Xiao Shan quickly brought the entire borderland back under control. Many even joined the army out of admiration. However, new problems arose. As the ranks grew, the court's limited military funds became insufficient. While the suffering people of the border spontaneously donated, it couldn't solve the problem fundamentally.
On this day, as Xiao Shan was discussing military pay with the generals of various cities, Bai Ye, who was responsible for delivering letters to the capital for the Xian Wang Sect, requested an audience.
Bai Ye had just returned from the capital and must have brought a letter from his wife. However, he had always known that the military camp was a sensitive area and not to be approached rashly. Why was he so anxious? Had Xue Niang met with misfortune?
"Hurry and let him in!"
Xiao Shan was anxious, his tiger-like eyes wide open, appearing terrifying. He stood up from the main seat. All the generals, unaware of what had happened, stood up with solemn expressions.
As Bai Ye entered, he was startled by the imposing aura in the room. "G-General! Your subordinate..."
He pulled out a letter, which Xiao Shan snatched away.
Reading it at a glance, he remained silent for a long time.
"General, what happened?" Wu Zhou Bai asked on behalf of the assembled generals.
Xiao Shan scanned the crowd. His stern gaze gradually softened, and his tense shoulders relaxed.
"All soldiers, heed my command! Prepare your formations, remain at your posts. Once the military pay arrives, we will launch an attack on the Turks!"
"Ah? We have military pay?"
Everyone rejoiced, looking at Xiao Shan with fervent admiration.
The general had resolved such a thorny issue effortlessly!
Xiao Shan, however, recalled a long time ago, when he and Xue Niang still lived in a thatched courtyard. One day, he had deliberately teased her, calling her a spendthrift. She had taken it seriously and said she would return the money to him, claiming she knew where money could be found.
Did she really know where money was?
Or such immense wealth?
"What exactly is going on?"
After the soldiers had left, Wu Zhou Bai asked with a frown, "You're not lying, are you?"
"Stop rambling! Arrange for a few trusted men to accompany me to fetch it."
"Really? Where did it come from?"
That wasn't something that could be solved with ten or a hundred taels!
Xiao Shan selected a troop and handed over the general's camp duties to Yuan Bu Fei, planning to transport the military pay back overnight.
Before he could leave the camp, he was stopped.
"General Xiao, please allow this subordinate to return to the capital."
It was Song Bei Ting, whom Xiao Shan had forcibly kept behind.
These past few days, he had come to understand that Xiao Shan was deliberately preventing him from returning. He claimed the camp had complex affairs and needed his help, but in reality, Xiao Shan had many capable subordinates, each a great general capable of handling matters independently. He, a deputy general who had joined halfway, was not needed for guidance.
He was superfluous here.
But he couldn't understand why General Xiao was doing this.
"General Song, a man's ambition lies in all directions. Since you have come to the border town, how can you return without achieving anything? Why not wait until we defeat the Turks, and then return to the capital in glory? What do you say?"
"This subordinate's ambition does not lie here. My father is also getting old. I implore the General..."
"Enough! I have important matters to attend to. I'm leaving now!"
"General! General Xiao!"
Even with Song Bei Ting's excellent composure, his forceful demeanor made him want to curse. If he were in the capital, he wouldn't have to endure such indignity.
But in this border town, everyone treated him like a god, and his surroundings were filled with eyes. He could wander freely within the camp, but as soon as he stepped out, someone would always follow him.
This was clearly surveillance. What was the meaning of it all?
...
Ling Yao estimated that Xiao Shan should have received the letter. A war required both manpower and material resources. Given the current situation in the court, it was impossible to allocate funds.
The wealth she knew about was told to her by her father.
It was hidden in the Changbai Mountains on the border, left by the ancestors of the Jing Kingdom, passed down from one monarch to another, to be used in times of crisis for Jing.
It was said to have been proposed by the divine maiden and the regent king hundreds of years ago.
