Chapter 78: Half a Month of Turmoil

Of course, there was one small problem: they had no mounts. Wherever the spirits passed, mutated creatures would give them a wide berth, so the Black Water City army could no longer fish for sand monsters to use as horses as they once did; they had no choice but to walk honestly, one step at a time.

They walked like this for over ten days, until their water and grain were nearly exhausted, and the group finally reached the end of the Red Cliff Road.

Once they reached that point, the Great Wind army stopped escorting them and turned around to leave quite decisively, showing no regard for the camaraderie of their half-month journey together.

Throughout this journey, they had been silent companions. From the commander down to the lowliest soldier, He Lingchuan had not heard them say a single word.

After bathing, He Lingchuan changed into a new set of clothes and hurried to the dining hall.

The family of three was already seated. He Chunhua was recounting the journey to the Panlong Desert to his second son, while Lady Ying listened with a smile, eating with a hearty appetite.

As soon as He Lingchuan sat down, he grabbed a large white-flour steamed bun: "Dad, did you mention that I saved everyone?"

Lady Ying couldn't help but laugh: "What a thick skin!"

With her family safely returned, she was in a wonderful mood. She personally picked up a large piece of braised pork belly, cooked until tender and succulent, for He Lingchuan, told him to tuck it into his bun, and stuffed in two slices of perfectly pickled sour radish.

He Lingchuan ate until his mouth was glistening with oil, mumbling, "In the desert, this was the only thing I thought about day and night!"

The He family was already accustomed to his gluttonous way of eating. He Yue said, "What about that broken blade? Let me see it."

He Lingchuan casually drew the blade and laid it across the table: "Be careful not to cut yourself."

He Yue gingerly stroked the blade. It felt icy cold to the touch, and he felt a stinging pain. He couldn't help but let out an "Ouch" and stuck his finger into his mouth to suck on it twice.

He Lingchuan glared: "Clumsy!"

He Yue looked innocent: "I didn't even touch the edge, yet I still got cut."

He Lingchuan rubbed his finger back and forth along the blade, even flicking the edge to produce a metallic clang, yet his finger remained unscathed: "You're more delicate than a woman."

After all these years, He Yue had long since become immune to his sarcasm and took the initiative to change the subject: "Brother, Panlong City is so huge, how did you discover that this blade was the lifeblood of the Black Dragon?"

He Lingchuan grew spirited. While grandiosely embellishing his own photographic memory and meticulous attention to detail, he waved the blade, sending cold light flashing across the hall.

*Clatter.* A ceramic jar four feet away shattered in response, and clear water spilled all over the floor.

He Lingchuan hadn't used a shred of true qi.

Lady Ying’s face paled: "Stop it! This is a place for eating, you shouldn't be playing with weapons!"

This blade was simply too vicious!

He Lingchuan sheepishly sheathed the blade and hurriedly asked his second brother: "By the way, you said the rebels at Woling Pass have been pacified?"

"Exactly." He Yue had already reported this to his father and didn't mind telling his elder brother again. "Actually, Nian Songyu and Sun Fu were spouting nonsense. Before they even arrived at Black Water City, the rebels at Woling Pass had already been wiped out by the two great generals Wu Di and Ke Jihai. It was impossible for them to fell trees to build boats and head east along the river!"

He Lingchuan was stunned: "Then what about the 'Iron Barrel General' Zhao Ronglue...?"

It was precisely because Sun Fu had falsified the military report that He Chunhua had decided to follow them to Panlong City to find the legendary Great Square Cauldron, which could supposedly defeat the enemy, in order to help the imperial army pacify the rebels and protect the capital.

And yet, He Yue was telling him that the rebels hadn't even managed to leave Woling Pass?

Then what were the Xunzhou Governor and Sun Fu plotting to get the Great Square Cauldron for?

"The Iron Barrel General did indeed die in battle. When Generals Wu and Ke arrived with one hundred thousand elite troops, the rebels happened to be in the midst of an internal conflict, which weakened their strength on its own. Even so, it was a series of fierce battles, and both sides suffered heavy casualties; we only won by a narrow margin." He Yue gave a bitter smile. "Sun Fu only told half the truth. Mixing truth with falsehood is what makes it so hard to distinguish, even Father was taken in."

