It's been three days since the grand empress dowager lost her political authority yet they did not sense any strange moves that the old woman makes. Well, actually, they expect something from her today since another scheduled conference will be held in the Pavilion of Literary Glory with the emperor and the high-ranking eunuchs.
As of now, the emperor, which would be Prince Yin Wenyan, is most probably on his way to the conference. Meanwhile, Emperor Yin Renshu is hiding at the Lotus hall with his silly eunuch, Xu Zhengming. The princess general, on the other hand, is dealing with her daily duties in her Ministry's headquarters.
"General, a report came in just now." Officer Song Li, one of the imperial army's Lieutenant Generals came into the Department of War and Defense to personally relay an important report to General Yin Xiulan. He continues, "Another chaos has occurred in the nearby town. It's the bloodthirsty creatures again."
"What? This has to get relayed to the Commander-in-Chief!" The princess general immediately rises from her seat and hurried to the doorway. Like a tail, Liu Chen comes after her. Before she steps out of her headquarters, she turns her head to Lieutenant General Liu and commanded him. "Liu Chen, prepare your unit. We're going out."
"Yes, General." Her subordinate immediately acknowledges the order.
But before any of them can take another step, Lieutenant General Song speaks,  "General, I volunteer my unit instead. I told them just now to prepare themselves."
"..." Princess Yin Xiulan is speechless for a while.
So his subordinates knew the report first before his superiors? This man needs further discipline. However, now is not the best time for that but she makes sure that she will get back to this and will never let this pass.
"Alright." The General changes the command to Lieutenant General Liu, "Liu Chen, stay put. I'll be heading out. Deal with the matters in the ministry while I'm gone."
"But..." The princess did not bother to listen to him and immediately heads to the Pavilion of Literary Glory. He could only whisper to the thin air, "But I want to go too...?"
Lieutenant General Liu's eyes unintentionally swept Lieutenant General Song's direction. His eyebrows knitted when he caught him smirking. Lieutenant General Song noticed that the fellow lieutenant general is staring at him and so he silently leaves the department.
Liu Chen's teeth gritted as he silently thought, "Is that bastard trying to impress the General or something? Ha! Dream on, rascal. You're not even her type. Do you know how to cook? Do you even know her favorite food? It's wonton noodle soup!"
Just as she expected, she saw her brother, Prince Yin Wenyan, together with the emperor's personal assistants, are heading towards the Pavilion of Literary Glory.
"Greetings, your highness." The maids stop just to greet her.
Only by then did the prince notice the presence of his sister.
"What's the matter, Xiulan?" He asks.
She pulls her brother in a distance and said in a low voice, "I received a report just now. It's another case of bloodthirsty creatures in the nearby town."
"Again?!" To his surprise, he didn't get to control the volume of his voice. Even the emperor's personal servants look on their way. He clears his throat and adjusts his voice in a low volume, enough for the only two of them to hear. "Alright, I'll postpone the conference for now. Bring Renshu with you, I'll try to see if she's connected with this again."
"Got it." The princess said before she heads to the Lotus Hall.
"Court Lady Han, tell everyone in the Pavilion of Literary Glory that the conference will resume in the next scheduled day for we have an emergency." The prince ordered.
Court Lady Han bows her head and replies with respect, "Yes, your majesty."
The prince looks at the maids, "You may all now retire to your quarters for today."
"Yes, your majesty." They all replied in unison.
And, as clear as the waters in the lake within the imperial palace, this means another day-off for all his majesty's personal servants.
On the other hand, Xu Zhengming and Emperor Yin Renshu are talking about random topics again when Princess Yin Xiulan arrives at the Lotus Hall.
This silly eunuch, he doesn't run out of something to talk about. He wouldn't just shut up for at least a minute or two. Even though Emperor Yin Renshu doesn't like to talk much, especially the things that aren't in his scope of interest, he still finds himself listening and even responding to his eunuch. It seems like there's something about Xu Zhengming that makes his majesty feel comfortable with him but Emperor Yin Renshu can't point it out himself.
