QT: The Rescue Of The Miserable Bigshots-Chapter 307 - 10.8

"Requesting to marry Jiang Jiamian!? Absurd!"

In the imperial study, upon reading the memorial sent by the King of Huainan, the Emperor slammed it to the ground.

"Your Majesty, is this a memorial from the King of Huainan?"

Standing in the imperial study was none other than Liu Fu, the treacherous minister who had assisted Tuojia in framing the Jiang family, yet was deeply favored by the Emperor, and now served as the prime minister of the court.

The Emperor’s face was grim as he pointed at the memorial. "Look at this. The King of Huainan, for some unknown reason, is actually asking me to bestow a marriage upon him. He even promises that he harbors no ulterior motives, and to prove his sincerity, he is willing to increase tribute and relinquish control of the five towns in Huainan."

Liu Fu smiled. "This is a good thing, Your Majesty. Why are you angry instead of pleased?"

The Emperor frowned. "Have you forgotten? The Jiang family is plotting rebellion! Xiao Jinan is no peaceful man either. How could anything good come from marrying Jiang Jiamian into the Huainan King’s mansion?"

Liu Fu shook his head. "Your Majesty, I don’t think so."

The Emperor was taken aback. "Hm? What do you mean?"

Liu Fu did not dare keep him in suspense and spoke directly. "Your Majesty, regardless of how Jiang Chong colludes with Tuojia, Jiang Jiamian and Xiao Jinan have been irreconcilably opposed for four years. To put it bluntly, they are at the point where each would like nothing more than to devour the other alive. In my opinion, the King of Huainan is not truly seeking a marriage decree. He knows the Jiang family is already in dire straits and is eager to kick them while they’re down, using the pretext of a marriage to get Jiang Jiamian into his hands for torture and revenge."

The Emperor pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded. "You’re right. Forcing a general to marry his enemy is a tremendous humiliation. I didn’t consider it carefully before, but now that I think about it, Xiao Jinan harbors nothing but malice toward Jiang Jiamian." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Liu Fu laughed softly. "Exactly. He has been at odds with Jiang Jiamian for years. Having his path blocked for so long, it’s no wonder he bears such deep resentment. If we give Jiang Jiamian to him now and allow him to vent his anger, it might make him behave himself for a time. That would only benefit the court."

"You’re right!"

The Emperor’s anger turned to delight. He slammed his hand on the table and made his decision. "Send him to the King of Huainan. I grant the marriage!"

That rebellious son of the Jiang family would either die in prison or be executed anyway. Now that he could still be of use, sending him to Xiao Jinan to vent his anger and appease his ambitions was nothing but a fortunate turn.

"Handle Jiang Jiamian properly. Send him to the King of Huainan’s residence immediately, along with the imperial marriage decree!"

As for whether Xiao Jinan would torture him to death once he fell into his hands, that was no longer the Emperor’s concern.

Jiang Jiamian stared at the people who forcibly dragged him out of the cell and swiftly dressed him in a red robe. For a moment, he was utterly at a loss.

What was this?

A forced marriage?

And who exactly were these people sent by the Emperor?

They dressed him without a word, not uttering a single sentence from beginning to end.

Were they afraid that if he knew he was being sent to the King of Huainan’s mansion in exchange for temporary peace, he would rather die than submit and ruin the plan?

So they simply forced him straight into the wedding procession?

Then again, he had truly had enough of being imprisoned for days on end. Besides, he had already exchanged Jiang Qingshan for a disguised corpse not long ago.

He feared that the moment he left the cell and was ’forced’ to marry Xiao Jinan, the Emperor would receive news that Jiang Qingshan had ’died of illness’ in prison.

Dressed in red, Jiang Jiamian was confined within a carriage by a group of soldiers. Even now, the chains on his wrists had not been removed, making him look less like a groom and more like a red-clad prisoner.

The soldiers escorting him seemed to have received strict orders from the Emperor. They remained silent the entire journey, heading south without mentioning the arranged marriage or even their destination.

Jiang Jiamian understood perfectly well what was happening. Since they were all pretending to be mute, he didn’t bother to ask.

The group finally entered Huainan Pass half a month later.

As soon as they passed through the gates, the attendants changed Jiang Jiamian back into a new red robe and tied his hair with a matching red hairband, as if their mission had finally reached its final stage.

"General!"

Zhang An’s voice rang out from ahead.

Jiang Jiamian was startled. He raised his hand and lifted the carriage curtain. When he saw Zhang An, he almost failed to recognize him at first glance.

Not long ago, when Zhang An had departed, he had been cold, imposing, and clean-cut. Now, however, stubble covered his chin, and his face looked haggard and worn.

Several hundred soldiers of the Jiang family army stood behind him.

"Who dares block the road?! We are a royal escort delivering a wedding procession to the King of Huainan’s residence. Step aside at once! Otherwise, we will kill without mercy!"

The guards, who hadn’t revealed their purpose the entire way, suddenly spoke up when they saw Zhang An blocking their path.

The words ’delivering a wedding’ struck Zhang An like a blade, igniting his fury in an instant.

He drew his sword and roared, "Deliver your mother’s damn wedding! Our general is a man of honor, how could he suffer such humiliation?! If you want to pass Huainan today, you’ll have to step over my corpse first!"

