Chapter 385

The doctor, hearing this, was so frightened his hand trembled, and the medicine bottle clattered to the ground.

He dropped to his knees with a thud, and the medicine bottle rolled to the guard's hand.

In the large tent, a deathly silence prevailed.

Gongsun Chi slowly raised his hand and touched his still aching, swollen left cheek.

"Scar... face... emperor?" he whispered, repeating those three words.

Immediately he flung his hand up, sweeping everything on the table—memorials, brush rack, inkstone, all of it—flying out!

"Bang! Crash——!"

Gongsun Chi sprang to his feet; the injured left half of his face was dark and twisted, while the intact right half was as pale as paper, his whole face resembling that of an asura.

He was so angry his chest heaved violently, and he could no longer control his outburst: "Investigate!"

"Investigate for me! Who spread it? Where did it start?"

"Search inch by inch! Anyone daring to gossip, kill! Spreaders, also kill! Kill them all!"

"Guards! Everyone on duty in the main tent today, execute them all!"

The guard collapsed limp on the ground, lacking even the strength to tremble.

"Summon Wu Luo to my presence!"

"Yes!"

Soon, pleas for mercy rang out from outside the tent: "Your Majesty, spare my life!"

Gongsun Chi listened with a cold face, unmoved, and the anger in his heart eased a little.

Moments later, Wu Luo entered the tent, saw the mess all over the floor, and stared for a moment: "Your Majesty?"

"Wu Luo!"

Wu Luo's heart jumped; His Majesty had always addressed him as National Preceptor—what was happening?

Gongsun Chi's eyes still blazed with anger: "I can't wait twenty days! How soon can your formation be completed at the earliest?"

Wu Luo bowed and said: "I will do my best; perhaps I can finish it five days earlier."

"But if we do it early, we'll miss the auspicious time of the dark moon..."

"Never mind the auspicious time!"

Gongsun Chi shouted, cutting him off, clutching his fists tightly: "I will give you everything you need!"

"In fifteen days! I will take Xiao Yuanhang's head and his daughter's vital energy to avenge this arrow's insult!"

At the same moment, in the main camp of Lie State.

"Hahaha! Prince, we were just speaking the truth, merely spreading word of that arrow you shot that day."

"I never expected this talk to spread so wildly! Now it's gone around that the prince shot an arrow that pinned Gongsun Chi to the flagpole, and that it took the guards' combined strength to pull it out!"

"Hahaha! Exactly! I don't know who's talented enough to have given him the nickname 'Scar-Faced Emperor'!"

"This time, the face of the Emperor of Xia has truly been thrown in the dirt—you can't even pick it up!"

"Still, our young lady's wit is sharp!"

The tent filled with laughter.

Tuan Tuan watched everyone laughing loudly and joined in: "Exactly!"

"They started spouting nonsense about our father! Since they can talk about him, we can certainly talk about them too!"

"What they say is false, while what we say is all true!"

Xiao Yuanhang looked at his daughter in his arms, kissed her little cheek: "Good girl! Still, my daughter is the most formidable!"

He looked at Zhang Wu'an: "Gongsun Chi will surely hear of this soon and will surely fly into a rage."

"You must keep a close watch on the main camp; with such utter humiliation, he certainly won't be able to swallow this anger."

"Yes! I'll go at once!"

Zhang Wu'an said this and then withdrew with several officers.

But over the next few days, Da Xia held its forces back, not even launching a sneak attack again.

That day at noon, the sunlight was just right.

Tuan Tuan sat on Red Cloud's back, fussing with the horse's mane with her small hands: "Second Uncle, give me another one."

"All right!" Xiao Er handed her a colored cord.

Tuan Tuan took it and carefully tied it onto the small braid she had just made on Red Cloud's head.

Soon, Red Cloud's head was topped with a bunch of colorful little braids.

Tuan Tuan looked it over: "Does it look good? Second Uncle?"

Xiao Er glanced at Red Cloud; the normally mighty Crimson Flame Horse King now looked adorably foolish.

He gazed at his young lady's clear, big eyes, then at Red Cloud's even clearer eyes: "Beautiful! Truly beautiful!"

Tuan Tuan happily hugged Red Cloud's neck: "Red Cloud, look, Second Uncle also says it looks nice! When we return to the Prince's Mansion, I'll have Mother braid you too."

The horse let out a loud snort.

Tuan Tuan grew even happier: "You promised! I knew you would!"

Xiao Er shook his head helplessly.

Xiao Ningxun walked over, took a look, and nearly burst out laughing.

He struggled to keep a straight face, lifted his sister from the horse's back, and said: "Time to eat; come on, brother will carry you home."

They entered the main tent, and everyone sat down to eat.

Xiao Jieyun tore the chicken leg into small strips and placed them in his sister's little bowl: "Father, don't you find this strange?"

"Da Xia, ambitious and aggressive, provoked this border war."

"But though the two armies have faced off for many days, they never take the initiative to attack."

The army here consumes endless supplies each day, and Gongsun Chi even personally leads the campaign—what exactly are they fighting for?

Xiao Yuanhang picked up a chopstick of vegetables and placed them on his daughter's rice, saying: "I've felt something odd for a while."

Before you arrived, I repeatedly challenged them from the camp, trying to draw out their intentions, but they just stayed put, refusing to move.

I also once pretended to break camp, and they surged forward to attack fiercely, but as soon as fighting began, they quickly withdrew.

As the saying goes, a schemer must endure; this Gongsun Chi, as an emperor, having suffered such great humiliation yet still able to endure so, must surely be plotting something.

However, there's no rush anymore; His Majesty's great army will arrive soon.

Once Jifeng's army arrives, we can surround them in a pincer formation.

By then, they'll either have to fight or retreat; they won't be able to just stay idle anymore.

Tuan Tuan lifted her head from the rice bowl and asked: "Will Imperial Uncle and Uncle Ji be coming?"

Xiao Ran laughed, tugging at the little tuft of hair on her head: "Yes! Little one, there's more—according to the military report, your second brother and Gongsun Yue have also come."

If you don't wake up this time, you'll have everyone worried sick.

Well, in about a month or so, they'll all be here.

Tuan Tuan threw down her rice bowl, jumped up, and exclaimed: "Great! I'll get to see Uncle Ji again! And my second older brother, Imperial Uncle, and Xiao Yueyue!"

She happily ran in circles inside the big tent.

Xiao Er laughed, stood up, and led her back to the table: "Miss, finish your meal first."

You want to run? In a moment, I'll go running with Lu Qi.

Yes, miss, eat your meal first. Lu Qi nodded with a smile.

After eating, Xiao Er and Lu Qi accompanied Tuan Tuan playing outside until the sun set, then they returned to the big tent.

Inside the tent sat one person, back to the flap; hearing the movement, he turned his head and said: "Tuan Tuan, do you still remember what I taught you?"

Tuan Tuan's eyes lit up: "National Preceptor! You've come!"