Ch66 - Lu Niao

After picking out the things they would “embezzle,”  Mu Hanzhang called for the left and right protectorate generals to come help count and do an inventory of the items in the treasure house one by one. Of course, they would also get a share, so the left protectorate general got a treasure sword, and the right protectorate general picked up a bag full of pearls. As for the other two generals, considering Hao Dadao’s integrity and Zhao Meng’s big mouth, they all decided not to tell them.

Jing Shao called for a few hundred soldiers to guard the treasure house. After going through it and doing a clear inventory, he had everything except a chest of silver escorted back to the capital.

In his report, Jing Shao directly said that the Southeast King had been killed by one of his own concubines; as for the person he chose, Jing Shao wrote down the name of the woman who had hugged Jun Qing’s leg.

They rested in the southeast palace for ten days as they waited to receive an imperial edict and deal with the aftermath. In accordance with the imperial edict, Jing Shao rewarded the three armies with that chest of silver. He then dismissed the Shu, Xiang and Qian armies on the spot, and took his personal troops north to Jiangnan. 

After a period of rest and nourishment, Ge Ruoyi recovered fully. She changed into the clothes of a maid and continued to serve Mu Hanzhang. She didn’t mention a word about what she had experienced in the southeast palace in the last few months, and Jing Shao also tacitly didn’t ask.

The weather had turned cold. When they marched north from the south, in particular, they could clearly feel the chill.

In any case, they were just traveling. Jing Shao also no longer maintained a front, and huddled inside the carriage, burrowing into his Wang Fei’s quilt.

Because of the cold weather, Xiao Huang no longer served as a footrest. Instead, he lay horizontally, acting as a warm pillow. But there was something wrong with a living pillow…

“Jun Qing…” Jing Shao gently kissed the neck of the person under him and nibbled on his beautiful collarbone.

“Wu, no, Ge Ruoyi is outside…” Mu Hanzhang lowered his voice.

“It’s fine, we’ll be quiet,” Jing Shao whispered in his ear.

His voice was rough and the man in his arms trembled with the burst of heat in his ear. Jing Shao smiled and moved to bite that ear. Then, he saw a fluffy paw stretch out to that blue jade moon and flowing clouds hairpin. It poked and scratched the hairpin, batting it back and forth… 

Jing Shao: “…”

Mu Hanzhang: “…”

In the end, Xiao Huang was driven off to become a footrest once more.

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Although the commander-in-chief of the Jiangnan troops didn’t come out to meet them, it seemed that he already knew that they were coming, and had prepared a place for them to set up camp. Leaving his troops in the Jiangnan camp and flinging Zhao Meng aside to “housesit,” Jing Shao, along with his Wang Fei and his other three generals, went straight to the Jiangnan commander-in-chief’s residence.

“Lu Niao! Get your ass over here for Benwang!” Jing Shao yelled as soon as he entered the residence.

“Wang Ye…” The housekeeper leading the way couldn’t help fishing out a handkerchief from his sleeve to wipe his sweat. Cheng Wang’s sudden visit had startled him and he had already sent someone to inform his master. Why was he still not here? 

“What’s with all this noise?!” They had just walked into the main hall when a man came in through a side door. He was tall and had a cold and solemn appearance. At first glance, he looked like a stern scholar, but his voice held a lot of power and his pace was steady as he barely made a sound. Hao Dadao quietly gestured to the left and right protectorate generals, signaling that this person was a martial arts expert.

Mu Hanzhang looked up and felt that this man’s aura was somewhat similar to Jing Shao’s when he first saw the latter. Moreover, he looked rather young. Initially, he thought that for someone to become an army commander, they should be 30 years old at least, and he didn’t expect one this young.

As soon as Jing Shao and the man locked gazes, they were at each other’s throat with swords and bows drawn as they glared at each other. The housekeeper wisely withdrew.

“Hmph, Benwang graced Pingjiang with my presence, but the Jiangnan commander-in-chief unexpectedly was still sound asleep at home. I wonder what crime you’ll be charged with?” Jing Shao looked at him coldly. 

“Hmph, Wang Ye directly called this high court official’s childhood pet name; a soldier can be killed but not humiliated. Tomorrow, this subject shall present a memorial to the emperor. If you want to kill me or cut off my flesh bit by bit, then it will be for His Majesty to decide!” the Jiangnan commander-in-chief retorted, not backing down one bit.

