Chapter 206 – The Overbearing General’s Pretty Warlord (XXV)

　　When Chu Ziling was secretly escorted to the main tent, he was in such a terrible state that Shi Jinghong was shocked.

His face was streaked with bruises and purple, one eye was bruised and swollen, and a whip mark ran from under his eye to the corner of his mouth, so close that the blade was about to pull his eye out.

Yan Yuanzhao and Yan Yuanheng are both in the main tent.

After Shi Tingyun left, Yan Yuanzhao wanted to call his horse to go with him, but Yan Yuanheng stopped him: “Sixth brother, come with me to the main camp to see General Shi.”

Yan Yuanzhao said urgently, “If Stop Cloud thinks wrongly, run and release that Chu Ziling ……”

Yan Yuanheng replied, “Stopping the clouds is a good idea.”

Now that he had seen Chu Ziling’s tragic face, Yan Yuanzhao was relieved.

Luckily, Stop Cloud didn’t do anything stupid.

But Yan Yuanheng wrinkles his brow instead.

He looked on from the sidelines at Shi Tingyun’s overly calm demeanour, and at his palm, which was bloodied from his tight grip on the whip, and his heart ached with pain.

The envoy is Kang Yang, a Hmong, dressed as a Wen scholar, wearing a pair of crystal glasses at a young age, and of exceptional appearance and eloquence.

He glanced at Chu Ziling, who had been beaten to a pulp, and turned his head calmly, speaking Han Wen with exceptional fluency: “The two princes, General Shi. You have all read General Tie Muer’s letter, but we still need to discuss the peace talks in detail. For the next few days, I will stay with your army to discuss this matter. As for ……”

He pointed to Chu Ziling : “…… This Chu Ziling , I have been asked by someone to make sure I take him back to the southern border.”

Shi Jinghong : “By whom?”

Kang Yang said, “Best friend Ai Sha .”

At these words, Chu Ziling’s blood-covered eyes rolled slightly.

…… Ai Sha ?

Ai Sha is crazy?

Why did he call for someone to come and take him away when it was clear that he was still making a difference by staying in the Northern Army?

Chu Ziling had always acted steadily, but countless times he had imagined in private the shocked, distressed or angry faces of the people when he revealed his face to them, and he could take it in peace. He would be a prisoner in his own house, a turtle in a jar.

…… was never going to be like this, with myself kneeling in front of the hall, bruised and battered, surrounded by people, uncertain of my life or death.

Shi Jinghong was unmoved: ” Chu Ziling , what do you have to say?”

Chu Ziling’s mind was filled with anxiety, but at this point it was all put away.

He raised his head and said firmly, “The last general has been wronged!”

Kang Yang raised his cup of tea and drank it with a peaceful demeanour.

Yan Yuanzhao could not help himself and said, “You say this man is a traitor to the enemy, but he joined the general’s household at the age of twelve, so if his family was not clean, how could he be included in the household?”

Kang Yang put down his tea: “A scout should be raised from a young age, such a simple truth, the Sixth Prince should know.”

Yan Yuanzhao : “……”

With nothing to say, he thought the envoy was a bit odd.

It is only logical that a spy planted in an enemy camp should either remain there or be discarded when discovered, but why did this man take the initiative to reveal Chu Ziling’s identity and bring it back?

What has this Southlander done?

Don’t say Yan Yuanzhao, Chu Ziling is also confused.

What does he mean by this?

Chu Ziling doesn’t care what Ai Sha’s madness is. He has worked for years as a slave to get his way, so how can he let his efforts go down the drain?

He bowed his head and said, “General, my lord, Ziling does not know how to defend himself. I have been a member of the General’s household since I was a child, I have been spared the hardships of wandering, I have been taught and brought up, so how could I have done something disloyal and unrighteous?”

”The words ‘since childhood’ remind Chu Ziling of his former displacement and of the jade stone that was broken to pieces at the feet of Shi Tingyun.

