SWNOVELS Chapter 8 - Discipline
On the snow-covered Northern Frontier Battlefield, a team of more than a dozen men quietly left the camp in the middle of the night and headed due south.
After a night of travelling, the team stopped in the yard of an abandoned farmhouse.
Soong Hanlin ordered people to chop some wood to make a fire, and then personally supervise the cooking process. An hour later, a pot of steaming hot noodle soup was ready.
Soong Hanlin took out several pieces of beef jerky from his bag and placed a big bowl of soup in front of Lu Zheng. “Master, the army will leave the camp in three days. Even if we travel hundreds of miles a day, we should still arrive in the capital in a month.”
Lu Zheng gave a light “En” and took the big bowl. He blew on it and directly put it into his mouth. After a few mouthfuls, he finished the bowl of noodle soup, “Rest for an hour.”
Soong Hanlin was unable to read his thoughts from his calm expression, but he was extremely anxious in his heart. He couldn't care less about fear as he asked, “Your Majesty is very sick, and the imperial government has continuously sent out three urgent orders to invite you back to the capital. They're afraid that you'll hold yourself back.”
“No need to bother.” Lu Zheng tore open the hard beef jerky and threw it into his mouth. He chewed it bit by bit, ignoring his subordinates' anxious looks, as he closed his eyes leisurely.
“Master, even if you want to disobey the decree, at least bring more people with you!” Just these dozen or so people had been annihilated in the middle of the process, yet they had no way to redress the grievances.
Lu Zheng Xian was too noisy, so he said: “The old emperor won't be long!” Then he turned and entered the room.
“Ah…!” Soong Hanlin's jaw dropped. He didn't dare to ask why Young Master Lu was so sure, so he could only swallow his saliva. He thought to himself: It seems like he was overthinking. When did Young Master make the wrong decision?
But where were they going south this time? Soong Hanlin scratched his chin as he thought to himself depressingly, “The situation is still unclear. Instead of returning to the capital to consolidate my status, I have to go to the south. What do I want to do?”
Zuo's Mansion, a brightly lit front hall was having a feast, but in Third Master Zuo's small courtyard, there was only a single lone light, flickering with candlelight.
Zuo Shaoqing was holding a book as he leaned against the window's soft couch. He was looking at the main house with an obscure expression.
“Master San, the green bean cake made by Nanny Liu tastes so good, even better than the one made by Mrs. Chang's mother.” Luo Xiaoliu said while eating with satisfaction.
“Oh? Is that so? Do you often get pastries made by your mother?” Zuo Shaoqing didn't turn around, but a sharp light flashed in his eyes.
“Cough, cough… No, it's just… Second Master would sometimes eat cold cake, and when he met me, he would share some of it with me.” Luo Xiaoliu subconsciously lowered his voice, while his face showed a struggling expression.
“I'm just casually asking, why are you in such a hurry?” Zuo Shaoqing put down his book and got up from the soft couch. Step by step, he approached Luo Xiaoliu and put his hands on his shoulders, “Or… What did Lil ‘Six hide from me?”
“Master…” Luo Xiaoliu jumped up in shock and kneeled on the ground in the blink of an eye. “No… This grandpa thinks too much. How would Lil ‘Six dare to?”
Zuo Shaoqing replied with an “Oh” with an unknown meaning.
Cold sweat broke out on Luo Xiaoliu's forehead. He didn't understand why San Ye was acting so weird today. Such a question and such a tone had never happened before.
Before he could understand what was going on, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. Luo Xiaoliu's arm that was supporting him on the ground softened and he fell towards the ground.
“Ah…” Luo Xiaoliu screamed and rolled on the ground while hugging his stomach. His face was pale and his lips slowly turned purple.
Zuo Shaoqing sat on the chair with an indifferent expression. He poured himself a cup of hot tea from the teapot and sipped it slowly, ignoring Wu Tie's abnormal behavior on the ground.
Luo Xiaoliu was not a fool. Seeing Zuo Shaoqing's unusual attitude and hearing those words, he guessed that San Ye must have found out about his actions. He was trying to kill him!
“Master… Lord Third…” Luo Xiaoliu crawled to Zuo Shaoqing's feet on all fours, tightly grabbed the hem of his clothes, and painfully said, “Master San… What did Lil ‘Six do wrong? You want to… Ugh…”
Zuo Shaoqing admired Luo Xiaoliu's panic attack from above, and sneered, “What did you do wrong? How could you not know?”
Luo Xiaoliu curled up his body and tried to raise his head to look directly at Zuo Shaoqing. He found that San Ye's face was still the same familiar face, with delicate facial features and thin white skin. But at this moment, he felt that the person in front of him was an unfamiliar person, no longer the master he was familiar with.
His ten fingers trembled as he painfully stood up. “Master San, I know my wrongs… I was forced to… Madam… It was all Madam's doing… Ah…”
Sweat the size of beans dripped down his face. Luo Xiaoliu's lips were already bitten into a bloody mess. His eyes gradually became unfocused, but his hands still held onto Zuo Shaoqing's clothes.
Zuo Shaoqing didn't plan to take his life. He poured some white powder into the tea and fed it to him to drink. Then, he patted his face and asked: “Little Six, do you still remember how many years you followed me?”
Luo Xiaoliu's body slowly stopped twitching. He used his sleeve to wipe the tears and snot off his face. His voice was hoarse. “Seven… Seven years…”
“Yeah, at that time, I was six and you were eight, and I almost forgot your appearance back then. However, I still remember that pair of smiling eyes and two big canine teeth. That was the first time I saw someone smile at me so sincerely in Zuo Family.”
Zuo Shaoqing was lost in his memories and didn't notice that Luo Xiaoliu was looking at him inquiringly.
“Master… This humble one apologizes to you!” Luo Xiaoliu forced himself to kneel on the cold ground. Regret and guilt corroded his heart.
“Get up. Don't worry, the poison won't take your life and will only act up once every month. As long as you don't have any ill intentions towards me, I will give you the antidote every month, so, you have to be obedient!”
“Lord Third…” Luo Xiaoliu's heart skipped a beat. He was scared out of his wits and didn't dare to have any more thoughts. He kowtowed and said, “Please spare me, Master San. I will listen to you from now on, but Madam…”
“You don't have to worry about Mrs. Xue. I'll tell you what to say, you won't fail.”
Zuo Shaoqing kept Luo Xiaoliu because of this, he couldn't get rid of Mrs. Xue's surveillance at the moment. Since that's the case, she would know what he wanted Mrs. Xue to know in the future, and she would never find out what he didn't want her to know.
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