Surviving in the General's Mansion - Chapter 86

Inside the imperial tent, Dongfang Wei’s eyes flickered.

“Today’s assassination was planned in advance. They first used the wolf pack to draw attention away and lure away some of my troops. Only then did they launch the attack.

“Fortunately, you arrived in time.”

“While I was riding, I saw your guards in the woods. I had a bad feeling and came over. Sure enough, someone was trying to kill you.

“The martial techniques used by this group of deathsworn resemble those of the men I encountered at my mansion. If they came from the same place…”

Cang Chuli did not finish, but Dongfang Wei already understood what he meant.

The imperial household maintained three thousand deathsworn. The various ministers’ households generally had only twenty to fifty each.

Yet in the less than two months since Mingxu returned, they had encountered several groups of deathsworn. Together, the attackers numbered at least a hundred.

Then there was the group that had tried to assassinate him today.

“Someone is secretly raising private troops.

“Anyone able to support so many men cannot be doing it in the capital.

“Imperial deathsworn are trained from childhood, and at most three out of every hundred candidates survive the process. Where did these people find so many?” Dongfang Wei wondered aloud.

Unless…

“The disaster in the south!”

They spoke at the same time.

“But could anyone train this many deathsworn in less than a year?”

The timing still seemed wrong to Cang Chuli.

“The south has suffered disasters before this year. This year’s was simply more severe, which was why the other prefectures had to help resettle the victims… Ah.”

In the middle of speaking, Dongfang Wei suddenly felt a needle-like pain stab through his head.

Sixi hurriedly ushered Cang Chuli out of the tent and summoned an imperial physician to perform acupuncture on Dongfang Wei.

Once outside the imperial tent, Cang Chuli did not relax.

The relentless assassination attempts were wearing them down. Guangji’s illness seemed to have worsened again.

But why had the two maids from his own household been abducted and taken into the hunting grounds?

“You said someone knocked you unconscious?” Cang Chuli asked after hearing Xia Heng’s account.

“Yes, General. Someone struck us from behind and forced a drug down our throats. Look at the lumps on the backs of our heads!

“Fortunately, this servant was afraid there might be venomous snakes, insects, rats, or ants in the hunting grounds, so I carried two bottles of antidote. That was the only reason we regained consciousness. Otherwise, we wouldn’t even have had the strength to move inside that wolf den.”

Xia Heng spoke with righteous indignation. At the same time, she realized her ability to spin nonsense on the spot was growing stronger by the day.

Chuqing nodded along.

“Do you know who did it?” Cang Chuli asked directly.

Xia Heng stole a glance at him. After a moment’s silence, she answered, “…When they threw me onto the ground, I heard one of them say… ‘Second Young Master.’”

Xia Lang had begun to panic the moment he saw Xia Heng and Chuqing return in one piece.

He hurriedly sent his manservant to check whether they had overlooked anything.

What he did not expect was for Cang Chuli to dispense with greetings altogether and immediately send men to seize him.

Only then did Xia Lang cry out in alarm, “What are you doing? My father is an official of the imperial court!”

“Young Master Xia says such interesting things. Your father is an official of the imperial court. What does that have to do with you?” Cang Chuli replied coolly.

The words sounded rather familiar.

Little Fatty Liang, listening nearby, blushed faintly.

General Cang was right! He would be part of the Zhenbei Army in the future. He must never say something like that again!

“Cang Chuli! Have you lost your mind? Is one maid truly worth going this far?”

The moment Xia Lang spoke, Xia Jun knew matters had taken a turn for the worse.

Cang Chuli’s gaze sharpened.

“Young Master Xia, what led you to assume that I arrested you because of a maid?”

Panic flashed through Xia Lang’s eyes, but he forced himself to hold on.

“I’ve never offended you. The only person connected to the General’s Mansion is my sister!

“If she doesn’t want to acknowledge us anymore, so be it. Why must she use your power to bully others?”

Then he looked aggrievedly at Xia Heng and shouted, “Sister! You were the one who wanted to enter the General’s Mansion! If you don’t want to acknowledge me as your younger brother now, just say so. I’ll stop bothering you. Isn’t that enough?”

