Love Lock

Chapter 245: Kill first and tell later
He stared intently at the imperial edict, where the vermilion annotation read: "Cangzhou King Zhao Zun is plotting a rebellion. His intentions are worthy of condemnation. Send troops to suppress him immediately. If anyone resists, execute them first and report later."

"That's impossible!" Song Yuanqing, bewildered, said righteously, his voice hoarse. "The King of Cangzhou is a loyal and righteous man. How could he rebel? Someone must have framed him! Besides, I just returned from Cangzhou. Everything was peaceful and tranquil. I saw no signs of rebellion."

"How dare you!" Qinghe shouted angrily. "Song Yuanqing, not only do you associate with traitors, but you also dare to question the imperial edict. Your heart is despicable!"

He waved his hand dismissively: "Dismiss Song Yuanqing from his post and arrest him!"

Upon receiving the order, dozens of guards rushed forward. Even though Song Yuanqing had practiced martial arts since childhood and was highly skilled, he was quickly pinned to the ground by the guards.

Song Yuanqing struggled and loudly protested, "Marshal, you are wise! The King of Cangzhou did not rebel. I only went to offer my congratulations and drank a cup of celebratory wine."

The training ground immediately stirred up as Song Yuanqing's soldiers rushed forward.

"Marshal, you are wise! General Song has always been loyal and has never harbored any disloyal intentions!"

"The King of Cangzhou has been stationed at the border for many years and has always been loyal to the emperor and loved his country. How could he possibly rebel?"

"Marshal, you are wise! There must be something fishy about this!"

……

Even an imperial edict couldn't suppress these people's emotions. Seeing this, Qinghe's face grew even more gloomy.

He squinted at Song Yuanqing, who looked self-righteous, and his soldiers who were pleading for him, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind.

Both Qinghe and Song Yuanqing came from the four great families. The only difference was that Song Yuanqing was a direct descendant of the Song family, while Qinghe came from the family of Prime Minister Wei's wife.

After Emperor Qianlong ascended the throne, due to his suspicious nature, he had Prime Minister Wei's brother-in-law, Qinghe, replace the former garrison commander of Xuzhou, who was already Emperor Qianlong's confidant.

Now, he and the new Emperor Jing are respectively the nephew of Chancellor Wei and the brother-in-law of Chancellor Wei. Their relationship has suddenly changed from confidants to relatives.

The Wei family was already the head of the four great families, and now that an emperor had emerged from the family, Qinghe naturally felt that she was more noble than people from other families.

With the bombing of the Marquis of Champion's mansion and the mysterious death of General Su Qi in the military camp, the Su family has collapsed.

With the former emperor blown to smithereens, the Sun family, which had the former empress dowager as its backer, also declined.

The only family with any remaining heritage is the Song family.

Therefore, Qinghe wanted to use this incident to make the Wei family dominant, seize the opportunity to frame Song Yuanqing, and get rid of Song Lianqing. She would never allow the Song family to climb over the Wei family.

He wanted to ensure that the world would firmly belong to the Wei family.

Moreover, he was the commander-in-chief of the Xuzhou garrison, Song Yanqing's superior, and now he held an imperial edict. Therefore, he had the right and reason to convict Song Yuanqing.

Thinking of this, Qinghe shouted and drew her sword, pointing it at the soldiers who were pleading for Song Yuanqing.

"Are you all planning a rebellion? If anyone dares to speak up for the rebels or plead for them, or disobey my orders, don't blame me for treating them as accomplices!"

Song Yuanqing's hands were tied behind his back by his personal guards, and he was escorted to the command platform.

Seeing that Qinghe was serious, Song Yuanqing struggled to raise his head, his eyes burning with rage, and he stopped calling her Marshal and addressed her by her name.

"Qinghe! You dare to frame a loyal official just because you have the Wei family backing you! If the King of Cangzhou really has rebellious intentions, I, Song Yuanqing, will be the first to not let him off! But now, without any evidence, you want to put someone to death based solely on an imperial edict. Where is justice?!"

"Shut up!" Qinghe remained unmoved. "Today, I, the general, will clean house for His Majesty!"

"Qinghe! I'm innocent!" Song Yuanqing glared at Qinghe and struggled violently. "I want to see His Majesty."

"Hmph!" Qinghe sneered, "His Majesty said that if there is resistance, I can act first and report later."

Having said that, he drew his gleaming sword and was about to stab Song Yuanqing in the heart.

The soldiers below the stage gasped in surprise, and Gu Haixing rushed forward, exclaiming, "Marshal, you are wise! General Song is utterly loyal to the court and has no ulterior motives!"

Song Yuanqing looked up to the sky and sighed, "I, Song Yuanqing, have been loyal and righteous all my life, and I refuse to accept this! Qinghe, you have no regard for right or wrong. It is easy to kill me today, but justice resides in the hearts of the people! Your perverse actions will surely be punished by Heaven!"

