Immortal Yu Heng’s face pale slightly.
He quickly lowered his head to hide the strange color in his eyes. “This humble doesn’t understand what Your Highness means.”
Sui Heng directly said, “Cut off one of his hands.”
The soldier next to him shouted yes loudly, pulling out the long sword from his waist and dragging Immortal Yu Heng out.
When has Immortal Yu Heng encountered such a scene? He was immediately scared out of his wits and shouted, “This humble will say, this humble will say, beg Your Highness to spare this humble’s life!”
Sui Heng raised his hand.
The soldier let go of the person, and Immortal Yu Heng immediately climbed up to Sui Heng’s feet with his pants wet and his whole body trembling like chaff. He trembled and said, “Someone gave this humble a large amount of gold and asked this humble to say that. This humble really didn’t mean to deceive Your Highness or Your Majesty.”
Sui Heng asked, “Who is that?”
“Even the humble doesn’t know.”
Immortal Yu Heng stuttered and described the other person’s characteristics.
Finally, he said, “By the way, the humble remembers that there is a very large black mole behind his ear.”
“Black mole?”
Xu Qiao quickly thought and then said, “Could it be…”
Sui Heng raised his hand and didn’t let him continue. He ordered the soldiers to take the person down and imprison him first.
Xu Qiao is somewhat worried.
According to the Daoist’s description, the person who manipulated the auspicious stone was likely an official from the Ministry of Rites who was attached to the Yan family, named Liu Ziqian. After the Spring Banquet, Yan Bing claimed to be sick and didn’t go to court. The Yan family, from top to bottom, showed a rare low-key demeanor for no reason. Why fabricate a so-called auspicious stone just to please His Majesty?
So, why didn’t the officials of the Ministry of Rites report this matter directly to the court, and instead spread it through the Daoist’s mouth? Xu Qiao began to worry about another, more terrifying possibility.
But he couldn’t believe that the Yan family had such great courage.
Xu Qiao probed and said, “How about the subordinate finding a way to catch that Liu Ziqian?”
Sui Heng exclaimed, “They are inviting Gu into the urn. If Gu were to stir the grass and startle the snake so quickly, wouldn’t it be a waste of their hard work?”
Xu Qiao nodded.
Liu Ziqian was a high-ranking official of the court. Without conclusive evidence, it was not appropriate to arrest him based solely on the Daoist’s words. Moreover, His Majesty is now greatly pleased by the auspicious saying. If His Highness stands up at this moment and claims that the auspicious stone was deliberately forged and that the heavens have not actually brought any auspicious signs, it may cause His Majesty’s displeasure.
This move is really too dark.
It’s really terrifying that the other party’s meticulous mind can even figure out that His Majesty will send His Highness to Mount Li to transport the stones.
The transportation of the stones is of great significance. Once something goes wrong, His Highness, the escort officers, will bear the brunt and be held accountable.
Xu Qiao had never had such an ominous feeling in his heart for a long time.
Sui Heng knocked on the table with his fingers, his eyebrows unusually calm. After a moment, he said, “Gu wants a detailed topographic map and defense map of Mount Li. The finer the map, the better. With Wangyue Peak as the center, the mountain, rivers, and mountain paths within a radius of ten miles, as well as the distribution of garrisons, all need to be drawn in detail.”
“Yes.”
“Are the stone transport carriers and tools ready?”
“All are in place, from people to vehicles and horses, they have been personally selected by the subordinate, and there will be no mistakes.”
Sui Heng nodded and ordered, “Summon all generals with rank, including the Jiuda Battalions to come to Gu’s tent at Youshi15-7pm. to discuss matters, just say… Gu has to rearrange the defense of Mount Li.”
At a quarter of an hour past ten, the crowd arrived at the center army tent on time.
Yan Bingyi, who had just been whipped two hundred times and was already on the brink of death, was carried over on a stretcher. All accompanying generals from the Qinglang Battalion and the Jiuda Battalions sat on either side with a clear distinction and non-interference, forming a silent standoff.
Sui Heng walked into the tent with his hands behind his back, walking through the crowd. He smiled and said, “The reason for summoning you all here is that Gu has some new ideas about the defense of Mount Li.”
Huo Cheng’s heart sank.
Hesitating, he said, “The defense of Mount Li has always been the Jiuda Battalions’ responsibility. Your Highness, is it necessary to rearrange everything?”
“That’s right. Transporting the auspicious stone is of great importance, and there can’t be a single drop in the bucket. Today, during Gu’s inspection of various places, Gu found that there are still many gaps in defense.”
Huo Cheng said, “The defense of Mount Li is arranged by the Military and Horses Department. If Your Highness wants to replace it, should we first seek the opinion of the Military and Horses Department?”
Sui Heng said with a smile, “The Emperor’s orders are not obeyed outside the palace. Since Emperor Father has given the responsibility of transporting the auspicious stone to Gu, Gu has the final say in the defense of this place. There is no need to bother the Military and Horses Department again.”
