Unspeakable secrets
Yun An sat in the main hall of the Qi Prince's mansion waiting, and Sheng Ye slowly came over after a while.
"Don't come to the palace without a reason; if you have something to say, say it." Sheng Ye didn't have much affection for his younger sister, who had been raised outside the palace since childhood.
"Let them go first." Coincidentally, Yun An did the same to him. Sheng Ye glanced at her briefly and impatiently waved his hand to send his subordinates away.
Sheng Ye's gaze drifted aimlessly before finally settling on a spot behind Yun An.
The person behind Yun An stepped out from behind her, raised his head and smiled slightly at him: "Long time no see, Fourth Prince."
"Tang Qi!" Sheng Ye took a half step back in fright, staring in disbelief. After a moment, he glared angrily at Yun An beside him and said, "Idiot, you actually helped an outsider come and cause me trouble!"
Tang Qi approached, removed his rough disguise, and continued with a smile, "Fourth Prince, I haven't said anything yet, so why are you saying I'm here to cause trouble?"
Sheng Ye's expression panicked for a moment, and before he could explain, Tang Qi continued, "However, I do have something to discuss with Your Highness."
"When you were in Qing Teng Valley, you transferred an army from the Southern Camp."
Tang Qi's eyes, sharp as hawk hooks, were fixed on Sheng Ye: "Where did you take them? What did they do? Where is that army now?"
His tone grew increasingly harsh, but Sheng Ye's expression became more and more composed under the interrogation, and he even sneered in the end: "I did indeed ask your Southern Camp for an army when General Tang led his troops to conquer Qing Teng Valley, but—" Sheng Ye's eyes also turned cold: "Shouldn't I be the one questioning him?"
Under Tang Qi's gaze, he pulled open his sleeve, revealing several strips of white cloth wrapped around Sheng Ye's wrist. He looked coldly at Tang Qi: "General Tang, have your soldiers deserted?"
"Your men have deserted your camp by only ten miles away, and even dared to injure a prince. I am already being merciful by not asking the Emperor for a severe punishment for you. Yet you dare to come to my residence. If I remember correctly, you should be leading troops on an eastern expedition right now. You have abandoned your post. Tang Qi, do you really think you are so powerful that you can disregard the law of the land?!"
"Once I leave Your Highness's residence, I will ride as fast as I can and will not delay the eastern expedition. As for my dereliction of duty, I will apologize to His Majesty when the army returns. Your Highness need not worry. I just want to know what exactly happened that day."
Tang Qi's gaze was unwavering: "Who exactly led the troops to attack the city, and why are all the soldiers of the Southern Camp lying dead in the wilderness?"
Sheng Ye remained nonchalant: "Your subordinates deserted the army, led the entire force to attack the city, failed, and fearing exposure, they all committed suicide."
Tang Qi's expression grew increasingly grim, and the anger in his eyes became even more undisguised.
"I know you don't believe me." Sheng Ye smiled, clapped his hands, and said slowly, "Someone, bring him up."
No sooner had he finished speaking than two of his men dragged a man in. The man was dressed in blood-stained clothes, his face covered in scabs from severe torture, half of the nails on all ten fingers had been knocked off, and he was disheveled and filthy, almost unrecognizable as a human being.
"These are your defectors from the Southern Camp."
Tang Qi stared blankly at the person who had been brought up, her eyes filled with resentment and absurdity.
"A defector must be tried by the three judicial authorities. How dare you use private torture to torment someone like this!"
Sheng Ye squatted down, patted the man's face, and clicked his tongue, saying, "He's too stubborn, I don't like him." He then pulled away the messy hair that was hanging in front of the man's forehead, slowly turned to Tang Qi, and smiled, "Don't you think he looks familiar? You're the one who personally sent him in, General Tang."
Tang Qi stared intently at the face of the man in front of him. After a long while, a figure suddenly flashed into his mind, and he almost instinctively exclaimed in shock, "Zhang Dong! How is this possible! He's not a member of the Wolf Strategy Army, how could he possibly have the opportunity to lead troops to attack the city?"
Sheng Ye chuckled lightly, looked up at him, and said sarcastically, "His name is Li Wuyuan, a centurion in the First Army of the Wolf Strategy Army's new camp. General Tang, don't you even recognize your own soldiers?"
"Centurion...impossible!"
Tang Qi muttered to himself.
He investigated Zhang Dong, and not only him, but Cheng Junshi also investigated him. How could the two of them have made such a big mistake at the same time?
"General Tang, should we go to the military camp to investigate ourselves? His identity information is on file. Perhaps it's because the new battalion has just been established and you haven't met the new recruits of the first battalion yet?"
Sheng Ye remained calm and unhurried.
"Even if he were truly a military commander, he should be in prison right now. Severe punishments should be decided by a joint trial of the three judicial authorities and by the majority of the court. How dare you resort to such private torture?"
Sheng Ye chuckled dryly, looking at Tang Qi with extreme displeasure: "Do you know what I hate most about you, Tang Qi? Who do you think you are?"
He crossed his arms and stared at Tang Qi: "I have a transfer order. I'm going to interrogate him, personally. What, do I have to report to you what kind of torture I'll use?"
Tang Qi didn't speak, but Sheng Ye suddenly laughed contemptuously: "Tang Qi, I really pity you."
Sheng Ye stared at him and continued, enunciating each word clearly: "Those who stand beside you never have a good ending."
"What do you mean?"
"Enough!"
