Chapter 205: I Want to Ask Too—What Exactly Are We Supposed to Do!

Hearing this, the others also showed triumphant smiles.

That's right, everything that happened in the Imperial Court today was within their plan.

Their opposing the Old Ministers in the hall earlier had also been decided upon long before.

If they were the ones to suggest that the Muyuan Kingdom soldiers leave, the Xiyue Emperor would surely overthink it.

But if those few Old Ministers were the ones to bring it up, the Emperor might actually agree.

But they truly hadn't expected those Old Ministers to threaten their own lives to force the issue.

Regardless, as long as their goal was achieved, that was all that mattered!

……

That night, Wu Yong and Wang Cai once again came to Chengnan Hucheng Si.

Still at that same pavilion.

"We've done what we promised. Now it's time for General Lu to fulfill his end of the bargain."

Lu Xing raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Fine. How many people do you have?"

Wu Yong and Wang Cai exchanged a glance. Wang Cai smiled, picked up the wine pot, and poured Lu Xing a cup.

"Our few families combined, we have just over two hundred people."

"Thud!"

Lu Xing set his cup down heavily on the table.

"Over two hundred?"

"You two gentlemen aren't joking with Lu, are you?"

"Ten or twenty, mixed in among the crowd, could barely pass. But suddenly adding over two hundred more—do you really think everyone in the Capital is a fool?!"

Wang Cai laughed and tried to smooth things over.

"General Lu, don't be hasty."

"Counting it out, our five families only have just over forty people each. That's already very few."

"As for the number issue…"

He glanced at Wu Yong beside him, silently pleading for help.

The other man laughed heartily and explained.

"We can have the people from our families swap with the soldiers in the ranks. That way, the number leaving the city will match the number that entered the Capital that day. What does General Lu think?"

"No!"

Lu Xing cut him off sharply.

"What about my over two hundred brothers who get swapped out?!"

"General Lu, please don't get worked up."

Wu Yong gave Wang Cai a look, and Wang Cai quickly tried to soothe him.

"Don't worry. We've held office for many years and have some connections in Bingma Si. We can absolutely arrange for those brothers to be placed in Bingma Si to throw people off the scent."

"Exactly."

Wu Yong nodded from the side.

"We'll also give each of them three hundred taels of silver as compensation."

"Three hundred taels?"

Lu Xing looked at them with a cold laugh.

"You certainly have some nerve!"

"Three hundred taels, and you think that can buy my over two hundred brothers leaving their homes, living in constant fear every single day?!"

"This…"

Wang Cai was choked by those words, instantly at a loss for words, and once again looked to the person beside him for help.

Wu Yong narrowed his eyes slightly, scrutinizing Lu Xing.

"Then what does General Lu have in mind?"

Lu Xing held up one finger.

"One hundred people. I'll only give you one hundred slots! And one thousand taels of silver per person!"

"That's impossible!"

Wu Yong and Wang Cai shouted in unison.

Both men's expressions turned very ugly.

It wasn't that they thought the price was too high—having the number cut by more than half was the real problem!

Oh, quite the chemistry between them.

Lu Xing looked at the two calmly and asked in return.

"You two gentlemen have been busy running around these past days, but I haven't been idle either. I've already looked into it. The children of your households combined don't even reach one hundred. So where exactly did the extra hundred-plus people you mentioned come from?"

As he spoke, his expression darkened and his tone turned cold.

"Could it be that you were planning to swap the soldiers in my ranks with your concubines and household servants?!"

At these words, the two men across from him stiffened.

Since ancient times, even heroes have trouble overcoming the barrier of beauty, let alone ordinary men like them.

Who doesn't have a few favored beautiful concubines?

And there are concubines who have borne them children—those would definitely have to come along too.

Besides, on this journey, they'd need people to attend to their daily needs, wouldn't they?

Watching the expressions of the two men, a trace of contempt flickered in Lu Xing's eyes.

"Fleeing for their lives and still managing to look so dashing — what an eye-opener for me!"

