Chapter 148: Visitors from the Capital

Xiao Ding and several leaders were seated in the county government’s meeting hall when a soldier suddenly reported that envoys from the capital had arrived, requesting the leaders to come out and greet them.

The leaders exchanged puzzled glances, unsure who exactly had come from the capital.

They opened the south gate and stepped outside the city walls, where they saw a dozen horses waiting. At the forefront were two men: one dressed in palace attire, his face pale and clean-shaven, holding a folding fan—an odd sight for the cold winter season. Beside him stood a young, gallant officer clad in gleaming silver armor, a shining silver spear with a coiled dragon emblem hanging from his saddle, and a sword at his waist. His handsome features marked him unmistakably as the son of a wealthy noble family.

Behind these two were roughly a hundred soldiers, all dust-covered and weary from a long journey.

“I am Huang Wenlong, Commander of the Yongzhou troops. May I ask who you gentlemen are?” Huang Wenlong stepped forward with a respectful salute.

“I am Ji, the Imperial Inspector dispatched by His Majesty to oversee the front lines. You may call me Inspector Ji,” said the man in palace robes with a sharp voice. “And this young man beside me is Luo Simiao, son of Lord Luo from the capital’s Luo Mansion. He is the grandson of the venerable Lord Luo. We have come to the front to assist you all in defeating the enemy.”

Xiao Ding, standing behind Huang Wenlong, immediately realized that the pale man without a beard was a eunuch! But why was a eunuch serving as an imperial inspector? Why would the emperor send a eunuch to the front lines as an overseer?

As it turned out, the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty was always wary that military commanders, once empowered with troops, might rebel and seize the throne. Therefore, whenever a general was dispatched, the emperor would send a trusted person close to him—often a eunuch—as an inspector to supervise the general’s actions and prevent any uprising.

Xiao Ding knew little about this era, so he was unaware that Inspector Ji had been sent by the emperor to keep a close watch on General Gao Wanjun, with the authority to intervene in military decisions.

At that moment, Luo Simiao suddenly asked, “Where is Gao Wanjun? Why hasn’t she come out to meet us?”

“General Gao unfortunately twisted her ankle and is currently resting inside the city,” Huang Wenlong replied.

“What? How did she get injured? Who hurt her? Take me into the city at once—I must see Wanjun!” Luo Simiao’s voice grew urgent, firing off questions that left Huang Wenlong at a loss for words.

“Very well, please follow us into the city,” Huang Wenlong said.

After escorting Inspector Ji and Luo Simiao inside and settling the hundred or so soldiers, Huang Wenlong returned to the meeting hall.

The young officer in white armor, Luo Simiao, hurried over to Huang Wenlong and asked anxiously, “Lord Huang, where is General Gao Wanjun? Please take me to see her.”

Xiao Ding noticed Luo Simiao’s eagerness and guessed that the young man must have long harbored affection for Gao Wanjun. What remained unknown was how Gao Wanjun felt about him.

Huang Wenlong then instructed Xiao Ding, who was standing nearby, to lead Luo Simiao to visit Gao Wanjun.

Reluctantly, Xiao Ding said to Luo Simiao, “Young Master Luo, shall we go?”

They arrived at the courtyard where Gao Wanjun was staying. Xiao Ding sent a maid inside to announce that a young master from the capital, Luo Simiao, wished to see General Gao.

After a short while, the maid returned and said, “Our mistress said she will not see anyone. Both generals, please take your leave.”

Xiao Ding chuckled inwardly. This fellow was even less welcome than himself!

“Please inform her again that I have traveled thousands of miles just to see her, that I came all this way for her sake,” Luo Simiao instructed the maid.

The maid hurried back inside, then emerged again to say, “My lady insists she does not want to see you. I advise you to leave and not disturb her as she recovers.”

Hearing this, Luo Simiao grew more anxious. He shouted loudly, “Wanjun! Wanjun! I have come to see you—just give me a moment!” With that, he pushed past the maid blocking the door and strode into the room.

Xiao Ding followed, curious to see what drama would unfold between the two.

Inside Gao Wanjun’s chamber, Luo Simiao called out, “Wanjun! How are you? I heard you were injured?”

Gao Wanjun sat on the bed, her left ankle bandaged with medicinal paste. Her expression was icy as she glared at Luo Simiao and said coldly, “Young Master Luo, who told you to enter my room? I have already said I don’t want to see you. Why are you still here?”

“Wanjun, please don’t send me away. Do you know I came to Yongzhou solely to find you? When I heard you had petitioned the emperor for a military command to support the front lines here, I lost my appetite and couldn’t sleep, worried sick about you! That’s why I obtained an order from Inspector Ji to come along,” Luo Simiao said with a pitiful, almost sycophantic tone.

“Young Master Luo, do you know why I petitioned the emperor for a military command to come to the Yongzhou front? It was to escape you! In the capital, you clung to me like a dog’s skin plaster, buzzing around like a fly—no matter how often I brushed you off, you never left. You annoyed me to no end. I thought I could get away from you by coming so far, but you just followed me here. Are you trying to get me to kill you?” Gao Wanjun said bitterly.

“Wanjun, even if you kill me with your own hands, I would accept it willingly. If killing me will make you happy, then do it—I have no regrets!” Luo Simiao knelt before her, as if fearless of death.

“I don’t want to kill you yet. Now get lost—go as far away as possible! I don’t want to see you!” Gao Wanjun fumed, her face flushed with anger, her chest heaving.

“Wanjun, are you really so heartless? My father once formally proposed marriage to your family, and though you refused outright, my feelings for you have never wavered. Trust me, I will only be good to you from now on. Whatever you want, I will give it to you. Even if you want the moon from the sky, I will find a way to bring it down for you,” Luo Simiao begged, kneeling in heartfelt supplication.

Standing nearby, Xiao Ding finally understood: this young master from the Luo Mansion had fallen for the young lady of the Gao Mansion. He had come to propose, but she had rejected him. Undeterred, Luo Simiao had persisted, pestering Gao Wanjun daily. Annoyed, she petitioned the emperor for a military appointment far from the capital to escape him. Yet this hopeless romantic had followed her all the way to Yongzhou.

“Luo Simiao, get out of here immediately. I don’t want to see you for even a moment. And as for calling me ‘Wanjun’—how dare you? If you ever call me that again, I’ll cut out your tongue!” Gao Wanjun snapped, her anger painting her cheeks red and her chest rising and falling with fury.

“Alright, I’ll do as you say. You want me gone? I’ll leave now. You don’t want me to call you ‘Wanjun’? I won’t. Take care and recover well. I’ll come see you another day,” Luo Simiao said reluctantly, casting one last longing glance before turning and leaving the room.

Xiao Ding was about to follow when Gao Wanjun called out, “General Tian, don’t bring such worthless men into my room in the future!”

Xiao Ding nodded slightly but did not respond. Both were nobles from the lord’s mansion; he dared not offend either.

As they stepped out of Gao Wanjun’s quiet courtyard, Luo Simiao suddenly asked Xiao Ding, “Are you close to Wanjun?”

Indeed:

Fallen blossoms wish to follow the flowing stream,
But the stream rushes eastward toward the forest’s edge;
Do not say there is no true love in the world—
Only fools are blinded by their passion!