Chapter 90 Your Majesty, please unveil the curtain.
A few days later.
The army marched to a vast field and set up camp.
At this time, dusk was falling and bonfires were lit in the center of the camp. The generals sat around a circle, sharing freshly roasted mutton, and laughter was heard everywhere.
Han Jin raised a glass of wine and walked in front of Ning Wujie, kneeling on one knee respectfully.
"I never thought Your Majesty would still give me the opportunity to make a contribution. This toast is to you for remembering our friendship with the Ningyuan Army."
After he finished speaking, he drank the wine in one gulp.
Ning Wujie looked at him deeply, a meaningful smile on his lips: "We are all brothers from the Ningyuan Army, how could I forget you?"
As he spoke, he raised his wine glass for the first time, "Since you still recognize this comradeship, I will drink a drink with you."
Han Jin was stunned at first, with a hint of suspicion in his eyes, but he still acted flattered and raised his glass to join in the conversation.
Seeing this, the other generals started to jeer, "Your Majesty is so partial. Why did you drink with him?"
"Exactly, I am also from the Ningyuan Army!"
Ning Wujie raised the wine cup to his lips and sneered, "Go away."
Han Jin returned to his seat and said, "Speaking of comrades-in-arms, Your Majesty, do you still remember the battle five years ago? You were only sixteen then, and had just been appointed General of the Yue Cavalry."
He paused, "At that time, an elite unit of the Shuofeng Tribe attempted to attack our flank. Yu Yougong and I were ordered to lead 3,000 light cavalry to set up an ambush at Yingzui Gorge."
"In that battle, our army had already gained the upper hand, but unexpectedly, a small group of enemy troops broke through. Yu Yougong was worried that it would affect the main battle, so he ignored the advice and led his troops in pursuit. The result..."
Han Jin was silent. "The enemy led us deep into the enemy's territory. Out of a thousand men, only seven survived."
"After he escaped, you dealt with him according to military law."
Ning Wujie's fingertips gripping the cup tightened slightly, his eyes fixed on Han Jin: "What do you want to say?"
"Nothing." Han Jin smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I just remembered that Yu Yougong often said when he was alive that he admired Your Majesty the most for your youthful achievements and for conquering the Wolf's Lair. I have always wanted to become a general like you."
"That time he chased after the enemy, he was just eager to make a contribution and prove himself."
As he spoke, he held a silver plaque between his fingertips and rubbed the inscriptions on it with his fingertips.
Ning Wujie glanced at the nameplate and his eyes darkened: "You still have the Ning Yuanjun nameplate?"
Han Jin lowered his eyes and said solemnly: "Once you join the Ningyuan Army, you will be a Ningyuan Army forever."
Several generals from the Ningyuan Army were deeply moved when they heard this, and they all raised their glasses to echo him.
"Once a Ningyuan soldier, always a Ningyuan soldier!"
When the bonfire gradually died down and the soldiers were drunk, Han Jin quietly returned to his tent.
A dark figure was already waiting in the tent. "My Lord has ordered that during this trip to the northwest, we must find an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to Ning Wujie."
Han Jin sighed slightly: "He is suspicious by nature."
"I first turned against the Queen Mother, and then tried to frame him. Although I was following the orders of the late Emperor, he may not hold it against him, but it is impossible for him to trust me as much as before."
"Even though I mentioned our brotherhood today, he might not buy it."
Han Jin paused and said solemnly, "He suddenly appointed me this time. Doesn't your Excellency suspect anything?"
"That's not something you should consider." The man in black said firmly, "Did you get the item?"
Han Jin took out the nameplate from his arms. In the candlelight, he could see the word "Gong" engraved on it. The surface of the nameplate was smooth and there was no trace of rust.
He hesitated, seeming a little reluctant. He rubbed the smooth nameplate with his fingertips for a while. Finally, he made up his mind, took out his dagger and added a few marks to the nameplate. Then he looked at it for a while, took a deep breath, and handed it over. "He won't let me get close easily, but this should be enough."
The man in black took the nameplate, took a look at it, then put it in his arms, turned around and disappeared into the night.
A moment later.
In the main tent, Suixing knelt on one knee and said, "There really is something unusual going on with Han Jin. A spy just came out of his tent."
The moonlight shone through the gaps in the curtains, casting flickering shadows on Ning Wujie's face.
His eyes suddenly turned cold: "Follow."
"yes."
*
The heat of late summer has not yet dissipated, and even the chirping of cicadas seems weak.
