Chapter 27: Extortion
Jinsui glared at the three hundred Black Feather Army soldiers, instantly enraged. Pointing at them, she yelled at the Huai Prefecture officials:
“How dare you be so outrageous! They are border garrison troops, seasoned in battle, having faced death countless times. How dare you strip them of their clothes!”
The Black Feather Army soldiers before them were not wearing armor, but tattered hemp clothes, with at most a piece of chest protection.
Their attire was not much better than the refugees Jinsui and Grandpa Ling had seen in Luocheng.
She recalled seeing the clothes of dead refugees being stripped in the Luocheng valley and her instinctive reaction was that Jiang Nansheng had stripped the Black Feather soldiers.
However, the situation turned awkward as Han Xing coughed repeatedly, and the Huai Prefecture official looked innocent.
Only Hei Hu, that foolish fellow, quickly explained to her:
“It’s not like that, Your Highness. They always dress like this.”
“We heard it was very hot inside the pass before we set out, so we wore summer clothes.”
Jinsui found it unbelievable. She knew the border troops were poor, but she never imagined they were this poor!
She touched her nose, a hint of embarrassment flashing across her face, but she quickly recovered. Glancing at the Huai Prefecture soldiers, she said to Jiang Nansheng:
“Your Huai Prefecture soldiers’ armor and equipment are quite good. Give one set to each of our Black Feather Camp soldiers.”
Jiang Nansheng was speechless: “This is not in accordance with regulations!”
Jinsui sneered: “Is it in accordance with regulations to privately detain this King’s Personal Guards? Is it in accordance with regulations to attempt to assassinate a Great Xia Imperial Prince?”
“Are you going to give it or not? If not, this King isn’t leaving!”
Jiang Nansheng no longer felt pain in his hand; he only felt a headache.
This was no Great Xia Imperial Prince; this was clearly a mischievous monkey reincarnated!
After speaking, she turned to ask Han Xing:
“What else are we missing? Since we’re already troubling General Jiang, let him handle everything for us.”
Hei Hu quickly chimed in: “We haven’t had a proper meal in five days.”
The Huai Prefecture Prefect hurriedly said: “This official will immediately prepare a banquet for the Black Feather Camp soldiers.”
Jinsui quickly replied: “Forget it, I’m afraid someone might poison it! Prepare the ingredients, and we’ll cook it ourselves.”
The Huai Prefecture Prefect choked, looking at Jinsui with a mournful expression, and quietly said, “Alright.”
The Black Feather Camp soldiers below urgently said: “Your Highness, they also confiscated our horses.”
Before Jinsui could speak, Jiang Nansheng said: “Bring the horses to them.”
Once the armor and equipment, ingredients, and horses were all prepared, the Huai Prefecture officials dared not keep them, nor did they want the Li King to spend the night in Huai Prefecture.
Jinsui knew that Jiang Nansheng had definitely notified Prince Yu’s people, and an assassination attempt could happen at any moment. She certainly wouldn’t linger in Huai Prefecture.
She had the soldiers carry their belongings, hold torches, and leave the city that very night.
Jiang Nansheng was seething with anger, his mind filled with how to complain to Prince Yu and get revenge for this insult.
Then, he saw the Li King, who had already left the city, suddenly rein in his horse and turn back to shout at him on the city wall:
“Thank you, General Jiang, for your assistance. This King was able to safely reach Yandi. I will never forget your kindness in this lifetime!”
She then turned to the Big Black Guy and said: “Repeat that loudly.”
The Big Black Guy recalled the Li King’s words. They were too long to remember, so he only grasped one key point:
“The Li King will never forget General Jiang’s kindness!”
Although it was very dark, Jinsui felt that Jiang Nansheng’s face was even darker.
Still not satisfied, she waved her hand at the more than three hundred Black Feather Army soldiers: “Shout it together three times.”
The Black Feather Army, with their raspy voices, shouted so loudly that half the city could hear:
“The Li King will never forget General Jiang’s kindness!”
Hei Hu even added his own flair, taking out his gong and striking it three times.
Jinsui, having achieved her goal, saw Jiang Nansheng spit out a mouthful of fresh blood, and was finally satisfied.
Covering her ears, she said to Han Xing: “Alright, let’s go. We need to leave Huai Prefecture’s borders tonight.”
As their group, with their horses, left a trail of dust and galloped towards Yandi, no one saw a group of black-clothed men hiding in the suburbs of Huai Prefecture.
The leader was none other than Commander Huo. Coincidentally, when he arrived at Huai Prefecture, the first thing he heard was the deafening:
“The Li King will never forget General Jiang’s kindness!”
He was still pondering what inside story this entailed. Why hadn’t Jiang Nansheng detained the Li King?
His subordinate, already indignant, said: “That guy Jiang has indeed betrayed the Prince and defected to the Li King!”
