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Chapter 19: The Grand Commander Takes Action
Chapter 19: The Grand Commander Takes Action
"It's impossible for me to make a mistake!"
The archer leaped down from the rooftop.
The commander of the Jinyiwei signaled for his men to dispose of the bodies and take away the Northern Liang spy who still had a faint breath left in him.
The archer personally examined the arrow that was embedded in the spy's chest. "How could this have happened...?"
The Jinyiwei commander said, "Alright, alright, your archery skills have improved, and even I was deceived. I almost thought you really killed him. I forgot to tell you that the Grand Commander actually wanted a live capture."
With the spy's sudden burst of strength, there was a possibility that the Grand Commander could have been injured, which was something the archer hadn't considered, hence his decision to be ruthless.
"You interfered? You deflected my arrow?"
The Jinyiwei commander said, "Your arrow was so fast, how could I have stopped it? Admitting your mistake isn't shameful. You're only sixteen, why bother putting up a front?"
"Seventeen."
The young archer corrected him.
"Fine, fine, seventeen, seventeen!"
The Jinyiwei commander placated him like one would a child.
The young man in blue, holding a large bow and a quiver on his back, came to Lu Yuan and pouted, "I didn't make a mistake."
Lu Yuan smiled and tossed him a box of Zhouji's osmanthus cake.
The young man sat down by the road, opened the box, and counted the cakes. His handsome eyebrows furrowed slightly, "One is missing."
Lu Yuan threw him another box, and this one happened to have an extra cake.
The young man took the extra cake and added it to the first box, finally relaxing his furrowed brows.
The Jinyiwei commander approached the carriage and politely asked Meng Qianqian, "Mrs. Lu, are you injured?"
"No," Meng Qianqian replied.
The Northern Liang spy had been injured, and when he abducted her, he had stained her clothes with his blood.
The Jinyiwei commander nodded, "The carriage is damaged. Please, Mrs. Lu, if you would be so kind as to move to another carriage."
Meng Qianqian complied and, under his guidance, boarded another carriage.
Lu Yuan followed, maintaining his usual lazy and unrestrained demeanor, a slight curve to his lips that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Meng Qianqian sat as far away from him as possible, wishing she could just fall out of the carriage.
Lu Yuan smiled, "Are you that afraid of this commander?"
Meng Qianqian calmly replied, "After almost dying at the hands of the Grand Commander, I dare not be unafraid."
Lu Yuan gave a cold laugh, neither defending himself nor asking how she had been abducted by the Northern Liang spy.
The rest of the journey passed in silence.
The carriage entered the Grand Commander's mansion.
Lu Yuan's clean and expensive shoes stepped onto the carriage driver's steady back, and he instructed someone, "Take her to Tinglan Garden."
The servants of the Grand Commander's mansion were all well-trained, and though surprise flashed through their minds, their faces remained expressionless.
Although this was Meng Qianqian's second time at the Grand Commander's mansion, the last time she hadn't even entered, so she didn't know where the Tinglan Garden was. She silently followed the servant.
"Please come in, miss."
The maid, unaware of her identity, addressed her as 'miss' due to her young age.
Meng Qianqian entered the side room.
"This servant will go fetch some water, miss. Please wait a moment."
Not long after the maid left, a small figure with a tiger-themed outfit—tiger-head shoes, tiger-head hat, and a lifelike tiger-striped cotton jacket—scrambled over.
She was quite agile, and despite the high threshold, she forcefully stepped over with her short legs.
Meng Qianqian turned her head and asked, "Zhaozhao?"
"Wawa."
The little one immediately pouted and sat on the ground, her small mouth turning downward, and her big, shiny eyes becoming teary.
She was about to cry!
Meng Qianqian went to hug the little one, but then she thought of how she was covered in blood, and withdrew her hand, opting to pat the little one's tiger head instead.
The little one pointed outside and made 'wawa' sounds, her small expression fierce!
Although Meng Qianqian couldn't understand, she felt that the little one was cursing someone, and quite vulgarly at that.
Meng Qianqian washed her face and changed into clean clothes. She then fed the little one some milk.
After Bao Shu was full, she kicked her little feet in contentment.
"Wawa."