"No wonder!" He Lingchuan hissed: "No wonder Sun Fu and Nian Songyu urged us to depart as soon as they arrived at Black Water City. They were worried that the eastern route would suddenly open up and the real news would get through."

"The situation is very unfavorable for the Grand Marshal. They needed to use us to buy time. Otherwise, once the news from the capital arrived, they would go from being honored guests to wanted criminals."

"And what about the Grand Marshal?" Intuition told He Lingchuan that this was the real main event.

"The elite troops and good generals were all sent to the south, leaving the capital empty. Grand Marshal Dong Haoming thought he saw an opportunity and sent men into the palace to assassinate the King, intending to rebel!" He Yue continued, "He had likely been planning this for a long time, hiding sixteen hundred elite soldiers in several manors on the outskirts of the city. Some of those manors weren't even under the name of the Donglai Estate, so they didn't attract attention. Early on the day of the incident, the South City Guard opened the gates directly to let the Donglai Estate army into the city. There were also insiders in the Imperial Guard, who led two of the Grand Marshal's killer generals straight into the palace to assassinate the King!"

Just like that, a direct strike? The Grand Marshal was a ruthless man. He Lingchuan wanted to give a thumbs up, but the gesture was inappropriate.

He Chunhua nodded: "The Grand Marshal holds high power, and the King is sickly. If he had succeeded in regicide, he could have claimed the King died of illness, had a few inner court officials forge a last will, and ordered the Grand Marshal to assist the new ruler and command the officials. Once he held the new ruler to command the vassals, the matter would be settled, and the military generals might not have dared to make any moves."

When power-hungry men clash, it is nothing more than luck and momentum. If the momentum is gone, the deed cannot be done.

He Lingchuan asked what he didn't understand: "Why not use poison? A blade going in and coming out bloody doesn't look like dying of illness."

"The King has pharmacists by his side with profound medical arts; poisoning was not feasible."

"The King is his son-in-law, and the empire would eventually be his grandson's anyway, right? Why was the Grand Marshal in such a hurry to usurp power himself?"

He Chunhua was silent for a moment before saying: "I heard the relationship between this father-in-law and son-in-law is poor. The reasons must be very complex. It seems there was a conflict recently: the northern demon kingdom has repeatedly invaded our borders, and the King demanded a firm counterattack, but the Grand Marshal believed that national strength was weak and fires of war were everywhere, so it was better to negotiate and appease. According to the information I received, the King and the Grand Marshal argued about this in the Royal Court at least four times. Afterward, the King was so angry he wouldn't eat, and he called the Eastern Queen over to berate her, punishing her by making her kneel in the Imperial Garden for half the night."

If he can't win an argument with his father-in-law, he scolds his wife; our King is truly a man of the bedroom. He Lingchuan scratched his head: "That doesn't count as a big deal, worth the Grand Marshal rebelling over."

He Yue shook his head: "The Grand Marshal was dissatisfied with the current state of the country, believing the King’s governance was inept and had caused a hundred ills, so he wanted to replace him."

"Got it, he just didn't want to wait anymore." He Lingchuan sighed deeply, "If you want to rebel, any excuse will do. By the way, did he succeed?"

"No. The King happened to be out that day, staying the night at the home of Duke Puwen, and kept it a secret. The Grand Marshal's insiders in the palace didn't know and brought men in to assassinate him as planned, only to find nothing. Upon receiving the news, the King fled... *ahem*, withdrew from the capital overnight, retreated to hold Little West Mountain, and ordered all armies to return to the capital to defend the King."

"The Grand Marshal's rebellion was thus exposed. The Xuanzhou Superintendent, Wei Ao, was the fastest to provide reinforcements, repelling the Grand Marshal's attacks twice at Little West Mountain and holding out until Ke Jihai arrived with his army. Seeing that success was hopeless, the Grand Marshal led his army west and retreated to hold Wuzhou."

(End of chapter)