However, Xu Qiao's reaction came too late.

Just as he ordered the direction to be changed and head towards Tibet, suddenly, tiny sparks of light appeared all around. At first, the sparks were only the size of chicken eggs, but as they drew closer, they gradually joined together and formed a circle.

Xu Qiao was the prey in this circle.

Xue Shen rode out from the firelight, sat on his horse, smiled at Xu Qiao, and cupped his hands, saying, "General Xu, where are you planning to go so late?"

Xu Qiao, being a veteran general, remained calm even in this critical situation and said, "Xizhou City has been breached by the rebels, and I am on my way to seek reinforcements."

Xue Shen said "Oh," and then asked, "Really? But the information I received is different from what General Xu said?"

“I received a secret letter from the governor accusing the Xu family of colluding with the Tibetans and committing treason.”

Xu Qiao was shocked and gritted his teeth, saying, "This is slander! Cai Wenxuan and the Xu family have always been at odds, so his words are not to be believed!"

Xue Shen smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes: "It's alright. When I went to Tamu Mountain to wipe out the remnants of the Northern Rong army, I unexpectedly discovered that the Northern Rong remnants who were massacring civilians were actually Tibetans in disguise. Whether it's true or false that they are colluding with the enemy and who is colluding with the enemy will become clear after we return to Xizhou City and investigate them."

Xue Shen politely extended his hand in a "please" gesture and said, "General Xu, please."

Xu Qiao's gaze swept around, assessing the strength of both sides. But it was too dark in the mountains, and the torchlight was not enough to illuminate the entire mountain, so he could not see how many men Xue Shen had brought.

On the contrary, he was too confident, and at most he only brought three thousand men.

Xue Shen took 30,000 elite troops with him to Tamu Mountain.

Xu Qiao seemed to weigh the pros and cons, and ultimately did not act rashly. He cupped his hands to Xue Shen and said, "It is dark and the road is long. I trouble the Prince of Qin to lead the way."

Xue Shen didn't mind and led his men ahead.

Xu Qiao led his men behind him, and behind them came the rumble of hooves.

When the group returned to Xizhou City, the unrest had quickly subsided. Yuan Ye led his army to take over the defense of the entire city, and the governor's mansion became the temporary command center.

Upon seeing Xue Shen return to the city, Yuan Ye personally came out to greet him, kneeling on one knee and saying, "Your Highness, this humble general has not failed in his mission!"

Xue Shen helped the man up, his eyes filled with admiration: "You did a great job. If your father were alive, he would be pleased to have such a worthy successor."

Upon receiving confirmation, Yuan Ye's tiger-like eyes flashed with a sharp light. When he saw Xu Qiao following behind, he chuckled and said, "I went straight to the Xu family as soon as I entered the city. Everyone in the Xu family was there, except for this old fox who escaped. Your Highness is truly wise to have captured him."

Upon hearing this, Xu Qiao's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected the worst possible outcome to occur. Suppressing his anger, he said, "I don't know what General Yuan means by this. My Xu family has served the court and has never done anything illegal."

But Yuan Ye wasn't going to reason with him. He laughed and said, "Whether you did it or not, we'll find out after we interrogate you and your three sons."

Xu Qiao wanted to say something more, but then he heard Xue Shen say, "Go to the governor's mansion."

At the governor's mansion, Cai Wenxuan was already waiting. Seeing Xue Shen approach, he quickly bowed and greeted him, "Your Highness!"

Xue Shen nodded to him, then bypassed him and sat down in the main seat.

Xu Qiao, however, saw Cai Wenxuan and said through gritted teeth in a sarcastic tone, "You've been quite good at pretending all these years. I underestimated you."

Cai Wenxuan chuckled, his eyes filled with the smug satisfaction of having made the right bet and turned the tables.

Xu Qiao looked at him with pity. Although he hadn't dealt with the King of Qin much, those few encounters were enough for him to see the King's true character. He didn't think this decisive, ruthless man, who left no room for compromise, would let a fly like Cai Wenxuan continue to roam free.

I'm afraid that once the Xu family is dealt with, Cai Wenxuan's life as a pawn will come to an end.

But he didn't say a word, only gave Cai Wenxuan a mocking smile.

After Xue Shen sat down, soldiers brought up the captured Tibetan leader.

The leader was covered in wounds, clearly having been tortured.

Xue Shen twirled the ring on his thumb and asked slowly, "Who ordered you to disguise yourself as a remnant of the Northern Rong army and slaughter the people of Fangjia Village?"

The leader's gaze swept over everyone present, finally settling on Xu Qiao as expected. He spoke in broken Mandarin, "It is the eldest son of the Xu family who has come to see me with 100,000 taels of gold."

Upon hearing this, Xu Qiao closed his eyes, knowing that the Xu family was doomed.

But he still insisted on denying it, saying, "This is utter nonsense, all slander! How could Your Highness believe the one-sided story of these Tibetans? Perhaps he was resentful after being captured and deliberately fabricated facts to slander loyal ministers, hoping to cause internal strife among us!"

Xue Shen chuckled at his confident assertion and said slowly, "Whether what he said is true or not is not important."

He looked up at Xu Qiao, his expression turning grim: "The important thing is that you dared to lay a hand on the Princess Consort, so you must die."

Xu Qiao's pupils dilated, and it took him a while to realize who the princess he was talking about was.

When the King of Qin came to Xizhou, he only brought one woman with him.

He opened his mouth wide, and after a long while, he said, "When military officers go to war, their families must remain in the capital."

Xue Shen nodded and smiled, "That's how it should be, but I was worried about the Princess, so I brought her along anyway. I just didn't expect that someone would be so blind as to try to harm the Princess and the child in her womb..."

His tone grew increasingly harsh, and his eyes flashed with murderous intent: "In that case, I will not let you off lightly."

Xu Qiao's legs went weak, and he collapsed to his knees, looking utterly dejected.

He knew that this time, the Xu family was completely finished. Since the Prince of Qin could keep the Princess Qin by his side, it was clear that the officials in the capital could no longer control him. If even the officials couldn't control him, how could he dare to try to claim credit? He was simply courting death.

Xue Shen glanced at him, stood up and said, "Since Xu Qiao has already confessed his crimes, let's deal with him according to the law."

After saying that, he got up and walked outside—he wanted to personally bring Shen Youying back.

Xu Qiao and the Tibetan leader were quickly taken away. Cai Wenxuan watched their departure with trepidation. He jogged after them, wanting to get a clear answer from Xue Shen: "Your Highness, the Xu family rebellion has been quelled, and I—"

Xue Shen stopped in his tracks, as if he had just remembered him, and said in a daze, "Your Excellency, you have redeemed yourself by meritorious service, so the death penalty can be waived. As for the rest, let the law decide."

Cai Wenxuan was taken aback. When he met his unwavering gaze, his heart sank.

He remembered Xu Qiao's mocking smile as he looked at him.

They were laughing at his unrealistic ideas.