Chapter 072: Killing the Donkey After Grinding the Grain

Chapter 072: Killing the Donkey After Grinding the Grain

In the capital, the recently unbanned Second Prince received news from Lu City and stood immobile in the hall for a long time. The confidential letter in his hand was crumpled into a tight ball and thrown aside. He immediately stood up, grabbed the black iron blade from the weapon rack, and sliced the table in half.

The private army he had painstakingly built up over the years had been wiped out by He An, who then enlisted all of them into the labor camp, clearly cutting off any chance of a comeback.

As Crown Princess Chen, fanning herself, approached and witnessed this scene, she was startled. She tried to turn back but was stopped by the Crown Prince, who asked, "My lady, where do you think you're going?"

Although usually flamboyant, Crown Princess Chen was as obedient as a rabbit in front of the Crown Prince. With a trembling smile, she said, "I came to pay my respects to Your Highness and invite you to have lunch in my quarters."

The Crown Prince was in no mood for food. He grabbed Chen Wangfei's wrist with a fierce look like a ferocious beast, "In your father's recent letter, he said there was no movement in Lu City, right?"

Crown Princess Chen nodded in fear. It was indeed mentioned in her father's letter.

The Crown Prince threw her aside, causing her to fall next to a daybed. "My 20,000 private soldiers were wiped out overnight, and that's what he calls no movement?"

Crown Princess Chen was dumbfounded. Those private soldiers were the Crown Prince's lifeline. Something so significant had happened, and he would never let it go unpunished. Yet, her father's letter indeed stated there was no movement. What went wrong?

Having schemed for many years, the Crown Prince had some basic strategies. There were only two possibilities in such a situation: either Crown Princess Chen's father had defected, or the letter had been tampered with.

The first scenario was unlikely. Publicly, Crown Princess Chen was portrayed as an orphaned girl rescued from the common folk, with no parents. This was also a tactic to reassure the Emperor and avoid suspicion from marrying into high-ranking official families.

If it was the second scenario… it was even more terrifying.

It meant He An had been fully aware of the situation in Lu City and had prepared countermeasures in advance, intercepting and altering letters. If that was true, not only the letters sent from Lu City to the capital but also those from the capital to Lu City wouldn't reach Wu Quan.

Crown Princess Chen was too scared to speak further. The Crown Prince threw down the heavy blade and said, "Why are you still standing there? Go pay a visit to the Crown Prince's estate."

"Yes, I will go right away."

He An arrived in Lu City under the pretext of disaster relief and later requested permission from the Emperor to suppress bandits. But so what? The secret imperial decree was to exterminate the bandits, not the private army, which meant they hadn't traced it back to him yet.

For now, he needed to clean up the mess quickly and ensure it didn't implicate him.

On the way back to the capital, several prison carts rattled along. Wu Quan was among them, battered all over. If not for He An's intervention, Ji Lingchuan would have taken his life.

Wu Quan sat silently in the prison cart, reduced to this state. His last hope rested on the Second Prince, as the plot in Lu City was a crime punishable by death. The Second Prince would never allow him to fall into the hands of the Ministry of Punishments.

He was a relative from Consort Qi's maternal family. Even if she didn’t confess, Consort Qi and the Second Prince wouldn’t be able to distance themselves from the scandal.

County Magistrate Bao and the Zhenjiang Prefect were restrained and seated inside a carriage. After all, they were officials, and it was inappropriate to detain them in prison carts before they were convicted.

Finally, the journey back began, but Ruan Qinghuan and He An were not at ease. After such an ordeal, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they had cheated death. Especially Chu Li, who was wounded by an arrow.

When they returned to the capital, there would undoubtedly be a tough battle ahead.

Noticing Ruan Qinghuan was lost in thought, He An pulled her into his embrace. She had suffered a lot on this trip.

Ruan Qinghuan looked up and comforted him, "It’s a relief that the private army issue has been resolved, restoring peace to Lu City and the entire Zhenjiang Prefecture. We’ve done our best."

