Yan Xiuping's words startled the dying Qi Huanquan, but he quickly recovered.
"Since ancient times, the victor is king and the loser is a bandit.
Lord Yan, if you wish to humiliate this general, you don't need to be so indirect.
This general aided the Prince in achieving great things; who do you say is my master?"
"Qi Huanquan, you joined the army at thirteen and have always been by the side of the then mere Centurion, the old King Zhennan.
You have never set foot in the capital these past years, nor have you rarely left the King Zhennan's manor. How could you inexplicably become a subordinate of King Wucheng?
Moreover, you are a few years older than King Wucheng.
In other words, when you were lurking by the old King Zhennan's side as a pawn, King Wucheng was merely a six or seven-year-old child.
May I ask: how could a child who still wets the bed traverse thousands of miles to make another person sincerely serve him?"
"You're the one who wets the bed!"
King Wucheng retorted without thinking.
The Qi Huanquan, who was being questioned, ignored the profusely bleeding wound on his chest and stiffly explained,
"This general had the opportunity to meet the Prince only after achieving fame and success. Then, we had a delightful conversation. Is that not possible?"
"Of course, it is possible for you to say that.
However, when you achieved fame and success, King Wucheng had not yet initiated that succession struggle.
Those who know would surely understand that King Wucheng was only a little bit away from that position back then.
Let alone ten thousand elite soldiers, if he had your assistance at that time.
If you had ambushed the Emperor on the official road outside the capital with just a thousand elites, the Emperor would surely have died.
At that time, with high positions and generous rewards, the old King Zhennan might have even been subservient to you.
Such a heaven-sent opportunity, you would not, and could not, miss it.
But in reality, none of this happened.
So, I ask you one last time, who is your master?"
As if he hadn't expected the other party to have seen through everything so thoroughly, Qi Huanquan dropped his guard and laughed,
"Yan Xiuping, you are indeed quite intelligent.
But so what? You are ultimately just a son-in-law of the King Zhennan's manor.
To put it bluntly, you are just a dog working for the Duan family.
In essence, there is no difference between us."
"Stop. Do not lump me in with despicable scoundrels like you who treat human lives as insignificant.
During times of peace and prosperity, I entered officialdom and used my knowledge to benefit the people.
When the borders were unstable, I guarded the frontier with my wife and children for twenty years, fought on the battlefield, and protected our home and country.
Now that my children have grown up, I intend to hand over these responsibilities and enjoy the pleasure of my beloved wife in my arms and traveling the mountains and rivers with the remaining time. Only then will my life have been worthwhile.
As for the title of son-in-law, I can only say that I happened to love the daughter of the Duan family. It has nothing to do with status; I simply recognized her as the person."
With that, Old Master Yan looked affectionately at Madam Yan.
Madam Yan, confessed to in public, blushed.
Uncles Yan Liang and Yan Tinghao, accustomed to this, both took two steps back.
King Wucheng, left in place: ???
Whether from anger or being stuffed with dog food, Qi Huanquan's hand slowly lowered. Suffering from excessive blood loss, he finally couldn't hold on, dying with his eyes wide open.
Not having received the answer, Old Master Yan sighed lightly and turned his gaze to King Wucheng diagonally opposite, a slight curve on his lips:
"Good son, shall we continue?"
"Yan Xiuping, do not be arrogant!
It was Qi Huanquan's own stupidity to be manipulated by you, a greedy soul with insatiable desires. But I am different from him.
I still have Li'er, I still have confidants, and I still have the artillery camp stationed outside!"
A surge of anger went straight to King Wucheng's head, almost making him gnash his teeth. However, the angrier he became, the more it highlighted Old Master Yan's composure.
"Other matters aside, that artillery camp is indeed troublesome."
Hearing Old Master Yan say this, Yan Liang immediately volunteered,
"I will lead the Silver Dragon Guard to infiltrate the artillery camp and destroy all those cannons."
"Uncle Yan, please stay your step~"
Hua Jinrong, who had stopped eating melon seeds, walked over, fanning herself, and called out naturally.
"Uncle Yan, those cannons were all built by Royal Uncle with real gold and silver~
Not only did it take time and effort, but it also consumed the efforts of countless skilled craftsmen. It would be a shame to destroy them~
Isn't that right, Master~"
Lin Qingge, suddenly addressed by name, twitched the corner of her mouth, but for the sake of the hard-earned money.
She waved for Lu Mingxuan to come over, whispered a few words into Lu Mingxuan's ear, and then asked Yan Liang to personally accompany Lu Mingxuan.
Yan Liang did not move at first, but seeing Old Master Yan nod slightly at him, and Yan Tinghao constantly speaking well of him, even wanting to recommend himself, he retreated with a reluctant Lu Mingxuan.
However, the two returned not long after.
It was just that Yan Liang's gaze towards someone was somewhat peculiar.
Soon, spies from the King Zhennan's manor reported that the soldiers of the artillery camp had abandoned the cannons and left.
"What?!
How is this possible?!"
The person most surprised by this news was King Wucheng himself.
Upon realizing what had happened, he glared viciously at the culprit and questioned him with an unfriendly tone,
"Speak, what did you send people to do?"
"It's nothing, your subordinate merely saw that Your Highness was too embarrassed to say it himself due to pride, so I had people take a token that represents Your Highness and instructed the brothers in the artillery camp to go back early and rest since it was late at night."
"What did you say?!"
"Your Highness, do not rush. Your subordinate's men accidentally found a token representing Your Highness's identity, so I conveniently used it as a gift.
Of course, given the importance of the artillery camp, Your Highness must have given extra instructions.
But it doesn't matter, besides the token, your subordinate's men also coincidentally found Your Highness's personal belongings.
A pair of underpants embroidered with a five-clawed golden dragon, enough to proclaim Your Highness's ambition."
Wu Suowei was originally somewhat perverted in appearance, but not a degenerate.
The reason he stole King Wucheng's underpants was entirely due to the pattern embroidered on them.
Although she did not know how Wu Suowei found and succeeded in getting them while King Wucheng was properly dressed.
However, when Lu Mingxuan pulled out the underpants, she glimpsed a claw embroidered with golden thread, confirming the underpants' uniqueness.
And looking across the entire Great Xia, the one who dared to embroider a five-clawed golden dragon was currently tied up not far away.
Therefore, in some aspects, this item was far more convincing than the token representing King Wucheng.
Although she did not know how the glib-tongued Lu Mingxuan managed to make the soldiers of the artillery camp ignore their master's safety and only recognize the underpants...
Furthermore, due to the traitor Qi Huanquan, the ten thousand elite soldiers of the King Zhennan's manor had become allies.
Therefore, the appearance of Yan Liang, who entered and exited with Qi Huanquan, was enough to dispel the last trace of doubt from the men in the artillery camp.
"Despicable!"
Realizing the key points, King Wucheng's eyes almost spewed fire, but he quickly calmed down.
"My Li'er is perceptive and will soon discover the anomaly in the main hall.
At that time, he will not only lead the army of the Northeast Grand Camp but also retake command of the artillery camp, ensuring that all of you will die without a burial place!"
Lin Qingge shrugged dismissively upon hearing this, "Unfortunately, Your Highness's wish will not come true."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what it means. If Your Highness does not understand, I can have your Li'er explain it to you personally."
After speaking, Lin Qingge raised her chin, and a figure as tall and straight as a pine tree slowly walked out from the back door of the main hall.
Author's Notes
I've been busy with family matters recently, so the update time for the second chapter might be irregular. Please bear with me, darlings. Sending you all virtual hugs!