Chapter 478: A Hostage

The Ling squad picked the children who caught their eye and let them stay at the house near their residences. As for the rest of the children, they returned to the dormitories where they stayed together.

Before they could start their training, they needed to nourish the children’s health first. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to withstand the intense training schedule.

At the same time, in the White Tiger Army’s military barracks located on the northern border, Jiang Fei and several Battalion Commanders were having a meeting in his tent.

Everyone sat around a round table as Jiang Fei read the letter sent by Lu Qianxuan.

After he finished, he looked at everyone and said, "Now that the General has been appointed as the Marquis of Zhongyong and bestowed a fief, it won’t be long until we have to transfer the entire army to Northeast City."

Hearing this, one of the Battalion Commanders replied, "Vice General, if we transfer all the soldiers, who will defend the northern border?"

Another Battalion Commander nodded at this and added, "Although Northeast City’s location is critical, the northern border is also important."

"Besides the barbarians, there are also the Tatars, who always harass the border villages. Without the army’s protection, it will be a matter of time before they breach the border wall and trample our land."

Jiang Fei nodded at their words. These were also his concerns.

"I understand your concerns. But from the information sent by our spies, it seems that the one who will take over the defense of the northern border is the Azure Dragon Army under the Pei family."

The moment the commanders heard this, they heaved a sigh of relief.

If it was the Pei family, then there was nothing to worry about. While the number of people in the Pei family was small, each of their descendants was known for their outstanding talent in both civil and military affairs.

Each of their soldiers was an elite among elites. Therefore, even though they only had a total of 80,000 soldiers, they could rival the Luan Army and the White Tiger Army and had become one of the strongest armies.

The difference between them and the White Tiger Army lay in their loyalty toward the throne.

They never concerned themselves with the imperial court struggle or the political situation between the imperial family, the noble families, and the families of high-ranking officials.

This was also the reason why they had never formed any marriage alliances with any of them.

Most of their descendants’ spouses were from low-ranking officials’ families, unknown scholar families, or merchant families. Without any alliances, they became the Emperor’s trusted sword.

After a moment of silence, one of the commanders suddenly asked, "But why did the Emperor suddenly think of using them?"

Hearing this, Jiang Fei’s eyes darkened as he replied, "The Emperor appointed an Imperial Noble Consort last month. This consort is the only daughter of the fifth generation of the Pei family."

As soon as they heard this, everyone was shocked.

It was public knowledge that the Pei family never had any female descendants. For generations, all of the Pei family’s children were male.

When they finally had a daughter, the Pei family held a banquet for three days and three nights to celebrate her full-month celebration.

From this alone, one could tell how much the Pei family adored this daughter.

For the Emperor to bring this daughter into his harem showed his intentions of using the Pei family and his wariness towards them clearly.

It was one thing for the Emperor to like beauty, but this beauty was not someone he should touch.

"Vice General, isn’t that girl not even of marriageable age? From what I know, she should be only 13 years old this year," one of the commanders said doubtfully.

"From what I know, that girl should only be 13 at the end of the year," a young Battalion Commander said after a moment of thought.

The moment he said this, another exclaimed in anger. "Although the Emperor is almost 18 years old and their age gap is not large, how could he do such a beastly thing? That girl is still a child!"

Jiang Fei shook his head and sighed. "This might be the Emperor’s way of controlling the Pei family."

"By using their daughter as a hostage?"

Jiang Fei nodded.

"The Emperor is really foolish. Isn’t he worried that by doing this, the Pei family will no longer be loyal to him and will rebel one day?"

"There is no Empress yet, so that child is the one with the highest position in the harem. In the Emperor and those civil ministers’ eyes, this is a great favor bestowed to the Pei family," Jiang Fei said.

Hearing this, the commanders frowned, and one of them replied, "Even so, there is the Empress Dowager. With the power to manage the harem in her hands, who could guarantee that child’s safety?"

The moment everyone heard this, they fell silent.

It was a public secret that the Emperor and the Empress Dowager’s relationship was bad despite being a biological mother and son.

Over the years, the Emperor had removed most of the women placed by the Empress Dowager by his side as spies.

Now that he had personally taken the Pei family’s daughter and granted her such a high position, the Empress Dowager definitely wouldn’t let her go.

Reaching this conclusion, everyone understood the precarious situation of the Pei family’s daughter and sighed.

"Alright. It’s not our turn to worry about this matter. Our task is to prepare the army to relocate as soon as possible," Jiang Fei reminded them.

Everyone nodded and regained their composure at his words. Cupping their fists, they bowed and replied in unison, "Understood."

While they were discussing the relocation plan, Lu Qianxuan and Xue Ya’er had just returned to their residence after visiting the underground salt workshop.

As she sat down on their bed, Xue Ya’er suddenly felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen. Her face turned pale, and she broke out in a cold sweat.

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