New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

After waiting for two days in Chuzhou City, Yue Fei finally received the order from Guangling.

"The prince consort said that the Jin Kingdom is going through an internal strife and it is not advisable to launch a northern expedition at this time. He advised us to stay in Chuzhou, bide our time, and wait for the right opportunity."

Yue Fei frowned slightly, then he understood the crux of the matter.

The Jin dynasty is in turmoil, and there must be someone plotting a rebellion. Wanyan Xie has been ordered to return to quell the rebellion, which is the time for them to fight among themselves. If they take the opportunity to capture Youzhou now, they may be able to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, but it will inevitably provoke the Jin army to unite against the enemy.

After all, internal strife is just an internal struggle. When faced with external enemies, any competent general or powerful minister knows whether to prioritize ensuring one's own interests are not harmed or to safeguard the territorial integrity of the Great Jin.

He only had two thousand men, and even if they were armed to the teeth, they wouldn't be enough to satisfy the Jin army.

"Then let's do as the city lord says and stay in Chuzhou for the time being to recruit soldiers and train them. We need to expand our force to at least five thousand men in the short term."

"By the way, Brother Yue, there was another person who came back with me this time. Would you like to meet him, General?"

"Hmm? Are you joining our army to fight the enemy?" After at least a moment's hesitation, Yue Fei welcomed them. "Since you are righteous warriors preparing to fight the Jin invaders, the more the merrier. May I ask which young general has come with you? Could you be one of the Imperial Son-in-Law's cousins?"

Xu Qing, who was in charge of relaying the message, chuckled, a smile that Yue Fei found incredibly irritating: "Whether you can fight on the battlefield or not, I don't know, but if the more the merrier, I'm really worried that you, brother, won't be able to handle it."

With a hint of suspicion in his heart, Yue Fei stepped out of the council hall, passed through several corridors and came to the backyard. A slightly slender figure was seen through the window lattice, which made Yue Fei suddenly stop in his tracks.

What happened to the promised arrival of a righteous warrior against the Jin invaders? Why is it a woman?

Inside the side hall, Li Wa sat upright. The footsteps outside made her heart tremble slightly. Thinking of the city lord's instructions before she left, she couldn't help but blush and feel her heart race. Now that she was about to face General Yue, who had saved her life, she felt a surge of inexplicable nervousness and didn't even know where to put her hands.

Li Wa waited with her head down for a long time, but no one came in. She still managed to suppress her shyness and looked up at the door. Sure enough, she saw a tall and resolute young man standing outside the window not far away, looking at her with astonishment on his face.

"Miss Li Wa? What brings you here?"

Li Wa was secretly delighted that Yue Fei had forgotten about her, but she never expected that he would call her name so readily. However, she dared not show any frivolous expression on her face.

She stood up and gave Yue Fei a deep curtsy. Her reply was somewhat soft, but not weak: "Replying to the general, the city lord asked me to come and help you with some trivial matters."

Upon hearing that it was Tang Qian's arrangement, Yue Fei's face was full of entanglement: "Isn't this ridiculous? What kind of commander-in-chief leading troops into battle brings a woman with him?"

The two had only met once and were completely like strangers. Tang Qian asked her to come and serve him, wasn't that just ruining her reputation for no reason?

What if rumors start circulating later? How will Miss Li Wa ever get married?

When it comes to fighting, General Yue is indeed a top-ranking general throughout history, but when it comes to matters of the heart, he is definitely a straight man.

Without even thinking it through, he realized that if Miss Liwa wasn't willing, why would Tang Qian interfere and insist on matchmaking them up?

They were meant to be a couple. Even without Tang Qian's help, they would have eventually married and put on a loving show. Tang Qian was just going with the flow.

"General Yue, what do you mean by that? Do you not intend for me to stay?"

Sensing that Li Wa's tone was slowly turning into a mournful one, Yue Fei hurriedly waved his hand in denial: "It's just that the army is all men, and it's really not appropriate for Miss Li to stay. Why don't you go back to Guangling? If you can help take care of my mother, I would be extremely grateful."

Is this a way of asking me to go back and serve my mother?

Thinking of this, Li Wa felt her cheeks burning.

She didn't object to living with Yue Fei's mother, but she needed a legitimate reason for it.

"The city lord said that the old lady has several peers to keep her company in Guangling, and she is very comfortable and at ease, so there is no need for the general to worry about her."

"Is that so?" Yue Fei smiled awkwardly. Of course he knew that his mother, Yao, lived with Tang Qian's biological mother and aunt, so he really had nothing to worry about. This was also a promise Tang Qian made to relieve him of his worries and allow him to devote himself to the upcoming Northern Expedition.

But his refusal to let Li Wa stay was truly out of consideration for her.

“I understand what you mean, General.” Li Wa’s expression dimmed slightly. “I owe you my life when you rescued me from the Jin camp. I would not hesitate to serve you, even if you wanted my life. If you do not wish to keep me here, I have nothing to say. I will just return to Guangling.”

Before Yue Fei could reply, Li Wa got up and prepared to leave. "I know that the city lord and the old lady are joking with me. I am just an orphan who has lost her family and has no one to rely on. How can a pheasant be worthy of a phoenix?"

"wait."

Seeing that Miss Li was about to leave, Yue Fei hesitated for a moment before speaking up to stop her, "Does Miss mean that your visit to Chuzhou to see me was with my mother's permission?"

Yue Fei was simply bad at handling matters of the heart, but he wasn't stupid. Since his own mother agreed that Miss Liwa should stay by his side, what else could he, as a filial son, say?

"Since it's my mother's wish, then let's stay for now. Anyway, there won't be any battles to fight in the near future. But once the army sets off, it would be better for you to return to Guangling, since the battlefield is too dangerous, and I really can't guarantee your safety then."

Li Wa nodded emphatically, a hint of joy on her pretty face: "The city lord also said that it was because there has been no war recently that he sent me to find the general. If I stay in the military tent when the general goes on his northern expedition against the Jin Kingdom, I will become a burden."

Yue Fei smiled awkwardly and arranged for Li Wa to stay in the backyard of the Chuzhou prefectural government office. He then planned to go to the front hall to find Xu Qing and ask about the situation.

That kid was clearly implying something, but I hadn't thought about it carefully. However, if it was something my mother agreed to, I probably wouldn't have any reason to refuse.

With the war against the Jin dynasty imminent, he really had no time to talk about personal matters.