Chapter 4 Lan City

The Khusaf armies were caught off guard when ten thousand armies from the Black Eagle Cavalry surrounded them. The General of the Khusaf army was already alarmed when he found out that their Kurabair horses were poisoned with ragwort and privet. Without their horses, the Khusaf armies were forced to fight with the heavily armored cavalry unit. Very soon the Black Eagle Cavalry annihilated them and left the battlefield victorious. 

The Black Eagle Cavalry's victory over the Khusaf armies soon reached the capital of the Yan empire.

"Your Majesty, General Xiao, and Fifth Prince will be returning to the capital before the twelfth lunar month", said the eunuch who was standing behind the emperor inside the palace's spacious study hall.

The Emperor nodded his head. He was looking at the detailed map of the Yan Empire and its bordering kingdoms which was spread out on the long table. Pointing at the southwest border, the Emperor said, "The Khusaf king wanted to occupy the southern prefecture of the Yan empire because of the jade vein there. But with the Black Eagle Cavalry defending the southwest border, it will only be a pipe dream for them. The war this time took two years and the Khusafs had lost a good number of manpower and resources. They will not make a move for a year or two now so it's natural that General Xiao will come back to the capital for a while"

The Emperor sat down and said, "It's been hard on General Xiao, make sure you do enough preparations to welcome the General of the Black Eagle Cavalry"

"Don't worry Your Majesty, I will personally look after the preparation", the eunuch replied.

The Emperor waved his hand signaling the eunuch to leave. The eunuch bowed and retreated from the study hall.

From the start, the Emperor didn't mention the Fifth Prince nor asked about his well-being. The eunuch bitterly lamented in his heart for Yan Xing while stepping out of the hall.

Lan City,

The horses galloped inside the city gates and the pedestrians lowered their heads and hastily made way for them.

The people seated inside the taverns and tea stalls strained their necks to look at the line of horses galloping by.

" Who are those people? They don't look ordinary"

"Look at the horses, it's the Ferghana horse. Only Black Eagle Cavalry had those horses"

"If I am not mistaken, the General of Black Eagle Cavalry is returning to the capital"

"I heard General Xiao had won the battle against the Khusafs in the Southwest border"

"With the Black Eagle Cavalry defending the Southwest border, the Khusafs should abandon the idea of occupying the Southern prefecture"

Many people started discussing the recent war at the Southwest border over the pot of wine and tea inside the taverns and inns as the horses gallop past the streets.

"Uncle, do you want to stop by the Lianhua wine shop!" asked Prince Yan Xing as he pulled the reins of the horse to slow down.

Behind him, the rest of the horses slowed down too.

"Why are you asking me? You are making me look as if I am the one interested in the wine", Xiao Shan glared at his nephew.

"Didn't you say, with a pot of wine on one hand and climbing the blue roofs of the Lan city to..."

Before Yan Xing could finish the sentence, the slightly wrinkled face of Xiao Shan turned ugly and immediately shouted, "shut up... you..you if you say one more word, don't expect me to give you face because you are a Prince.. hump.."

Yan Xing couldn't hold back and burst out laughing after seeing his uncle's reaction. Behind them, the guards pursed their lips tightly so as not to escape the sound of laughter. Their hands which were pulling the reins tighten until their knuckles turned white.

Xiao Shan couldn't help his face from turning red. What Yan Xing just mentioned now was his darkest history.

Getting off the horse, Yan Xing suppressed his laughter and ordered the guards to get a pot of wine and dishes.

"Are you not done yet !', said Xiao Shan while sending a kick on Yan Xing's leg under the table.

Yan Xing immediately pursed his lips tightly and looked at Xiao Shan who was glaring at him with misty eyes that had turned red.

Soon, the wine and dishes were served and both of them started digging in.

Opposite of Lianhua wine shop was a two-storeyed tavern. On one of the tables of the tavern, a lady in red wearing a veil was observing Yan Xing and Xiao Shan.

" What are you thinking?" asked the young man in black who was sitting across the table with the lady.

"It seems Prince Yan Xing shares a pretty good relationship with General Xiao", said Zhao Ling.

The young man nodded his head and turned to look down at Prince Yan Xing and Xiao Shan, "That's given, after all, General Xiao is his uncle. After the Empress and former General died, General Xiao Shan had been looking after him. He is like a father to Prince Yan Xing"

Zhao Ling leaned back and said, "He looks pretty handsome and his bone structure is perfect to practice martial arts. If I am not mistaken his qingqong shouldn't be bad"

The young man was quite stunned. It was rare for Zhao Ling to praise someone. " What a pity, he is impotent", sighed the young man.

Zhao Ling lightly lifted her veil and took a sip of tea. Tapping the rim of the porcelain teacup with her slender fingers, she was about to put down the cup when immediately she turned her head to look down. Her eyes met with that of Yan Xing's.

'What a keen sense of perception?' both of them thought.

Zhao Ling look away from Yan Xing and got up to leave the tavern along with the man.

"Can you guess who they are?", asked Xiao Shan.

Both Yan Xing and Xiao Shan had already detected the existence of the lady and the young man but they still acted unaware.

Yan Xing shook his head, "I don't know. They are not ordinary people, I think they are from Jianghu. The lady in red must be a well-known figure in the world of Jianghu, her sense of perception and reflexes were quite good"

Stuffing a piece of meat in his mouth, Xiao Shan said, "It's rare of you to praise someone. Have you perhaps fallen for that lady at first sight"