed like he was looking at Dabao.

"Impossible." This time, it was Hu Liang who spoke.

"That group had already galloped past us. But the old man in the lead happened to glance at Dabao and abruptly reined in his horse. He ignored the chaos of rearing horses and panicked neighs behind him and just kept staring at Dabao’s face, sizing him up."

His gaze was like that of someone who had just seen an old acquaintance.

’But how could Dabao possibly know someone of that status?’ Hu Liang found the thought so ridiculous he didn’t say it out loud.

A chill instantly ran down Ji Huan’s spine.

There was an old saying in the Northern Pass: out of ten eunuchs, nine are wicked.

It basically meant that because of their physical mutilation, eunuchs were more or less psychologically abnormal.

Thus, people’s first impression of eunuchs was generally linked to words like "sinister" and "cruel." The general opinion of them was overwhelmingly negative, with very few exceptions.

Ji Huan didn’t want to stereotype people, but she really couldn’t figure out why that eunuch was looking at Dabao.

’A casual glance would have been one thing, but he actually stopped his horse and stared intently without looking away?’

Ji Huan turned her gaze to Dabao.

After a winter of being well-fed, his former image as a scrawny little refugee had finally vanished. He was even starting to look cherubic and adorable.

Alarm bells instantly went off in her head.

’Don’t tell me that old eunuch has taken a fancy to Dabao and wants to take him to the palace to become a little eunuch!’

Ji Huan was so frightened by her own guess that she shivered and quickly urged Hu Liang to get the cart moving faster.

She made up her mind. ’I can’t bring Dabao to town anymore. We’ll just have to lie low for a while, at least until that group returns to the Capital City.’

「Meanwhile, on the main road to the military camp.」

The group they had just been discussing had slowed down considerably compared to their previous lightning pace.

Wu Gang glanced at the man who was clearly still lost in thought, urged his horse forward, and asked carefully, "Chief, did you know that little boy from before?"

’Come to think of it, the Chief has been acting strangely ever since then.’

Feng En’s train of thought was broken. He gave Wu Gang a cool glance.

"You’ve been with me for so long. Do I still need to tell you what you should and shouldn’t ask?"

His voice wasn’t shrill or sharp; it even had a somewhat friendly tone.

Who would have thought that upon hearing this, Wu Gang would immediately start slapping his own face with all his might without another word. "This subordinate spoke out of turn!"

Feng En raised a hand to stop him, then looked ahead. "We’re almost there."

At the mention of official business, Wu Gang’s expression turned serious again.

"This subordinate doesn’t understand. Why didn’t we wait for Mr. Cai?"

"That old coot Cai Zhikui is probably at the post station right now, worrying himself sick over how to rewrite the treaty. If we waited for him, we’d be waiting forever."

At this, Feng En snorted through his nose.

"It’s absurd, really. General Kou is fighting a bloody battle at the front, little knowing that the court has already sent people to secretly negotiate peace with Beiliang. And the terms for peace offered by Beiliang, aside from a war indemnity of five hundred thousand silver taels, include the head of Kou Changqing himself."

This was the first time Wu Gang was hearing these details.

He looked utterly shocked and asked urgently, "The Emperor agreed?!"

"Our Emperor agreed to the first condition without a moment’s hesitation. If the Noble Consort hadn’t intervened on her sister’s behalf, I’m afraid he would have agreed to the second one as well."

Feng En sighed dramatically. "It’s just a pity. They planned for every contingency, but they never calculated that Kou Changqing would resolve the border crisis—something General Nie dragged his feet on for years—in such a short time... Just watch. Now there are going to be plenty of headaches to go around."

Wu Gang didn’t know whether to be happy or worried.

"If Mr. Cai is in a bind, aren’t you in a difficult position as well, Chief?"

"What’s there for me to be in a difficult position about?"

Feng En patted the brocade box he carried, his face twisting into an indescribable smile that was enough to make one’s skin crawl.

"The Emperor is so considerate of us servants and the difficulties we face on missions. Before I left, he specially prepared two imperial edicts for me."

If we won, one was for commendation.

If we lost, the other was for reprimand.

And then, to logically propose peace negotiations.

That’s right. The true purpose of their trip was to assist Cai Zhikui in bringing about these peace negotiations.

This was precisely why Wu Gang didn’t know whether to be happy or worried.

As a red-blooded man, he had always looked up to Kou Changqing as a role model. It was just a shame that by a twist of fate, he had entered the Xuanwu Guard, losing his chance to slay enemies and serve his country.

Now, with the Zhou Army’s great victory, he was ecstatic.

In his heart, he too felt that suing for peace was utterly spineless.

But Feng En had saved his life, and the peace treaty was a decision from above. If they failed to carry out the Emperor’s command, Feng En’s fate...

"Now that he’s won, General Kou will definitely not agree to a peace treaty."

"Not agree? It’s not up to him. Besides these two edicts, I also have a secret decree in my possession: summon the Great General back to the Capital City immediately. If he defies the order, he is to be killed without mercy."

Feng En’s tone was a mixture of mockery and regret as he lamented:

"Ah, our Emperor... He truly has thought of everything. If he were to apply this level of meticulous planning to other matters, the Great Zhou would have likely been at peace and prosperous long ago!"