Mu Xu took a step forward, but it was too late.
The two traitorous soldiers had bitten their tongues, and bright red blood flowed from the corners of their mouths, a horrifying sight.
Several soldiers instinctively let go, momentarily at a loss.
The two traitors glanced at Mu Xu one last time, their eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions…
Li Laosi frowned and ordered several soldiers, "Strip them naked and check if they have any markings on their bodies."
The soldiers hesitated for a moment, but then quickly got to work.
Unfortunately, even though both of them were seen clearly from head to toe, there were still no marks on them.
At this moment, the pursuing force returned, and the captain in charge reported, "General, those several hundred men fled into the mountains and forests, and we couldn't catch them. But we did capture the two traitors behind them, but... they both bit their tongues and committed suicide!"
Li Laosi waved his hand and said, "That's enough. The two we caught here are dead too. These people were rare in their loyalty, but I wonder if their master will feel sorry for them losing their lives for this."
The captain returned empty-handed, somewhat annoyed. "They're lucky, otherwise we would have tortured them severely to make them reveal the scoundrel who did this behind our backs!"
Mu Xu noticed that the captain looked familiar, so he took another look.
When Li Laosi remembered, he introduced them to the group.
"This captain is Jia Dun, Baozhu's cousin."
After saying that, he pointed to Mu Xu and said, "This is the princess's guard, Mu Xu, who just came from Xindu."
Jia Dun's face immediately lit up with a smile, and he said repeatedly, "Brother Mu, let's have a good chat later. I've been away for several months now, and I wonder how things are back home."
Mu Xu nodded and smiled, "Okay, Brother Jia, everything's fine at your home, don't worry about us."
Jia Dun was slightly relieved and happily ran to help the soldiers fetch water, splashing water on each of the unconscious grain transport soldiers to wake them up.
Then, he led his men into the village and released the villagers who were trapped in the courtyard.
The villagers were lucky; none of them were killed.
Li Laosi instructed his soldiers to dress the dead traitor and bury him in a pit.
Several guards complained reluctantly, "Let these bastards rot in the ground, why bother burying them!"
"We fought the battles to keep the entire Tianwu safe, and not only is no one grateful, but they even went to great lengths to destroy our food supplies. They're nothing but ingrates!"
Mu Xu casually added, "Let's just bury them properly; these people had no choice in the matter."
The guards remained silent. Death is a serious matter, and they had only grumbled a few words; none of them could bring themselves to leave the body here, exposed to the elements and at the mercy of wild animals…
Li Laosi narrowed his eyes, gesturing for Mu Xu to walk a little further away from him, then asked in a low voice, "Did you find clues about the people behind this in Xindu? Do you know who's directing these people?"
Mu Xu shook his head and then nodded, replying, "We caught a few people in Kyoto, but they were just fools who were used as decoys. We happened to run into some trouble, so I put a few more people in there, punished them all, and sent them to the southwest to eat sand."
After saying that, he told us about how Jiayin and the Third Princess were stopped at the palace gate.
Li Laosi was indeed furious. "These bastards, taking advantage of my absence, bullied my daughter! When I get back, I'll shoot them all down with an arrow and nail them to the city wall!"
Mu Xu quickly smiled and said, "Don't worry, Fourth Master, they have already been punished. They will have to serve hard labor for the rest of their lives, which is worse than death."
Li Laosi barely suppressed his anger and asked again, "You're a quick-witted kid, tell me, is there anything else you've discovered?"
Mu Xu pointed to the two traitors and said in a low voice, “Fourth Master, these people thought we were all unconscious, so they gathered together and discussed something. I could tell that two of them had accents from Fancheng in the southwest.”
“The place where I learned my skills was right next to Fancheng, so I’m very familiar with it and I can’t have misheard.”
Fancheng?
Li Laosi looked puzzled. "This Fancheng sounds familiar... Okay..."
His eyes widened suddenly. "You mean... that's impossible!"
Mu Xu shrugged and sneered, "Why not? Anything is possible! It all comes down to whether there's profit to be made!"
Li Laosi disagreed, saying, "This matter is of great importance. I must report it to the Marquis. Besides, the other side has no reason to target our Northern Expeditionary Army..."
Mu Xu didn't say anything more, and said, "I will go with you to see the Marquis. I will tell you something then, and you won't think that way anymore."
Li Laosi was about to ask more questions when he was interrupted by a loud voice.
"Brother Mu! Brother Mu!" It turned out that Wu Dazui and the others had been rescued and woken up. Wu Dazui was still thinking about his little brother Mu Xu, so he started shouting at the top of his lungs from the front and back of the car.
Mu Xu gave Li Laosi some instructions and then went over.
"Brother Wu, I'm here!"
Wu Dazui stared blankly at the roguish yet radiant young man in front of him, unable to react for a moment.
They wore the same clothes and had the same voices, but their appearances were completely different.
Mu Xu grabbed him and walked a distance away, whispering, "Brother Mu, I am the Marquis's bodyguard. This time I disguised myself and followed the grain delivery team to protect them. I concealed this before because of the mission, so please don't be angry, Brother Wu."
"I'm not angry at all!" Wu Dazui slapped Mu Xu on the shoulder, grinning with his big white teeth.
"You're quite capable, kid! You're actually the Marquis's bodyguard! I knew you were something special, but I didn't expect you to be this good! Just now I thought you'd been killed by those grain thieves, and I was even more afraid that you were..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but Mu Xu understood.
After all, he had made an excuse to leave before everyone fainted, so it's understandable that he was suspected of being the mole.
"Haha, Brother Wu, don't worry. I couldn't possibly be the traitor. I'm so grateful for your help along the way. Here's what we'll do: when you get back to Xindu, if you have some free time, just leave a message at the Xiankelai Restaurant. I'll definitely bring you the best food and wine from Xiankelai and we'll have a good drink together."
"Haha, great! I know Cyclamen Restaurant, it's the most expensive and best-tasting restaurant! I'll definitely get to eat and drink to my heart's content with you!" Wu Dazui was good at bragging, his skills were average, but he was truly generous and righteous.
Now that his younger brother is alright and even made plans to drink together sometime, he's overjoyed...
Soon, the convoy was tidied up and set off again.
The camp of the Northern Expeditionary Army was still more than 300 li away. The group traveled day and night and arrived in four days...
As for Xinduli, this year's drought has definitely led to a reduction in grain production, creating a sense of oppression both inside and outside the city, as if life has lost much of its vitality.
The story of the noble lady entering the palace for a banquet and leaving in tears added some amusement to the new capital, making it quite lively for several days.
Opinions from all sides are mixed.
But everyone knew that Princess Kang Le was not to be trifled with.
Those with daughters in the family would privately give them a long and careful instruction: if they were to encounter Princess Kang Le outside, they must not provoke her.
Families with sons are even more wary, thinking, "We can't marry such a formidable daughter-in-law! Be careful, or the whole family might get strangled after she enters the house..."
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