Everyone: “…”

Mu Hanzhang couldn’t help laughing.

“Lu Zhanpeng, the commander-in-chief of Jiangnan, greets Wang Fei!” The commander-in-chief of Jiangnan turned his attention to the gentle and refined-looking handsome man, and walked over to him with light steps. 

Peng Bird

Mu Hanzhang smiled gently. “Commander-in-chief, you don’t have to be polite. Thank you for your help with this year’s matter.”

“Ai, saying these words make me sound like an outsider. Wang Fei made sure to compensate me, and not a penny was missing,” Lu Zhanpeng said with a smile. “I grew up with Wang Ye since I was a child, so just call me…”

“Lu Niao will do!” Jing Shao interrupted from where he was standing next to his Wang Fei.

Lu Zhanpeng immediately widened his eyes as he said, “Wang Ye, I am an official of the court for life. Insulting me three or four times – you can kill me, but not humiliate me!” 

“All right, all right!” Jing Shao impatiently waved his hand and threw a treasure sword from the southeast fief at him. “Benwang rewards you, quickly thank me.”

Lu Zhanpeng looked at the sword in his hand and his eyes instantly flashed. “This is a good sword! Wang Ye definitely obtained even better ones; quickly bring them out so I can kill myself with this!”

Jing Shao finally couldn’t help laughing and punched the Jiangnan commander-in-chief in the shoulder.

Lu Zhanpeng was introduced to Hao Dadao and the left and right protectorate generals. Jing Shao let them go play by themselves. Hao Dadao followed the housekeeper to the courtyard arranged for him. The right protectorate general couldn’t wait to go out and stroll around Pingjiang city. The left protectorate general followed him out silently. 

Lu Zhanpeng, the Jiangnan commander-in-chief, was Jing Shao’s study companion when he was a child. His family was descended from a Zhenguo general who had helped fight and unite the country. The rank of a Zhenguo general was different from that of dukes and marquises, which were inherited titles. Only by doing meritorious service in the army could a person become a Zhenguo general. Because of his meritorious deeds in fighting the Xiongnu alongside Jing Shao, Lu Zhanpeng was able to obtain the title, so he became the Jiangnan commander-in-chief at a young age.

Sitting in the garden of the commander-in-chief’s residence, drinking tea and listening to the two’s constant sarcastic and cutting remarks, Mu Hanzhang couldn’t help but relax. This was the first time he was seeing Jing Shao so unbridled in front of an official. It was clear that the two people really had a life-long friendship.

Jing Shao looked at Lu Zhanpeng jabbering on and on, his young face still glowing with health and vigor. He thought about how this man had been implicated with him in his last life, was stripped of his title, and then banished. He was so young when the hair at his temples already started to turn white. Jing Shao suddenly felt like it was a lifetime ago. Even when Lu Zhanpeng told his Wang Fei embarrassing childhood stories about him, he didn’t get angry.

“Wang Ye was unwilling to study at that time. He didn’t know a lot of big words!” Lu Zhanpeng laughed and said delightedly to Mu Hanzhang. 

When they met for the first time as children, the eunuch told the third prince that this was the young master of the Lu family. Young Jing Shao asked him what his name was. Lu Zhanpeng had just learned how to write his own name, so wanting to show off, he took a piece of paper, pretended to think profoundly, then wrote three big characters that read Lu Zhan Peng.

Jing Shao stared blankly at them for a long time, not recognizing the characters but afraid of being ridiculed. He remembered that the eunuch said that he was the son of the Lu family, so he pointed to the first character and read, “Lu… en, niao!” And so he was called by this nickname since childhood.

“All right, all right, you have the nerve to tell this nickname story.” Jing Shao chuckled. “Even I feel embarrassed for you to tell this one, but back then, who was it who went fishing with a maid’s embroidery needle, saying that he would catch a koi and then leap over the dragon’s gate and transform? In the end, you caught a turtle!”

“How was I supposed to know that there were turtles in the imperial garden?” Lu Zhanpeng refused to go down without a fight. He fished until he hooked a turtle. He had been very young at the time and didn’t understand. Who knew he would catch a turtle? For a long time after that, Jing Shao chased and called him “Wang Ba.” 

