The Slender Waist-Chapter 279 - 193: Revealing True Form_2

Shikui was cozily wrapped in his blanket, deep in a pleasant dream when a sudden knock at the door startled him awake. Hearing that Pei Jue had arrived, he bolted up, the back of his neck chilled to the bone.

Pei Jue was waiting for him in the main hall.

In the dead of night, his eyes were clear and bright, sitting upright with the dust and fatigue of travel lending him an even more valiant appearance. His deep, dark eyes seemed naturally endowed with the sharpness of swords, and Shikui felt a bit tense upon seeing him.

"Great General graces Pingyang with his presence, and your humble servant is late to welcome you. Please forgive me," he said.

He stepped forward, clasped his fists, and bowed deeply, though his heart thudded so hard it nearly leapt out of his chest.

The Great General’s early arrival surely wasn’t for a royal procession, nor was it to join him for drinks.

Big trouble indeed.

Shikui’s mind was sharp, but Pei Jue just stared at him without speaking.

"Great General, please have some tea," Shikui said.

Shikui personally brought the tea forward, bowing deeply, his attitude extremely respectful.

Pei Jue remained motionless, his gaze fixed on Shikui, calmly observing as he grew increasingly embarrassed and his expression panicked.

"Great General, please spare your humble servant," Shikui implored with a grim face, no longer feigning ignorance.

"Great General, your troops were trapped in Bingzhou, and your servant, due to insufficient grain and fodder, delayed for some time. By the time your servant’s troops reached Andu, the siege of Bingzhou was already lifted... Your servant had no choice but to lead the troops back in defense. It wasn’t that I didn’t come; it was that I arrived too late," he pleaded deeply once again, so earnest that he nearly burst into tears on the spot.

Pei Jue looked at him. "Shikui, you know why I have come."

Shikui looked up in surprise and said, "Has the Great General come to receive Empress Dowager? That’s not right. The Empress Dowager has yet to depart from the Central Capital, and it will take time to reach Pingyang..."

Pei Jue’s patience had run out.

He looked at him coldly, impassively slapping the edict that Tan Dajin was supposed to bring onto the table.

"General Shikui, please review it," Pei Jue said. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Bending forward, Shikui unfolded the document to look, and after gasping, he looked up with an expression of difficulty.

"I don’t mean to withhold anything, Great General, but we did issue a batch of winter clothes. However, winter came early and it’s cold. The soldiers have been wearing them for some time. I can’t possibly... I can’t just have them strip the clothes off their backs, can I? The Beiyong Army are your soldiers, and so is the Tiger Guard Army. Both are flesh of your own flesh, Great General. You can’t favor one over the other," he said.

"How dare you!" Pei Jue’s sudden change of expression took Shikui by surprise, and it wasn’t until he felt the edge of the blade at his neck that he realized General Pei hadn’t come for a congenial visit this time.

"Great General, let’s talk this out calmly," Shikui said, raising his hands and looking at Pei Jue’s cold and impassive face, he awkwardly continued, "We both receive the Imperial Court’s salary and loyally serve His Majesty. Whatever the issue, we can just talk it out. There’s no need for weapons... it’s not good..."

As he spoke, he reached out to brush Pei Jue’s blade with his finger.

"Don’t move!" Pei Jue lowered his voice by two tones, sounding deep and determined, yet his expression remained cool and composed.

"Shikui, you disobey commands, delay military operations, and through your negligence, Zhu Cheng of the Red Armor Army fell in battle..." He paused, his eyes coolly stating:

"Death by execution on the spot..."

Shikui shuddered with fright, his eyes widening, "You wouldn’t dare."

"I would," Pei Jue retorted with an icy glare. "Once you’re dead, any grievances die with you, with no place to appeal," he said.

Shikui’s heart constricted, and he felt as if he were enveloped in a layer of ice, truly sensing fear for the first time...

Pei Jue was his direct superior, and if he were really executed on the spot for this crime, then he would become the complete scapegoat, bearing the sole blame for the Northern Yong Army’s entrapment in Bingzhou and the subsequent delay in battle readiness and weak reinforcements.

Dead men tell no tales; the one in Central Capital might even breathe a sigh of relief.

Shikui caught his breath.

He did not want to offend Pei Jue.

By nature, he admired the strong and did not wish to associate with those duplicitous scholars who buttered their words and were of no real substance; however, as a warrior of humble origin with no family background, he couldn’t afford to offend the nobles in Central Capital.

Caught in the middle, he felt troubled and dared not speak his mind thoroughly.

So his sentences stumbled out, intermixed with muffled sighs.

"Great General, I... I was powerless. It wasn’t that I didn’t send reinforcements; there simply was no grain, and not a step could be taken. The winter clothing was managed by the Prefecture Treasury; how could I control it..."

Pei Jue’s wrist flickered slightly, shifting the cold glittering blade.

"Go and open the warehouse."

Shikui’s complexion changed.

This year, the Imperial Court had been quite generous. Li Zongxun intended to win over the Tiger Guard and Dragon Cavalry armies, and two sets of winter garments for each soldier had been distributed well in advance. The military supplies were also more abundant than in previous years. Shikui, hoping to skim a profit, had not yet distributed everything, and the remainder was all piled up in the warehouse.

This Pei Jue...

Did he grow eyes a thousand li wide?

If Tan Dajin had come, Shikui might have been able to talk his way out, stall for time, and watch the game play out between Pei Jue and the Imperial Court, safeguarding himself, an idle onlooker to the ensuing chaos.

But with Pei Jue arriving and a sword to his neck, what could he do?

Once the warehouse was opened, and seeing the mountains of supplies, Jiu You’s eyes turned red with anger, and he cursed out loud in Pei Jue’s presence.

"The Northern Yong Army at the frontlines fights the enemy without grain and without clothes. Meanwhile, nothing happens at the rear, and the warehouse is so overloaded that the supplies are about to mold..."

On his face was the anger at the Imperial Court’s injustice.

The other three guards didn’t say a word, but their faces were full of resentment.

Pei Jue, however, showed no emotion and ordered Shikui to prepare the supplies for transport to Wanning.

When Lin Zhuo arrived in Pingyang, Pei Jue was just about to escort the winter clothing on its way. Upon receiving the news of Feng Yun’s disappearance, his expression turned grim and his tightly controlled voice betrayed a hint of anger.

"Jiu You!"

Jiu You’s face tensed, "At your service."

"You take people and escort the winter clothes back to Xinzhou; I’ll go ahead first."

Jiu You acknowledged with, "Understood."

Pei Jue turned, giving Shikui a glance.

"You know what kind of person I, Pei Jue, am. Today you listen to me, and I’ll remember your loyalty. Should you decide to oppose me, and interfere from within, the thirty-odd members of your Shi family will end up entombed for your folly."

Before his voice faded, he had mounted his horse, and without looking back he called "Giddy up" and galloped away, leaving only Shikui to blow cold sweat, as if his scalp was about to explode.

"What should we do, General?" an Attendant Officer came over, his face etched with worry.

Shikui pinched his aching brow.

"Send the supplies to Wanning as ordered, and at the same time, send word to Central Capital."