Chapter 59: I'll Give You All of Them

Qiao Xia rode through the herd of horses and instantly spotted the young nobleman lying on the ground in brocade robes, with gold and silver scattered everywhere.

The man was sprawling across the pile of riches, groaning in pain as if preparing to extort someone.

His entourage of servants was in utter disarray, having been knocked sideways by the charging steeds, and were now frantically scrambling to pick up the gold and silver and shove them back into the chests. One of them shouted aggressively, "Do you have any idea who my master is? If you injured him, ten lives wouldn't be enough to compensate!"

"In that case, I really must ask what kind of prominent figure your master is."

Qiao Xia had initially intended to offer an apology, seeing as it was her herd of horses that had accidentally bumped into someone.

However, the opposing party's people were acting so arrogant and could shout at the top of their lungs, which clearly meant nothing was seriously wrong with him.

Qiao Xia put her fingers to her lips and let out a sharp whistle, causing the surrounding horses to scatter. In a split second, only the scattered gold and silver and the brocade-robed entourage remained in that clearing.

"Hey, who on earth are you?"

Leaning over her horse's back, Qiao Xia looked down at him from a lofty perch and asked.

The people delivering the massive fortune of gold and silver to the Western Frontier were from the Lin family of Jiangnan. Jiangnan was renowned for its beauties and its gentle, languid atmosphere—where had anyone ever laid eyes on a woman with such untamed wildness?

The young nobleman stared at her, momentarily struck speechless.

The servants on either side hurried to help their young master to his feet, demanding with displeasure, "Our master bears the surname Lin. And who might you be?"

"Me?" Qiao Xia replied. "My surname is Qiao."

Since the other party had only deigned to give a surname, she would do the exact same.

It was only fair.

Shen Shizhi led a contingent of generals galloping out of the city gates, only to find thousands of fine steeds gathered in a dense mass, right in the middle of which Qiao Xia was locked in a standoff with a young nobleman in brocade and his retinue.

Gold and silver littered the ground beneath their feet, gleaming dazzlingly under the sunlight like miniature hills of wealth.

The generals could not help crying out in astonishment, "Did money just fall from the sky? There's gold and silver everywhere!"

"Am I dreaming? We were just lamenting our inability to buy horses, and ten thousand fine steeds arrive out of nowhere! We complained about lacking funds, and now money grows legs and runs right to us?"

"I wouldn't even dare to dream of such a stroke of good fortune!"

Li Hongzhen couldn't resist giving himself a hard slap. "Ouch! Damn it, that hurts! This isn't a dream, it's real!"

Shen Ruojin casually selected a white horse nearby, vaulted into the saddle, and spurred her mount forward. "Axia, what are you all doing?"

Judging by the looks of it, these people had all come to Xizhou City to deliver horses and funds, and they certainly couldn't be allowed to fall out and ruin things here.

That young nobleman looked somewhat familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before.

"Shen Shi, you've arrived just in time." Catching sight of Shen Ruojin's approach, Qiao Xia immediately turned her head and complained, "This pretty boy's servant claims his master is of such noble stock that my horse injured him, and that ten lives wouldn't be enough for me to pay for it. Tell him, am I someone who can't afford to pay?"

The Qiao clan excelled in the art of horse-taming and thrived in every nation, conducting massive horse trades year after year, so they were naturally far from lacking in silver.

However, the eldest Miss Qiao disdained putting on airs; compared to dealing with people, she infinitely preferred the company of horses.

Her connection with Shen Ruojin dated back several years when Shen the Second brought his younger sister to the Qiao estate to select horses. An accident had occurred at the racing grounds back then, startling several horses into a frenzy. The two of them had stepped forward simultaneously to subdue the fiery beasts, refusing to yield to each other in their quest for first place, yet developing a mutual appreciation that eventually turned them into bosom friends.

Shen Ruojin intervened smoothly. "Guests from afar are always welcome. Not to mention that this young master and his attendants hardly look like they've suffered life-threatening injuries requiring compensation with your life; even if compensation were due, I am the host here, and it is not your place to pay."

Hearing this, Qiao Xia instantly lifted her chin. "Did you hear that?"

"Who are you calling a pretty boy?"

The young nobleman demanded with a frown.

"You, of course." Qiao Xia saw nothing wrong with her choice of words. "A grown man who is fairer than any woman—if you aren't a pretty boy, what are you?"

"You—"

The young nobleman was instantly left at a loss for words.

The most terrifying thing in a verbal sparring match was encountering someone who genuinely believed their own absurd logic.

"All right, Qiao Xia. In our Central Plains, 'pretty boy' is hardly a compliment."

Shen Ruojin timely prevented Qiao Xia from causing further offense with her tongue, dismounting to instruct her men to help gather the scattered gold and silver and return them to the chests and cages.

She then offered a polite bow to the young nobleman. "War is imminent in Xizhou City. May I ask the purpose of your bringing such vast quantities of gold and silver here, Young Master?"