(Wang Ba = turtle, but also cuckold as an insult, the koi/carp jumping over the dragons gate and transforming into a dragon is a folk tale and LZP said he would catch a koi and he would jump over and transform, but instead he caught a turtle or “Wang Ba”)

As he listened, the corners of Mu Hanzhang’s mouth began to twitch. Now he finally knew why Jing Shao was still looking for birds’ nests in the imperial garden even at seven to eight years old. With such an unreliable study companion, it would be strange to be able to study well!

“Okay, let’s talk seriously.” Jing Shao coughed gently and took out a banknote for 50,000 silver taels, which he gave to Lu Zhanpeng. “We’ll be returning to the capital in a few days. You buy me a residence in Pingjiang.”

Lu Zhanpeng took the banknote and said doubtfully, “You want to buy a house in Pingjiang? Are you planning to stay here for long periods of time?” 

“You don’t have to worry about that, just do it.” Jing Shao waved his hand, not planning to explain it to him.

“If you want to build a residence, just have the Treasury allocate you money for it; why are you being so secretive?” Lu Zhanpeng frowned.

“Do you think the Treasury is a money farm that you can just take money from whenever you want?” Jing Shao responded irritably.

Lu Zhanpeng looked at him and pondered for a moment. He put the silver banknote away before he said in a low voice, “The Huainan King has always been content with his own lot; the court also wants to remove him as a vassal?” 

Mu Hanzhang’s hand that was holding the teacup paused. The commander-in-chief of Jiangnan seemed hot-headed and too talkative, but in fact was clever with his words and careful in his thinking; he could pick up the meaning in Jing Shao’s words so quickly.

Jing Shao nodded silently. Removing the vassal state was something that would happen sooner or later, especially with the Huainan fiefdom, which was located near Jiangnan, was very populous and affluent, and which had a strong army. This was actually the true worry for Emperor Hongzheng.

Lu Zhanpeng frowned. “I saw the Huainan King once. That man… I’m afraid he’s not easy to deal with.” After deliberating over what to say, he couldn’t think of any words to describe the man. After pausing for a moment, he only said those six words: “He’s not easy to deal with.”

Jing Shao smiled slowly and swallowed a mouthful of tea, but didn’t answer. Naturally, he knew that the Huainan King wasn’t easy to deal with. Not only was he sly in his military tactics, he was just a very shrewd person overall.  If it wasn’t for the large number of troops in the imperial army, Jing Shao wouldn’t have been able to win against him at all. The Huainan King had less troops than he did but he used his last few years to almost completely exhaust the imperial court’s finances. 

However, something that wasn’t easy to deal with wasn’t always a bad thing.

With a smile, Jing Shao took his Wang Fei’s hand and stood up. “It’s still early. We’ll go out for a stroll and come back for dinner in the evening. I want to eat that vinegar braised fish.”

“Do you think this is an inn ah, pay me, pay me!” Lu Zhanpeng, who was still thinking, wasn’t happy to hear this.

“I just gave you 100,000 taels, is that still not enough?” Jing Shao stretched and then pulled his Wang Fei to leave. 

“That’s the money for building a house.” Lu Zhanpeng hmphed, then immediately reacted and yelled, “What 100,000 taels, it’s clearly 50,000 taels!”

Jing Shao quickly ran away, pulling his Wang Fei after him.

Mu Hanzhang hadn’t stopped smiling from the moment Jing Shao and Lu Zhanpeng met. Now he couldn’t stop laughing. “Things are so interesting when the two of you are together.”

“Ai, you can’t stay in his house too long during the day. You’ll definitely be talked to death.” Jing Shao shook his head, looked at Jun Qing’s gentle smile, and sighed. “If I knew you as a child, I would definitely have taken you as a study companion.” He thought about how he would be able to hug that soft and delicate little Jun Qing, and listen to his soft and sticky voice calling him Xiao Shao. That image was truly too beautiful. 

Mu Hanzhang paused, chuckled and shook his head. “I am the son of a concubine; I wasn’t qualified to be your study companion.” Empress Yuan had still been around then; there was no need to point out how high Jing Shao’s position was in the palace at the time. If Mu Hanzhang, a marquis’s bastard, were to become his study companion, that would be a disgrace to the status of the son of the first wife. Moreover, given Jing Shao’s temperament, he certainly wouldn’t have liked Mu Hanzhang, who had always been very quiet as a child.