Wen Xing was like a dried salted fish stuck to the ice jar. A layer of fine water droplets condensed on the outer wall of the ice jar, soaking a patch of his thin shirt on his chest.
Then Xinghe followed suit and pasted it on top.
The two people, one big and one small, seemed to have wilted in the heat.
Zhen Xing stood aside, his brows knitted tightly together. Finally, he couldn't help but advise, "Sir, the master warned you before leaving the capital, saying that you like to stay cool. You must not hold the ice mirror like this. You will easily catch a cold."
Wen Xing slowly opened his eyelids, "What? Ning Wujie is not here, and you dare to control me?"
When Ning Wujie was around, he was not allowed to hold Bingjian. Now that Ning Wujie is gone, even a shadow guard dares to control him. This is outrageous!
Zhen Xing pleaded, "Sir, please be kind. If you are truly ill, when the master returns, we will be held responsible for your death."
The salted fish is placed on the ice jar and no one hears it.
Zhenxing wiped the sweat from his forehead helplessly, praying in his heart that this gentleman would not get sick, as their lives depended on him.
At this time, the young eunuch on duty outside the palace held a plain white envelope and knelt hurriedly to report, "Sir, this item was just found on the steps outside the palace gate. It came under strange circumstances. I dare not neglect it and have come to report it."
Wen Xing looked at the envelope in confusion, then glanced at Li Dequan. The latter understood what he meant and took the envelope and opened it.
A nameplate and a letter slid out from inside.
Li Dequan looked at the silver medal in confusion, "What is this..."
Wen Xing took it and examined it, and saw a circular emblem engraved on the silver plate, which was the same as the wax emblem on the Ningyuan Army’s military newspaper he had seen before.
His eyebrows jumped, and he turned over the nameplate and saw the word "劫" engraved on the back.
He stood up suddenly, quickly took the letter from Li Dequan's hand and unfolded it——
If Ning Wujie wants to survive, he must go to the corner tower of West City alone to meet him at 1 a.m. tomorrow.
No disguise, no leading soldiers, no carrying swords.
Wen Xing's eyes locked on the nameplate, and he said in a deep voice, "Zhenxing!"
He handed over the nameplate, "You are also an Inspector, you should recognize it."
Zhen Xing took the nameplate, his face darkened. After hesitating for a moment, he said frankly, "This is the nameplate of the Ningyuan Army. This one is silver, and belongs to generals of the fifth rank and above."
"It's an unwritten rule in the Ningyuan Army that everyone will engrave the last character of their name on the back of their nameplate..."
Wen Xing took back the nameplate and reconfirmed the words on the back of it. Suddenly, he said in a deep voice, "Has Hai Dongqing come here today? Where's the letter?"
Zhen Xingchen said: "I haven't received it yet."
"It should have arrived long ago. Haidongqing never misses a time. Go find it!" Wen Xingming said, "It might be lost or injured. Send someone to look for it immediately!"
The shadow guards received the order and dispersed.
Wen Xing suddenly had a bad premonition.
Something was wrong. If this was also part of Ning Wujie's plan, the other party would not have failed to discuss it with him in advance.
Something must have gone wrong.
The reason Haidongqing didn't come back might be that his communications were hijacked, but the worse possibility is that something happened to Ning Wujie.
He sat back in the armchair, his back straight, but his knuckles were tightly gripping his sleeves, leaving their knuckles pale.
The ticking of the night watchman's clock strikes my heart with every beat.
It was not until dusk that the shadow guards returned one after another, standing in the courtyard with their heads bowed and silent.
Wen Xing raised his eyes to look at the shadow guards and asked in a deep voice, "Didn't you find it?"
Zhen Xing said in a deep voice, "Sir, the Supervisory Department's Saker Falcon has been specially trained and will never get lost. It recognizes your scent and will definitely find the Funing Palace even if it's a thousand miles away."
The ominous premonition became stronger, and Wen Xing's knuckles, which were gripping his sleeves, trembled slightly due to excessive force.
Li Dequan looked worried and tried to appease him, "Master, how about we send another Saker Falcon to inquire about the situation?"
Wen Xing shook his head, his face gloomy, "It's too late."
Even if he used a Saker Falcon, it would take a whole day to go back and forth at such a distance, and he still wouldn't get a reply before the hour of Mao tomorrow.
The person who threatened him deliberately caught him off guard so that he would not have time to confirm Ning Wujie's safety, but to see if he dared to risk Ning Wujie's life.
