Chapter 57: You Have Worked Hard, My Husband

Old General Shen wanted to say something more.

Qin Lang said, "I am Shen Tenth's husband, and Grandfather's grandson-in-law. Given this connection, I believe that Senior Jiang will grant me some face."

With this relation in place, Qin Lang going to invite Jiang Pingwei out of retirement was the same as Shen Ruojin going herself.

Though the Old General's junior fellow apprentice was said to be within the borders of the Western Frontier, he had long since lived in seclusion. Across thousands of miles of territory, where was one supposed to find him?

Even if he could truly be found, whether the man would be willing to come out of retirement to help was one matter, and whether he was even still alive was another.

As her grandfather, Shen Yi was merely using this pretext to dispatch Little Tenth away.

Yet Shen Ruojin could not possibly abandon her grandfather at such a moment to attend to other matters. At this juncture, Qin Lang's initiative to offer to invite the reclusive expert out of retirement sounded like heavenly music to her ears.

She was accumulating more and more favors that she could never repay.

She had no spare energy to calculate these debts anymore.

She might as well accept that a heavy debtor does not worry about the number of debts.

Before her grandfather could speak again, Shen Ruojin nodded toward Qin Lang and said, "Then I must trouble you, my husband."

"Indeed, it is the same if the son-in-law goes."

Wei Qingshan was the first to chime in.

General Li and others echoed in agreement, "It would be for the best if the son-in-law is willing to take this on."

"Who wouldn't give face to the son-in-law?"

Shen Yi had originally intended for Shen Ruojin and Qin Lang to go together, but with the others interrupting all at once, he completely lost the opportunity to speak.

"There is no time to lose, I shall set off right away."

Qin Lang was also a person of prompt and decisive action.

Since he had volunteered, he was determined to handle the task well.

"I will see you out."

Shen Ruojin said resolutely.

The young couple thus settled the matter. Together, they paid their respects to Grandfather, told the people in the room, "Please continue your discussion, I shall take my leave first," and turned to walk out of the room.

Shen Yi watched as Little Tenth and the new son-in-law showed a tacit understanding so deep that even their bowing movements were nearly identical. Before their words had fully faded, they were already walking side by side toward the exterior.

Outside the door, the accumulated snow had not yet completely melted. The sun was sinking westward, and the final rays of sunlight spilled across the courtyard.

The rosy glow fell upon the two of them, quietly dispelling the chill brought by the bitter winter.

Shen Ruojin accompanied Qin Lang to the entrance, where horses, dry rations, and ten hidden guards were prepared to accompany him.

Qin Lang said, "Ten hidden guards are enough. Too many people will only easily attract the attention of the Xichang forces. The rest will remain in Xizhou City at your disposal."

When the young Prince Qin came to the Western Frontier this time, he had brought at least three hundred hidden guards.

Yet to invite Jiang Pingwei out of seclusion, he would take only ten, leaving all the rest behind.

And he had even prepared a flawless pretext, leaving Shen Ruojin with no room to refuse.

"If you wish to thank me, you may spare it."

Seeing Shen Ruojin wanting to say something yet seemingly at a loss for how to express it, Qin Lang spoke up first.

He said, "I do not accept verbal gratitude. Shen Ruojin, spare me these superficial gestures and give me something substantive."

Shen Ruojin asked him, "What kind of substantive reward do you want?"

"Think about it yourself." Qin Lang looked at her with ink-dark eyes. "If I were to ask you for it myself, wouldn't that make me look like I am cashing in on a favor?"

This Young Prince Qin still had quite a few principles.

Shen Ruojin smoothly went along with it and said, "How could my husband ever be the kind of person who leverages favors for personal gain?"

With those words from her, that was quite enough.

Qin Lang lifted his chin with a look that seemed to say "that's more like it." "Very well, go back and take care of Grandfather, and discuss the subsequent combat strategies with them. I am setting off now, and I shall surely make haste there and back."

"Alright."

Shen Ruojin nodded in agreement, though she did not immediately turn back.

Standing before the door, she watched as the hidden guards led the horses forward and handed the reins to Qin Lang.

Ever since she saw Qin Lang in Xizhou City last night, everything had felt like a dream.

Perhaps the bustling place of the capital held too many illusions.

