RWNEFE -Chapter 274 General Shen, This Man Is Called Song Daoxi!

Shen Lanxi was not prepared to let Liu Yanhui say anything more. She raised her hand to stop him.

“This bead carries a very auspicious meaning. You’re thoughtful,” Shen Lanxi said after examining it carefully, then placed the bead aside.

Liu Yanhui froze when he heard this. Before he could react, Shen Lanxi continued, “We’re meeting Liang Shao tomorrow. You should head back early and make your preparations.”

The words that had reached Liu Yanhui’s lips ultimately went unspoken.

The item he had worked so hard to obtain had ended up becoming nothing more than a subordinate’s offering to his superior. Liu Yanhui suppressed the bitterness at the corner of his mouth and responded crisply before leaving.

In the end, he still couldn’t compare to Wei Dongzhu!

Watching Liu Yanhui’s lonely figure as he departed, Shen Lanxi sighed softly and put the gift away, leaving it untouched.

Shen Lanxi hadn’t expected Liang Shao to be so generous—he had given her a “huge gift.”

“General Shen, this man is called Song Daoxi,” Liang Shao said, pointing to the young man beside him as he made the introduction.

Shen Lanxi raised an eyebrow. “The famous successor of Guiguzi?”

Liang Shao smiled calmly. “Exactly.”

Liu Yanhui was also shocked. “Wasn’t he serving under Prince Cheng? How did he come to pledge himself to you?”

Holding a feather fan and gently fanning himself, Song Daoxi looked aloof as he replied, “Prince Cheng is a traitor known to all, inside and out. I had no choice before. Fortunately, Brother Liang saved me from dire straits. Naturally, I should devote myself to a worthy lord.”

Liang Shao said, “General Shen, from now on, Master Song will serve under your command.”

With a faintly amused smile, Shen Lanxi said, “There’s a saying in Great Zhou: whoever gains the Guigu successor gains the realm. You should think carefully.”

Liang Shao had clearly already thought it through; otherwise, he wouldn’t have let Shen Lanxi know about Song Daoxi at all.

“I sincerely wish to pledge myself to the Northern Defense Army. I ask General Shen to give me this chance,” Liang Shao said earnestly, clasping his fists.

Shen Lanxi’s gaze swept over both him and Song Daoxi. Suddenly, she curved her lips into a smile. “I accept General Liang’s sincerity.”

Liang Shao didn’t react at first. When it sank in, his whole body jolted. He immediately bowed deeply with clasped fists. “This subordinate is willing to serve the General with utmost loyalty!”

Shen Lanxi’s tone was sincere, her words filled with approval. “I’ve seen your resolve and felt your loyalty. Let’s go into the tent and discuss matters.”

Liang Shao was overjoyed and replied in a firm voice, “Yes!”

Shen Lanxi then turned to Liu Yanhui. “Please help me properly receive Master Song. He arrived in a hurry this time, and I wasn’t able to prepare any gifts—please forgive the lack of courtesy.”

Seeing Shen Lanxi’s serious gaze and familiar tone, Liu Yanhui’s eyes shifted to Song Daoxi, and he immediately put on a smile.

“Master Song, this way, please.”

Song Daoxi glanced at Liang Shao. After Liang Shao nodded to him, Song Daoxi lifted his chin and followed Liu Yanhui.

“General Shen,” Liang Shao asked, puzzled, “if we’re discussing matters, why not invite Master Song as well?”

Shen Lanxi smiled. “Him? I have other uses for him.”

Liang Shao was completely baffled. No matter how he thought about it, such an important person should be present. That was the Guigu successor—being guided by him could only be beneficial!

The first thing Shen Lanxi did after entering the tent was tell Liang Shao not to rush into pledging allegiance to the Northern Defense Army.

Liang Shao was confused. Hadn’t she already given him her word? Why did it sound like she was changing her mind?

“Being too eager makes it look suspicious,” Shen Lanxi said. “If you make no demands at all, the court will assume you have other intentions.”

What those intentions were was obvious to everyone—rebellion. Dongchuan was already in complete chaos, rebels everywhere. One more Liang Shao wouldn’t make much difference.

