CHAPTER 261: CHAPTER 258: UNEASE

Song Qizheng felt a surge of murderous intent rise from within his body.

The rage from suddenly learning the truth, and the guilt and fear from so many years ago, fanned by He Kuan’s words, made the person before him seem like the true instigator of it all, driving him to the point where he wanted nothing more than to kill him on the spot.

Song Qizheng gripped the hilt of his sword tightly at his waist.

Seeing Song Qizheng’s distorted face, He Kuan continued, "When the first madam passed away, she must have felt relieved to leave a fool like you. I still remember how she looked when she was being laid to rest, with a slight smile at the corner of her mouth, which is why you flew into a rage after glancing at the coffin."

"What did you feel when you saw your eldest legitimate son? Only you, the National Guardian General, know. Watching him grow more formidable, weren’t you filled with pride and honor? No, it was anger and fear. What if he wasn’t your son?"

He Kuan let out a sinister laugh: "After all these years, he’s finally not your son. Do you think Song Xian will seek closeness with you upon learning the truth, or will he want to kill you? I advise you, it’s best not to tell Song Xian about this."

Just as He Kuan finished speaking, the sword at Song Qizheng’s waist was drawn, and the blade immediately plunged into flesh.

He Kuan’s eyes widened, first showing a hint of relief, but soon the slightly unfocused gaze refocused. He looked down, only to see that the sword had merely pierced his side, leaving a wound that wouldn’t be fatal.

"Trying to provoke me to finish you off?" Song Qizheng said coldly. "Don’t you want to know how long you’ll last before you die? There are some inmates in the Ministry of Justice Prison, who were locked up during the previous emperor’s reign. Their hands and feet have rotted away, yet they still have to live."

Fear finally appeared in He Kuan’s eyes.

Song Qizheng said, "Bring all those prisoners here to watch He Kuan being punished."

This kind of pain would certainly break anyone.

"General Song," a maid who had been tortured was obviously intimidated by Song Qizheng. She spoke hastily, "The servant was just following orders."

Song Qizheng remained silent, and the maid continued, "It was Mrs. Zhao who instructed me to lure the first madam to the inner courtyard. That man was also pre-arranged by us. Later, when my master and mistress passed, we just continued to serve the great... the grand master."

The grand master mentioned by the maid was Zhao Xingzong, who betrayed Daqi to join the Liao people as Xiao Xingzong.

Song Qizheng clenched his hand tight. This meant that the one who secretly opened the checkpoint wasn’t Feng Jiang but Xiao Xingzong. If Xiao Xingzong had already intended betrayal then, the subsequent defeat to the Liao people and the capture of his two sons could all have been part of Xiao Xingzong’s plot.

Song Qizheng felt a burning sensation in his heart.

The warriors who died and the supplies that fed the Liao army for half a year were not because the Liao people were too formidable, but because the Great Liao had planted a spy at the border.

Song Qizheng gritted his teeth, realizing he had never noticed. If he had believed Song Xian’s birth mother’s words back then, maybe he would have exposed Xiao Xingzong long ago, and so many lives wouldn’t have been lost.

Xiao Xingzong’s actions led to the warfare in Daqi’s northern region, from the Seventh Year of Yuanping to the Sixteenth Year of Yuanping, almost completely turning over the entire Song Family Army.

You could call it a blood feud.

Song Qizheng looked at the maid, "Did General Zhao know about this too?"

The maid said, "He probably didn’t know at first, but later... he vaguely guessed some. The mistress was also very panic-stricken, fearing that the master would return and settle accounts with her and the grand master. Fortunately... fortunately..."

Song Qizheng said, "The old General died in Yizhou."

The maid nodded, "Yes, the old General never returned."

General Zhao and he died defending Yizhou, preventing the Liao army from advancing. The old General also perished on the battlefield during that battle. Recalling it, Song Qizheng didn’t sense anything unusual from General Zhao.

But during that battle, it seemed as if the old General had prepared to give his life from the very start. Even at the end, he was preoccupied with ensuring Yizhou was held, preventing the Liao from taking another city. Was General Zhao harboring guilt? If he had guilt, why not speak up? Why allow Feng Jiang to die tragically?

Song Qizheng truly couldn’t fathom anyone like General Zhao doing such a thing. What could a man unafraid of death on the battlefield fear?

After a long while, Song Qizheng snapped back and asked the maid, "After the old General passed, Xiao Xingzong went to the capital for a position. Did he try everything to return to the North just for dealings with the Liao people?"

The maid said, "When scheming against Mrs. Song back then, the servant didn’t know that... Xiao Xingzong was dealing with the Liao. If we had known then, my mistress would never have helped Xiao Xingzong with it."

"The servant learned of Xiao Xingzong’s intention to leave Daqi for Liao from the time he returned to the Northern Border for a position."

Could there be another secret involved?

Song Qizheng did not dwell on it. The one who secretly opened the checkpoint was Xiao Xingzong. The one who intentionally led to defeat by the Liao was also Xiao Xingzong. As for when and why Xiao Xingzong betrayed Daqi, it was meaningless to investigate.

Song Qizheng said, "Was taking my two sons, infiltrating the army to abduct Song Xian, the assassination of Mrs. Rong during my rescue of Song Xian, and the later impersonation of Song Xian to assassinate me all ordered by Xiao Xingzong?"

The maid said, "Abducting the Song family’s two masters was at Xiao Xingzong’s behest. This is all the servant knows, but as for the rest..." she looked at He Kuan.

He Kuan lifted his head, "That’s right, it was all my doing."

He Kuan’s admission was straightforward, yet Song Qizheng felt something was amiss for some reason.

Song Qizheng stared at He Kuan.

He Kuan said, "The troops Song Xian led were enough to fight your hundreds of thousands. Your Song Family Army became only in name. Creating a rift between you and your son gave Xiao Xingzong the chance to cross the Juma River once more, capture Song Xian alive, and take him to Great Liao, where he’d earn his reward."

"It’s a pity I didn’t realize at the time; I should have killed Song Xian. Once Song Xian died, sooner or later, the Song Family Army would fall into..."

He Kuan paused here.

Song Qizheng frowned.

He Kuan continued, "Fall into Xiao Xingzong’s hands."

Song Qizheng sneered coldly, "You forget, I have two other sons. No matter how incompetent, they wouldn’t surrender the Song Family Army without a fight."

He Kuan fell silent, waiting a moment before speaking, "Then General, you better keep a close watch over those sons... no, now there’s only one. One’s dead, one doesn’t acknowledge you, so there’s only one... see if you can shield him."

After several days of interrogation, Song Qizheng finally made some progress, but the conclusion left his mind in disarray. He briskly walked out of the prison.

The gentle wind hit his face, yet it felt bitterly cold to him.

Xiao Xingzong did so many things, his scheming was appalling. In this chaos, there was an underlying worry, a knot he couldn’t untie while buried in the prison’s tensions. Standing still for a long time, he began slowly unraveling the unease inside.

Years ago, Song Yu, Song Min, and Xiao Xingzong were all captured by the Liao. After Song Yu and Song Min returned, Song Min had brought it up to him.

"It was General Zhao who stopped the Liao people, saving us."

That General Zhao, who later changed his surname to ’Xiao’, became Xiao Xingzong.

If Xiao Xingzong had been colluding with the Liao all along, why did he allow Song Yu and Song Min to return?