"So clueless — I really have no idea how people like them managed to climb all the way up to such high positions."

For the rest of the time, Lu Xing said nothing, simply sipping his tea at a leisurely pace while enjoying the wonderful performance across from him — the changing of faces.

In the end, Wu Yong gritted his teeth and rose.

"Fine, we'll head back right now and make new arrangements."

Lu Xing stood up and gave them a perfunctory cupped-fist salute.

"Then Lu will not see the two of you out."

The two men forced out a smile.

"The silver will be delivered tomorrow evening."

With that, the two men adjusted their hoods, carefully avoiding everyone, and left the City Protection Bureau.

……

After sending them off, Lu Xing also rose and headed toward his own room.

The moment he pushed open the door, he saw a certain someone sitting in a chair.

He turned around as if nothing were amiss and closed the door properly.

"They've already gone back. As you said, we only gave those five families a hundred slots in total."

After saying this, he stroked his chin and chuckled twice, in a tone that clearly relished the spectacle.

"These next couple of days, those families are going to be quite lively."

Saying this, he shook his head, a hint of regret in his voice.

"It's just a pity for the womenfolk, servants, and maids in their households. Once the Shunhe Emperor's wrath comes down, they probably won't have an easy time of it."

Cheng Chengxuan sat with lowered eyelids, saying nothing.

"By the way, you came to find me — is there anything else?"

Cheng Chengxuan came back to his senses, took a letter from his sleeve, and placed it on the table.

"Delivering a letter."

Upon recognizing the handwriting on the envelope, Lu Xing's eyes widened slightly. He strode over in great steps, snatched up the letter, and gaped in disbelief.

"It's actually my Big Brother's handwriting?!"

After reading it word by word with great care, he looked in astonishment at the certain someone calmly drinking tea.

"It's only been five or six days at most — how did you manage it?"

If not for his own Big Brother's private seal on the letter, along with the distinctive way certain characters were written, he would have suspected it was a forgery.

The Capital and Muyuan Kingdom were separated by a vast distance. Even riding at full speed, day and night, five or six days would only be enough to deliver the medicine to Big Brother's hands — or perhaps, if they were very fast, the messenger would already be on the way back.

But five or six days was absolutely not enough time to make a round trip!

Unlike Lu Xing's joy and astonishment, Cheng Chengxuan's mood was not quite so pleasant.

How could it not be fast?

Their people had set out directly from Beihuang City, ridden at full speed to the Lu Family to deliver the medicine, and then hurried back to Beihuang City. After that, everything else could be completed in less than a minute.

Bringing up this matter put him in a foul mood.

To help the two brothers pass messages at the fastest speed possible, he and Miss An had wasted two gift-delivery opportunities!

He set his teacup down heavily and rose to head outside. Though he was trying his best to restrain himself, his tone still carried a hint of reluctance.

"Since General Lu has confirmed the letter's authenticity, I'll head back to my room now."

Sensing something off in his tone, Lu Xing assumed he had just touched upon a taboo with his earlier question and felt a secret pang of regret.

He had simply been too excited — he absolutely had no intention of prying into their secrets.

Watching the retreating back already at the doorway, he said solemnly.

"Thank you."

Cheng Chengxuan turned his head and glanced at him.

"Merely returning a favor."

……

Meanwhile, Wang Cai, who had left Bingma Si, sat sighing in his sedan chair.

He glanced at the certain someone beside him resting with closed eyes, and tentatively spoke up.

"Lord Wu, are we really going to do as Lu Xing said? A hundred people — divided up, each family only gets twenty slots."

"In my household alone, I have eighteen children and grandchildren, and what about my seventy-year-old mother who can barely walk?"

"What should we do?"

Wu Yong opened his eyes and shot him a sullen, shadowed glare.

"My Grandmother has been bedridden for years — she can't even take care of herself in daily life, let alone get out of bed!"

"I'm the one who wants to ask what we're supposed to do!"