Xu Zhuohua opened her watery eyes wide and stared straight at Chen Hede, causing Chen Hede's heart to skip a beat.
"What is it?"
"Um..." Chen Hede suddenly didn't know what to say when he got to the point. "It's about the Dongzhou Army."
Xu Zhuohua felt a chill rush from the soles of her feet to the top of her head. Her fingers, gripping the edge of the table, tightened suddenly, her knuckles turning bluish-white from the force, and even the pads of her fingers left deep marks from the wood grain.
The Dongzhou Army was a force that Cheng Muyun had personally trained.
"Just recently, some people in the Dongzhou Army were extorting protection money from the poor. Even worse, they smashed the shops of innocent people. They were taking advantage of the fact that the Dongzhou Army is now the only one in Xinhai City and looked down on other armies, and they were doing all sorts of bad things."
"How could this be..." Her voice trembled, as if she didn't believe it and was asking a question.
Chen Hede paused, a heavy look crossing his eyes: "A tall tree is bound to have withered branches. The Dongzhou army is currently too powerful in Xinhai City, and it's inevitable that some will become arrogant and complacent. What's even more worrying is..."
He lowered his voice, "This matter has already reached Chairman Luo's ears. He is using these pretexts to secretly contact other forces, just waiting to accuse Mr. Cheng of 'lax military discipline and allowing his troops to disturb the people'."
Xu Zhuohua's fingertips were icy cold, almost as if they were embedded in the wood.
She knew all too well that once these things were confirmed, those who had long disliked Cheng Muyun would pounce on him like sharks smelling blood.
At that point, even if Cheng Muyun had a thousand mouths, he wouldn't be able to explain himself.
The sandalwood incense in the meditation room still lingered, but Xu Zhuohua felt suffocated.
The soldiers' misdeeds were ultimately attributed to Cheng Muyun—this is perhaps the most unjust thing in the world.
How long has this been going on?
"The incident happened a long time ago, but it suddenly came to light in the last few days. With the help of malicious people spreading it, it has become quite a big deal. Cheng Muyun has been busy dealing with it these days."
Xu Zhuohua frowned deeply. She had been completely oblivious to what was happening around her these past few days and was unaware of these matters.
She felt her heart pounding, as if she had been punched in the back, and she couldn't breathe. Her vision even went black.
Xu Zhuohua suddenly stood up, her legs went weak, and she staggered and almost fell.
Chen Hede quickly caught her, but despite it being the height of summer, Xu Zhuohua's hands were as cold as if they had just been taken out of an ice cellar.
"What's wrong, Xu Zhuohua? Why are your hands so cold?"
Xu Zhuohua could barely hear anything; she had only one thought in her mind: to see Cheng Muyun as soon as possible.
Her face was flustered, her eyes were unfocused, her fingers trembled, and she murmured, "I need to find Cheng Muyun."
With that, Xu Zhuohua turned and walked out of the meditation room.
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