"General Zhou, do you have anything further to say?" Inside the golden tent, only Murong Huiying and Zhou Fugui remained. Murong Huiying looked at the somewhat flustered Zhou Fugui and smiled, her eyes sparkling as she asked.
"Alas..." Zhou Fugui sighed deeply, cast a sideways glance at Murong Huiying, and said, "Princess Ziyue, is it? Your Highness, may I sit down?"
Murong Huiying gestured for him to do so.
Thus, with his hands tied behind his back, Zhou Fugui sat on a brocade stool.
"You asked if I had anything to say, and indeed I do," Zhou Fugui said with a wry smile. "You also asked if I committed this crime for Xiao Qing. I wish to say that it is and it is not."
"Hmm? What do you mean by that?" Murong Huiying asked calmly.
*A lecher, to actually dare kill someone for a courtesan, and then destroy the evidence. She thought to herself.*
*Hmph, let's see how you wriggle out of this!* Murong Huiying scoffed inwardly.
"When one is the chopping block and the other is the fish, the fish can only resign itself to fate, to be slaughtered, to become a meal on someone's table," Zhou Fugui said slowly. "Xiao Qing is, and so is Zhou. And so were the more than two thousand 'rebels' you captured yesterday!"
"And so are the tens of thousands of conscripted Han soldiers in the Han army!" Zhou Fugui's voice grew louder and louder until he was shouting, "Xiao Qing, originally from the Summer Palace, a native of Qiantang in Jiangnan, was abducted to the north by you people and suffered greatly. Xiao Qing was fortunate enough to survive and, to fetch medicine for her adoptive father, she debased herself and entered a brothel, only to fall into the hands of some scoundrel named Ba... what's his name?"
"Baers..." Zhou Fugui said with great emotion. Murong Huiying listened intently and couldn't help but respond to Zhou Fugui, then gave him a sidelong glance.
"Yes, with Xiao Qing falling into the hands of such villains, what good outcome could there be?" Zhou Fugui continued. "It would surely be unimaginably tragic, so tragic it cannot be described with the word 'tragic'."
Murong Huiying couldn't help but nod slightly.
She had already ascertained the nature of Baers and his ilk; they were heinous villains who preyed on the common people and had harmed countless women. If Xiao Qing fell into their hands, it would indeed be as Zhou Fugui said, unimaginably tragic.
After the Xianbei and other Hu tribes galloped across the Central Plains, many of them were exceptionally cruel, engaging in arson, murder, and plunder, committing all sorts of atrocities. Murong Huiying had always detested this since childhood.
In recent years, in order to win the hearts of the Central Plains populace, Emperor Murong Xi of Yan and others had issued orders to cease killing and plundering, which had somewhat improved the situation. However, many Xianbei, especially the Xianbei nobility, still showed no restraint, harming and preying on the populace, and these commoners were not just Han people.
And while Emperor Murong Xi of Yan had issued orders to cease killing and plundering, in other respects, he... Murong Huiying shook her head slightly at this thought.
"There are many people in the world with tragic fates. Can you... save them all?" Murong Huiying then asked Zhou Fugui.
"Indeed, there are many people in the world with tragic fates, and I, Zhou, am but a humble man of the countryside, a commoner with limited ability. I cannot save all those with tragic fates in the world, but I will try my best to help anyone I encounter. If what happened in Youzhou were to occur again, I would still step forward to help, without regret until death!" Zhou Fugui replied loudly and resolutely.
"Pfft! Hmph... Humph humph humph..." Murong Huiying couldn't help but laugh again, quickly covering it with a "humph."
Zhou Fugui was speechless. How many times had this happened? If you want to laugh, then laugh! Who would dare mock you? A girl not yet twenty, insisting on acting so mature and composed.
"Is the 'Protector Vajra' a commoner?" Murong Huiying, with her hands behind her back, puffed out her considerable chest and asked Zhou Fugui.
Zhou Fugui was stunned into silence, staring at Murong Huiying.
*Impressive, truly impressive!* Zhou Fugui thought to himself, astonished. *It seems she knows everything about me? How did she find out? Or perhaps I should just confess and hope for leniency...*
*Xiao Qing, the events in Youzhou, these must have been reported by the Youzhou constabulary. As for the 'Protector Vajra,' they must have learned of it after capturing many 'demon monks.'* Zhou Fugui mused, and it no longer seemed so surprising.
As for saving General Xia, only his closest confidant and Xiao Qing knew about that at the time. She shouldn't know about that, should she? Zhou Fugui wondered, looking at Murong Huiying.
"Hmph, why are you staring at me like that?" Murong Huiying huffed when she saw Zhou Fugui staring blankly at her. "If you don't want others to know, it's best not to do it. However, considering you were merely feigning compliance at the time, I won't pursue it."
"'If you want others not to know, you must first not do it.' Feigning compliance." Zhou Fugui breathed a sigh of relief at her words and wanted to give a thumbs-up, but his hands were tied behind his back. He could only twitch his thumb and praise, "Brilliant! Princess, you are truly brilliant!"