His heart and stomach were pumping with pain, even as the small of his back was tangled in a knot.

Even so, his face was barely holding up, not impatient, but more helpless and heartbroken: “The Southlanders are only trying to use this to sow discord, but do you have any real evidence? You have grown up with me since we were children, and our friendship is strong. But Ziling is innocent, and his heart and blood can be seen by the sun and the moon!”

Kang Yang looked as normal, not surprised or angry, but praised, “This is really good tea. If the peace talks go well, I wonder if I can take some tea back with me and give my good friend a taste?”

Shi Jinghong was also bashful, smiling and saying, “If Envoy Kang likes it, there is no harm in taking some away.”

Chu Ziling was so stretched by the two men that his statement of innocence seemed weak.

But it doesn’t matter.

He thought that as long as there was no letter of credit, there was room for manoeuvre.

Just ……

”…… clean and clear, dan heart and blood?”

While he was still under the illusion, Shi Tingyun picked up a pile of letters sitting on the table and handed them to him, his hands shaking a little and making a rustling and crunching sound: “…… You mean these?”

With that, he slapped the letter hard in Chu Ziling’s face.

Chu Ziling saw the pile of letters, black on white, and felt his eyes go black, a fire in his heart burning his head.

…… What is this Southern Borderer up to? Is it really about killing the donkey?

”Seven years of the Battle of the Twin Cities.” Kang Yang played with his tea cup as he narrated, “…… happened exactly when Duke Shi first went to the border. Duke Shi was still young and stayed in the main city and did not go out to fight in the war. The person who served him was Chu Ziling. I remember that he also had a servant with him, Li Yeshu, who stayed in the general’s residence and did not accompany him. May I ask General Shi, if this letter is not the work of Mr. Shi, who is most likely to have sent it? If this matter were to be judged by the world, I wonder how many strange secrets would be revealed.”

Yan Yuanheng, who was listening, changed his expression.

That’s a really poisonous thing to say!

The smiling face of this Kang is clearly a ruthless character, and his words are meant to implicate Shi Tingyun!

Shi Jinghong When the general’s favorite son, everyone knows, at present, Chu Ziling may be a spy, only a few personal guards and they know, but if the southern border people spread the story ……

Even for the sake of Shi Tingyun’s reputation, Shi Jinghong had to find a reasonable culprit to settle the matter immediately, otherwise, if word got out, not to mention how much criticism Shi Tingyun’s status as the son of a general would attract, even the notoriety of “lax discipline” would be enough for Shi Tingyun.

To put it bluntly, this is a naked threat.

–If Chu Ziling is handed over, the matter will be known to God and to earth, and to you and to me.

– If the intention is to shelter, it is not clear who will be victimised once the rumours get out.

Shi Jinghong understood the meaning of the words, but he only smiled gently, “Envoy Kang has taken a keen interest in my son, and he knows my son’s sidekick well too.”

”I am sorry to have offended. I was previously unaware of the family affairs of the General’s house.” Kang Yang looked to Chu Ziling , “All thanks to this man, who explained it clearly in his letter.”

Chu Ziling’s eyes flickered to the letters that had fallen in front of him, and his heart sank even deeper.

This is not all of the letters, which were selected, but the bias is to seal the deal.

This includes his briefing several months ago on Wen Feiru’s injuries, the urgent military situation in Dingyuan, and the incident in Fusui.

Who could have known so many secrets if they had put it off as a forgery?

What’s more, he had said something like that, forcing Shi Jinghong to convict him immediately.

But it makes no sense for the Southlanders to do this to themselves, especially Ai Sha, who has to point to himself to move up the ladder.

Moreover, if he wanted to harm himself, he could have sent a message directly and cut off his life, so why did he take the extra step of offering to take him back to the southern border?

Along with Chu Ziling’s eyes, his mind is also full of thoughts.

Ai Sha is the only one who has these letters. Ai Sha sent this man to meet him and showed all his cards, what was his purpose?