Upon hearing this, Qinghe felt as if Song Yuanqing had seen through her thoughts.

He instantly flew into a rage, pointing the tip of his sword directly at Song Yuanqing's throat: "You're courting death!"

Since the imperial edict had already given him the right to act first and report later, he was now going to take Song Yuanqing's life.

The two were already very close, and with the sword strikes coming at a rapid pace, it was about to reach Song Yuanqing's throat. Song Yuanqing instinctively closed his eyes.

Just at this critical moment, a loud "bang" suddenly ripped through the sky.

The sound was like a thunderclap, making people's eardrums ache.

As Qinghe's sword-wielding wrist exploded with a loud bang, a cloud of blood mist burst forth, spurting out like arrows, dazzlingly bright in the sunlight.

The gleaming longsword in his hand was flung out and fell to the ground with a clang, bouncing twice on the wooden platform and making a crisp metallic sound.

"what--!"

After a moment of shock, Qinghe let out a heart-wrenching scream, her left hand gripping her bleeding right wrist tightly.

His face was deathly pale, veins bulging on his forehead, and he looked around in utter terror: "Who is it?!"

On the command platform, the commander-in-chief of an army was attacked in full view of everyone. The 100,000 soldiers below witnessed this shocking incident and immediately became agitated.

The military camp in Ganluo County was not large to begin with, usually only able to hold ten or twenty thousand soldiers. Now, suddenly, a hundred thousand troops were crammed in, and the sounds of clashing armor, drawing weapons, and whispers of surprise and uncertainty mingled together in the dense crowd.

Sunlight streamed onto everyone's faces, reflecting expressions of shock or bewilderment.

Song Yuanqing was also startled by this sudden change, his pupils shrinking sharply.

When that sword was thrust at him, he was roughly forced to kneel on the ground by Qinghe's personal guards, and the joints of the wooden planks hurt his knees.

He had already closed his eyes and awaited death, but unexpectedly, the situation reversed in an instant. At this moment, he looked up and saw that the blood on Qinghe's wrist was gushing down from between her fingers, spreading a dark red stain on the general's robe.

"Protect the Marshal!" the commander of the personal guards shouted, and dozens of elite soldiers immediately formed an impenetrable formation, completely surrounding Qinghe.

The gleaming swords and blades all pointed outwards, forming a chilling metal barrier around the command platform.

Strangely, when they looked around, they couldn't see where the attacker was, nor did they know what weapon had injured the marshal.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Song Yuanqing did a somersault, broke free of his restraints, and stood up.

He scanned his surroundings warily, but the camps surrounding the training ground were densely packed with soldiers, and he could not find any trace of the assassin.

This is a military camp belonging to Xuzhou, full of soldiers. Yet the newcomer acted as if he were in an empty place. The key is that he was able to hit Qinghe's wrist so accurately without showing himself. What kind of master is this?
Just as Song Yuanqing was secretly horrified, Qinghe endured the excruciating pain and roared with a ferocious expression.

"You cowardly rat who hides his head and tail has the guts to harm this great man, but not the guts to show yourself?"

The tremor in his voice betrayed his inner fear, and large beads of sweat rolled down his contorted face. Just then, a burst of laughter suddenly drifted in from the sky, the sound incredibly loud, as if it were shouting right next to his ear.

"Haha... He's injured, injured. I knew it, I hit him, give me ten taels of silver!" The voice was clear like a young boy's, but with a hint of roguishness.

"Pshaw! At such close range, I could have hit it too! It doesn't count, it doesn't count." Another slightly deeper voice retorted, unconvinced, with a mocking upward swell at the end.

"Hey! Uncle Meng, are you trying to renege on your debt?" The clear voice was full of displeasure. "Not a single copper coin less!"

"How about we play another bet?" The deep voice suddenly became excited, with a hint of coaxing a child in its tone. "If you can hit him on the bridge of his nose, I'll bet fifty taels!"

"Hmph! Don't even think about it!"

This unbridled conversation echoed through the military camp, like a divine oracle from beyond the heavens.

The 100,000-strong army was completely silent, with only gasps escaping their lips.

The soldiers looked at each other, many of them subconsciously touching the bridge of their noses, as if the invisible threat could strike at any moment.

They could only hear the voices but not see the people, and their marshal, who had been injured, was now betting ten taels of silver as if nothing had happened—it was all too bizarre. Just thinking about it sent chills down the spines of the soldiers.

Qinghe was both surprised and frightened, and subconsciously felt a dull pain in the bridge of her nose.

His face turned ashen; he felt utterly humiliated in front of his men. He didn't bother to think about how the two men had infiltrated the camp; he simply glared at the soldiers below the reviewing stand and unleashed a torrent of abuse.

"What are you bastards standing around for? Hurry up and go find them! Dig three feet into the ground and find these two madmen for me!"

