“She was defeated so easily by Yelu Quancang’s hands.” Wei Yuyi felt somewhat regretful when he thought of Yelu Huangwu, who had seemed capable of contending for a decade or two.
He couldn’t help but wonder how it would be if he were to clash with Yelu Quancang.
“Yelu Huangwu was defeated like this.”
In the city garrison, An Jiu also could not believe this news.
“Since ancient times, whenever there are plots to seize power, someone has to die. What’s so strange about that?” Chu Dingjiang was not interested in this. Right now, his mind was more focused on Yelu Quancang’s powerful methods – he absolutely could not be taken lightly.
An Jiu’s body was still recovering, and Chu Dingjiang had ordered her to lie in bed and not wander around. At the moment, she was sitting cross-legged, accepting his spoon-feeding. “But she looked so formidable.”
“Those who show their sharpness often don’t last till the end.”
“Mm-hmm, makes sense. As the saying goes, the dog that bites doesn’t bark.” An Jiu had learned this phrase from someone in the camp recently and applied it immediately.
Although the usage wasn’t quite right, it wasn’t entirely wrong either. But she just had to give a specific example, “Like you and Wei Yuyi.”
An Jiu quickly said, “The Blood Demon is here,” when she sensed his aura shift.
Chu Dingjiang was somewhat indulgent of her in front of her subordinates and didn’t scold her.
After a while, the Blood Demon indeed came to the door and reported, “My lord, I saw the physician leaving the city with two tigers.”
An Jiu wasn’t surprised at all. “Noted.”
“If the master has no other orders, I shall take my leave.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“He has quite the air of a person in power,” Chu Dingjiang remarked with a smile.
An Jiu couldn’t help but pout, “Ever since he saw you again, the Blood Demon has been obsessed with following you. I don’t know how you’ve bewitched him so.”
“Nonsense.” How could one grown man bewitch another grown man like that? She had a way with words.
An Jiu’s thoughts returned to the previous topic, sighing, “This time, Mo Sihui and Luo Mingyue can finally be together properly. I’ve had my troubles in the past, but for some reason, seeing them makes me feel so weary.”
Chu Dingjiang peeled a large piece of apple and stuffed it into her mouth, “You have too much time on your hands. Focus on yourself instead.”
“Myself? I think I’m doing great now.” An Jiu took the apple, leaving her mouth free to speak, “I get to be the good guy and fulfill my wish, and I’ve let a flock of sheep go.”
She was referring to the self-defense army.
Chu Dingjiang laughed heartily, “They can’t be called sheep, they need to be honed into sharp divine weapons, lest the Liao cavalry come to hunt them down.”
“Hmph, my sheep, who dares to catch them?” An Jiu snorted.
Seeing her little air of self-importance, Chu Dingjiang found it amusing and simply stuffed the whole peeled apple into her mouth.
An Jiu tried to swat at him.
Her skin was now as tender as a baby’s, and the slightest force could leave marks. Chu Dingjiang didn’t dare to retaliate, only saying, “Don’t use too much force, or else you’ll hurt your hand. How about I hit myself a few times instead?”
An Jiu laughed heartily at that.
They played around for a while, and An Jiu soon felt tired, dozing off.
Chu Dingjiang looked at her increasingly delicate and beautiful face, still bearing a trace of laughter, and his heart too became unusually soft.
As night fell, Chu Dingjiang got up and walked to the window, his gaze heavy as he looked at the stars in the sky. Nearly an hour later, he instructed a few trusted men to guard the courtyard, then silently slipped into the city.
In less than two moments, he returned, carrying two unconscious people and throwing them into an empty house.
He took a bath and changed clothes, then slowly went to see the two people he had brought.
The Blood Demon, holding a lamp, looked in and spotted the two middle-aged women. Upon closer inspection, one of them was none other than the old Madam Mei!
The Blood Demon set down the lamp, unable to resist asking, “My lord, you’ve captured Madam Mei. Does the mistress know about this?”
