Harem Daily Life

Qi Yizheng sent someone to report that the bandits had retreated and the danger was over. Only then did Tao Yanyan feel relieved and slept soundly. When he woke up the next day, it was almost noon.

Tao Yanyan stretched comfortably and stayed in bed for a while before getting up slowly. Qingfeng helped her wash up. After she was done, she went to see Xianglan next door before returning to her room to have breakfast and lunch together.

Not long after I picked up the bowl and chopsticks, Qi Yizheng arrived.

Before, Qi Yizheng did not show up and only protected in secret because he received orders from the emperor. The emperor did not want his young talent to know that he had done so many things behind his back, lest the young talent become self-righteous and arrogant.

However, an emergency occurred last night and he had to stand out in the open. Now there is obviously no need to hide it anymore, so Qi Yizheng was very calm when he came.

Tao Yanyan had met General Qi several times before. Although he was a military general, he had a certain elegance and was not rude. But when he saw him today, Tao Yanyan was shocked.

I saw that his blue stubble might be because he hadn't shaved for a long time, and his face looked a little haggard, but fortunately his eyes were still bright.

Qi Yizheng also saw the surprise of Tao Cairen when he saw him, and he figured out the reason after thinking about it, so he took the initiative to explain: "Talented, I am fine. In the past few days, I have been ordered to be on guard five miles away from the station. The conditions in the wild are difficult, and I can't pay attention to my appearance. I hope you can forgive me."

Tao Yanyan felt guilty for his loss of composure for a few seconds, and immediately said, "General Qi, you have worked hard. I am very grateful for your secret protection over the past few days. Fortunately, General Qi repelled the bandits last night and kept me and everyone else safe. Thank you General Qi and all the soldiers!"

Tao Cairen's words were like a spring breeze, which benefited Qi Yizheng greatly.

In the past, most of the emperor's concubines were arrogant and few would speak to him in such a friendly manner. Thinking of how clever and calm Tao was when she came up with the method of releasing the flood in Mengcheng, Qi Yizheng could not help but take a closer look at Tao Yanyan, his eyes full of amazement and admiration.

"General Qi, you've come at the right time. The food has just been served. Why don't we eat some together? If there is anything, we can talk while we eat." Tao Yanyan hadn't had a normal meal for a long time, and he also missed breakfast because he got up late. He was so hungry that he wanted to eat something early.

She looked at Qi Yizheng eagerly, as if if Qi Yizheng refused, he would be a bad person who would affect her meal.

However, Qi Yizheng thought about the differences between men and women, and between the ruler and his subjects, and hesitated for a moment.

While he was hesitating, Tao Yanyan had already asked Qingfeng to set the table and add more rice.

"General Qi, please!" Qingfeng knew that there were not so many rules for her talent, and seeing that the talent was really hungry, she asked General Qi to sit down.

"Then I will respectfully obey your command. Thank you, my lady!" Qi Yizheng was really hungry, so after sitting down, he concentrated on eating.

The two diners quickly finished a bowl of rice, then started talking while ordering their second bowl of rice.

"Talented man, the mountain bandits last night were very brutal. I visited and inquired about it. The leader was originally a playboy monk. He became a bandit because he couldn't stand the strict rules and regulations of the temple. Later, he gathered a group of people and built a camp on the Black Wind Mountain not far away. They did some stealing, robbery and murder. They should have been out in full force last night, with more than a hundred people. I thought that since we passed by here, we should get rid of this mountain stronghold in one fell swoop. Today I came to discuss with you. I want to take the thirty people who were previously transferred to protect you to go up the mountain to suppress the bandits. What do you think?"

Tao Yanyan certainly affirmed Qi Yizheng's idea of eliminating harm for the people: "General Qi is a man of great benevolence and righteousness, I admire him very much. It is of course good to eliminate harm for the people, I definitely agree with it. However, I wonder how many people General Qi brought with him? What are the chances of annihilating the Black Wind Village in one fell swoop?"

Don’t let me fail to destroy it, and instead have someone come down the mountain to kidnap me. I will have no one to protect my life! Wuuwuwu…

"Don't worry, Cairen. We have captured more than a dozen people from the Black Wind Village last night. The number of people left is at most ninety. I have thirty people here, and you have thirty people here. If we gather sixty to fight against ninety, we have a great chance of winning."

Tao Yanyan was not so optimistic. She asked suspiciously, "Logically speaking, this Black Wind Village has existed for a long time. Why haven't the officials in charge of this place gone up the mountain to wipe it out? Has General Qi investigated?"

Qi Yizheng was stunned. He didn't expect Tao Cairen to ask this question. He indeed had not verified the reason.

While he was in a daze, Tao Yanyan said again: "I do have an idea, why don't you tell me about it, General?"

Qi Yizheng sat up straight and listened carefully.

"We were probably being watched as soon as we checked into the inn. This means they have spies in this town. Our every move may be under their surveillance."

Qi Yizheng frowned a little.

Tao Yanyan continued, "They dared to come out in full force last night, which shows that they are fearless and have great confidence in their own strength, so they did not hide and came here openly. Unfortunately, they did not expect to meet your people outside the town, and were blocked and defeated, so they fled back to the mountain stronghold. So at this time, they should also be afraid that we will come to take revenge, and they will definitely increase their vigilance."

Qi Yizheng frowned even more.

"If we attack at this time, with an unequal number of people and unfamiliar terrain, I don't think your chances of winning, General Qi, will be very high. It will probably be a tough battle that will cost us dearly."

Qi Yizheng's brows were twisted into a shape of a "川" (river).

"Then you're not going?" Qi Yizheng was puzzled. You clearly supported me to go just now!

Tao Yanyan shook his head: "Yes! Bandits are rampant, and the victims are the common people and passers-by. They must be wiped out. But not now."

"It takes at most two days to get to Youzhou from here. General Qi, why don't you hurry up and mobilize the troops? Then send people to monitor Black Wind Village. When the reinforcements arrive, wouldn't it be better to annihilate them in one fell swoop?"

"This...will those bandits receive the intelligence and run away in advance?" It took four days to go back and forth to report the news. According to Tao Yanyan, someone was secretly monitoring their every move. It is possible that the bandits would get wind of the news and run away in four days.

Tao Yanyan said, "There are always unexpected events. What if the general sends people here but the bandits run away? The general will not be able to report to the emperor. What if the general takes the sixty of us to the mountains to suppress the bandits? There will be huge casualties, and His Majesty will blame us, and I may be in danger. General Qi, I don't understand anything about marching, fighting, and suppressing bandits, but I think the lives of the guards are also lives, and I don't want to see them killed or injured."

Tao Yanyan felt that the chances of success were slim and the danger was great if they went directly to suppress the bandits at this time. However, she wanted to give the right to choose to Qi Yizheng. No matter what he chose, he made the decision and gave the order, so it had nothing to do with her.

She is just a little woman, so of course she should do her best to protect herself and the people around her, but she can't be a savior.

Qi Yizheng thought about it and realized that what Tao Cairen said was right. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Then I will immediately send someone to ask Your Majesty for help at an urgent distance of 800 miles."