When Pei Qingfeng suspected that there was something wrong with his eyes, the old emperor broke out into rambunctious laughter.
“HAHAHAHA! Rumo is right. Even if I am old, I can contribute to the nation! Furthermore, everyone sees me as a healthy man at the prime of his life. Since that is the case, I shall announce something important while everyone is present!”
Pei Rumo and Pei Qingfeng"s eyelids started to twitch as they felt a bad omen befall them.
“Since my ascension, the commoners are able to enjoy lasting peace because of the work done by this Emperor"s predecessors. Compared to them, my accomplishments are insignificant! As such, this Emperor decided that I shall appoint the First Prince, Pei Rumo, as the Commander in Chief of the expedition to conquer the Desolate Region!”
Clamor broke out once the old emperor pa.s.sed down his order. Pei Rumo felt extreme regret as he felt that he had spoken too much earlier. As for Pei Qingfeng, he was rejoicing over his first brother"s misfortune. After all, once Pei Rumo left for the expedition, no one would pester Bai Luochu and he would be able to fix his relations.h.i.+p with her.
“Your Majesty, the Desolate Region might be big, but there is no civilization. Now that the weather is turning cold, there will be more losses than gain if His First Highness runs into some trouble!” In the imperial court, one of the First Prince faction"s officials retorted.
It seemed as though the old emperor had already predicted that someone would object. “I have already thought this through and I shall order Divine Physician Bai to accompany him as a military physician.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Pei Rumo"s body trembled. He turned around abruptly to look at Pei Qingfeng and noticed that he also had an expression of disbelief.
Pei Qingfeng didn"t have an official position and he never cared about the old emperor"s impression of him. “Your Majesty, you must not!”
The old emperor never expected for the usually indifferent Second Prince to voice his objection because of a woman. It seemed as though the rumors were true.
“Why don"t Qingfeng explain the reason why?” The old emperor"s smile nearly stretched from one ear to another and his eyes narrowed to a line. He resembled a crafty old fox.
Thinking about Bai Luochu"s safety, Pei Qingfeng no longer concealed his thoughts, “Divine Physician Bai might have extraordinary medical skills, but if she recklessly joins the battle, she will probably die on the battlefield. As a woman, how can she blend into a military camp?”
“I know that you have a good relations.h.i.+p with Divine Physician Bai. You can be at ease. She will not join the battlefield and will not be mixing around with the stinking men in the military camp.”
“What about the journey? What if something happens during the journey? Did Emperor Father consider it through? The trip to the Desolate Region is unpredictable and there will be plenty of hards.h.i.+ps.”
It was obvious that Pei Qingfeng was speaking out of turn. He didn"t even notice that the old emperor"s face was already turning gloomy. Pei Rumo who finally noticed something wrong quickly interrupted Pei Qingfeng.
“Emperor Father, please quell your anger. Second Brother has rescued Divine Physician Bai once and spoke out of turn. Will Emperor Father please forgive him?”
Pei Qingfeng looked at Pei Rumo and a furious expression appeared on his face. Pei Rumo lowered his head and signalled for Pei Qingfeng to remain calm.
“Rumo is still the sensible one.” The old emperor heard what Pei Rumo said and he turned to reprimand Pei Qingfeng, “You"re being too hot-tempered. If I didn"t make the proper arrangements, why would I request for her to take the risk? I won"t send Rumo to his death, will I?” The old emperor"s words might make sense, but Pei Rumo and Pei Qingfeng both knew that he had no idea what dangers the Desolate Region held.
However, since the old emperor had already decided on it, no one would be able to stop him. The only thing Pei Rumo could do now was to calm Pei Qingfeng down in order to prevent him from saying things he shouldn"t say in front of the old emperor. No matter how Pei Qingfeng argued his case right now, the old emperor would blame everything onto Bai Luochu. Pei Qingfeng was someone who couldn"t think straight when it concerned her and it was easy for him to make Bai Luochu a target for the old emperor.
“If Second Brother cannot feel at ease, as the older brother, I shall personally guarantee her safety.” Pei Rumo turned around to speak with Pei Qingfeng. In the eyes of everyone present, he was trying to rea.s.sure Pei Qingfeng. However, he turned to give Pei Qingfeng an eye signal as his gaze flashed across the old emperor.
As the Second Prince, Pei Qingfeng knew that he would be disrespecting the old emperor in public if he continued to harp on the matter and he would definitely be scolded in private. His actions might even implicate Bai Luochu and he quickly shut his mouth.
With Pei Qingfeng falling silent, the commotion reached an end.
It was decided and the news of the expedition of conquering the Desolate Region spread like wildfire. As the Commander in Chief of the expedition, Pei Rumo"s reputation hung high up in the afternoon sky. However, everyone was confused as to why Divine Physician Bai was sent out with him.
When the eunuch responsible for announcing the imperial decree arrived at the general"s residence, Bai Luochu was finis.h.i.+ng up her breakfast. One of the guards ran in and made a report.
“Young Lady, there is an imperial decree waiting for you. The eunuch said that it will be in Young Lady"s best interest to hurry up and receive the order.”
Even though Bai Luochu didn"t know about the expedition, she placed her chopsticks down and she went to the entrance of the residence. The moment the eunuch saw Bai Luochu"s figure, he gave his greetings, “Divine Physician Bai, you are finally here! Please receive the decree.”