She lay in Meng Qianqian's arms and pointed outside.
"Do you want to go out and play?"
"Wawa."
Meng Qianqian sighed, "Your father is too cruel. I dare not walk around randomly, or I might not know how I'd die.
Lu Yuan had just arrived at the entrance when...
The two of them did indeed go to the garden.
Lu Yuan despised noise the most, and the servants in his mansion didn't dare to speak loudly. The Governor's mansion had been like a stagnant pond for many years.
However, this afternoon, the entire garden was filled with Bao Shu's cheerful laughter.
As dusk fell, Lu Lingxiao arrived at the mansion.
Lu Yuan went to the flower hall to meet him.
"Grand Commander."
Lu Lingxiao cupped his hands in a respectful greeting. "I heard that the Grand Commander personally led the Jinyiwei and captured the Northern Liang rebel, even bringing my wife into the Governor's mansion for interrogation. My wife has nothing to do with this matter, Grand Commander, please be discerning."
Lu Yuan gave him a meaningful look. "General Lu sure works fast. It's only been a day, and you've already found your way to the Governor's mansion. I almost thought you had forgotten about this matter."
Suppressing his anger, Lu Lingxiao replied sternly, "I didn't expect the Grand Commander to personally handle this matter. I assumed it would be handled by the Jinyiwei."
Lu Yuan smiled. "Your timing is perfect. Let's interrogate that captive together."
Lu Lingxiao had no choice but to agree. "Yes!"
The two men arrived at the dungeon of the Governor's mansion, where a thick, bloody smell assaulted their noses.
Lu Lingxiao was a veteran of the battlefield and had witnessed the most gruesome scenes, but even he felt a sense of discomfort upon entering this place.
Screams emanated from a secret room, and it was easy to guess that the person inside was undergoing unimaginable torture.
"General Lu?"
Lu Yuan turned his head and smiled at Lu Lingxiao.
Steeling himself, Lu Lingxiao took a step forward and followed Lu Yuan into the secret room.
The spy had his hands bound and was hanging high from a pillar, his body covered in whip and burn marks. The smell of scorched flesh caused Lu Lingxiao's eyebrows to furrow deeply.
Lu Yuan waved his hand.
The executioners stepped aside.
Lu Yuan curved his lips into a smile and looked at the spy, asking, "Who let you pass through the pass? What is your purpose?"
The spy replied weakly with a hint of sarcasm, "Our purpose... is naturally to... kill your Great Zhou's... emperor..."
Lu Yuan smiled. "Is that so? If I had known, I wouldn't have stopped you."
Lu Lingxiao's body trembled, and he looked at Lu Yuan in shock.
Lu Yuan pointed at Lu Lingxiao. "You know this General Lu standing next to me, don't you?"
The Northern Liang spy sneered as he looked at Lu Lingxiao. "Of course, I know him... How could I not..."
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
The spy continued, addressing Lu Yuan, "You asked me who let us through the pass... Grand Commander Lu, with your intelligence... surely you must have guessed by now?"
Lu Yuan laughed. "Are you saying that General Lu here is the one who let you through the Jade Gate Pass?"
Lu Lingxiao's face changed. "Don't spout nonsense! I've never seen any of you before!"
Lu Yuan said with interest, "General Lu, don't be impatient. Let him finish speaking."
Lu Lingxiao clenched his fists.
He was about to explain how thoughtful he had been in bringing him along to interrogate the spy, only to be met with such despicable means of framing him and ruining his hard-earned military achievements.
The Northern Liang spy laughed wildly. "Today, I just so happened to... capture his wife as a hostage... This was originally part of the plan..."
The smile in Lu Yuan's eyes deepened. "Do you mean that Madam Lu is also one of your accomplices?"
The spy laughed. "Exactly! They are both... my Northern Liang's spies... hidden in Great Zhou..."
Puchi—
A blade pierced through flesh.
Lu Lingxiao stared in disbelief at the Spring Dawn Blade that had impaled the spy's chest.
Lu Yuan pulled out the blade from the spy's chest, threw it to a Jinyiwei guard standing nearby, and then took out a clean handkerchief to wipe his hands. With a casual tone, he said,
"Some words don't need to be said to their end."
(End of Chapter)
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