The so - called personal visit was nothing more than a chance to show off and scheme for the Ping family's property.
The so - called prestigious Qiao family was actually extremely hypocritical. Over the years, they had colluded with officials and businessmen, leaving no room for others.
The Ping family was no better. They also left no room for others, and the Qiao family was no exception.
Lu Tianzuo led his troops on a forced march to southern Fujian. Qiao Ye, the garrison commander in southern Fujian, came to greet him in person.
"General Lu, you've had a long and arduous journey. I've specially prepared a welcoming feast for the soldiers," Qiao Ye said, clasping his fists.
Lu Tianzuo rubbed his nose. There was a strange smell on Qiao Ye, a bit like the smell on a woman. "His Majesty has ordered that there should be no delay on the way. We'll eat the provisions, but the welcoming feast will be skipped."
Qiao Ye's expression froze. "Please."
Qiao Ye had made proper arrangements. Instead of entering the city, he had set up tents outside.
"Please," Qiao Ye said, toasting Lu Tianzuo.
"Drinking is prohibited during a march," Lu Tianzuo said, pouring himself a cup of tea.
Qiao Ye had no choice but to drink by himself. "General Lu, you've had a tough journey. Some time ago, General Xiao came for an inspection and suddenly disappeared. I've searched for a long time but found no trace. I was just about to report this to His Majesty."
"What?" Lu Tianzuo looked at Qiao Ye. "If the inspection didn't yield results, you should have reported it immediately. Garrison Commander Qiao has concealed this for so long. What if something happened to General Xiao?"
Hearing Lu Tianzuo's words, Qiao Ye guessed that Lu Tianzuo didn't know about Xiao Jinghan's situation in the Southern Border. "General Xiao is the God of War of our Great Jin. I thought nothing would happen to him."
"What do you mean 'you thought'?" Lu Tianzuo got impatient. "I'm on a royal mission and can't afford to search for him. Garrison Commander Qiao should find him quickly. If anything happens to General Xiao, Garrison Commander Qiao won't be able to bear the responsibility."
"Yes, yes, yes..." Qiao Ye felt relieved. As long as the emperor's urgent dispatch of troops had nothing to do with Xiao Jinghan, it was fine.
He was becoming more and more confused about what was going on.
There had been sudden changes in the Southern Border recently. Xiang Beizheng was a remnant of the deposed emperor of Great Jin. The Heyan family had been rehabilitated, proving that Heyan Mulei had colluded with the deposed emperor of Great Jin to kill his father and elder brother...
Chen Yuqing had broken up with Xiang Beizheng in order to preserve her position. Xiang Beizheng had already controlled the troops of the Southern Border court and directly imprisoned Chen Yuqing.
He wouldn't kill Chen Yuqing for the time being. He didn't want others to say that he was ungrateful. Even when he imprisoned Chen Yuqing, he had found a justifiable reason.
The dungeon in the Southern Border was very damp. There was a layer of water in the cracks of the huge stones. In the dim environment, moss had grown densely, and insects crawled silently on it.
Xiang Beizheng personally carried wine and dishes into the dungeon, and the guards on both sides retreated.
"You traitor," Chen Yuqing said angrily, looking at Xiang Beizheng.
"I'm not from the Southern Border in the first place. How can I be a traitor?" Xiang Beizheng said with a smile.
He put the wine and dishes down and arranged them neatly, as if he had obsessive - compulsive disorder.
"I won't eat," Chen Yuqing turned her head away.
"I'm just bringing them. Whether you eat or not is up to you."
"Say it. What do you want this time?"
"How can I open the treasury in Cixi?"
Hearing Xiang Beizheng's words, Chen Yuqing laughed. "Xiang Beizheng, when you helped me ascend to the throne back then, you had this in mind, didn't you?"
Xiang Beizheng nodded.
"Unfortunately, your plan has failed," Chen Yuqing said lazily, picking up a cup of wine. "Not only the treasury in Cixi, but all the royal treasuries in the Southern Border can only be opened by the real crown princess."
"I don't believe it."
"Believe it or not. The real crown princess of the Southern Border has the royal gu worm in her body. The door of the treasury can only be opened by the royal gu worm. That is to say, only the blood of the real royal family of the Southern Border can open the door of the treasury."
Xiang Beizheng was stunned. Only at this moment did he understand why Chen Yuqing had always imposed heavy taxes to satisfy her lust but had never touched the treasury. He thought the treasury could only be opened in special circumstances, but he didn't know that she simply couldn't open it.
"How could you not have the royal gu worm?" Xiang Beizheng said in disbelief.
"The royal gu worm is not a mother - and - son gu worm. It needs to be passed down. When Father chose Chen Yu'an back then, he passed the royal gu worm to her."
"Why have you never said anything about this?"
"This is a royal secret. I only found out when Father died." Chen Yuqing had hated her father since then.
She thought she was the final winner and that everything of Chen Yu'an's would be hers. It turned out that she had been out of the game long ago.
Xiang Beizheng laughed. "As long as I know the location of the treasury, I'll dig it out even if I have to."
"You may be disappointed. There are many gu worms around the treasury. When the royal gu worm appears, all the gu worms will submit. So there's no problem entering with the royal gu worm, but if you break in by force, the gu worms in the treasury will kill everyone in a city."
Xiang Beizheng's heart gradually turned cold. It turned out that everything had been arranged long ago. He thought he had everything under control, but he was just a clown.
"Regret it?" Chen Yuqing looked at Xiang Beizheng. "Regret choosing me instead of Chen Yu'an and ending up like this?"
If Xiang Beizheng had chosen Chen Yu'an back then and had no ambition to conquer Great Jin, even if his origin had been known, he would have survived because of his status.
But there were no ifs in this world. If so, he wouldn't be Xiang Beizheng.
He, Xiang Beizheng, lived to conquer the north and rule the world.
"Then you're useless," Xiang Beizheng said, directly grabbing Chen Yuqing's neck.
Chen Yuqing's face instantly turned red. "You didn't kill me to show that you're not heartless. If you kill me, no one will dare to follow you."
"This reason is not convincing," Xiang Beizheng said, tightening his grip. Chen Yuqing's whole body slumped. "As long as I say you're still alive, it's fine."
He threw Chen Yuqing to the ground, flicked the non - existent dust on his hand, bent down to pick up a cup of wine, and drank it.
At this point, all he had to do was kill Chen Yu'an.
The two armies were fighting outside the city of Cixi.
"Why are the enemy so crazy?" Zisu stood on the chariot, looking at the charging troops.
"It's the Ruyi Cake," Yi Qing said, looking at the situation of those people.
Xiang Beizheng was crazy. He had actually given the Ruyi Cake to his soldiers.
"Is he trying to perish together with us?" Zisu looked at Yi Qing.
"He wants to make sure that even if he fails, he'll still smear you with something stinky," Yi Qing said slowly.
She had been staring at the city of Cixi, or rather, at the moat outside the city. Even if she had to drain the moat, she would find Xiao Jinghan.
"Something's wrong. The enemy soldiers are fearless. You should retreat first," King Zhen retreated to this place.
Just then, the bugle sounded, and wolf - smoke rose all around. Countless soldiers rushed out.
"There's an ambush," Zisu's expression changed drastically. "Could it be that Xiang Beizheng has mobilized all his troops here?"
If so, the border would be unguarded. If anything happened, the Southern Border would be like an unprotected land.
"This smoke..." Yi Qing looked at the wolf - smoke around. "It's also from the Ruyi Cake."