Chapter 129

The night gets darker, the dew gets heavier, and the night becomes darker.

Even though it was summer, the air was still a little chilly at this hour. Under the sparkling moonlight, the vermilion Anding Gate stood out particularly.

There was silence for a while.

Zhan Yue raised his eyes, his eyes were dark, like the night: "Do you know what crime is abducting the princess?"

Yuan Kai said patiently: "Your Excellency is wrong. I dare not hold the princess hostage..."

"Especially since she is the eldest princess that His Majesty loves the most," Zhan Yue interrupted him coldly and said sternly, "Once you are exposed, what awaits you will definitely not be as simple as losing your head."

Yuan Kai smiled and said slowly, "I never meant to support the princess. I just knew that the eldest princess was a guest at Changchun Temple, so I sent a few people to protect her."

"What's more, the people who went there are your nephews. Even if His Majesty knew about this, what good would the Duke of Anguo's Mansion gain?" Yuan Kai's smile was gentle and calm. He said softly, "Your Excellency is a member of the Duke of Anguo's Mansion after all. Don't forget that the crime of treason will punish all nine generations of the family."

Among Zhan Shaoying's nine clans, you are one of them.

Zhan Yue looked at him steadily, his tone slightly solemn: "What a good plan."

A triumphant smile appeared on Yuan Kai's lips.

Seeing Zhan Yue narrowing his eyes silently, Yuan Kai knew that he must be at a critical juncture of weighing the pros and cons, and he had to add fuel to the fire.

Yuan Kai raised his head and looked at Zhan Yue calmly. He whispered, "I heard that the person His Majesty originally proposed for the eldest princess was not you. I also heard that the young Zhan has always had a crush on the princess. If you can't make the right decision, what will happen to the princess? I can't guarantee it to you..."

Hearing this, Zhan Yue's face finally sank completely, but his voice was very gentle. People like Liu Qi who knew him well already knew that this was a sign of Zhan Yue being extremely angry.

Yuan Kai was totally unaware and was still smiling smugly.

Zhan Yue's lips moved slightly, and he whispered, "Unfortunately, I am a proud person, and I hate it most when others threaten me. Especially with the life of my beloved."

Yuan Kai's face changed, and he paused: "What do you mean?"

"Tonight, I'm here and I will never let you get what you want." Zhan Yue said lightly.

Yuan Kai said anxiously: "I just want to make a deal with you, sir... How can it be considered a threat..."

"By you?" Zhan Yue interrupted him, his eyes full of contempt. He suppressed his anger and said with a smile, "You are such an unfaithful person, you are not worthy of doing business with me."

Yuan Kai never expected Zhan Yue to say such a thing. He had Jia Shan and Xuan Ge'er in his hands, and he was full of confidence. Seeing Zhan Yue suddenly turn his face and become ruthless, Yuan Kai said, "I am unfaithful, so aren't you unjust? Do you really want to disregard the lives of your wife and children?"

Seeing Zhan Yue seemed to be hesitant, he quickly began to show his goodwill: "As long as you agree to my request, I promise that in two days I will send the princess and the young master back to your house in one piece!"

Zhan Yue's eyes were deep and he said nothing.

At this moment, the sound of the night watchman came clearly to the ears of several people.

"Boom", "Boom", "Boom"...

The bang was hit three times, exactly three times.

It's the third watch.

Yuan Kai paused, and tried to run to the Anding Gate first, but Zhan Yue turned around and came over. With extremely fast speed, he kicked Yuan Kai to the ground.

"Catch him." Zhan Yue's voice was clean and crisp, without any emotion.

Liu Qi had already put a sword across Yuan Kai's neck the moment he was kicked down. Seeing Zhan Yue's order, he waved his hand and the guards behind him quickly removed Yuan Kai's armor and tied him up.

When Zhan Yue saw that Yuan Kai was subdued, he no longer cared about him.

