The Best Arrangement

“Do you need me to go with you?”

Li Shouji stood at the side and said in an annoying tone.

“…”

Jiang Danhe disregarded Li Shouji’s manner and simply ignored him.

Li Shouji knew his limits. He knew that the man was ignoring him, but he didn’t care. He would just continue to give Jiang Danhe his attention.

Jiang Danhe tidied up his clothes in front of the mirror before leaving.

Li Shouji did not forget to blow out the candle and followed closely behind. He kept muttering to himself along the way.

“I’ll just go with you. Why is the emperor looking for you? He’s probably asking you for your reply to his suggestion. What is your decision on this? It is likely that you are agreeable to it. What else do you want from such a good deal? You should say yes. You will be getting a salary, lots of free time, and a low risk job. It’s an opportunity that’s hard to come by. You don’t know how lucky you are. You can always spend more time with your family when it’s retirement time. Now is the time to focus on your career. Why are you choosing to lead an easy life now when you should be striving hard at work? Sigh…”

Li Shouji wanted to follow him into the carriage, but as soon as he took a step, a lean and strong hand reached out from behind the curtain and gave him a gentle push.

Li Shouji fell from the carriage and onto the ground. He clutched his butt and screamed in pain. Before he could give Jiang Danhe a piece of his mind, he looked up and saw the carriage moving away. The culprit had already left.

“You’re really something! Ouch…”

Li Shouji threw a hostile look at the departing carriage before trying to get up. But when he attempted to move, his butt was burning with pain.

“Deputy General, do you need help?”

Seeing this, the guard quickly stepped forward and prepared to help him up. However, by way of courtesy, he still asked him before touching him.

“Of course I need help!” Li Shouji was furious. How embarrassing!

Li Shouji was helped back to his room by the guard, while limping along the way. If one didn’t know better, they would have thought that something serious had happened to him.

In the palace.

Shao Zhan had already prepared dinner and was waiting for Jiang Danhe’s arrival. There were many delicacies laid out on the table.

Xiaoyi was going to have dinner with him today, but when he heard that Jiang Danhe was coming, he ran away before Shao Zhan could stop him.

Shao Zhan sent someone to bring Xiaoyi over, but he refused to leave his room no matter what. He claimed that he was busy with his schoolwork and needed to focus on his reading. Therefore, he would not be going out for the time being. Before the servant left, Xiaoyi told him that he could just send him something good to eat.

After hearing Eunuch Su’s report, Shao Zhan chuckled. “Interesting. He is busy with his studies and is working on his reading? What’s going on?”

“This… I don’t know what the Crown Prince is up to either.”

“Hahahaha, bring him some taro cake.”

Although he didn’t know if Xiaoyi was serious about studying in seclusion, he was indeed gluttonous. Even though he wasn’t planning to leave his room, he still asked for food to be delivered to him. What a little devil!

“Yes.”

After Eunuch Su left, he sent someone to bring a plate of taro cakes to Xiaoyi. At this moment, the boy, who had just said that he was in seclusion, was playing with crickets with a group of eunuchs. When he heard that someone was coming, he immediately hid himself. When he heard that the person was here to bring him snacks, he came out with relief and happily brought the snacks back to his room to eat.

Ever since he accidentally punched Jiang Danhe the last time, he had been avoiding him whenever possible. Initially he thought that it was nothing and that it wouldn’t hurt much. However, there was one time when he accidentally bumped into something himself and he realized how painful it was.

Putting himself in Jiang Danhe’s shoes, he could empathize how painful it must have been for Jiang Danhe. He had felt so much pain just from a light bump.

Just the thought of it was terrifying. Xiaoyi shivered as he nibbled on the taro cake. It was better to avoid Jiang Danhe for a longer period of time.

On the other hand, Eunuch Su had just gotten someone to deliver taro cakes to Xiaoyi when Jiang Danhe arrived. He quickly went in to make the announcement.

Shao Zhan was almost tired from waiting when Jiang Danhe finally arrived.