He knew An Jiu and Madam Mei didn’t have a good relationship. But even if it wasn’t good, she was a strange person, like how she would scold Mo Sihui enthusiastically, but wouldn’t allow anyone else to say a bad word about him.
“Which of your eyes saw me capturing her?” Chu Dingjiang asked slowly.
Indeed, Madam Mei wasn’t bound. But this isn’t the same as not capturing her at all! However, Chu Dingjiang’s tone reminded him that this lord was not to be trifled with.
The Blood Demon simply buried his head, pretending he didn’t exist and hadn’t seen anything.
“Go brew some tea.”
The Blood Demon obediently left to do so. After a moment, he returned with the tea, placed it down, and was about to quietly exit, but heard Chu Dingjiang say, “Take her to the west room and keep watch over her.”
“Yes.” The Blood Demon resignedly picked up the lantern and left with Madam Mei.
This cluster of houses was something Chu Dingjiang had ordered built in a few months. Due to the rushed timeline, only the main house was well-decorated, while these side rooms, though empty, were still neat.
This room was quite large, with only a few round-backed chairs and two tall stools inside.
Madam Mei let out a soft groan, regaining consciousness.
The dull pain at the back of her neck made her suddenly recall the events before losing consciousness, so she continued to pretend to be asleep, using her spiritual awareness to sense if anyone was around.
“Open your eyes if you’re awake,” Chu Dingjiang exposed her.
Madam Mei didn’t expect there to be someone else, and was slightly surprised, but opened her eyes as instructed and looked up towards the source of the voice.
The room was unlit, but the moonlight outside was bright, allowing her to roughly make out the situation inside. Across from her, on a round-backed chair, sat a tall man, dressed in a black robe with a white collar peeking out. He had a well-groomed beard and hair partially loose as if he had just bathed.
He reached out and poured two cups of tea, personally placing one on the tall stool near her.
Standing so close, Madam Mei realized he was even taller than she had imagined.
“Chu Dingjiang.” Madam Mei had been closely monitoring his whereabouts recently, so she recognized him. “Why have you brought me here?”
Chu Dingjiang picked up the tea and took a light sip. “Madam, don’t speak so harshly. I’ve invited you here because I have a few questions I’d like to ask.”
Even if he had resorted to knocking her unconscious and bringing her here, Chu Dingjiang still wanted to approach this politely first.
“If this is an invitation, why resort to such underhanded methods.” Madam Mei smiled wryly.
Her appearance looked gentle, but her gaze was aloof, not an easy person to get close to.
“Considering what you’ve done, my actions were still quite polite.” Chu Dingjiang said.
Madam Mei then realized that her sending messages had been exposed.
“Your master is currently quite busy, and it may be a few days before he can attend to you. So Madam must carefully consider your situation before answering my questions.” Chu Dingjiang said, “What purpose did he have in sending you to keep an eye on me and Ajiu?”
“You know I’m acting on His Majesty’s orders. You’re quite remarkable.” Madam Mei had to re-evaluate this Chu Dingjiang.
“You flatter me.” Chu Dingjiang was in no hurry to rush her.
“I can tell you truthfully that I don’t know.” Madam Mei composed herself, sitting upright as usual, without any sign of unease. “I was just following orders, how would I have the chance to hear His Majesty’s reasons?”
Chu Dingjiang nodded, not doubting her explanation. “Then please tell me about Yelu Quancang and Xiao Ce.”
“Why should I tell you these things?” Madam Mei asked with a slight smile.
“I don’t want to say anything too forceful right now, but if I didn’t care about anything, you wouldn’t be sitting here.”
Although he said he didn’t want to be forceful, his words were already extremely forceful.
Madam Mei’s tongue went bitter, and she took a sip of the tea. She wasn’t afraid of Chu Dingjiang’s threats but felt that the bitterness of her life had inadvertently slipped out.