Could it be that there is a change in the royal family of the Southern Border? Or the King of Southern Border asked about himself and Ai Sha had to reveal his true identity, so the King of Southern Border wanted to see him.

The more Chu Ziling thinks about it, the more it makes sense.

Only then does everything make sense and make sense.

With this in mind, he simply refrained from speaking in his own defence.

Yan Yuanzhao and Yan Yuanheng, who were at the side, heard the sinister words of Kang Yang and could not help but feel a little anxious.

Yan Yuanzhao looks to Shi Jinghong, while Yan Yuanheng looks to Shi Tingyun, who looks uncertain.

Shi Jinghong, as if oblivious, said, “Then why should I return this man to the southern border, Envoy Kang? All I have to do is throw him out of the tent at this point, and he will immediately be split into five horses.”

Kang Yang laughed, “General Shi is a wise man, he should not want to make the matter of Young General Shi’s lax rule to the point where everyone knows about it.”

Shi Jinghong’s smile remained unchanged: “I am grateful to Envoy Kang for his trouble.”

He picked up Tie Muer’s book of peace talks, flipped through two pages and ordered without looking up, “Left and right, stab Chu Ziling to death with a sword, saying that Envoy Kang intended to commit the murder and that Chu Ziling died defending me, then drag Envoy Kang out and chop him up.”

Kang Yang: “……”

As soon as the left and right lieutenants drew their swords, the Kang envoy’s cold sweat sprang up on his back in a flash: “When ……”

Shi Jinghong lifted his eyes, and his eyebrows and eyes were filled with a gentle smile: “Envoy Kang, if I respond in this way, how do you intend to publicise this?”

Kang Yang sweatdropped and only reluctantly put his mind at ease when he saw his left and right put away their swords, “General Shi, you’re joking.”

Shi Jinghong said, “Envoy Kang, don’t joke about it. We are in peace talks, and honesty must come first. If you want to take Chu Ziling away, you must give me a reason not to kill him.”

”He’s been a bit restless lately.” I don’t know if it’s because he’s had a scare, but Kang Yang is unexpectedly honest, “I guess he’s got a future in the northern army and wants to make plans for his future. We really don’t want to sit back and watch another tiger in the Central Plains. We will bring him back and show him how a traitor should be treated. General Shi can rest assured that this man will not be treated well when he is returned to the southern border. In particular, Ai Sha, who asked me to visit him, has a blood feud with him and will not let him go lightly.”

Kang Yang’s attitude of not praising, but rather denigrating, has in turn reassured Chu Ziling.

He really did come to pick himself up.

Shi Jinghong pondered for a moment, ” Chu Ziling, how do you want to choose? Should you stay, or go back to the southern border?”

Chu Ziling was not expecting Shi Jinghong to ask for his opinion, and his cold sweat beaded down: “I ……”

With just this hesitation, his mind was tossed around with a million thoughts and a thousand ideas.

Although there is still room to defend oneself, or to take one’s right hand and write in public to prove one’s innocence, it is useless to stay here, as Kang Yang has publicly revealed his identity and has letters to testify.

Even if Shi Tingyun trusts himself, once the seeds of doubt are sown, there is no way back.

Instead, back in the southern border, he had another chance to fight.

Even if he had not been able to make the Shih family into a surrender, it would have been worthwhile to take the information back.

And his hesitancy was well received by all those present.

Shi Jinghong waved a hand, “Alright, I know. …… Special Envoy Kang, please.”

Kang Yang knew it was a done deal, and with a respectful arch of his hand, Chu Ziling was gagged and dragged out to find an unused tent where he would be held for the time being.

Kang Yang settled a heart and continued to drink his tea.

Yan Yuanzhao, however, could not sit still and approached Shi Jinghong, saying softly, “General Shi, what is the point of letting him go? Killing him on the spot is the best way to save Stop Cloud’s reputation.”

