Chapter 77

When Tukhslo’s saber pressed against the Prince of Qi’s throat, the prince’s face instantly shifted from smug triumph to sheer terror, sweat pouring from his forehead, hands and feet trembling in panic.

The personal guards who had been about to act all gaped in shock, hastily raising their weapons and shouting loudly.

“Jiang Mingyu, you traitor, release the Prince of Qi!”

“We’ve surrounded you—let go now, or you’ll die!”

“What are you waiting for? Release him at once!”

“...”

Seeing this, the hundreds of city defense troops who had finally snapped out of their shock swiftly drew their waist swords and raised them midair, glaring fiercely: “Put down your weapons!”

Jiang Mingyu merely smiled calmly and mocked the ashen-faced Prince of Qi: “Your Highness, your ability to train subordinates is truly impressive—in the blink of an eye, I’ve gone from Imperial Envoy to traitor. What a brilliant script.”

After a brief moment of tension, the Prince of Qi regained a shred of composure: “Script? What nonsense are you spouting? Jiang Mingyu, don’t you dare be arrogant!”

“You openly threaten me—how can you still claim you’re not a traitor? Ha! How laughable!”

“You’ve seen it yourself—my men are united in fury. Even if you kill me, you’ll never leave alive.”

“Put down your weapons now, or when my men charge together, it’ll be mutual destruction!”

As he spoke, a flicker of murderous intent glinted in the Prince of Qi’s eyes, and his fists clenched unconsciously.

Jiang Mingyu sneered: “Prince of Qi, with your composure under pressure, even I can’t help but admire you—you truly have some skill!”

The Prince of Qi sneered back: “A traitor who colludes with foreign enemies dares to speak so lightly? Wise up—kneel and submit now, and I may grant you a swift death!”

“If you dare act so recklessly again, I’ll make you learn that even death is a luxury you can’t afford.”

Jiang Mingyu calmly surveyed the hundreds of cold, glinting blades before him and said: “Brothers of the City Defense Camp, do you still remember how your pay was recently withheld?”

“That was all done by your Prince of Qi—he stuffed into his own pockets the silver you fought for, even the compensation for fallen comrades. Do you know that?”

“Proof is right here—take a look for yourselves.”

With that, he pulled out a pre-prepared ledger from his robe and hurled it onto the ground before the soldiers.

The ledger was quickly picked up, and the face of the soldier flipping through it slowly paled.

Jiang Mingyu continued: “Moreover, he inflated troop numbers to siphon imperial funds, using the names of your dead comrades to line his own pockets—do you know that too?”

“The pay I just delivered sits in the hall—go see for yourselves what’s truly going on.”

Seeing his arguments so solid and well-founded, the soldiers fell silent. The Prince of Qi’s face turned deathly gray.

Jiang Mingyu wasn’t done: “Claiming I collude with foreign tribes? That’s pure nonsense.”

“I’ve killed so many of them—they’ve long hated my county. If I were to collude with them, I’d be better off just killing myself.”

No sooner had he finished than several soldiers flipping through the ledger shouted out.

“Your Highness, is this true?”

“What nonsense! Only this? It must be Ma De’s doing—I knew nothing!”

“I’m a royal prince—do you think I’d stoop to stealing your pitiful pay? Ridiculous!”

Seeing the tide turn, the Prince of Qi immediately blamed the dead Ma De, playing the classic “dead man can’t testify” card.

“He stole the pay we earned with our lives—is he even human? We’ll dig up his grave—no corpse deserves full burial for such a heartless monster!”

“Yes, Your Highness—he was your own protégé. You owe us an explanation!”

“...”

Hundreds of eyes blazing with hatred and murderous intent made the sweating Prince of Qi realize—he must give the frontier troops an explanation, or a mutiny was inevitable. Even as a royal relative, he might not survive.

“Rest assured, I—I’ll give you an explanation!” the Prince of Qi stammered.

But inside, ten thousand wild horses galloped through his mind—he had no idea how to explain. Helplessly, he turned his pleading gaze toward Jiang Mingyu, hoping for mercy.

“Lord Jiang, I’m a royal relative—you can’t kill me. Let me go first; I have something to say to you.”

Jiang Mingyu fell silent for a moment, then said: “Tukhslo, release the Prince of Qi.”

Tukhslo obeyed, slowly lowering his saber from the Prince of Qi’s neck.

The Prince of Qi stepped up to Jiang Mingyu and whispered: “Lord Jiang, I yield. Only you can save me now. Help me, and I swear I’ll overlook today’s events—I’ll never trouble you again.”

“Your Highness, why didn’t you think of this sooner?”

“Lord Jiang, I beg you—if I die here, it’ll spark a mutiny. The foreign tribes will know, they’ll invade. Without leadership, countless lives will be lost. Surely that’s not what you want?”

Jiang Mingyu considered it—yes, if the Prince of Qi truly died, he himself would be in deep trouble. The border would collapse, and all of Da Feng’s people would suffer.

