Chapter 320: Chapter 320: Indirect Criticism

Huangfu Jinxuan felt quite helpless in his heart. He was merely an Imperial Nephew, but who would have thought he’d encounter a bona fide Imperial Grandson here?

At the time of the Imperial Uncle’s grand birthday, the sons of the Vassal Kings were summoned to the Capital City, with several palace banquets held. He couldn’t remember all his cousins, but a few outstanding ones left a deep impression.

He understood why Huangfu Jingchen had previously concealed his face and only revealed it upon approaching him.

If he hadn’t covered his face, from the moment he stepped out from the crowd, he might have already lost his composure.

In front of him, he said he was called Huang Zheng, so he could only call him Huang Zheng.

Since Huangfu Jingchen didn’t want to reveal his identity, he naturally wouldn’t foolishly expose it.

Uncle Cheng’s fief was in Yunzhou, yet Huangfu Jingchen appeared in Jiazhou. What was the situation? Better send a letter to his father to ask how to handle this matter.

Seeing Huangfu Jinxuan’s strange change in attitude, Wen Hao on the side gave Xia Wenjin a deep glance.

These two young men were not very old, but why did they give him such an unfathomable feeling?

Was this the reason Shang Jingwang got entangled with them?

Even the Lord Imperial Envoy, the Second Young Master of the Prince Kang Mansion, treated the young man named Huang Zheng with great politeness. Yet earlier, he had been openly contemptuous towards Yu Shikui, calling him a chamber pot at every turn. Does the different treatment of these two people indicate that Huang Zheng’s status is higher than Yu Shikui’s, or perhaps his identity is even more special?

In an instant, Wen Hao made a decision in his heart.

He strode to the front of Sun Honghai, who had been previously shot. Sun Honghai, pierced through the heart by an arrow, had kept an arrow directed towards them, so no one moved recklessly.

Then, when the Lord Imperial Envoy arrived, Yu Shikui wanted to borrow a knife to kill, focusing attention on Huangfu Jinxuan, leading everyone to forget that the Command Token was still held by Sun Honghai.

Wen Hao took the Command Token and then turned towards Huangfu Jinxuan, knelt one knee down at a distance of ten feet from Huangfu Jinxuan and Huangfu Jingchen, raised the Command Token with one hand, and said sonorously, “Subordinate Wen Hao, Military Commander of the Northern County, greets the Lord Imperial Envoy. From this moment on, my five thousand soldiers and I are at the Lord Imperial Envoy’s command!”

Huangfu Jinxuan gave Wen Hao a glance and couldn’t help but mock him, “You are an interesting Military Commander. These stationed soldiers should clearly be under your command, but when the Lord Imperial Envoy arrived, what he saw was you confronting them, swords drawn, tense and ready for conflict. What are you doing, having internal strife?”

Wen Hao blushed with embarrassment. As a Military Commander, having a standoff with his own subordinates was indeed a disgraceful matter.

But how could he explain this?

He could neither deceive the Lord Imperial Envoy, nor openly admit it without shame.

Huangfu Jingchen smiled slightly and said, “It’s all a misunderstanding. This General Wen had a trusted adviser, who took advantage of last night’s invitation to the quarantine zone to steal his Command Token and falsely transmit his orders. General Wen, being a man of integrity, could not bear the insult and thus shot the treacherously deceitful man dead! Isn’t this exactly what you saw upon arrival?”

Huangfu Jinxuan nodded and said, “It was indeed the case!” Closing his folding fan and walking over, he tapped Wen Hao’s shoulder with it, laughing, “To be betrayed by someone you trusted, you’ve had a hard time, but having the resolve to eliminate them personally shows spirit—it’s a trait I admire!”

Wen Hao, taken by surprise and delighted by the praise, glanced gratefully at Huangfu Jingchen.

Huangfu Jinxuan patted him with the fan again and said, “Step back for now. If I need you, I will find you myself!” He glanced disdainfully at the densely stationed soldiers surrounding the quarantine zone, “You’re not doctors, what are so many of you doing here? Wen Hao, right? Leave five hundred people at Young Master Jin’s direct command, then take the rest away to attend to your duties! This is a plague zone, and with all of you flocking here, someone might think there’s gold to be found!”

Wen Hao became somewhat anxious. How would he have the chance to earn merit without showing his face in front of the Lord Imperial Envoy? Just as he thought of a way to make the Lord Imperial Envoy rescind his decision, his eyes met Xia Wenjin’s gaze, which triggered a realization about the earlier whispered words she’d said to him.

He immediately bowed his fists and said, “I diligently comply with the Lord Imperial Envoy’s orders!”

His straightforward demeanor made Huangfu Jinxuan regard him more highly. While still speaking in a nonchalant tone, his words were more pleasant, “That’s the demeanor of a military man! This Young Master hates dealing with those nagging scholars! They all reek of chamber pot stench!”

This was clearly a veiled insult.

Inferring the insult directed at him, Yu Shikui felt speechless: “…”

There were some minor disagreements between Marquis Anning and the Prince Kang Mansion. He knew this but didn’t expect even this dissolute Huangfu Jinxuan would humiliate him in his own Northern County.

Wen Hao left behind a General and five hundred soldiers.

The one he left was not General Liu, General Wang, or General Li from before, but another whom no one had paid much attention to. When Sun Honghai shouted about killing him and exterminating everyone in the quarantine zone, his brow was furrowed, lacking enthusiasm. No one noticed him much, though Wen Hao’s sharp gaze surveyed everyone before each shot.

He ordered this General Zhou Mu to heed all commands from Huangfu Jingchen from then on and swiftly prepared to leave with the remaining troops.

The scene that was crowded, tense, and brimming with killing intent like a battlefield became loose and refreshing as the troops left in units.

Zhou Mu stepped forward, first saluting Huangfu Jinxuan, then greeting Huangfu Jingchen. The Commander had instructed him to obey this Young Master Jing; hence, he was to follow Young Master Jin’s orders.

Huangfu Jinxuan watched from the side, his folding fan now closed, tapping lightly against his palm, looking up and down at Huangfu Jingchen with an ambiguous smile, contemplating unknown thoughts.

Huangfu Jingchen was not pretentious, instructing Zhou Mu, “Earlier, the Huainan Prefecture’s soldiers maintained order at the perimeter, forbidding entry or exit, but manpower was limited. This task is now entrusted to you during this critical epidemic control period!”

Zhou Mu responded, “Subordinate will comply!” His execution was strong; after agreeing, he immediately took action.

Huangfu Jinxuan, still in a nonchalant manner, said, “Young Master Jin, is wandering about sightseeing fun?”

Huangfu Jingchen replied, “It’s not bad!”

The two had only met a few times and weren’t familiar, though Huangfu Jingchen had heard about Huangfu Jinxuan’s escapades in the Capital City.

His attitude was neither warm nor cold, but Huangfu Jinxuan didn’t mind. After all, even if the person before him was a Vassal King’s son, he was a bona fide Imperial Grandson, while he was merely an Imperial Nephew. Without yet sending a letter back to the Capital to ask his father, it was better to first form a good relationship.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep