IDWBE -Chapter 273 Serving with Beauty

“Do you feel wronged?” Lin Yi suddenly asked.

“No, no, Ninth Brother, you misunderstand,” the Prince of Yong’an hurriedly replied. “Seeing you makes me happier than anything.”

“You’re only fifteen this year, right?” Lin Yi asked.

“Reporting to Ninth Brother,” Yong’an said with an awkward smile, “I’m sixteen this year.”

“That’s not bad,” Lin Yi said with a smile. “When you were ten, you already set your grand ambition to become emperor. Back then you were young—no one took your words seriously, and no one held it against you. But now you’ve grown up. Stop dreaming like that. Your maternal family is weak. You have no backing in the army. And you yourself… don’t have much ability. Don’t do things you shouldn’t.”

“Ninth Brother is correct,” Yong’an lowered his head even further.

His maternal grandfather was only a minor prefect. It was good enough that he didn’t drag him down—how could he expect help?

As for military commanders, he had tried to win them over with courtesy and humility, but no one paid him any attention.

His mother had once told him: “With my beauty, I rose from humble beginnings and gained favor above.”

Only now did he truly understand what she meant.

Favor gained through beauty does not last.

And as her son, he too would be looked down upon.

“Enough, no more of this,” Lin Yi yawned. “When we return to Sanhe, as long as you don’t cause trouble, your brother won’t make things difficult for you. But if you put me in a hard position, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

“Thank you, Ninth Brother.”

Yong’an sighed silently in his heart, then followed Xiao Xizi out of the tent.

After he left, Lin Yi turned to Hong Ying and said, “Jingyi is in Ankang City. I doubt things are so simple. Tonight, you and the Blind Man don’t need to guard me. Go guard Mother and the Princess instead.”

Hong Ying bowed in acknowledgment.

Whenever matters involved the Consort or the Princess, there was no room for discussion with the prince.

Before leaving the tent, he called Ye Qiu over and gave him careful instructions.

That Night, Officers patrolled with hunting dogs, repeatedly exchanging passwords. Anyone suspicious was thoroughly inspected—no exceptions, not even Butcher Jiang.

“The password is correct,” Liu Kan, holding a torch, leaned in to examine Butcher Jiang closely. “What’s your name?”

“Kan’er, you don’t even recognize me?” Butcher Jiang rubbed his face desperately, hoping to wipe off the black soot. “Me—Jiang Dasheng. Your father Liu Duo, your grandfather Liu Banzhi. Damn it, my face is dirty, but you can’t even recognize my voice?”

“Jiang Dasheng?” Liu Kan still looked doubtful.

“The pork seller from West Street—Butcher Jiang,” Zhu Ruorong, who had accompanied him to relieve himself, couldn’t help adding.

“Yes, yes! I’m Butcher Jiang!” Jiang sighed helplessly. In Baiyun City, few knew his given name, but “Butcher Jiang” was famous.

“Oh! Uncle Jiang,” Liu Kan smiled. “It’s dark, and everyone’s filthy—it’s hard to tell.”

“Damn it, we live on the same street! I watched you grow up—what’s so hard to tell?” Jiang grumbled.

Liu Kan clasped his hands. “Please forgive me, Uncle Jiang. I’ll take my leave.”

He then led the patrol onward.

Jiang spat on the ground. “He’s becoming more and more insufferable.”

Marry his daughter to someone like that? He wasn’t so willing anymore.

“Enough. He’s just doing his duty—nothing to complain about,” Zhu Ruorong said, supporting him again. “Hurry up and heal. You’re exhausting me.”

Even getting up at night required company.

Jiang said, “Divine Doctor Hu said it takes a hundred days to recover from torn tendons and broken bones. It won’t heal that fast. I can’t move around carelessly—I don’t want to end up lame.”

“You’ve always got something going on. I really don’t feel like dealing with you,” Zhu Ruorong muttered.

At the base of a burned tree stump, he helped Jiang lie down.

Jiang sighed. “We’re really heading back tomorrow? Feels a bit of a pity. After all that effort, we haven’t even seen what Ankang City looks like inside.”

“You didn’t hear? There are over two hundred thousand people in the city. Even if we had four arms each, we wouldn’t be their match,” Zhu Ruorong replied.

“You’re boosting others’ morale and undermining our own!” Wang Xiaoshuan, who had lost two teeth in battle, spoke with a lisp, his mouth still aching.

“You’re so capable? Then you go fight,” Zhu Ruorong snorted. “I’m listening to the Prince. We’re going home. Been away too long—I miss home.”

Li Sanniang sighed. “At least we get to go back. Some people… won’t.”

None of them had imagined that so many would die.

Liang Qingshu said calmly, “Before we came, everyone knew the risks. Accept fate.”

Jiang Sixi turned to Huang Daoji, the blacksmith shop owner by the fire. “The cavalry armor from Jizhou was impressive. I chopped three times and couldn’t cut through. In the end I had to aim for the neck. A second slower and I’d have been minced meat. Nothing like our armor—damn thing gets pierced by a single arrow.”

Huang Daoji said heavily, “If our skill is inferior, I admit it. When we return, I’ll personally plead guilty before Lord Shan.”

Liang Qingshu shook his head. “It’s not your fault. Sanhe has only been forging armor for a few years. To reach this level already isn’t easy.”

Everyone fell silent.

They knew he spoke the truth.

Li Sanniang waved irritably. “Enough. Sleep. We march tomorrow.”

The armor scales had been made in Huang Daoji’s forge, but sewn together in her clothing shop.

When Jiang Sixi mentioned it, her heart felt heavy. Many had died because of it—she bore some responsibility too.

“Sleep,” Zhu Ruorong echoed.

He lay down fully clothed on the ashes.

The night passed without incident.

The Next Morning

Before dawn, Lin Yi rose from his hard wooden bed, yawning at the rising sun.

After washing up, he asked Xiao Xizi, “Has Mother risen?”

“The Consort and the Princess rose early. They’ve already eaten,” Xiao Xizi replied.

Lin Yi nodded, ate something casually, then went to his mother’s tent.

Consort Yuan sat with disheveled hair, her clothes stained black and white from soot. Holding a mirror, she looked troubled.

Lin Yi clasped his hands. “Mother Consort has suffered.”

Consort Yuan sighed. “What’s done is done. What more is there to say?”

Lin Yi cautiously asked, “Mother… is unwilling to go to Sanhe with your son?”

She looked at him and asked, “Do you know that Liu Cishi and his entire family were executed?”

Lin Yi hesitated. “I only heard yesterday.”

“How then,” she countered, “can I rest easy about your uncle and your maternal grandfather?”