A Lonesome Fragrance Waiting to be Appreciated 2

37

Yun Chang was not like Gui Le or Bei Mo. This country had the resources for war but had always kept out of it, leading to a much more matured army. They were led by the widely acclaimed General He Xia and so it seemed like certain death trying to attack Yun Chang. Not to mention, how could Dong Lin possibly have enough soldiers to stop just the plots of Gui Le and Bei Mo?

How could the Duke of Zhen-Bei, who had always been cautious, do such an unwise thing that was no different from suicide?

"Is that true?" The cup of wine in the King of Dong Lin's hand did not move as he looked at the dusty-looking messenger kneeling on the ground of the hall.

The songs stopped as the singing and dancing maids detected the dangerous atmosphere in the hall. They trembled at the side, their heads bowed as they kneeled.

The messenger had been hurrying for several days and his voice was hoarse. He still managed to muster up a loud voice, "Reporting to King, the Duke of Zhen-Bei issued his commands six days ago. All of the generals at the borders, along with the generals in charge of the four barracks have been ordered to leave and meet up with the Duke of Zhen-Bei."

The King of Dong Lin said nothing and slowly turned to look at his pale-faced queen. He slowly settled the gold cup in his hands down, his gaze sweeping across the hall. "What do you think?"

When the Duke of Zhen-Bei had returned to the capital, the entire country celebrated, but several days later, he hurriedly left. Most of the officials did not know the details of Chu Beijie and Pingting's relationship, so they did not dare open their mouths and all were silent.

A suffocating silence filled the huge hall.

The old Senior Official, Chu Zairan happened to think of something else. He opened his mouth to offer, "As the Duke has mobilised every border's troops as well as the barracks, how many has he arranged to defend the Bei Mo and Gui Le borders?"

"He left a tenth of the original guarding troops at each border."

Just a tenth?

The officials cried out.

At that level, defence was virtually non-existent. If the other two countries suddenly launched an attack, they could head straight to the heart of Dong Lin.

All of the eyes rested on the King of Dong Lin.

The expression on the King of Dong Lin's face was very ugly, his eyes flashing several times. He held up the cup of wine to his lips and calmly took a sip. "I would like to calm down, please all leave."

The officials stood in panic as they fell into their lines. They then bowed.

"Your loyal subjects shall depart!"

The kneeling dance maids and musicians also withdrew quietly and carefully from the room.

The real silence only came when the officials had departed. The hall was messy with the aftermath of a celebration, and the crowd had quickly scattered in silence.

The army had gathered at the border to challenge He Xia.

For his country, he sacrificed his own brother and sacrificed Bai Pingting.

Now, Chu Beijie sacrifices his own brother and Dong Lin for Bai Pingting.

What was the cause?

What was the consequence?

The King of Dong Lin sat on the throne, looking around at the huge hall, silently taking another sip.

A white hand stretched towards him, gently pressing down on the golden cup.