In the past few hundred years, Jing had only used it once, two hundred years ago. Once the country's strength was sufficient, it was gradually replenished.
With this money, Xiao Shan would have no further worries and would surely pacify the border quickly, buying Jing time to breathe.
Jing had been withered for too long; it desperately needed rest and recuperation.
Her father was a good emperor, but he was too indecisive. He should have done this long ago.
At the third watch of the night, the bedroom door was knocked. Yu Liu, who was sleeping on the small couch, immediately became alert.
"Your Highness, the First Prince, shouldn't you be mindful of the time? My mistress has poor sleep! She finally managed to fall asleep!"
"You servant girl, I have truly urgent matters!" The First Prince was too wronged to have to look at a servant girl's face.
If it weren't for urgent matters, he wouldn't have come at this hour. But no matter how urgent, he couldn't risk the mistress's health. The master had instructed that the mistress's safety be prioritized above all else; even the greatest matters had to take a backseat.
As they were speaking, Ling Yao had already woken up.
"Elder Brother, what is it? Is there news of Father?"
"No, get up and come with me. It's the Great Shaman. I found him, and he insists on seeing you!"
The Great Shaman had been found!
Ling Yao quickly got up and dressed. Yu Liu, with no other choice, called Yu Shan to get up.
Under the cover of night, the First Prince took them to a small residential courtyard on the east side of the city.
The Great Shaman had already changed into clean clothes and eaten some food, regaining some strength. However, due to his long-term lack of sunlight, his entire face was pale and bloodless. Previously, he had paid great attention to his smooth, layered beard, which shone with silver light, giving him an ethereal aura.
But now, his beard was uneven, sparse, and had fallen out considerably, dull and lifeless, like weeds growing from barren land.
The moment Ling Yao saw him, she couldn't help but cry.
"Great Shaman—"
"Oh! My little princess!" The Great Shaman's eyes welled up with tears.
The two embraced and wept uncontrollably, like an ordinary grandparent and grandchild.
The First Prince, Yu Liu, and Yu Shan were all stunned.
"My, my Imperial Sister, this is not Father Emperor."
What was the meaning of this? When he saw him, she hadn't been this excited. Was he a fake Imperial Brother?
And the Great Shaman, he had gone to great lengths to rescue him from the secret chamber, yet he remained cold-faced, not uttering a word of thanks. Upon seeing the Imperial Sister, he had become like this?
The Imperial Sister said the Great Shaman was Father Emperor's most trusted person. Seeing their interaction, he believed it completely.
Yu Liu also stepped forward, "Mistress, don't be sad. Take care of yourself."
She had never seen her mistress so openly emotional. This was clearly like seeing a relative after suffering great injustice.
"My little princess! You have suffered so much! It's all my fault, this old man's uselessness. I fell into someone's scheme. I deserve to die, I deserve to die! I have failed the Emperor, I have failed you!"
"Wuwu... Great Shaman, I thought you all abandoned me, that you all didn't want me anymore... They were going to offer me to those barbarian Turks!"
"This old man knows. I heard it from that ungrateful disciple. Princess, you have suffered! Did they bully you? Did they hit you? Huh?" The Great Shaman's face was etched with wrinkles as he looked at her with cloudy eyes.
"Grand Tutor Lu wanted to kill me at the border. Qing He went to the Turks in my place. I rolled down a cliff on the road, was captured by human traffickers. They didn't give me food, whipped me, threw me into the river, and tried to defile me, to feed me to the dogs. Great Shaman, at that time, I didn't want to live anymore!"
She finally released all her grievances to the Great Shaman, who had watched her grow up and was like a grandfather to her.
"They dared, they actually dared... My little princess! I am truly useless!" The Great Shaman blamed himself, felt heartbroken, and knelt on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing as self-punishment.
She was the pampered darling raised in the palm of their hands. Why did she have to suffer such hardship!