Wen Xing closed his eyes deeply, "Even if there is a trick, I have to go."
"Sir!" Zhen Xing knelt on one knee and said urgently, "The master said that no matter what happens, your life and safety will be the priority. I cannot let you go."
Wen Xing slammed the armrest and shouted angrily, "If anything happens to your master, I'll go with you! I'll see who you'll have to answer to then!"
Zhen Xing was stunned, but fortunately, he did not allow any rebuttal, so he finally stopped trying to stop him. "Then I will send someone to stay in the dark to protect you, sir."
Wen Xing took a deep breath and patiently explained, "I'm not reckless. Even if there's only a one in ten thousand chance, I wouldn't risk your master's life. But seeing as this person can cut off my connection with Ning Wujie, keeping him around is a hidden danger, no matter who he is."
"The enemy is in the dark and I am in the light. Only by going there can I find a way to deal with him."
Since he couldn't get a reply from Ning Wujie for the time being, he had no choice but to use his own method to solve this matter.
He was thinking intently, his fingertips pinching the armrest of the seat, gripping tighter and tighter.
After a long time, when he raised his eyes again, a sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.
"Xinghe, sneak into the corner tower tonight and help me set up something..."
*
The next day.
At the beginning of the morning hour, the heavy city gate slowly opened in the morning light. The people who had been waiting for a long time lined up in a long queue, pushing carts and carrying loads, and poured into the city.
Wen Xing wore a hat with a hanging gauze curtain and stood quietly under the noisy city wall.
He raised his head slightly, the morning light gilding the towering city walls. His gaze passed over the battlements and fell on the bronze finials atop the corner tower.
A guard with a sword approached quickly, clasped his fists and saluted, but his voice was unquestionable: "Sir, please raise your hands."
Wen Xing opened his arms as he was told and allowed the other party to check him.
He looked at the guards through the veil and said calmly, "Are you from the city defense battalion? Who is your master? Why are you hiding?"
The guards kept moving and ignored him.
After the inspection, Wen Xing followed the guards up the stone steps to the city.
The stone steps were steep, and the soldiers standing on both sides had sharp eyes and silently exerted pressure.
The guard led the way, warning coldly, "Sir, you'd better behave yourself. There are crossbows hidden on the city walls. If you make the slightest move, you'll be shot like a hedgehog in an instant."
Wen Xing remained silent.
Climbing up the wide city wall, a figure wearing a wide hood stood facing the wind, overlooking the city.
Sensing his arrival, the hooded man slowly turned around, the shadow under the hood covering most of his face, revealing half of his face with cold and hard lines.
"It's you." Wen Xing's tone didn't seem too surprised.
When Wen Xing saw this person for the first time, he felt something was wrong. Last time, Ning Wujie said that it was this hooded man who ambushed him. Although there were many suspicious points about this person, he was not surprised that he would appear here.
The hooded man chuckled, "Your Majesty, I hope you are well."
Wen Xing asked directly, "If you won't allow me to change my appearance, why do you wear a mask?"
The hooded man smiled without saying anything, his eyes fixed on the bustling crowd below the city wall.
Wen Xing followed his gaze and saw that a lot of people had gathered in the open space at the city gate. Some were wearing casual clothes, while others were wearing official robes of various colors. They were whispering to each other and looking up at the city wall from time to time with puzzled expressions.
An official asked doubtfully, "Did you also receive an anonymous letter?"
"Yes," someone nearby replied, "The letter said there was an imperial decree from the late emperor to be announced here. I initially thought it was a prank, but the letter was stamped with the cabinet seal, even the wax seal was perfectly accurate. I felt that this was a matter of great importance and dared not to come."
Someone turned to a young official and said, "Sir Wang, you were the one who wrote the last will and testament of the late emperor. Do you know if there are any unfinished edicts?"
Wang Jiang frowned and shook his head slowly, feeling confused and wondering why the cabinet would send such a letter.
He is now in the cabinet and all official documents pass through his hands. He has never seen the content of this letter.
This only means that the letter was not issued by the cabinet, but that an official had stolen the cabinet's seal and lacquer stamp.
Now that His Majesty is leading the army in person, he can only report the matter to the Supervisory Office first and then go to check the situation himself.
But... he looked around and saw that the entire city wall was under tight control. The people entering the city were gradually being driven away, leaving only the officials trapped in a human wall of soldiers.
This place has been under surveillance. Can the people from the Supervisory Office get in?
