At the border city.
With the supplies and weapons brought by Shen Danqing, the Great Yong army had won five consecutive battles.
At the victory celebration banquet, General Mu patted Shen Danqing on the back in front of all the other generals and praised, "Well, what do you think? Isn't Danqing quite capable?"
One of the generals complimented, "Danqing is as good as a prophet. The weapons he brought are extremely useful. He truly lives up to being the grandson of the great general!"
After this comment, the others all chimed in with their praises. General Mu was extremely pleased. He raised his wine cup and toasted with the others.
It was not until the sky grew dim that everyone dispersed.
Shen Danqing supported General Mu back to the tent. As soon as the general sat down on the chair, he opened his eyes. At this moment, his eyes were clear, showing no sign of the drunkenness from before.
General Mu put his legs on the stool and started to chatter. His tone was envious. "Alas, pretending to be drunk is really no easy task. You have an uncle, the one with a face as red as a monkey's bottom just now. He has it easy. As soon as he drinks, his face turns red. Just looking at his face, others would think he's had a lot to drink and must be drunk..."
Shen Danqing was a bit surprised. "Was that general pretending too?"
"Others may not know, but among those at the victory celebration just now, every single one of them was pretending," General Mu gulped down a large mouthful of water. "Even though it was a victory celebration, we're still at war after all. Which fool would dare to get drunk?"
However, drinking without getting drunk always felt less than satisfying, so they all tacitly pretended to be drunk.
Shen Danqing suddenly understood. He poured a cup of water for General Mu. "Grandfather, I've written a letter to eldest brother. If everything goes smoothly, he'll arrive soon."
Coincidentally, Shen Heqing's master had been traveling eastward with him. They had stopped at a small town not far away two days ago.
Hearing that the imperial food supplies had arrived and that the person delivering them was General Mu's grandson, Shen Heqing guessed it was Shen Danqing and sent a letter to report his safety.
General Mu was taken aback. "Heqing? Why isn't he staying in the capital? What's he doing here? I remember he's going to take the imperial examinations next year."
"Eldest brother is traveling and studying with his master. He just happens to be nearby. As for coming here... it was I who invited him in the letter," Shen Danqing explained the whole story. "Grandfather, do you remember that in the small town of Xiangyun Country last time, I said that the princess's husband looked a bit familiar?"
"I'm not very familiar with Shen Yunfeng, so I couldn't recognize him. But if it were eldest brother, he would surely be able to tell if that person is Shen Yunfeng."
General Mu thought it was impossible. "It can't be Shen Yunfeng. I heard that this husband got married to Princess Rou more than a decade ago. He's said to be so ugly that he rarely shows up. Shen Yunfeng has always been in the capital. He has no time to go to Xiangyun Country."
Shen Danqing showed a bit of apology. "I see. If I had known this, I wouldn't have invited eldest brother. But the letter has already been sent, and it's quite difficult to get it back."
"Forget it. I haven't seen Heqing for a long time. This is a good opportunity to meet him..." General Mu comforted Shen Danqing.
After chatting with General Mu for a few more sentences, Shen Danqing returned to his own tent.
Shen Danqing sat in front of the table, looking at the flickering candle flame, lost in thought. He had invited Shen Heqing to identify Shen Yunfeng not only because of the back and the look in the eyes of that husband but also because of Princess Rou's name.
After returning from the small town that day, Shen Danqing had someone inquire about Princess Rou.
The royal family of Xiangyun Country all had the surname Xiangyun. This Princess Rou's full name was Xiangyun Rou. Concubine Yun, who gave birth to Shen Danqing, and Bai Xinrou, who had lived in the princess mansion for several years, when their names were combined, happened to be the last two characters of Xiangyun Rou.
Shen Danqing still remembered Concubine Yun's account of how she met Shen Yunfeng. At that banquet, at first, Shen Yunfeng wasn't interested in the dancing girls. It was only after he heard Concubine Yun's name, Yun'er, that he looked up.
One coincidence might be just that, but when two or three coincidences piled up, it seemed too strange.
...
In Xiangyun Country.
Shen Yunfeng asked again, "When will you surrender?"
Xiangyun Rou, for the first time, didn't just敷衍 him but gave a definite answer. "Tomorrow."
This answer stunned Shen Yunfeng. He pulled Xiangyun Rou off his body and asked in disbelief, "Really?"
"Of course it's true. Do you suspect I'm lying to you?" Xiangyun Rou pouted and leaned against Shen Yunfeng again.
She traced circles on Shen Yunfeng's chest with her finger. "In the past few days, the Great Yong army has been getting stronger and stronger. Eldest Prince already has enough achievements. It's enough for him to become the king of Xiangyun Country."
"Eldest Prince is so kind. He even thought about us!"
Shen Yunfeng didn't have a good impression of the eldest prince and didn't believe Xiangyun Rou's words. He frowned and asked, "How did he think about us?"
Xiangyun Rou pressed herself against Shen Yunfeng. "Eldest Prince said that he was afraid you'd be suspected, so he said that you were captured by me and brought back as my male favorite. When someone from Great Yong recognizes you, I can just play along and..."
"Xiangyun Rou, do you have to humiliate people like this?" Shen Yunfeng pushed Xiangyun Rou away and angrily smashed a teacup.
He roared angrily, "Being captured is one thing, but a male favorite? What do you take me for? A dog that can be called and dismissed at will?"
Xiangyun Rou staggered but managed to hold onto the table just in time to avoid falling.
She glared at Shen Yunfeng. "If you don't agree, just say so. Why did you push me for no reason? Besides, what's wrong with this idea? Weren't you always worried about being suspected of colluding with Xiangyun Country by Great Yong? Now that you're an undercover agent, who would still suspect you?"
Having been used to the intelligence of Princess Jingning, Shen Yunfeng thought Xiangyun Rou was stupidly ridiculous. "What's wrong with this idea?"
"How did you capture me? Where did you capture me? I remember that since the start of this war, Xiangyun Country has only had narrow victories. How did you cross the Great Yong army and capture a person from Great Yong?"
"I was living peacefully in the capital. What was I doing here? And even without bringing any guards and getting captured by you?"
"Fine, fine, fine. Let's not talk about these. But do you think that after being captured and being regarded as a male favorite, when I return to the capital and back to the Shen family, for the sake of the family's reputation, will the Shen family let me commit suicide or force me to death?"
"Do you really want me to die that much?"
Hearing Shen Yunfeng's questions, Xiangyun Rou gradually realized that this idea was inappropriate. She reached out and wrapped her arms around Shen Yunfeng's waist. "I was wrong. Then tell me what to do. I'll do whatever you say!"
Looking at Xiangyun Rou, Shen Yunfeng let out a soft sigh. "Are you really surrendering tomorrow?"
"If so, starting tonight, you should tie me up with ropes. After the two countries completely make peace, there will most likely be officials from the capital coming."
"By then, you can drag me around in front of those officials. Say that you took a fancy to me and wanted me to be your husband. But when I refused to submit even at the cost of my life, and you were reluctant to kill me, so you had to tie me up."
Xiangyun Rou nodded and asked, "But this still can't explain why you came to Xiangyun Country."
"Stupid. Just say that you went traveling in Great Yong and accidentally met me. You thought I was extremely handsome and fell in love with me at first sight."
"Find a few people to spread this around. The longer the time passes, the fewer traces can be found. They won't be able to find any evidence."