Chapter 2135

The teahouse was even livelier now; many people had finished dinner and had nothing else to do, so they came here to linger over tea.

People from Moudu had the habit of frequenting teahouses, drinking tea while listening to storytelling or watching plays, often staying for two or three hours. A thriving teahouse could stay open until midnight.

As the You brothers came downstairs, they hadn't even reached the foot of the stairs when they heard laughter, then saw four or five people emerge from behind, one of whom was precisely Zhai Qiu Shan.

Someone muttered, "That woman truly doesn't know what's good for her!"

Zhai Qiu Shan's smile faded from his face.

Today he had invited friends to a small gathering at Houxi Creek for tea, which was actually to give Mei Wu Niang face. Otherwise, with so many teahouses lining the streets of Moudu, the novelty of the new one would have worn off, and who would still come?

Who would have thought this woman never showed up from start to finish, leaving him embarrassed in front of his friends?

Another quickly tried to smooth things over: "Maybe Mei Wu Niang isn't in town today—what does that have to do with right or wrong?"

"Another day, then." Zhai Qiu Shan remained calm, "The shop is hers; she can't always be absent. Next time, I'll see what excuse she has."

Hah, is he really that easy to appease?

Earlier, his companion laughed, "Exactly, exactly—she'll eventually have to come serve Young Master Zhai."

Seeing them about to reach the stairwell, You Huan suddenly quickened his pace, taking five steps in three, then leapt straight to the bottom and turned sharply.

The teahouse was noisy, and his movements were light, so those few didn't hear the stairwell stir, only feeling a flash before their eyes as someone suddenly stepped out from ahead and collided with Zhai Qiu Shan.

You Huan was a trained fighter, his body strong, and he put force into the shove. Zhai Qiu Shan staggered from the impact, seeing stars.

"You..."

His friend nearby hurried to steady him, pointing at You Huan and shouting furiously: "Are you blind or what! Do you know who you've injured?"

As the conflict seemed about to erupt, the You family guards rushed forward immediately to block in front of their master.

But Zhai Qiu Shan also got a clear look at the other's face and quickly waved his hands: "I'm fine, I'm fine! I've seen you, Lord You!"

No joke—this is the youngest ever Sub-Tai Hall Attendant in history, a regular at the imperial court!

Zhai Qiu Shan's nose felt numb and painful, and he sensed warmth in his philtrum; reaching up, he found his nose bleeding steadily.

His nose had been bent out of shape.

"I'm truly sorry!" You Huan said, face full of guilt, "I was in a hurry coming downstairs and ended up knocking you over! My fault, Ah Xin—take Lord Zhai to see a doctor right away!"

Ah Xin was the guard standing in front of him.

"Yes."

Zhai Qiu Shan took out a silk handkerchief to press against his nose, his voice muffled: "No need, no need—I can handle it myself. Lord You, are you unharmed? Any injuries?"

Everyone could see his nasal tip was smashed and skewed to one side; clearly, You Huan hadn't held back with that blow.

Yet he still asked after Lord You's well-being.

You Huan felt even more guilty: "I'm fine, alas, Lord Zhai has suffered. Ah Xin, why are you still standing there?"

Guard Ah Xin immediately stepped forward to support Zhai Qiu Shan's arm, ignoring his protests, half-guiding, half-dragging, and firmly pulled him out of the teahouse.

Zhai Qiu Shan's friends didn't dare intervene, standing frozen in place for three or five seconds.

You Huan paid them no mind, walking straight away.

Those few only then came to their senses, hurriedly chasing out the door.

You Su stood on the stairs, having watched the whole scene, and only now caught up with his elder brother, sizing him up from head to toe.

Elder brother seems a bit off today.

"Elder brother, what tune are you singing?" This brother of his usually does nothing pointless, yet today he actively knocked over Zhai Qiu Shan. Could it be... could it be to vent anger for Mei Wu Niang?

