Chapter 1074: Chapter 1065: Rebellion (Part 2)

After yet another defeat, the military officers of Nanliang advised the Prince of Nanliang to cease the war.

"To manage external aggression, we must first ensure internal stability," the court cannot handle the aggression from Daqi and the internal turmoil at the same time.

The Prince of Nanliang felt that Nanliang could not afford to lose face like this.

Since it was Nanliang that started this conflict at the outset, asking Daqi for peace after losing a few cities would be like slapping our own face, wouldn’t it?!

The Prince of Nanliang was unwilling to do such a humiliating thing, but he also didn’t resume the war with Daqi, merely raised the flag for truce.

This day marked the seventh day since Nanliang raised the truce flag.

At the Daqi Camp, it was a scene of peace and tranquility.

However, Prince NanAn and his men were unhappy. Had they known the war wouldn’t last long, he’d rather have escorted Xie Jingchuan back to the Capital with Su Chong.

The war stagnant, no fighting, yet no peace — what’s the meaning behind keeping the truce flag up?

The border winds and sands are so severe, they had no desire to waste their days in the harsh environment.

Standing on the city wall, Prince NanAn and his men were utterly bored.

Nanliang, Imperial Palace.

Inside the Imperial Study, the Emperor of Nanliang threw the memorials heavily onto the ground.

His face was as ugly as it could possibly be.

Ever since the Emperor of Nanliang ascended to the throne, harsh taxes and levies caused widespread resentment throughout Nanliang. Now, Zhao Xu had rallied forces under the banner of overthrowing despotic rule, gaining widespread support.

The Emperor of Nanliang regretted not having killed Prime Minister Zhao earlier, allowing him to retire to his hometown.

In his rage-induced headache, the Nanliang Empress hurried in.

Feeling down, the Nanliang Empress invited several noble ladies to the palace to divert her thoughts. In idle chatter, she realized something was amiss.

The Nanliang Empress was aware of the Old Madam of the General Shi’s Mansion being seriously ill, and the Shi family had already been declining visitors for days. But during the conversation, she discovered not only the General Shi’s Mansion was declining visitors, several other generals under General Shi had also stopped seeing guests.

One or two declining visitors might be normal, but for so many all to be doing so simultaneously — that was clearly a problem.

The Emperor of Nanliang sensed something unusual. Though he had an undercover agent planted in the General Shi’s Mansion, this had not been reported to him promptly.

The Emperor of Nanliang dispatched someone to investigate.

The General Shi’s Mansion was found to be deserted.

The Changning Marquis Mansion, on the other hand, had its gates wide open, yet the Marchioness Changning was missing. The Marquis Changning had requested a mission days ago to escort grain and grass to the border.

Even in his folly, the Emperor of Nanliang realized that General Shi and his faction were also harboring rebellious intentions.

He sent someone with an urgent message eight hundred miles to the border to inform the Prince of Nanliang.

Hmm.

This confidential message was intercepted by Zhao Xu halfway.

Nevertheless, the message eventually reached the border, but not to the Prince of Nanliang — it was delivered to General Shi instead.

After Zhao Xu and Prime Minister Zhao read the message, they switched the envelope and sent it as a family letter by fast horse to General Shi at the border.

Upon reading the letter, General Shi realized he had no choice but to leave the camp. He immediately gathered a few trusted subordinates, and that very night, while the Prince of Nanliang was tossing and turning in bed, General Shi led his troops and left the camp.

All the warhorses in the camp were taken away.

The Prince of Nanliang couldn’t catch up even if he wanted to pursue them.

General Shi joined forces with Zhao Xu with forty thousand troops.

That day, as dusk fell, General Shi dared to arrive at the Zhao Family residence.

This Zhao Family was no longer the same as when Princess Jing Mountain resided there. It was now a temporary refuge for Prime Minister Zhao’s family.

Prime Minister Zhao and General Shi had served together for many years, one as a civil servant and the other as a military general. Although they hadn’t had any major conflicts, there were frequent civil-military frictions.

Zhao Xu performed a formal greeting to General Shi, "With the support of General Shi and the other generals, what great matter can’t be accomplished?"

Young Master Shi spoke of the Donglin Prince Mansion with deep respect in his words.

Prime Minister Zhao invited him inside for a chat.

During the short time from entering to sitting down, Prime Minister Zhao and General Shi finalized the marriage alliance between Dong Chenglang and Miss Zhao.

Xie Jingchen, "...."

Dong Chenglang, "...!!!"

Xie Jingchen rubbed his forehead.

Although it fit exactly with his designs, he couldn’t help but feel that this marriage arrangement was excessively swift.

If he hadn’t known that General Shi hadn’t discussed this with Prime Minister Zhao beforehand, he would have suspected the two had planned it long ago.

Dong Chenglang wanted to protest, as this matter of marriage should not be treated so lightly.

However, Xie Jingchen stopped him.

Resist what?

General Shi had just rebelled against the court, and to show unwillingness to marry Miss Zhao at this moment would please no one.

By marrying his real daughter to Dong Chenglang, Prime Minister Zhao was gaining General Shi’s trust.

Didn’t Prime Minister Zhao know that Dong Chenglang’s marriage should be decided by the Marquis Changning, not this General Shi, who was merely an uncle?

Dong Chenglang resisted, "Don’t hold me back."

Xie Jingchen looked at him and said, "You’ve set up General Shi so many times. It’s his turn to set you up once."

Dong Chenglang, "...."

With just this one line, Dong Chenglang was deflated.

The Zhao Family, having been informed in advance of General Shi’s arrival, had prepared fine wine and delicacies.

Everyone drank merrily and conversed delightfully.

Knowing they came to the Zhao Family in haste and were weary from traveling, Prime Minister Zhao let them rest early, deferring important discussions to the following day.

Dong Chenglang drank a bit too much, hastily setting the engagement, a crowd congratulating him, raising their cups to him, leaving him unable to refuse the toasts.

However, he was pretending to be drunk, as his tolerance for liquor was quite good.

Xie Jingchen helped him back to his room, with a servant leading the way ahead.

Xie Jingchen knew Dong Chenglang was faking his drunkenness, and wished he could dump him halfway.

After returning to the room, Xie Jingchen helped Dong Chenglang lie down since the servant was present, and Dong Chenglang had no choice but to maintain his pretense.

Just as he lay down, a servant came over and said, "My Master would like to see you."

Xie Jingchen then went out.

Dong Chenglang was burning with anxiety.

He still wanted to see Brother Li’s true face!

He had been making excuses all along, and now that they were at the Zhao Family, there was no reason for further refusal, right?

If they genuinely refused, he was prepared to use force!

There was nothing scandalous about seeing a face!

Dong Chenglang, unable to contain his impatience, got up and went out.

Zhao Xu was waiting for Xie Jingchen in the pavilion.

Dong Chenglang, using the rooftops for a quicker route, reached the pavilion even faster.

He sat down with a thud opposite Zhao Xu and said, looking at Xie Jingchen climbing the steps, "Sit down if you want, but first, take off that human skin mask."