“Why?”
Qin Qiancheng asked.
Having realized his inability to sow discord between Ji Hong and Ji Jinmo, Qin Qiancheng abandoned all his plans. The fallback he had prepared before his decision to defect had become a mere joke after he discovered the true relationship between Ji Hong and Ji Jinmo.
He wasn't asking why the uncle and nephew had colluded to set up this scheme; he was asking why they had suspected him even before his betrayal.
“My loyal minister, I actually want to ask you the same question.”
“When Father was still alive, you were already the Deputy Commissioner of the Pacification Commissioner’s Office. During that battle against the Da Li Imperial Army, you led the Lie Cheng Army in a flanking attack, intercepting the Imperial Army that was being slaughtered by the Demon Hunter Army and was fleeing in disarray after discarding their armor.”
“You achieved remarkable military exploits and entered the capital to serve as an official in your prime. I recall that the first general I enfelfeffed after my ascension was you, Qin Qiancheng!”
“You now hold an esteemed position, with few military officials as powerful and influential as you. Why did you defect, why did you betray your home and country?”
“Why?”
Qin Qiancheng roared like a trapped beast, his eyes seeming to bleed, fixated on Ji Jinmo. “That is a question for His Highness the Prince. The Prince was captivated by beauty and successively killed my two daughters. And Your Majesty, to play this role well, you allowed the Prince to arbitrarily execute the daughters of court officials. Your Majesty, you and the Prince are in positions of supreme power, holding the power of life and death. How can you understand the grief of a father who has lost his daughters?”
“Every time I think of my daughters, my heart aches, and I cannot eat or sleep peacefully. As soon as I close my eyes, I see them crying and questioning why I did not avenge them!”
“My heart feels like it’s being thrown into a boiling oil pot, or submerged in a deep abyss. I am in so much pain that I wish I could gnaw on my own flesh.”
“I hate, I hate that I cannot avenge my daughters.”
“So, Your Majesty, why can’t I betray? Why can’t I defect? I want the Da Li army to storm Huai Cheng, only then will I have a chance to avenge my daughters!”
Ji Jinmo’s lips curved upwards. He seemed about to laugh, but his face remained as cold as ever. He stopped fiddling with his prayer beads, placed the rosary on the table with the back of his hand, and said, “General Qin’s devotion to his daughter is truly moving!”
His icy tone carried a sarcastic barb, making one feel the humiliation and panic of being stripped naked and thrown into the street.
Ji Jinmo picked up his teacup, blew away the floating tea leaves, and said, “When a mask is worn for too long, General Qin seems to forget your true self. Are you the Qin Qiancheng of Lin Yuan, or the Qin Qiancheng of Da Li?”
“I am naturally Qin Qiancheng of Lin Yuan!”
Qin Qiancheng trembled with grief and indignation. The chains piercing his clavicle rattled again with a clang. His face was contorted with rage, the anger of being slandered and the injustice of being wronged. He didn't even show a flicker of fear or unease when Ji Jinmo uttered the words ‘Qin Qiancheng of Da Li’.
Truly worthy of being a general who fought his way through thousands of troops.
“Very good!”
Ji Jinmo remained unruffled, as composed and indifferent as ever. If Ji Hong had not witnessed his uncle’s radiant smile, he would have mistaken him for someone with a poker face.
Ji Jinmo rapped his fingers lightly. Jia Huan, who had been standing in the corner like an invisible person, stepped forward and walked to the center of the study.
“Leave him with a breath!”
“Yes!”
Jia Huan dragged him away, and Shi San also retreated from the room.
Ji Hong’s straightened back relaxed. He leaned back against the chair, turned to Ji Jinmo, and thought about the latest intelligence on Wu Cheng submitted by the Dark Web before the morning court. His Imperial Aunt was truly a remarkable woman, not only resolving the mist situation on Changming Mountain but also tracing and apprehending a group of treacherous Liao spies. The intelligence clearly recorded every step the Imperial Aunt had taken after discovering the disappearance case, each step interlinked and brilliantly executed.
Ji Hong couldn’t help but envy how his uncle managed to marry such a capable wife.
“Uncle, why was Imperial Aunt bullied by Nan Yuan’er before?”
Ji Hong felt that even if the Imperial Aunt’s vision was filled with enemies when she was at the Nan Mansion, she wouldn’t have been so miserable as to be almost forced to death. With the Imperial Aunt’s methods and schemes, it would have been Nan Yuan’er’s immense luck if she wasn’t played to death.
