MLIAM Chapter 32
by VolareYu Shuli smiled as he looked at Zhang Sima, a hint of drunkenness in his eyes, “What other good things are there?”
Seeing that Yu Shuli was already tipsy, and that he wasn’t as boorish as ordinary generals and had a gentle demeanor, Xu Song walked over and boldly patted his shoulder intimately. He lowered his head and laughed, “Isn’t it just that sort of thing between men?”
Yu Shuli understood, and was only stunned for a moment. His face then returned to a bewildered expression, and he pretended not to understand, “What?”
Zhang Sima laughed heartily, “Could it be that the young general is still a virgin? That’s true… the young general is devoted to state affairs, fighting on the battlefield, so he has no time for romance.”
Yu Shuli thought to himself, it seems these people have no idea about his marriage with Wei Yan in the Capital City. That’s good, saving him the trouble of explaining.
Clerk Luo came over to pave the way for Yu Shuli, “Young general, follow me. Let’s go to a private room for some fun…”
Yu Shuli glanced at the men, and swayed as he stood up. “Let’s go.”
The door to the private room opened, and a strong scent of Lingxi incense wafted out.
Yu Shuli frowned, following Xu Song and the others without batting an eye.
As soon as they entered, a dozen heavily made-up women bowed and rushed forward to pay their respects. Yu Shuli stopped in his tracks, feigning confusion as he looked at Xu Song.
Clerk Luo and Zhang Sima were already familiar with this environment. The two walked forward, each embracing a woman, and waved their hands to signal the women to serve Yu Shuli.
“Don’t you have any sense? Can’t you see our young General Yu is drunk?”
The women then looked up, only to see a tall and handsome young man standing at the back. No matter where he was, he was as ethereal as a celestial being.
His eyebrows were like dark ink, his eyes were like water, and his nose was straight with a hint of delicacy. His rosy lips looked even more charming and soft than those of the women. He was so refined he didn’t seem like a man.
He waved his hand, his voice clear and pleasant, “No need to trouble yourselves.”
This dazed, gentle, and agreeable appearance was enough to make everyone’s hearts flutter.
The girls were only used to seeing the local pot-bellied corrupt officials, and had never seen such a radiant figure among officials. Each of them had a glint in their eyes.
But because such a person was too beautiful, these girls didn’t even dare to approach him.
Yu Shuli casually beckoned to the women. In order not to appear abrupt, he chose two to sit beside him.
Xu Song hid the smugness in his eyes and looked at Yu Shuli with a smile, “The young general is still radiant, see how he has mesmerized them.”
Yu Shuli smiled slightly, neither confirming nor denying his own beauty. He himself sat down on the chair in a swaying manner.
With a look from Luo, the two women pursed their lips, frowned, and mustered their courage to pull Xu Song’s hand. Then, trembling, they sat on his lap. Xu Song pinched their faces before turning his head to examine the drunken Yu Shuli.
Yu Shuli sat sideways, tightly pressed against the table, and kept rubbing his forehead, seemingly having a headache from being drunk.
The two women beside him wanted to get closer, but they were a little shy, afraid of disturbing him.
Luo, while kneading the woman beside him, glared over, “Zhang Mama, how did you teach them to serve people?”
The two women then blushed and were about to sit in Yu Shuli’s lap.
Yu Shuli raised his hand to stop them, his voice a little lower, “Don’t get close yet, I’m not feeling well.”
Xu Song laughed, “The young general looks invincible, but his alcohol tolerance is really poor.”
Yu Shuli nodded, letting the two women pour tea for him, giving them something to do so they wouldn’t be scolded again.
He himself turned to look at Xu Song, “Prefect Xu, I’m a bit slow, just tell me the truth. If there’s anything I can help with, I’ll definitely do my best. There’s no need to use this kind of method, it makes me uncomfortable.”
“Hahaha…” Xu Song smiled, “The young general is still straightforward.” He raised his eyebrows, “Is today’s arrangement not to the general’s liking?”
Luo glared at the two women sitting almost ten feet away from Yu Shuli with a stern face, “Are you two dead?” He then changed his face, looking flatteringly at Yu Shuli, “They’re not always like this. They’re just a little shy because they’ve never seen someone like the young general. The young general can teach them well.”
