Proofread by Claire . KK

“Jingting, you should know what it would be and how to deal with it before you come back to the capital city . You can get nothing if you can’t humble yourself no matter how many years you spend .

Zhao Jingting looked upset, lowering his head and touching the white porcelain tea cup . After a long while he said, “Yongzhan, you just said that I don’t humble myself . That’s because you don’t know that I knelt for a day in front of Prime Minister Duan’s Mansion and begged him to remind emperor of the pension for me . But Prime Minister Duan refused to see me and only sent a servant to give me one thousand taels of silver and asked me not to bother him again . Though I was mad at that time, I still accepted the money because it could save about one hundred dead soldiers’ families . ”

Lu Zhishan immediately turned to Zhao Jingting . He had known it from Xie Lun but he only knew that Zhao Jingting went to see Prime Minister Duan . He was never told about what happened latter . Maybe it was all because Xie Lun kept the truth private for fear that he would be sad if he got to know it .

Prime Minister Duan was Princess Duan’s father and he was also one of his most important supporters in the imperial court . He tried hard to support Lu Zhishan for many years . So it’s reasonable for Zhao Jingting to meet Duan Zeng . But it never occurred to Zhao Jingting that Duan Zeng had already severed his ties with Lu Zhishan since their failure and the death of Princess Duan . Now it seemed that the prime minister’s family had determined to make a clear break with Marquess Ning .

“Jingting, you should feel wronged for that . ” Lu Zhishan patted his hands . The pair of hands were covered with wrinkles and scars, making them look rough and extreme ugly . This pair of hands had even been used to hold bows and arrows . Zhao Jingting used them to kill invaders to create great peace and prosperity for the whole country . But now the pair of hands was used to take the charity, just like that of a beggar . This stabbed Lu Zhishan to his heart .

“Compared with the seventy thousand soldiers who died in the wet mud of Shunhua, I’m not wronged at all . Yongzhan, I owe them too much . I feel so sorry for their parents, wives and children . Three years has past but I have gotten no pension back . The pa.s.sing days hurt me severely . I can even see their b.l.o.o.d.y faces every time I close my eyes . ”

Lu Zhishan uttered in a low voice to comfort him . “It’s not your fault, Jingting . ”

Zhao Jingting lowered his head and said in a lower voice, “How could it not be my fault? They are my people and it’s me who take them to the battlefield of the southwest border . They are all dead now but I survived myself . ”

They looked at each other silently . After a while, Lu Zhishan broke the silence and said, “Do you know why you are recalled to the capital city? The first reason is that both Tubo and Siam are not satisfied with your staying at southwest and require for it . The other reason is that all senior officers decide to remove you from southwest . Then there will be no relation between you and southwest . And you will have no right to ask for pension for those dead soldiers . ”

Zhao Jingting didn’t give any words more . He just kept shaking his head and sighed again .

“All people are not willing to let you stay at southwest . And the power between different parties has already been divided equally . Of course there wouldn’t be a suitable position for you in the capital city . Wait for some days and you will be sent to some other place . ” Lu Zhishan tasted his tea and looked at Zhao Jingting saying, “Jingting, where do you want to go?”

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