That untamable troublemaker of a young prince, upon leaving the capital and arriving in this Western Frontier region, also revealed his true metal—courageous, resourceful, and fearless of life and death.

With a Xichang army of two hundred thousand pressing hard against the city gates, Qin Lang's journey to find Jiang Pingwei would be fraught with danger at every turn, no safer than remaining in Xizhou City.

Seeing him mount his horse, Shen Ruojin could not help but step forward and say, "Qin Lang, be careful along the way."

Qin Lang held the reins and smiled at her. "Rest assured, I won't let you become a young widow so soon."

Shen Ruojin was instantly speechless: "......"

This scoundrel truly never had a serious moment no matter when it was.

As she was thinking this, Qin Lang suddenly spurred his horse forward, leaned down, and whispered into her ear, "With the enemy outnumbering us right now, the best approach is to first fortify our forces and keep the city gates tightly closed. Within three days at most, I will surely find Senior Jiang. Even if he refuses to come out of seclusion, I will return to find you. My wife..."

Qin Lang suddenly called out to her, "Take care of yourself in everything, and just do your best."

"Mn."

Shen Ruojin nodded.

"Wait for my return!"

With that, Qin Lang whipped his horse into a gallop and sped away.

In Xizhou City, where the flames of war were about to ignite, the streets were desolate and empty, save for a sparse few pedestrians.

Qin Lang and his entourage galloped swiftly down the long street, and in the blink of an eye, even their retreating figures vanished from sight.

Shen Ruojin returned to the main room, where Grandfather was already discussing with various generals about temporarily sealing the city gates, seeking reinforcements from local prefectures, and recruiting soldiers and purchasing horses within the Western Frontier.

Submitting a memorial for the Emperor to send reinforcements was definitely too late.

"But recruiting soldiers and buying horses requires silver! The Shen Family Army hasn't even received last year's military pay yet. Silver is what we lack the most!"

"Fine horses cannot simply be bought on a whim either..."

"Silver can solve our current problems, but our biggest problem right now is that we have no silver!"

The Shen Family Army was the poorest among the four regional armies.

The Old General originally had nine grandsons and not a single granddaughter-in-law, precisely because the young generals could not even afford the betrothal gifts to take wives.

When Shen Ruojin returned, she happened to hear them discussing this. "These are extraordinary times. First, open the official treasury of Xizhou City, and then open Yang Wangxiong's private treasury. Take out whatever silver there is and use it first."

The Shen Family Army had no money, but Military Commissioner Yang certainly did.

Over the years, Yang Wangxiong had withheld no small amount of military pay meant for the Shen Family Army. Now that Xizhou City was in peril, it was only right to make them cough up their embezzled silver to meet the emergency.

Old General Shen did not voice any objection.

That was tacit approval.

Shen Ruojin and the generals immediately dispatched men to carry it out.

While they were discussing, the garrison generals of Xizhou City, having heard that Old General Shen had regained consciousness, came together to request an audience.

Privately, they claimed they came to inquire after the Old General's health.

Publicly, since the Xichang army was stationed just thirty li outside Xizhou City, they also needed to participate in discussing the subsequent combat strategy.

Naturally, Shen Yi could not turn them away and had them all invited in.

The room suddenly became crowded with a large gathering of people.

Merely debating how to recruit soldiers and horses, alongside the ensuing battle strategies, took a full hour, and the sky grew dim.

The garrison generals and the Shen Family Army had conflicting opinions: one side insisted that everything must be reported to the imperial court first, while the other maintained that they should fight first and report later, adhering to the principle that "when a general is away from the capital, he need not obey the sovereign's commands."

They argued back and forth without end.

Shen Ruojin was ravenously hungry, and seeing that her grandfather was growing spiritless and on the verge of fainting again, she asked the crowd, "Have you argued enough?"

She stated bluntly, "Those who want to memorialize the court can write their own memorials. As for the one who said 'when a general is away, he need not obey,' are you tired of living?"

Even if one thought that way in their heart, such words could not simply be bandied about.

The generals instantly fell silent.

"I'm starving, I'm starving! Go and ask the kitchen if dinner is ready yet!"

Wei Qingshan spoke up to smooth things over, and a soldier outside the door acknowledged the order and hurried off.

Yet in the next instant.

Before the food could even be brought out, a city gate guard rushed in to report, "The Xichang army is attacking the city!"