Chapter 454: Duke Xuan Rebelled
"From that day on, every time we fought bandits, I followed and supervised the battle, and we didn't lose any soldiers. But by then, there were only more than 10,000 elite soldiers left.
Duke Xuan seemed to sense my suspicion, and later he stopped leading his troops to fight in person.
But afterwards our army was suddenly ambushed by bandits from Yunhe Mountain, which caught us off guard. After this battle, our army suffered heavy losses.
I wrote a memorial to His Majesty, reporting the whole story, but Duke Xuan found out and started to hunt me down. Fortunately, I met the two princes' team. ”
Duke Xu finally finished telling the whole story, looking exhausted.
"Duke Xu means that... this time the 30,000 imperial guards were completely wiped out and captured by the rebels in Yunhe Mountain?"
Qin Hanzhang finally spoke.
"That's right. They had planned this all along, just to take away my elite guards. It was because I didn't discover it early that I ended up like this. I would like to return to the court to apologize to Your Majesty."
Duke Xu hung his head with an unhappy look on his face.
"It is useless to say more now. I am afraid we cannot get through. Let's go around Yunhe Mountain and return to Xijing to report to His Majesty."
Prince Yi frowned and said to Prince Xiang.
"Just as my brother said, we should speed up and rush back to Xijing. This matter is of great importance and cannot be delayed." King Xiang said worriedly.
Su Qianqian soon found out about this, because the carriage had to turn and pass through the place where she took a detour when she came, so the order to detour was passed all the way.
"It turned out that Duke Xuan was the one who rebelled?" The second old lady was not worried at all. Instead, she was slightly excited.
"Duke Xuan first married off his daughter, and then drove his own son out of the house, severing the father-son relationship. Could it be that this was for the purpose of today's rebellion so as not to implicate his children? If so, he can be considered to be somewhat humane." said the third old lady.
"But the Duke's Mansion still has those concubines and illegitimate children. I'm afraid they are the most innocent. The second and third branches of the Zhu family have not been divided out yet, so they have been implicated for no reason."
The second old lady shook her head and sighed.
"When one prospers, all prosper; when one suffers, all suffer. If you enjoy the good times and wealth, you can't escape when you are in trouble. This is fair."
Qin Yuzhuo, on the other hand, saw it more clearly.
The second old lady looked at Su Qianqian and suddenly said:
"It's not really like that. When you enjoy wealth and prosperity, you have contributed a lot. You haven't taken advantage of anyone for nothing. If you are really unlucky, you should run away if you can. Don't waste time with others. This is fair."
The third old lady understood and nodded repeatedly.
The carriage was traveling on the small road outside Yunhe Mountain. Qin Hanzhang's 1,000 disaster relief troops and 3,000 Qin family troops were divided into four groups. They wrapped up Prince Xiang and Prince Yi, Duke Xu and Qin Hanzhang, as well as their female relatives, and rushed towards Jinning at the fastest speed.
However, ten miles away from Jining, they received a report from spies ahead: Jining had closed its gates and was occupied by Duke Xuan.
This was originally the fief of Duke Xuan Guo and also the ancestral home of the Zhu family. It seems that Duke Xuan Guo had already made plans.
Qin Hanzhang didn't seem surprised by this. He just ordered them to pass outside Jinning City and ignore the people in the city.
"Marquis Wuning, don't we want to take Jinning back?" asked Prince Yi.
"It is better to report this matter to His Majesty first. Jinning is a major transportation route. If we rashly attack the city and fail, it will not only bring disaster to the people in the city, but will also encourage the arrogance of Duke Xuan."
Qin Hanzhang said calmly.
"But if we shrink back like this, won't we lose more cities if Duke Xuan keeps pressing on?" Xue Zhiqing suddenly interjected.
Qin Hanzhang raised his head: "Second Miss, do you want me to attack the city without an order, or is there anyone here who can do it?"
"Brother, you're worrying too much. Zhiqing didn't mean that..." Xue Zhiqing immediately explained in panic and glanced at King Xiang.
"This matter... is still to be discussed. I have already ordered someone to pass the message to my father first. Now we should rush back to Xijing and see what my father decides." King Xiang frowned.
This time they really sped up, and even at night they only rested for an hour or two before continuing on their journey. In just five days, they saw the gate of Xijing City.
[It's really life-threatening for a special forces soldier to march so quickly like this...] Su Qianqian pounded her waist, missing the days when she was surrounded by maids and served by them.
When I returned to the Wuning Marquis Mansion, the people at home had already received the letter and were waiting outside the second gate. When they saw me, they surrounded me and sent me back to the yard to wash up. The weather was already getting hot in June.
A banquet was held in the evening to welcome them. Su Qianqian found that Wang Yuke did not move much, probably because of He. Moreover, whenever Wang Yuke wanted to move, Qin Hanyue and the old lady would rush to stop her.
Wang Yuke's face turned red with embarrassment.
"Congratulations!" Su Qianqian understood.
The second old lady realized it belatedly and was delighted: "Oh my, it turned out to be... Oh my, what's going on..."
"Don't panic, mother. This is normal. Yu Ke has read a lot of books and knows how to deal with it."
Qin Hanyue comforted his mother, but his eyes never left Wang Yuke.
"There's more..." Mrs. Du smiled and looked at Madam Qin. Madam Qin nodded, and then Mrs. Du said, "Jilan is also very hardworking. Now she is being kept in the yard by her mother-in-law to take care of her pregnancy. She is even older than Yu Ke."
"Don't worry, we came back at the perfect time. Yu Zhuo's wedding will be in three days. By then, I'm afraid another one will be caught in the yard."
Su Qianqian also joked.
"Third sister-in-law, what are you talking about? Why are you getting worse and worse, bullying people!" Qin Yuzhuo blushed and stomped her feet.
"You should be gentle and don't break the fine blue bricks in grandma's room. There is no way to repair them. Do you think you will ruin grandma's longevity hall after you get married?"
Su Qianqian continued teasing her.
"I won't talk to you anymore. I'm going to change my clothes!" Qin Yuzhuo stood up shyly and ran out.
In a blink of an eye, it was the third day. Qin Yuzhuo was tossed around by the maids to dress up early in the morning. When Zhou Jingnan came to pick her up in a red robe, Qin Yuzhuo suddenly had tears in her eyes. She knelt upright and kowtowed to Madam Qin and Mrs. Du.
Zhou Jingnan got what he wanted. He was grinning from ear to ear and had no idea what to do. He just let the matchmaker boss him around.
Qin Hanjue carried his sister on his back when he went out. Over the past few months, the young scholar had become more calm and composed. But at this moment, it was like he was back in his childhood, carrying his naughty sister on his back to avoid his wet nurse.
Qin Yuzhuo got married with a grand wedding, and the Wuning Marquis Mansion and the Jinyang Marquis Mansion were filled with joy. However, in another courtyard in Xijing, the scene was already desolate.
Except for Duke Xuan's wife, Princess Huazhang, all the people in the Duke Xuan's Mansion were thrown into prison, and the Zhu family's property was confiscated. If Zhu Jiayi had not married into the Tan family and Zhu Min had not been expelled from the mansion, I'm afraid that no descendant of the Zhu family would have been spared.
At this time, the wife of Duke Xuan was kneeling in front of the Queen Mother, crying until her eyes were red and swollen.
"Empress Dowager, please ask His Majesty for mercy. If I lose the Duke Xuan's Mansion, how will I live in the future?"
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