You're Making Things Difficult for Me

Under the eaves, on the steps, Luo Zhao sat clutching a wine jug, dead drunk and utterly disheveled, with stubble all over his face.

Feng Guan'er looked embarrassed. She tugged at his arm several times, trying to pull him up, but failed every time.

Several eunuchs stood watching in the courtyard. Chief Eunuch Mo Gao stood before the steps, frowning at Luo Zhao. He had never expected the once high-spirited Grand Commander of the Song Kingdom to end up like this.

This was already his third visit, all by Emperor Mu Zhuozhen's decree.

No matter how circumstances had forced Luo Zhao's demotion, and no matter how fiercely the court factions fought, those in the know understood one thing: victory and defeat were commonplace in war. Who could guarantee they would never suffer a single defeat on the battlefield? Luo Zhao's ability could not be denied because of one lost battle.

The frozen war would one day thaw. Who could guarantee that changing commanders would stop Jin Jue? At least when Luo Zhao had been commander-in-chief, he had held back Jin Jue's advancing troops and barely maintained the battlefield situation as it teetered on the brink of collapse. The newly appointed commander had yet to fight Jin Jue. No one knew what the outcome would be.

If the situation turned unfavorable, it would mean those who had advocated replacing the commander had been wrong. It would mean the return of Luo Zhao's voice. Mu Zhuozhen would still have to rely on Luo Zhao in an emergency, or at least make preparations for that possibility.

That had been the case when Mo Gao came the first time, and the second time as well. Now, on his third visit, he found Luo Zhao still the same—dejected and unable to rise again after one