The princess walks across the hall heading towards the two. "Renshu, we have to deal with something urgent."
"What is it?" He asks, looking at her with a serious face.
Knowing his sister, Princess Yin Xiulan hates to get interrupted. For her to come at this time, which is time for her to work in her department, she still leaves her headquarters just to come and see him. It must be really important.
"It's the bloodthirsty creatures again." She said. "They're spotted in the nearby town."
The emperor immediately rises. "Let's go."
This is indeed an emergency. With those vicious creatures causing havoc, it must be dealt with as soon as possible, or else, it would get worse.
And besides, it might be related to Xu Zhengming.
"Can I... Can I come with you?" Speaking of the silly eunuch, he anxiously asked if it's possible for him to go with them.
The emperor turns his head to Xu Zhengming and sternly answers, "Eunuch Xu, it's too dangerous. Just stay here."
Xu Zhengming becomes even more anxious, saying, "But what if the dickless eunuch appears again?"
Princess Yin Xiulan's eyebrows twitch. They're delayed for so long already. She yells, "For goodness' sake, Eunuch Xu. All eunuchs are like that! Do you mean that walking dead? Don't worry, we'll be back as soon as the chaos is resolved."
"What if he comes and you're not here yet?" He asked.
"Uh... I don't know. Hide under the bed by then?" The emperor said. "You really can't go with us. I can't assure your safety."
"Eunuch Xu, we really need to go. We'll come back as fast as we can." The princess added.
Then the two of them leave the Lotus Hall.
Before Emperor Yin Renshu closes the door, he said to the Eunuch, "Be a good boy. Stay."
"..." Xu Zhengming is out of words. He didn't even manage to reply at his majesty.
And just like that, he's left alone in the hall.
He could only whisper in the thin air, "Why do I feel like I'm more of a pet dog?"
Meanwhile, in front of the Southern Palace Gate, Lieutenant General Song and his unit are mounted on their horses and ready to deploy anytime. They are just waiting for the General and Commander-in-Chief to arrive.
While waiting, Lieutenant General Song is surprised to hear the footsteps of horses. He squinted his eyes and looks in the direction where a group of men on horses.
What greeted him is another unit of imperial soldiers with Lieutenant General Liu Chen leading them. In a short period of time, he managed to get the unit under his command ready.
"Lieutenant General Liu, didn't the general tell you to stay in the headquarters to do the rest of her duties?" He annoyingly said to the fellow lieutenant general. "What are you and your unit doing here?"
Lieutenant General Liu wears the opposite facial expression that Lieutenant General song currently wears. With a bright smile, he greeted, "Good day, Lieutenant General Song. I didn't get to greet you this morning. I apologize for my rudeness earlier."
Then just as fast as a snap, Liu Chen's face turns into a mocking one as he looks at the other party. "You see, I don't think your unit alone can handle the work. And so, I brought my skilled unit with me." He said it with such a proud tone.
His words made Song Li enraged yet he tried his best not to lose his composure in front of many. Lieutenant General Liu... he's obviously looking down on him and his unit and didn't even bother to sugarcoat it. Well, even if he'll make it sound pleasant in the ears, he'll still get offended so it doesn't really matter.
"Lieutenant General Liu! Are you saying my unit isn't skilled enough?"
Lieutenant General Liu doesn't seem to be threatened by him at all. Instead, his mischievous smile gets even wider as he said, "I didn't say anything like that, Lieutenant General Song. It came from your own mouth."
The way he said it makes it sound like that really is the case, and just playing safe by not telling it directly to the other.
Lieutenant General Song Li pursed his lips. He silently thought, "This scum is digging his own grave. He's spoiling my plans."
Before he and his unit gathered in front of the palace gate, Lieutenant General Liu Chen asked a little favor to the unit under his command. "Gentlemen, I need your support and assistance. Aiding me is not mandatory and only depends on your free will." He said. With a scowling expression on his face, he continued, "Lieutenant General Song is trying to impress our beloved honorable General and sets me aside! Esteemed imperial soldiers, you may find my request irrational but still, I humbly ask you to go to the battlefield as the General's reinforcement. Your assistance will be greatly appreciated."
