Chapter 88

"Does it hurt like this?" Chu Shaoling helped Wei Ji change into a new inner garment, carefully paying attention to his wounds. "Tell me right away if it hurts anywhere, in case the wound reopens and needs to be redressed."

Wei Ji nodded, raising his hand to make it easier for Chu Shaoling to move. Chu Shaoling handled him like a fragile treasure. After changing his clothes, he took a soft pillow for Wei Ji to lean on, and covered him with a clean blanket. Wei Ji was feverish at the moment and couldn't help but plead: "Your Highness, I'm not cold. Covering with this is uncomfortable."

"You're feverish and restless, you can't take it off." Chu Shaoling patiently coaxed him. "Bear with it for a bit. I had someone make you some silver ear fungus congee. You can eat it after it cools down, and then you won't feel so hot."

Seeing him uncomfortable, Chu Shaoling also felt anxious. He immediately turned around the screen and summoned the royal physician, asking: "What's going on? He's been feverish since yesterday. Did you not put any effort into prescribing medicine? Forcing down such bitter medicine was useless!"

The royal physician said with difficulty: "General Wei Ji has too many wounds on his body. Although medicine was applied, there is still some inflammation. Fever is inevitable. Fortunately, the general has a good constitution. It won't cause problems. He'll recover after enduring a few more days."

"Then what use are you?" The more Chu Shaoling heard, the more anxious he became. What does "enduring" mean? Does Wei Ji have to struggle on the verge of death?

The royal physicians looked at each other. They had only said this casually, not expecting Chu Shaoling to find fault with it. Wei Ji heard this from inside and felt a bit worried. Chu Shaoling originally had a bad temper, and became even more irritable after this incident, getting angry at the slightest dissatisfaction. Wei Ji coughed a couple times and said in a low voice from behind the screen: "Your Highness, didn't you say there was silver ear fungus congee?"

Chu Shaoling waved his hand to dismiss the royal physicians. He personally ladled out a bowl and brought it in. Wei Ji reached out to take it, but Chu Shaoling avoided his hand and sat beside him to feed him. After eating a mouthful, Wei Ji indeed felt much more comfortable. He finished the whole bowl. Wei Ji had hardly been able to eat anything the past two days. Seeing him drink a bowl, Chu Shaoling felt somewhat relieved. He said softly: "If you like it, I'll have them make more. But silver ear is cold in nature. How about adding some red dates? It can offset the cold of the silver ear while nourishing the blood."

Wei Ji nodded. "Alright." Chu Shaoling set the empty bowl aside. Wei Ji took Chu Shaoling's hand and said quietly: "Your Highness should also eat something to relieve internal heat. You've been angry often these past few days. Yesterday you just scolded the medicine boy preparing the decoction, and today you reprimanded the royal physicians again. I'm very worried seeing this."

"What are you afraid of?" Chu Shaoling smiled. He took a silk ribbon and loosely tied up Wei Ji's hair, gently coaxing: "I'm not angry at you. It's just that these people are really too stupid and can't do anything well, making one anxious."

Wei Ji smiled gently: "Illness comes like a mountain collapsing and goes like pulling silk. How can it be so fast? I already feel much better today. It shows the royal physicians' medicine is effective."

Chu Shaoling chuckled. "You are quite virtuous indeed."

Wei Ji's face was already a bit red from the fever. Hearing these words, his blush spread to the tips of his ears. Seeing Wei Ji's appearance, Chu Shaoling's heart stirred. He gently rubbed Wei Ji's soft earlobe and said: "To have a virtuous wife at home is like a country having a good prime minister. The ancients did not deceive me."

Wei Ji couldn't bear Chu Shaoling's teasing. He stammered: "Is there more soup outside? I want to eat a bit more."

Chu Shaoling smiled and stopped teasing Wei Ji. He turned around to get more congee to feed him. This time, Wei Ji could only eat half before he couldn't eat anymore. Chu Shaoling casually drank the remaining few mouthfuls. Wei Ji said anxiously: "Your Highness!"

"What's the matter? Are you guarding your food?" Chu Shaoling put down the empty bowl, untied his outer robe and got on the bed, letting Wei Ji lean against him. "Sleep a bit more. The more you sleep, the faster the wounds will heal."

Wei Ji had only been awake for about an hour and couldn't fall asleep at all. After thinking for a bit, he said softly: "Your Highness, when will we set out?"

"We'll go after you can handle the bumps." Chu Shaoling held Wei Ji's hand and gently squeezed it. "No rush. Your big brother and the others haven't finished dealing with matters outside yet."

Wei Ji nodded. "Your Highness, my big brother and the others should be almost back from Fenghe now, right?"

