Chapter 294
Chapter 294
“So the Emperor finally let you come back because he couldn’t stand feeding all of you for free anymore?”
Everyone sat together in one room, eating roasted sweet potatoes and other snacks while listening to Song Jin recount their campaign in the south.
Following Ji Yan’an’s instructions, Old General Shen Yan and Song Jin had pleaded poverty relentlessly from the very beginning.
Every so often, they asked the Emperor for supplies, weapons, provisions, and military pay.
Whether or not they received anything, they never missed an opportunity to complain about how poor they were.
“Most of the Imperial Guards from the Capital City were spoiled young masters. They had little ability but loved showing off to us, so our men found all sorts of ways to strip them of their weapons and armor.”
“At every meal, our men shamelessly used hunger and poverty as excuses to mooch food from them. At first, those people looked down on us. Later, they hid whenever they saw our men coming, especially around mealtimes.”
Even Song Jin wanted to laugh when he remembered it.
“Our men eat a lot, and the Prince of Nanyang had holed up without making a move. As the stalemate dragged on, the Imperial Guards were the first to lose patience. We didn’t even have to do anything. They sent letter after letter home on their own.
“Their families naturally couldn’t bear to see them suffer, so the ministers on their side all submitted memorials and found every possible excuse to persuade the Emperor. His own treasury couldn’t sustain the expense either. Once the Emperor decided to stop fighting, we naturally came home.”
Of course, they had been cursed viciously while mooching meals and finding ways to fleece the others of their equipment.
But Song Jin had deliberately sent thick-skinned men. They endured the insults and sometimes even beatings, so long as they benefited in the end.
Song Jin had told them that anything they obtained through their own efforts would belong to them.
With that incentive, every last one of them became astonishingly patient.
The Imperial Guards had initially been quite smug and enjoyed the situation, but it did not take long for them to become terrified of being fleeced.
“We suffered practically no losses on this trip and managed to squeeze quite a lot out of the Emperor. The weapons and armor he gave us may be little more than scrap metal, but we can melt them down and forge a decent new batch.”
One could say that Song Jin had finally vented a great deal of pent-up resentment.
That was why he had remained in high spirits throughout the journey home.
“It’s a shame I couldn’t see the faces of the Emperor and those corrupt officials myself. They must’ve been a sight to behold.”
Ji Yan’an said, “Now that they’re back, have them rest. We still have a formidable enemy to deal with.”
“But Yelü Qi won’t be able to act arrogant for many more days.”
At the thought of the letter Milk Tea had delivered, amusement flashed through Ji Yan’an’s eyes.
The snow continued falling, so Song Jin did not leave either.
After eating a meal of pork, he pinched Jiang Yunsui’s cheek.
“Not bad. This pork is good.”
Jiang Yunsui gave him a dead-eyed stare.
Song Jin burst out laughing.
Now that Ji Yan’an’s poison had been removed, the great weight pressing on all their hearts was finally gone. They believed it would not be long before the time came to strike back.
After several peaceful days at the estate, it was time to return.
The heavy snow stopped that day, and they left the estate by carriage and returned to Beizhen City.
With war raging in winter, Beizhen City had once again fallen quiet.
The common people were not afraid, however. They did not lack food, the Barbarians had yet to breach the city, and people announced news from the battlefield in the streets every day.
Not only had the Barbarians failed to break in, but they had also retreated a considerable distance. The people inside the city were jubilant.
Of course, no one could expect to celebrate New Year properly.
Those who felt inclined could simply enjoy a good meal at home with their families.
As long as everyone in the family was present and the Barbarians did not enter the city, that alone made it a good year in their eyes.
Once Ji Yan’an, Song Jin, and the others returned, they plunged straight back into the demands of the war.
Ji Yan’an did not personally fight, but Jiang Yunsui saw mountains of documents pile up on his desk every day.
He had to handle every one of them.
And those were only the documents that had already been screened.
Whenever Jiang Yunsui saw them, she gave him a sympathetic look and fled as fast as she could.
It was terrifying. If anyone made her read that many documents, she would have nightmares that night.
Song Jin likewise hurried from place to place and had countless matters to handle.
Shen Qingzhu went to the medical camp and was so busy that he had no time to rest either.
Jiang Yunsui could not help them with official business, and she no longer needed to spend all day on the battlefield picking up wounded soldiers.
The canine brigade was now handling that work alongside newly enlisted recruits.
So she simply joined Fat Chef every day to devise delicious things to eat.
She was determined to make sure everyone ate well.
“This steamed pork belly is excellent.”
“The red-braised pork is delicious too. How does that little head of yours come up with these recipes?”
Jiang Yunsui said, “I didn’t invent them. My good friend told me.”
“What about the egg tarts? Are the egg tarts ready yet?”
She wanted one.
After many experiments, they had finally managed to bake egg tarts successfully.
They also recreated several other simple pastries, all of which received excellent feedback.
Jiang Yunsui even had Fat Chef make mooncakes filled with sweet red bean paste, salted egg yolk, lotus seed paste, and ham.
At present, mooncakes generally came only with mixed-nut filling. It was Fat Chef’s first time learning that a single pastry could be made in so many varieties.
Although it was nowhere near the Mid-Autumn Festival, Jiang Yunsui confidently declared that practicing now meant they would make them even better when the festival arrived instead of scrambling at the last moment.
Thanks to Jiang Yunsui constantly feeding them, Ji Yan’an and the others did not lose weight, though they did not gain much either.
The only ones who grew plumper were Jiang Yunsui and everyone in the kitchen.
“Haven’t seen you for a while, Little Yunsui. You’ve put on weight again, haven’t you?”
During a brief break that day, Song Jin teased Jiang Yunsui the moment he saw her. He even felt her fleshy little chin and rounder cheeks.
Jiang Yunsui slapped his hand away, then rubbed her face and asked Ji Yan’an, “Did I really get a lot fatter?”
Little Mushroom still cared about looking pretty, especially when it came to her beautiful dresses. If she grew too plump to fit into them, she would be heartbroken.
Jiang Yunsui herself had not noticed any weight gain.
Ji Yan’an paused for several seconds. “It’s not too bad.”
Jiang Yunsui fixed him with a narrow-eyed stare.
You hesitated!
Jiang Yunsui declared, “I’m going on a diet!”
Both her tone and expression were exceptionally determined.
Several minutes later…
Everyone watched Jiang Yunsui eating again and fell speechless.
“This is what you call a diet?”
Jiang Yunsui continued eating, her little face drooping miserably.
She may have become a little chubbier, but she was pretty and still young, so she looked very cute.
“Who told you to put food on the table? Aren’t you tempting me to commit a crime?”
It was right before her eyes, its aroma relentlessly burrowing into her nose. Refusing to eat it would have been an insult to her own mouth.
“Take it away. Hurry and take it away.”
She closed her eyes while she ate, her little expression almost pained.
“Hahaha…”
Everyone in the room burst into laughter at the sight.
Jiang Yunsui rolled her eyes dramatically.
Her grand weight-loss endeavor ultimately ended in failure.
What a joke. She could not get up in the morning and did not want to move after eating. When she finally summoned the courage to shuffle toward the door, one blast of cold wind sent her straight back inside.
“No, it’s too cold outside right now. Once the weather warms up, I’ll lose all this extra squishiness!”
She made her case with absolute conviction.
Yet whenever she wanted to go out and play, the cold weather did not bother her in the slightest.