Chen Xiao was somewhat surprised to hear the old man's heartfelt words. After all, it was true that so many soldiers had lost their lives. Didn't the Li family army have any other thoughts?
Seeing Chen Xiao's surprise, another old man spoke up to explain, "His Majesty may think we are too loyal to the general, or that we are too ruthless, but that is indeed the reality."
From our perspective, the general is exceptionally good, which goes without saying, and His Majesty is extremely kind to the people of the Night Dynasty, and has taken many actions to improve their quality of life.
We cannot condemn them entirely because of a momentary mistake or an indirect consequence of it, especially since there's nothing wrong with them loving each other, is there?
Upon hearing this explanation, Chen Xiao was not only no longer surprised, but even more surprised. She was amazed that someone from the ancients could be so insightful.
But she quickly calmed down and realized that she had made a fuss over nothing. There were many wise and insightful people in ancient times; she just knew relatively little about them.
Yuan Yin was very excited. Although Li Qian disappeared when she was born, it did not affect her admiration for Li Qian. Her parents often told her about Li Qian, and she knew all of Li Qian's deeds, even reciting them by heart.
She had no doubts about the relationship between Li Qian and Chu Qiaoling, which was not well-regarded by the world. Although she had no intention of falling in love with the woman, it did not change her opinion that her actions were not wrong.
Another point that excited her was the secret that hadn't been made public back then—Yu Hang had actually lied to Li Qian and Li Qian's parents.
This was also what her father told her. The reason why Yu Hang and Li Qian were asked to marry by their elders was because Yu Hang's father died while saving Li Qian's parents. Yu Hang used this as an excuse to successfully marry the woman he loved.
But he never expected that Li Qian would make some kind of gentleman's agreement with him. The life that resembled a marriage of convenience made him unwilling. One time, he pretended to be drunk and forced himself on Li Qian. Afterwards, he knelt down and cried and apologized to Li Qian.
Li Qian believed that Yu Hang's father was the savior of her parents, and since Yu Hang had indeed married her, their intimate relations were a reasonable act, so she could not condemn him and forgave him.
Unexpectedly, after Yu Hang committed treason, Chu Qiaoling also discovered the secret of the "lifesaver" from back then. Only then did Li Qian realize that Yu Hang's father's life-saving grace was real, but Yu Hang was the one who caused his death.
Yu Hang's twisted love for Li Qian led to a crazy idea forming in his mind immediately after he saw his father save Li Qian's parents. He immediately put it into action—he killed his weak father with his own hands while Li Qian's parents were unconscious, covered his father's shocked and desperate eyes, calmly dealt with the scene, and then slowly woke up Li Qian's parents with a tearful and distraught look.
The matter is now settled.
The truth was covered up with Yu Hang's death. Li Qian and Chu Qiaoling did not tell the others in the army about it. Only Chu Yanxi and her parents knew about it, and she only found out about it later.
So, the first lesson her parents taught her when she was old enough to understand was that she must keep her eyes open, improve her judgment, and not repeat the same mistakes.
When Yuan Yin thought of this matter, she hesitated again and again, but still chose not to speak of it. The matter was over, and she didn't want too many people to know about Li Qian's pain.
Just as she was about to say something, a commotion arose outside, and about ten people turned to look outside.
They had booked the entire inn, and the gate was guarded, so it was impossible for outsiders to visit. Therefore, the noise could only be coming from Ye Qi and his group.
The tightly closed doors were opened, and sunlight immediately rushed into the lobby, illuminating every corner. A person walked in from outside against the light.
However, it wasn't Ye Qi as they thought, but rather—Prime Minister Xu Qian.
The Li family army had never met Xu Qian before and did not know his identity, while Chen Xiao and Yuan Yin were both surprised: "Why would the Prime Minister (Lord) come here?"
The old men were all astonished by the two men's questions. In just a few days, they had seen many people they rarely saw. Could this kite-flying incident involve some important figure? They wondered to themselves.
Everyone saw a large group of people standing outside, seemingly Xu Qian's men, which explained the commotion.
Xu Qian walked up to them, preparing to bow to Chen Xiao. Chen Xiao didn't say anything, but blocked him with one hand and pressed him into a seat. Xu Qian was not surprised by Chen Xiao's actions. After all, the two had a friendly exchange, and he knew Chen Xiao's character. He was just putting on a show.
The elders, witnessing this harmonious scene between the ruler and his subjects, couldn't help but sigh with admiration.
Unlike them, Yuan Yin stared wide-eyed, almost dropping her jaw in shock. Her memory was still stuck on the scene of her mother's sacrificial ceremony, where the two were at each other's throats. She knew nothing about the edict of self-reproach. Looking at the two of them acting like friends, she rubbed her eyes. What had happened in just one day?
The first thing Xu Qian did after sitting down was to smile amicably at Yuan Yin and apologize to her, "I was wrong about the festival, and I hope the princess will forgive me!"
Yuan Yin was completely shocked. "What?! The old man actually apologized to me??? What on earth did Xiao Xiao do to the old man?!"
However, she remained extremely calm and gracefully changed the subject, returning the question to Xu Qian.
Xu Qian was not annoyed that he did not receive a reply from Yuan Yin. Instead, after greeting the Li family army, he told everyone the reason for his visit to Guangling.
Right after the court session, many officials who thought he had gained power came to curry favor with him. He responded to each of them (perfunctorily). One official was so excited after receiving a response that he inadvertently let slip his inner doubts, mentioning the name Guangling.
Although the official only uttered the two words "Guangling" before immediately falling silent and saying nothing else, given the current situation in Guangling, those two words were enough to raise his alarm.
He immediately ordered Chao Ci to lead men to seal the palace gates and not let a single person out. At the same time, he ordered Chao Yuan to take all the officials to the Fengtian Hall so that he could thoroughly investigate them.
With imperial orders in hand, Chao Ci and Chao Yuan naturally obeyed the Prime Minister's commands and immediately began making arrangements.
The other innocent officials who were also affected were unaware of what had happened. Although their rank was lower than that of the prime minister, they were still above the fourth rank. They were all displeased by Xu Qian's sudden treatment and demanded an explanation from the prime minister.
Xu Qian looked at the dozens of people in front of him. Each of them was an important official in the court, and some were even veterans of three generations. If there was a traitor among them, it would be a major blow to the court.
He maintained an air of being highly regarded by the emperor, refusing to answer the officials' questions, leaving only a brief admonition before departing:
"If so, then death is no loss; take care of yourself."
Upon hearing the Prime Minister's words, the crowd was puzzled, but those with guilty consciences began to panic. Before long, they were invited to the Fengtian Hall.
Fengtian Hall was the palace used by Emperor Wende to announce rewards and punishments for members of the imperial family. The retired emperor once used this place to publicize the corruption of corrupt officials.
Under these circumstances, everyone understood the Prime Minister's meaning, looked at each other, and gradually quieted down.
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