Ch.4 Departing for LanLing Village

Ah… it was starting. Xiao Liu hung his head and sighed. Luo Yue hated this kind of people who would dare put on airs in her presence the most.

"Y-…you refuse?" the messenger spluttered before he quickly picked himself up and glared at the paper screen. It was the first time in his life that he has ever heard of a person refusing the Imperial Decree. Even if this person was the God of War, the Emperor was still the ruler of the country! "You are showing disrespect to the Emperor! Do you know that you can be beheaded for-…"

The sound of Luo Yue clicking her tongue in annoyance resounded in the hall, leaving the Royal messenger so speechless that he just stood there rooted onto the spot.

Xiao Liu quickly rushed to her side and tentatively poured her a cup of wine, muttering a soft "Master, please take care of your body…" before retreating a few steps back.

While the Lady he serves is nonchalant and laid-back, playful even when she's in the mood, Xiao Liu has been around her long enough to know that behind that facade of a normal lady, lies the God of War. To put it nicely, she was the Hero of the North. To put it bluntly, her hands have been dyed redder than anyone else's. Just because she was no longer standing on a battlefield now, did not mean that there had not been a mountain of corpses left in her wake. And just because the person in front of them now was a person of the North and a royal messenger at that, did not mean that she would hesitate to send him back to learn some manners from his dead ancestors.

She had always been short-tempered and although 5 years of seclusion had given her nothing to be annoyed about, this one imbecile could really just haul the lion from its den.

"U-…Under His Majesty’s orders, you are to set out to LanLing village immediately."

"Xiao Liu." The fan in Luo Yue’s hands opened and closed. Like her umbrella, the fan in her hands was dark blue in colour. There was a willow tree beautifully painted on the right and a short verse written on the left.

'Child blessed by the moon,

May you remain this bright.'

In that short moment, a light seemed to reflect from the fan. Only upon close inspection, would someone see the deadly blades that had been attached to the small fan, and only being close enough, could someone notice the smell of blood that even years of washing had not been able to wash away.

"Yes, Master?"

"Will you please see the clown back to his troupe?" she savoured the sweet smell of wine slowly. "As you’ve said, I don’t have the money to pay for this kind of entertainment right now."

"…"

'My dear Lady!' Xiao Liu wanted to cry out. 'I understand you can't hold your tongue but he is still the royal messenger! Oh, Ping-ge! Please come back soon!'

The royal messenger has never suffered this kind of blatant insults and for a moment, he was honestly shocked into a stupor. After all, who would dare act with such direct disrespect to a person who belonged to the Imperial court?

"You-…! You’ve offended the Emperor! His Majesty-…"

"What can he possibly do to me-" her voice was completely void of feeling and a chill went down the messenger’s spine when he felt a pair of stone-cold eyes piercing into him from behind the paper screen- "when I hold the Token of Immortality in my hands?"

"The Token of Immortality?!"

Luo Yue rarely mentioned the Immortality Token. After all, she had always treated it as 'that person''s sincerity. Just 'his' thoughts were enough; she has never thought of actually using it to get out of any irredeemable sin. And 'he' as well, had known that. Which was why, while every single person in the court had opposed his decision, 'he' had trusted that she would never do anything to harm this country.

But this person here-...

"You must be new." She fanned herself slowly and then suddenly snapped the fan shut. As though the day has suddenly changed, the temperature dropped a few degrees in that silence. "To send someone who doesn’t even know my temper when he is asking for a favour, is he insulting me? Or has that brain finally wilted away?"

Perhaps it was because never once has anyone dared to, it took a moment for the messenger to realise who she was referring to and when he did, his face turned purple in the blink of an eye, "To the Emperor-… You-... How dare you-…"

"You are…" a person stepped in, his light blue robe fluttering lightly. "As lively as ever, Yue."

"Sir Xu!" The messenger quickly bowed in relief.

"Has 5 years of seclusion not been enough to trim away that temper of yours?" Xu Shi Jing smiled softly.

"You too, Shi Jing." The voice behind the screen seemed to soften into a pout. "Then you should know. I don’t like his attitude."

"You won’t like his attitude anyway even if he came personally. So, isn’t that why I came in His Majesty’s stead to show some sincerity?"

He shook his head and smiled when he received no reply from the person he had watched growing up. "The situation is worse than they think, Yue. LanLing village has grown 5 times in population in the last few months. There is no concrete proof yet, but I am positive they are people from the East. However, without a way to separate the Eastern people and our own common people, we cannot attack rashly, not to mention that with a lot of the troops on the frontline, we cannot spare anyone. I believe they plan to join in with the South to attack the Capital as a show of their willingness to form an alliance with them. They might attack even if the South fails because our Army will not be able to catch up. And with the number of troops left in the Capital, even fencing off 5000 soldiers will be beyond our ability."

"I seem to remember that our army did not use to be this small."

"Some of them retired along with Gao Peng. Another half of the remaining soldiers have been sent to guard the border. There have been quite a few attacks from the barbarians these few years after all."

The lady behind the screen lightly pushed it away with her fan, revealing a face of absolute contempt. "I must admit, to bring a country to ruins faster than an enemy’s battering ram, our gifted Emperor is no doubt the son of heavens."

The messenger’s eyes widened in shock and before he could even be surprised by The God of War’s gender, her words have already made his jaws drop.

Did she just… criticised the Emperor, His Majesty, again?!

Xu Shi Jing, however, has long gotten used to this.

"That’s what you always say," he gave a light chuckle, face filled with familiar warmth. “But your heart does not seem to be as cold as your words. After all, to protect the country 'that person' had spent a lifetime trying to guard, when have you not been the first to stand forward? His Majesty still doesn’t understand you enough but what is there about you that I still do not know? I merely came to explain the situation to you because... you’ve already made your move, haven’t you?"

As though to prove his words, Shen Tian Ping arrived at that moment, saw the Gifted Scholar, and bowed slightly. "Sir Xu."

"Tian Ping." He returned the greetings. "It's been a while."

"Yes, indeed." Shen Tian Ping has already guessed the reason for his visit. He did not wish to drag things as well. "Master, the horses have been prepared."

"Horses?" Only the messenger who still has not understood the situation frowned and stood forward. “Where is Lady Luo Yue thinking of going when the battlefield-…”

Xu Shi Jing lifted a hand to stop him and when he turned to face her, she could clearly see the small self-satisfied smile on his face.

"All the best for your journey, Yue. 'He' will also be glad that the North has finally been left in your hands."

"I’m not doing this for 'him'." Luo Yue stubbornly said as she walked past her old friend. "Can’t you tell I’m selling my body for wine? So, you've better go inform our dear Emperor and have him prepare enough payment for me after this."

Xu Shi Jing only shook his head lightly with a laugh. "How many soldiers do you need?"

"Soldiers?" Luo Yue turned back with one end of her lips tilted. "Didn’t you say we don’t have enough troops left in the Capital? The thousand citizens waiting in LanLing village will be more than enough. Just prepare enough people to carry rebuilding materials and prison cages and have them arrive in the village by the next day."

"Your efficiency surprises even me sometimes, Yue."

"Shi Jing, your flattery is making me lose my will."