He looked in the direction of Anding Gate and said in a deep voice, "Follow me up to the tower."

Outside Anding Gate, a large number of soldiers surrounded the place without anyone noticing.

Zhan Yue recognized the general leading the troops at a glance. His brows furrowed and his expression became slightly solemn.

"Wei Ziqian," Zhan Yue said with a tone of regret and sigh, "It really is you."

The reason why Zhan Yue had the opportunity to be promoted to the position of the Governor of the Nine Gates was because the original Governor Wei Ziqian was sent by Emperor Zhanghe to Yuzhou to supervise the army. Later, although the banditry in Yuzhou was finally cleared, Zhan Yue was already the Governor of the Nine Gates. Wei Ziqian was not transferred back to Beijing, but was stationed in Tianjin.

Unexpectedly, he actually gathered his troops and dared to lead them to besiege the capital today.

Wei Ziqian was not panicked when Zhan Yue suddenly revealed his name. He just held the reins with one hand and said indifferently, "It seems that Yuan Kai has been exposed."

"You have followed His Majesty since the fifth year of Zhanghe, and it has been more than ten years now. His Majesty has treated you well." Unlike the condescending attitude he showed towards Yuan Kai, Zhan Yue once had high hopes for Wei Ziqian, and there was a hint of regret in his tone.

Zhan Yue said slowly, "Why do you have to do this?"

Wei Ziqian seemed not to understand what Zhan Yue said. He said indifferently, "After following His Majesty for more than ten years, he must give way to the imperial power. Otherwise, how did the prince consort sit in this position?"

Wei Ziqian deliberately emphasized the word "prince consort", obviously reminding Zhan Yue that the reason he could become the governor of the Nine Gates was not because of his real talent and knowledge, but because of the woman in his room.

I thought this would definitely anger Zhan Yue, but he smiled nonchalantly and said, "Master Wei, are you blaming His Majesty for transferring you away from the capital?"

Wei Ziqian had very regular facial features, and looked like a loyal minister and a good general. Although he was currently committing treasonous acts, anyone who saw him would think that he must be a loyal person with such appearance.

Wei Ziqian looked serious, with almost no expression on his square face. He said, "I dare not complain."

It’s not that I don’t complain, but that I dare not.

Zhan Yue naturally understood the difference, so he calmed down and said solemnly, "Since you dare not complain, what is your intention tonight, Lord Wei? Without the order of His Majesty, you led troops to besiege the capital without authorization. Do you know what crime you should be punished for?"

Wei Ziqian was prepared and smiled. He said leisurely, "Your Majesty, you are wrong. I came here to serve the king in accordance with his order."

Zhan Yue narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "What order are you following? What king are you serving?"

Wei Ziqian took out a roll of bright yellow stuff from his armor. He held it high up to show Zhan Yue, and even more so to show the soldiers behind him and on the city wall.

Wei Ziqian said with great righteousness: "This is the imperial edict of His Majesty. It clearly states that since Fu Xiao's accident, His Majesty has repeatedly doubted Zhan Yanqing's loyalty, but has spared him until now out of consideration for the eldest princess and the fourth prince. But Zhan Yanqing is a man with wolfish ambitions. He had colluded with Fu Xiao in the northwest earlier, intending to lure the Turks into the pass and welcome the fourth prince as emperor."

"Now, Zhan Yanqing is in charge of the Nine Gates' troops, and it is not easy to get rid of him. Your Majesty's side, Chen Banban, risked his life to pass on this order for Your Majesty to order the Tongzhou troops and Tianjin guards to rush to the capital to quickly capture the rebels and bring them to justice."

Zhan Yue's face was extremely grim, and he shouted, "Nonsense."

Wei Ziqian said: "The imperial edict is in my hands."

"We'll know the truth once we find out." Wei Ziqian also shouted loudly.

Zhan Yue's expression was uncertain. After a moment, he smiled faintly and said, "Very good."

