Chapter 1300 – Defeating Huang Song, Unification of Dongqing (Part 42)
A certain patrolling soldier was holding in his pee for far too long, begging his comrades to swap shifts, and he snuck off to a secluded spot to relieve himself.
Just as he was enjoying his moment of bliss, his keen eyes caught a glimpse of a strange woman whose suspicious actions piqued the little soldier’s curiosity.
Following the principle of “better to mistakenly capture a thousand than to let one slip away,” he promptly reported the strange sighting.
This woman was odd indeed; anyone who locked eyes with her would lose themselves in a trance, obeying her every whim.
Initially, the soldier thought he might have the wrong person, but with such a bizarre display, he was determined to take her in.
After quite an uproar, they finally managed to capture the woman.
Fu Wang let out a scoff, glancing at the flustered Vice General and remarked, “A mountain fox spirit? I think you all are just in need of a drink if you see fairies everywhere.”
His standards were sky-high—how could someone looking that ugly be called a fairy?
What a lack of experience!
The Vice General looked quite embarrassed; he knew this woman didn’t appear to be a spy, but she was certainly acting strangely, and he had found evidence.
“General, this is a letter found on her.”
The Vice General handed over the item, and upon seeing it, the woman widened her eyes and her struggles intensified.
She was surprisingly strong, stronger than an average man, and it took two fully grown soldiers just to hold her down. They needed another one just to subdue her.
Fu Wang took the letter, which bore a wax seal.
He broke the seal and carefully pulled out the letter, shaking a corner of the paper before unfolding it to read swiftly.
While Fu Wang was reading the letter, Qi Guanrang was squinting and yawning, having had no proper rest for several consecutive days; he was dozing off in broad daylight.
“General Fu, what’s going on?”
Fu Wang glanced at the woman, incredulously handing the paper to Qi Guanrang, whispering, “Military Adviser, take a look at this.”
“Mm?” Qi Guanrang was puzzled, “What does it say?”
After reading it, Fu Wang retrieved the folded sketch from the envelope. “And this.”
One glance at the sketch told Qi Guanrang it depicted a detailed map of Wanzhou with troop distributions marked all over.
In this era, maps weren’t easy to create, and detailed, accurate maps were often considered top secret.
The map of Wanzhou was undoubtedly crucial military intelligence, not something to be casually released.
This map was far more detailed and comprehensive than any Qi Guanrang had previously encountered; if it fell into enemy hands, the consequences would be dire.
In addition to the map, there was that letter—
A letter from Feng Gui to Feng Jue!
Who is Feng Gui?
The current head of the Feng family, Feng Jue’s elder brother!
Just moments ago, Qi Guanrang had declared it impossible for the Feng family to be swayed by Feng Jue, and now a spy had brought ironclad evidence that slapped him right in the face!
Fu Wang looked at Qi Guanrang with an odd expression as the latter furrowed his brow, flipping the letter over and over, reading it several times.
“Where’s the woman?” Qi Guanrang asked.
Fu Wang pointed at the woman. “Right here, but there’s something definitely odd about her eyes. You should be careful.”
As Qi Guanrang stepped closer, the woman lowered her head, no longer struggling as fiercely as before.
Looking at her, Qi Guanrang raised an eyebrow and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up.
Fu Wang: “…”
Oh boy, this is getting serious!
Qi Guanrang’s expression shifted to surprise. “It’s you?”
The woman instinctively shrank her shoulders, avoiding Qi Guanrang’s gaze.
Fu Wang asked, “Do you know her, Military Adviser?”
Could it be she was once the Military Adviser’s lover?
Qi Guanrang didn’t catch on to Fu Wang’s thoughts. “We’ve crossed paths a few times, but I haven’t seen her in years. The Emperor’s closest maidservants are four in total: one is Xun Mei, betrothed to Xiaoyu as his primary wife; another is Jiang Pengji, who also served as the Emperor’s maid; the third is Hui Jun, whom General Fu surely knows well. The fourth is this woman… Ta Xue.”
When Fu Wang joined Wanzhou, Ta Xue had already been isolated by Jiang Pengji and sent away to Chongzhou.
Thus, Fu Wang had never met Ta Xue.
Fu Wang exclaimed in disbelief, “She’s the Emperor’s maidservant?”
“Yes, I haven’t heard anything about her for years, never expected to see her here.”
“But why would she—”
Even if Ta Xue weren’t the Emperor’s maidservant anymore, based on their former master-servant bond, the Emperor wouldn’t simply disregard her.
She wouldn’t be left in poverty either.
If Ta Xue had betrayed the Emperor, she’d be marked as a traitor—who would still trust her?
Qi Guanrang folded the letter back, saying coolly, “Let’s put her under watch for now; we’ll leave it for the Emperor to deal with. It wouldn’t be right for us to intervene.”
Fu Wang hesitated, pointing at the letter in Qi Guanrang’s hand.
“This woman can be managed, but what about the letter and the map—if the Feng family betrays the Emperor, Wanzhou could be the next Hujun!”
This was solid evidence! If it could be proven true, would the Emperor let the Feng family off the hook?
Hearing Fu Wang’s words, Ta Xue tensed up, holding her breath as she awaited Qi Guanrang’s response.
Qi Guanrang said, “How can we convict the Feng family based on a letter of dubious authenticity? Even if it’s genuine, moving against the Feng family now would only force them into rebellion, coercing Huaiyu on the frontlines to choose between family and the Emperor!”
Fu Wang wanted to say more, but Qi Guanrang signaled him to take Ta Xue away.
“General Fu, we mustn’t rush into anything,” Qi Guanrang smiled, “Don’t you think this Ta Xue is indeed strange?”
Fu Wang nodded, “She definitely has an eerie vibe.”
Qi Guanrang stated, “This matter involves too much; it’s better to suppress it for now.”
“Given the Feng family’s position, we should definitely be more cautious…”
Qi Guanrang shook his head. “The Feng family is one thing, but we might risk inciting a rift between the Emperor and the Old Patriarch.”
Fu Wang was astonished. “The Emperor and the Old Patriarch… how does this concern them?”
Qi Guanrang explained, “Ta Xue was the Emperor’s maidservant, but handpicked by the Old Patriarch. Sending Ta Xue to Chongzhou was essentially sending her back to the Old Patriarch. Based on this relationship, is there any connection between her and the Feng family?”
That’s so far-fetched!
To put it even further, if the Feng family truly went mad, it shouldn’t be Ta Xue delivering the message. The connections were simply too bizarre.
Fu Wang suddenly grasped the complexity of it all and felt the weight of the situation.
After pondering for a moment, Qi Guanrang picked up a pen and wrote a letter to Feng Gui at the rear of Wanzhou, briefly outlining the situation.
No matter what, this couldn’t be kept from the Feng family.
If the Feng family was wrongfully accused, Feng Gui would undoubtedly come rushing in to clarify.
If it wasn’t a false accusation, the Feng family wouldn’t dare act rashly for the time being.
Of course, the likelihood of the Feng family being wrongfully accused was almost a hundred percent—unless Feng Gui had lost his mind to betray them.
Right now, Feng Gui was responding to his father’s summons, sending his two legitimate sons to the Golden Scales Academy.
Barring any surprises, the next generation of the Feng family would likely be passed down to one of these two children, subtly signaling the Feng family’s stance.
He certainly wouldn’t make a foolish decision, so upon receiving the letter, Feng Gui was already drenched in cold sweat.