"Naturally, to deliver funds to aid you all. In times of national crisis, every citizen bears a responsibility. Those with strength contribute strength; those with wealth contribute wealth." The young nobleman returned her bow. "There is no need for such formalities, Sister-in-law. I am Qin Lang's cousin, Lin Xiuqi of the Jiangnan Lin family."

"So it is Cousin Lin who has come to support the Western Frontier. Forgive us for not welcoming you from afar, and I hope you will take no offense."

*The real young Master Lin has finally arrived,* Shen Ruojin thought to herself.

Just days ago, Qin Lang had sneaked into the Protectorate's Mansion posing as the young Master Lin, and now the genuine article had also arrived at the Western Frontier. With both the real and the fake gathered in one place, when word of this reached the capital later on, even the person residing in the imperial palace would be utterly bewildered as to what was actually going on.

Lin Xiuqi smiled. "We are all family; there is no need for such polite pleasantries."

Shen Ruojin nodded. "Cousin has traveled a long way—were you injured when you were bumped by the horse just now? Please come into the city to rest and freshen up at the residence, and I shall immediately arrange a banquet to wash away the dust of your journey."

"It is of no consequence. It was merely my subordinate acting improperly and getting into a dispute with this Miss Qiao, so Sister-in-law need not take it to heart."

As Lin Xiuqi spoke, his brow relaxed, instantly resuming the demeanor of an aristocratic gentleman.

Qiao Xia still wanted to retort, but remembering that this fellow was Shen Shi's cousin, she forced herself to swallow the words.

She had come to deliver horses, while the other party had come to deliver money.

Since they were both here to help Shen Shi, she decided not to pick a fight with him, lest she place Shen Shi in an awkward position in the middle.

Coincidentally.

Lin Xiuqi harbored the exact same thought.

The sharp, combative aura between the two instantly dissipated. Finding each other's faces unappealing, they simply chose not to look at each other.

The generals called upon the soldiers to lead the horses away and carry the chests of gold and silver. As the crowd surged forward, the two of them were naturally separated.

Seeing that Lin Xiuqi had been knocked to the ground by a horse earlier, Shen Ruojin arranged for someone to escort him to the residence first so he could bathe, change his garments, and calm his nerves.

Meanwhile, she remained behind with the generals to tally the horses and the funds.

Accompanied by Qiao Xia, she could not help being asked, "Just where did you pull this Lin cousin from?"

Shen Ruojin turned slightly and whispered into her ear:

"My husband's cousin—isn't he naturally my cousin too?"

The Lin family was the wealthiest clan in Jiangnan; securing their backing meant they could vastly expand their efforts in recruiting soldiers and purchasing warhorses.

Giving a blank "Oh," Qiao Xia remained stunned for a moment before blurting out in utter disbelief, "You got married? When did you tie the knot, and why on earth didn't I know about it?"

Before Shen Ruojin could figure out how to explain, the eldest Miss Qiao complained with clear displeasure, "You got married without even telling me! And you didn't even send me a wedding invitation! Do you still consider me your closest friend?"

Shen Ruojin said softly, "It's a long story. I'll explain the details to you later."

At the time, her decision to marry Pei Jing felt more like obedience for the sake of obedience. With her uncle and older brothers gone, her grandfather unable to return to the capital, and her aunts either dead or having taken monastic vows, she had never regarded marriage as a matter of great personal consequence, let alone thought to dispatch a messenger all the way to Qiao Xia to summon her across thousands of miles for a wedding banquet.

Yet now that Qiao Xia brought it up, she really did seem a bit remiss as a friend.

"Fine then, I'll let you explain it slowly when you have the time."

Being a straightforward and generous person, Qiao Xia chose not to press further when she saw that Shen Ruojin found it inconvenient to discuss these matters in front of a crowd.

Instead, she excitedly declared, "This time, I've brought ten thousand of the finest horses!"

Looking at the truly magnificent sight of ten thousand galloping steeds, Shen Ruojin recalled the general who had just returned from a trip to the Qiao estate to purchase horses, reporting that the mission had fallen through. She could not help asking, "The Qiao family made it explicitly clear that they were unwilling to sell horses to the Western Frontier. How on earth did you manage to secure these ten thousand prime steeds?"

"Xichang is currently attacking Xizhou City, and they sent people to our Qiao estate to issue a harsh threat: if the Qiao family dared to sell horses to you all, the moment they break through Xizhou City, we would be the next target for a wholesale slaughter of our entire clan. My uncles and cousins were too terrified to sell them. But I'm different..."

Spreading her arms wide in a gesture of embracing the sunlight, Qiao Xia smiled with narrowed eyes. "I flung open the stables in the middle of the night and galloped straight for the Western Frontier with ten thousand fine horses."

She proclaimed, "I didn't come here to sell horses—I won't take a single coin! I'm giving them all to you!"