The young general and the prince, who was to be married off, fell in love at first sight!

Chapter 175: One Question, Three Answers – Lin Shihe Laughed in Anger.

Since the new law was implemented, Lin Shiming felt that everything had calmed down. Everyone had their own thoughts and were waiting for the final reckoning. For a time, they tacitly maintained a peaceful facade.

The calm before the battle, in the face of Lin Shiming's thorough preparations, brought no sense of urgency, only a feeling of relaxation and exhilaration.

Lin Shiming shamelessly dumped the task of enforcing the law on Xiao Feng and his brother. In just over a month, besides handling some daily affairs, Lin Shiming actually had plenty of time left to spend with the children.

Having been back in Beijing for so long, this was the first time he had experienced such a relaxed and carefree life.

However, living in the imperial palace without the usual morning and evening greetings gave Lu Yuxi the opportunity to go to bed early every day but sleep late and wake up late, which tormented Lin Shiming to the point of exhaustion, turning day into night and making him lose track of time.

Until one day, Lin Shiming woke up in the bright sunlight and opened his eyes to Lin Shihe's emotionless eyes.

"…elder brother?"

"Oh, our sheltered Crown Princess who never leaves her chambers has woken up."

Lin Shiming: "..."

"Why aren't you saying anything? Is the 'gentle embrace' too gentle, turning your brain into mush?"

"Brother, don't talk nonsense. How could I have lost my mind?"

They even dare to talk back.

Lin Shihe sneered, "Fine, then I'll ask you a few questions. How's the implementation of the new laws going?"

He's been slacking off for days, how would he know how things are progressing?

"I suppose, probably, roughly..."

Lin Shihe ignored his stammering and moved on to the next question.

"Where has King Ping's plan progressed?"

"Uh, what new plans could he possibly have—"

When asked what he didn't know, Lin Shihe laughed in exasperation.

"Alright. I'll ask you the simplest question." Lin Shihe, forcibly suppressing his temper, took out a ruler from his sleeve and waved it in front of Lin Shiming. "If you can answer it, you won't have to take this beating."

Lin Shiming nodded frantically.

What day is it today?

"..."

Lin Shiming's memory was still stuck on the time when Lu Yuxi pinned him down on the bed and asked for a delicious Qixi Festival gift.

So he tentatively guessed: "...the eighth day?"

"Ah."

Lin Shiming: "..."

Lin Shiming earnestly advised, "Brother, this is the Crown Prince's residence; it's not appropriate to take action here."

"I'd like to see if it's any good!"

"Ah—Lu Yuxi, save me!"

*

Fifteen minutes later, Lin Shiming knelt on the ground, grimacing.

"Today is the ninth day of the seventh month, and the time will come in just a few days."

Lin Shihe, who was sitting next to Lin Shiming, casually threw the ruler in his hand on the table.

"You will set off soon to the West Camp to train with the soldiers for a few days and arrange the defense of the capital. When the twelfth day arrives, you will go to Yizhou and secretly follow the Yizhou garrison back to the capital to monitor their movements. Since you haven't been going out recently, leaving quietly now will not arouse suspicion."

"I'm not going!"

Lin Shiming immediately jumped up in a panic, but under the intimidating gaze of his brother, he knelt back down in a wronged manner.

"You have no choice but to go," Lin Shihe scolded in a low voice. "Look at how lax you've become! Do you have any semblance of a general's bearing? In a few more days, your skills will have deteriorated, won't they? If you don't hurry up and practice, are you planning to be a spineless coward on the front lines?"

Even a weakling is better than you…

The remaining few words were swallowed back by Lin Shiming, who knew better than to look away, under Lin Shihe's ambiguous smile.

He began to look around.

"Don't bother looking, the Crown Prince has something to attend to and won't be back before dinner."

With no savior, it's all over. Lin Shiming tries to save himself.

"I'm worried about what will happen to the palace if I leave and no one protects it."

"There's no need for Your Highness the Crown Princess to worry. This young master's skills are not bad either." Lin Shihe was too lazy to argue with him anymore. "Hurry up. If I don't receive your message from the West Camp by noon today, you can expect me to skin you alive."

*

The Crown Princess was pitifully kicked out of the Crown Prince's residence by her own brother.

To conceal his whereabouts, he didn't even dare to show his face in public, and instead cautiously made his way to the western camp, hiding and sneaking around.

The West Camp remains the same West Camp.

The flat area deep in the mountains was personally selected by Lin You back then. He said that the mountain was close to many water sources, large enough to hide people, and also suitable for soldiers' field training.

However, this Taoist priest was only a half-baked military strategist. He only chose a good location but didn't know how to plan it. The current layout of the West Camp was actually modified by Lin Shiming himself when he was a child, based on modern standards.

Therefore, he entered the western camp without any hindrance and even managed to grab a few soldiers practicing jungle concealment from the woods.

"General!"

"No, don't shout nonsense, she's the Crown Princess now!"

"Oh, it's the Crown Princess! Your Highness, I pay my respects!"

"Alright, who are you trying to humiliate?" Lin Shiming said with a laugh, stopping a group of soldiers who were clamoring for a grand salute. "There's only a young general in the camp, no Crown Princess. Whatever you call her before is the same now!"

"Hahahaha good!"

"Our general is indeed straightforward!"

"These are the real men in our army, unlike those effeminate scholars!"

"Exactly! Those pedantic scholars are always spouting sarcastic remarks; they're not as straightforward as my wife!"

"Hahahaha, according to you, what's the point of them being officials? Wouldn't it be better for them to stay home and embroider?"

"Hahahahahaha!"

……

A group of rough men surrounded Lin Shiming, chatting and laughing. The lively atmosphere made Lin Shiming feel as if he had returned to the past, to the years before he married Lu Yuxi.

In just a few months, everything had changed dramatically. Lin Shiming was momentarily overwhelmed with emotion, feeling that he could even compose a poem full of soaring spirit and lofty ambitions.

It's the prime of youth, a time of passion! Full of youthful vigor—

"General?"

A voice suddenly interrupted Lin Shiming's poetic reverie.

"What are you doing?" Lin Shiming kicked the person who came in. "Can't you see that your general is thinking about something?"

The man wasn't angry at being kicked; he just chuckled and came closer again.

"General, have you forgotten something?"

"what?"

The man laughed even harder, his tone impassioned, "General, you've been joking with them for so long, have you forgotten that it's already past 11 PM! This pigeon in my hand hasn't even received your personal letter to the Crown Prince yet."

Lin Shiming's joyful smile immediately broke into a wide grin.

The group of soldiers who had been jeering quietly retreated.

"..."

"Halt!" Lin Shiming, his mind clearing up, immediately understood the trick. "You dare to scheme against your general, huh?"

The group of people immediately scattered like birds and beasts without looking back.

As they ran, they didn't forget to leave behind their hearty and cheerful laughter.

"General, this is what you taught us: all's fair in war! Good luck!"