Chapter 2310: Chapter 2285: Discussion
Everyone sat together in the main hall drinking tea, while the kitchen was busy with meal preparations. Since the dishes weren’t ready yet, they were first served some pastries.
In the Western Regions, there aren’t many good pastries available, but fortunately, Sister-in-law He is from the Central Plains and knows how to make several kinds, so she managed to put together two plates.
Manbao picked up a piece of pastry to eat, and Assistant General Nie brought good news to her, "His Majesty has appointed General Ashina as the head of the military campaign, with General Guo as the deputy head to lead the expedition against Kucha. According to my calculations, the battle has been ongoing for about a month, and General Ashina arrived seven or eight days ago."
He continued, "If the campaign extends to next year, we might be able to return to court with General Ashina and his troops."
That would provide great security; no matter if there are bandits along the way, would they dare to strike against the Great Jin army?
Manbao was astonished, "How did they arrive so quickly?"
Assistant General Nie glanced at them and said, "General Ashina was originally in Lanzhou. Upon the Emperor’s orders, the troops from Liangzhou, Suzhou, and Shazhou were mobilized. The General brought a portion of his troops from Lanzhou and swiftly departed; even crossing the desert like us, it only took them half a month."
In contrast, their leisurely journey from the capital took three months, and that was because they stopped dawdling after leaving Shazhou and traveled normally, otherwise...
Mr. Zhuang smiled warmly, "Our mission as envoys differs from theirs, we need to gather information, so naturally, it takes us longer."
He changed the topic and said to the two of them, "Two days ago, General Ashina and General Guo captured Yanqi and are now resting in the city. Since you’re back as the head envoy, would you like to meet General Ashina?"
He added, "Since you plan to return together later, it’s best to establish good relations in advance."
Assistant General Nie glanced at Zhou Liru and spoke to Zhou Man, "Lord Zhou, the other day, someone from the Protectorate came wanting to purchase ten dancers to present to General Ashina."
He thought they could offer them.
Manbao rejected the idea outright, saying, "General Ashina is still a royal son-in-law; he is Mingda and Changyu’s uncle by marriage, what would it look like if we gave his concubine?"
Assistant General Nie was puzzled, wondering what was wrong with gifting a concubine to a princess’s uncle.
Manbao whispered to Bai Shan and a few others, "If Mingda and the others asked me about this matter back home, I’d die of shame."
Bai Erlang also agreed that it was inappropriate; Mingda’s aunt was also his aunt. It would be one thing not to give a consort to the princess, but to gift a dancer to her uncle?
He nodded to affirm Manbao’s decision.
Bai Shan glanced at them, saying, "I once heard Zhao Liu mention General Ashina, saying that the State Duke Zhao mentioned General Ashina as a frugal and cautious person, which is why His Majesty married the princess to him."
Yin Huo asked, "Wasn’t it to draw General Ashina closer?"
Manbao replied, "That was certainly part of the consideration, but if he wasn’t a good person, would His Majesty have married his sister to him?"
After all, he wasn’t young anymore, being in his twenties or thirties, and the princess was much younger than him.
With their conversation becoming less pertinent, Mr. Zhuang interjected, prompting Assistant General Nie to cough lightly and steer the discussion back, asking, "How should we request an audience?"
"Just go directly," Manbao suggested, pointing at Bai Erlang, "I’ll go first, and if I’m not seen, Bai Er will go, after all, they’re relatives."
Bai Erlang nodded, "Exactly, I’m his future nephew-in-law; I’m set to become a royal son-in-law myself."
Assistant General Nie: ...
Your connections really are extensive.
Bai Shan remarked, "We should still bring some gifts, we have quite a selection of fine tea, let’s pick the best box to gift."
Assistant General Nie couldn’t help but interject, "Isn’t just one box too little?"
Bai Shan replied, "It’s a family visit, so daily items suffice, and General Ashina isn’t one for extravagance, too much would be inappropriate."
Yin Huo also nodded, "If he truly is a thrifty man, one carefully chosen gift might suit him perfectly."
Mr. Zhuang nodded with a smile, "Since you’ve made up your minds, go ahead and prepare."
Manbao didn’t move, stating, "We must eat something first."
Bai Shan also nodded, "We thought we’d reach the city today, so we only nibbled on a few biscuits and drank a pot of water for lunch."
At this point, they were extremely hungry.
Mr. Zhuang turned to a pretty girl waiting in the corner of the room and said, "Inform the kitchen not to prepare too many dishes, they can serve those at dinner, just bring out two bowls of noodles for now."
Only then did Manbao notice the girl in the corner. She immediately added, "Make a little more, Daji and the others need to eat as well."
The girl, now confident she wouldn’t be sent away, was delighted. She cheerfully saluted and ran to the kitchen to tell Sister-in-law He and her sisters.
They helped out and soon the noodles were ready and served.
As Manbao took a bite and noticed the flavor, she remarked, "Why would such capable girls be sent away?"
Zhou Liru nodded repeatedly, since having their help, many tasks had become easier for her.
But they also ate a lot, more than she did.
Talking about this, Zhou Liru said to Manbao, "Aunt, later could you prepare a prescription for them? They used to maintain their figures as dancers and often went hungry. I told them they don’t have to stay as dancers if they didn’t want to, and they stopped dieting, now eating more than me every day. I’m worried their stomachs won’t be able to handle it, and I’ve checked their pulses, there are some issues."
Manbao replied, "No wonder they seem to have gained some weight since before, it wasn’t just my imagination."
She praised, "Having a bit of flesh makes them look better, but indeed, they shouldn’t eat too much at once, I’ll check them out later."
Assistant General Nie kept hoping to steer the conversation back to General Ashina, but couldn’t find the right moment.
But he needn’t have worried, as Manbao brought it up naturally, "What were you all laughing about when we came in?"
On this topic, Bai Erlang and Liu Huan couldn’t help but burst into laughter, even Yin Huo couldn’t suppress a smile.
Bai Erlang said, "General Guo was thoroughly embarrassed a few days ago."
He gleefully recounted, "You don’t know, General Guo lives lavishly, even in the army, his tents are adorned with gold and jade, let alone the items inside. He travels with concubines and attendants; a few days ago, he offered them along with his tents to General Ashina, but General Ashina declined."
Few knew about this since it happened in the military camp, but Liu Huan, fearful of getting in trouble again, kept a close watch on the camp and happened to find out about it.
That’s why they were so amused by it.
Yin Huo remarked, "General Guo probably thought General Ashina wanted concubines for his own use, so he wanted to buy back those ten dancers to send to General Ashina."
Bai Shan frowned slightly, "This is too excessive, isn’t warfare treated too frivolously in the army?"
