Chapter 220: Little Sister-in-law
Hearing this, Kong Xiao felt a stir in his heart, then his face sank again, and he said with a hint of sarcasm: “Let him die in battle? Easier said than done, can it be achieved? Besides, even if Chen Lingyuan dies in battle, the possibility of military power falling into my hands now is not great.”
The man in black snorted coldly, “Then you’re really useless. After so long, you can’t even do the job of deputy general well.”
“You!” Kong Xiao’s face darkened, and he couldn’t help retorting: “Isn’t it all because of you? Don’t think I don’t know, was that fire in the military camp started by you? Was the grain and fodder burned by you? If it weren’t for all the messed-up things you did, how would I have ended up in this situation?”
“If you don’t have the ability yourself, don’t push all the responsibility onto others. Don’t you have any idea in your heart why I approached you? Don’t tell me it’s because your great talent was buried and I had keen insight to recognize it!” The man in black said with a cold sneer.
Kong Xiao was so rebutted that his face turned red and his neck thick, too angry to say a word, because he actually knew his own weight to some extent, but after being deputy general for so many years, he was truly unwilling!
“Alright, don’t give me that look. As long as you’re willing to work for us, after we take the Western Frontier in the future, I will strongly recommend you to the Great Khan to become a supreme general. You won’t even need to appear on the battlefield, just stay in the royal court as a wealthy general, isn’t that good? High position and great wealth without the risk of dying in battle.”
Knowing full well that the man in black’s words were at least seventy percent empty, Kong Xiao was still shamefully moved.
Still that same thought, he actually knew his own strength well. If he could really avoid going to the battlefield and become a wealthy general, that would absolutely be a great outcome for him.
But the problem now is, he doesn’t believe the man in black can achieve it!
Of course the man in black knew that just his words wouldn’t convince Kong Xiao, but what did it matter? As long as he was moved, that was good.
Their conversation was heard clearly by Mo Ziyuan and Lin Xin on top of the tent. The two exchanged a glance, and Lin Xin took the lead by lightly tapping her toes and floating down to the ground, with Mo Ziyuan following closely behind.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to keep listening, but there simply wasn’t a suitable foothold on top of the tent. Just now, both of them had held their breath and alternated stepping in the middle of the tent top with their feet—this posture no one could maintain for long.
Without alarming anyone, the two returned to their residence. Lifting the door curtain, they saw Chen Lingyuan sitting boldly behind the table on the chair, playing with a sheathed dagger in his hand.
“General, why are you here?” Mo Ziyuan quietly let go of the hand he was holding with Lin Xin and asked.
“Heh heh, I suddenly remembered something I wanted to tell you, but I ended up missing you. Don’t you want to tell me where you two just went?” As he spoke, his ambiguous gaze wandered back and forth between him and Lin Xin.
Lin Xin rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. This General Chen’s behavior completely overturned all her previous impressions of him—he was actually so gossipy and sleazy.
“General—” Mo Ziyuan feared Lin Xin would be embarrassed and coughed dryly.
“Alright, I was just joking. Sister-in-law, don’t mind.” Chen Lingyuan knew it was enough; if he continued, the young lady would be shy. He also straightened his expression to discuss serious matters.
Seeing this, Lin Xin wanted to find an excuse to leave, but Chen Lingyuan stopped her. “Sister-in-law, wait. What I have to say concerns you too.”
“Concerns me?” Lin Xin was curious.
“Today I received a secret letter from Your Majesty. Someone in the capital city is colluding with the Western Rong and has planted people in the military camp. Your Majesty wants me to find them and control them, then escort them to the capital after the war ends.” Chen Lingyuan got straight to the point.
Mo Ziyuan nodded to indicate he understood, while also wondering what this had to do with him and Xin’er.
Then Chen Lingyuan continued: “Your Majesty mentioned sister-in-law in the secret letter, saying her combat power is quite high and she can be used as a trump card for the final blow when necessary. Now I want to know if sister-in-law can lead troops?”
Lin Xin’s eyes widened hugely. What the heck? Lead troops?
She shook her head like a rattle. “Single combat is no problem for me, but leading troops? Forget it. I’m afraid in the end, the whole army would be wiped out except for me.”
Mo Ziyuan nodded in agreement. “General, don’t make things difficult for Xin’er. Leading troops really isn’t her strength.”
Chen Lingyuan didn’t feel embarrassed either and nodded upon hearing this, saying with some regret: “I was thinking our large camp would have another fierce general!”
This statement was so fake that even Mo Ziyuan couldn’t listen to it and was extremely amused. “General, just say it directly. Whatever Xin’er and I can achieve, we absolutely won’t refuse.”
Lin Xin also said: “Yeah, you’ve praised me to the skies. If what you want isn’t too much, I’ll agree.”
Hearing them say this, Chen Lingyuan’s eyes suddenly lit up. “This is what you said, no taking it back!”
Lin Xin and Mo Ziyuan exchanged a glance, both suddenly feeling like they’d been tricked.
Who said military generals are all straightforward? Here’s one whose mind is full of schemes like a sieve.
“So capable, yet Kong Xiao was completely fooled by him. He wouldn’t have saved all his cunning for us, would he!” Lin Xin muttered “quietly” in dissatisfaction.
Chen Lingyuan wasn’t angry either and directly admitted his mistake. “I know I was indeed biased regarding Kong Xiao, but you don’t know that he’s actually a pretty good person. It’s just that his ability is limited, and I didn’t dare let him lead troops alone, so he’s dissatisfied.”
“Heh,” Lin Xin smiled without speaking, thinking to herself that he was indeed pretty good, scheming for you to die in battle.
Mo Ziyuan had the same expression, which made Chen Lingyuan unable to say more and he got straight to the topic. “I want to ask sister-in-law, if I let you sneak attack the enemy’s military camp, what are the odds you can retreat unscathed?”
“Sneak attack the military camp?” Lin Xin touched her chin and thought for a moment before saying: “That depends on how densely packed the enemy’s personnel are, and how many people you want to send with me.”
“How so?” Chen Lingyuan asked.
“If the enemy numbers are large and relatively dense, the probability of me completing the task and escaping is very high. But if you make me bring people along, I can’t guarantee bringing everyone back, let alone certainly completing the task.”
Chen Lingyuan thought about it after hearing this and understood—she wanted to act alone!
But that’s impossible. Leaving aside whether Lin Xin can achieve it, even just to avoid suspicion, she has to bring someone other than Mo Ziyuan!
“Um, sister-in-law, let me state first that it’s not that I don’t trust you, but we have rules here. Solo action is definitely not allowed. At least two people must go together. Ahem,” Seeing Lin Xin look toward Mo Ziyuan, he hurriedly coughed and added: “Except Zi Yuan.”
Lin Xin understood the reason upon thinking about it and didn’t feel there was anything wrong. It was normal for them not to trust a newcomer like her, even with Mo Ziyuan there. This General Chen had pretty good wits except when dealing with Kong Xiao.
It was just a pity! Kong Xiao didn’t live up to this dose of lowered intelligence.
