Phi-Fic Chapter 234 Ruthless Chapter
Chapter 234 Ruthless Chapter
"You want me to cede territory?" Chu Yunchuan slowly tightened his grip on the letter, crumpling it into a ball, then suddenly flung it at the barbarian envoy, coldly saying, "Go back and tell Wusha Meng that if he wants peace, he'll have to bring his head to me!"
The barbarian envoy quickly lowered his head, not daring to utter another sound. Lu Jiliang glanced at Chu Yunchuan and ordered his soldiers to escort the barbarian envoy out and send him back to the barbarian lands.
As soon as the two stepped out of the tent, Lu Jiliang got up and went forward, bent down to pick up the crumpled paper, unfolded it, smoothed it out, and read it from beginning to end.
Chu Yunchuan remained silent and waited patiently.
The breathing in the center of the tent grew more and more rapid. Lu Jiliang finally turned around and stared at Chu Yunchuan in astonishment, his fingers trembling as he held up the letter: "This says... it's about the late emperor..."
His throat tightened, and he couldn't utter another word. Chu Yunchuan's face remained calm as he continued, "It was the late emperor who, fearing his own brother, ordered Gu Feng to fabricate false evidence of treason and send it to the thirteen prefectures to frame my father."
"You knew all along?!" Lu Jiliang shook his head, still shaken. "But...but the Emperor's edict of exoneration clearly stated that Gu Feng was greedy and colluded with the enemy. The late Prince Jing intercepted his letters of treason, but was instead framed by Gu Feng...Your Highness, how did you find out about this? It concerns the late Emperor's reputation. In my opinion, we should inform the Emperor to investigate thoroughly."
Chu Yunchuan chuckled softly, but there was no hint of amusement in his eyes: "Your Majesty does care about the royal family's reputation, which is why you asked me to conceal the truth. However, since this matter has been told by someone else, it doesn't mean I broke my promise."
Lu Jiliang stumbled back two steps and froze on the spot.
After a long silence, Lu Jiliang rubbed his forehead and said in a daze, "Then... how did that barbarian know about this?"
"I sent Gu Yan over there; I suppose he was the one who suggested it."
"You sent it there?" Lu Jiliang's shock had not yet subsided when his anger flared up again. He strode over to Chu Yunchuan and slammed his fist on the table. "Once the barbarians spread this word, the morale of the army will definitely be unstable. Are you out of your mind?!"
Chu Yunchuan leaned back casually, raised his eyebrows to look at him: "Lord Lu must have heard of the barbarians' strange poison. I previously sent secret guards to infiltrate the Southern Barbarians to find the antidote. Now that the old story has been brought up, the barbarians' attention is all on me, making it easier to find the antidote. Lord Lu, I am willing to do anything to win the battle."
"You... how could you..." Lu Jiliang stammered for a long time, unable to utter a complete sentence. He slowly shook his head and murmured, "When you impersonated Gu Yan at the Marquis's residence, did Bai Zhi know your true identity back then?"
Hearing Lu Jiliang mention Bai Zhi again, Chu Yunchuan still felt uneasy. He lowered his eyes, and after a while, he exhaled a deep breath, frowned, and tapped the corner of the table with a hint of irritation: "Lord Lu, you are too interested in my wife. Your childhood connection with her is not enough to make you obstruct her marriage."
Lu Jiliang's face stiffened, and he spat out the rest of the sentence through clenched teeth: "...You are simply unreasonable."
He then turned and strode out of the tent.
The news of King Jing's refusal to make peace reached the camp of Salam the next day. At that time, Bai Zhi was serving Ge Zhen fruit when she saw the messenger return with a dark face and report that King Jing not only refused to make peace but also uttered abusive words and threatened to take the chief's head.
Ge Zhen's expression immediately changed. She angrily grabbed the silver plate containing the fruit and threw it hard on the ground. The fruit also hit the ground and slowly rolled out a sticky juice.
The maids knelt down in a flurry, cleaning up the mess on the ground. Bai Zhi stood to the side, her mind racing.
