Cunning General Si Ning

"And why should he do that?" Xiu Junjie asked instantly wearing a bored look.

Xiu Junjie bored look reminded Si Ning of Xiu Zhicheng's expression in the courtroom and he almost let out a tender chuckle only to frown because it would be odd for him to start smiling so he tried to look serious even though coming across the teenage boy that was talking nonsense was giving him a headache that he wasn't angry that Xiu Junjie was acting like the one in charge but he was a little glad the Crown Prince was replying in his place because he doesn't have the strength to deal with any situation about buying people from a house if it was something he had thought about and made certain measures for them then it would be a different case but looking at the teenage boy he had no idea of what to do.

"All Junhao as to offer is to serve General in any way, I can become General spy, an assassin, a guard as long as I am a soldier who can honestly pursue becoming a Commander with my strength by showing how determined I am and my sister is a great cook, she is also good at cleaning." Shi Junhao said.

"..." Si Ning doesn't have any idea what was so great about becoming a soldier but he understood serving the Nation was a big accomplishment many were pursuing.

"General the Sun family are merchants since the founding of Xiu, I don't know how they treat their servants but from what I heard they don't treat them well but this matter is none of General's concern because if General wants to help him then what about the rest of the Servants in the Sun household." Jiang Ye stated.

Si Ning nodded, Jiang Ye was right, it wasn't his place to butt into a family business. "Do you know who I am?" He asked, he was sure the boy knows his identity even though the boy pretended not to know. He placed it at the back of his mind that if the boy pretends not to know him then he was going to brand him as a spy and take him in for questioning.

"Yes, you are General Si Ning." Shi Junhao replied.

"If they don't treat you well then how come they allowed you to wander with your lover for the festival?" Si Ning had to ask, he would have loved to ask the full details of why the boy wanted to leave the Sun household with his sister but he wanted their interrogation to end so he could head over to where Si Nan was.

"General that is my sister Zhuxue and she is sometimes sent to the house of fragrance, we purposely made some mistakes and they lock us in the shed but we used the opportunity to go out and we have to be back before dawn." Shi Junhao explained.

House of fragrance again.

"..." Si Ning would love nothing more than to know more about this house of fragrance but he knew it wasn't the right time to ask.

"General you know the Sun family has closer ties with the Imperial family so I do not think it is wise for General to have a say in how the Sun family takes care of their matters." Jiang Ye said.

The way Jiang Ye seemed to be desperate for them to not interfere in the Sun family means they had to be a powerful wealthy family and what it said may be wise but Si Ning was finding it quite difficult to turn his back on the boy. He could still remember the expression of the boy when he handed him the ring and it could be the small push the boy needed to approach him.

"I do not lie." Shi Junhao turned his back, loosen his belt, and allowed his robe to fall to reveal his back.

What Si Ning saw was more like horror because of the crisscrossed marks that covered all his back which was made by a whip, some were old and the new ones had dark dry blood all over them to show it wasn't treated. With how many the marks were that there seemed not to be any clear skin at his back showed that the boy had been suffering from such punishment for a long time.

Si Ning turned to see that Xiu Junjie was also staring, shocked that his mouth was open a gap, he could see that Xiu Junjie was now seeing the reality of the world he lives in with how shocked he looked.

"General the origin of the Shi family is a mystery, no one knows where they came from except they are refugees and they settled here in the Sun family, the Shi family eldest daughter married the Sun family second son who was born by a maidservant for the Sun family head but for some reason the Shi family met their demise and the only ones left are the two young children and I think it is this boy and the one he called Zhuxue, they are now properties of the Sun family and also related." Xiao Pei explained. "This boy motive to approach General is to be free and look for a way to get revenge for his family."

"I never care about my family except for my sister, my grandparents didn't treat me or my sister well because of my mother that ran away, I resent my mother for that, the Sun family never allowed us to bear their surname, they only let us live as servants and I also agreed to never bear the Shi surname but it was all my grandparent's fault for their death, they demanded to be paid compensation after their daughter, my mother left without a word." Shi Junhao explained. "What this honest one ever wanted was to become a soldier and serve my Nation while I provide a good life for my sister."

All the talk about the Sun and Shi family was giving Si Ning nothing more than a headache and something to think about but he doesn't think his brain was ready to accept any more information about some families he had never heard. He wasn't interested in knowing the truth or finding out the boy's true agenda. One way or another he was still going to meet the head of the Sun family when he becomes family with the Imperial family.

"Jiang Ye, confirm his story and if he is right I will visit the Sun house in seven days." Si Ning said. "You can leave." He concluded as he gestured for Shi Junhao to leave as he made a mental note to let Jiang Ye find out all about the Shi and Sun family, report to him in the simplest form so he would know what to do if he should help the boy or not.

"General I beg you to keep seeing Junhao at the festival a secret." Shi Junhao requested as changed his position to only kneeling on one knee just like the men in the army would do.

"Also you didn't see us here." Si Ning told him and turn when the boy started saying his thanks. "Let him go we have matters to attend to." He had already wasted time so he doesn't have more time to waste.