Chu Shaoling nodded. "They should be back today. There are quite a few barbarians in Fenghe City. It probably took some effort."

Wei Ji hesitated for a moment but still asked: "How does Your Highness plan to deal with those Liaoliang people? Will you dispatch officials to permanently reside in Fenghe?"

"No, no one will live in Fenghe City anymore." Chu Shaoling's slender fingers lightly tapped on the back of Wei Ji's hand. "I already told your big brother to change the Liaoliang people to Western Yi people and relocate them all to Yunnan. There are already many foreigners there. I think these people can also survive. Originally, I was only going to send the prisoners of war there and was still thinking about what to do if they caused trouble. Now I'm not afraid anymore. Now there are men and women. The Western Yi people will take root there from now on, living for generations, opening up wastelands for Great Chu for generations to come."

Wei Ji was stunned for a moment and said: "Then what will be done with Fenghe City?"

"Nothing, just leave it empty." Chu Shaoling lowered his head and kissed Wei Ji on the lips. "Don't say anymore. Go to sleep."

Wei Ji originally had many more questions to ask, but Chu Shaoling was unrelenting, coaxing and urging him to sleep. He even burned some sandalwood incense in the incense burner. Before long, Wei Ji couldn't resist and fell asleep again.

Chu Shaoling accompanied Wei Ji on the bed for a while before leaving the main tent. An hour later, Wei Ji rushed back from Fenghe, covered in dust. After hearing the report from his personal guards, Chu Shaoling directly summoned him to the main strategy tent. After entering the tent and paying his respects, Wei Zhan first asked about Wei Ji's condition. Chu Shaoling frowned slightly: "Although there's no major problem, he's not comfortable. He's been feverish the past two days and has less energy than usual."

Knowing there was no major issue, Wei Zhan put his mind at ease and said solemnly: "It's all thanks to the general's attentive care. Wei Ji has a good constitution. After enduring a couple more days and the fever subsides, he'll recover quickly."

Chu Shaoling rubbed his brow: "Hopefully so. How did the matter I entrusted to you go? Who exactly leaked the information?"

Speaking of this, Wei Zhan's expression turned grim. He stepped forward and said in a low voice: "I did not fail the mission. I captured the person before the Liaoliang king killed himself. The Liaoliang king couldn't endure the torture and confessed everything. Regarding Wei Ji's matter, he heard it from someone who came from Pingyu."

Pingyu in the southwest, Chu Shaoyang's fief.

Chu Shaoling laughed instead of getting angry: "Just as I thought, it turns out that I should have directly killed that beast back then!"

"General, please calm your anger." Wei Zhan also knew about the discord between Chu Shaoyang and Chu Shaoling, but he didn't expect it to have reached this point. Thinking about how Chu Shaoyang had almost caused the death of his own brother, Wei Zhan also felt a surge of anger in his heart. Suppressing the fury in his heart, he continued, "That person had rushed to Fenghe as soon as Your Highness arrived at Karakash. He directly stated that as long as Wei Ji was detained, the General would give him whatever he wanted. The Liaoliang King didn't believe it at first, but later he gradually heard about the matters in our camp. He was half believing and half doubting. Later, as the war situation deteriorated, the Liaoliang King finally thought of that person's method."

Wei Zhan paused and said, "Even the method of besieging Wei Ji this time was taught to the Liaoliang people by that person. This person is familiar with the battle formations commonly used by our army, so it must be someone from the Chu family."

Chu Shaoling sneered coldly: "No need to guess, it must be Chu Shaoyang. I didn't have time to deal with him before, but this time he's seeking death. I can't let him off."

No matter what, Chu Shaoyang was still Chu Shaoling's own brother. Even though Wei Zhan hated him in his heart, it was not convenient for him to say anything. He only advised, "General, when you return to the court, it will be a critical time. Taking action now will inevitably give others an excuse to criticize."

Chu Shaoling's eyes were full of viciousness as he said lightly, "No need to worry. After settling matters here, you will return to the court with me. Leave Lian Yu here to escort the prisoners of war to Yunnan. The escort route must pass through the southwest area. At that time, release a few prisoners, and after Chu Shaoyang's death, just push the blame onto the barbarians."

Wei Zhan inwardly exclaimed "Brilliant!" but still felt uneasy and said, "Can Lian Yu be trusted? It's better to let me..."

"No need, there will be a big commotion after returning to the court, so you have to go back." Chu Shaoling sneered coldly, "Lian Yu is just a front. There will be others to actually take action. He only needs to release a few prisoners and throw Pingyu City into chaos, which is something he can handle."

Wei Zhan thought for a moment and nodded, "This way it will be absolutely foolproof."

