Chapter 229
Chapter 229
News that Young Master Ji had been gravely wounded and fallen unconscious soon spread to the Piao Kingdom and the Li tribe.
The Li chief was a striking woman with an almost bewitching beauty.
She wore the Li tribe’s distinctive clothing, with a long whip hanging at her waist.
The king of the Piao Kingdom swept a covetous gaze over her.
Disgust and carefully concealed killing intent flashed through Li Nan’s eyes.
The Piao king laughed loudly. “I told you. He’s nothing but a merchant. What great ability could he possess? He was merely lucky.”
Li Nan sneered. “Could mere luck allow him to seize control of Dali so quickly? And don’t forget: most of the assassins we sent to kill this Young Master Ji died. Only a handful returned.”
The Piao king dismissed the concern. “He just has money. If you’re rich, how hard is it to hire a few capable people for protection?”
“Dali will soon be mine.”
Li Nan had no desire to argue further.
“I’ll send more people to investigate.”
With that, she led her tribesmen away.
After they departed, the Piao king snorted. “Put a woman in charge and she hesitates over everything.”
A minister beside him flattered, “Why should Your Majesty trouble yourself over a mere woman? Once Dali becomes Piao territory, Chief Li Nan will have to bow and declare herself your subject. Then you can take her into your harem. No matter how formidable she is, won’t she still have to rely on you?”
The Piao king basked comfortably in the praise.
“Assemble the army and surround Dali first. Great Liang is too preoccupied to interfere. This is our best opportunity to attack.”
“Your Majesty is wise. What about the Li tribe?”
The king answered with supreme arrogance, “We can take Dali without them. What future could a tribe ruled by a woman possibly have?”
*
“Idiot.”
After leaving the Piao Kingdom, Li Nan rode away with her tribesmen.
“Chief, are we still cooperating with them?”
Li Nan sneered. “Let that fool test the road first. Have our people monitor every movement in both Piao and Dali.”
“Did you uncover anything about this Young Master Ji?”
“No. Ji isn’t an uncommon surname in Great Liang. The most famous are the former Duke Who Guards the Nation’s Ji Family and the Qingyuan Ji clan. The latter is a great aristocratic clan with members involved in commerce, but we don’t know whether he belongs to them.”
“We also discovered merchant caravans traveling toward Dali. They appear to be delivering grain.”
Li Nan considered for a moment. “Post people to watch. If any more caravans head to Dali, seize them, whatever they carry.”
“Yes!”
*
While Ji Yan’an recovered, Jiang Yunsui rarely went out to play.
She stayed home learning characters and practicing calligraphy, both taught by Ji Yan’an.
Occasionally, she went to the orphanage to learn embroidery with the adopted children.
For the past few days, she had secretly been trying to sew a sachet for Ji Yan’an.
They were siblings now, so she wanted to make something for him with her own hands.
After days of struggle, however, Little Mushroom produced a sachet so ugly that even she could hardly look at it.
Calling it a sachet was generous. It was merely several scraps of cloth pieced together with crooked, uneven stitches.
The embroidery was worse. To make things easier, she had chosen the simplest pattern and tried to stitch a butterfly. But this butterfly… even an enormous moth would have been far prettier.
Jiang Yunsui sighed mournfully.
“What are you making?”
At the sound of Ji Yan’an’s voice, she hurriedly hid it.
“Ow!”
Not only did she fail to hide it, but the needle pricked her finger.
Ji Yan’an glanced over. It was nothing serious, only a tiny pinprick. With Jiang Yunsui’s healing ability, it stopped after a single drop of blood, and soon the mark was nearly invisible.
“So clumsy.”
Jiang Yunsui glared at him indignantly.
“I was trying to make a sachet for you.”
Ji Yan’an picked up the object. Looking at it made his eyes ache.
“This is… a sachet?”
Jiang Yunsui nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes. I haven’t finished it.”
“It’s for me?”
Little Mushroom nodded happily again.
Ji Yan’an pressed a hand to her head and spoke with solemn sincerity.
“Your intentions were good. Let’s leave it at the intention.”
Jiang Yunsui fell silent.
Little Mushroom angrily planted her hands on her hips. “Ji Yan’an, how could you say that? This sachet might be a little ugly, and the stitches aren’t neat, and people would definitely laugh if you wore it…”
Her voice dwindled as she spoke.
“But… but I worked on it for days.”
She had talked herself into feeling even more dejected.
Nanshu laughed mercilessly from the side. “So this is what you made after sneaking around for days? Such an ugly little sachet?”
Jiang Yunsui huffed. One glance was enough to make her deny it too.
“This was only an attempt. Just wait! Once I learn to make a pretty one, I’ll amaze all of you!”
Little Mushroom had abundant confidence.
Talent or no talent, confidence never hurt.
“Very well. I’ll wait,” Ji Yan’an said.
Jiang Yunsui decided to find a maid skilled at embroidery and needlework and ask for private lessons.
As for this hideous attempt, it had to be destroyed!
Forget Ji Yan’an being unable to wear it. If he actually did and someone asked about it, he would say she had made it. How much ridicule would she endure then?
The very thought made Jiang Yunsui unwilling to allow it.
She stuck her little bottom in the air and began hunting everywhere for scissors.
At that moment, Song Jin hurried in.
“Bad news. The grain coming from Mobei has been intercepted.”
Ji Yan’an tightened his grip on the medicine bowl. “Have you identified the faction responsible?”
He was not greatly surprised.
Grain was important everywhere. It was only natural for others to target it.
However, their operation had been covert. To avoid exposing a link to Mobei, they had deliberately sent it on a circuitous route through another region.
“The Li tribe.”
“The Li chief is a woman, isn’t she?” Ji Yan’an said. “She’s considerably more intelligent than the Piao king.”
“Has Piao made a move?”
Song Jin nodded. “Yes. The Piao Kingdom is determined to take Dali. To move quickly, they’ve transferred most of their military strength here. They’ll probably surround the city.”
“Nanmo, take General Shen and a detachment of elite cavalry out of Dali. Bring some mountain people familiar with the local routes and depart unseen. Circle around to the Piao Kingdom. We’ll send them a generous gift of our own.”
He held grudges too.
Nanmo accepted the order and left.
Song Jin did not fear the Piao soldiers, but he was somewhat worried about food.
“Gather every available store of grain,” Ji Yan’an said. “We’ll hold out as long as we can.”
“Ideally, we should lure some Piao troops inside first and trap them like turtles in a jar.”
Dali’s city walls had been one of their main repair projects.
By now, every section that could be patched had been repaired.
The walls still looked somewhat dilapidated, but they could hold off the Piao army for some time.