#510 - I'll be that person

The next day, the Great Ning Imperial Palace.

October 17th, the fourth day after the Battle of Niutou Mountain ended, Ning Yongnian finally appeared in the early court.

Needless to say, the atmosphere of the early court was extremely oppressive.

Including several outspoken officials who were usually very active, everyone was afraid to report anything and stood with their heads bowed, not saying a word.

It wasn't that they had nothing to report.

After all, the current Great Ning could be said to be riddled with holes, and from people's livelihood to wars, many things had reached the final juncture where major problems would occur if they were not resolved.

However, compared to the country and the people, these court officials were mostly more concerned about their own lives.

They were afraid of offending Ning Yongnian at this critical moment and being executed on the spot in his anger.

The more said, the more mistakes made.

So it was better to say nothing.

Of course, of the hundreds of court officials, how many were "wanting to speak but not daring to speak", and how many were "simply not wanting to speak"... Only Wei Changtian, who held the list of Tongzhou Society members, probably knew the answer to this question.

Although Ning Yongnian was clear that many of these civil and military officials had already taken the surname "Wei", he now had neither the ability nor the energy to ferret them all out.

The failure of the Shu Prefecture battle had disrupted all his plans.

During the three days he was ill, Ning Yongnian thought a lot.

He finally understood why Wei Xianzhi dared to surround the palace so rampantly, finally understood the purpose of the sharp arrow that flew over his head, and finally understood the true meaning of the sentence "This humble minister wants to see how capable Your Majesty is."

So, the Wei family, or rather Wei Changtian, already had a sure chance of winning.

And this certainty did not come from the demon race, but from Niutou Mountain.

Therefore, this person must be in a high position in the army, at least to the extent that he could keep abreast of the latest developments of the army at all times.

Then, Han Zhao and You Wenzong were the two most suspicious people.

One was a Great General of the Nation, the other was the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.

Both of them had previously been loyal to the royal family and had never aroused the slightest suspicion from Ning Yongnian, otherwise, the latter would not have appointed them to command the army.

Especially Han Zhao, who had already shown his talent when the late emperor was in power. After Ning Yongnian ascended the throne, he was ordered to fight in the north and south and made countless meritorious deeds, which is why he was awarded the title of "Great General of the Nation".

Therefore, Ning Yongnian couldn't believe that Han Zhao would rebel no matter what.

After all, there must be a reason for rebellion, but he believed that he had never done anything to let Han Zhao down.

So... was it You Wenzong?

The beginning of Chen Shi (7-9 AM).

Because no one made a report, Ning Yongnian's first early court after "recovering from illness" ended so hastily.

An hour later, Han Zhao, who had been recalled from An Prefecture, finally arrived in the capital.

As soon as he entered the city, he went straight to the palace without stopping and took off his armor to plead guilty to Ning Yongnian.

The conversation between the two lasted for nearly two hours, from early morning until noon, and only ended at the end of Wu Shi (11 AM-1 PM).

Because it was a "closed-door meeting", no one knew what the two said.

But judging from Han Zhao's expression when he left the palace, it seemed that the result was mixed with joy and sorrow.

"..."

"Old Li."

Silently watching Han Zhao's departing back for a while, Ning Yongnian withdrew his gaze and looked at Li Huaizhong, who had been standing behind him at some point.

"Send a few people to An Prefecture to carefully investigate what Han Zhao did that night at Niutou Mountain, and also inquire about whether there was anything strange in his words and deeds when he was in Shu Prefecture."

"Yes, this old servant understands."

His eyes changed slightly, and Li Huaizhong hesitated for a moment: "Your Majesty, do you suspect General Han..."

"It's just suspicion."

Waving his hand, Ning Yongnian said in a calm tone: "The responsibility for the defeat in Shu Prefecture can only be borne by You Wenzong. Draft an imperial edict and kill all his family members."

"..."

The responsibility for the defeat in Shu Prefecture can only be borne by You Wenzong.

The meaning of this sentence was undoubtedly very intriguing.

Li Huaizhong certainly understood, but his expression showed a moment of embarrassment at this moment.

"Your Majesty, Lord You's family members have already been taken away by the Suspended Mirror Division."

"..."

"I know."

Without anger or surprise, Ning Yongnian just nodded after a brief silence, and then stopped talking.

The scorching sun was harsh, and the weather in the capital today was no different from that in Shu Prefecture.

Although it was near the beginning of winter, the autumn tiger made a comeback, making people unable to breathe.

"Your Majesty..."

Seeming to be a little unbearable of this unusual calm, Li Huaizhong waited for a while and then suddenly said in a low voice:

"General Wu will escort Li Qi to Huailing Prefecture tomorrow."

"Hmm."

Ning Yongnian didn't move, as if he didn't want to say a word more.