Zhang Sima also nodded, “These girls were all carefully selected by Master Xu, all of them are dedicated to the young general. If the young general takes a liking to any of them, he can take them back as he pleases. These are all fresh, just waiting for the young general to deflower them.”
Yu Shuli clenched the teacup in his hand, his temples throbbing.
Seeing Zhang Sima’s sinful hand reaching towards the chest of the girl next to him, Yu Shuli finally couldn’t hold back and spoke up.
He propped himself up on his arms and looked over, his voice a little cold, “Since they are people sent to me, what do you mean by Zhang Sima hugging and embracing them?”
Zhang Sima’s hand froze, and the girl beneath him had slightly red eyes, shrinking back as if feeling humiliated.
“Isn’t it because the young general is holding back? I’m just setting an example for you.” Zhang Sima said with a smile, “Could it be that the young general is not satisfied with their looks?”
Yu Shuli shook his head, “I’m good-looking myself, so I can’t tell the difference between good and bad when it comes to appearances.”
Zhang Sima originally wanted to ask the waiter to find two better ones, but now he was blocked by Yu Shuli’s words.
In this entire Lüang County, it would be really hard to find someone more beautiful than Yu Shuli.
Zhang Sima pushed the woman off his body, his face darkened, “Go serve the young general. You must satisfy him today, or you’ll have a hard time!” He threatened without any hesitation. Yu Shuli raised his eyebrows and looked at Xu Song, seeing that he looked as if he was used to it, knowing that this group of people had always been used to acting as accomplices.
This time he didn’t refuse. He pulled the woman Zhang Sima had pushed away to his side and looked at her seriously, “Did he hurt you?” He asked very directly.
Zhang Sima’s face turned green and purple. He didn’t expect that this Yu Shuli looked gentle, but was actually so difficult to deal with.
The woman murmured, “No.” Her beautiful eyes held watery tears. Seeing Yu Shuli, she looked so aggrieved that she seemed about to cry.
She didn’t look like a woman of the demimonde, nor did she seem to be here willingly.
If the fleeting joy and longing of the previous girls when they saw him was just for him as a person, then this group of old scoundrels must have used his good name to deceive good family girls into coming here.
Truly detestable.
Yu Shuli glanced at Zhang Sima, “Since they are people sent to me, please don’t touch them. I like to be clean.”
Xu Song was originally watching the show, and his hands were also restlessly moving around. Now, looking at the two girls in his arms who were about to cry, his face instantly darkened.
This Yu Shuli! Was he pretending to be stupid, or did he really not understand the ways of the world?
Xu Song gritted his teeth and finally waved the women away.
All the girls instantly hid behind Yu Shuli.
This time, Yu Shuli didn’t refuse again, and assigned them all serving tasks.
The grief on the girls’ faces finally disappeared. One by one, they poured tea, handed water, fed snacks, and some even massaged Yu Shuli’s back.
Yu Shuli contentedly curled the corners of his lips and looked at Xu Song and the others who were sitting dryly without anyone serving them. “Alright, if you have anything to say, you can say it now.”
Cold sweat dripped from Zhang Sima’s forehead. He glanced at his master’s unkind expression and then at Yu Shuli, who was enjoying himself with ease. He thought to himself that although this kid was impervious to persuasion, he had still gotten on their boat.
Therefore, he stood up and said with a smile, “You can’t hide anything from the young general. Actually, our master wants to have a business deal with the young general.”
“Oh? What kind of business?”
Xu Song saw Yu Shuli openly embracing two girls, letting them feed him things. He thought that Yu Shuli didn’t seem like a true gentleman, and perhaps everything earlier was just his imagination.
Then there was no need to beat around the bush anymore.
His eyes deepened, and he said, “Since the young general has made friends with us, I will be frank today.”
“The general has military positions under his command, and I have money. Why don’t we cooperate and achieve a win-win situation?”
Yu Shuli paused and swallowed the snack in his mouth before withdrawing his hand that was lightly resting on the waists of the two girls, and said quietly, “Master Xu, are you asking me to sell official positions?”
Hearing Yu Shuli’s tone, Zhang Sima’s heart skipped a beat, afraid that he would disagree and report them all.
If Yu Shuli wanted to report them, it would be accurate with one memorial.