Why would Chu Yunchuan make such a harsh statement? Judging from the envoy's expression, he doesn't seem to be spreading false information. Is he simply venting his anger, or does he have some other purpose?
"Ungrateful wretch!" Ge Zhen cursed angrily, turning to look at Wu Shameng beside him, his eyes filled with vicious fire. "Wu Shameng, even now, do you still want me to stop the war?!"
Wu Sha Meng remained silent, clenching his fists tightly in his seat, his entire body tense.
"Wushameng!"
“If we continue fighting, it will be difficult for us to win,” Wu Shameng said with difficulty. “The Great Yan army is very strong, but our poison is not strong enough.”
"Then let's keep going! Let Kesuya keep going!"
Making poison?
Bai Zhi suddenly realized that Chu Yun Chuan wanted to force Sha Luo Mo to continue making poison, thus providing an opportunity for the infiltrator he had planted.
Wu Shameng shook his head: "Ke Suya is still resting. He's too old to make new poisons so quickly."
Ge Zhen snorted coldly: "He's been resting for so long since he finished making the last batch of poison. People who fight in wars don't get any rest. I think he's not just getting old, he just wants to get into his coffin as soon as possible."
Bai Zhi coughed twice and moved closer to Ge Zhen. The person who made the poison couldn't die, but she had no right to speak, so she could only try to disrupt the atmosphere with her actions.
As expected, Ge Zhen's attention was drawn to her. She glanced at Bai Zhi and suddenly said, "I remember you also know a little about poisons."
Bai Zhi did have some knowledge of toxicology, but the toxicology of the barbarian lands was quite different from that of the Great Yan. Those who made poisons must be experts in toxicology, and she would easily be exposed. Moreover, she didn't know what plans her insider had, so she couldn't act rashly.
Thinking of this, she could only lower her head and say, "Madam, I don't quite remember."
Ge Zhen slammed his fist on the table and yelled, "Get out!"
Bai Zhi rolled away nimbly.
Outside the door, the barbarian operative happened to pass by. Seeing Bai Zhi come out, he took advantage of the fact that no one was around and led her behind the rockery, whispering to her, "How is it?"
Bai Zhi lowered her voice and explained what had just happened. The young man on the inside frowned and said, "Strange, isn't Your Highness being too hasty?"
"What do you mean?"
"Your Highness has just slaughtered the barbarian army, and now you are provoking Wushamon. It seems too reckless. However, it is a good thing to force the barbarians to continue making poison. Kesuya has been resting and I have not had a chance to get close to him. Now is the best opportunity."
Bai Zhi paused for a moment, then asked, "What do you mean by slaughtering the barbarian army?"
"You didn't know?" The young man inside told Bai Zhi in detail about the massacre of the barbarian army by the Jingying Formation. Bai Zhi gasped and her heart sank.
So this is what the brutal mechanism that Wushamon mentioned was all about.
It was indeed brutal—Chu Yunchuan was exhausted.
The war had dragged on for too long, and the anxiety and worry of the past few months had reached their peak. Even Chu Yunchuan could no longer hold back and vent his anger by massacring his troops. What to do? Chu Yunchuan might soon discover that she was missing. Letting him know that she was missing at this critical juncture would be like adding fuel to the fire.
Bai Zhi paced back and forth restlessly, clinging to her last glimmer of hope as she asked the young man on the inside, "Is there really no way to remove the mask?"
The young man inside the building honestly shook his head: "This mask was made by the divine physician and governor of Qizhou, Lord Fang. It can't be removed by ordinary methods..." Suddenly, his ears twitched, he frowned, mouthed "someone" to Bai Zhi, and then secretly left along the artificial hill.
Bai Zhi left the artificial hill from the other side and returned to her cottage. After closing the door and lying down, she closed her eyes and sighed deeply.
The insider said that now is the best opportunity. She cannot leave here no matter what. The war is the biggest problem right now. The only way to stop the war is to get the antidote. Even if news comes that Chu Yunchuan has gone mad tomorrow, she must stay here and remain steadfast.
"May Miss Baizhi bless you... and may everything go smoothly..." Baizhi prayed softly.