Chu Shaoling's phoenix eyes flashed with a hint of viciousness. Of course, he couldn't let Lian Yu take action. How would Lian Yu know how to kill someone most cruelly and destroy the corpse most viciously? Chu Shaoling didn't even want to leave Chu Shaoyang's corpse behind. This wasn't the first time he had made a move against Wei Ji. Before, he didn't have time to deal with it, but now that he was about to take power, how could he still tolerate him!

Chu Shaoling sat down and said in a low voice, "After interrogating them, have you taken care of it?"

"It's been taken care of. There were a total of 1,732 Liaoliang royal family members and nobles. They were all hanged." Even Wei Zhan felt a bit horrified thinking about that scene, but Chu Shaoling had given detailed instructions before leaving. "They were all tied up tightly with ropes and hung on the city walls of Fenghe. The corpses were all sprayed with medicine, so the vultures won't come to eat them. The Liaoliang... no, the Western Yi people have all been relocated. No one else dares to enter Fenghe City. It should be able to hang there for a hundred and eighty years."

Chu Shaoling smiled with satisfaction, "That's good. When foreigners pass by and see it, it can be considered a sight. In the future, if someone asks about it, there's no need to avoid the topic. Just say it's because the Liaoliang King dared to use Wei Ji to threaten me, resulting in such an outcome. Let those short-sighted people see what the consequences are for messing with Wei Ji."

Wei Zhan lowered his head, "Yes."

Chu Shaoling picked up the map of Liaoliang spread out on the desk and casually threw it into the incense burner. The flames instantly engulfed it, and in no time, the map was completely burned. From then on, the country of Liaoliang completely disappeared from the long river of history, leaving only the Western Yi people who had migrated thousands of miles to the south, and the capital city of Fenghe that had once prospered for a thousand years but turned into a ghost town overnight.

After taking care of the matters outside, Chu Shaoling returned to the main tent. The dinner had already been sent over. Chu Shaoling opened the food box, glanced at it, and put it down. He lightened his footsteps and turned past the screen. Inside, Wei Ji was still sleeping, leaning on the fluffy rug. Chu Shaoling walked over and tucked Wei Ji in. Wei Ji drowsily opened his eyes, "Your Highness..."

"Did I wake you up?" Chu Shaoling smiled, "Are you hungry? Dinner has been served. Do you want to eat before going back to sleep?"

Wei Ji nodded and carefully propped himself up with his arms. Chu Shaoling told him not to move while bringing over a small bed table and placing it on the couch. He then brought over the food box and arranged the food on the bed table. Wei Ji had slept all day and was in much better spirits, and his fever had also subsided. Wei Ji took a spoon and ate the porridge, carefully watching Chu Shaoling's expression as he said softly, "I'll go out and eat with Your Highness tomorrow. I want to move around a bit."

Chu Shaoling thought for a moment and nodded, "Alright, if you still don't have a fever tomorrow, I'll support you to walk around the main tent."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Wei Ji smiled and thought for a moment before asking, "Has Big Brother returned? How are things over there?"

Chu Shaoling picked up a piece of smoked meat for Wei Ji and paused before saying, "How? What else can be done? Those who should be killed have been killed, and those who should be captured have been captured."

Chu Shaoling raised his head and, as expected, saw a trace of reluctance flash in Wei Ji's eyes. Chu Shaoling sighed inwardly. This silly thing must have attributed this matter to himself. Chu Shaoling put down his bowl and chopsticks and ruffled Wei Ji's hair, "Your big brother has already buried those people. From now on, there will be no living people in Fenghe City. They can be considered to have a place to rest."

Wei Ji felt much better in his heart and said softly, "Your Highness is benevolent and virtuous."

Deceiving for a moment counts as a moment. Chu Shaoling didn't blush at all when making up lies. After the two finished eating, Chu Shaoling ordered someone to clean up the things and took a book to accompany Wei Ji on the couch. Wei Ji was in good spirits and couldn't sleep, so he tugged on Chu Shaoling's arm and softly pleaded, "Your Highness, can I also read a book?"

"Can't sleep?" Chu Shaoling closed the book and looked down at Wei Ji, "Is it because of the pain that you can't sleep?"

Wei Ji quickly shook his head, "No pain. After changing the medicine in the afternoon, it hasn't hurt again. I just can't sleep."

Chu Shaoling took a soft pillow and placed it behind himself, "Reading a book is mentally taxing. Lie down and lean against me for a while. I'll read to you, so close your eyes."

Wei Ji felt warmth in his heart and rested his head on Chu Shaoling's lap. Chu Shaoling's slender fingers reached into Wei Ji's hair, gently massaging the acupuncture points on Wei Ji's head. Wei Ji comfortably closed his eyes, and Chu Shaoling picked up a storybook and began reading softly.