Seeing this, Li Huaizhong had no choice but to find another topic.

"Your Majesty, there is also the matter of Yanyun Mountain. Now this old servant has found some clues..."

"Tell me about it."

"Yes, this old servant has found that the white-haired man is named Xiao Feng, and his ancestral home is Qing Prefecture. His whole family was beheaded by the Suspended Mirror Division three years ago because of a case of smuggling salt, only this Xiao Feng escaped because he was traveling abroad..."

"..."

"Young Master, General Liang."

Guanghan City, County Government Office.

When Chu Xianping walked into the room in a hurry, Wei Changtian was discussing with Liang Zhen which day would be better to set his wedding date with Liang Qin.

Although the matter of Kui Long has not been resolved yet, it should not be the time to "talk about marriage".

However, Liang Zhen seemed to be quite anxious about this matter, and Wei Changtian couldn't delay it any longer, so he was still prepared to "take the time" to get married as promised.

According to the almanac and the calculations of a "semi-immortal" who was said to be very effective, there were only two days in the next three months that were suitable for Wei Changtian and Liang Qin, this "match made in heaven", to get married.

Either eight days later, October 25th.

Or two months later, December 17th.

Obviously, the latter was indeed a bit late.

Although Liang Qin didn't care, Liang Zhen, as a father, couldn't wait any longer.

"Uncle Liang, then let's set it on October 25th."

Smiling, Wei Changtian officially finalized the matter: "Wan'er will take care of the wedding. Coincidentally, Auntie is also in Shu Prefecture City. In my opinion, let the two of them discuss it."

"If Qin'er wants to go back earlier, then go back first to prepare. As for me, I may have to stay in Guanghan for a few more days."

"..."

Although it was his own wedding, Wei Changtian was as indifferent as ever.

If another father-in-law heard his attitude, he might have already lost his temper at this moment.

But Liang Zhen knew his temperament well, so he didn't feel the slightest displeasure in his heart at the moment, but nodded happily.

"Okay, let's do as you say."

"I'll discuss it with Qin'er and let her go back earlier to tell her mother!"

"Okay, I'll write a letter to my parents today and tell them about this..."

"..."

Speaking, Wei Changtian quickly sent Liang Zhen out of the room.

After watching the latter walk away, he then looked at Chu Xianping, who had been waiting beside him just now.

"Brother Chu, what's wrong?"

"Young Master, two things."

Chu Xianping leaned closer and reported in a low voice:

"General Han just sent a message back, saying that Ning Yongnian asked him to temporarily wait for orders at home and not leave the city without an imperial decree."

"However, General Han also said that Ning Yongnian should already believe that You Wenzong is a spy in the army..."

"..."

Not allowed to leave the city, waiting for disposal.

Hearing this, Wei Changtian breathed a sigh of relief.

Because this kind of handling obviously meant that Ning Yongnian was not prepared to kill Han Zhao, and he could save a lot of trouble.

"Brother Chu, although Han Zhao is temporarily fine, Ning Yongnian will definitely investigate him, and may even send people to An Prefecture."

Nodding slightly, Wei Changtian reminded him: "You have to plan for this early."

Chu Xianping replied quickly: "Young Master, don't worry, I will definitely handle it well."

"Hmm."

Nodding, Wei Changtian didn't care what Chu Xianping was planning to do, but just asked: "What's the second thing?"

"The second thing..."

Chu Xianping took out an envelope from his sleeve with a somewhat complicated expression and said softly:

"Young Master, this letter was found by a servant an hour ago when cleaning Miss Xu's room."

"..."

Frowning slightly, Wei Changtian glanced at the five words "Comrade Wei, please open" on the envelope, and countless guesses suddenly flooded his heart.

Xu SuiSui stayed in Guanghan for one night before leaving, and this letter was obviously written at that time.

But why didn't she give it to him in person?

What was written in the letter?

Giving himself advice in advance as a "prophet"?

Or confessing her love?

Or is it a "declaration of war"?

"Chi la..."

With force in his hand, Wei Changtian directly tore open the envelope and shook out a thin piece of letter paper from it.

Unexpectedly, Xu SuiSui didn't write too much, adding up to only a few dozen words.

But it was these few short lines of small characters that Wei Changtian seemed to have seen somewhere in his previous life that instantly stunned him, and he couldn't take his eyes off it for a long, long time.

[Wei Changtian:]

[In the darkest period of my life, I pulled myself out of the abyss.]

[If there are no accidents, you will also experience such darkness in the future.]

[I don't know if you can walk out of the mud on your own, and whether someone will help you at that time.]

[But it doesn't matter, don't be scared by me.]

[Because if there is no that person, I will be that person.]

"..."

The sunlight flickered, and the breeze blew into the small building, mixing with the curling light smoke rising from the incense burner under the window, rippling gently.