114: Chapter 114 Living Better Than You: General Male Supporting Character 32 [An Qi, the Official, Owes 5 Chapters]

After a while, in the main hall, five people sat on each side, and Nan Jin sat at the head.

She surveyed everyone present.

"Everyone present here are stewards of Yanyu Pavilion and confidants of my husband. Nan Jin has only one matter today: I am returning to the capital."

With that one sentence, the expressions of everyone in the hall changed drastically.

"Madam, you absolutely must not..."

"I am not asking for your opinion!"

Nan Jin interrupted coldly.

At this moment, she looked nothing like a grieving widow who had lost her husband; instead, she resembled an enraged tiger.

Her aura of oppression was remarkably like that of an emperor who had long held power.

Waiting for the crowd to fall silent, Nan Jin softened her tone slightly.

"That hypocrite Xuanyuan Zhan is forcing my hand. Since he dares not send the coffin to Shuntian Prefecture, I will go to Yingtian Prefecture to receive it myself."

As soon as she finished speaking, an elderly steward couldn't help but speak up to persuade her.

"Madam, news from the capital says the coffin has already entered the mansion, but what if... what if inside the coffin..."

"I know."

Nan Jin interrupted him again, her voice trembling slightly.

She stared fixedly at everyone.

"I know that what is inside might not be Meng Zhu's remains. Xuanyuan Zhan might be lying to me, forcing me, but..."

Her fingernails dug deep into her palms as she said, word by word:

"Do you dare to gamble?"

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

Nan Jin's gaze slowly swept over everyone present, and finally, her voice lowered.

"I do not."

"That is why I must go and see for myself. I do not believe he is truly dead! He promised he would not leave me behind, he promised he would return safely!"

These words caused the eyes of the confidants present to redden.

[It's over, it's over. Nan Jin is really going to the capital. Don't go, he's lying to you.]

[Stop shouting. At a time like this, there's no way to talk her out of it.]

[Then what do we do? If Nan Jin goes, it will be dangerous. If anything happens to her, Meng Zhu will definitely go crazy.]

[Don't panic, don't panic. Let's keep watching.]

Seeing that Nan Jin's attitude was so resolute, the stewards of Yanyu Pavilion thought for a moment and no longer hesitated.

"Madam is right. Even if it is his remains, they must never be left to Xuanyuan Zhan. We swear to follow you to the death, Madam!"

"That's right! In that case, please take us with you, Madam!"

Immediately, the stewards stood up, expressing their willingness to escort Nan Jin to the capital.

Nan Jin, however, slowly shook her head. Her emotions seemed to have calmed slightly, but her eyes became increasingly sharp.

"That won't be necessary. Just have a portion of you accompany me to the capital. I have one more thing to ask of you all."

"If the border troops travel day and night to reach the capital, how many days will it take?"

A steward thought for a moment.

"Replying to Madam, without any obstructions, it would take at least half a month at the fastest."

"Half a month..."

Nan Jin sighed.

"Xuanyuan Zhan will not give me that much time. He will only press harder. If he doesn't see me in a few days, he might do something to harm my husband's remains."

After speaking, she pulled an object from her hair bun—it was the token of betrothal between her and Meng Zhu, a gold and jade hairpin—and handed it to Steward Cheng, who led the group.

"My husband once told me in his earlier years that many of his old subordinates were suppressed by the late emperor and transferred to various border regions: Western Liang, the Southern Frontier, the Western Regions, the Northern Desert, the East Sea... Among the garrison troops in these places, there are his brothers."

"I want you to immediately use the secret lines of Yanyu Pavilion to send letters for me, ordering them to bring troops to Shuntian Prefecture! Notify the confidants of the Six Fan School in every prefecture to fully cooperate at all checkpoints, and there must be no obstruction whatsoever!"

Once these words were spoken, everyone present was shocked!

One steward clearly paused.

"Madam! Even if they remain loyal, without the tiger tally, how can they move troops into the capital?"

"Just write the letters!"

Nan Jin interrupted fiercely.

"I trust my husband's old subordinates, and I trust his prestige even more! I intend to rely on his name alone to summon these old subordinates out of thin air."

