chsdbacks Chapter 60 Secret Letter
Chapter 60 Secret Letter
Lin Yan placed his hand on the stone table and slowly took a breath. "If it's really that deeply involved with the Crown Prince, it's probably not just a matter of a few secret letters. All the grain, reinforcements, and weapons transferred from the military government to Zhenbeiguan could be turned into a dead end if they get stuck at the crucial step."
Ye Qingxue suddenly looked up. "Steward Lu of the Imperial Household Department was just the executor. The one who actually ordered the reinforcements to be blocked was someone else. This person could bypass the military command's summons order and also had the authority to decide which reinforcements would arrive first and which would arrive later."
"So, what you're looking for isn't someone in charge, but someone who can issue the Crown Prince's warrant."
Grandma Zhou sat on the stone steps, her hands resting on her knees. She wasn't crying; she just looked down at the pipe in her hand.
Ye Qingxue put all the books in the stone chamber into the cloth bag she carried with her, and picked up the last small cloth bag from the table. The cloth bag was very light, as if it were empty.
Upon opening it, all that was inside was a wooden plaque that had been broken in two.
The wooden sign had a twisted and crooked character "顾" (Gu) carved on it.
"This is from Changshan." Aunt Zhou took it and pieced the two halves together with her palm. "I gave it to him back then so he could carry it with him, as if I were following him."
She blinked hard. "He gave his life to this sign, and I left my life at that tofu stall."
Lin Yan didn't speak, and neither did Ye Qingxue.
After a while, Aunt Zhou stood up and stuffed the wooden sign into her sleeve.
"Let's go."
That afternoon, the Northern Military Government issued a secret investigation order.
The secret investigation order was not directed at Yongfeng Company, but at all personnel of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices in the northern border region, including the military, county government offices, and businesses.
"So fast?" Ye Qingxue was somewhat surprised.
Cao Yan sat behind his desk and said in a serious tone:
"The Northern Military Government's secret investigation order has the authority to extract case files, check accounts, and summon officers and clerks at all levels."
While the copies of these ledgers you've found can't be used as direct evidence, they're enough to set the stage. As for the original ledger in the secret door you mentioned in your letter...”
He paused for a moment, then said, "I will send a special envoy to escort it. It will be sent by military express courier and will arrive in the capital in five days."
"Whom should we hand them over to after they are delivered to the capital?"
Cao Yan did not answer directly.
"Hand it over to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Justice. The matter of the Crown Prince is no longer something that I, as the Deputy Commander of the Northern Frontier, can decide."
On the way back to the courtyard, Ye Qingxue suddenly smiled.
Lin Yan looked at her. "What are you laughing at?"
"I was in such a rush last night that I forgot to thank you."
"What are you thanking me for?"
"Thank you for doing so much for me. Stealing the account books, exploring the quarry, going head-to-head with the assassins from the Imperial Household Department... You owe me nothing from the beginning, you could have just ignored it."
"If anyone should be thanked, it should be Aunt Zhou and Gu Changshan. I was the one who delivered the things to Qingzhou for Gu Changshan, and I was also the one who received the plaque for him."
Ye Qingxue stopped in her tracks.
"Once my father's matter is cleared up, I'll treat you to another bowl of noodles. This time, I'll add an extra serving of salted radish compared to the last one."
Lin Yan nodded, "Okay."
The two parted ways at the alley entrance. Ye Qingxue walked towards the military mansion, while Lin Yan walked towards the small courtyard.
The night wind blew across the stone-paved streets of Zhenbei Town. There was no moon in the sky, but there were many more stars.
......
The messenger set off at dawn.
Cao Yan dispatched four personal guards to escort them, using the military express route.
It only takes eight days by fast horse from Zhenbei City to the capital.
The box contained copies of the booklets obtained from the quarry, excerpts from the Yongfeng Company's account books, and a letter left by Ye Qingxue's mother.
On the sixth night, the bodies of the four guards were discovered at Wild Wolf Slope, eighty miles north of Qingzhou.
