Storm is coming
Su Musong rode at full speed all the way and finally caught up with the army near Li Pass, but he learned that Su Mufeng and Prince Ding had gone out alone and were not in the army at the moment.
Mu Yi, the general of Liguan, has been friends with Su Maoyi for twenty years. His daughter was betrothed to Su Mufeng since childhood. It was normal for Su Mufeng to pay a visit when passing by Liguan. However, Su Musong did not expect that Prince Ding would go with him.
Su Musong waited in the camp for half a day, and then Su Mufeng and Prince Ding returned to the camp.
Su Mufeng was very surprised to see Su Musong. He obviously did not expect that his elder brother, who had been staying in Qingzhu Village and refused to move, would take the initiative to follow him to the army. He immediately realized that something important must have happened, otherwise his elder brother would not come in person.
Su Musong informed Prince Ding and Su Mufeng of the news he had received. Prince Ding was indifferent after hearing it. He had been fighting with the Empress Dowager for many years, and he was not surprised by any tricks she used. However, Su Mufeng was furious after hearing it. He changed his usual gentlemanly appearance and started cursing.
"Such shamelessness is truly unheard of and unseen! We won the battle, yet we are labeled as criminals! That old witch is really going too far! She just issues the decree, and what can she do to us if we don't obey? We've already been charged with disobeying the imperial order, so this one time won't make a difference."
"What she wants is for me to refuse to obey the imperial edict. Ultimately, the previous attack on Dan City was merely a matter of circumstance, and accusing me of defying the imperial order is a fabricated accusation that doesn't hold up to scrutiny. But if I ignore this imperial edict, she'll have confirmed my offense of defying the imperial order. Then, I'm afraid she'll accuse me of plotting rebellion by not returning with my troops."
Prince Ding analyzed the situation calmly and poured a cup of tea to Su Mufeng, who was angry, to cool him down.
"Then Your Majesty will accept this imperial edict?"
From what Su Musong heard from Yuwen Ye, it seemed that he was willing to confess his guilt first.
"No, this imperial edict must not be accepted. Once the prince leaves the camp and is escorted back to the capital by prisoner carriage, it will be easy for the assassins in the Soul-Snatching Tower to take the prince's head!"
When Su Musong heard the three words "Soul-Snatching Tower", he was also shocked.
The Duopo Tower deals in human lives. It does not employ killers, but acts as a middleman between buyers and killers. The person who hires a killer to kill will post the portrait of his enemy and the price at the Duopo Tower, and naturally a killer will send the head of the person in the portrait to the Duopo Tower in exchange for the corresponding reward.
After Su Mufeng left Mu Yi's residence, he encountered the Soul-Snatching Tower opening for business. Prince Ding's head was prominently displayed at the highest point, costing 10,000 taels of gold. The only people who wanted Prince Ding's head were the Empress Dowager and her Wang family. While Prince Ding held a high position of power, men die for wealth, as birds for food. For these desperate men, life wasn't necessarily more valuable than 10,000 taels of gold, making it a worthwhile risk.
Before returning to the military camp, Su Mufeng and Prince Ding had already avoided several waves of assassins.
Su Musong had not expected that the Wang family, a royal relative who had dominated three dynasties, would resort to such despicable means to deal with Prince Ding. However, thinking of how they had dealt with the Xiao family in the past, he was not surprised.
"If you accept the decree, you will be assassinated by the assassins of the Soul-Snatching Tower. If you don't accept the decree, you will be defying the decree and committing treason. The only solution now is for me to kidnap those officials who issued the decree. If the decree can't be delivered, then there's no question of whether to accept it or not."
Su Mufeng's words were shocking, but it seemed feasible. Su Musong would not let his third brother take the risk of kidnapping the imperial edict official himself. However, before he could say anything to stop him, someone got there first.
Hearing that Su Mufeng was going to kidnap the imperial edict officer, Yuwen Ye changed his previous calm appearance.
"No! Mu Feng, you can't take any risks!"
"Your Highness said he was willing to entrust his life to me, and I also promised to repay him with my own life. Only a few hours have passed, and Your Highness has changed his mind?"
Yuwen Ye was speechless for a moment. He was willing to entrust his life to Su Mufeng, but he was not willing to see Su Mufeng risk his own life.
Su Musong looked at Su Mufeng, who was acting out of character and more like Su Muliu, and asked knowingly:
"You kidnapped the imperial edict officer, but have you ever thought about the consequences?"
Su Mufeng naturally knew that this was a capital crime, but he was unwilling to give up this only feasible method.
"You've already lost your life, why are you still thinking about the consequences?"
Having said that, this matter actually had nothing to do with Su Mufeng's life. Su Musong looked at his murderous third brother and couldn't help sighing in his heart. It seemed that he really had deep feelings for Prince Ding.
"My silly brother, leave this matter to me. Things like kidnapping people are more easily done by outlaws."
Su Musong's business spread all over Xiangping, and he had frequent dealings with bandits and pirates from all over the place. Although the status of the imperial official was special, to these outlaws who were already being hunted down by the government, he was not much different from an ordinary merchant.
Intercepting the imperial edict official is only a temporary measure. The key to breaking this situation is to bring the army back to Kyoto as soon as possible and rescue the emperor from danger. In this way, even if the battle is to the point of life and death, at least there is still the strength to fight.
Su Musong originally just came to report the news, although he took the job,
He didn't plan to leave Qingzhu Village for too long, so he returned to Chixia Mountain.
Su Musong learned from Su Mufeng that the Duke of Anguo and his wife were returning from Shenghuang and passing through Liguan, and were currently staying at the General's Mansion. Su Mufeng and Prince Ding had just met Mu Yi and happened to run into his parents. Mu Yao, who had been betrothed to Su Mufeng since childhood, took this opportunity to reject the engagement with Su Mufeng over a toast.
"I didn't expect that someone like Mu Feng would be willing to give up."
Su Musong held Xiao Luochen in his arms and replied:
"If you have a crush on someone, no matter how good others are, it's all in vain."
"Too."
They have seen these four words "love is the key" too many times over the years and have been practicing them all the time, so they can understand without much explanation.
"My parents are in Liguan now. Do you want to go see them?"
"Of course I thought about it, but..."
"This place is far from Yongjing, and Uncle Mu Yi and Dad are close friends. We just need to be careful and there will be no problem."
Although Mu Yi had been leading troops abroad for many years and Xiao Luochen had never met him, he knew of his friendship with the Anguo Mansion. Moreover, although he had decided to stay with Mu Song forever, no matter what happened, he didn't know what the Anguo Mansion couple would think of this.
Xiao Luochen didn't know that Su Musong had been depressed for two years after learning of his death. He thought that in the eyes of all old friends, he and Su Musong were just a pair of close friends in their youth. However, he didn't know that Su Musong had already made his feelings clear.
Staying with Su Musong for a lifetime is an unorthodox thing. Although Xiao Luochen doesn't care what others think, he still wants to get the understanding of his elders. His parents are no longer around, so meeting the Duke of Anguo and his wife is the inevitable choice.
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