Inside the main tent, Jiang Wenpei said to Chu Yi, "Your Highness, I do not object to Miss Qiu's desire to kill Wei Jingzhuo to avenge her parents and younger brother. It has been said since ancient times that the hatred between parents and children is irreconcilable. Moreover, her face is disfigured, so why involve others?"
Chu Yi said, "You mean she implicated others?"
"News has come from the capital that Consort Li has been killed by the men sent by Miss Qiu. Consort Li has long since become a nun and poses no threat whatsoever. Now she wants to kill the Fifth Prince. First she killed his mother, then she beheaded his son; how is this any different from wiping out his entire family?"
"Did she kill Consort Li?" Chu Yi's expression changed, and he said to his generals, "Quickly stop the execution."
The general left the tent and returned shortly afterward, saying, "Your Highness, the executioners have already beheaded Wei Shao."
Jiang Wenpei stamped his foot and sighed.
Qiu Jie happened to come in from outside the tent and saw Jiang Wenpei's expression. She smiled and asked, "Why is Mr. Jiang unhappy?"
Jiang Wenpei said to Chu Yi, "Your Highness, I have some questions for Miss Qiu. May the generals leave the tent first?"
Chu Yi ordered all the generals to leave the tent, leaving only Jiang Wenpei and Qiu Jie behind.
Jiang Wenpei said, "Miss Qiu, I want to ask you two things. These are things I've wanted to ask for a long time, so please tell me the truth."
Qiu Jie smiled and said, "Mr. Jiang, do you suspect me? Please ask me anything."
Jiang Wenpei looked at Chu Yi, and seeing that the latter nodded, he asked, "How did your mother die?"
“Oh, this,” Qiu Jie said, “My mother died of illness a long time ago. Actually, the fire only killed my father and disfigured my face. I rescued my younger brother, but he died not long after. Because of this, I harbored resentment towards Wei Jingzhuo and wanted to take revenge.”
Jiang Wenpei asked, "Do you know what illness your mother has?"
“An unnamed illness,” Qiu Jie said, “Many doctors couldn’t cure it, no one could figure out what the illness was, and in the end, the patient suffered and died.”
Jiang Wenpei nodded to Chu Yi and then said, "Alright, I'll ask you your second question. Who exactly killed His Majesty? Was it you?"
Qiu Jie laughed and said, "His Majesty was killed by the close eunuch Yang Yaozu. This is what the Prime Minister said, not something I fabricated. Could it be that Mr. Jiang thinks the Prime Minister is my subordinate? If so, I must be incredibly powerful."
Jiang Wenpei was speechless, so he had to change the subject and said, "I come on behalf of the family of divine physicians to assist Your Highness in bringing the goddess back to Southern Chu. Although Miss Qiu already has the Resurrection Pendant to prove her identity, I would like to ask Miss Qiu to hand over the Resurrection Pendant to me as a precaution, so that I can take it back to Southern Chu and have it verified by the family head."
Qiu Jie said, "It turns out that Mr. Jiang never believed that I was a goddess. Actually, I myself don't think I am, but this jade pendant is my mother's heirloom, and I dare not throw it away without permission. I always carry it with me and dare not give it to others without permission."
Chu Yi also felt that it was inappropriate for Jiang Wenpei to directly ask for the jade pendant, and said to Jiang Wenpei, "Mr. Jiang, there is no need to rush. It is not too late for us to verify it after the war ends and we return to Southern Chu together."
Although Qiu Jie was his fiancée, he had always treated her with courtesy and had never overstepped his bounds. Even if he returned to Southern Chu to verify it wasn't true, it wouldn't matter.
Qiu Jie smiled and said, "Your Highness is so sensible. We have only just captured Xiping Pass and have so many important things to do. What is there to make a fuss about with a jade pendant?"
Jiang Wenpei remained silent, cupped his hands in greeting to the two men, and turned to leave the tent.
Qiu Jie said to Chu Yi, "Wei Shao is dead. Your Highness should take Wei Shao's head to Xiping Pass. With Your Highness's power, you will surely be able to make Xiping Pass surrender."
Chu Yi nodded in agreement and left the tent.
Qiu Jie returned to her tent, changed out of her fine clothes, put on a black robe again, and sat blankly at the table, muttering to herself:
"What am I doing this for? How did I end up like this?"
After sitting there for an hour, a maidservant came in overjoyed and reported: "Goddess, His Highness took Wei Shao's head to Xiping Pass to issue orders. Most of the garrison commanders of Xiping Pass surrendered on the spot, but one who refused to surrender was beheaded by a general named Xie Maoliang."
Qiu Jie said, "Xie Maoliang, that name sounds so familiar."
"Goddess, you really have a bad memory. General Xie has dealt with you a few times before. He was the one who came to find you when you were in Wei Shao's army."
Qiu Jie placed her hand on the mask's forehead: "I remember him. Why would he kill his own people?"
The maid said, "Goddess, you don't know, but I heard from the generals in the army that although Xie Maoliang is a man of the Great Jin, he has long been loyal to the Southern Chu."
Qiu Jie was somewhat intrigued and said to the maid, "So he was a spy infiltrating the Great Jin Dynasty?"
"Yes, I heard he used to work for that Wei Jingzhuo."
Qiu Jie suddenly glared at the maid.
The maid was startled when she saw the wide-open eyes behind the mask. She took two steps back and knelt down on the spot: "This servant misspoke and deserves to die."
Qiu Jie paused for a moment, then turned her head and said, "It's alright, you can get up now."
The maid stood up in fear, not knowing what she had said wrong or why the goddess had suddenly become angry.
When it was time for dinner, Qiu Jie and Chu Yi ate together. Qiu Jie said to Chu Yi, "Your Highness, now that Wei Shao's army has surrendered completely, our army's morale has greatly increased, and we now have more than 60,000 men. Shall we march north to pursue Wei Jingzhuo?"
Chu Yi felt relieved after incorporating Wei Shao's army and capturing Xiping Pass.
The methods were somewhat despicable, but all's fair in war. Now, there were no obstacles on the road to the capital. The thought of expanding the territory of Southern Chu and achieving unparalleled merit filled him with excitement. His resentment towards Qiu Jie for overstepping her authority in commanding the scimitar guards also dissipated.
He put down the soup bowl and said, "Wei Shao's army has just surrendered, and morale is low. Moreover, the Western Rong cavalry are very mobile on the grasslands, and I don't have many cavalrymen at my disposal, so it's difficult for me to fight them."
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