A Lonesome Fragrance Waiting to be Appreciated 1

55

From this, the Bei Mo King immediately relaxed. The sides of his mouth twitched into a laugh. "Employment depends on the King himself. I'll decide whether this person is trustworthy or not. So what's the point of putting your life on the line to prove loyalty? What's the third condition?"

Yangfeng answered, "If the King doesn't want Bei Mo to be conquered, you must listen to every word. Nothing can be changed."

This was the same as giving governorship of Bei Mo to a stranger. Bei Mo's smile instantly evaporated. He coldly said, "If your friend wants Bei Mo military power, shouldn't he just ask to be an army general?"

Unexpectedly Yangfeng replied, "Military power is one of the things she wants. Yangfeng begs King to give her all commanding rights to Pingting. She'll definitely drive away the Dong Lin army."

The Bei Mo King's face changed. He forced himself to smile while thinking of saving Ze Yin from shame. "Your friend really likes to brag. Even your husband doesn't dare to underestimate the mighty general of Dong Lin, Chu Beijie, yet your friend..." Suddenly his heart jumped, and in astonishment he cried, "She?"

"Yes."

The Bei Mo King looked even more unamused. He leaned forward. "How can a woman have such skill? Fine, give her some money and send her home." How ridiculous. The enemy had arrived in their country, so many of the army generals needed his expertise whereas he listened to the rubbish chatter of an idiotic woman.

Yangfeng bowed, wondering whether to clarify things, but she hadn't expected his support in the first place. Without the help of Pingting, wouldn't her husband die? She bit her lip. "Please listen to me one last time, King."

The Bei Mo King couldn't bring himself to embarrass her so he generously nodded. "You may speak."

Yangfeng hesitated before walking towards him. She whispered in his ear. "I promised Pingting not to tell anyone, but as the lives of the Bei Mo people are at stake, Yangfeng must tell you. King mustn't underestimate Pingting. Ze Yin may not be Chu Beijie's opponent but Pingting definitely is."

"What do you mean?"

"Because Pingting forced Chu Beijie into a truce for five years before this."

The Bei Mo King was startled. He turned around and stared at Yangfeng.

Yangfeng didn't waver under the Bei Mo King's attention. She nodded slowly and whispered, "Chu Beijie has feelings for Pingting. If he knows that she is in Bei Mo, he won't attack so hard, and Ze Yin will have a greater chance of victory."

"But what if..."

"If Chu Beijie can't forgive her, then..." Yangfeng felt a lump in her throat and her face looked sad. "Why would King ask Yangfeng such a cruel question?" Thinking of Pingting outside the room made her heart twist. Fighting back her tears, the beauty said, "Please King, summon Pingting immediately."

"Call for Pingting."

"Call for Pingting!" Voices overtook one another until it reached the waiting Pingting. She settled down her teacup, checked over her clothes, and sighed deeply before stepping into the room, walking calmly towards the Bei Mo King.

Where in the world is a place you can escape from everything? She was now being swept in the Bei Mo's world of politics and military.

"King." Pingting bowed after stepping lightly into the Bei Mo Royal Residence's main hall.

The Bei Mo King did not take offense when Pingting did not bow the most respectful way possible. Instead, he laughed. "You may get up. Yangfeng seems to really like you, My Lady, saying that you can shoo away the invading Dong Lin soldiers, is that true?"

Pingting sighed. If the Bei Mo King didn't hesitate when calling her 'My Lady', it meant that the situation in the army wasn't so good, so Bei Mo could only beg a fallen star like her. Could she really defeat Chu Beijie?

She was clearly distressed, but it was already too late. Pingting could see the hopeful eyes of Yangfeng who stood in front of her. "Your humble servant shall do her best," she said softly.

"Thanks to My Lady's words, Bei Mo now has hope." The Bei Mo King exchanged a look with Yangfeng before clapping his hands and cheering. His face then softened slightly. He spoke in a humble tone. "The army is in immediate danger; Dong Lin armies are approaching Kanbu. What will be My Lady's plans?"

Ever since Pingting decided to help Bei Mo, she had been studying Bei Mo maps at night, giving a quick, preliminary analysis over possible formations and tactics. She had not, however, known that the Dong Lin army had reached Kanbu so she was slightly surprised. "So the Bei Mo army has already been forced to the closest outer village? How come the messengers that have come back don't know about that?"

All of the information she knew came from Yangfeng, so she could not help but to look at her. Yangfeng hadn't known about this either; her face was pale as she shook her head no at Pingting.

The Bei Mo King gave a wry smile. "It was in the recent report late last night. The people of Bei Yali are afraid so I stopped the news from spreading. Luckily we have Ze Yin, or it'd be much worse. We should be able to secure Kanbu for a little longer under the command of Ze Yin but even he will not last much longer." The ruler unclenched his hands and sighed towards the ceiling. His eyes then flickered over to Pingting.

Pingting returned Bei Mo's stare, nodding to show she understood. "No wonder King is willing to use a foreigner like me." The situation was much worse than she had originally thought. Chu Beijie really deserved his title as Dong Lin's fiercest general.

She felt flustered, but she knew that something had to be done, or Yangfeng's unborn child would have no father. She forced herself to calm down, closed her eyes and thought hard.

The Bei Mo King and Yangfeng knew that she was thinking very hard. They did not make a sound, just quietly waited.

It was so silent in the main hall that it was difficult to breathe.

After a while, Pingting slowly opened her bright eyes which seemed to be full of new-found confidence. She smiled at Yangfeng then spun around to the Bei Mo King. "Maybe there is something I can do, but I need King's full support."

The Bei Mo King remembered Yangfeng's prior words. Without a trace of hesitation, he said, "My Lady can make as many requests as needed, be it money or materials."

"Good, then I'd like to ask King to tell me the truth. Does Bei Mo have a spy on the Dong Lin King's side?"

Bei Mo suddenly went silent, he'd only thought that Pingting would take frontline command of the army, not ask something like this. During times of wars, opposing countries always had spies, so that some confidential information could be obtained. But each country was careful with their spies, while cautious of others around them being spies of other countries. Though not many were sent at a time, the best was always sent and they were always the country's biggest secret.

Pingting could see the Bei Mo King's hesitation, so she explained herself. "I, your humble servant, do not mean to pry too much. It's just that this plan needs to be carried out by the people close to the Dong Lin King. King does not need to tell me the names of the spies, just tell me whether or not anyone can get close to the Dong Lin King's food."

"Eh!" Yangfeng exclaimed, "Don't tell me Pingting wants to poison the Dong Lin King?"

The Bei Mo King frowned, "That won't work. Sorry to say My Lady, I do actually have one or two people beside the Dong Lin King. Occasionally, they do have access to his food. However, all Kings nowadays have precautionary guidelines to prevent their food being poisoned and specialists to check for poison before consumption. Even if my people tamper the food, it will never reach the Dong Lin King's mouth. It'll be a useless attempt, and they'll know that there are spies in their residence."

To which Pingting calmly replied, "That wouldn't be a problem if the poison isn't detectable."