When Jin Yuanzhou and his entourage arrived, they only saw thick smoke billowing in the city from afar, almost obscuring half of the sky.
A jolt of surprise shot through him. At first, he thought it was a warning beacon, but then he suddenly came to his senses. This smoke wasn't rising from the watchtower; it seemed to be coming from a certain part within the city.
The people around him took their cue from him. Seeing him stop, they gingerly stepped forward and asked, "Lord Jin, do you want to take a short break?"
Jin Yuanzhou snapped out of his thoughts. He shook his head, suppressing his anxiety, and said in a deep voice, "Ride at full speed!"
The sound of horses' hooves rang out again.
Inside the city, Chen Xuan stood by the window, watching the rising smoke with a gloomy expression.
His adjutant whispered behind him, "My lord, we've inquired at the blacksmiths. No one has bought anything recently. But the Li's Blacksmith Shop reported that a dagger was missing. They have no idea who took it, and I have no leads to follow."
Chen Xuan withdrew his gaze. This outcome was within his expectations. "I see," he replied.
The spy would surely come again after the failed assassination attempt.
Just as he was about to say something, his eyes fell on the adjutant, and he suddenly paused. His gaze landed on the man's arm. "What happened to your hand?" he asked.
The adjutant followed his gaze and noticed a bloodstain on his arm. He suddenly realized and said, "I must have accidentally been scratched by an iron sheet in the blacksmith shop when I was investigating. I only felt a pain in my arm at that time. I took a quick look and thought it was nothing, so I didn't pay it any mind. I didn't expect it to start bleeding."
Chen Xuan nodded. "Go find a doctor and get some medicine. A martial artist's hands are extremely important and must not be injured."
The adjutant acknowledged and retreated.
A young soldier quickly approached and reported, "General, someone from the capital has arrived."
Chen Xuan's gaze sharpened.
Jin Yuanzhou sat below Chen Xuan and greeted him, "My lord."
Chen Xuan told everyone in the room to leave. When the room fell silent, he frowned and asked, "You're here to take General Mao back?"
Jin Yuanzhou nodded. "General Mao has been away for a long time. The capital is worried that any delay might lead to trouble, so they want General Mao to return to the capital to plead guilty."
"Plead guilty?" Chen Xuan sneered. "It's more like sending him to his death."
Jin Yuanzhou remained silent.
The northern border was desolate. Not to mention tea, there wasn't even hot water in the army at times.
Chen Xuan had been on military campaigns for many years and was already used to drinking cold water and taking cold showers. Only because someone from the capital had come today did he order someone to light a fire and boil some hot water.
Jin Yuanzhou didn't touch the plain water on the table. He simply said in a deep voice, "My lord, General Mao has to return with me this time."
His tone was firm, but his words were not very pleasant. Coming after Chen Xuan's words, it sounded like a threat.
Chen Xuan looked at him coldly. "Lord Jin," he said.
"To be honest, I don't trust you."
Jin Yuanzhou's hand hidden in his sleeve tightened. He suppressed his depression and said bluntly, "My lord may not trust me, but surely you trust the heir apparent."
Chen Xuan's eyes were sharp. After a moment of thought, he suddenly understood. "He sent someone?" he asked.
Jin Yuanzhou nodded. "Before I set off, the heir apparent anticipated that someone might try to harm General Mao on the way. There were even many moles among the people I brought. So he gave me Qian Tong and asked him to come with me."
There were no useless people under Chen Tingfeng. Yuan Bao was flexible and specialized in handling trivial matters, while Qian Tong was calm and highly skilled in martial arts. He had always helped Chen Tingfeng deal with matters involving killing.
His presence did make Chen Xuan feel a bit more at ease.
"What about you?" Chen Xuan stared at Jin Yuanzhou with a piercing gaze. "You're telling me all this so clearly. Are you trying to curry favor with me?"
"After staying on the sidelines for so long, are you finally eager to get into the game and compete for the merit of supporting a new emperor?"
"I'm not!" Jin Yuanzhou suddenly stood up. His chest heaved up and down, clearly enraged by Chen Xuan's words. The usually gloomy eyes now blazed with anger, giving him a bit more vitality and no longer looking like the smooth old man he used to be.
"What merit of supporting a new emperor? I've never cared about who sits on the throne!" He suppressed his emotions. Under the heavy stimulation of the day, he finally tore off his mask and spoke his mind. "All I care about is whether the people of the world can live in peace and harmony, and whether families can be reunited!"
The room fell silent instantly. The only sound in his ears seemed to be his own angry gasps.
Chen Xuan stared at him for a long time. Suddenly, he asked, "Did your old and useless teacher teach you to say this to me, or is this really what you want?"
"Jin Yuanzhou, you've been trapped in the officialdom for too long. Do you still recognize yourself?"
Jin Yuanzhou was momentarily speechless. Meeting Chen Xuan's calm eyes, he couldn't help but show a bitter and difficult expression.
"I know you don't trust me," he said hoarsely. "But my lord, I really think this way."
He still remembered the scene he saw when he entered the city just now. Countless corpses were piled up and then burned by the raging fire. In the end, they turned into a handful of dust in the world, leaving no trace.
They say that fallen leaves return to their roots. Can the fallen leaves that have been burned to ashes still find their roots?
He slumped back into his chair. "Maybe I made a wrong decision from the very beginning," he said.
If he hadn't been so eager for quick success and had taken the offer from the Imperial Academy in order to climb up the official ladder, maybe he wouldn't be so miserable now.
Even if his official position was small, at least he would be free, instead of being like this now, where even the truth he spoke became a lie.
The real pain almost overwhelmed him.
Chen Xuan took a deep breath. Just when Jin Yuanzhou thought the other party would still doubt him, he heard Chen Xuan say, "Okay, then I'll trust you."
... What?
Jin Yuanzhou suddenly looked up and met Chen Xuan's softened eyes.
When he didn't smile, he always exuded a strong aura of killing. After several battles, the bloodlust that had been dormant in his bones had been awakened, making him even more imposing.
For a moment, Jin Yuanzhou saw Chen Tingfeng's features in his face.
These father and son, one introverted and the other extroverted, were truly alike.
"I trust you, but you have to prove it to me," Chen Xuan suddenly frowned and told him the truth. "Someone has tried to assassinate General Mao, and someone has secretly protected him. I don't know who these two people are, and I haven't caught them yet."
"Lord Jin, you're a scholar. Your mind must be much sharper than mine, a martial artist," he looked at the stunned Jin Yuanzhou and said slowly. "I want you to catch them."
"This is your token of loyalty."
Jin Yuanzhou felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He instantly straightened his back. "Yes!"
Since there were new visitors from the capital in the city, accommodation had to be arranged for them.
After this city was recaptured, the people in the governor's mansion were either killed or had fled. It was already empty.
Chen Xuan didn't bother to find servants to attend to them. He simply let them fend for themselves.
In times of crisis, there was no room for such luxurious habits.
Moreover, most of the civilians in the city had been killed or injured. The remaining ones, apart from receiving their daily rations, seemed to be so terrified that they basically didn't go out.
Some civilians pleaded to leave the city and go to other places, but Chen Xuan didn't agree.
The Xiongnu were still lurking outside, eyeing them covetously. Leaving the city now would be like throwing oneself into the jaws of a tiger. Moreover, all the remaining civilians were poor. They had already run out of food. Even if they weren't killed, they might die on the way if they left the city.
Chen Xuan distributed food every day and sent soldiers to console the civilians from house to house. Only then was the morale of the people stabilized.
Looking at this scene, Jin Yuanzhou got to know more about Chen Xuan's character. His once wavering heart gradually became firm.