Of course, Liang Shao did have his own ambitions, but that was something he couldn’t say outright.

“I’m also a citizen of Great Zhou. If it weren’t for the famine driving me to desperation, I wouldn’t have become an outlaw,” he said.

Shen Lanxi nodded in understanding. “In years of disaster, just surviving is already a blessing. You did well. If you don’t resist, you’ll end up as a nameless corpse anyway. We’re all living our first life as humans—who would willingly suffer and die in obscurity?”

Those words struck Liang Shao deeply. After a moment of silence, he said, “If there were more people like General Shen in this world, that would be wonderful.”

Shen Lanxi waved her hand with a smile. “I’m an exception. If not for the rebels in Dongchuan and the invasions from the northwest tribes, I might not even be alive right now.”

Liang Shao looked at her in silence, thinking to himself: how could there be someone so clear-minded in this world?

“How does the General wish me to cooperate? I will do everything in my power,” Liang Shao said.

Satisfied with their agreement, Shen Lanxi then had Liang Shao write a personal letter. She stayed there another two days before returning to Huangtu City.

During the days Shen Lanxi was away, Zhou Ruan first used the excuse of recuperating from illness to lift Zhou Yunyue’s confinement. Then, under the pretext of investigating the military strength of the three Turkic tribes, he placed his own people into the three wings of the army. After that, claiming he needed to familiarize himself with military affairs, he tried every means to curry favor with Wei Dongzhu and other generals.

He also elevated the status of the marriage-alliance envoys, allowing them free access in and out of the city, assigning them a large retinue of servants, maids, old women, and guards.

Soon after, he began large-scale construction in Huangtu City, building his own residence as well as a princess’s mansion.

When Shen Lanxi returned to the city, Zhou Ruan was just about to leave to discuss the marriage alliance with Abu Kuan.

“Second Prince, Liang Shao truly intends to pledge allegiance. After learning that Your Highness now commands the Northern Defense Army, he specially presented someone to you,” Shen Lanxi said.

Seeing that Shen Lanxi had actually succeeded in dealing with Liang Shao, Zhou Ruan’s gaze lingered on her face, then slowly traveled downward.

Damn Shen Lanxi—she’d rather benefit outsiders than him. Just wait; sooner or later he’d catch her weakness!

“Who?” Zhou Ruan asked coldly and impatiently.

Shen Lanxi replied, “The Guigu successor, Song Daoxi.”

Zhou Ruan stared straight at her. Had he heard that correctly?

“Say that again. Who?” he demanded.

Shen Lanxi sneered inwardly. This good-for-nothing had been hollowed out by wine and lust; he was still young, yet his hearing was already failing.

“Liang Shao is willing to offer the Guigu successor to the Second Prince.”

Zhou Ruan could no longer sit still. He sprang up from his chair.

“Where is he now?”

“I dare not reveal his whereabouts,” Shen Lanxi said. “I’ve arranged for him to stay at my younger brother Shen Yuanjing’s residence.”

Zhou Ruan no longer cared about negotiating peace with Abu Kuan. His mind was filled only with the Guigu successor—and that saying known even to three-year-old children in Great Zhou:

He who gains the Guigu successor gains the realm!

Even Heaven itself was helping him—how could his grand ambition fail?

“Take me to see him at once!”

Wei Dongzhu said, “Second Prince, the peace talks with Abu Kuan are about to begin.”

Zhou Ruan snapped impatiently, “You go in my place!”

“Yes!”

Soon, Zhou Ruan met the legendary Guigu successor.

Excited, he exclaimed, “The Guigu successor truly is extraordinary—graced by heaven, unlike ordinary men!”

Song Daoxi replied with the calm of an old monk, “The Second Prince is the one favored by destiny, bearing the aura of the dragon.”

Zhou Ruan was overjoyed, his delight spilling onto his face before he forcibly suppressed it.

“Master Song flatters me,” he said. “I am of imperial blood, so it’s natural that I carry dragon aura. My royal father is the true Son of Heaven.”