Chapter 87: The Shock of Steward Lin Fu and Shen Yuer: General Zhu?

Danning Prefecture!

Huizhoucheng.

Beneath the night sky, at the city gate.

An old man over fifty, accompanied by a young woman in a pale purple coarse linen gown, arrived at the city gate.

Upon arriving, they cautiously glanced behind them into the night.

Only when they saw the soldiers on guard at the gate did they relax slightly.

“Stop.”

Seeing the two lone figures approaching from outside, the gate guards immediately stepped forward.

“My lord.”

The old man immediately bowed with clasped fists.

“Who are you? Do you have travel permits?”

The squad leader approached, watching them with great caution.

Danning Prefecture borders Liaodong, and Huizhoucheng is a frontier city of the Great Ming’s Danning Prefecture—its defenses are naturally far stricter, and inspections are no exception.

This is to prevent spies from entering the city.

Thus, travel permits are essential.

In this era.

Without a travel permit, no one may travel far—everyone must have one, and even government officials require official documents.

“My lord.”

“Here are our travel permits.”

The old man immediately fumbled in his robe and pulled out two documents, offering them respectfully to the soldier before him.

The squad leader took the two permits and, by the torchlight at the gate, examined them.

“Lin Fu.”

“Shen Yuer.”

“Native of Beiping Prefecture.”

“What are you doing here in Danning?” the squad leader asked, returning the permits after finding no issues.

“My lord.”

“We’ve come to find someone.”

“My young master joined the Danning army nearly a year ago and we’ve received no word since—so we’ve come to look for him,” Lin Fu replied at once.

Hearing this,

the squad leader gave Lin Fu a strange look—the meaning was obvious to any ordinary person, but he could not say it outright.

“Huizhoucheng is a frontier city between the Great Ming and Liaodong. Our army has already launched an offensive against Liaodong to subdue the Northern Yuan.”

“Beyond this, you cannot go east.”

“The government has ordered that no civilians may pass through Huizhoucheng until the war ends, to avoid being caught in the fighting.”

“You may stay in Huizhoucheng for a while, or find a chance to return home,” the squad leader said gently.

Though still dutiful, he thought perhaps Lin Fu’s young master was already dead on the battlefield. As a soldier of the Danning frontier army himself—even a gate guard—he naturally felt some extra sympathy.

“We can’t go any further?”

Shen Yuer’s face twisted with bitterness.

“My lord, may I ask—”

“Has the Great Ming mobilized the Danning army against Liaodong?” Lin Fu asked hesitantly.

The squad leader instantly understood Lin Fu’s unspoken fear.

Though reluctant, he had to speak plainly.

“Old man,”

“I don’t mean to be harsh, but I hate lies. Before the court ordered the campaign against the Northern Yuan in Liaodong, Danning Prefecture was the first to mobilize.”

“In this war, countless brothers of our Danning frontier army have fallen.”

“As a relative of one of our Danning frontier soldiers, I can only wish you find him,” the squad leader sighed.

“My lord, may I ask around?” Lin Fu ventured.

Shen Yuer also looked at him with hopeful eyes.

“Which camp does he belong to?” the squad leader asked.

“I don’t know,” Lin Fu replied with a bitter smile, shaking his head.

He had come to Danning only because Shen Yuer heard the Shen family planned harm against his young master—so he rushed to Danning Prefecture to find him.

“Old man,”

“If you don’t know his unit, I truly cannot help you.”

“Our Danning frontier army numbers tens of thousands, stationed across many places—I can’t possibly know them all.”

“You should enter the city, rest tonight, and inquire again tomorrow,” the squad leader said helplessly.

Seeing this,

Lin Fu could only nod reluctantly.

Danning Prefecture was so vast.

Finding his young master would be extremely difficult.

“Thank you, my lord.”

“My young master’s name is Zhu Ying. If you know where he is—even if he… even if he’s already fallen—please tell me.”

“At least I can bury him,” Lin Fu said in a low voice.

Since entering Danning Prefecture, Lin Fu had seen the entire region was on war footing, and graves lined every road—he had already prepared himself for the worst.

Yet,

regarding the Shen family,

Lin Fu had already made up his mind—he would never let them go unpunished.

“The Shen family. Shen Wansan.”

“If my young master truly meets his end, I’ll die to drag your entire Shen family down with me,” Lin Fu clenched his fists, his heart filled with hatred.

“Could Zhu Ying brother really…”

Shen Yuer’s heart was heavy with sorrow.

But then—

The moment Lin Fu spoke his young master’s name,

the squad leader’s face changed, and several nearby soldiers, once calm, also turned pale.

“Wait.”

“What did you say your young master’s name was?” the squad leader asked, eyes wide, staring at Lin Fu.

Seeing the soldier’s expression, Lin Fu was stunned, then said: “Zhu Ying.”

“Is your young master over sixteen?” the squad leader asked again, seriously.

“No…”

Lin Fu was about to say his young master was only fourteen, but remembered the Shen family had falsified his age—he nodded instead: “Yes.”

Upon hearing Lin Fu’s confirmation,

the squad leader’s face lit up with joy.

He turned to Lin Fu, voice trembling with excitement: “I never expected you to be the family of General Zhu!”

“Brothers!”

“We’re truly lucky tonight.”

“We’ve met the family of General Zhu!”

The squad leader added, addressing the other soldiers.

Hearing the words “General Zhu,”

the surrounding soldiers’ expressions changed—they all wore looks of deep reverence.

Seeing this sudden shift among the gate guards, Lin Fu and Shen Yuer were utterly bewildered.

“My lord, do you know my young master?”

“You must be mistaken—he’s no general. He’s only been in the army less than a year!”

“No matter what, he couldn’t possibly be a general!” Lin Fu asked, astonished.

Hearing this,

the squad leader smiled: “Old man, you mustn’t call me ‘my lord.’ General Zhu is noble—he’s a hero of Danning. Meeting you here at the gate is an honor for us all.”

“General Zhu’s name shakes the northern frontier! He is the pride of our entire Danning frontier army—even as a mere gate guard, his fame rings in my ears.”

“Indeed.”

“Who in Danning doesn’t know General Zhu’s name?”

“He’s inflicted heavy losses on the northern barbarians—his name alone can silence crying children in their tribes.”

“Now that General Zhu has returned, he’ll surely earn new glory for the Great Ming.”

…

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(End of Chapter)