There was a flurry of discussion below, and the crowd grew larger and larger. Some people impatiently stopped the soldiers guarding the city and asked, "Now that everyone is here, what is the announcement? And who are those two people on the tower?"
The guard replied expressionlessly, "Please be patient, and you will know when the time comes."
The hooded man looked at the crowd below and said with a hint of joking, "Your Majesty, how about we play a game? If you can guess who I am, I will take off my mask."
Wen Xing pondered for a moment, and the clues in his mind quickly connected -
This person recognized his true face and must be a former official in the capital. However, as a capital official, he became the leader of the rebels, probably because he defected.
Gao Meng was the highest-ranking military commander in southern Yunnan and should have had the final say in the area. However, he obeyed this man's orders, which meant that this man must have a personal relationship with Gao Meng.
Thinking of this, Wen Xing said, "Can I ask a question first?"
The hooded man was quite generous: "I allow you three questions."
Wen Xing: "Who is Gao Meng to you?"
The hooded man smiled and answered without hesitation: "He is the child I raised."
Wen Xing's face darkened, and this answer made him suddenly clear up.
"You've raised many children, and Han Jin is one of them. It was you who bought the orphans from the orphanage and raised them. It was you who assassinated Ning Wujie and leaked the marching map."
The hooded man didn't answer, which was considered as his agreement.
"You have another question."
Wen Xing felt a chill in his heart. He failed to catch this spy back then and thought that after his death, Ning Wujie would eliminate all his political enemies, but he didn't expect that this person actually escaped from the capital.
"I guess when Ning Wujie was tracking down your spies, he traced them back to the orphanage and discovered that you not only kept assassins but also spread your trained talents among the military, attempting to build up your own power. You sensed the danger and knew that Ning Wujie would uncover your identity if he continued his investigation, so you simply fell from the building during Ning Wujie's coronation ceremony."
"Your act of self-sacrifice has turned 'abdication' into 'usurpation'."
Having such a high-ranking and powerful old minister who was entrusted with the care of the young emperor refute it with his life's mission was enough to confuse the public and give the rebels all over the world enough "excuse" to start an uprising.
He looked at the hooded man and said in a deep voice, "Am I right? Xu Chongyun."
The hooded man looked at Wen Xing in surprise at first, then burst into laughter. He looked towards the bottom of the city wall and saw that hundreds of officials had gathered there, and many of them were looking up.
He slowly raised his hand, and under the gaze of countless people, he opened his hood, and then slowly took off his mask.
At the foot of the city wall, someone pointed at him and exclaimed, "Master Xu!"
"Isn't he dead?!"
The crowd erupted in an uproar, and someone excitedly shouted, "Master Xu! Is it really you?"
Xu Chongyun looked down at the tumultuous crowd and said loudly, "My colleagues, how are you?"
An official below exclaimed, "You're really not dead!"
"What on earth is going on, Master Xu!"
Some officials were so excited that they wanted to rush up to the city wall, but were stopped by guards with raised swords.
Wen Xing glanced at Xu Chongyun sideways, already guessing what he was going to do next.
He forced himself to remain calm and asked in a cold voice, "Where is Ning Wujie?"
Xu Chongyun turned to him, his smile gentle but cold: "As long as Your Majesty does what I say next, I will guarantee his life."
"Why should I trust you?"
"Your Majesty, do you dare to gamble?" Xu Chongyun leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice: "Your Majesty, have you ever considered that since I was able to send Han Jin to the Ningyuan Army, is there no one else by my side?"
Wen Xing's hands clenched slightly in his sleeves, but his expression remained calm. "If he really had someone of yours by his side, you would have succeeded long ago. You hate him to the core, how could you spare his life?"
Although he didn't understand the grudge between Xu Chongyun and Ning Wujie, this person targeted Ning Wujie everywhere and would not let Ning Wujie live if he had the chance.
Xu Chongyun had a strange smile on his face: "But this time he was so smart that he brought Han Jin with him."
"How could your Majesty know that I wasn't playing a trick on you and luring you into a trap?"
A chill suddenly ran down his spine. Wen Xing vaguely heard Xu Chongyun say, "He thought he could capture me through Han Jin, but he didn't know that he had already stepped into the deadly trap I had set."
Xu Chongyun's eyes fell on the veil in front of Wen Xing, and the smile on his lips deepened. He gave an irresistible command: "Your Majesty, please lift the veil."
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The author has something to say: The illustration activity has started~
There are Q-versions of His Majesty and 5j~~very cute~~
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