The light boat has struck a large iceberg.
After Tang Qi and Cheng Junshi left Yunqi's place, he said to Cheng Junshi, "Tell me, what does the Imperial Censor mean by this?"
"He doesn't want you to continue investigating."
Tang Qi looked at him, then suddenly laughed, returning the words to Cheng Junshi: "He doesn't want you to investigate either."
Tang Qi and Cheng Junshi continued walking side by side when Tang Qi suddenly asked, "Will you listen to him?"
Cheng Junshi didn't turn his head to look at him, but stared straight ahead and slowly said, "I had twelve years to convince myself to give up, but that thought only grew deeper year by year. No one's words were enough to overturn my twelve years."
"Even if the truth is something neither you nor I can bear, the fact that the Imperial Censor personally warned us means that the waters behind this are probably too deep for us to get involved in."
Tang Qi's expression turned serious. This matter involved the Three Dukes, which was something he had not expected.
"I just want the truth."
Cheng Junshi kept staring ahead, his gaze intense. He unconsciously tightened his grip on his sleeve: "I didn't believe a single word they said about that incident back then."
He then glanced at Tang Qi, who was standing to the side: "Scared?"
Tang Qi returned his gaze with an arrogant look and laughed, "How could that be? No matter how deep the water is, it can't bury the truth forever. The truth always has to be revealed, and I just happen to be unwilling to be a person who is deceived."
Cheng Junshi looked at him for a long time without speaking, and finally chuckled and said, "Then I wish your ship can really cut through the waves."
After saying that, he lifted his foot and walked forward. Tang Qi was about to call out to him, but saw that Cheng Junshi did not turn his head, but just waved his hand high at him.
Tang Qi understood and shut up. He watched Cheng Junshi's figure walk further and further away, and finally couldn't help but mutter softly, "I hope the truth can leave us a chance to live, at least leave you one."
After saying goodbye to Cheng Junshi, Tang Qi immediately returned to the Tang residence. The servants at the mansion recognized him and led Tang Qi inside.
Apart from Tang Qi's father, who was granted a title and established his own household, and who left Jingzhou, the rest of the Tang family line lived in the Tang residence.
Just as Yun Qi had said, when Tang Qi saw his grandmother, she was already bedridden, with maids serving her, and several uncles and his elder brother, Tang Yan, whose nickname was Boyou, surrounding her.
"Big brother."
Tang Yan nodded, put his arm around Tang Qi, and waited with him by his grandmother's bedside.
Tang Qi's grandmother had a very beautiful name, Li Heyun, which perhaps destined her to be extraordinary from birth. After Li Heyun came of age, she did not wait to be married at a young age, but instead chose to roam the land on horseback.
All descendants of the Tang family, regardless of gender, were required to study and understand principles. Tang Qi's idea of joining the army came from Li Heyun, who was skilled in strategy and military affairs and had been a female general who was famous throughout the country on the battlefield.
As time goes by, seeing Li Heyun lying in a hospital bed still makes Tang Qi's heart tremble. The only consolation is that Li Heyun's condition is not too bad. Although he is bedridden, his face is not pale.
Tang Qi squatted down beside her bed, and Li Heyun gently patted Tang Qi's head, smiling at him like any other kind old man: "It's my Zhong Le who has come to see me."
Tang Qi also smiled and said to Li Heyun, "Yes, Grandma, your grandson has come to see you."
"Okay, okay."
Li Heyun couldn't hide her joy. She patted Tang Qi's hand repeatedly, then pulled him over and touched his face, saying, "Our Zhongle has won the battle."
Tang Qi stiffened at first, then composed himself and responded to Li Heyun's words with a loud laugh.
"Of course, I am the grandson of General Li."
Tang Qi held Li Heyun's hand and continued to describe the battlefield to her with great enthusiasm, just as she had once told him.
It was those stories of swords and shadows that inspired Tang Qi's dream of joining the army.
After leaving Li Heyun's room, Tang Qi went straight to his own room. After locking the door, he lit a candle and emptied the contents of his sleeve, which Li Heyun had secretly slipped to him during their handshake.
Tang Qi stared at the object in his hand, slightly taken aback. It was a military tag, the same one found on Zhang Dong, belonging to the Wolf Army.
Before he could continue thinking, there was a sudden knock on the door. Tang Qi immediately put away the token, loosened his clothes, and pretended to yawn as he went to open the door.
"Who is it—Second Uncle? What's wrong so late?"
Tang Song simply handed the things in his hand to Tang Qi and said with a smile, "It's winter now, and your room isn't warm. Your second aunt heated a stove for you and asked me to bring it over."
Tang Qi took the stove from Tang Song and replied with a smile, "Second Aunt is so thoughtful. I will definitely thank you in person tomorrow."
Tang Qi watched as Tang Song closed his door but showed no intention of leaving, so he asked again, "Is there anything else, Second Uncle?"
"Ah...nothing's wrong, it's just that your second uncle has something he wants to tell you."
Tang Qi raised an eyebrow, rubbed the token hidden in his sleeve, then smiled and pulled out a chair for Tang Song to sit down, poured him a glass of water and said, "Hey, I thought something was wrong. Second Uncle, just say what you want to say."
