Chapter 1456 - 1131: Wearing the Same Uniform Together

Upon hearing this name, Shang Ruyi’s heart skipped a beat.

At the same time, a worried voice called out to her from behind: "Princess! What are you doing here?!"

Shang Ruyi turned around to see the soldier she had just sent away, rushing towards her with a quilt in his arms. He clearly went back to the tent door and didn’t see her, so he worried she had run off and came looking for her.

Shang Ruyi immediately said, "I’m fine, just came to have a look."

The soldier, relieved to see she hadn’t left, said, "There’s nothing to see here. General Xiao doesn’t want the Princess wandering around, you should hurry back."

Shang Ruyi smiled and followed him.

As the two turned to leave, among the group causing a disturbance, the young man named Guan Chiying happened to hear the shout just now, furrowing his brow as he looked over, only catching a glimpse of Shang Ruyi’s departing figure.

His expression suddenly became deeper.

However, he wasn’t caught up in this somewhat shocking and complex emotion, instead he promptly addressed the still disgruntled soldiers around him: "General Chen is dead, we can’t return to Luoyang for now, we’re on foreign ground now. When under the roof, one must bow, you all understand that, right?"

"..."

The group exchanged glances but said nothing.

Guan Chiying sighed again and said, "In any case, let’s get through this immediate hurdle first. Our families are in Luoyang, if we don’t want them to suffer, we must find a way back."

The middle-aged soldier and the others nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

Some showed disdain, but given the mood around them, said nothing more, while Guan Chiying pointed to the tent: "It shelters from wind and rain, so let’s rest inside. I’ll go talk to the others, see if we can get some clean clothes to change into."

The middle-aged soldier said, "You go ahead, I’ll watch over them."

Guan Chiying nodded and turned to leave, while the other soldiers reluctantly entered the tent under the middle-aged man’s persuasion and intimidation.

Guan Chiying walked to the other side and soon met the soldiers who had allocated the tent to them, so he approached and said, "Sorry to trouble you, but our clothes are unwearable. Could you provide us a few sets to change into?"

Seeing his gentle attitude, the others shed their previous hostility and simply said, "We don’t have other clothes here, only uniforms. Would you wear those?"

Guan Chiying immediately smiled and said, "We’re comrades-in-arms, naturally brothers in arms."

These soldiers were rather blunt, unfamiliar with the phrase ’brothers in arms’, but flattery is hard to reject, and this young man was consistently polite and agreeable, winning them over. One responded, "We’ll deliver them to you later."

Guan Chiying quickly thanked them: "Much appreciated."

After pausing for a moment, he continued, "The few of us here don’t know when we’ll be able to return to Luoyang. We’ll be causing some trouble in the coming days. If there’s anything you need help with, do let us know, we won’t stand idly by."

With his offer, the soldiers felt less inclined to be angry and rather awkward about their earlier aggression, replying begrudgingly, "Alright then."

Guan Chiying glanced around and smiled: "Actually, this camp is well set up, much better than inside the city. There’s even a woman here."

The soldiers were taken aback: "Where’s the woman?"

Guan Chiying immediately said, "Just now, at the central army tent, I saw a woman go in covering her face—could she be General Xiao’s lover?"

Hearing this, the group exchanged looks and burst into laughter, one of them saying, "Stop talking nonsense, that’s not General Xiao’s lover, it’s the Princess of Sheng Country!"

"What!?"

Even though he was prepared, when hearing the words "Princess Qin", Guan Chiying couldn’t help but be surprised, pondering for a moment before smiling: "Princess of Sheng Country, shouldn’t she be in Daxing City? How could she be here? We’re just chatting among ourselves, don’t try to fool me."

The group laughed again, each saying, "Who would use that to fool someone! It’s indeed Princess Qin, heard she’s called, something, Ruyi."

"Yes, it was Ruyi, I heard General Xiao call her that the other day."

"Speaking of which, the Great General with her—"

At this point, everyone showed some cautious discretion, yet someone couldn’t help but say, "Although not lovers, it might be close. You see, since General Shi captured Princess Qin some days ago, the Great General’s been looking after her—good food and drink, even that great beauty didn’t get such treatment."

Guan Chiying listened silently by the side, then curiously asked: "There’s another woman here?"

The soldiers glanced at him, realizing they might have said too much, waved off and said, "Enough, these matters don’t concern you, don’t poke around. Go back; we’ll bring those clothes over later."

Guan Chiying smiled and replied: "Alright, alright."

With that, he turned and walked back, cautiously observing the surroundings. The soldier who called out to Princess Qin earlier was now emerging from a nearby tent, Guan Chiying noted its location and returned nonchalantly.

This day felt incredibly long.

Though there was no marching to battle, nor the clash of arms and bloodshed, most soldiers felt this seemingly calm day was longer than days spent battling on the front lines.

Fortunately, the lengthy day finally ended, having barely settled in after escaping from Huilu Storehouse, with Little Shi General ordered into house arrest in his tent, temporarily barred from leaving, while people were constantly coming and going from the central army tent, obviously Xiao Yuansui was contemplating the next steps.

And their only strategy was—deploy troops as soon as possible!

Hua Ziyang finally said to Xiao Yuansui: "Our provisions are less than enough for five days, according to them, Luoyang’s situation is worse. If we can’t immediately repel the forces at Hulao Pass, and if Liang Shide can’t hold, should the city fall, we’ll truly have no retreat."

"..."

"Why not seize the moment, Yu Wenye is injured, Princess Qin is in our hands—take the chance!"

"..."

Xiao Yuansui didn’t immediately speak, but his eyes brimmed with murderous intent.