He quickly sat up and looked at the person who had just walked in. He said sarcastically, “I thought you would only arrive after taking your afternoon nap.”

“I got delayed by Li Shouji.”

Jiang Danhe pushed the blame onto Li Shouji. In any case, it was not wrong to say that. It was indeed because of Li Shouji. If he had not taken the time to push him, he would have arrived long ago.

“Hmph.” Shao Zhan snorted heavily and got up to walk to the dining table. When he walked past Jiang Danhe, he even glanced sideways at him. There was no way he would believe his words.

Jiang Danhe frowned awkwardly. Alright, to tell the truth, he was late because he didn’t want to come.

Poor Li Shouji. He injured his butt and now, he was being falsely accused too. He had just become collateral damage.

At the dining table, as there were only the two of them, they did not stick with the rule of keeping silent during mealtimes. The two of them chatted among themselves and Jiang Danhe quickly became the topic of the conversation.

“I wrote to your wife and she is agreeable with my idea. She is very supportive of you staying in the capital.”

“She wouldn’t say that.”

When Jiang Danhe heard this, he responded without hesitation. He trusted Xiaoguo and knew that she wouldn’t make any decisions on his behalf. Although he really wished that she could do so, she was not that kind of person.

Seeing that his plan had failed, Shao Zhan waved his hand in boredom. “Let’s eat.”

“This couple sounded just like each other. What a difficult pair.”

After dinner, the two of them returned to the study. After an unknown period of time, when Eunuch Su could barely open his eyes, the two of them finally came out.

“Stay and rest in the palace.”

Shao Zhan realized that it was very late. The court session would start within a couple of hours. It would be too troublesome for Jiang Danhe to go back and forth. After saying that, he asked Eunuch Su to prepare the room for him.

“No, I’ll just go back to the residence. It’s nearby so I can get home quickly.”

Shao Zhan nodded. He wanted to yawn, but he was concerned that there were others around, so he elegantly covered his mouth and did a small one.

The two of them parted ways and Jiang Danhe came to the entrance of the palace. The coachman had fallen asleep leaning against the carriage in a daze.

Jiang Danhe gently patted him awake. “You must have waited long.”

“I’m sorry, General.” The coachman woke up from his sleep and was shocked to see Jiang Danhe.

“It’s fine. Things ended late today and I didn’t inform you. When we go back, you can get your rest.”

With that, Jiang Danhe got into the carriage. After putting down the curtain, he relaxed and leaned against the carriage involuntarily. His eyes were staring blankly into space. He only came back to his senses when the carriage suddenly swayed uncontrollably.

“I’m sorry, General. There’s a kitten,” the coachman said apologetically and nervously.

“It’s fine. Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Jiang Danhe sat back and waited for the carriage to move again. He lowered his head and looked at the red stain on his thumb in confusion.

After a while, he retracted his hand and looked outside with a determined gaze. Indeed, this was the best arrangement for now…

This time, he compromised. He had accepted Shao Zhan’s suggestion to stay in the capital.

It was for no other reason. Shao Zhan was right. He had gotten used to living in the army and would feel uneasy if he just left everything behind. If he were to start living as a farmer, it didn’t feel like it could be a long-term arrangement for him. Xiaoguo would not like to see him living a life without ambitions either.

Since the opportunity had presented itself, there was no reason for him to turn it down. It was a job where he could apply his skills and provide income to support his family. Moreover, there were no dangers involved in the job, and there were many holidays. He should definitely take up the offer.

However, he still remembered Xiaoguo’s wish to travel around the Shao Kingdom. He had heard her mention it many times before, and he remembered her words clearly.

Therefore, he made an agreement with Shao Zhan. He would remain in this post until he was 35 years old and then retire. He would use all the money he had to travel with Xiaoguo around the Shao Kingdom. If he was too advanced in age, he could not guarantee that he would be able to protect Xiaoguo. He would do it when he was 35 years old, while he was still in his prime.

Shao Zhan thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. He even wrote a contract and stamped his thumbprint. Each of them got to keep a copy.