Tang Song didn't mince words when he heard this and said directly, "Your grandmother is old, but she doesn't accept that she's old. No matter what she says to you or what she gives you—" He then looked at Tang Qi's sleeve, but Tang Qi remained the same, calmly drinking his water, and then listened to Tang Song continue, "You don't need to pay any attention to it."
Tang Qi nodded, agreeing, and said, "I understand, Second Uncle. Don't worry."
Tang Song was still unwilling to give up and said again, "Zhong Le, give the things your grandmother gave you to your second uncle. Your grandmother likes to make a mountain out of a molehill, which is not good for anyone. What do you think?"
Tang Qi looked at him, rubbing her nose and unable to hold back her laughter: "Second Uncle, what exactly are you trying to say? What did Grandma give me? How come I don't know?"
Tang Song smiled along with him, but his eyes held a certainty: "Hey, you're not the only one here, don't try to fool your second uncle."
Tang Qi frowned, her expression shifting for a few moments, before she said as if her secret had been exposed, "It really is true that nothing escapes Second Uncle's eyes."
He took out a few silver notes from his pocket, placed them on the table, and, feigning youthful arrogance, scratched his head and said awkwardly, "Grandma originally intended to give them to me secretly, but Second Uncle caught me red-handed."
Tang Song stared at the few silver notes on the table in silence for a moment. He stood up, took a few steps, then stopped. He turned to look at Tang Qi, then sighed deeply and took out a few more silver notes from his pocket and piled them on the table: "If it's not enough, come to Second Uncle again."
"Thank you, Uncle Dele!"
Tang Qi quickly stuffed the silver note into his pocket. He had just seen Tang Song out and closed the door, preparing to examine the military tag, when the knocking sounded again. He opened the door with a forced smile, saying, "Second Uncle, what is it now—elder brother?"
Tang Qi paused, and Tang Yan patted him, laughing, "Well fought! You came from Luocheng?"
"Ah...yes."
Tang Qi nodded, stepped aside to let Tang Yan in, and was about to pour him a glass of water when Tang Yan strode over, sat down on the stool, and raised his chin at him: "Give me that thing."
Tang Qi paused in his actions, but continued to feign ignorance: "What is it?"
Tang Yan didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "Grandma gave it to you; it's a Wolf Strategy Army military tag."
Upon hearing this, Tang Qi paused, but remained silent. Tang Yan, however, chuckled and said, "You don't need to hide it from me. I was the one who gave that military badge to Grandma."
Tang Qi paused, looking at Tang Yan in disbelief. The latter took the water Tang Qi offered and continued, "It's not accurate to say it was me; that military badge was actually left behind by my third uncle."
"My father?" Tang Qi asked, slightly surprised.
Tang Yan nodded, and then heard him say, "You all knew about the fake military license plate a long time ago?"
“My third uncle left the military badge to me for this matter. He was supposed to investigate it himself, but the emperor sent him on a southern expedition, so the matter was put on hold. Before he left, he gave me the military badge.”
Tang Qi frowned, and after a moment's thought, asked him, "So, my father knew there were problems within the Wolf Strategy Army before the southern expedition?"
Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Tang Qi's heart sank. She composed herself and continued, "Did my father say when he found this military license plate?"
Tang Yan's next words made Tang Qi's expression even more unpleasant.
“
Every military camp has a quota for casualties, and my third uncle found this military tag on a dead soldier during an inspection.
He paused, glanced at Tang Qi, and continued, "Third Uncle found far more than just this one."
The implication couldn't be clearer: someone was switching the prince with a cat, and quite a few cats had already been found out, not to mention those who were deeply hidden. The Wolf Army was probably already riddled with holes.
Slowly infiltrating and gradually replacing others—that's true sleight of hand.
"Since my father gave you this military license plate, why did you give it to Grandma?"
Tang Yan's face turned serious as he looked at Tang Qi and said, "There are eyes in the army watching me."
Which team?
"Dongying".
The Ye family's territory is located in the east, and Hecheng is also within it.
He simply nodded and said, "Since the Eastern Camp is already established, it's impossible for the other camps to be completely clean. Tomorrow I will write a letter ordering a swift investigation of the remaining three camps."
"I sent letters to each battalion a few days after I got my military license plate. Didn't you receive the orders?"
Tang Qi looked at him with astonishment, as if struck by a blow to the head, and said, "As the commander of the Southern Camp, I have never received an order to investigate the entire camp."
Tang Yan was also taken aback, and hurriedly asked him, "Then what brings you to Jingzhou this time? I thought you had found out something before you came."
"I came to Jingzhou to track down a person who frequently committed minor offenses in Luocheng and wore a wolf-patterned military badge, which greatly damaged the reputation of our army. I captured him and discovered that the badge was a counterfeit. That's how I tracked him all the way to Jingzhou."
Tang Qi's voice was unusually calm as he continued with a furrowed brow: "The situation is beyond our imagination. I will write the letter tonight and send it back to Luoyang tomorrow. I will send people to inform the other three camps. Brother, since your message has not been sent back to the Southern Camp, it means that the scouts are acting suspiciously. You will be in charge of the investigation in Jingzhou. Make sure to eradicate them completely."
After Tang Yan left, Tang Qi sat alone at the table, frowning. The candle on the table had burned down to its last flame, but he couldn't sleep. Since he returned to Luocheng, everything seemed to have been arranged, one thing after another rushing out and slapping him hard in the face just when he was still hoping to steal a moment of leisure.
He didn't have time.
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