Mentioning Nan Shiying, a smile finally appeared on Ji Jinmo’s stern face. For a moment, it was as if all things had come back to life and the frost had melted. Ji Hong, in a daze, seemed to hear birds singing the praise of spring. He felt that his uncle’s transformation was somewhat excessive; even a Sichuan opera face-changer wouldn’t change that drastically.
“She was still young then!”
Actually, Ji Jinmo couldn’t explain. Some things, no matter how good their uncle-nephew relationship was, he would not explain them to him.
Resurrection, soul possession.
To others, this would be the work of an evil spirit, causing disaster and chaos, and could not be tolerated.
Ji Hong felt that his uncle hadn’t finished speaking, but he didn’t intend to probe further. He was merely sighing, marveling at how such a woman as his Imperial Aunt could exist in this world.
“Uncle, this is the memorial from Liu Chongyan, the envoy to the Liao border.”
At the hour of Mao (5-7 AM) today, before the morning court, Ji Hong received a memorial from Liu Chongyan, the envoy stationed at the Liao border. The memorial stated that three nights ago, the border market in Liao was massacred, turning it into a dead city.
Ji Jinmo took the memorial and read it at a glance. Upon seeing the words “three nights ago” and “massacred,” his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. Seeing him close the memorial, Ji Hong tentatively asked, “Uncle, was it Imperial Aunt?”
Ji Jinmo turned his head. His thinly-drawn phoenix eyes swept up at Ji Hong from below. Ji Hong felt a chill run through his bones. He shifted back, picked up his teacup, and took a sip of hot tea, muttering softly, “If not, then not. Why are you glaring?”
Ji Jinmo’s hand rested on the memorial, and he naturally paid no attention to Ji Hong. Yesterday, he had received a letter from Ying’er, which mentioned the strange occurrences on the journey of Ying San escorting the civilians back to Lin Yuan, including the Liao border market.
That is to say, by the time Ying San and the civilians reached the market, it had already become a dead city. The people who let them in then were highly suspicious.
But why did those people not attack Ying San and her group?
Was it because they detected someone secretly escorting them, or was the act of slaughtering the city actually intended to ensure Ying San and the others returned to Lin Yuan more safely?
The conclusions from these two scenarios would be vastly different.
“Uncle, Uncle!”
Ji Hong called out several times before Ji Jinmo slowly turned his head to look at him.
Ji Hong said, “Uncle, what are you thinking about? I’ve called you several times, and you didn’t hear me.”
“What is it?” Ji Jinmo asked coldly.
“It’s nothing much, I just wanted to ask if you have any leads.”
“No!”
Ji Jinmo replied curtly.
His hand tapped lightly on the memorial, and he then asked, “Were there any Lin Yuan civilians in the city?”
“The Liao border market?” Ji Hong blinked for a second before understanding which city he was referring to. “Of course… Oh, wait, yes, the people from that damned merchant guild’s branch.” Ji Hong was about to say no, but upon closer reflection, he realized there probably were, as that damned merchant guild had established a branch in Liao.
“Hengyuan Merchant Guild?”
Ji Hong nodded.
“Are they dead?”
“Probably!”
Ji Jinmo gave him a look. Ji Hong quickly added, “Liu Chongyan didn’t mention it, only saying that the Liao border market was massacred and turned into a dead city. If there were people stationed in the Hengyuan Merchant Guild’s branch at that time, they certainly couldn’t have escaped death.”
This meant that the perpetrators had not chosen to spare the Lin Yuan civilians.
Or perhaps the perpetrators felt that the people of the Hengyuan Merchant Guild deserved to die.
It was difficult to make sense of this matter due to the scarcity of information. Ji Jinmo stopped thinking about the Liao border market, as the victims were all Liao civilians, and the deaths of the Hengyuan Merchant Guild people in Liao were, in a way, a good deal for them.
The matter of Wu Cheng was not yet resolved, and Ji Jinmo didn’t know when Ying’er would return. He turned and looked at Ji Hong.
For some reason, Ji Hong saw a look of anger in Ji Jinmo’s eyes.
No, why?
He hadn’t said anything!
After dinner, Jia Huan came to report.
“Your Majesty, Master, Qin Qiancheng has confessed!”
Qin Qiancheng was not as tough as Jia Huan had imagined. After enduring only a dozen or so tortures, he spilled everything. However, what he revealed truly broadened Jia Huan’s horizons.