The Jiuda Battalions looked at each other in confusion.
The Military and Horses Department is in charge of the national military and horse, food, and supply affairs, with two departments, the Military Department and the Household and Supply Department, both controlled by aristocratic families and clans. The Jiuda Battalions is directly under the command of the Military and Horses Department, the appointment of generals and daily training matters, including the salaries of generals in the battalion, are directly managed by the Military and Horses Department. Before the establishment of the Qinglang Battalion, the Jiuda Battalions was prominent for a time and was once the most powerful army in the Great Sui, with many famous generals appearing in the battalion. Mount Li is the training ground and headquarters of the Jiuda Battalions.
Even if the Qinglang Battalion is not directly under the management of the Military and Horses Department, in the event of war, food and supplies need to be provided by the Military and Horses Department. The Crown Prince’s act of crossing the Military and Horses Department is almost equivalent to openly hitting the other party’s face. The relationship between the two sides is already strained, so isn’t this a disguised way of cutting himself off?
This is the second time today that Huo Cheng has felt Sui Heng’s strength and madness head-on. He lowered his head and stopped speaking.
Sui Heng casually sat down at the Commander position and began to issue military orders one by one in an orderly manner.
In the middle of the announcement, a soldier suddenly requested to see him, saying that a letter had arrived from the Sui capital.
Sui Heng raised his eyebrows and immediately stopped to let his soldier in. He took the letter and read it with great interest in front of the soldiers in the tent.
Huo Cheng was feeling uneasy in his heart, so he probed, “May I ask Your Highness, are there new orders coming from the capital?”
Huo Cheng felt unprecedented anxiety in his heart.
The significance of Mount Li in the Jiuda Battalions is extraordinary. Once it is lost, he cannot explain it at all when they returned to the capital. Sui Heng trapped everyone in the tent and didn’t give him a chance to report anything. He eagerly hoped that the Military and Horses Department could detect the Crown Prince’s ambition in a timely manner.
Sui Heng glanced at him and said with a smile, “It’s a love letter that Gu’s little concubine wrote to Gu.”
Huo Cheng: “……”
Sui Heng continued to lament, “There were many words in the letter that made Gu feel ashamed even after reading it, Gu doesn’t know how he came up with them.”
Xu Qiao smiled on the side and said, “The young gentleman must’ve missed Your Highness.”
“Yes. When Gu was in the mansion, he was always pestering Gu, asking for this and that, wanting more and more, and when Gu was away for just a few days, he already wanted to die. He kept urging Gu to go back, and at the end of each letter, he always wrote, ‘I miss my husband, and I can’t sleep alone.’ Gu has never seen someone so clingy before. Are the concubines in your families the same?”
“……”
Xu Qiao recalled the elegant demeanor of the young gentleman and vaguely felt that his Highness’s words could not be fully believed, but he had no evidence and dared not refute them.
Others awkwardly expressed that their concubines did not have the courage to write a letter at this time. Sui Heng sighed and said, “Indeed, he has been spoiled by Gu.” Then, while hanging a tent of people, he wrote a reply on the spot and handed it over to his soldier.
Because of this incident, it was already late at night when the meeting ended, and all the generals were forced to watch as the Crown Prince and his noble concubine had a deep affection for each other.
On the way back, his trusted subordinate couldn’t help but say to Huo Cheng, “The Crown Prince has replaced all the guards in the core area of Yuewang Peak and Mount Li with those from the Qinglang Battalion. It’s clear that he doesn’t trust our Liuda Battalions and doesn’t trust the General. Why does the General just surrender without raising objections?”
Huo Cheng frowned but remained silent.
His trusted subordinate continued, “Previously, when the Crown Prince went to Mount Li to train troops, he blatantly occupied the training ground that originally belonged to the Jiuda Battalions. Now, this move is to take advantage of the opportunity of transporting stones and turn the entire Mount Li into the territory of the Qinglang Battalion. If this continues, the prestige of the Jiuda Battalions will not exist anymore. The General does not feel aggrieved, but this subordinate feels aggrieved for the General.”
“That’s enough.”
Huo Cheng interrupted him in annoyance.
“His Highness has his own reasons for doing this. Don’t talk nonsense anymore. Haven’t you learned enough from what happened to Yan Bingyi today?”
The Deputy General who was speaking was also a descendant of the Yan family.
Upon hearing Huo Cheng’s words, his face didn’t appears disdainful, but his eyes showed disdain. He felt that Huo Cheng was too honest and lacked decisive skills and an enterprising spirit. No wonder he had been stuck in the Jiuda Battalions for so many years, unable to take another step up.
This Yan family’s descendent’s name was Yan Wu, and after being drove back by Huo Cheng, he didn’t immediately go back to his own tent to rest but instead went into the tent of another deputy general.
