Chapter 970: Chapter 970

The people around all agreed, "Second Young Master is absolutely right!"

Mu Prince had three sons and two daughters, the youngest son was still very young, whereas the eldest son, the Princely Heir, stayed behind at the Yunfu Road headquarters to maintain stability at the rear of the rebel army.

Only the second son, who shared the same martial passion and had a temperament most aligned with him, followed in the army.

After the Yunfu Army crossed the Huai River, Zhao Shixiong led troops to the front line, while Mu Prince personally managed the rear, under the guise of forming alliances with various noble families along the Huai River Road for greater support, as well as acquiring military funds and grain.

However, the Second Young Master knew that Father was actually there to suppress Zhao Shixiong, just like a master holding a dog’s leash; as long as he controlled the army’s grain supply, he held the lifeline.

Moreover, the family retainers understood better, with their Prince’s character, the more humble he was, the more they needed to praise him.

The last retainer who took the Prince’s humble words seriously has long disappeared into whichever grave.

At this moment, a retainer hurriedly approached from afar:

"Prince! A secret letter from the Embroidered Robe Envoy has been delivered!"

"Oh?" Xu Jingtang’s heart stirred, he waved away the surrounding maids and took the secret letter, the others automatically stepped back, even the Second Young Master dared not approach.

When the Prince read letters, he never allowed anyone nearby.

Xu Jingtang carefully inspected and confirmed the letter was sealed, only then did he open it, using a ring on his hand to reveal the writing on the special paper.

It was a secret report from Nie Yurong, the Embroidered Robe Envoy inside Yongjia City.

Everyone was shocked to see, their Prince’s face changed drastically, initially angered, but upon reading further, turning expressionless, with inner murderous intent!

"Father... Could it be the situation on the Eastern Front has changed?" the Second Young Master cautiously asked.

Currently, Xue Shence was leading the main force against Prince Jing Xu Wen, the greatest potential impact on the Huai River’s situation.

Xu Jingtang set down the letter, his voice was low:

"It’s Yongjia City. The court’s Shadow Guards infiltrated Yongjia City, assassinated Supervisor Wang Qi, created chaos, and rescued a group of imprisoned officials."

"Such a thing occurred? Zhao Shixiong couldn’t intercept them?" the Second Young Master frowned.

He intuitively felt there was more in the letter. Whether Wang Qi was killed or a few insignificant officials escaped was not enough to make Mu Prince react in such a manner.

"The letter is brief, afterward we must instruct the Embroidered Robe Envoy for a detailed investigation." Xu Jingtang glanced at his son and said.

Still, his inner emotions were far from calm!

Because what truly mattered in Nie Yurong’s letter was the latter part.

The person orchestrating this infiltration, suspected to be Zhao Douan stationed on the Western Front!

On the night of the prison break, Zhao Shixiong battled the court’s Shadow Guards leader yet failed to keep them.

Feng Xiaolian, the Store Manager of Huai Royal Mansion, secretly met with the court’s Shadow Guards!

Feng Xiaolian utilized Huai Royal Mansion’s connections to send a letter to Zhao Shixiong!

Four pieces of intelligence, each more startling than the last!

Xu Jingtang’s chest burned with rage, a frightening conjecture surged in his mind.

Is this intelligence real?

If it is real, what does it imply?

It naturally led Xu Jingtang to speculate:

Zhao Douan may have used the Huai Royal Mansion as a middleman to secretly communicate with Zhao Shixiong, possibly reaching some kind of "deal."

Only this could explain why the court’s operation was so smooth, Zhao Shixiong not only lost prisoners but also failed to capture Zhao Douan.

Wang Qi was dead... representing Mu Prince Manor, his group of supervisors placed in Yongjia City to monitor Zhao Shixiong was collectively assassinated...

You must understand, in Wang Qi’s hand was a life-saving Suppressing Object bestowed by him, making it difficult to kill.

Nonetheless, Xu Jingtang decided to first verify this intelligence from multiple angles.

"Summon Embroidered Robe..." He was about to speak, suddenly, another retainer ran over from afar:

"Prince, General Zhao from Yongjia City sent scouts with military information!"

The Second Young Master and others were momentarily stunned.

Xu Jingtang silently took and unfolded it.

This military letter also recorded Zhao Douan’s operations within Yongjia City, most of which matched Nie Yurong’s provided intelligence, and included many details.

Particularly noteworthy was a blank sheet of paper included in the envelope.

According to Zhao Shixiong’s account, it was quietly placed into the mansion while he left the city for a night battle, possibly to frame him.

He pleaded with the Prince not to be deceived.

Xu Jingtang looked at the paper, his eyes somewhat suspicious.

Zhao Shixiong’s words seemed sincere, yet...

Nie Yurong’s secret letter mentioned that in order to obtain intelligence, the Embroidered Robe Envoy approached Zhao Shixiong near the engagement with "Zhao Douan".

With Zhao Shixiong’s cultivation, the presence of the Embroidered Robe Envoy was most likely detected by him.

"If he found the Embroidered Robe Envoy... then this urgent military intelligence sent, is it to clear his name or to cover up?"

Xu Jingtang was momentarily undecided, but regardless, the Huai Royal Mansion played a middleman role in these events.

The fence-sitter... indeed should be coerced.

He smiled coldly, crumpling the two letters into a ball, and said:

"Prepare the carriage, this Prince will visit Prince Huaian in the afternoon."

The Second Young Master was taken aback, quickly said, "Yes." Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝~𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖~𝕟𝕖𝕥

"Also," Xu Jingtang added:

"Didn’t Prince Jing ask for reinforcement yesterday? Wanting us to deploy troops to restrain Xue Shence? For now, suppress the original assistance strategy and order Zhao Shixiong’s troops in Yongjia City to hold their ground, to prevent the court from breaking through the Western Front."

"Additionally, select new supervisors to be dispatched to Yongjia, quickly..."

Order after order was issued, the generals overwhelmed.

Finally, Xu Jingtang added, "Summon the Embroidered Robe Envoy chief here, this Prince has orders to deliver."

"Yes." The Second Young Master replied, about to leave.

After a few steps, suddenly called to stop, "Wait, how is Zhao Shixiong’s only daughter recently?"

The Second Young Master paused in his step, turned to look at his father’s backlit face, hesitated for a moment, and said:

"Assigned a special caretaker, everything is normal."

Xu Jingtang said, "Recent days watch her closely, you oversee personally."

The Second Young Master was shocked, "...Alright."

The court was unaware that the first chess piece of a cross-section duel had yet settled down.

Sitting under the large pear tree, Zhao Douan remotely executed a strike across a thousand miles, causing Xu Jingtang a sleepless night.

At this moment, everyone was caught off guard by Peng Wenliang’s imprisonment, followed immediately by Lihua Hall’s widespread arrest of Pure Stream Party officials, stirring a great commotion.

In just one afternoon, one after another, officials on the list were publicly taken from government offices by the Jinyi Captains.

Just as Zhao Douan predicted, with Yuan Li’s failed obstruction as precedent, the whole process was surprisingly smooth.

Inside the Imperial Prison, due to the execution of Li Party officials, the temporarily vacant cells were filled up again.

At dusk, as night fell.

Finally unable to remain idle, Ma Yan led the rest of the eight halls’ Masters to the prison gate, just in time to see the figure wearing a white mask, seated on a chair, before the prison gate.

Above were two eerie red lanterns hanging.

"Lord Ma, what brings you here?" Zhao Douan lifted his eyelid, said unexpectedly.

PS: Changing the schedule was not very successful, but fortunately today it was advanced a bit, this Chapter seven thousand words.