”I thank the Sixth Prince for his concern for my son.” Shi Jinghong replied, “But no one in the camp knows of Chu Ziling’s involvement with my son, and if he is killed without giving a reason, rumours will only increase. ”

Yan Yuanzhao disagreed: “It would be better if the execution was secret, as only about a dozen people knew about it. What if they bring Chu Ziling back and then make a Wen chapter of the letters with handwriting similar to that of Stop Cloud? Besides, that Chu Ziling knows a lot about military affairs in the Central Plains ……”

”Sixth prince, don’t worry.” Shi Jinghong remained gentle and courteous, “You can rest assured that Chu Ziling has been transferred to the Primus Battalion for many months, and his defences have been adjusted. Moreover, they will not believe anything Chu Ziling says. Chu Ziling’s death is certain when he goes to the southern border.”

Yan Yuanzhao raises his eyebrows in surprise.

Kang Yang also seemed to sense Yan Yuanzhao’s misgivings and took the initiative to explain his sincerity.

He pointed to the letters scattered on the ground and said, “General, you have read them all and they are all originals. You can burn all the letters and I will not say another word about them once you leave this tent. Think of it as the Chu Ziling who stole from the army and was dismissed from the army.”

”Envoy Kang is very thoughtful, and I would like to thank you here.”

After Shi Jinghong’s gesture, Shi Tingyun, who had been standing at his side with his head hanging down, began to collect the secret letters that had been scattered all over the floor.

At the same time, Shi Jinghong spoke again, “Envoy Kang, I also have a matter here that I would like you to know.”

Kang Yang was courteous: “What is it?”

Shi Jinghong said, “Ding Yuan Wen Feiru , has never been wounded.”

Kang Yang didn’t know why he brought it up and smiled politely, “That’s not very ……”

Even before the word “good” was uttered, Kang Yang understood the meaning behind the words and immediately got goose bumps.

Yan Yuanzhao and Yan Yuanheng did not quite understand at first why Shi Jinghong would bring this up.

Wen Feiru was not seriously wounded before the Battle of Ding Yuan ……

Shi Jinghong looked at Kang Yang’s white face and said slowly and deliberately, “I had sensed that there was a traitor in my house, so I played a little ploy to inform my close ones of two very different messages, one that Ding Yuan Wen Feiru had been wounded, and the other that Vice General Bai of Yong Zhou City had been wounded. And shortly afterwards, Dingzhou was attacked by your army.”

Yan Yuanzhao, too, gradually came to his senses and, with astonishment in his eyes, looked towards Shi Tingyun, who was gathering his letters.

The sadness on Shi Tingyun’s face was no longer there as he picked up the letter page by page and threw it into the fireplace.

As the tongues of fire burned the corners of the paper so that they curled up, Shi Jinghong smiled and said, “Now that we have identified the traitor, I would like to ask Special Envoy Kang to send the traitor back to the southern border for us and deal with him properly.”

……

Chu Ziling, in the other tent, knew nothing of what was happening in the main tent.

He curled his knees and touched the object in his arms.

The broken piece of jade is still there.

After the jade had been shattered by the enraged Shi Tingyun, he had wrapped the broken jade and carried it back in his arms under the pretext that it was his mother’s relic.

Broken jade can also be repaired and pieced together, and it is not difficult to see the original form.

…… is still available and working.

That was all Chu Ziling could do to comfort himself, leaning his head against the hardwood on one side and enduring the pain that burned around him.

Over the next few days, Kang Yang stayed in the northern army to discuss the peace talks. Chu Ziling heard from the guards who were chatting outside that Kang Yang had spent the last few days together and admired General Shi and the young general, and that they were more humble than the haughty and self-possessed people who first arrived.

But Chu Ziling has not had the best of times.

The pain from the whip wounds, the daily lack of water and food, and the occasional meal brought by the guards were still rancid, and even if you didn’t smell it and swallowed it whole, the powdery and greasy taste in your mouth was disgusting.