Seeing that the atmosphere between the two was becoming increasingly tense, Yun An, who was standing to the side, finally spoke up to interrupt them. She took Tang Qi's hand and walked outside: "Qi Qi, it's almost time. If you don't leave now, you'll miss the journey to the East."
"Tang Qi, your friend, the Junior Supervisor, can no longer be found in Jingzhou."
Tang Qi stopped in his tracks, but Yun An pulled him away forcefully again, only letting go after leading him out of the Qi Prince's residence.
"Qiqi, you've been tricked by him. I really regret agreeing to bring you here. The Eastern Expedition has already begun, so don't think too much about it. Let's hurry up and catch up with them."
Yun An shoved the reins into his hand.
What happened to Cheng Wang?
"He's fine." Yun An didn't intend to tell him, so she gave a few perfunctory words and tried to push Tang Qi away. But Tang Qi didn't move, still staring into her eyes and asking, "What exactly happened to Cheng Wang?"
Tang Qi's voice was a little anxious. Yun An glanced at him and sighed helplessly, saying, "My father reinstated you for the Eastern Expedition. He submitted a petition stating that the Marquis of Jianbei had just been buried, and according to the laws of Da Shuo, as the eldest son, you should observe mourning. Reinstating you at this time is against the rules of propriety."
Yun An glanced at him and continued, "I know that Father Emperor's order was issued hastily, but I'm afraid no one but you is capable of handling the Eastern Expedition. The news that Cheng Wang's petition on your behalf was intercepted at Qingyan has just come back. My father was also in a fit of anger and demoted him to Xuanlang. But you don't need to worry. My father has valued the Cheng family a lot in recent years. Cheng Shaojiansi's trip to Xuanlang will not be too long."
Tang Qi didn't speak immediately; many things were piling up in his mind, and the dense words seemed to be vaguely woven into a large net.
Zhang Dong… Wolf Army… Li Wuyuan… Siege… Zhou Family…? Let's tie these details together…
My father is dead... Cheng Wang has been demoted... No one around me will have a good ending...
Tang Qi suddenly shuddered, his hands and feet instantly turning ice-cold. He hurriedly mounted his horse, hastily thanked Yun An, and immediately spurred his horse away. The night was dark and gloomy, and he felt an unfathomable emptiness in his heart. He had never been so terrified before. He was afraid of his sluggishness and also afraid that he was too slow.
Hurry! We need to be faster! We have to be even faster!
Inside the Qi Prince's residence, Sheng Ye suppressed his smile and coldly looked at Li Wuyuan, who was being carried up and was on the verge of death.
With blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, Li Wuyuan struggled to raise his head and glared fiercely at Sheng Ye: "You...beast."
Sheng Ye chuckled lightly, looked down at the people beside him and said, "Prepare the horses, I'm going to the palace."
"Kill me!"
Li Wuyuan struggled and roared at Sheng Ye, his scabs bursting open, and another round of blood gushed out. Sheng Ye only took half a step back, and someone rushed out to protect him. Li Wuyuan was pinned to the ground, with only his eyes showing, glaring fiercely.
The face opposite him, which looked exactly like his own, was looking down at him with the same contempt and mockery as Sheng Ye, as if he were trash.
"Long time no see, brother."
......
That night, the Wolf Army stopped their horses and set up camp, lighting several fires. Lin Jiacuo was studying a military map alone around one of the fires.
"Lin Gyatso!" In the firelight, Tang Qi rode up from afar, whipping his horse. He quickly dismounted, shrugged a few times, rubbed his hands, and sat down next to Lin Gyatso.
"Phew... I'm freezing! The road to Qingyan is really difficult to travel; it's all hard rocks." He exhaled a large breath of air. Lin Jiacuo merely frowned slightly and tilted his head to look at him. Noticing his gaze, Tang Qi also glanced over, giving him a sidelong look: "Why are you looking at me?" Lin Jiacuo suddenly smiled, staring at him knowingly. Tang Qi was deep in thought when a soft voice entered his ears.
"Lin, Zheng, Ye".
He stiffened, shrinking back guiltily. Lin Jiacuo's mouth hadn't moved, but that voice…
"Brother Qi! I was wrong! I'll never do it again!"
"Tang Qi" immediately covered his head and scrambled to the ground, cowering into a ball. "It really is you, kid!" Lin Jiacuo grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up from the ground. Then, he skillfully reached for his face, groped around, and with a ruthless rip, tore off the mask, revealing the face beneath.
"Ouch! Ouch~ that hurts!" Lin Zhengye touched his swollen face, looking at Lin Jiacuo with a resentful voice, "Brother, how did you find out about me? I thought this mask was flawless and no one would have noticed. How did you find out?!"
Lin Jiacuo pretended to throw the mask into the fire, but Lin Zhengye was quick-witted and grabbed it, stuffing it into his arms while shouting, "Hey—brother, don't throw it away! It might still be useful!"
"But bro, doesn't my mask look like Qi-ge's? How did you recognize it at a glance?"
"Because of the sound."
Lin Zhengye was incredulous as he watched Lin Jiacuo speak Tang Qi's voice right in front of him.
"Your mask is quite successful. If it weren't for what happened today, I wouldn't have realized that you and Zhong Le look so alike. If you hadn't spoken up just now, I would have been fooled by you."
"Brother!" Lin Zhengye almost threw himself at Lin Jiacuo: "How did you just make Qi-ge's voice? Teach me, teach me!"
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