CHAPTER 269: CHAPTER 266: FINDING WAYS

Yang Wu lay on the ground for a while, and finally, encouraged by Chun Shan’s words, he stood up with her support.

Yang Wu surveyed the mess of the Princess Manor, his chest filled with hatred. When he came to the Capital City, he was still young and grew up listening to his father’s stories about their territory.

The struggles of being a collateral branch, nearly being humiliated to death by Prince Guangyang, and witnessing his father’s stumbling journey to inherit the title of Prince Guangyang.

Although not as glorious as the former Prince Guangyang and without the territory, at least he could finally hold his head high.

His father passed away, leaving him to maintain this family business and make this branch increasingly prosperous.

But now, everything was gone. He was stripped of his title and expelled from the residence.

Chun Shan said, "You are in a difficult position now, but it’s still better than when Master first came to the Capital City. As long as you don’t fall, you can always get these back."

"I don’t want them," Yang Wu said resentfully. "I have no interest, this mansion is too small, I don’t want it, everything inside needs to be replaced." He must wait, wait for the Prince to come to the Capital City to inherit the throne, wait for the day he ascends to the position of Empress, and made those who humiliated him pay the price.

Yang Wu wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes and looked at Chun Shan. "Will the Prince be disappointed in me?"

Chun Shan said softly, "No, over the years, how many people have you groomed for the Prince? You’ve dealt with all the Prince’s enemies, even what was inside Beauty Tang’s belly..."

Chun Shan did not continue, "These are things others couldn’t do. You just fell for someone else’s scheme. The Northwest affairs still need your help, and the spies you’ve planted within the previous dynasty’s royal family are waiting for your instructions."

Yang Wu took a deep breath. "Chun Shan, you’re right, I can’t be defeated like this lest the Prince be disappointed in me. I still have to find ways to help the Prince."

Chun Shan said, "Just now when you were being punished, the Ministry of War sent a message saying that the Emperor is ordering an inventory of military resources, indicating his determination to wage war in the Northwest."

Yang Wu clenched his hands. "Obviously, it was a road I paved for years, and now it’s finally going to succeed, yet Song Xian and Du Zhuo swoop in first."

If Song Xian and Du Zhuo smoothly lead the recovery of the eight states, the planning by his father and daughter over the years would be in vain.

Yang Wu said, "Chun Shan, we need to send someone to Xinzhou with a letter, at least to prepare the remnants of the previous dynasty, so they don’t easily fall to Song Xian and others."

We must also have someone monitor Song Xian’s every move in Zhenzhou. Find ways to gather information that will unsettle Song Xian. Ideally, while Song Xian is fighting at the front, errors should occur in Zhenzhou and Dingzhou.

When Yang Wu thought of this, his eyes brightened. He needed to find someone to communicate with the Liao people, and this person was not difficult to find, having already been delivered to him.

That person was Cai Rong, Lishu sent the message, it was Cai Rong who ordered Miss Lin to deliver the message to Chen Family Village.

Should Song Xian win this battle, the court would at least assign him to guard three or four states. As a result, Song Xian would undoubtedly become the next Military Governor, entirely capable of overshadowing Cai Rong.

Wouldn’t Cai Rong be frantic?

Who knows, after eliminating the remnants of the previous dynasty, would the Emperor use Song Xian to deal with Cai Rong?

With the crime of colluding with the Liao people over his head, wouldn’t Cai Rong panic?

Yang Wu calmed himself down, realizing he still had quite a few pieces to play in his hand.

"Fifth Miss," said the military leader as he entered the courtyard, "within a quarter of an hour, this residence will be sealed. Please make arrangements, Fifth Miss."

Yang Wu’s mood, which had just slightly improved, plummeted again.

The cries of maids echoed in the courtyard, "Those are our Miss’s possessions."

The eunuch said coldly, "All items bestowed by the palace must be returned."

Chun Shan brought out a small bundle from the house, "You are only allowed to take a portion of the silver coin and property. The Emperor is in a foul mood right now; we must not provoke his wrath."

