Pei Qingfeng spurred the horse at full speed and he rode for three consecutive days without rest. Finally, on the morning of the third day, he arrived at the Desolate Region.
In the central region, Pei Rumo prepared to bring Bai Luochu out for a stroll in the courtyard so that she could breath in some fresh air.
"The weather is really nice today. Why don"t we take a stroll around the inn? It isn"t good for you to be cooped up in your room." Pei Rumo persuaded Bai Luochu.
Bai Luochu nodded and agreed cheerfully, "Alright, I have been staying in the room for the past few days and my body feels like jelly. I might even be molding soon. It is a good thing to breathe in some fresh air." She stood up and walked out of her room.
Pei Rumo followed closely behind Bai Luochu while protecting her carefully. After reaching the courtyard, he helped Bai Luochu to find a seat before talking about the problems the army is facing.
"You don"t need to worry about the delay. I have already explained the situation to Emperor Father and he has already agreed. You can just rest at ease." Pei Rumo relayed the information he had received from the old emperor"s reply letter.
Bai Luochu nodded in response, "You have been busy lately. After explaining the situation to His Majesty, you still have to pacify the soldiers… Moreover, you have been taking care of me all this while. You probably haven"t slept well for the past few days.”
When Pei Rumo heard that Bai Luochu was actually concerned for him, he felt a trace of warmth in his heart. "You flatter me. Allowing me to take care of you is a sign that you trust me. Back to the main topic, I slept really well the past few days. Because of this short break, I can take a rest and avoid thinking so much about the campaign. Life isn"t too bad.”
In fact, Pei Rumo did feel that his life was much easier compared to before. With his constant interaction with Bai Luochu, he could see that their relations.h.i.+p was getting better. He could even take it a step further and say that they are rather intimate with each other.
Pei Rumo originally wanted to say something to Bai Luochu but he was suddenly interrupted by a messenger pigeon. "Wait for a moment, I will go and take a look at the information delivered from the border zone today." Pei Rumo immediately opened the letter in front of Bai Luochu. The more he read, the deeper his frown became.
"Why? Did something happen to the soldiers at the border?" Bai Luochu realized that Pei Rumo had been silent for quite some time and she asked.
"It isn"t anything special. There is always someone asking about the mission..." Pei Rumo"s voice became softer as he carefully observed Bai Luochu"s expression. He was afraid that she would be unhappy with the report.
He didn"t expect Bai Luochu to not mind at all. She even gave him a suggestion on how to reply, "I am at fault as well. If I paid more attention, my eyes wouldn"t be affected. Since we can"t turn back time, it is useless to blame me. Why don"t we think of a solution to stop the soldiers from growing impatient?”
"It seems like you already have an idea. Why don"t you tell me about it and I will reply accordingly?" When Pei Rumo heard what Bai Luochu said, he knew that she already had an idea in mind.
Bai Luochu didn"t intend to keep her thoughts to herself and she quickly suggested, "Push the blame to His Majesty. Tell the soldiers that we are waiting for His Majesty"s reply. They won"t be able to tell when His Majesty replies to us anyway and we can avoid all blame. Since His Majesty is in the capital city, he won"t be able to know that we are throwing him under the bus. The soldiers won"t have the courage to question us about the authenticity either as it involves the emperor himself.”
After listening to Bai Luochu"s suggestion, Pei Rumo fell silent for a long time. After all, this matter involved his Emperor Father and it was better to be careful. Bai Luochu knew that Pei Rumo considering her solution and she added, "Your First Highness, there is no better method. We can"t tell the soldiers the truth as their morale will be affected.”
When Bai Luochu finished her statement, Pei Rumo had already made his decision. "Wait here. I will come back after sending the reply. Don"t move around carelessly as it won"t be fun to run into a wall.”
"Don"t be so long-winded and go!" Bai Luochu waved her hand and asked Pei Rumo to leave.
When Pei Rumo walked far away, Bai Luochu raised her head to look at the sky. Even though she could only see black, she muttered to herself, "The capital city is truly a great place. If he knows that I am currently injured he will probably charge all the way here and bring me back, right?”
The person she was thinking of was actually interrogating the tea stall"s lady boss about her whereabouts right now.
"Lady boss, have you seen a young lady in men"s attire? She always wears white and binds up her hair in a high ponytail. She doesn"t smile usually and she doesn"t like to talk much.” He departed the city in a hurry and wasn"t able to obtain intelligence on Bai Luochu along the way. As such, he could only play it by ear.
The lady boss looked up and was shocked by Pei Qingfeng"s ghost-like appearance. The handsome Pei Qingfeng looked extremely haggard as he hadn"t slept for three days. His eye bags were sagging to his chin and his eyes were completely bloodshot. If one didn"t look carefully, they would even think that Pei Qingfeng was born with a pair of red eyes. His hair was disheveled and it wouldn"t be a stretch to call it a bird nest.
"I think I have seen the person you described. She is staying at the Pleasant Arrival Inn at the junction ahead. Why don"t you try looking for her there?" When the lady boss saw how frightening Pei Qingfeng was, she didn"t dare to lie to him.
After obtaining the information, Pei Qingfeng threw a gold leaf towards the lady boss and thanked her, "Many thanks." He immediately walked away after giving his thanks and headed towards the Pleasant Arrival Inn.