He looked at Xu Song in a panic, but saw Xu Song looking at Yu Shuli with composure and nodded, “Young General, what do you think of my business? I happen to have a few nephews who donated to the county to become minor officials, but they have been doing nothing. They also want to make a contribution to Da Liang, but they lack opportunities. Now… the young general has this opportunity in his hands, but I don’t know if he is willing to cooperate with me.”
Yu Shuli smiled, “There are opportunities… but…” He suddenly curled his lips, “Why should I take this risk for you?”
“There are many positions in the army. If I want to intervene, it is possible to quietly stuff people in, but why should I risk my own title for a few friends I just met?” Yu Shuli said slowly, “You may not know this, being far away on the border… I was just recently conferred the title of a Prince with a different surname.”
Xu Song’s expression finally changed.
Yu Shuli carefully observed his expression, knowing that he probably really didn’t know.
That was funny. A local big official who had the brains to bribe in private didn’t have the brains to investigate the events in the capital?
Yu Shuli’s eyes sharpened.
Then that meant that Xu Song was not the one setting the trap, he was also a puppet.
Hearing this, Zhang Sima couldn’t hold back, “Young General… no… Your Highness, you have accepted these dozen girls. We are on the same boat now.”
Yu Shuli wanted to ask more questions, so he continued the farce that he had originally intended to end.
He nodded, “I didn’t say we weren’t on the same boat, but on the same boat, I can get off at any time, can’t I? Master Xu?”
Xu Song’s back was sweating, and he belatedly realized that Yu Shuli was not a simple person.
But now it was too late. He probably also guessed that the person behind was using him, and now he could only go all in. “What does Your Highness want? As long as I can satisfy you, I will try my best to do so.”
Hearing this, Yu Shuli curved his eyes, put away his serious expression, and became amiable again, “Easy to talk to… easy to talk to.”
“The matter of military pay you mentioned earlier…” He blinked.
Xu Song gritted his teeth, “How much does Your Highness need?”
“Simple. My Northwest Army has a total of 30,000 people, each person needs two shi of grain and one tael of silver.”
As soon as these words came out, even Luo couldn’t hold back, “You’re robbing us!”
Yu Shuli smiled slightly, looked at Xu Song, and waited for him to speak.
“Master!” Luo said anxiously, “So much! How can Su Prefecture afford it?”
“Master Xu has friends all over the world and will definitely find a way. It’s not just Su Prefecture.” Yu Shuli hinted, “After this battle, my men will not only be the Northwest Army…”
Yu Shuli was right, if he wanted to soar into the sky, joining the military camp now was undoubtedly the best plan.
As long as they mixed a small official position in the army under Yu Shuli’s protection, and after the war was over, they would go to the capital to discuss merits and rewards, that would be a step into the sky.
Xu Song thought that if he united several prefectures, this expense would not be too great. Moreover, if things were done well, there would be many benefits later. With a wide network of contacts, he would make profits after profits, and money would generate money.
So Xu Song gritted his teeth and stomped his feet, “Okay!”
“But I want ten important military positions. After the war, Your Highness must promise to take them to the capital for distribution.”
Yu Shuli nodded, “That’s naturally easy to say.”
Xu Song thought for a while, took paper and pen, and insisted that Yu Shuli write down a promise. The two sides signed each other to make a promise and not betray each other.
Yu Shuli wrote it down in high spirits, and then looked at the women behind him. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Since they are present, they are also witnesses. Why don’t we let them sign as well?”
Xu Song thought it made sense.
These women were all robbed and deceived by them. In case there were any problems in the future, it would not be good. It would be better to pull everyone present into the scheme.
The banquet ended, and the host and guests were all happy.
Yu Shuli attended a banquet set up as a trap, but he finally came out of the restaurant safely. He also scammed ten thousand shi of grain and ten thousand taels of silver for free, and rescued a dozen innocent and pitiful girls.
He happily went back to the post station, humming a song in a cheerful mood.
It wasn’t just Wei Yan who had brains, it seemed that he, Yu Shuli, wasn’t bad either.
He was so impressive at the table just now!
Zhong Nian, watching his general looking triumphant and taking a dozen girls to the post station, was stunned.
He chased after him, his face dissatisfied, “General! How can you let down Miss Wu!”