A royal marriage, Zhang An had heard of it.

But who in the world didn’t know that their general was the greatest thorn in the King of Huainan’s side?

That foolish emperor had granted the King of Huainan’s malicious request for a marriage alliance. If the general truly fell into Xiao Jinan’s hands, his fate would be worse than death.

A proud young general, sent to the enemy’s bed, this was cruelty far beyond execution.

Fortunately, the Jiang family army was still here.

Even if it meant defying the imperial decree and risking their lives, they would block the road and rescue their general from this humiliating fate.

Jiang Jiamian watched the furious Zhang An and silently covered his face.

The case was solved. Zhang An definitely harbored extraordinary feelings for the original owner, perhaps even that kind of feelings.

Anyone claiming otherwise would be lying.

Yet even if Jiang Jiamian were truly the original owner, these two would never have had a future in the original story.

It wasn’t just a matter of status. From the Jiang family to the state of Great An, there were too many helpless constraints and unavoidable realities.

Even if the original owner had survived, Jiang Jiamian suspected their path would have been filled with hardship and regret.

"Zhang An!"

Seeing Zhang An about to charge forward, Jiang Jiamian hurriedly called out. "Step aside."

"General!" Zhang An’s hand tightened around his sword. "We can rescue you! We are not afraid to die!"

Jiang Jiamian’s expression darkened. "Zhang An, this is not a matter of life or death. This is an order."

Zhang An hesitated, his expression torn. Then, for the first time in more than ten years, he disobeyed Jiang Jiamian’s command. "Please forgive me, General... I cannot obey."

He could not watch his general walk past him, only to be delivered straight into the King of Huainan’s mansion to suffer humiliation, perhaps even torture.

"I hear someone intends to intercept my queen?"

A cold laugh suddenly echoed from behind the Jiang family army.

Zhang An turned abruptly.

Without anyone noticing when he arrived, the King of Huainan, Xiao Jinan, had already appeared at the pass.

He stood amid the mountains, clad in a blazing red robe. His voice, imbued with inner strength, carried clearly across the distance, striking everyone’s ears with chilling clarity.

"Greetings, King of Huainan."

The wedding procession hurriedly saluted, their manners impeccable despite the tension.

Xiao Jinan ignored them entirely. His gaze rested only on Jiang Jiamian in the sedan chair, a long-suppressed smile slowly spreading across his lips.

"Jiang Jiamian. We finally meet again."

"Yes." Jiang Jiamian replied calmly, meeting his gaze. "We meet again."

Their eyes locked, an unspoken exchange passing silently between them.

"General..."

Zhang An’s face drained of color.

For some reason, a fear far worse than hatred welled up in his heart.

Hatred might have offered an escape. But what he sensed now was something far more terrifying.

"Zhang An, step back."

Xiao Jinan’s presence only strengthened Jiang Jiamian’s resolve.

Defying the marriage procession was already reckless. Offending the cold and ruthless King of Huainan would only doom Zhang An’s future.

If Jiang Jiamian intended to ally with Xiao Jinan, the Jiang family army would inevitably follow. Zhang An could not afford to become Xiao Jinan’s enemy.

"No."

Zhang An’s face was pale, but his voice was resolute. "This subordinate will never retreat. Today, I will bring the general back to the Jiang family camp."

"Then let me see if you have the ability!" Xiao Jinan sneered. "Do you think anyone can snatch my queen halfway?"

With a flick of his wrist, a long spear appeared in his grasp.

Jiang Jiamian recognized it instantly.

It was the spear he had once left for Xiao Jinan.

"Xiao Jinan! Stop!"

Jiang Jiamian’s pupils shrank. He leapt from the carriage.

In a few swift movements, he landed beside Xiao Jinan, using the chains on his wrists to bind the spear and halt its momentum.

The escort team: "..."

All this time... they had been escorting someone utterly uncontrollable.

He had stayed in the carriage only because he chose to.

Cold sweat soaked their backs.

If he had tried to escape at any point, their lives would have been lost long ago.

Even Xiao Jinan was briefly stunned.

"You..."

He had always known Jiang Jiamian was strong, but not this strong. As if walking through empty air.

"Zhang An, you’ve seen it now."

Jiang Jiamian turned to Zhang An, his gaze steady. "If I wanted to escape, I wouldn’t need you to rescue me. I won’t escape. I have my reasons."

Zhang An stared at him, conflicted.

It was clearly the same person, yet something felt unmistakably different.

Stronger. Sharper. And for the first time, the man whose thoughts he could never read now seemed to see straight through him, leaving him nowhere to hide.

This really is...

Zhang An shook his head, rejecting the absurd thought.

Of course it was him.

Who else could it be?

There were no two identical people in this world.

Perhaps the general had changed after enduring such calamity. That was only natural.

"Zhang An." Jiang Jiamian said coldly, "I’ll say it one last time. Step back. If you continue to disobey, you will no longer be deputy general of the Jiang family army."

He did not care whether Zhang An noticed anything.

If Zhang An truly had the ability to realize the truth, it would only make things easier.

After all, when someone loves another person, they observe them with a magnifying glass.

Zhang An was harder to fool than Jiang Qingshan himself.

So there was no need to hide.

As long as the secret of transmigration was not exposed, whether Zhang An imagined gods, ghosts, or possession, it no longer mattered.