Xia Heng heard him and almost laughed. Even now, he was still trying to smear her name.

She curled her lips and looked toward Xia Yun and Xia Jinguang.

Xia Jinguang’s expression darkened, but he did not immediately speak. Xia Yun, however, flew into a rage and charged forward to hit her.

Chuqing stuck out a foot and sent him stumbling.

Xia Yun looked at the people beside her, drew a deep breath, and did not advance again. Standing where he was, he shouted at her, “You wicked beast! Why have you had Lang’er arrested? Tell the General to release him at once!”

Anger smoldered in Xia Heng’s chest, but her expression grew calmer.

Ignoring Xia Yun’s words, she walked straight up to Xia Lang and drove a fist into his stomach.

Xia Lang grunted and clutched his abdomen. Two slaps immediately cracked across his face.

Whew. That felt wonderful! She had wanted to do that for ages.

The two slaps left Xia Lang completely stunned.

When he finally recovered, rage overwhelmed him. He roared and lunged at her, only to be restrained by the guards on either side.

“Have you gone mad?”

Xia Yun could scarcely believe what he had witnessed.

Xia Heng turned and looked directly into his eyes.

“Lord Xia.”

Her calm address froze Xia Yun in place. Nothing that had happened today was within his expectations.

“Where is my mother?”

Xia Heng gave him a mocking smile.

“You still dare ask about your mother? Your mother is at home! I should be the one going back to ask how she raised her daughter. You actually dared strike your own younger brother!” Xia Yun blustered, fierce in appearance but weak at heart.

“Oh? Go back where to ask her? Mount Qingcheng?” Xia Heng asked coldly.

Xia Yun stood rooted to the spot, unable to make a sound.

The crowd watching nearby began whispering among themselves.

“Mount Qingcheng? Isn’t that a barren mountain? What would Madam Xia be doing there?”

“Exactly! There’s nothing on that mountain. Surely no one lives there?”

“I’ve never heard of an official’s wife going there.”

Realizing matters were going badly, Xia Jun was about to step forward and smooth things over.

“Heng’er…”

“My mother accompanied you for so many years and brought a vast fortune into Xia Mansion. Yet you could not even bear to buy her a coffin?”

Xia Heng cut Xia Jun off, every word ringing with force.

“No coffin, no gravestone. It took me a very long time to find that tiny mound of earth!”

An uproar swept through the surrounding crowd.

The death of a man’s first wife might be inauspicious, but it was still a major event!

She had brought an immense fortune into Xia Mansion. Refusing to bury her in the ancestral grave was bad enough, but denying her even a coffin was truly dishonorable.

From what the girl said, they had not erected a gravestone either. They had simply buried her in the middle of a barren wilderness. What kind of grudge could justify that?

“You damned bitch! Your mother died, so why are you hitting me? I’m not the one who killed her!” Xia Lang shouted in exasperation.

Was she ill? She had discovered that her mother was dead?

The woman was dead. So what? Why hit him?

“His Majesty was attacked in the hunting grounds this afternoon,” Cang Chuli said quietly.

Xia Lang whipped his head around to look at him.

“Fortunately, His Majesty is a true dragon, the Son of Heaven, and enjoys Heaven’s protection, so he was not injured.

“However, before the attempt on His Majesty’s life, many people saw a carriage from the Xia family enter the hunting grounds. Young Master Xia, is that true?”

Xia Jinguang and Xia Jun exchanged a glance, both sensing danger. Why had His Majesty happened to be attacked today of all days?

It was true. They had known there were wolves in the hunting grounds and had even located the den.

Their plan had been to drug Xia Heng and the other maid, then dump them inside while the wolves were away.

Once the pack returned, the two women would naturally die without intact corpses to bury.

They had also planted signs of wolves beside the running water where the women had been washing.

If they appeared to have been mauled by wolves, no investigation would lead back to the Xia family.

Even if someone saw a carriage from Xia Mansion, no one would connect it to two maids.

Who could have imagined the women would escape? And return without losing so much as a limb?

Then His Majesty happened to be attacked on that very day. How could there be such a coincidence?

The Xia family could not help wondering whether the Emperor was deliberately setting them up.