"My lady has stolen the words from my mouth," He An sighed. "The Second Prince is still a prince. The royal family is not prosperous, with only three adult princes. The Emperor favors Prince Qi more. The outcome of this matter will likely be unsatisfactory."

Within the imperial palace, power struggles were constant. It wasn’t a matter of weak offspring but rather the dwindling number of imperial heirs.

In another carriage.

"Oh, I don’t want to eat anymore; I’m not hungry."

"These fruits are really sweet and juicy. You should eat more of them."

Chu Li frowned and moved aside. Since leaving Lu City, Ji Lingchuan had been acting oddly. He insisted on traveling by carriage, worrying endlessly about her being thirsty or hungry, almost as if he wanted to take care of all her needs.

Officially, it was because her hand was injured.

When Chu Li retreated, Ji Lingchuan advanced; when Chu Li advanced, he retreated. It had been like this for several days, and Ji Lingchuan's meticulous care was becoming a bit much for her to handle. "General Ji, you should ride a horse."

"It's okay. The carriage might be slower, but we have enough time as long as we return to the capital on schedule. I'll take care of you."

Chu Li: "..."

Suddenly, four characters popped into her mind: getting things backwards.

In the past, she had always chased after Ji Lingchuan. Now, he was the one chasing after her. This feeling was... weird.

At night, they rested at a post house. After arranging the prisoners, several of them returned to their respective rooms. Ruan Qinghuan placed the sleeping Zimo on the bed and drew the curtains.

By the table, He An looked serious, and Ji Lingchuan, who had been acting like a rogue in the carriage, now wore a solemn expression.

Chu Li was the only one who was confused. They were about to reach the capital, so why did they seem even more tense?

He An took out a map. "Tomorrow, we will pass through Tongling Pass. The terrain is dangerous, so we need to be extra careful."

Ji Lingchuan nodded. "I've already sent someone to scout the road. They'll be back before dawn."

Chu Li asked, "After we pass Tongling Pass, we'll be close to the capital. What are you worried about?"

Ruan Qinghuan poured tea for everyone. "It's about the second prince. Wu Quan is also a relative of Consort Qi. Now that the plan has failed, the second prince will definitely not allow Wu Quan to enter the capital. He will either rescue him or kill him... Whichever the result, we must be on guard."

Chu Li had a sudden realization. "So, they're planning to stab us in the back once we've served our purpose."

Ji Lingchuan had just taken a sip of tea, but he spat it out when he heard this. Although He An dodged quickly, some still splashed on his clothes, causing him to frown displeasedly. "Are you a donkey?"

"You're the donkey."

"If you're not a donkey, why are you in a hurry?"

"Who's in a hurry? Hot, hot, hot... It's hot." Ji Lingchuan explained.

On a dark night, in a desolate post house, just after midnight, an inky cloud covered the bright moon, breaking the silence of the night. Birds in the surrounding woods were startled into flight. Inside the room, He An and Ji Lingchuan quickly got up.

Ji Lingchuan was the first to reach Chu Li's room. Seeing that she was still asleep, he unceremoniously pulled back the covers. At the same moment, Chu Li, half-awake, opened her eyes and met Ji Lingchuan's surprised and flustered gaze.

Just as Chu Li was about to scream, Ji Lingchuan quickly covered her mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn’t realize you weren’t fully dressed—I didn’t mean to, I just—"

Chu Li, breathing heavily in anger, said, "I applied medicine earlier and wanted to let my wound breathe."

She had only exposed one shoulder, but he said she wasn’t dressed?

As the inky cloud drifted by, moonlight shone through the window, casting a faint glow through Chu Li’s simple clothes, hinting at the delicate undergarments beneath...

Ji Lingchuan instinctively swallowed, maybe out of nervousness.

Noticing where he was looking, Chu Li quickly pulled the covers down from his hand and wrapped herself up. Ji Lingchuan, now fully aware, wrapped her in the blanket and carried her to Ruan Qinghuan's room.

By this time, He An had already left. The sounds of fighting could be heard outside, and after telling Jiang Ming to guard the room, Ji Lingchuan rushed out.