Do Not Offend the Reborn Wicked Wife-Chapter 159: Death Soldier
Your Majesty wants to see him!
This declaration shook the court!
Such an honor for a mere scholar, a minor official exiled to the borders, to be favored by the Emperor and asked to appear at court?
What a distinguished honor!
Countless envious, jealous, and resentful glances swept around, with nowhere to land.
The person in question wasn’t even present!
Qi Yun squinted his eyes, relishing the chaos his words had sown among the ministers; the feeling was truly satisfying. He leaned slightly back and waved his hand: "Any other matters, beloved ministers? If not, let’s adjourn court!"
"Sending off Your Majesty, we ministers respectfully withdraw!"
The ministers retreated like a tide, and once outside the hall, an official suddenly approached another official ahead of him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Congratulations, Minister Pang, congratulations!"
Pang Wenzheng frowned, feeling somewhat displeased: "What’s there to congratulate?"
The person behind him was Cui Yongquan, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and part of the Third Prince’s faction, considered an opponent of his, and yet, he came to offer congratulations? Haha!
"If I recall correctly, that Li Qingmu... should be your son-in-law, correct? Ahahah... isn’t that worth congratulating?"
"Hmph, that shameless miscreant, I’ve already expelled them from the family; those two have nothing to do with me!"
Having said that, Pang Wenzheng swirled his sleeves angrily and left the Imperial Palace, boarding his sedan chair to return home.
At the doorstep of his house, he kicked open the main door and stormed inside.
"Master, Master..."
The servants at home had no clue what had happened, only seeing him enter the study furiously, followed by a series of banging sounds as things were smashed.
"Cao Yin, you old fool!!!"
Pang Wenzheng roared with anger, hysterically!
"Old fool, we’re both scholars, yet you not only ignore me but also humiliate me and look down on me. But why do you favor that young man so much? You even entrusted him with the task of writing commendations?"
Pang Wenzheng was furious!
If not for those commendations, if he hadn’t appeared before the Emperor in advance, how would the Emperor know what he had done in Xinan?
Originally, that Imperial Censor’s impeachment, after some embellishment, could charge him, leaving their couple exiled to the borders for life, never to return!
"Old Fool Cao, of course, if you’d bothered to look at me properly, perhaps things wouldn’t have turned out this way. A drawn bow cannot turn back; I’ve already taken this step and there’s no return now... hehe, hahaha..."
...
Clearing the battlefield is a labor-intensive task, and by the time everything was settled in Xinan, it was almost New Year.
Meanwhile, news from Shengjing City had arrived.
"The Emperor said to reward all who contributed their merits!" At the Xinan Camp, a messenger briefly reported the situation in the Capital City, coincidentally with Li Qingmu nearby, he expressed his envy, saying, "Mr. Li’s luck is excellent; the Emperor personally wants to see you! Congratulations, you’re likely to be promoted!"
Cao Yin clapped Li Qingmu’s shoulder, laughing heartily: "You’ve got a promising future, kid, to even catch the Emperor’s eye, hahaha, my granddaughter will have a blessed life ahead!"
"Grandfather, regardless of whether I gain the Emperor’s favor, I will take good care of Yue’er and never let her suffer!"
"Hey, you sure know how to talk!" Cao Yin looked at his granddaughter’s husband more and more favorably, "Hmm, where’s that stubborn girl, Yue’er?"
"She’s packing her belongings."
"Good, good, in a couple of days we’ll head back to the Capital. You two should pack well, go on!"
Two days later, the army returned to the Capital.
Cao Yin’s direct forces of fifty thousand only brought two thousand into the Capital, while the rest remained stationed in Xinan. Even though they won this battle, they couldn’t afford to be careless.
As for the tens of thousands brought by Chang E, fewer than seventy thousand remained, but casualties are inevitable in war, and the Emperor wouldn’t have much to say about it.
The only surprise for Long Yue was that Master Duanmu Nan also intended to go to the Capital.
"Master, why not travel with us? It’d be good to have company on the road! By the way, as we return, I want to find the Young Prince!"
Duanmu Nan wanted to refuse, but seeing Long Yue’s beautiful smile, he inexplicably nodded: "Alright!"
When the army returns, they can’t stay in the city, so they camp outside. Li Qingmu naturally wouldn’t let his little wife continue to be exposed outside, so they split into two groups with Cao Yin; Long Yue’s group, being smaller, would arrive early in the Capital and they’d meet up there.
Though initially, they still camped primarily.
As darkness gradually fell, everyone took their meals and retired to their tents to rest.
During the days of battle, Li Qingmu hadn’t had a proper moment of affection with his little wife, so on the first night of the return, there was passion three times over.
Long Yue was exhausted by his antics and fell into a deep sleep.
At midnight, while everyone was deeply asleep, nearby in a prisoner’s cart were ten or so Xiliang captives, including the general Hatu. Additionally, there was a mysterious man who had been sneaking around the grain storage.
The man appeared asleep, eyes closed.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes, scanning the surroundings.
Confirming no one was watching, he spat out a silver thread and inserted it into the keyhole of the shackles.
With a couple of clicks, he freed the shackles, then proceeded to unlock the cart.
In no time, the man was out of the cart, cautiously sneaking into a tent under the cover of darkness.
He pulled out a dagger, its blade gleaming lethally in the moonlight!
Step by step, he approached a bed, looking down at the sleeping figures, then suddenly stabbed downward.
"Clang!"
With a crisp sound, the two sleepers abruptly opened their eyes, one of them intercepting his dagger.
Their counter was with a bronze dagger!
The man was shocked, realizing the situation was dire, but it was too late to retreat. So he punched down.
"Bam bam!"
Long Yue swiftly countered, scattering the man’s attack, while the couple swiftly subdued him.
"Spit!"
Blood gushed out as the man didn’t even give them a chance to question him and promptly committed suicide by poison!
"A death soldier!"
Long Yue, gazing at the man who decisively took his own life, furrowed her delicate brows.
"On this journey, there are so many who wish for our lives!"
Li Qingmu joked cheerfully, though the matter was far from amusing.
"This man sneakily creeping outside the grain store, we initially thought he was an enemy spy, but he turns out to be one of ours... who could it be? Pei Jinheng, or someone sent by your sister?"
Long Yue shook her head, uncertain herself, "Looks like we’ll need to be extra cautious on our way back."
"Indeed!"
"What happened? Yue’er, is everything alright...?"
Cao Yin, just next door, upon hearing the commotion, hurried over, not even wearing his overcoat, staring at the man’s corpse on the ground in bewilderment: "This man..."
"A captive!"
"How did he escape? Damn those guards, I’ll sort those kids out!"
"Grandfather, let it be. It’s not their fault, this person was a death soldier, there was someone sent specifically after us!"
