The carriage gradually stopped. The voice of the little maid interrupted her thoughts and brought her back to reality. Li Junyan came back to her senses, gritted her teeth, and got off the carriage directly.
In the study, Duan Lan sat at the head of the table. Two strategists and two undercover investigators, respectively, sat on either side, discussing matters. The atmosphere was somewhat stern.
Duan Lan had abandoned his earlier casual attitude when he was touring mountains and waters. He sat there with a grave expression, harboring a trace of irritation.
"After all these days of covert investigation, not a single clue?" said Duan Lan, his voice cold.
The two investigators were instantly covered with cold sweat. They bowed and said, "Prince Pingyang’s defenses were leakproof. We have covertly investigated many remote areas of Yu State these days and not even spared some remote mountain villages. However, we haven’t found a single trace of military training."
While saying this, they exchanged a glance, paused for a while, and said, "We suspect, there must be... the Yu State is not secretly training any army."
Duan Lan slapped the table and snorted, "No army? Where does Mu Houchu get such courage if he doesn’t have an army? He has been growing more and more rampant, how can this be possible without assurance and support? Don’t make excuses! There must be a considerable hidden army in Yu State, even if I have to dig three feet deep throughout Yu State, I must find it!"
The investigators didn’t dare to say anything more and quickly replied "Yes." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
However, one strategist stroked his beard and said, "Actually, since sir has already confirmed that Prince Pingyang is training an army, why do we need to investigate further?"
"Do you think a cunning and deceitful person like Mu Houchu can admit to this conviction without investigation?" Duan Lan scoffed.
"In fact, if only considering the outcomes, there is no need to go through all these troubles. If sir has confirmed that Mu Houchu is secretly training an army, then believe that he indeed does."
Duan Lan looked puzzled, "What do you mean?"
"Doesn’t sir know? The one who yearns to eliminate Prince Pingyang more than you do is the Emperor. On the contrary, sir, you are now highly trusted by the Emperor. If sir mentions this in front of the Emperor, he will inevitably order the troops to investigate Yu State strictly. Then, sir, why do you have to sneak around so quietly in Yu State? When the time comes, the Emperor directly sends troops over to conduct a drastic investigation. A single ant in Yu State couldn’t even escape."
Duan Lan responded stoically, "Do you actually think that it’s easy to dig soil under Mu Houchu’s command?"
Not to mention him, even the Emperor has to be overly cautious when dealing with Mu Houchu’s affairs nowadays, especially when he wants to do something in Yu State. Not only now, but also six years ago, the Emperor didn’t dare to be too much towards Mu Houchu, let alone now?
Even if the Emperor believed his words, he didn’t have the courage to send troops to investigate Yu State strictly without any evidence. Otherwise, the emperor would be in the wrong. Perhaps, that’s exactly the opportunity that Mu Houchu is waiting for. Then he will directly go against the prevalent public opinion. Once he controls the public opinion and holds the upper hand, the army he has been training these years must be quite strong. After that, the emperor might not be able to keep his dragon throne stable.
Thinking of this, Duan Lan’s gaze turned even darker.
This made the strategist lost for words. His face started to turn pale. He stammered, "This..."
But Duan Lan said faintly, "Yet you are half right. No matter how much I investigate now, it is hard to find anything. Unless drastic measures are taken to turn Yu State upside down, it’s hard to investigate anything substantial. To carry out this investigation in real, we still have to rely on the emperor to send troops."
Then he paused, "However, to let the Emperor send troops, we need to give him a valid reason.
"So sir means..."
Duan Lan sneered, "We need a reason, which is actually an evidence. Finding such evidence isn’t simple or difficult either."
The eyes of the strategists lit up, and they almost immediately said, "Then this matter is much easier to handle."
Just when they were about to continue discussing, they heard a servant outside announcing, "Sir, madam is here."
Duan Lan’s face suddenly changed, "Who’s here?"
The servant, frightened by his icy tone, trembled and stuttered, "I-it’s the madam. She just arrived from the capital city today."
Duan Lan’s face suddenly turned icy cold, and he loathefully cursed, "Who allowed her to come?"
The servant was trembling and said, "Madam, madam came crying. She said, she said that something happened. It seemed, seemed to be related to Princess Pingyang. Do you want to meet her, sir?"
The strategists in the room also felt awkward, knowing this must be Duan Lan’s domestic affairs. They didn’t dare to meddle and quickly stood up, saying, "Since sir still has business to attend to, we will not take up more of your time. We can continue our discussion next time."
The other strategists quickly stood up and agreed.
Duan Lan wore a sullen face, which was quite ugly. But after hearing the words "related to Princess Pingyang", he reluctantly agreed, "You may leave."
"Yes." Everyone quickly turned around and left.
Duan Lan cast a cold glance at the servant outside the door and then strode out, "Where is she?"
"Madam is in the front hall at the moment. Without sir’s instruction, I didn’t dare bring her in." The servant said sheepishly.
Although the rules in Duan’s family were not so rigid, there were quite a few in Duan Lan’s courtyard.
They could not allow any outsider to enter easily. At most, they could invite them to the front hall. Even this so-called "Madam," had to follow the same rules in front of sir.
Duan Lan snorted coldly, flicking his sleeve. He turned around and left.
By the time Duan Lan arrived at the front hall, Li Junyan had already started crying pitifully. The red slap mark on her face was shocking.
It could not be denied. Ji Xinhe did not hold back when she slapped her. Therefore, she rarely slapped anyone. Once she did, there would be no mercy left.
What’s more, Li Junyan’s tender skin didn’t help the situation. The slap mark left by Ji Xinhe was more than expected.
Duan Lan looked at the slap mark on her face with his icy eyes, he could vaguely guess the situation. He just said coldly, "Who allowed you to come to Yu State?!"
Li Junyan’s eyes flickered for a moment, her heart turned colder. Why didn’t he ask about her face first?
Although she was indignant, she still sobbed softly, "It was mum and dad who asked me to come. They were worried about you being alone outside and might not take care of yourself. That’s why they sent me here. Who knew, I..."
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