Song Lin immediately sent a secret report and a letter to his family to the capital, reminding Jiang Yulou to be vigilant against the Liu family's movements.
Before receiving a reply to the secret report, Liu Zhang's army was already less than a day's journey away from the front line, and everyone became nervous.
Song Lin and Ye Fan ordered Lucheng to be placed under full martial law and all troops were withdrawn to the vicinity of Lucheng.
Before Liu Zhang crossed the border, the envoy from the capital came to order the two to return to the capital.
"Report! His Majesty summoned General Ye back to the capital, saying there is an urgent matter to discuss."
Upon hearing the emperor's urgent decree, both of them had a bad feeling. Could it be that there was chaos in the capital?
Ye Fan quickly asked, "What happened in the capital?"
The man replied, "It's General Ye's sister. She's back from Haoyue Country and brought several boxes of weapons with her. She's anxious to see you."
"Which sister?"
Ye Fan was still in a daze, but Song Lin reacted immediately.
His Xiuxiu is not dead, she is back, she is found!
"Prepare your horses and return to the capital!"
Without bothering to deploy the attack, he immediately ordered his men to prepare the horses and rush to the capital.
"Brother Lin, then we won't fight for Nanguan City anymore?"
"His Majesty orders you to return, so return. Pass the order down, and the entire army will garrison Lucheng. Since His Majesty has ordered Liu Zhang to be the commander-in-chief to attack Nanguan City, there is no need for us to worry about it. We just need to be vigilant and guard Lucheng. Brother Ye, quickly follow me back to the capital."
"Brother Lin, my sister is back, you seem to be more anxious than me."
Song Lin couldn't wait to order his men to prepare the horses and set out on the journey back to Beijing.
He was almost heartbroken for the past three years, especially after finding her family, he could no longer find the meaning of his existence.
But now, hearing that she had returned alive to Yanyang Country, his dead heart seemed to burn again.
His beloved wife didn't die, so he knew she wouldn't die so easily.
The moment he heard that she had returned alive from Haoyue Country, he suddenly felt that the three years of suffering were not long at all, and all his persistence was worth it.
He wanted to go to her side quickly, to personally confirm that she was okay, to truly hug her, to feel her warmth, to feel her breath, to see her with a smile as beautiful as a flower, to see her with eyes full of him...
Now I only regret that the journey back to Beijing is so long and the horse runs so slowly...
......
Song Lin and Ye Fan had just entered Yong'an City and had no time to go home to inquire about the news when they were summoned to the palace by Murong Yao to discuss matters.
In the imperial study, Murong Yao sat on the dragon chair in front of the desk, while Censor Xu and Jiang Yulou sat on the guest seats beside him. Although the three of them had different expressions, it was obvious that they were a little troubled by recent events.
The conflict between the Xu and Liu factions did not arise only after Pei Zhiyuan appeared. Two years after Murong Yao ascended the throne, the Xu Censor faction and the Liu Prime Minister faction had been arguing for two years.
Originally, the forces of Uncle Ling were either killed or demoted, so the Murong clan members in the court advised Murong Yao not to let the Liu clan dominate the imperial court.
Murong Yao was fond of Xu Wanrong, so he took good care of her father and brothers. In addition, her cousin Xian Lucheng had made great contributions. Even if Xu Wanrong did not become the queen, the Xu family would soon be in power.
While Murong Yao's move seemed to be a check and balance, it actually alienated the Liu clan. Gradually, the conflict between the Xu and Liu factions began to deepen, and the court battles that had originally subsided heated up again.
Jiang Yulou was a man who knew how to get along with others. He often reconciled conflicts and alleviated Murong Yao's predicament of being attacked from both sides. In addition, he had the Dongyi Black Sail Army and the Ye family Yulin Guards at his disposal, so his words were very helpful.
"Lin'er, why did you come back with Fan'er?" Jiang Yulou looked a little displeased when he saw Song Lin.
Although his son Song Lin looks very similar to him, his personality is nothing like him. He is more like a member of the Song family, stubborn and inflexible, which makes him suffer a lot in the officialdom.
On the other hand, his adopted son, Ye Fan, although not very intelligent, was very obedient and respectful and humble to his adoptive father. Furthermore, Ye Fan was raised by him since childhood, so he was very pleasing to the eye.
Song Lin nodded calmly, without mentioning that Ye Fan's sister was his wife.
He didn't like his father's flattery, and he also knew that the relationship between Haoyue Kingdom and Yanyang Kingdom was tense. If they knew that his wife was once the prime minister of Haoyue Kingdom, it was hard to imagine what evil intentions these people would have.
So he didn't even tell Ye Fan about this.
When Ye Fan pressed him on why he was looking for the portrait of his deceased sister, he only gave a vague explanation. He told Ye Fan that since we were brothers from now on, your hatred was my hatred, and I would definitely help you get revenge.
Ye Fan was a simple-minded person. He didn't think much about it and just said, "Brother Lin, you are so nice." Later, when he saw him taking the initiative to stay away from Xu Wanrong to avoid suspicion, he felt that he was a good person even more and stuck to him every day.
"Brother Lin must be too curious. My sister suddenly came back to life. It would be incredible for anyone to come back with me." Seeing Jiang Yulou's bad face, Ye Fan quickly spoke up for Song Lin. "Besides, that Regent Pei Zhiyuan..."
Song Lin winked at Ye Fan, telling him not to bring up Pei Zhiyuan's affairs in such an occasion. He simply changed the subject and reported to Murong Yao, "Your Majesty, a few days ago, the military report I was sending back to the capital was intercepted en route, so I came back to report."
A subtle change flashed across Murong Yao's eyes, and he asked, "Young Master Jiang, do you have any important matters that you need to report in person?"
Song Lin reported truthfully, "Fu Yi deployed almost the same tactics in Qiyun City, thirty miles west of Nanguan City, even changing the city's name to Nanguan City. Then, our military report was intercepted."
"Who intercepted your military report?"
"Not sure, it's still under investigation."
"Liu Zhang took the initiative to ask the commander to submit a defense map to attack Nanguan City, and Fu Yi built two Nanguan City. What is his intention?" Jiang Yulou asked, "Could it be that the two of them are in collusion?"
Ye Fan couldn't help but complain, "No matter how much these two collude, there's only one way to South Gate City. They can't fool people like this."
"It's definitely a conspiracy!" Murong Yao said out of context, "Fu Yi and Liu Zhang are both extremely cunning. They must be plotting something to lure me into a trap. The Regent of Haoyue Kingdom is definitely in cahoots with them!"
He and Fu Yi had fought before, and almost none of the stakes he planted in the southern border survived the second round of missions. Even Fengming City, the main city of the southern border, was unable to leak any information.
Not to mention Liu Zhang, his cousin was able to play the officialdom very clearly in Yong'an City, serving in the Dali Temple, and everyone praised him for his integrity. In fact, he secretly did as he pleased, whitewashing and tampering with files, and doing whatever he wanted for personal gain, without being able to get any handle on him.
Jiang Yulou asked doubtfully, "But the Regent Princess is Fan'er's biological sister. The Regent Prince also sent so many weapons. I have checked them one by one. The weapons have not been tampered with. They are indeed much more advanced than the weapons we currently use.
Moreover, the Regent specifically stated that these were for Fan'er and did not instruct anyone to bring the weapons to Liu Zhang's army."
Song Lin frowned, "Princess?"
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