A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace-Chapter 579: Yanguan City

"Your Majesty is too generous with His praise!"

Yang He looked back and forth and finally realized that what Commander Xiao had said made sense. He also felt ashamed of his own rashness.

Commander Xiao just smiled. "Lord Yang has only commanded troops in the Central Plains region; naturally, you are unaware of matters beyond the Guanwai Pass! That is a harsh and cold land, unfit for crops. The common people there can only survive by herding! If it were the Central Plains, I probably wouldn’t have a voice in this matter by now!"

Yang He quickly bowed deeply. "Commander Xiao is being modest!"

The two of them exchanged compliments. Zhao Junyao couldn’t bear to watch any longer.

"COUGH COUGH!"

Commander Xiao and Yang He hurriedly stopped.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the troops. What is Your Majesty’s decision?" Commander Xiao offered.

Zhao Junyao glared at him. "You wish! If you leave, what about the Capital City? Do you expect Us to guard it for you?"

Yang He also quickly interjected, "Commander Xiao, that’s where you’re wrong. You command hundreds of thousands of troops stationed in the Capital; you are the Great Chu Dynasty’s most solid and final line of defense! Anyone else can go, but you cannot!"

Commander Xiao fell silent. The Emperor’s words were reasonable; he truly had no part to play in this battle.

Sigh!

Zhao Junyao stared at the map for a while longer before finally speaking. "Although there’s no need to annihilate them completely, these tribes have killed so many citizens of our Great Chu. If we don’t vent our anger, it will make Great Chu seem easy to bully!"

Having said that, Zhao Junyao narrowed his eyes. "Both the Northwest and Southwest have troops! There’s no need for you two to worry! Shi Yang, the Commander of the Southwest, is a man of rough but upright character who cannot bear to see the common people suffer! For years, he has guarded the Southwest region with a force of 200,000 men, and incidents of injustice have been rare!"

Zhao Junyao trusted him deeply. As he spoke, his eyes filled with admiration. "There is no overall Commander in the Northwest, but Fan You is stationed at Yanguan City. This battle will be his to fight! If he performs well, We shall appoint him Commander of the Northwest. But if he performs poorly..."

Zhao Junyao narrowed his eyes again, a flicker of complex emotion in their depths gone in an instant! No one knew what he was truly thinking!

"Yes!" Commander Xiao and Yang He acknowledged, bowing with clasped fists.

Zhao Junyao waved his hand. "That will be all. You may leave! We will write an urgent decree later. Commander Xiao, my dear minister, you will be responsible for delivering it! As for Lord Yang, you are to take charge of the defenses throughout the Capital. News of this matter will inevitably cause panic if it spreads. If anyone recklessly tries to incite unrest among the people, deal with them by martial law immediately! There is no need to report back to Us!"

"Yes!" the two officials responded, bowing once more.

Zhao Junyao nodded. "If there is nothing else, you are dismissed."

The two men bowed with clasped fists, then took their leave. The matters in the Northwest and Southwest were minor affairs, victory was assured. Furthermore, they wouldn’t endanger the common people. Having dispatched troops, Zhao Junyao temporarily set the issue aside.

The New Year celebrations in the Capital City continued as usual. Wedding feasts were drunk, banquets were held. In the Harem, women visited each other, chatted, made clothes, and crafted jewelry, all bustling with preparations. Out of more than three hundred days in a year, this New Year was the one to celebrate, wasn’t it? Besides, there had been ample rain and snow this year. While the North had suffered some disasters, the South was prosperous. With so much snow, the coming year was expected to be another bountiful one! There was truly nothing to worry about!

「Yanguan City」

This city was strategically located and was the largest in the Northwest region. It was situated at a key transportation point, a fortified passage from the border to the inner regions. In other words, any furs or mountain products from the Northwest that needed to be transported to the Capital City or southward had to pass through here. And silk, tea, cloth, Zhen Zhu, gemstones, and other goods from Jiangnan aiming to enter the Northwest also had to pass through this place. Consequently, with goods constantly coming and going, many wealthy merchants had gathered here. Yanguan City gradually became an oasis of wealth in an otherwise remote and impoverished area. It was indeed better off than many, though not comparable to the truly affluent.

On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, Old Master Fan, Fan You, awoke as usual on the belly of his charming young concubine. He rolled over, squinted, and caressed the soft, lovely woman in his arms, preparing to tease her some more. After all, at his advanced age, still being able to make women cry out in pleasure filled him with a sense of pride. So, he reached for the concubine again. His hands grasped her full breasts, kneading them firmly, ready to raise his ’weapon’ for another round.

The concubine, now awake, was panting, her face flushed like a peach blossom, her eyes fluttering as she looked at Old Master Fan. "My lord... you’re so naughty. Weren’t you satisfied last night?"

Old Master Fan, his eyes glinting with desire, groped her breast again. "Little Eighteen, you’re the naughty one!"

Hearing this, the concubine suddenly pouted. "My lord, I am clearly Twenty-Eight. Why do you always call me Eighteen? That wretch Eighteen is old and ugly; how can she compare to me!"

Seeing his beauty upset, Old Master Fan quickly tried to soothe her. "Alright, alright, Twenty-Eight. Eighteen is an old and ugly woman. I will definitely remember next time, my lord will! Is that okay?"

Having grown older, his memory was fading. He had even forgotten how many concubines he possessed!

The concubine immediately beamed. "That’s more like it!" Saying that, she planted a Ying Tao kiss on Old Master Fan’s wrinkled face. "My lord! I want a child!"

With a child, I wouldn’t be the same as the other concubines, would I? While he’s still mobile and can make decisions, I must have a child quickly. Then I won’t have to worry about the rest of my life!

Old Master Fan had previously disliked women having too many children. There was a distinction between legitimate children and children born of concubines. Too many of the latter were also a hassle. But things were different now; he was old. He could no longer be bothered by such troubles. All he knew was that if, at his age, he could still get a woman pregnant, it meant he wasn’t old yet. He was eager to prove himself.

So, he lifted the limp thing from beneath his groin and began to charge headlong!

A flicker of disgust crossed the concubine’s eyes. Eventually, unable to bear the sight any longer, she grasped it with her soft hands and began to rub it vigorously. "My lord, let your servant help you!"

Old Master Fan was in utter bliss. His wrinkled face was a mask of pleasure as he continued to hug, kiss, and nibble the concubine.

When the concubine turned her back, her face was etched with contempt.

Damn it, if not for this old man’s wealth and power, I wouldn’t be with this pitiful wretch! Look at this pathetic thing between his legs, as flaccid as a slug—utterly disgusting!

After what seemed like a long time, with the concubine’s assistance, Old Master Fan’s Golden Spear finally stood erect again. Just as he was about to breach the golden gates and charge in, a frantic knocking suddenly erupted from outside the door.

"Old Master! Old Master! It’s terrible! An urgent secret decree has arrived from the Capital City!" The servant boy was pounding on the door—THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Old Master Fan’s freshly raised Golden Spear instantly deflated like a punctured balloon, shriveling away. A wrinkled layer of skin, encasing something smaller than a dried date, lay limply in his groin.

Old Master Fan was about to explode with rage. "Damn your hide! I’ll kill you!"

Saying this, he snatched up his clothes and stormed out.

Underneath the covers, the concubine muffled a scornful laugh behind her hand.