Cang Xuan said, "It's naturally true."
Hearing this, Su Huaichen looked thoughtful, while Su Huaiyuan, being more impatient by nature, pressed on:
"But Brother Yi, from the battle at Yandang Mountain, you should be able to see that Father is loyal and dedicated to the country. He has never had the slightest thought of... of rebelling! Is the heavens wronging our father? In fact, the one who wants to rebel should be Yan Huan, right?"
Cang Xuan gently tapped his fingers on the table. He said to Su Huaiyuan in a deep voice, "Some things are not as simple as they seem on the surface."
"Adoptive Father is truly an outstanding general that Great Chu is lucky to have. He has made remarkable achievements for Great Chu and guarded the northern border like an iron bucket. If this were a chaotic era, a good general like Adoptive Father would be one in a thousand, and the superior would surely treat him with great courtesy."
"But now that the world is at peace and all directions are stable, even the Qiangyou and the Northern Barbarians dare not make any small moves. Then a military general with remarkable achievements and high prestige among the people will become the prey in everyone's eyes and the target that all forces strive to win over."
"At this time, the northern border and the more than 100,000 troops of the northern border army are no longer a shield for Adoptive Father, but... a death warrant."
Su Huaiyuan's pupils shrank. He stood there stunned, constantly recalling what Cang Xuan had just said.
When all directions were stable, having military achievements and military power in hand would actually be a death warrant?
And Su Qing was tempted to applaud Cang Xuan.
In fact, he was not unaware of his own situation. They had guarded the northern border for so many years, and privately, some people had already said that the northern border had become his world. Such remarks had indeed put him in a very awkward position.
"By losing the tiger tally that controls the northern border army, Adoptive Father can gain the trust of the superior. With Adoptive Father's military talent, after coming to Shengjing, he won't be unknown and always be just a idle duke. See, hasn't the capital guard army fallen into Adoptive Father's hands?"
After Cang Xuan finished speaking, the smile on his face deepened a bit.
"So, it's a good thing for us to come to Shengjing?" Su Huaiyuan murmured.
At this time, Su Huaichen also came to his senses. Looking at Cang Xuan, his eyes were filled with more admiration. "Brother Yi is quite right. Coming to Shengjing is not a bad thing for us, but an opportunity!"
No wonder Father went to the Prince Cangjun's Mansion once and took Cang Xuan as his adopted son. It turned out that Cang Xuan's advice had actually saved their northern border Su family!
Su Huaisheng said, "But after Father has reorganized the capital guard army, won't he have to hand it over?"
After he finished speaking, he found Cang Xuan looking at him quietly. Those glazed pupils were full of calculation that saw through everything. He immediately reacted.
The capital guard army would only be Father's troops!
Seeing that all three brothers of the Su family had seen the light, Cang Xuan picked up his wine cup and drank the wine in it.
"Back at Yandang Mountain, I once heard Brother Yuan say that he wanted to enter the court as an official like Adoptive Father and Brother Chen to plead for the people. Is that true?"
Su Huaiyuan replied, "Yes, I do have such an intention. But..."
He scratched the back of his head. "But now the martial arts examination hasn't started yet. Even if I have this idea, it won't help."
Cang Xuan said meaningfully, "Brother Yuan has great aspirations, which is very good. In fact, there's no need to wait for the martial arts examination to start again. In a while, the palace will recruit knowledgeable people from all over the world to fill the vacancies in the six ministries. If Brother Yuan and Brother Sheng are willing, they can submit application documents to the local government at that time."
Su Huaiyuan's eyes lit up. "Really?! That's great. Thank you, Brother Yi, for the advice!"
When the night began to envelop the Duke Yong's Mansion, realizing that it was time for him to leave and return to the quiet Prince Cangjun's Mansion, a trace of reluctance welled up in Cang Xuan's heart.
Seeing the hesitation and reluctance in his eyes, Su Qing thought of his background and offered, "Why don't you stay here for the night?"
Cang Xuan smiled and bowed. "Thank you, Adoptive Father, for your kind invitation, but there are still many affairs in the cabinet that need to be dealt with. I'm afraid I can't do as I please. Since we are already family, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. At that time, I will surely drink with Adoptive Father until dawn."
Declining Su Qing and the others' offer to see him off, Cang Xuan walked towards the main gate of the Duke Yong's Mansion with Tian Shu.
As he walked, he saw a figure in moon - white in the path ahead.
Su Yuanyuan was standing under the flower gate, holding a lantern in her hand. She smiled at Cang Xuan and said, "Brother Yunjian, I've come to see you off."
The young girl was wearing a moon - white cloak and walking beside the tall and straight man.
Although she had grown a lot recently, she still only reached his shoulder. She originally wanted to walk faster to keep up with his pace, but then she found that his steps were very slow, as if he was taking her pace into account.
So, she also slowed down.
The two of them slowly moved towards the outside of the gate bit by bit.
There was no one around. Tian Shu, Chun Xiao, Xia Lu and the others were all far away. Taking this opportunity, Su Yuanyuan asked, "Brother Yunjian, how did you get my qin?"
Cang Xuan said, "I used a little trick. It was a piece of cake."
Since he already knew her identity, Su Yuanyuan no longer hid her true feelings.
She sneered and said, "They don't seem to care at all. I think they can't wait to throw all my things out, right?"
"No. After discovering Su Qingyu's true face, they actually began to miss the old you. They reopened your courtyard and restored your room to its original state. They also restored the status of 'Su Yuanyuan' in the Marquis's Mansion."
Su Yuanyuan was unmoved. "That's because Su Qingyu has embarrassed them, and I'm already dead. The dead can't talk, let alone disobey them. They can say whatever they want, right?"
She smiled with her eyes bent, but the words that came out of her mouth were extremely cold. "The Marquis of Pingyang has always cared most about his face."
After a pause, she asked, "I remember that the Marquis of Pingyang once spread the news that he had retrieved the bones of his legitimate second daughter, 'Su Yuanyuan'. Are those bones really mine?"
Cang Xuan said, "Of course not."
Not? Su Yuanyuan frowned and asked, "Then where are my bones now?"
"What, are you going to offer incense to yourself?" Cang Xuan gave her a casual glance.
"Well, it's accompanied me for more than ten years. It's not impossible." Su Yuanyuan said indifferently. Then she asked again, "When you rushed to the mass grave, were my bones already gnawed beyond recognition by wild dogs? Are they still intact?"
Cang Xuan didn't say a word. From his reaction, Su Yuanyuan knew the result.
Her body must be incomplete.
And all of this was thanks to her elder brother Su Zeqian from her previous life.
The hand holding the lantern tightened involuntarily.
"Can I ask you to do me a favor?" Su Yuanyuan asked.
"Just say it." Cang Xuan didn't refuse.