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Shen Yu’an looked at the fallen Chuyi by her feet, smiling cheerfully. “You were gracious in defeat.”
She even extended a friendly hand to help him up.
Chuyi raised his eyes and felt a sharp pain in his face.
He glanced at Shen Yu’an’s seemingly tiny palm and couldn’t comprehend it.
Damn, this woman looked frail, but where did she get all that strength from?
Chuyi felt deeply embarrassed that he couldn’t even defeat a woman, especially in front of so many people. He snorted in frustration, then rolled over and jumped up from the ground.
Shen Yu’an didn’t take offense and continued to smile at Chuyi, asking, “Do you accept defeat? Want to go for another round?”
Chuyi’s voice, as small as a mosquito’s, came out, “I accept.”
Shen Yu’an deliberately spoke loudly, saying, “What did you say? I didn’t hear you!”
The soldiers below all burst into laughter and joined in, mimicking Chuyi’s earlier words, “What did the big guy say? Why’s he talking like a woman!”
Chuyi’s face turned bright red, which was quite a feat considering how dark his skin was.
“I said I accept!”
The people below mercilessly burst into laughter, “Hahaha!”
“What are you laughing at? If you’re so brave, come up and challenge this woman yourselves. You’d definitely be no match to her!”
At least he had sparred with this woman for a few moves. If the people below actually stepped up, they’d surely be worse than him.
After yelling from the dueling platform, Chuyi jumped down and ran off.
Shen Yu’an imitated the mannerisms of a man, bowing from the platform to the audience below, then jumped down and headed towards Fei Yanchen.
Shen Yu’an looked up and asked, “How was that? I’m pretty good, right?”
Fei Yanchen smiled and raised his hand to gently pat Shen Yu’an’s head, praising her, “An’an, you were amazing.”
Fei Yanchen naturally stood in the spot to watch Shen Yu’an’s duel. After the exchange, no one had left, and now every word and action of Fei Yanchen and Shen Yu’an was under the scrutiny of hundreds of titanium alloy eyes.
Perhaps it was because Fei Yanchen looked much gentler than usual when facing them.
The soldiers under Fei Yanchen’s command, emboldened, began to tease him.
“Oh, Lord, is this the lady you’ve found for us?”
“Hey, Lord, don’t keep her hidden. Introduce her to us too.”
“…”
Shen Yu’an, hearing the teasing from the crowd, gave Fei Yanchen a reproachful glance and was about to explain.
Fei Yanchen, quick to react, intercepted her attempt to speak.
He turned to the teasing individuals and said, “Each of you, go run twenty laps on the training ground.”
“Ah~” The crowd immediately started to complain.
“What’s with the ‘ah’? If you think it’s too few, add another twenty laps.”
Once Fei Yanchen made his statement, those individuals dared not say anything further.
They hurriedly ran off, fearing they might actually have to run an additional twenty laps.
After they left, Shen Yu’an and Fei Yanchen had a few more words. Both of them were clearly concerned about each other’s safety, repeating their advice.
Shen Yu’an had been on the mountain for quite a while now, and she was afraid her family might start worrying and come looking for her.
Fei Yanchen had Fei Dong escort Shen Yu’an down the mountain, and that very night, he left for the capital city.
In the capital city, at the General’s residence:
Qin Wenzhen had received advance notice that Fei Yanchen would be arriving tonight, so he had been waiting in his study.
Late at night, he heard two soft sounds outside his door, prompting Qin Wenzhen to quickly rise and open the door.
Upon opening the door, Qin Wenzhen saw Fei Yanchen, who appeared weak and needed assistance to stand.
He hurriedly ushered him inside and asked, “What happened?”
Fei Dong was supporting Fei Yanchen and spoke before Fei Yanchen could respond, “The Fourth Prince’s men found the master. They poisoned their weapons.”
Fei Dong stopped at that sentence and left the rest to Qin Wenzhen’s imagination.
In truth, no one’s hands were entirely clean, and sacrificing a few lives to achieve a goal was common.
However, now that Qin Wenzhen had aligned himself with Fei Yanchen’s camp, his heart naturally leaned toward him.
Moreover, everyone was a military commander, and the mistreatment of the Fei family naturally gave Qin Wenzhen a sense of hostility.
Fei Yanchen let him ponder for a moment before he spoke, “Is everything arranged?”
Qin Wenzhen nodded heavily and said, “Everything is in order. Tomorrow, at first light, we’ll proceed according to the plan, and your injury will serve as a cover.”
After tomorrow’s events, he would effectively be on the Fei family’s side. This was a treacherous act aimed at seizing power, but he hoped that the Fei family would understand the suffering of the people, making his choice the right one.
Fei Yanchen and Qin Wenzhen’s plan was to locate Fei Yanchen and have him appear openly before the public. Only then could he return to the capital city with legitimacy, and those who opposed him would not dare to attack him openly.
The next evening came.
A few officials disguised as messengers were driving a partially old carriage towards the direction of the yamen (government office).
As they moved, they loudly shouted, “Make way, make way! Delaying the rescue of our young master will cost you more than a few lives!”
The pedestrians on the road dared not collide with the noble entourage. After the carriage had moved a bit ahead, they turned to those around them and asked, “What’s happening? Did something occur?”
“Yeah, how come I haven’t heard of a young master in our area?”
Among the crowd were individuals arranged in advance by Fei Yanchen.
Hearing someone’s question, those pre-arranged individuals immediately launched into their well-prepared narrative.
“What? This is the young master the court has been searching for all this time?”
“It’s been over half a year, and they actually managed to find him. He’s incredibly lucky.”
“Prince Wuding is the protector of our Great Wei. He’s the last of his line, so it’s good that he’s been found.”
“Is the carriage heading to the yamen?”
“Let’s go, let’s go! We should join the crowd and see what all the fuss is about, and see what kind of extraordinary person this young master is.” They moved as a group, keeping a distance not too close but not too far from the carriage.
Meanwhile, the individuals who had spoken earlier had already blended into the crowd, leaving no trace behind.
On the second floor of the carriage, Ji Xun turned to Shen Yu’an and said, “Shall we go and take a look?”
Shen Yu’an had come to the capital city the day after she descended from the mountain, accompanied by Ji Xun and a few others.
Before coming, Shen Yu’an had told them that if they heard anything about Fei Yanchen, they should act as if they didn’t know him at all.
As they watched the carriage move further away, and the crowd below followed along eagerly, the young members of the Shen family turned to Shen Yu’an for her opinion.
“Let’s go and take a look,” she said.
Hearing Shen Yu’an’s agreement, Shen Dalang said, “Then I’ll go ahead and quickly reserve a room at the restaurant up ahead. We can have a clear view from the second floor.”
Just a moment ago, they had heard those people mention that the carriage was headed to the yamen, and conveniently, there was a restaurant right across from the yamen.
After speaking, Shen Dalang was the first to leave the current restaurant and head to the one in front to secure a table.