After two days of leisure in the mansion, on the third day, Jiang Yun, accompanied by Shi Fang and Ji An, took a carriage to go out.
Because Fan Qi came over early in the morning with a hesitant expression, saying that today was Auntie Fan’s birthday, Auntie Fan made a large table of specialty dishes and wanted to invite Jiang Yun over for a casual meal.
Jiang Yun stayed in the mansion for many days, and he wanted to go out for a walk too, so he agreed.
The weather is nice today, and there are many carriages and horses on the street, making a lot of noise and excitement. Jiang Yun and Shi Fang went to the street to buy a gift for Auntie Fan, got in the carriage, and went straight to the Fan’s house. Unexpectedly, when they reached the turning point of the street, they collided with a bull cart that was charging diagonally.
The cart’s driver was an old man with gray hair and ragged clothes. Seeing that it was a noble person’s carriage, he was frightened and immediately apologized.
The guards wanted to reprimand but were stopped by Jiang Yun.
Jiang Yun glanced and saw that the old man’s cart had overturned, with food scattered all over the ground. He got off the carriage and personally helped the person up, saying, “It’s fine.”
He also asked the guards to help move a few bags of grain back onto the cart.
The old man was stunned when he saw such a gentle and fairy-like young master walking out of the carriage. Moved, he kneeled down again to thank him.
Jiang Yun quickly stopped him, turned his head, and suddenly saw some red powder on the leaked rice grains. He walked over and picked up a few grains of rice to smell. The old man stood on the side in confusion, looking at him in panic.
Jiang Yun asked him, “Does Uncle know what’s on the rice?”
The old man shook his head in confusion.
Jiang Yun asked again, “Where did Uncle buy this rice from?”
He spoke in a gentle tone, and the old man quickly relaxed and smiled, saying, “It’s not bought, it’s paid by the officials.”
“Rice paid by the officials?”
“Yes, the youngest son of my family is a soldier in the Jiuda Battalions, and this is today’s paycheck.”
Jiang Yun lost in thought when he arrived at the Fan’s house. He gave the gift to Auntie Fan, who kindly invited him into the house to have dinner.
The table is already filled with dishes.
Jiang Yun saw, with his sharp eyes, that on a bowl of rice placed in front of him, one of the grains was red.
He took out the grain of rice and placed it in his palm. Seeing this, Auntie Fan felt ashamed and said, “It’s all my fault for being careless. I didn’t wash it clean. I’ll serve another bowl for the Young Master.”
Jiang Yun said it was not necessary and asked, “Is this the newly issued rice of Deputy General Fan?”
Before Auntie Fan could speak, Fan Qi widened his eyes and said, “How do you know?”
Jiang Yun didn’t answer but said, “Can you give me some of the remaining rice?”
On the way back, Jiang Yun was still staring at a small handful of rice in his palm. Shi Fang couldn’t help but ask, “Is there any problem with this rice?”
Jiang Yun shook his head and said, “I can’t say for sure, I just feel a bit strange, so I want to study it.”
Shi Fang gritted his teeth and said, “It wasn’t just a day or two that the group of beetles in the Jiuda Battalions have been deceiving the upper and the lower, greedy for military pay. I just didn’t expect that they would even dare pass off the soldier’s rice as second-rate rice.”
Jiang Yun asked him, “Do you think this is second-rate rice?”
Shi Fang nodded. “There are some miscellaneous items in the rice. It must be old rice bought at a low price.”
Jiang Yun’s gaze returned to his palm. He picked up a grain of rice, carefully examined it for a while, and said, “As I look at it, full and crystal clear, it looks like new rice.”
It was night, Jiang Yun was sitting under the window reading a book, and the soldier came back overnight to deliver a letter.
Jiang Yun went to the corridor and personally received the letter. Seeing that the soldier’s appearance was somewhat unfamiliar and not the same person as the one from the previous two days, he asked, “How is your Highness?”
“Don’t worry, Young Master. Everything is fine.”
Jiang Yun nodded and went into the room to open the letter. After reading it, he returned to the table and wrote a reply. He put it in an envelope and sealed it, handing it over to the soldier, who was still waiting in the corridor.
As the soldier turned around, Jiang Yun suddenly said, “Didn’t he ask you to bring me plums?”
The soldier was stunned for a moment and quickly replied, “His Highness said that he is busy with military affairs today, so he will bring it to the young gentleman tomorrow.”
Jiang Yun smiled: “I understand.”
As the soldier left, Jiang Yun’s smile disappeared from the corner of his mouth. He slowly looked up at the empty and dark night and gently squeezed his sleeve.
“Young Master?”
After seeing off the person, Ji An unexpectedly saw Jiang Yun, who was still standing in the wind.
The young gentleman, with his wide sleeves fluttering, seems to have something on his mind.
Jiang Yun said, “Could you please give me a lamp? I want to go to the Book Pavilion.”
