“There’s no talk of peace. He’s just trying to buy himself time,” Feng Jiu’er answered quietly.
Xiao Yingtao looked down at the half sweet potato still in her hand, stood, and walked over to Feng Jiu’er.
“Here.” She held the sweet potato out to her. “I thought I could still eat more, but turns out I’m full.”
Feng Jiu’er cast her a sidelong glance and took the sweet potato.
“You ate two portions all by yourself, and you’re still hungry?”
Xiao Yingtao smiled faintly, glanced at Feng Jiang, and sat down carefully.
“Could you at least save me some face in front of Brother-in-law?”
“It’s fine, being able to eat is a blessing.” Feng Jiang gave Xiao Yingtao a smile and rose to his feet.
“Take your time talking, I’ll head out first.”
“Mm-hm.” Xiao Yingtao stood and nodded like a little chick pecking at rice.
She saw Feng Jiang off, then returned to Feng Jiu’er’s side and sat close beside her.
“Jiu’er, what benefit did Feng Rui offer us, to make us willing to give him time?”
“None at all.” Feng Jiu’er shook her head and untied two tokens from her waist, setting them on the table.
Xiao Yingtao looked at the tokens, her crescent brows knitting together, and picked one up.
“Jiu’er, isn’t this the token Her Majesty the Empress gave you? Why are there two of them?”
Xiao Yingtao picked up the other token and held the two side by side, then looked up at the person beside her.
“They’re identical. What’s going on?”
“Feng Rui mentioned in the letter that Her Majesty the Empress is currently in West Central City.” Feng Jiu’er took the tokens back, sighing silently.
“He claims he’s conveying Her Majesty’s wishes, but every word of it carried the weight of a threat.”
“Feng Rui is using Her Majesty the Empress to threaten us into withdrawing our troops?” Xiao Yingtao lost her composure. “He actually dares to drag Her Majesty into this too? His nerve is really something.”
“It may well be Feng Qiongcang’s doing.” Feng Jiu’er tapped the two tokens and set them back down on the table.
“The fact that we managed to escape successfully back then had everything to do with the Feng Lan Inn, and the Feng Lan Inn belongs to Her Majesty the Empress.”
“What’s more, our wellness lodge vanished right along with the Night Prince’s disappearance — it’s no surprise at all that Feng Qiongcang could guess my identity.”
Xiao Yingtao pressed her lips together and asked, “So what do you think? We’ve come this far, there’s no way we can withdraw the troops now.”
“Doesn’t Her Majesty the Empress still have the Feng Xi Kingdom backing her? She should be fine.”
“Besides, there’s only one token here right now — that alone doesn’t prove Her Majesty is actually in Feng Rui’s hands.”
“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded and stood up.
“Come on, let’s go see how the brothers are doing.”
Before Xiao Yingtao could react, Feng Jiu’er had already stepped outside.
Xiao Yingtao watched her retreating figure for a moment, then stood and hurried after her.
“So what does that mean? Are we fighting, or not? Can’t you just say it clearly before you walk off?”
Feng Jiu’er stopped, turned back, leaned in close to Xiao Yingtao, and said something in a low voice.
In the blink of an eye, the two of them lifted the tent flap and walked out together.
Their camp was pitched right outside the gates of West Central City.
Behind the army camp was where the wounded brothers were gathered.
The battle had just ended, and Feng Jiu’er, together with the others, had already gone through and checked on every brother whose injuries were serious.
Each day, soldiers too badly wounded to fight on were sent back to the city.
Leng Xuepiao and the others from Tianji Hall were stationed in the city, responsible for treating the soldiers sent back.
For the time being, aside from the fact that they still hadn’t managed to break through the gates of West Central City, the situation could be considered fairly favorable.
When night fell and all was still, a deep rumbling sound thundered across the sky.
The gate that had withstood Feng Rui’s assault for ten days crumbled to ash in an instant.