After bowing to Xin Zizhao, Ge Long'an turned to Wei Shuxuan. "This young gentleman, you look somewhat similar to my old friend. May I ask your name?"
Wei Shuxuan's identity had already been exposed, and she saw no need to hide it from Ge Long'an. "General Ge, my name is Wei Shuxuan. General Wei Tu is my father."
Hearing this, Ge Long'an was momentarily stunned. Then a look of surprise spread across his face. "You... you're big brother's only daughter?"
"Yes, I am."
Giving Ge Long'an another definite answer, he excitedly grasped Wei Shuxuan's hand and asked again, "You... you're really big brother's daughter?"
"Yes..." Wei Shuxuan was starting to get impatient with the repeated question.
"Great! Big brother, rest assured. I'll take good care of your daughter." Ge Long'an sized Wei Shuxuan up and down, his eyes showing admiration. "Oh, I didn't expect chubby little Xuan'er to grow up to be such a graceful young lady. Xuan'er, don't worry. You won't suffer when you marry into our family. If Zian doesn't treat you well, I'll break that brat's legs!"
"Hehe..." Wei Shuxuan forced a smile. Could they not talk about this right now! She could already feel the cold glare from beside her. "General Ge, let's get back to the main topic. Can we talk about the engagement later?"
"Of course. But what's the main topic we're going to talk about?" Ge Long'an looked at Wei Shuxuan blankly. Suddenly, he remembered what his son had told him and had an epiphany. "So the emperor sent you two here to investigate big brother's case! Xuan'er, what do you want to know? Uncle will tell you everything. And don't call me General Ge. Call me uncle!"
"…Alright, Uncle Ge."
Wei Shuxuan couldn't decline Ge Long'an's enthusiasm and had to agree.
"Can we start now?" Xin Zizhao, who had been standing by, finally got impatient and looked at them coldly as they exchanged pleasantries.
"Sure, of course. Uncle Ge, let's start now."
"Okay."
Wei Shuxuan had already learned the general outline of the matter from Ge Zian, but now she wanted to know some details. "Uncle Ge, I heard from Zian that the emperor once issued an imperial edict for you and my father to return to the capital, but you didn't because you were worried that the Qiangfeng Kingdom would take advantage of your absence to launch a large - scale invasion of the Yulong Kingdom. Is that right?"
"That's right. Earlier, my big brother and I defeated the Qiangfeng army that tried to invade our territory. To settle the matter, the Qiangfeng Kingdom sent their princess to the emperor in exchange for a period of recuperation."
"That princess is now Concubine Jie, right?"
"Yes. We didn't expect that the princess sent by the Qiangfeng Kingdom was actually here to sow discord between the emperor, my big brother, and me. The problem is, a beauty's words carry more weight than our words as old ministers! Sincere advice is hard to accept!" Ge Long'an couldn't help but sigh.
Ge Long'an told Wei Shuxuan that Concubine Jie had been whispering in Emperor Jinzheng's ear. Moreover, she was very beautiful and knew how to please the emperor, to the point that the emperor couldn't tell right from wrong. This was also an important reason for the rift between them and the emperor.
"After a period of recuperation, the Qiangfeng Kingdom secretly stationed their troops outside the border of the Yulong Kingdom again. Their intentions were obvious. So, when the emperor issued the edict for my big brother and me to return to the capital, we refused. If we left, the Qiangfeng soldiers would surely invade the border on a large scale, and that would be a big problem."
"So you refused to return to the capital?"
"Yes. Big brother also wrote a letter and sent it back at full speed."
"Hmm... What was the general content?"
"It explained the current situation at the border and hoped that the emperor would, for the sake of all the common people in the Yulong Kingdom, allow my big brother and me to stay at the border. At the end, big brother added that even if the emperor didn't agree, we wouldn't go back and asked the emperor for understanding."
Xin Zizhao thought for a while. "At that time, father must have been very angry and even more dissatisfied with General Ge and General Wei. This also achieved the goal of the Qiangfeng Kingdom. That is, whether General Ge and General Wei returned or not, the Qiangfeng Kingdom could achieve their goals. First, to drive a wedge between father and the two generals. Second, to invade the border of the Yulong Kingdom. Even if they only achieved one of them, they were successful."
"They're quite smart. For the Qiangfeng Kingdom, Uncle Ge and my father are their greatest enemies. They also know the characters of the two generals well. They surely wouldn't abandon the people at the border. So their ultimate goal should be to use the emperor to permanently get rid of my father and Uncle Ge so that they can occupy the Yulong Kingdom without any worries."
Wei Shuxuan continued to explain after Xin Zizhao's words. Xin Zizhao glanced at Wei Shuxuan and thought her explanation was closer to the Qiangfeng Kingdom's plan.
The sky gradually darkened. At night, the spring night carried a bit of chill. Ge Long'an originally intended to invite Xin Zizhao and Wei Shuxuan to have dinner at the general's mansion. He wanted to have a good talk with Wei Shuxuan about her marriage to Ge Zian.
However, Wei Shuxuan rejected Ge Long'an's kindness without hesitation. "No, Uncle Ge. I need to sort out some materials when I get back. And I can't feel at ease until I solve my father's case."
"Alas, I understand. Well, then uncle won't bother you with the investigation. Hurry back. If you need any help, just come to uncle. Uncle will surely help you with anything, except asking me to return to officialdom!" Ge Long'an added at the end.
"Got it. I won't ask you to return to officialdom. Uncle, don't worry." Wei Shuxuan smiled. "Then we'll leave first. Uncle and Zian, take good care of yourselves."
"If you need help, you can come to me."
Ge Zian added from behind. This sentence, however, earned him an annoyed look from Xin Zizhao. He pulled Wei Shuxuan, wanting her to leave this general's mansion that made him extremely uncomfortable as soon as possible.
Being pulled out of the general's mansion by Xin Zizhao, Wei Shuxuan felt that her hand was about to be pulled off. "Xin Zizhao, Xin Zizhao, my hand hurts. Let go quickly!"