“Commander, we cannot enter Huai Prefecture city. That guy Jiang might capture us to claim credit with the Li King!”
Commander Huo pondered for a moment and decided not to take the risk. Regardless of what had happened with Jiang Nansheng, Huai Prefecture was indeed off-limits for now.
“Let’s go, pursue them by another route.”
It was precisely because of his decision that they never caught up to the Li King’s group, allowing Jinsui to reach Yandi unimpeded.
If Jinsui had known that having Hei Hu shout that phrase would have such an unexpected effect, she would have definitely made him shout it a few more times!
She didn’t know why, but perhaps it was because the Black Feather Army’s moral standards were normal.
As for Jinsui, she relied on using someone else’s identity, which allowed her to disregard her reputation. After all, it wasn’t her face being disgraced; it was the Li King’s!
This moral standard was slightly below normal.
In short, all the soldiers of the Black Feather Army felt that the Li King had “extorted” Jiang Nansheng for their sake.
They looked as if they were afraid Jiang Nansheng would lead troops to demand things back, and they rode their horses non-stop, tiring them until they were panting.
If Jinsui hadn’t been so hungry she couldn’t stand it, they would have truly wanted to run all the way out of Huai Prefecture’s borders.
As the sky began to lighten, Jinsui told Han Xing to stop, build a fire to cook, and rest the troops.
Han Xing divided the men into three groups: one to sleep, one to cook, and one to stand guard.
Hei Hu was responsible for protecting the Li King closely. He bashfully said to Jinsui: “Your Highness, I’ll be right back.”
Jinsui thought he needed to use the restroom and waved him off, telling him to go quickly.
Soon, Hei Hu returned, wearing new clothes – the armor and equipment of the Huai Prefecture army. However, his nearly two-meter height meant the clothes didn’t fit at all.
The one he was wearing required him to constantly suck in his stomach; if he wasn’t careful, a section of his belly would be exposed.
Behind him followed a short soldier, looking like he was about to cry and laugh, wearing Hei Hu’s old clothes, the hem of which reached his buttocks.
Jinsui couldn’t help but laugh at their comical appearance. Hei Hu, pulling at the hem of his new clothes, said:
“They all got new ones, but I didn’t.”
Han Xing, who was on patrol, came over and saw this scene. He was so angry his nostrils flared. He kicked both of them, telling them to swap clothes back, though the little soldier looked very wronged.
He turned to Jinsui and said: “Your Highness, do you think we should get you a different bodyguard?”
Was she afraid Jinsui would find Hei Hu foolish and dislike him?
Jinsui quickly waved her hand and smiled: “No need, Hei Hu is excellent!”
She couldn’t help but ask: “Are the border troops in Yandi in such dire straits?”
Han Xing looked conflicted, clearly not wanting to report unfavorably but having to answer when his superior asked:
“The brothers are used to it. Actually, the Imperial Court’s rewards are not small, but with sixteen prefectures in Yandi and many troops, there’s not much left for us border troops.”
The young soldier whose clothes Hei Hu had taken peeked out and answered: “All the good stuff goes to the Yan Prefecture Army. Our military supplies are whatever they leave behind.”
Jinsui suddenly didn’t want to pretend to be the Li King anymore. She thought she was impersonating a powerful Prince who could enjoy a lavish life in Yandi.
How come it felt like she had taken over a mess!
How to put it? It was like one day you suddenly inherited a villa, and before you could even enjoy the joy, you discovered the villa was so dilapidated that even birds disdained it.
If you wanted to live there, you’d have to renovate it, but right now, you didn’t even have the money to hire someone to clean it, let alone renovate it!
But since she had already assumed the role of the Li King, she couldn’t just abandon it halfway!
Having stabbed Jiang Nansheng, if the Li King disappeared now, wouldn’t Han Xing and the others have to take the blame?
One couldn’t be so unprincipled.
She could only pray, Gu Changxiao, please hurry to Yandi!
Just then, the food was ready, and the air was filled with the aroma of food. The soldiers’ eyes, like Jinsui’s seen wolves that night, glowed green.
The Huai Prefecture Prefect had been quite thoughtful. The ingredients prepared included rice and white flour, dozens of live chickens, a slaughtered fat pig, two large pots, and a basket of bowls and chopsticks.
Honestly, in her previous life, these ingredients were the most ordinary home-cooked meals.
But since Jinsui had transmigrated, heaven knew she had only eaten wolf meat!
She tried to comfort herself with the Q-spirit of her past life, thinking that eating wolf in her past life would have earned her a silver bracelet, but now that she had transmigrated, she could eat protected animals.
Yet, deep down, she still wanted to cry. Her stomach felt like a fierce beast was locked inside, constantly roaring:
“I want meat! I want meat!”
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, my dears! Please vote and collect~~