After searching the bodies, the guards discovered that the secret box was missing.
The horse was killed, and the military post station's waist tag was still hanging on the corpse's waist, but the sealing wax seal on the secret box was broken into pieces on the ground.
When the news reached Zhenbei City, Cao Yan was discussing matters in the main hall of the military headquarters. After listening to the messenger's report, he remained silent for a long time before waving away his attendants, leaving only Lin Yan and Ye Qingxue behind.
"The messenger used the military post road, and only the people in the military government knew the route. There were spies from the Eastern Palace in the military government."
Ye Qingxue asked, "Can we deliver it again?"
"It's too late."
Cao Yan stood up and walked to the window, muttering to himself, "Since the Crown Prince dared to intercept and kill the military messenger, it means they no longer care about breaking off relations. Sending it again will have the same result."
Lin Yan asked, "What does the Governor intend to do?"
"I personally returned to Beijing to report on my duties, and I carried the documents with me."
Cao Yan turned to look at Lin Yan and said, word by word:
"While I'm away, the supply battalion and the left vanguard battalion will be under your temporary command. Fang Dahai is still recovering from his broken hand, Hu Tai has been relieved of his post, and the vanguard battalion is currently without a commander. Please keep a close eye on the defense of Zhenbei City for me."
"When will the Governor depart?"
"First thing tomorrow morning!"
……
Cao Yan set off at dawn the next day, accompanied only by two close attendants, disguised as ordinary merchants.
Lin Yan escorted him to the city gate.
Cao Yan mounted his horse, glanced back at the city walls of Zhenbei City, and suddenly said, "Lin Yan, this city is yours."
Before Lin Yan could answer, he spurred his horses, and the three horses disappeared into the morning mist.
At 3:45 AM that day, a fire broke out in the backyard of the military headquarters.
The fire started in the stable, and by the time the guards extinguished it, the entire study had been reduced to ruins.
The murderer scaled the wall and escaped with exceptional agility, knocking out three guards on night duty without alerting anyone.
When Lin Yan arrived at the military headquarters, he only saw that the backyard was charred black.
Ye Qingxue stood at the door of the study, looking at this scene with a blank expression.
He couldn't understand why such an outrageous thing could happen in a military camp.
Lin Yan squatted down and felt for the remaining footprints on the ground, but this time the [Bone Identification] skill panel did not react at all.
"Who is it?" Lin Yan asked.
"I don't know. But it must be Commander-in-Chief Chong Cao. To be able to break into the military headquarters without being detected, he must be a master of the Unending Realm."
Gao Wenjing arrived with his men from the Military Selection Division, and several deputy commanders also arrived one after another.
After discussing for an hour, the group decided that Deputy Commander Liu Shijie would temporarily take charge of the military affairs. With Cao Yan absent, the military headquarters could not be left without a leader.
Liu Shijie was a veteran in his early fifties who had served in the border army for thirty years and had enough prestige, but perhaps due to his advanced age, he was clearly lacking in decisiveness.
The first thing he did after taking office was to talk to Lin Yan.
"Deputy Commander Lin, before Governor Cao left, he instructed that if anything major happened in Zhenbei City, his opinion should be sought," Liu Shijie said politely to Lin Yan. "There's movement in the north now."
Lin Yan raised an eyebrow: "What's that noise?"
"The barbarians at Qipanling have started reinforcing their troops these past two days. Scouts report that the main force of the Blood Wolf tribe is advancing, and the banners of several other tribes have also appeared."
Liu Shijie spread out the map and pointed to it, saying:
"The people who set fire to the military headquarters may not know that Commander Cao has already left, but if someone wants to get rid of Commander Cao, what will they do next?"
Lin Yan looked at the map, and the books in the stone chamber of the quarry flashed through his mind.
There is a passage between the Eastern Palace and the Blood Wolf Clan. This passage has existed for thirty years. If they now learn that the messenger has been killed, Cao Yan has been killed, and the evidence cannot be sent out.
What will happen?