“Your Highness, I can help you—but...”

“What do you want? I’ll agree to anything!”

“Very well. Since you insist, I’ll reluctantly assist you. But when I speak next, Your Highness must simply nod in agreement.”

“Agreed!” The Prince of Qi, with no other choice, gritted his teeth and nodded.

“Brothers of the City Defense Camp, calm down. Let me speak. I’ve learned the truth—this was all Ma De’s doing. He embezzled your pay. The Prince of Qi knew nothing.”

“I’ve just discussed this with His Highness. He admits his failure to uncover Ma De’s crimes in time, and accepts responsibility. The withheld pay will be fully repaid to all soldiers by His Highness.”

“Moreover, His Highness has appointed me to temporarily oversee the City Defense Camp. I guarantee future pay disbursements will be transparent—such corruption will never happen again.”

After Jiang Mingyu finished, the soldiers fell silent, staring at each other in disbelief.

“Your Highness, is this true?” Xiao Sanzi asked nervously—he couldn’t believe the Prince had surrendered, and that his newly acquired post of Commandant was now slipping away.

The Prince of Qi’s heart seethed—he’d been robbed of silver and stripped of partial military authority. But he was trapped. Helplessly, he nodded:

“Yes. Do as Lord Jiang says.”

“Thank Your Highness!” The soldiers cheered at the Prince’s promise.

Jiang Mingyu waved his hand: “Tukhslo—distribute the pay...”

After stabilizing the City Defense Camp and making necessary arrangements, Jiang Mingyu returned to town to resume overseeing house repairs.

Tukhslo headed to the Azure Dragon Village to train the laborers in martial arts and horsemanship. All returned to calm.

Night fell, and the entire Shangmu County sank into slumber.

Meanwhile, in the inn, the mustached man and the skinny man, dressed in night attire, prepared themselves.

They exchanged a silent glance. The skinny man said lowly: “Move out. Tonight, we end Jiang Mingyu.”

The two had already mapped Shangmu’s layout by day. In moments, they reached the county magistrate’s office.

Just as they were about to scale the wall, another slender black-clad figure suddenly appeared.

The figure glanced around silently, saw no movement, then leapt over the wall with effortless grace.

Hidden in the shadows, the mustached man tensed, whispering: “What’s this? Is he here for Jiang Mingyu too?”

The skinny man shook his head: “His movements—looks like a common thief. Probably here to steal.”

The mustached man looked confused: “Then what do we do?”

The skinny man, facing the cold wind, thought: “Situation changed. Wait.”

“If he alarms Jiang Mingyu, our intrusion will bring trouble.”

“Wait for him to come out. Capture him first, find out what’s inside, then act.”

The mustached man said nothing, merely pulled his cloak tighter and nodded silently.

The slender black-clad figure clearly knew the magistrate’s office layout well. After leaping over the wall, he headed straight for the bedroom.

Seeing the empty room, he rummaged through everything—then smiled: “There you are.”

“Bring you back, and I’ll be richly rewarded. With silver, I can enjoy myself for a while.”

He was sent by Xiao Sanzi. Jiang Mingyu had stripped him of his Commandant’s authority—he bore a grudge. The Prince of Qi’s promise not to touch him didn’t mean Xiao Sanzi wouldn’t.

The Imperial Envoy lost the Emperor’s imperial token—what crime was that? Everyone knew. If found, Jiang Mingyu was dead.

Once Jiang Mingyu was dead, Xiao Sanzi was certain he could reclaim everything he’d lost.

The black-clad man took the token and left without delay, retracing his path over the wall.

But the moment his feet touched the ground, a cold short knife pressed against his nape: “Don’t move.”

The sudden shock nearly made the slender man soil himself. He trembled: “I won’t move. Don’t move either.”

“You’re here to steal too? Then we’re comrades. You don’t plan to double-cross me, do you?”

The skinny man smiled amiably: “Don’t panic. We don’t want your loot. What’s the situation inside?”

The slender man sighed in relief: “Everyone’s asleep like dead pigs—even stole their big—”

Realizing his slip, he clamped his mouth shut.

The skinny man pressed: “Big what? Speak!”

Feeling the cold edge of the knife at his neck, the slender man confessed: “Jiang Mingyu’s official seal.”

The skinny man gave a dry chuckle: “Interesting. You’re no ordinary thief. Hand it over—I’ll spare your life.”

The slender man hesitated: “This...”

Before he could finish, a chill ran down his neck—and then his entire body grew cold.

The skinny man wiped his short knife and shook his head: “I told you—hand it over, you live. Why not?”

He pulled the token from the corpse’s pocket and smiled faintly: “Kill Jiang Mingyu. Bring this back to report.”

The mustached man nodded. The two leapt lightly onto the wall.

But before they could jump down, a rough, massive face suddenly appeared before them in the dark.

Then Tukhslo grinned foolishly: “It’s late at night. You came looking for me?”