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers' shouts of response shook the heavens and the earth, startling the birds roosting in the forest.

But just as the soldiers were about to take action—

"Save your energy!" A clear voice suddenly came from the direction of the council hall.

This time, the sound was much quieter, and even the location was immediately identified.

Everyone turned their heads in unison, and saw a figure lying lazily on the eaves four or five hundred meters away, the sunlight outlining his legs swinging on the eaves.

“There’s another one here! Your grandfather is right here.”

A deep voice rang out from a large tree in the opposite direction. Through the foliage, it seemed someone was perched on a branch, casually holding something in their hand.

The two men were positioned in a pincer movement, each holding a high-powered speaker equipped with batteries, which explains why the sound could travel so far.

The trumpet had a unique shape and a handle at the bottom, making it look like some kind of mysterious magical artifact.

After revealing their location, the person in the tree picked up a megaphone and shouted, "General Song, can't you see that he's trying to frame us?"

Qinghe suddenly looked up, her hawk-like gaze locking onto the century-old pine tree at the edge of the training ground. A figure could be vaguely seen moving within the dense canopy, and a metallic object reflected blinding light in the sunlight.

"You cowards! Hiding your heads and tails, how dare you speak ill of the imperial edict?" Qinghe's personal guard commander shouted sternly, his sword already drawn from its sheath with a "whoosh".

His bulging muscles stretched his armor taut, and veins bulged on his forehead: "Archers, prepare! Shoot that madman down from the tree!"

Before the archers were in position, the voice from the tree rang out again, this time with a distinctly mocking tone.

"Imperial edict? Oh! I understand now, it's His Majesty's edict that instructs you to falsely accuse loyal officials."

Suppressed chuckles began to emanate from the edge of the drill ground. The commander of the personal guards blushed crimson and was about to erupt when Qinghe shook her head to stop him.

He squinted, the wound on his wrist from the hidden weapon still bleeding, staining his wrist guards crimson.

"I want to see who dares to spread rumors and mislead the masses in front of an army of 100,000." Qinghe's voice was like ice coated with poison. "Commander Wang, go and invite that 'righteous man' down to talk."

"Yes, sir!" The commander of the personal guards accepted the order with a stern face and clasped his hands in obeisance.

Just as he was about to mobilize his troops, the voice from the loudspeaker suddenly rose: "Wait! This general just said I was making irresponsible remarks about the imperial edict, so may I ask..." He deliberately dragged out his words, "When His Majesty issued the edict, did he know that you were going to frame General Song?"

"Bullshit!" Qinghe finally couldn't hold back and slammed her hand on the railing of the command platform, sending wood chips flying.

With the backing of a powerful family and now as the commander-in-chief of an army, he has never suffered such humiliation.

His temples were throbbing, and he didn't care about manners anymore.

An exaggerated gasp came from the tree: "Did you all hear that? Marshal Qinghe said His Majesty is releasing..." The last syllable was drawn out, followed by crisp clapping, "releasing that... what was it again?"

The words were amplified tenfold by the loudspeaker, echoing through the training ground surrounded by mountains.

First, a few young soldiers in the front row couldn't help but burst out laughing, and then the laughter spread like wildfire, even the guards holding halberds were shaking.

The roar of laughter from the 100,000-strong army was like a tsunami, shaking the banners on the command platform.

The man in the tree kept provoking and teasing him, completely disregarding him as the garrison marshal of Xuzhou.

Qinghe was so angry that her face turned from red to green, and finally turned ashen.

Before he could even utter the order, the commander of his personal guards had already raised his sword and pointed it at the ancient pine tree: "Archers, what are you waiting for? Shoot!"

The archers drew their bows and nocked their arrows, unleashing a rain of arrows. Unfortunately, the distance was too great; the arrows fell to the ground exhausted before reaching the ancient pine, rustling like autumn leaves. This only provoked the man in the tree to burst into laughter.

"Haha... What kind of bows are you using? Why are they so weak?"

Just as Gu Song finished speaking, a clear, youthful voice suddenly came from the direction of the council hall.

"Uncle Meng, does it count if I hit that guard's nose?"

Before Uncle Meng could answer, a crisp "bang!" rang out, piercing the air.

The commander of the personal guards felt something fly past him. He instinctively closed his eyes, and his body trembled.

Then, his hand suddenly froze, and he touched his sunken nose in disbelief, warm blood splattered all over his face.

His sluggish reaction made it take him a moment to feel the pain.

"what--!"

He let out a terrified scream, his eight-foot-tall body collapsing as he clutched his nose, his armor slamming against the wooden platform with a dull thud.

The drill ground was already crowded with people, and these two noises drew all eyes to the command platform.

Upon seeing the commander of the personal guards lying on the ground, clutching his nose, the entire training ground fell silent instantly. Everyone was terrified, as if they had seen a ghost. Even Qinghe was shocked, her mouth agape.

Sorry! It's a bit late today.