The next day, Li Yeshu arrived and, without saying a word, grabbed him and beat him so hard that he was even harder than Shi Tingyun, and if the guards outside hadn’t heard something wrong, Chu Ziling would have been beaten to death.

Seeing Li Yeshu’s eyes red, kicking and punching, his voice tinged with sobs, one of the tall guards simply carried him on his shoulders and sent him out to young General Shi.

Chu Ziling is now so injured that he is retching and vomiting when he drinks water.

Li Yeshu, who seemed to have taken a liking to him, would come through the window to beat him up whenever he could, and even brought a knife with him, only to be taken out by his own health worker each time.

Chu Ziling had a wretched life, a life that was like a year.

Day and night, it was finally time for Kang Yang to leave the camp.

The Southland mission had to take Chu Ziling out secretly, so it left in the early hours of the morning. Chu Ziling’s head was covered with a black pocket to keep out of sight.

As he was being blindfolded, Chu Ziling caught a glimpse of Shi Tingyun, who had come to see him off.

When the time came to part, Chu Ziling felt a different kind of melancholy, saying, “My lord, perhaps when we meet again, we will be enemies.

On the other hand, Kang Yang bade farewell to Shi Jinghong and informed him of one last thing: “General Shi, Chu Ziling has a grey-necked pigeon. Take my advice, it is useless to keep it, so kill it.”

As the peace party made its way along the Cang River, hearing the sound of the waves and moving away from the main camp of the northern army, Chu Ziling on horseback moved his aching body and said, “That’s enough. Now that we are far away, let go of me.”

The peacemaking team responsible for escorting him looked at each other for a while and sniggered.

Chu Ziling was uncomfortably tied up and frowned: “Where is Kang Yang?”

Kang Yang harnessed his horse and pulled the black cloth off his head with one hand.

When he was able to open his eyes, he moved his tied arms, thinking that perhaps Ai Sha had not told anyone about his status as a prince and that Kang Yang was the only one who knew about it. So he moved closer to Kang Yang and whispered, “What is Ai Sha’s status?”

Kang Yang looked at him, “Not very well. One eye was injured and it took nine deaths to recover a life.”

Chu Ziling wondered, “He is a Wen minister, how could he have hurt his eyes?”

”…… Wen Wen minister?”

Kang Yang watched his smiling eyes and the slightly upward tone of his question, which gave Chu Ziling the slightest hint that something was wrong.

He asked, “Wasn’t it Ai Sha who asked you to pick me up and take me back to the southern border?”

”‘Back’?” Kang Yang pondered for a while and smiled, “Yes, ‘back’ to the southern border, from now on, the southern border Ai Sha government, is your home. You used to be a slave in the Central Plains, and you have been a soldier for a while, you have enjoyed your blessings, now you are going back to your old job, I wonder how you feel?”

”…… what old job?” Chu Ziling’s heart grew with a bad feeling, ” What did Ai Sha say to you?”

Kang Yang said, ” Vice Admiral Ai Sha asked me to tell you that since you love to be a slave, he will reward you with a lifetime of servitude.”

Ai Sha ? …… Vice Admiral?

Chu Ziling opened his mouth for a moment and then realised that the situation was very different from what he had imagined.

He dared not hide it any longer, the blood in his chest hissing and boiling backwards, rushing his head to buzz: “I’m the prince of the southern border! I have a token on my chest!”

Kang Yang raised an eyebrow and reached into his arms, and when he did, he felt a pile of broken hard objects.

He took the packet out and gave it a squeeze in his hand.

After Chu Ziling showed an expectant look, Kang Yang waved his hand and the packet of broken jade fell into the Cang River, where it was immediately swallowed up in the water, floating and sinking a few times.

Facing Chu Ziling’s face that went grey and blue in a flash, Kang Yang’s eyes under his crystal glasses glowed with a cold smile: “…… Whether it was before or not, it’s not now.”