"You forged the imperial decree and mobilized troops privately," Zhan Yue's cold eyes scanned Wei Ziqian and said, "It seems that you really think the Wei family's good days are too long."

Like Zhan Yue, Wei Ziqian was born into a family of high rank. His father was the Marquis of Changping, who was personally conferred the title by Emperor Taizong. Although the Wei family was not the most prominent figure in the capital, it had been run for several generations and was a large family with deep roots.

Wei Ziqian tightly grasped the imperial edict in his hand. His face was gloomy and he said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, there is no need to disturb the morale of our army. As long as you open the city gate, you will know whether it is true or false when you see His Majesty."

After saying this, he raised his head and looked at Zhan Yue with his sword-like eyes.

Zhan Yue was standing on the city wall, wearing a dark cloak, and against the deep night, his face looked even colder and fairer.

"I know you resent it," Zhan Yue spoke after a moment. His voice was no longer low, but clear, like the sound of a spring flowing in front of his ears. He said, "You not only resent His Majesty for transferring you from the position of the Nine Gates Commander, but also resent His Majesty's reform of the civil service."

Zhan Yue asked casually, "Come to think of it, the Wei family was implicated quite a lot in this civil service reform, right?"

Wei Ziqian also said calmly: "I haven't lived in the capital for a long time, so I don't know the current situation of my family."

"Really?" Zhan Yue smiled.

After laughing, his eyes suddenly darkened. Zhan Yue's long eyelashes trembled slightly. He said clearly word by word: "Wei Ziqian, do you know why His Majesty ordered you to guard Tianjin?"

"If Your Majesty really wants to transfer you to the left, wouldn't Yuzhou be more suitable for you? Why transfer you to Tianjin?"

Wei Ziqian tensed up, and the fingers holding the imperial edict tightened even more, but he had no time to respond to Zhan Yue's words.

Zhan Yue said in a deep voice: "Do you think you went to Tianjin Wei to make way for me?"

He smiled grimly, took out something bright yellow from his arms, and threw it to Wei Ziqian from the tower.

Zhan Yue's riding skills were among the best in the army. He hit Wei Ziqian on the forehead with great accuracy, and then the arrow slowly fell from his forehead to the front of the horse's hoof.

Wei Ziqian was stunned, his brows wrinkled slightly, hesitating whether to pick it up.

Zhan Yue sneered, "You really failed His Majesty's good intentions."

These words touched Wei Ziqian to some extent.

He loosened the reins, slowly dismounted, picked up the handwritten note and took a look at it. But a single glance caused the earth to collapse and the mountains to split.

Wei Ziqian's lips trembled. He stood at a loss in front of Anding Gate. After hesitating for a while, he said in disbelief: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty wants to lift the ban on sea trade... and establish a port in Tianjin..."

Therefore, this is the real reason why he was sent to Tianjin, to clear the way for Your Majesty and to guard the port. Your Majesty has never given up on him, has he?

Zhan Yue said calmly: "It's a relief that you can read."

Wei Ziqian's face began to turn blue. He closed his eyes and leaned on the horse in silence.

After a long while, he finally spoke: "Is this true?"

Zhan Yuebo was not surprised and said: "The will is in your hands, why ask me what to do."

Wei Ziqian held the reins tightly, as if grasping at the last straw. Suddenly, he raised his head again, his throat moving slightly: "This decree was specially given to me by His Majesty..."

Wei Ziqian's lips moved, and he asked in a hoarse voice: "Why would the prince consort carry it with him?"

He came to the capital in the middle of the night, and no one in the governor's office knew about it except Yuan Kai. Even if Zhan Yue came out to keep watch tonight, how could he have brought the emperor's handwritten order so coincidentally?

It was as if...it was waiting for him here specially.

Wei Ziqian didn't dare to think further.

He looked up and saw Zhan Yue with handsome features and an unfathomable smile on his face.

Wei Ziqian stared into his dark pupils and suddenly felt cold all over.