To borrow troops from all over the world relying on just a name—could this really work?

But Nan Jin paid no attention to them.

She turned her head, staring intently at Steward Cheng, who held the gold and jade hairpin.

"When they assemble, show them this hairpin, and then issue my order in my name!"

"I want them..."

Nan Jin took a deep breath. Her voice was not loud, but every word sounded like thunder, exploding in everyone's ears:

"I want them to assemble at the Hour of the Rat, muster the troops at the Hour of the Rat, set out at the Hour of the Rat, and attack the city at the Hour of the Rat!"

"I cannot wait even for a moment!!"

"Tell them to raise the White Tiger flag, take up their spears to slay the dragon, rectify the chaos, and cleanse the court of evil! I want them to kill Xuanyuan Zhan and install a new emperor!"

[Holy crap!!!!!!!!!!]

[Slaying the dragon and then cleansing the court! She's crazy! Nan Jin is crazy! I'm crazy too!]

[It's not just killing Xuanyuan Zhan; those court officials who betrayed Meng Zhu will likely not escape death either.]

[This is aimed at avenging Meng Zhu; she has already disregarded all consequences.]

[So satisfying, this is exactly what needs to be done. If anything happens to Nan Jin on this trip to the capital, Meng Zhu would do the same if he returned.]

The barrage comments in the hall exploded, and everyone was fired up.

"Madam, this..."

A steward thought for a moment.

"Since that is the case, why don't we wait for the main army to act together? What if the coffin is fake..."

"If the coffin is fake,"

Nan Jin interrupted again. Today, she was particularly intolerant of people being timid and indecisive.

"If it is fake, with the Yanyu Pavilion in Yingtian Prefecture there, we will do our best to stall for time while waiting for reinforcements to arrive."

She paused, and a sorrowfully beautiful smile curled at the corners of her lips.

"If the coffin is real... then dying in the same coffin as my husband will fulfill my wish in this life."

"It is settled. You may go now."

The stewards looked at each other, still wanting to persuade her further.

One steward had just opened his mouth to call out "Madam," but Nan Jin suddenly flew into a rage!

"Bang!"

She waved her hand violently, sweeping the teacup on the table onto the floor, shattering it into pieces.

"Enough! Do as I say!"

She stood up, her bloodshot eyes like a Rakshasa returned from hell.

"If you are willing, follow me. If not, get out! All of you, leave!"

What reason did they have not to be willing?

It was not that they were unwilling; they just didn't want Nan Jin to go personally. Seeing that they couldn't persuade her, they finally gave up.

So, they all nodded in agreement and went down to make arrangements.

Upon leaving the room, Nan Jin saw Bai Ni waiting at the door, and they went to have a meal together.

Seeing Nan Jin's bloodshot eyes, Bai Ni thought she looked as if she hadn't slept for days and nights.

However, Nan Jin neither showed signs of sadness nor did she wash her face with tears.

She immediately said:

"Madam, you must also believe that the General is not dead, so why are you acting so impulsively?"

Nan Jin's footsteps halted, then she continued walking forward.

"But before my husband left this time, he said some unusual things. Clearly, he had a premonition, didn't he?"

Thinking back to that day, Bai Ni was also at a loss for words.

The more she thought about it, the more panicked she became.

Even though she had always believed Meng Zhu was not dead, she couldn't help but want to go to the capital to confirm it herself now.

If Meng Zhu knew that the reason Nan Jin couldn't remain firm in her heart was because of those words he spoke before leaving, he would truly regret it deeply.

That day, he had originally intended to leave in a carefree manner.

But considering himself to have foresight, he knew Xuanyuan Zhan would definitely cause trouble.

He even found some clues regarding Xuanyuan Zhan collecting "Soul-Breaking Incense".

And as an actor, his original intention was to cooperate, to add more twists to the movie's story, making it more exciting and worth watching.

But considering that Nan Jin was innocent and might not be able to bear certain bad news, his heart softened, and he stopped his horse.

It was also a case of "care leads to chaos"—this move was truly a poor one. That second conversation ended up letting Nan Jin see through some things, causing her to worry about gains and losses, which only deepened her anxiety.