Chapter 250: Clues emerge! The matter involves military expenditures

"The southwest has always been known for its fine jade. Even high-ranking officials at court are hard to come by, let alone one carved with such masterful craftsmanship. You should be able to tell, old man, this belongs to the current Third Prince."

The old man's face showed surprise, and after careful consideration, his eyes gradually became hesitant. The person who carved this jade pendant was none other than his second son. When the third prince was born, Gu Qiang specially carved it as a gift as a token of his affection. Now, this jade pendant was back in his hands.

"How did you get this? This is a jade pendant made by my son!"

"To be honest, I am the consort of the Third Prince. The Third Prince is currently negotiating with Zhao Kuangguo to buy time for me."

"I, Yuan, thank you so much for your generosity!"

He Zhaojun quickly handed the outer robe of one of the soldiers to Yuan Gong. "Yuan Gong, quickly select two capable men, have them change into their clothes, and leave with me later. I will find a way to notify Yubita, the leader of the ancient Qiang tribe."

Old man Yuan shook his head repeatedly: "I don't trust my people, how can I leave on my own?"

"Don't worry, these are my soldiers from the Thick Earth Banner. They'll only need two days to dig through the bluestone and meet up with the people outside. Then, I'll ignite the mechanism and start a fire in the prison. They'll just need to use the fire as cover to escape through the tunnel."

He Zhaojun gave a brief explanation, then used her hairpin to unlock the shackles and put a robe and cloak on Old Man Yuan. Long Feibai, however, had not yet removed the golden needles from the young man who had just yelled at him, and simply looked at He Zhaojun calmly.

"Okay, stop taking revenge here. You're a good man, but you've even made your voice hoarse." He Zhaojun knew that Long Feibai wanted that man to cover for him, so he specifically stabbed him in the sore spot, but it was inevitable that he had some ulterior motives.

Long Feibai hummed, watched them change their clothes, rubbed the soles of their boots on the straw, and then leisurely left the prison. Only He Zhaojun could still patiently explain to these people. If it were him, he would have overpowered all the jailers and directly broke into the prison.

The jailer heard the screams inside gradually stop, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and was about to go in when he bumped into Long Feibai's shoulder. He was so scared that he dropped the torch in his hand to the ground.

Long Feibai tutted his words, his moody expression sending chills down everyone's spine. "Don't get close to them for the next two days. The people inside might go crazy and bite you."

He gave a fake warning and turned to leave, not caring how the jailers looked at each other in dismay, their silence shrouding him. To put it bluntly, even if he had to destroy something, it would be his master Long Xiannan's reputation, so of course he had to do whatever was offensive to him.

The few people left the prison safely and arrived at a secluded place. He Zhaojun hurriedly stuffed the dry food and travel expenses that had been prepared long ago into the hands of Old Man Yuan.

"Mr. Yuan, please leave quickly under cover of darkness. If you keep walking along the city wall, you'll see a hidden gap wide enough for one person to pass through. After exiting the city, walk another hundred steps and you'll see a few donkeys... Time is running out, and we can't find any horses right now. I hope Mr. Yuan won't mind."

On the way back from the prison, Old Man Yuan had already confessed everything that had happened during this period. The ancient Qiang people had always lived in the mountains and forests of Qianwei and Ba counties, living a peaceful life and always maintaining good relations with the imperial court.

It was unknown when the Qielan tribe began to riot, and Zhu Hao would send troops to suppress them. The two sides would fight and disperse, and then fight again. Each time, it was a waste of money and manpower, and all the military funds allocated were like a drop in the ocean, with no effect on the war situation.

When He Zhaojun heard this, she felt that something was wrong - the amount of military expenditure did not match.