The Grand Commander's expression changed slightly as he said, "The Fourth Prince has been executed. His head is hanging outside the Suzaku Gate. If you don't believe me, feel free to send someone to the capital to investigate."
The commander defending the city said disdainfully, "You must be deceiving me. The Fourth Prince is in the palace, how could you possibly see him? Much less convict him! I also advise you, the Crown Prince is a traitor and a traitor, punishable by all rights. It's absurd for you to still be working for him. I advise you to surrender to the Fourth Prince as soon as possible, so you can rise to prominence in the future."
The commander-in-chief was so angry that he took out his bow and arrow and shot an arrow at the general who was laughing on the city wall. The general retreated quickly and the arrow hit the city gate tower with a thud.
The general looked at the Grand Commander with a fierce smile and waved his hand: "Shoot!"
Countless arrows flew towards the commander-in-chief, who quickly rode his horse back.
They had come to deliver the imperial edict and had no plans to attack, so they did not bring many people with them. His deputy general asked, "General, what should we do now?"
The Grand Commander was about to say he would return to report to His Majesty, but when the words were on his lips, he changed his words and said, "We will retreat five miles and set up camp. We will send people to Tongzhou Prefecture, Liaozhou City, and other places to convey the order. If possible, it would be best to investigate the city and return as soon as possible."
"Yes." The deputy general agreed and quickly left to make arrangements.
The next day.
The subordinate came to report:
"Among the several cities, only the Liaozhou City garrison obeyed orders and handed over military power. I have already brought the people here."
The Liaozhou City garrison commander knelt down and apologized upon entering the palace: "I listened to slander and was used by a villain. Please punish me, Grand Commander!"
"Come back to the capital with me to see His Majesty." The Grand Commander didn't say much. This matter involved treason, which could be a big or small crime. However, as he was the first general to surrender, he thought the punishment would not be too severe.
When the emperor heard that these people didn't even obey the imperial edict, his face darkened.
Xie Qing glanced at the emperor and asked the general defending Liaozhou City, "Who ordered you to stay in the city?"
The general of Liaozhou City said, "It's Zhao Qi, the general of the Five Military Commandery, who came to deliver the order and presented his token."
The Grand Commander said, "Zhao Qi once served with the Marquis of Pingyang in garrisoning Fengyang, where he was his deputy. After returning to the capital, he served in the Five Armies Commandery, rising from seventh rank to fifth. He accompanied the Crown Prince on his border patrol, leading a 50,000-man army along with the Assistant Commander."
"Also with them are...Ren Liu, Qian Tong, and others." The Grand Commander's voice dropped as he spoke. "These were all once deputy generals under the Marquis of Pingyang."
Xie Qing said thoughtfully, "So when the Marquis of Pingyang was guarding Fengyang, he also used these 50,000 troops?"
"Yes and no. The army returned to the capital with some adjustments, but..." The commander-in-chief's heart sank. "Marquis Pingyang was in charge of military command for eight years. He had plenty of opportunities to imitate..."
Xie Qing concluded, "So, it's very likely that the generals stationed in various places have already defected to the Fourth Brother. Pingyang Hou and the Fourth Brother are very close, and these 50,000 troops must have been transferred by him privately."
The emperor listened to their words, his expression growing darker: "The army must be reformed."
The Grand Commander knew that the Emperor had long planned to reform the army, but had never had the opportunity to implement it. Now that 50,000 troops had been transferred, the army reform was necessary. As the Grand Commander, no matter how the reform was carried out, it would not affect him, but the people below him...
The Grand Commander did not dare to express his opinion on the military reform at this moment, and stood aside in silence.
The emperor glanced at him and began to issue orders: "Go, Pingyang Marquis Lu Yan, for rebellion and conspiracy, strip him of his title and dismiss him from office. Arrest him immediately."
"yes!"
This time, the Grand Commander did not rely on anyone else. He immediately took the order and led people to capture the person.
However, when he arrived at the Pingyang Marquis' Mansion, he found nothing.
There was no one else in the house except the elderly, the weak, women and children.
The Grand Commander directly ordered people to search the house.
Old Lady Lu looked at the people rushing in and shouted, "What are you doing? This is the Marquis of Pingyang's residence, not a place for you to run wild!"
The Grand Commander looked at Old Lady Lu and sneered, "His Majesty has decreed that the Marquis of Pingyang is plotting treason, and he has been stripped of his title and dismissed from office. He has ordered us to arrest him immediately. If you know the whereabouts of the Marquis of Pingyang, oh no, if you know the whereabouts of Lu Yan, please let us know, lest you be arrested for harboring him. If you, an old man, are thrown into the Heavenly Prison, I don't know if you will survive."
When Old Lady Lu heard about the rebellion, her body shook. In recent days, the Fourth Prince's rebellion had caused a lot of uproar. Their family was already in chaos, and no one from the palace came to invite him. She didn't know at first that the Imperial Concubine had invited a lady of noble birth into the palace.
After knowing this, she blamed Bai Wanyi. Now she realized that it was the Imperial Noble Consort and the Fourth Prince who were plotting a rebellion. Old Lady Lu's heart sank. She leaned hard on her dragon-headed cane and said, "Impossible! Although we have people sent by the Fourth Prince, treason is a serious crime punishable by extermination of the family and genocide! He can't do that!"
Lu Linglin, the sixth daughter of the Lu family, supported Old Lady Lu. Her large eyes were filled with tears, but her words were remarkably firm. "Grand Commander, my brother and sister-in-law haven't been seen for many days, and I don't know where they've gone. But the concubines from the Fourth Prince's mansion are all here, and you can take them away. If you want to confiscate their property..."
She knew she couldn't take her things with her, so she could only try her best to preserve Old Lady Lu's things: "The furnishings in Ci'an Courtyard are all my grandmother's dowry, not the Pingyang Marquis's Mansion's things. Can we keep them?"
The Grand Commander looked at Lu Linglin and chuckled, "Miss Lu Liu, when did your brother and your sister-in-law last see each other? Tell me everything you know, and maybe I'll agree to your terms."
Old Lady Lu tugged at Lu Linglin fiercely and scolded her, "You need to know what to say and what not to say!"
Lu Linglin glanced at Old Lady Lu, slowly released her hand, took two steps forward, bowed to the Grand Commander, and said, "I know my request is a bit excessive. If it's difficult for you, Grand Commander, why not just let me take my own things? It's not much, just a bundle and a few clothes. They're all my savings from all these years."
After that, she didn't waste any time and directly described the timeline of her discovery: "The day after the Fourth Prince falsely accused the Crown Prince of hiding the dragon robe, my sister-in-law disappeared. But my sister-in-law has been busy outside for business, so when she didn't show up at home much, I didn't pay much attention."
"After that, my brother has been living in the Five Military Commandery and rarely comes home. It seems..."
Lu Linglin thought about it carefully and said, "It seems that on the day when the Crown Prince was patrolling the border, my brother went home and left in a hurry."
The Grand Commander nodded, indicating that she could leave.
Lu Linglin bowed and turned back to her yard to pack her things. A soldier followed her closely, but he didn't go in with her. He just watched her pack her things at the door.
Seeing that Lu Linglin only took some jewelry and dressing box from her dressing table, and finally took out a stack of clothes from the cabinet and wrapped them up, she did not stop her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
