Chapter 1761: Playing the Victim

Yang Deguang failed to bring Xiao Jincheng to the palace, so he had no choice but to plead guilty before the Emperor. He shifted all responsibility onto Xiao Jincheng, who was in no position to defend himself.

"Xiao Jincheng harbors a deep misunderstanding toward your humble servant, toward the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and toward Your Majesty. I patiently tried to persuade him, telling him that Your Majesty had summoned him, but he mistakenly thought I was tricking him and intended to execute him. Before I could even finish my sentence, he suddenly lashed out. Fortunately, there were two eunuchs present at the time, which is how I managed to save my life."

To make himself look more miserable, Yang Deguang wrapped his head in gauze, with blood seeping through the fabric. His arm was also put in a sling.

He looked utterly wretched and pitiful.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Yuanding was furious. "What an ungrateful wretch Xiao Jincheng is. I had the heart to grant him a future, yet he does not know how to seize the opportunity. Forget it. I never force anyone. Since he refuses a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit, there is no need to mention him in my presence again."

Yang Deguang felt a sense of relief, his heart filled with joy.

He had finally managed to make Xiao Jincheng, this thorn in his side, completely lose the Emperor's favor.

From this day forward, he would never have to worry about the man surnamed Xiao again.

"Although you achieved nothing this time, you have still suffered," Emperor Yuanding said, looking at the pitiful-looking Yang Deguang and showing a rare moment of kindness. "Go back and recuperate well. Once you have recovered, serve with diligence."

"Your humble servant kowtows to thank Your Majesty for your immense grace. I will certainly serve with diligence and share Your Majesty's burdens!"

Yang Deguang kowtowed and backed out of the great hall, only to be immediately summoned by Liu Shun.

Liu Shun was not as easily fooled as Emperor Yuanding; he did not believe a single word of Yang Deguang's sophistry.

Yang Deguang did not feel the slightest bit guilty. "If Eunuch Liu does not believe me, you should at least believe the people you arranged. No one knows the situation at the time better than those two young eunuchs. They are Ninth Rank warriors; even the two of them couldn't stop Xiao Jincheng. What ability could I, a half-baked warrior, possibly have? Don't forget, the man surnamed Xiao has been operating in the capital for many years. If someone wants him dead, there will naturally be people jumping out to help him."

Liu Shun was furious. Yang Deguang's wings had hardened; he actually dared to show him attitude.

"Official Yang seems to have forgotten that His Majesty intends to replace you."

Yang Deguang had already thought this through long ago.

He did not want to remain stuck in the Embroidered Uniform Guard anyway. He knew his own capabilities well enough.

If His Majesty truly replaced him, he would just go with the flow and seek a post in the Ministry of War, or return to the Capital Garrison. With his current credentials, he could barely be considered someone favored by the Emperor; if he returned to the Capital Garrison, he would certainly be promoted. A promotion of three or five ranks was even possible.

Commanding troops was much simpler than investigating cases or engaging in court struggles.

He was willing to command troops!

"Eunuch Liu does not need to use this to scare me. If His Majesty truly wants to replace me, as His Majesty's hunting dog, I will naturally obey His Majesty's arrangements. I believe His Majesty will not leave me idle and will certainly have other plans."

Liu Shun frowned deeply. "You don't want to remain as the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

"Everything is at His Majesty's command!" Yang Deguang put on the appearance of a loyal subject and filial son, devoid of any selfish motives.

Liu Shun was so angry he laughed. What a shameless scoundrel!

He began to suspect that the reason Xiao Jincheng was able to escape the capital was definitely because the man surnamed Yang had dragged his feet.

"Official Yang doesn't want Xiao Jincheng to die?" he probed directly.

Yang Deguang was stunned, confused. "Why does Eunuch Liu draw this conclusion? Of course I want the man surnamed Xiao to die; he must die! But my abilities are insufficient, and the man surnamed Xiao is slippery as an eel; I have no choice. Eunuch Liu, your eyes are like torches, able to discern the truth at a glance; you must not wrong a good person."

