Chapter 46: with translation of chapter title

Shen Tianxing had never been so speechless before; he even felt a bit regretful—how did he end up bringing this person out?

Yang Hongyue was also utterly speechless; not understanding the situation was bad enough, yet she was still so self-assured.

"I, the general, never said from start to finish that I was angry with Shen Tianxing; if you truly don't understand, just stand aside and do whatever you want, but please don't come near me in the future."

If Yang Hongyue still can't see that Shen Erhu has other feelings for her, she'd truly be an idiot; but this is pure nonsense—better to just keep him far away.

Shen Erhu was still hopelessly stupid; despite Yang Hongyue saying that, he merely thought he had clarified things, which only made her unhappy, so he could only give an awkward laugh, nod, and step aside.

Yang Hongyue sat down, and Shen Tianxing naturally sat beside her, smiling as he teased:

"My brother here is just a bit slow-witted; he'll improve later, so don't take it to heart. If you like the ring, then once we get married and consummate the marriage, I'll give you one."

Yang Hongyue's face flushed instantly—she didn't know if it was anger or shyness—and she then glared fiercely at Shen Tianxing.

"Who said I like the ring? The person hasn't even been rescued yet, so don't keep talking about marriage. And since he's your brother, you should discipline him—someone like him isn't fit to be a soldier, and if he does enlist, he might end up a deserter."

Shen Tianxing smiled and nodded; he also thought Shen Erhu might not be suited for soldiering, but his martial aptitude was still decent—he had only just entered the First Grade Third Layer not long ago.

"If you don't like it, why did you get angry just now? This ring can't be given to you now; even if I gave it to you, it would be useless—it's only for those who have already consummated their marriage with me."

"Your grandfather and your family—I will definitely rescue them, even if all my plans fail; I have the Killer Move, and as long as they're still alive when we arrive, I can absolutely save them."

Seeing Shen Tianxing's unusually confident demeanor, Yang Hongyue felt somewhat reassured, but his remark that only those who have consummated marriage can have a ring made her flare up again.

"If I had realized earlier how roguish you are, I shouldn't have trusted you—don't bother me, go back and keep your wife company!"

Shen Tianxing just smiled; Yang Hongyue is the classic type who's tough-talking but soft-hearted.

"Fine, I'll leave—anyway, I still have two rings like this; one will definitely be yours, whether you like it or not, once you marry me you must have one."

After saying that, Shen Tianxing got up and left; Yang Hongyue was still quite pleased inside, but she couldn't help giving him a white-eye look.

Not far away, Shen Erhu continued grilling fish, staring at Yang Hongyue, not even noticing the fish wasn't fully cooked; the hot bite made his lips swell, and he ate it bite by bite, muttering to himself:

"I know you like Shen Tianxing—is it just because he's strong now? I will surely surpass him soon, and then you'll definitely like me; no one can stop me, not even Shen Tianxing—I will definitely win you over."

After eating and drinking their fill, everyone returned to the tents to rest; Shen Tianxing was holding Qin Mingyue and sleeping soundly when he suddenly heard footsteps. He gently released Qin Mingyue and then rose to his feet.

Coincidentally, a figure was pacing outside the tent; Shen Tianxing had already guessed it was Yang Hongyue, so he got dressed, went over, lifted the curtain, and teased with a smile:

"General Yang, why are you up so late not sleeping? Are you planning to come experience this, see how it works? Or let me put a ring on you?"

If anyone else dared to speak to Yang Hongyue like that, she would have slapped them dead long ago; but when Shen Tianxing says it, although she's a bit annoyed, she's also grown used to it.

"Can't you be serious? I have something important to discuss. A few days ago you said you'd sent out all those who could dig tunnels to find the best spot to dig a passage into the Capital City Sky Prison—any news?"

"Don't worry—we've already found the most suitable spot and begun digging; once we reach outside the Capital, this passage will be open, and rescuing Elder General Yang will be absolutely problem-free."

"To be safe, I also had them dig a tunnel into the Imperial Palace in their spare time; if Elder General Yang is taken to the palace, we can also enter via the tunnel to rescue him."

Shen Tianxing answered with great confidence; his information is updated in real time—whenever the System produces troops, no matter how far away, he can learn through the System what those troops are doing.

Of course, this is only an initial function; once the System upgrades to a higher level, Shen Tianxing will also be able to remotely command them, and they will be able to remotely report back.

"I hope so. Also, what you mentioned earlier isn't out of the question, but we need to rescue my grandfather and the rest of the Yang Family; as long as my grandfather agrees, I can marry you."

Yang Hongyue didn't even know how she had said those words, but while speaking her face flushed, yet she was unusually resolute; after finishing, she turned and walked away.

"General Yang, then it's settled—how about we first cultivate some feelings? Although I'm a bit tired, as long as you're willing, I have no objection."

Yang Hongyue ran even faster, nearly tripping; Shen Tianxing stroked his chin and revealed a smug smile.

"Second wife is as good as mine; I don't know if there are any intact princesses left in the Imperial Palace, but getting another would be nice too—or I could find a top courtesan or a clean person from a Qing brothel in the Capital; that would also be fine."

After muttering that, Shen Tianxing went back to continue keeping Qin Mingyue company while she rested.

In the blink of an eye, five days passed, and Shen Tianxing's group finally arrived outside the Capital, joining with the Tunnel Soldiers and confirming the entrance to the tunnel leading into the Capital.

"It's just digging a tunnel—do you really need to buy a villa in the suburbs of the Capital? That would cost at least several thousand taels of silver, wouldn't it?"

This was Yang Hongyue's lament; when she saw the villa before her bearing the Shen Residence signboard, she was stunned.

"You wouldn't understand—our people need to eat well, drink well, and sleep well in order to rescue Elder General Yang more effectively, and after we take him and your family, grandfather and all, we'll need to block this tunnel."

"They'll surely think we've run far away and won't notice this villa at all; Elder General Yang and your family also need a place to recover from their wounds, right?"

Yang Hongyue nodded instinctively, unable to counter the reasoning; their plan was for the assault troops to dig a tunnel beneath the Capital's city wall into the Capital City Sky Prison to rescue the Yang family members.

In reality, this tunnel is shaped like an inverted Y; both branches can merge into a single passage leading to the Tianlao, and during escape one can divert into the branch that goes to the Capital Suburb Villa.

Then we block the tunnel's fork, and have a wave of people escort a group of impostor Yang family members out through this city-gate tunnel, after which we launch our escape.

Thus, the Capital's pursuit will follow the trail of this decoy group that decoy group that scattered outward, keeping those staying at the Capital Suburb Villa safe.