The Slender Waist-Chapter 175 - 127 Loyalty and Friendship_2

Two servants walked over from outside the house, looking at Feng Yun, their eyes moist.

"Shi’er Niang."

Feng Yun heard the familiar voice and looked up.

"You are Guanqi and Pinshu..."

She looked at them with surprise and joy, and then at the few other old acquaintances who followed them inside, unable to contain her excitement.

"Nong Qin, Si Hua? Brothers Shentu and Yang Qi, you are all alright? That’s wonderful, truly wonderful."

These people included Wen Xingsu’s personal servants and two generals who were as close to Wen Xingsu as brothers, Shentu Jiong and Yang Qi.

After the battle in Xinzhou, Feng Yun had never thought she would see these old friends again.

This was completely unexpected.

She remembered asking Pei Jue that day how his elder brother was.

He just said, "He’s fine."

He never told her that he had taken all of Wen Xingsu’s trusted followers into his keeping, just as he had with her once.

Even though he did this as a favor in return, to make Wen Xingsu submit and switch allegiance, the fact that Pei Jue dared to do so, with such magnanimity, was admirable.

As Wen Xingsu watched her expression change, he sighed softly.

"General Pei is a man of great talent and bold strategy, his sword capable of propping up the sky, a rare hero indeed. But we are generals of Qi Country, governing our own territories, and we cannot lower our heads and become traitors."

The two generals also hung their heads.

Feng Yun couldn’t help but laugh, tossing the date in her hand back into the box, her lips curling with a trace of coldness.

"So by that logic, I’m a traitor."

Wen Xingsu, realizing his gaffe and looking at her tired face, was full of regret.

"You’re different."

He said this quickly, and seeing Feng Yun’s smile grow even brighter, her fair delicate face bloomed like a flower under the scorching sun, dazzling and almost too intense to gaze upon for long.

"People rely on family, with loyalty to the sovereign held highest. If my family abandons me, I must fend for myself. If my sovereign abandons me, I must seek another worthy master. A good bird chooses the tree it perches in; there’s nothing wrong with that."

He watched Feng Yun cautiously.

"Yaoyao, the elder brother wasn’t referring to you."

Feng Yun smiled, naturally not taking it to heart, and simply sipped her tea, her thoughts drifting to the warfare in Bingzhou, to the decades of gunpowder and flames...

Suddenly, she looked up with a playful gaze at Wen Xingsu.

"What, in the elder brother’s mind, makes a good country?"

Wen Xingsu pondered for a moment.

"Good governance and peace for its people."

Feng Yun nodded slowly, then asked, "Is Qi Country considered a good country with good governance and its people living in peace?"

Since the establishment of Qi, from the death of the first sovereign, Emperor Tianding, with the Xiao Family’s main branch repeatedly engaging in fratricidal strife over the throne, all the way to Emperor Xiao Jue of Yanping, it could be said to have been in a constant state of turmoil and corruption...

Wen Xingsu wanted to defend his country, but he could not force himself to lie.

"It is not."

Before Feng Yun could speak, he continued:

"Zicheng is different; he is wise, resolute, open to advice, and will surely be a benevolent ruler in the future..."

"Not necessarily." Feng Yun blinked several times, moved her lips, then closed them, weighing her words carefully:

"Does the elder brother hold him in such high esteem because he is your close friend, or are you truly considering the welfare of the people of Daqi? Or perhaps, do you believe Xiao Cheng will have a magnanimity like Pei Jue, to treat his enemies with the hospitality we see today?"

Wen Xingsu sighed.

"The General possesses a grandeur that few can match,"

Feng Yun looked at the two Generals by her side and spoke indifferently, "Brother also said, ’a good bird chooses a tree to nest in,’ and that is a wise choice. But if there were a path that could stabilize the south and the north, unify the world, and return us to the tranquil and prosperous era before the time of warring states, would elder brother be willing?"

Wen Xingsu fell silent.

The two Generals were also at a loss for words.

After a long pause, Feng Yun looked at them.

"I do not concern myself with the north or south, I only choose a good lord, the right path to follow, regardless of whether this path is full of hardships, or if it will make me despised by people. If possible, I wish to be this era’s Wu Zixu...

Wen Xingsu was astonished.

The two Generals were also looking at her in shock.

In their eyes, a woman in times of chaos seeks to survive, and even if she finds refuge with an enemy General, it is an act of desperation, unworthy of criticism, and far from being called a traitor.

Pei Jue, this man, putting aside the enmity of our identities, is considered an enlightened leader. Her allegiance to Pei Jue is not without reason.

But in the end, they thought what Feng Yun wanted was simply to live in safety. The resentment and grievances towards her own Feng Family that had treated her poorly, and Xiao San who remarried, were thought to be nothing more than the petty troubles of a young woman.

Yet unexpectedly, her thoughts were so profound.

She even believed that Pei Jue could be the person to bridge the south and north, to compete for the world...

These considerations were entirely beyond the realm of personal sentiments.

The two Generals exchanged glances, and Wen Xingsu was also deeply affected.

In this era where any man could raise an army and claim kingship, every General on the battlefield, every man, had dreamed of galloping across the lands, establishing great achievements, and dreaming of leaving a legacy in history.

"Elder brother need not be troubled,"

Feng Yun’s delicate brows furrowed slightly as she looked at his silent expression.

"You have your choices, I have my pursuits. Whether one is constrained by customs or assist a wise ruler, everyone must follow their heart’s direction. However, elder brother, if you return to Qi Country in the future and we meet on the battlefield...

She slightly restrained her smile, tidied her sleeves, and gave Wen Xingsu a formal bow.

"On the battlefield, we are enemies, but off it, we can still discuss matters as siblings. You come to my residence, I’ll provide good wine and meat; you raise your spear in combat, I’ll meet you with sword and blade."

Wen Xingsu felt a tightness in his heart, a pain as if being cut by a knife.

Her words were eerily similar to what Pei Jue had said that day.

He had just called for Shentu Jiong and a few others, intending to persuade Feng Yun to follow him back to Qi Country.

He had not anticipated that before he could even start to speak...

Her words already blocked all his persuasions.

There was not a single reason that could prevail over hers.

Talk about family? She had none left.

Talk about country? The country had not extended help to her.

Talk about emotions? Her heart was with Pei Jue.

Wen Xingsu let out a wry smile.

"So, afterwards... will you wholeheartedly follow Jin Country?"

Feng Yun thought perhaps she hadn’t made herself clear enough, causing elder brother to misunderstand.

So, looking directly at him, she smiled faintly.

"Elder brother is confused. Jin Country is Jin Country, Changmen is Changmen. Pei Jue is Pei Jue, and I am I."

This statement seemed profound at first, but upon reflection, it was filled with reason.

Wen Xingsu saw a spark in her eyes.

Bright and extraordinary...