Yang Wu rose and walked out, each step feeling as if it was being tread on the blade of a knife.

Outside the mansion gates, they boarded the carriage.

The carriage moved forward, and Yang Wu couldn’t help but shiver.

After traveling for an unknown distance, the carriage suddenly halted, and an anxious voice sounded from outside, "Jiahui... Wuer."

It was the voice of Xu Yuanyu.

Xu Yuanyu had just managed to escape from the Xu Family and rushed to the Princess Manor, seeing it sealed. He then chased to South City and finally saw the carriage of Princess Jiahui.

a simple carriage, appearing so desolate.

Xu Yuanyu anxiously called out Princess Jiahui’s name.

After a moment of silence, a frail female voice was heard from the carriage, "I am a criminal now, General Xu, take care. Do not come again."

The carriage continued moving forward, and Xu Yuanyu wanted to stop it, but Chun Shan stepped forward to block him, "General Xu, please don’t make things difficult for Miss. The more you do this, the harder Miss’s life becomes."

Xu Yuanyu thought about the Xu Family’s treatment of Fifth Miss Yang, and it pained him like a knife, "Tell Wuer that I will plead to go to the eight states, and once I earn military merits, I’ll plead for her in front of the Emperor."

Chun Shan’s eyes brightened, his face filled with hope, but he quickly masked it, "Please don’t say that, this might bring trouble to our Miss."

Xu Yuanyu realized, "Alright, then I won’t mention it... Tell Wuer, I will soon be stationed at Xingzhou. If a war breaks out, Xingzhou is the crucial point for transporting grain northward."

Chun Shan saluted Xu Yuanyu, "On behalf of Miss, this servant wishes you victory and safe return."

Xu Yuanyu watched as Yang Wu’s carriage slowly faded from view. He promised to settle accounts with Song Xian for Wu’er.

...

Liao, New City.

Xiao Xingzong sat in a chair, reading the secret report in his hand.

Recently, accidents occurred one after another, forcing him to pay more attention to Song Xian and the situation in Zhenzhou.

He has always kept an eye on the Song family, knowing Song Xian was smart but never expected Song Xian to manage Zhenzhou so well, swiftly eliminating Song Min, weakening Cai Rong, and causing Princess Jiahui to fail.

And there was Chen Family Village.

Xiao Xingzong was familiar with Zhenzhou; when he went to guard the North, he often went to Dingzhou and Zhenzhou, but he never paid attention to any Chen Family Village.

His deepest impression of Zhenzhou was from the Seventh Year of Yuanping; someone infiltrated his army, sneaked into the Central Army Tent, stole his map, intercepted and killed the messenger he sent to Liao, and seized his secret letter to the Liao Empress Dowager.

He ordered a chase after that person, tracing them near Zhenzhou, but that person discovered his spies, changed paths up the mountain, and eventually jumped into the river, their fate unknown.

If that person still lived, his matters would be exposed. Precisely due to this, he decided not to linger in Daqi, deliberately losing a battle to be captured by the Liao people, seizing provisions meant for hundreds of thousands of troops in Daqi.

He wondered whether that incident was related to the current troubles in Zhenzhou.

Xiao Xingzong pondered carefully, aiming to piece together the recent information he had received. What he could determine was that Xie Liangchen from Chen Family Village was raised by Mr. and Mrs. Li of Yuezhou.

Coincidentally, it was in Huaiji of Yuezhou that Xiao Chi and others were captured for the first time, and when Xiao Chi got caught for the second time, Xie Liangchen was present.

He dispatched people to kill the Huaiji County Magistrate in Yuezhou and attempted to capture others for interrogation, but they were unyielding and hard to deal with. However, his efforts were not in vain, as he managed to capture two alive.

These two were merchants, regularly associated with the Huaiji County Magistrate and others.

After recurring incidents in Zhenzhou, he ordered those two to be brought to New City for personal interrogation.

Xiao Xingzong, relying on years of experience, concluded that these two individuals could certainly confess. They were tied to Prince Guangyang.