CHAPTER 316: CHAPTER 313 INTENT

Zhang Weihe had been keeping a close watch on Xue Ke, and he was able to immediately know of any disturbances on Xue Ke’s side.

"Someone went to Xue Ke’s residence," said Zhuang Xing, "Our people have not disturbed them for now. I have ordered that as long as that person doesn’t come out, it’s fine. But if they do, take them down immediately."

In short, they could not let that person escape.

But before that, they needed to report to Old General Zhang, for now refraining from alerting the enemy.

Zhang Weihe nodded. Whether Xue Ke had any issues would soon be revealed.

After instructing matters within the camp, Zhang Weihe, along with Zhuang Xing and others, headed straight to Xue Ke’s residence. The group arrived to find that the people in the courtyard had not yet come out.

Zhang Weihe didn’t delay further. He signaled to Zhuang Xing and the others to break open the locked door, striding inside.

Upon seeing Xue Ke’s stunned and panic-stricken expression, Zhang Weihe breathed a sigh of relief and turned his attention to another person in the room.

Wusuo was fiddling with the riding crop in his hand, looking at Zhang Weihe with interest. "Old General Zhang, you arrived slower than I expected; I was getting a bit impatient."

With a slight darkening of his gaze, seemingly igniting two black flames, Wusuo said, "Old General Zhang may not know me. I am Wusuo, one of the Thirteen Grand Protectors under Mr. Xiao."

Zhang Weihe’s expression did not change upon hearing this, but Xue Ke’s knees nearly buckled with fear.

Zhang Weihe glanced at Xue Ke, "Were all the things you told me false? Were you sent by the Liao people to deceive me?"

Xue Ke shook his head, his voice trembling, "Old General Zhang, I... I didn’t lie to you, everything I said was true."

"What he said is true," Wusuo said with a smirk, "He fled from Taiyuan Prefecture to divulge the old incident and asked for your help to escape to Qi Land."

Wusuo continued, "However, we had already discovered this matter long ago. Such a cowardly person as him could be easily intimidated into doing as we instruct."

Zhang Weihe asked coldly, "What do you intend to do?"

While Zhang Weihe was speaking, Zhuang Xing and the others had already surrounded Wusuo.

Wusuo showed no trace of fear on his face, remaining relaxed, "Inform Old General Zhang that Prince Guangyang has descendants; it’s Xie Liangchen from the Chen Family Village."

"We originally intended well, but fearing that Old General Zhang might not believe what we conveyed, we had Xue Ke recount the old story clearly. Given Old General Zhang’s cautious nature, he must have sent someone to verify it after hearing Xue Ke’s words. How is it? Has it been confirmed?"

Zhang Weihe looked at Wusuo coldly, uncertain of what Wusuo’s true intentions were, and therefore did not speak for the moment.

Wusuo said, "It seems the old general has reached an answer. So, the matters to follow may become much simpler."

Wusuo was in no hurry to speak further, gesturing to Zhang Weihe, "Old General Zhang, feel free to sit down. We have plenty of time."

Before Zhang Weihe could speak, the army’s deputy general quickly entered the courtyard.

Zhuang Xing stepped outside as the deputy general reported, "There’s some commotion within Taiyuan Prefecture."

Now that there was movement in Taiyuan Prefecture, the old general should immediately return to the camp to command the troops.

Zhuang Xing’s expression changed; it was clear that Wusuo had chosen this moment to disrupt the military situation.

Zhuang Xing quickly returned to Old General Zhang’s side, the two locking eyes before Zhuang Xing whispered, "General, we need to return to the camp."

Before Zhang Weihe could speak, Wusuo interjected, "This battle is important, but by the time Old General Zhang returns victorious, Prince Guangyang’s descendants might be far into Liao."

"Old General Zhang should know, Empress Dowager Xiao’s most beloved brother died at the hands of Prince Guangyang. How will Liao treat Prince Guangyang’s granddaughter?"

Zhang Weihe shivered all over, "What did you say?"

Wusuo smiled, "Since long before Xue Ke, we knew Xie Liangchen’s identity. Over such a long time, we naturally made some arrangements."

Zhang Weihe clenched his fists.

Wusuo said, "When Prince Guangyang’s entire family was killed, Old General Zhang didn’t manage to return to Taiyuan Prefecture. This time, Old General Zhang might miss it again. Is fighting for the Emperor of Qi more important, or is Prince Guangyang more important?"

After Wusuo finished speaking, he took out a piece of paper from his bosom and handed it to Zhang Weihe, "Before Old General Zhang makes a decision, you might as well take a look at this letter. My godfather said that after reading it, the old general will understand who was behind Prince Guangyang’s death, and why my godfather Xiao Xingzong chose to rebel against the Emperor of Qi."

Zhang Weihe’s gaze fell on the letter, which appeared aged, the paper long since yellowed, with brownish stains likely from old blood.

Zhang Weihe reached out to take the letter, slowly opening it. The familiar handwriting immediately caught his eye, belonging to Zhao Old General, Xiao Xingzong’s father.

Zhang Weihe and Zhao Old General had a deep relationship, having exchanged letters and reports during wartime, familiar with each other’s language, and preferences.

The letter detailed Prince Guangyang’s loyalty, persuading that Prince Guangyang should always be seen as a staunch minister, asserting that with Prince Guangyang, there was only benefit to Daqi, guaranteeing with the life of his entire family that Prince Guangyang had no ulterior motives, and imploring the recipient to retract their decision no matter what.

In Zhang Weihe’s mind, there was a buzzing sound.

Zhao Old General didn’t directly name the recipient in the letter, only referring to them respectfully as "You."

But there were few people Zhao Old General respected this much.

What did "no matter what, retract the decision" mean in the letter?

Zhang Weihe checked the date on the letter, the fourth year of Kai Long, the year Prince Guangyang was killed in battle. Could the "decision" mentioned in the letter pertain to this event?

It seemed someone had prearranged Prince Guangyang’s "death in battle."

Wusuo said, "My godfather said it was never Feng Jiang who opened the gate."

If it wasn’t Feng Jiang who had opened the gate allowing the Liao people into Prince Guangyang’s territory, then who? After Feng Jiang’s "rebellion," the first to quell the military disorder and capture Feng Jiang were troops from the Zhao Family.

And the Zhao Family’s troops had been instructed beforehand to act this way.

Zhang Weihe gradually formed a suspicion about the "You" in the letter, a figure slowly taking shape in his mind.

It was him.

It had to be him.

The one who secretly framed Prince Guangyang and could command Zhao Old General had to be either the Late Emperor or the current Emperor.

If it were the Late Emperor, Zhao Old General would have addressed him as "Your Majesty," "Emperor," rather than "You" in the letter.

Wusuo observed the change in Zhang Weihe’s demeanor, "This letter was intercepted by my godfather; otherwise, the Zhao Family would have met the same fate as Prince Guangyang."

Zhang Weihe felt a piercing chill, just like when he had first learned of Prince Guangyang’s death nineteen years ago.

Wusuo’s voice rang out again, "My godfather did this for the Zhao Family’s sake, yet, ultimately, Zhao Old General couldn’t overcome his own barriers and met his death willingly..."

"What was the fate of the loyal Prince Guangyang? And Zhao Old General? My godfather saw through all of this, which is why he allied with our Great Liao. I advise Old General Zhang not to be used any longer, not to help the ones who harmed Prince Guangyang acquire the Eight States."