"Am I brilliant? How can I feel that I am far inferior to you? Hmph, audacious, doing as you please." Murong Huiying snorted coldly. "For Xiao Qing, you resorted to such extreme measures. Then what is the meaning of 'it is'?"
"For myself," Zhou Fugui replied.
"For yourself?" Murong Huiying mused. "Are you implying... you had no other choice but to take such extreme measures?"
"Clever!" Zhou Fugui wanted to give another thumbs-up... and said with a smile, "Princess, you truly understand Zhou's heart... that thing... you are indeed extraordinarily wise."
"What is the 'thing' in my heart?" Murong Huiying said with a straight face. "You're talking nonsense."
"Hehe..." Zhou Fugui chuckled. "Princess, this humble general has confessed everything. Whether you kill me or skin me is up to you."
"Hehe..." Murong Huiying laughed again. "Confessed everything? I think you are a cunning fox and haven't told the truth at all."
For some inexplicable reason, Zhou Fugui, who was clearly a lecher and a ruthless individual, had been chatting and laughing with Murong Huiying for so long.
This was the first time in Murong Huiying's life that she had spoken for so long with a young man.
Murong Huiying also vaguely sensed that something was amiss, yet she couldn't control herself.
"Whether a cunning tiger or a fox, before Your Highness, this humble general is a docile little lamb," Zhou Fugui said with a smile.
*When it's time to back down, you must back down. This is Zhou Fugui's consistent principle.*
"Oh? Is that so?" Murong Huiying couldn't help but laugh again. She walked around behind Zhou Fugui and said with a smile, "I can't say for sure. However, with the great battle imminent and a need for capable personnel, I will not hold these matters against you for now."
Murong Huiying reached out her jade-like hand and gently plucked a horsehair from Zhou Fugui's shoulder, saying, "When one is the chopping block and the other is the fish, if you don't want to be the fish, then ascend. I remember telling you, 'fortune favors the bold.' You should just continue to be a banner general. General Zhou, do you understand what I mean?"
"Thank you, Your Highness," Zhou Fugui said, nodding. "Those more than two thousand people captured yesterday..."
"General Zhou, how dare you push your luck?" Murong Huiying said angrily. "Those more than two thousand people..."
"All executed!"
Just then, Murong Boli and Tang Qingsi entered the golden tent. Murong Boli said coldly.
"Father Marshal, why are you here?" Murong Huiying said, both surprised and delighted.
"I was worried my precious daughter might be bullied," Murong Boli said, glancing at Zhou Fugui with his hands bound behind his back.
*So she's his daughter.* Zhou Fugui suddenly realized, amazed. *Such a majestic man could father such a fairy-like daughter?*
"Hmph, him?" Murong Huiying said disdainfully, lifting her lotus-like chin.
"General Zhou, congratulations!" Tang Qingsi said with a smile as he walked past Zhou Fugui.
*Congratulations on what? Congratulations on being tied up like a pig or sheep? Or congratulations on impending doom?* Zhou Fugui was greatly perplexed by his words.
"Ying'er, untie him," Murong Boli then instructed Murong Huiying.
"Father, men and women should not touch..." Murong Huiying took two steps forward, then felt it was inappropriate, and said with a slight blush.
The rawhide binding was too tight. If Murong Huiying untied him, physical contact would be unavoidable.
"Men and women should not touch? You've read too much of the 'Book of Han' and learned the pedantic words of the Han people," Murong Boli said, glaring at Murong Huiying. He then stepped forward and, without any apparent effort, snapped the rawhide.
The rawhide was exceptionally tough; an ordinary person would need a knife to cut it. Thus, after being untied, Zhou Fugui stretched his arms and looked at Murong Boli with surprise.
What Zhou Fugui didn't know was that in his youth, Murong Boli could easily wrestle down not just such a small piece of rawhide, but even a strong bull.
"General Zhou wishes to save these more than two thousand rebels?" Murong Boli then sat down in the golden tent and asked Zhou Fugui, who was performing what looked like "calisthenics."
"Indeed!" Zhou Fugui replied while rotating his wrists.
"Why?" Murong Boli asked again.
"Isn't it obvious?" Zhou Fugui replied. "Demon monks mislead the masses, and many follow them. But how many of them truly wish to rebel or cause chaos? Most are ignorant and have been deceived by the demon monks. They are guilty, but not of a capital offense. To kill them for a non-capital offense would surely alienate the people. Moreover, Commander..."
Zhou Fugui glanced at Murong Huiying and continued, "With the great battle imminent and a need for capable personnel, why would the Grand Commander wish to kill them? It would be a needless loss of thousands of men."
"Haha..." Murong Boli and Tang Qingsi exchanged a look and burst into laughter, which made Zhou Fugui's heart pound with unease, unsure of their intentions.
"General Zhou speaks with reason!" Murong Boli nodded. "As this commander sees it, I shall spare all but the ringleaders, as General Zhou suggests. However, I have a condition. Does General Zhou agree?"
Zhou Fugui stared at Murong Boli, bewildered, not knowing what condition he might propose.