Chapter 834 - 836: Not a Family Member, but a Female Soldier_1
Bai Ruozhu choked and awkwardly said, "Believe it? How could I not believe."
Jiang Yichun smirked, pulled back her sleeve to take a look, and after seeing that the mark had faded a bit, he felt relieved and went to hold his son in his arms.
"Let’s go, it’s time to eat," Jiang Yichun said as he carried his son and headed out.
Bai Ruozhu quickly rushed to take Little Dengdeng, saying, "You are now leading soldiers outside, it is better not to hold the child, to avoid affecting your majesty."
Jiang Yichun touched his nose, "Does my majesty need to be proven in this way?"
But Bai Ruozhu refused to let him hold the child no matter what, so he had no choice but to give up. Yet poor Little Dengdeng looked at his father with a face full of grievance, his little eyes seeming to say: Dad, why don’t you want Little Dengdeng? Seeing this made Jiang Yichun feel quite distressed.
Dinner was served downstairs at the inn, with three tables set up in all. The students occupied two tables, while Jiang Yichun sat at one table with his deputy officers, clerks, Bai Ruozhu, Tu Ying, and the master from the academy.
The head of the academy praised Little Dengdeng upon seeing him and asked for the child’s full name, commenting that with such bright eyes, the child would certainly be clever in the future. Whether the other party was just being polite or truly sincere, any mother would be delighted to hear her child being praised, and Bai Ruozhu was naturally no exception.
Since it was their first meal out together, Jiang Yichun instructed the innkeeper to add many dishes, ordering all of the inn’s signature dishes, showing no sign of skimping on expenses as Dang Youshen had suggested. Although the food couldn’t compare to a welcoming feast, it was still quite lavish, and everyone, tired from a day’s journey, ate to their satisfaction.
Jiang Yichun discussed with the head of the academy the timing for setting out early the next morning. Wishing to make good time on the road, both decided to depart at dawn, which meant that everyone had to rise early. Perhaps because it was only the first day and not too exhausting, no one raised any objections.
Yet Dang Youshen wore a displeased expression throughout the meal. After eating for a while, he nudged the person next to him with his elbow, and that person began to say, "Ah, if I had known we could bring family, I would have brought someone too, to take care of me on the journey."
Someone at the same table with a blunter temperament immediately retorted, "Officer Jiang is the military officer leading the delegation, and the Imperial Court allows him to bring his family. What’s it to you? You, a Scholar who hasn’t gained any official recognition, what are you comparing yourself to?"
The man who was nudged stretched his neck and said, "When did I speak of Officer Jiang? Don’t pin labels on me willy-nilly; I’m talking about the others in our delegation."
The one who had retorted looked towards Brother Tu Bo’s direction, then at Tu Ying, and understood what he meant, but for a moment didn’t know how to respond.
Bai Ruozhu witnessed everything with a stern eye and knew this had to be another of Dang Youshen’s schemes. Only this time, he was smarter and had found someone else to take the lead. While his provocation couldn’t find fault with her second brother, it targeted Brother Tu Bo and his sister. Of course, this also served to prove that Jiang Yichun was biased. Without Jiang Yichun’s consent, how could Tu Ying have followed along?
Tu Ying turned her head and looked over, her sword-like eyebrows furrowed. Suddenly, she leaped up from her chair and began marching towards the speaker.
She, clad in red, exuded a formidable presence thanks to her years of martial arts training. As she took steps toward the speaker, she managed to assert significant pressure on him.
The other party, aware of Tu Ying’s martial prowess, turned pale and stammered, "What, what do you want to do?"
The Study Palace’s instructor couldn’t help but frown. Even as a one-in-a-hundred talent of the Academy, how could he be so cowardly? It was simply too embarrassing.
Tu Ying stopped in front of him, looking down from her height, then took out a waist token from her side and showed it to him, saying, "This gentleman seems to be mistaken. I am also a soldier of the Northwest Main Camp, belonging to the protection squad, not a family member. The army included me, a woman soldier, for convenience at certain times, unrelated to my brother. Are you suggesting it’s special treatment just because you got selected for the delegation and have relatives in the army too? By that logic, wouldn’t the Yang Family’s sacrifice of fighting in wars for our country through generations go against the rules?"
The man, at a loss for words from Tu Ying’s retort, took a long time before saying, "We are all men, what do we need a woman soldier for? That’s just a lame excuse, right?"
Tu Ying let out a contemptuous chuckle. "Do I need to make lame excuses? If you’re not convinced, you can invite your sisters to join as woman soldiers, and maybe they could be part of the journey too. As for military affairs, it’s not your place to worry. In marching and warfare, the least desirable thing is prying into matters that are not of your concern. Asking so elaborately, do you have some ulterior motive?"
"You..." The man’s face turned red with anger, yet he had no comeback.
Jiang Yichun raised his teacup and said, "Tu Ying is the woman soldier I arranged to protect my family. This is also within the rules, so there’s no need for others to worry on my behalf. It would be better for you to spend more time reading books and thinking about the Competition. What’s most important for you now is to represent Beiyu Academy in the Competition, to bring honor to the Study Palace and Beiyu City, instead of wasting your time and energy on trivial matters."
Along the journey, there hadn’t been a shortage of troublemakers, and their focus wasn’t on the Competition at all, but finding fault. Now that Jiang Yichun had pointed this out, the Academy’s head also felt displeased, not with Jiang Yichun, but because he thought the students were too impulsive and anxious.
After speaking, Tu Ying sat back down beside Bai Ruozhu, her intentions clear—I am the woman soldier tasked with family protection; if you’re dissatisfied, why not have your sisters join as soldiers too? Bai Ruozhu’s lips curled into a smile; she picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and placed it in Tu Ying’s bowl, gesturing for her to hurry up and eat. Tu Ying smiled back at Bai Ruozhu and began to eat earnestly.
The exchange between Tu Ying and Bai Ruozhu also signified one thing: the Tu Family was no longer in opposition to Jiang Yichun. Dang Youshen’s eyes darkened, a flash of hatred and contempt passing through them.
Before setting off, Tu Ying and Tu Bo had smoothly identified the person inciting Tu Lie, exposing his malicious intentions. Later, as Tu Bo was about to represent Beiyu Academy in the Competition, the parents of the Tu Family were very worried. Their only son was somewhat simple-minded, and with Tu Lie’s special position, if others couldn’t scheme against him, they might target his heir instead.
The Tu Family parents didn’t wish to experience the grief of outliving their son, so they firmly opposed Tu Bo’s participation on behalf of Beiyu Academy. However, Tu Bo insisted on taking part in the Competition, and in the end, Tu Ying offered to accompany and protect her brother. Left with no choice, Tu Lie approached Jiang Yichun with no small amount of embarrassment, but Jiang Yichun, not being a petty person, agreed immediately.
Consequently, Tu Lie felt even more indebted, insisting on treating Jiang Yichun to drinks, and as the men drank, their conversation grew. Tu Lie openly admitted his mistakes, and Jiang Yichun, appreciating his forthright nature, found himself in a newfound friendship with him by the end of the meal.
That’s why, while others couldn’t bring family or attendants, Tu Bo was allowed to bring Tu Ying with him when they set off.