Feng Jin, upon seeing Lu Shi's figure, ceased her futile arguments with Ling Mohan and busied herself asking, "How is it? How did things go..."
She fired off a string of questions, not giving Lu Shi a chance to breathe, pressing him urgently for an answer.
Lu Shi, bombarded with so many questions, was momentarily disoriented and didn't know where to begin. He opened his mouth slightly, unsure of how to respond.
"Enough! Look at yourself, what kind of demeanor do you have now? Do you still possess the bearing of a soldier? How do I usually teach you? Swift as the wind, serene as a pine. Look at you now, flustered and grinning, what sort of state is that? You're so careless you could lose your life the moment you step onto the battlefield."
Ling Mohan glared at Lu Shi, disappointed, thinking, "Just because of romance, he's become like this. It seems my three months of teaching can't compare to finding a wife. You must be too idle usually, to have time for such matters of love."
No wonder Lu Shi had been absent-minded all day, sometimes not even reacting when called. It seemed he had been too lenient with them, and they needed to be rigorously trained.
"Yes, Young General." Lu Shi immediately suppressed the smile at the corner of his mouth, his expression returning to its usual demeanor.
Ling Mohan looked at Lu Shi's current state with satisfaction and nodded. This was more like it; what a state he was in just moments ago.
"Ling Mohan, get out of my way. I still have questions to ask."
Feng Jin shouted angrily, shoving the man blocking her path aside. Her gaze fell on Lu Shi, "Quickly tell me what happened?"
Lu Shi suppressed the urge to blurt out the truth, his tone as calm as possible, "My apologies, Young Madam. I merely went after Cai Qing to have a word."
It was at a crucial moment of witnessing their affection that Ling Mohan had so inconveniently interrupted.
With Ling Mohan present, it was clearly impossible to get anything more out of Lu Shi. Before she could even tell Lu Shi to leave, Ling Mohan had already spoken, dismissing him.
"Lu Shi, you may leave now."
"As you command, Young General."
Lu Shi had been looking for an excuse to leave, and upon receiving the order, he hastily retreated.
"Alas..." She still had questions to ask, but Lu Shi had already vanished. Feng Jin sighed dejectedly, finally turning her attention to the culprit, Ling Mohan.
"Why did you send Lu Shi away? I haven't finished asking my questions."
Ling Mohan ignored Feng Jin's interrogation and went to pour himself a cup of tea. As the rich tea entered his mouth, he couldn't help but frown. The taste of this tea was truly... indescribable.
It was a far cry from the tea at the mansions in the capital. After just one sip, Ling Mohan put down the teacup. He never drank another sip of tea until he left Yuncheng.
"Where are you going?"
The man suddenly stood up, and Feng Jin couldn't help but ask loudly from behind him.
"Yesterday's journey was delayed, and the Western Liang envoys did not arrive. They will reach Yuncheng today, so I'm going to see."
Stopping, Ling Mohan turned around and explained patiently.
"Then go."
Knowing that Ling Mohan was going on official business, and being a reasonable person, she straightforwardly let him leave.
"Young General, the Western Liang envoys have arrived in Yuncheng and are currently at the city gate. As per your instructions, I have notified Fan Shun to proceed and welcome them."
The moment Ling Mohan stepped out, Lu Shi stepped forward to report.
"Let's go and see."
Ling Mohan strode away, followed by over a dozen Black Armored Guards. When they arrived outside the city gate, Fan Shun was already in lively conversation with the Western Liang envoy.
"Lord Fan seems to know people everywhere. Are you perhaps acquainted with the Western Liang envoy?"
"General Ling, you mustn't speak so carelessly. This is a crime punishable by extermination of the nine generations of one's clan. This subordinate is extremely frightened, extremely frightened!"
Fan Shun carelessly brushed away the sweat from his brow, casting a dark glance at Ling Mohan.
"It was just a joke, Lord Fan doesn't need to be so afraid!" The man's lips curved into a cold smile, his eyes still filled with icy depths.
"Is this the Western Liang envoy?"
"The Western Liang envoy, Baili Xuan. General Ling, greetings."
"Baili Xuan..." Ling Mohan murmured the name and said indifferently, "Who is Baili Xi to you?"
"He is my cousin."
"Your Baili clan has faithfully served the royal family of Western Liang for generations. Truly a loyal family of loyal ministers and fierce generals. Your grandfather, Baili Xiong, was a fierce general of his generation, it is a pity that..."
Ling Mohan's words were like daggers piercing Baili Xuan's heart. Baili Xuan's gaze immediately turned cold, and his eyes towards Ling Mohan carried a hint of killing intent.
"My grandfather is naturally a hero of our Western Liang. The subjects of Western Liang will always remember my grandfather. My grandfather's death at Mount Tai is the pride of our Baili descendants."
Baili Xuan said with neither humility nor arrogance, appearing even more composed than his cousin Baili Xi.
"You speak truly. This General also has long admired Baili Xiong's loyalty."
During the war with Western Liang years ago, Baili Xiong, who was known to have never lost a battle, was defeated by him.
After returning, he became dejected and died soon after. Since then, the Baili family had harbored a deep grudge against him, with some even wanting to kill him to appease Baili Xiong's spirit.
Baili Xi, upon seeing him that day, had been furious and wanted to kill him. However, today's Baili Xuan was much more cunning and could maintain his composure, showing some breadth of mind.
"General Ling, Lord Baili, let's not dwell on these old matters. It is more important to attend to business first."
Fan Shun, listening to their back-and-forth, had heard enough and hurriedly spoke to persuade them.
"This is the dowry bestowed by His Majesty upon the princess. The gift list is here, General Ling, please verify it item by item."
Ling Mohan took the gift list and glanced over it, quickly noticing discrepancies. Western Liang had been plagued by natural disasters in recent years, and the national treasury was in deficit. While the dowry for the Western Liang princess was not excessively large in other aspects, the sheer number of maids and eunuchs, totaling three thousand people, was considerable.
This was Western Liang's way of finding a way to send them to Dong Chu for them to raise, a rather clever plan.
"General Ling, are there any issues with this gift list?"
"Your Emperor truly dotes on the princess. This dowry is more than double the customary amount."
"The princess is the Emperor's youngest daughter, always pampered and cherished. With her marrying into Dong Chu, the Emperor feels for the princess being far from home, which is why he prepared a more generous dowry to ease her homesickness."