Liu Shun snorted coldly and simply picked up his tea to signal the end of the meeting.

His suspicion and disdain for Yang Deguang grew by three parts. He pondered exerting pressure before Emperor Yuanding to replace Yang Deguang as soon as possible, so that the world would know who was truly in charge.

What kind of thing was he, daring to play mind games with him!

Yang Deguang returned to the Embroidered Uniform Guard and flipped through the files under his command, pondering whom the Emperor might want to take his place. His finger slid across file after file.

Although he had accepted the fact that he would leave the Embroidered Uniform Guard sooner or later, he could not accept being undermined by his subordinates.

Even if someone were to take his position, it should be someone he personally recommended.

They were all clever people.

Since they were so efficient at handling affairs, they should go out and handle affairs. He randomly selected a few difficult tasks that required long-distance travel and arranged for this group of clever people to handle them.

If they couldn't handle them well, he would punish them!

With the people not in the capital and unable to see the Emperor, various variables would arise before things were settled. It was too early to draw conclusions about the outcome.

If Liu Shun wanted to manipulate him, he would have to see if he was willing to cooperate!

Chen Guanlou accompanied his eldest sister, Chen Xiaolan, to the temple to burn incense and fulfill a vow; Su Rongrong was just there to make up the numbers.

Upon arriving at Baoguo Temple, they unexpectedly encountered Lady Min, the widow of Prince Shuncheng.

On the night Prince Shuncheng died, Chen Guanlou had appeared at the confined courtyard with Sun Daoning, so they had met and could be considered acquaintances.

Chen Guanlou took the initiative to greet her, and Lady Min returned the gesture.

She hesitated, as if she had something to say.

Chen Guanlou took the initiative to head toward the peach forest on the back mountain, with Lady Min and her maid following closely behind.

"Official Xiao once said that if there was any trouble, I could seek help from Company Commander Chen."

"Did he really say that? I wonder what difficulties you are facing, my lady?" Chen Guanlou cursed Xiao Jincheng in his heart for causing him trouble, while asking Lady Min with concern.

Lady Min, having been granted marriage to Prince Shuncheng, was naturally stunning. Recently widowed, she was in the prime of a woman's beauty, breathtakingly lovely.

"Company Commander Chen has misunderstood; there are no difficulties, it's just... regarding the passing of my husband, there is a situation I did not tell Official Xiao."

"You mean you want to tell me? Why?" Chen Guanlou frowned.

He did not want to get involved in anything related to Song Wu's death, even though he was curious.

Lady Min hesitated, sent her maid far away, and then said, "The Ancestral Temple sends people to deliver firewood, rice, oil, salt, meat, and vegetables to us every day. During this period, several batches of people have been changed, and the personnel are not fixed. My servants told me that they had seen one of them at the Yamen before. Later, I made some inquiries and learned that this person actually had ties to the Hou Fu; his mother was a retainer of the Hou Fu who redeemed herself and married, living right next door to Company Commander Chen."

What the hell?

Chen Guanlou was shocked.

He had already guessed that the person Lady Min was talking about was Da Wang, who had snuck back into the capital.

But he had already killed Da Wang last year; he had died in the empty Prince Shuncheng's mansion.

"When did this happen?" he asked calmly.

"It seems to have been last year. Later, I heard that the person should have died long ago, and there was a case involving that person back then. Perhaps my people recognized the wrong person. It's just that I felt uneasy, thinking that Company Commander Chen had some friendship with Official Xiao, so I wouldn't be at peace if I didn't inform you. Meeting you today, I dared to tell you. I just don't know if this will bring trouble to Company Commander Chen."

Lady Min asked cautiously, but she was harboring some calculations in her heart.

Chen Guanlou didn't care about her calculations and just said, "Thank you, my lady, for informing me of this matter; I will handle it. Rest assured, from this day forward, you will never see that person again. The past is the past; you only need to look forward from now on."

Lady Min smiled shyly. "Company Commander Chen is right! Nothing else, I will take my leave."

"Take care, my lady!" ===== CHAPTER 1762 =====