One of his men exclaimed, "That is not irrational, Lieutenant General Liu. Sometimes, we need to fight for the one we love."
Lieutenant General Liu and General Yin Xiulan, these two persons are remarkable if the topic is about wars. They're known to be valorous but that's not the only thing they're known for. Behind their backs, they are also known as dense in romantic relationships. The people they always got to socialize with know that there's something in between the two superiors. Only these two don't know about it.
From a frowning face, Liu Chen's facial expression turns into a bashful one. "D-Don't make it sound like that." He's so embarrassed that he isn't sure if he said it loud enough for his men to hear.
"We can't let that happen, Lieutenant General Liu! The General's eyes shall not avert from you." An official said in a loud voice. By then, the lieutenant general realized that his voice was not audible.
And another one spoke in favor of Liu Chen, "There's no man suited to be by the General's side but Lieutenant General Liu!"
Then a series of overwhelming support followed. These men are not only Liu Chen's subordinates. He also treats them as comrades, and he never expected to have their heartfelt loyalty and support.
"No, not at all! You flatter me." Liu Chen laughs proudly. But in reality, there's no way he doesn't like what they're saying. Their words are like pleasant music into his ears.
Just like that, all members of his unit joined him and voluntarily follows him to the palace gate.
Several whispers are audible behind Lieutenant General Liu. Some of these are:
"So, Lieutenant General Song is really trying to impress the General?"
"There's no way he can win against our Lieutenant General. He's always with the General for years, and she trusts him too."
"It's clear that the one that the General favors is Lieutenant General Liu."
Lieutenant General Liu smirks. That's right! He's the most deserving to be in General's side at all times.
No one cooks for her as he does.
No one executes her orders willingly as he does. No complaints, no questions, only immediate response. To him, her orders are absolute!
Also, there's literally no one who talks to her when she's upset except him. And no one can calm her effectively as he does.
Imagine, 50% chance of calming her down whenever Yin Xiulan Volcano erupts. That's a pretty high chance of succeeding and no one in history achieved that win rate, not even her brother, the emperor himself! In fact, sometimes his majesty made her even more untamable.
It didn't take too long for Emperor Yin Renshu and Princess Yin Xiulan to arrive in front of the palace gate. The emperor is riding on his black horse while the princess' is mounting her white horse.
Her eyebrows raised. "Why do we have a lot of soldiers here? Are you all coming with us?"
It was Lieutenant General Song who answered first. "General, Lieutenant General Liu disobeyed your orders and gathered his unit without your confirmation."
"Liu Chen?! What are you doing here? You left the headquarters despite my order!" Princess Yin Xiulan breathes deeply, trying not to let her emotions dominate her.
She said to herself internally, "Calm down, Xiulan. That's Liu Chen. For goodness' sake, that's Liu Chen! Don't beat him now or else you'll feel bad about it later."
Lieutenant General Liu speaks, "General, your subordinates are willing to offer our aid to you and his majesty. Please allow us to go with you."
"Please allow us to provide assistance to you, General." The soldiers under his command also sincerely ask to let them help.
Liu Chen clasps his hands and bows towards her. "I, Liu Chen, will accept any forms of punishment after the ongoing conflict is resolved."
"Xiulan, just let them come with us. They're willing to help. Also, we can't afford to waste any more time refusing their offer." Emperor Yin Renshu said in a low voice, enough for the two of them to hear. "And besides, won't that let the work finish much earlier? I still need to go back to the Lotus Hall as soon as possible."
General Yin Xiulan sighs and announces, "The Commander-in-Chief has given his permission for Lieutenant General Liu's unit to deploy."
Lieutenant General Song's face darkens with the declaration which is the exact opposite of Lieutenant General Liu's bright expression.
The emperor speaks in a loud voice, enough for everyone present to hear. "Soldiers, we only have two goals. First, capture all the bloodthirsty creatures. Second, do not kill them. Understood?"
"Yes, your majesty!" The soldiers all responded in unison.