You Huan saw through his suspicion at a glance: "Your memory is terrible. You forgot that your mountain estate's shipment ran into trouble two months ago?"

"Oh!" You Su suddenly realized, "Right! Those people under the Transport Commissioner have been up to their old tricks again, causing trouble at my manor!"

So elder brother was doing this for his sake?

"Zhai Qiu Shan is due to take up a local post in the south later this year. He was entrusted with an important mission by Wang Ting, and ought to be diligently studying local governance and history, investigating regional customs and sentiments—but his head is still full of these trivialities. How can he live up to the Emperor's expectations? I merely gave him a small lesson." You Huan flicked the fan in his hand, "With his nose injured these few days, he won't be able to go out—let him stay home and study properly."

The nasal bone is fragile; You Huan knew exactly how much force he used, and Zhai Qiu Shan's nose will need rest for a while.

You Su said blankly, "Oh."

You're my brother—whatever you say is right.

"Let's go back." You Huan also knew his behavior had been a little strange.

Lately, the eastern situation has been shifting daily; he faces considerable pressure at court, and harbors some reckless thoughts in his official career.

Sigh, just doing these abnormal things.

￥￥￥￥￥

After securing Bai Qiu Yuan, the Dragon Spirit Army rested and regrouped for three days.

Dong Rui was right this time—during the Dragon Spirit Army's garrisoning of Bai Qiu Yuan, Ya Guo suffered a crushing defeat, morale plummeting, yet they still had no intention of yielding.

Because the main forces of Ya Guo's western and Zhongnan regions had finally been mobilized!

These included the long-standing border garrison troops, normally not easily deployed. But now Ya Guo's heartland faced a major threat, Ya military losses outnumbered victories, invaders already pointed their swords at the capital, and Wang Ting could no longer afford to attend to other matters.

Do note: Ya Du lies east of center in Ya Guo, less than two hundred li from Bai Qiu Yuan.

That plain is easy to traverse; the Dragon Spirit Army can advance at full speed and reach it in no time.

And Cang Yan won't stand by while the emperor is trapped, continuously dispatching reinforcements into Ya Guo territory. Bai Qiu Yuan is not far from the border, and to the north lies Dashan, making it hard for Ya Guo to intercept.

Both sides kept reinforcing, and when the Dragon Spirit Army reached 170,000 troops, Ya Guo's central forces had also gathered 200,000!

The two sides faced off, using the forest outside Bai Qiu Yuan as their boundary, the situation poised to explode at any moment.

During this period, Ya Guo sent command arrows to Bai Qiu Yuan, demanding contact with the enemy's supreme commander.

But after several such arrows were sent, all vanished like stones in the sea—no response.

To outside observers, after the Dragon Spirit Army's rest, the Nine Abyssal Great Emperor's resolve to continue attacking seemed extremely firm!

Even war materiel kept being sent in batches to Bai Qiu Yuan. Ya Guo's avian demons flew high on reconnaissance, seeing below the Cang Yan supply convoys winding through the mountains like snakes, day and night without cease, truly staggering in scale.

The Flash Gold Plain is vast, and both manpower and supplies are truly abundant.

Even among the Dragon God's army, few know that the Great Emperor of the Nine Abysses could order a withdrawal at any time.

This is called advancing to retreat, fighting to rest.

In the blink of an eye, the five-day deadline is approaching.

Should we withdraw or not? Dong Rui and the generals come to ask him.

If we don't withdraw now, the enemy will grow suspicious.

If we don't withdraw now, the Ya army gathering outside Baiqiu Yuan will only grow larger, and if he withdraws a few days later, it will seem as if the Dragon God army retreated because they knew they couldn't win.

Then, the effect of He Lingchuan's carefully planned invasion would be greatly diminished.

The situation is extremely delicate.

He Lingchuan has not had a peaceful night's sleep these past few days, constantly weighing his options.