231 The Career Prospects of the Young Spy (2/2)

Ning Que couldn't help but shake his head as he heard this. While on their way here, one of the things she taught this girl was the ultimate lesson of finishing off one's job properly in a fight. Getting one's revenge was not different with a fight. If the war was already on, it would certainly be best to humiliate the rival to death.

Seeing how the Caligraphy Addict was about to start practicing again, he suddenly realized that he had been too engrossed in cultivation ever since he entered the Back Mountain of the Academy, and he had neglected calligraphy for a long time already. All of a sudden, he noticed something else: Since the day of the catastrophic battle when he did her hair in the horse carriage, she kept the same hair style, tying her hair back in a simple way, showing her fair and pretty face, giving her a purer and gentler look.

Zhuo Zhihua informed everyone: ”The Divine Hall is summoning us or a meeting this afternoon to discuss aiding the palace, and the matter of sending troops to fight the Desolate Men next year. All disciples from all factions must attend. We must eat early and waste no time.”

People of the grassland lived on lamb, and rice was not part of their diet. The Palace obviously regarded their guests from the Central Plains highly, but the precious and expensive rice was exclusively served to the Divine Hall and the Tang army. As a result, the disciples of the Black Ink Garden had to conform to eat the greasy lamb meat and lamb soup once again for lunch today.

Despite the efforts devoted to cooking it in a number of ways, lamb was still lamb. Ever since they left the Blue Lagoon, the young ladies had hardly been eating anything else, and after enjoying so many novel dishes at the Ge Mumu gathering yesterday, they found the plentiful dishes of lamb rather unappetizing.

Ning Que was the only one who continued to genuinely enjoy his food. Having grown up poor and experienced the deadly times of famine, he hadn't ever wasted a single morsel of food.

While he was chewing slowly, his brain worked quickly thinking about something else. The fact that the Horse Gang came for the kill collectively meant that his identity must have been made. He just couldn't figure out the extent of exposure, and how many people from the palace actually know about his existence. The Tang military camp in the east consisted entirely in elite cavalry from the north-east border army, what was the relationship between General Shu of Chang'an and Xiahou? According to His Majesty's secret decree prior to his departure, as soon as he revealed his identity, General Shu would probably be sitting his ass right next to him?

Up until this moment, he still didn't realize that the Big Black Horse was also a liability in exposing his identity. One must say that His Majesty the Great and the handsome Old Chao of the Sping Breeze Pavillion made a big mistake in the deployment of Ning Que, despite their extensive experience and lifetime knowledge of people. Ning Que would have made an excellent general in battle, but he was a total failure as an undercover spy.

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After finishing his lunch, Ning Que wiped off the grease and held the rather heavy square box he got from the Cat Girl, with which he walked towards the bustling area near the palace as he enjoyed the pleasant warmth of the winter sun.

The Ge Mumu gathering managed to attract a huge amount of people, and people meant business. The bustling grassy area is where the merchants gathered. It was not only the merchants from nearby tribes, but also a few groups of courageous merchants from the central plains, who have been crafty and somehow sneaked their way in here following the Divine Hall negotiation team.

Inside the box he had with him was something a Yan merchant sourced to wow the Chanyu's queen. He paid the high price of 100 Liang of silver the night before, and even used Lu Chenjia as an excuse to be able to obtain it.

Since Mo Shanshan refused to use it and he could not possibly take it back to Chang'an, he certainly wasn't willing to let it freeze to death in the freezing cold Wilderness. Thus he decided to find the Yan merchant and return it, even if he could only get 80 Liang back. Despite the fact that he was probably a hidden millionaire in Chang'an, 100 Liang still meant a considerate amount of money, and he'd be a sore one to lose it, not to speak of having report it to Sangsang once he got back.

Unfortunately, he was stopped by someone before he reached his destination.

Hearing the steps of people gradually approaching from all directions, and seeing the arrogant and cold faced Revelation Institute student standing in front of him, Ning Que raised his eyebrows, hoping that these Haotian believers won't show their weapons and start a fight like the gangsters in Chang'an south town, so he stood there without making a move.

A dozen students surrounded Ning Que, standing in seemingly scattered positions that actually blocked any potential route of escape. Though just as Ning Que had anticipated, they didn't actually barge in to smack him; instead, the proud student standing in front of him actually greeted him very politely.

The Revelation Institute student said, ”My brother from the Black Ink Garden, would you be kind enough to come and see someone?”

Ning Que firmly believed that, if he his reply was negative, what would happen next would be very inappropriate for children to witness. He wasn't actually afraid, but he could guess it was the young girl who had enough authority to send so many Revelation Institute students to fetch him. So he simply smiled and followed them obediently.

On the green spotted meadows outside the camping tent, Lu Chenjia the Princess of Yuelun Kingdom sat on a beautiful white horse, and she raised her hand to send everyone else off, so that only the two of them and a horse remained on the meadows.

She looked down at Ning Que from high up, with a rather unusual expression, and only after a long silence, she said softly, ”I have known Shanshan for many years, and despite not seeing each other for a while, we still wrote to each other. I was very surprised to find that, the Calligraphy Addict talking to me today in the tent seemed to have become a completely different person.”

Ning Que didn't expect the young girl on horseback to be so straightforward, and he found her interrogation so abruptly that he didn't even get a chance to check out what this legendary beauty actually looked like.

Lu Chenjia didn't wait for his reply, and with a firmer gaze she said, ”According to her, she learned many things from someone, and I am very curious about who that someone is, hence forgive me for being so bold to request your presence.”

Ning Que looked slightly startled, and then answered sincerely, ”Your Highness, I don't know what you are talking about.”

Lu Chenjia raised her gaze to the faraway fields without even looking at him and continued to say, ”I don't know either, since when did the Black Ink Garden of Great River Kingdom recruit a male disciple like you? Who are you, really?”

Ning Que clenched his fists and swore to himself bitterly that, if His Majesty asked him to go undercover again once he returned to Chang'an, he'd definitely refuse even if he was charged with mutiny, since the latter was probably mean a slower death anyway.