Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 262 You Should Go Back to the Capital

"..."

For a moment, no one spoke. After all, they had spent a long time with Di Yun, and they were all like brothers and sisters. Who would have thought that he would be hiding such a thing in his heart and betray everyone?

Is Di Yun hateful? Of course he is. As a general, he did things that harmed the interests of the Great Jing Dynasty. How could he not be hateful? Is he pitiful? Indeed, he is pitiful. He was secretly threatened, with the lives of his wife and women used as bargaining chips. Of course, he dared not gamble. Is he laughable? Absolutely laughable. He was deceived from beginning to end. The person who deceived him didn't even show their face. With just a few letters, they made him lose his armor and his army crumble. How could such a person not be laughable?
These hateful, pitiful, and laughable people are their comrades-in-arms who have fought side by side for decades.

However, every country has its laws, and every army has its regulations. Di Yun did something wrong, and he must pay the price. If we were to let him go simply because he's pitiful, how could we face the compatriots who died in battle? They were just as pitiful and innocent.

General Yuchi closed his eyes and waved to Di Yun with his back to him.

"Deal with it."

A general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders. The Northern General has the authority to deal with traitors who collude with the enemy and betray the country, so there's no need to wait until autumn to execute them. In front of 20 troops, the brothers-in-arms who died in the previous two battles stepped forward with red eyes.

Deputy General Di is indeed pitiful, but aren't his brothers' lives also lives? Even the emperor is subject to the same laws as commoners; those who collude with the enemy and betray the country, even the general's most trusted subordinates, cannot escape punishment. Ha, who can truly understand the ways of the world?

However, they did not deliberately humiliate Di Yun; instead, they helped him up as he wished. Di Yun knew he had done wrong, but having grown up in the Northern Frontier Army, he was not a coward, even though he had made mistakes and gone astray.

"My brothers and sisters in heaven, I, Di Yun, have come to atone for my sins. General, I am sorry. Find another heir, or have another child. You are still young, no need to rush. Shuofang, Aning, I am sorry. After I die, just pretend I never existed and go live somewhere else. And Lord Ying, I am sorry. I really did think about killing you before. But, such a good person as you, it would be so bad if you died because of such a sordid matter. I hope you live to be a hundred years old, and I will pray for you in the afterlife..."

Di Yun had once slain countless enemies on the battlefield, a brave and fearless young hero known to all. The price of becoming a hero is constant injury. He had come incredibly close to death countless times, and thought he was fearless, but now that the moment had come, he found himself terrified. His body trembled uncontrollably, and his stammering words were trembling.

Human beings have an innate fear of death, and no one can escape it; it's just that everyone has a different attitude towards death.

It's a pity that after two or three decades of glory, he ended up being scorned by everyone. But who can he blame for all of this? He can only blame himself. But he was really afraid to die; he was a little scared.

Perhaps people have a lot on their minds at times like this. Just like now, Di Yun suddenly remembered what happened when he first went to the battlefield to fight the enemy. He was just a 16-year-old boy at the time. On his first battlefield, he saw limbs flying everywhere and blood splattering, and he was so scared that he almost went limp. In the end, it was the general who personally held his hand and plunged the knife into the chest of an enemy.

What did the general say at that time?
"Don't be afraid, child. Life and death are normal on the battlefield. Losing your head is just a small scar. If you are still afraid, call me. As long as I hear you, I will come to save you. No matter when or where, I am with you."

As the knife hanging overhead suddenly slashed down, Di Yun called out the title of "brother" and "father" in a trembling voice.

"General..."

"Crack!" General Yuchi shuddered violently, and for a moment he almost collapsed. Blood was everywhere on the ground. General Yuchi never looked back. He simply crawled wearily into his tent and remained motionless for a long time.

After dealing with Di Yun's matter, Jiu Que saw the worried strategist Cui Wenhe and also showed a worried expression.

The general has been silent for most of the day, and we don't know how he is doing.

"Alas, Lord Ying, please don't concern yourself with him yet. This matter has been a huge blow to him. You probably don't know, but that lad Di Yun was practically raised by the General. The General has no children of his own, and he treated him like his own son, trusting him, giving him important responsibilities, promoting him, and never mistreating him. Who would have thought that the lad would be so blinded by greed and do such a heinous thing? The General is a man of great pride; even if he is heartbroken and weeping bitterly, he doesn't want others to see it. Lord Ying, you have also suffered today, so why don't you go back and rest for a while? The General should be better by tonight."

Jiu Que thought about it and felt that Cui Junshi was right, so he had no choice but to leave for the time being. However, on the way, he encountered Madam Di and her daughter who were preparing to bury Di Yun's body, and he couldn't help but stay and say a few words, mostly words of comfort. But just as he was about to leave, Jiu Que suddenly saw a bit of fresh red showing on her cuff, his eyebrows twitched, and he asked a question seemingly casually.

"The pattern on Madam Di's sleeves is quite peculiar. I don't think I've seen it before. I wonder what this flower is called?"

"Oh, you mean this?"

Her husband had just passed away, and even if there were reasons for it, they had been married for many years. Madam Di was now pale and restless, and when she heard Ying Jiu Que's question, she seemed somewhat absent-minded and confused.

Fortunately, she reacted quickly, raised her hand, and made the pattern on the cuff more fully visible to Jiu Que.

"Actually, I don't know the name of this flower either. I only saw it once in a flower pattern book and thought it was quite pretty, so I sewed it onto my cuff. What's wrong, Lord Ying? Why are you asking this? Have you seen this pattern somewhere before, Lord Ying?"

"No, I just felt it looked familiar. My condolences, Mrs. Di."

After seeing off the unfortunate lady, Chunyu Shuang looked at Jiu Que with concern. Jiu Que composed himself and whispered.

"That pattern is that of the morning glory flower."

Chunyu Shuang's eyes widened suddenly. These morning glory flowers appeared quite frequently, and each time they did, a murder was linked to them! Moreover, judging from the pattern of the previous cases, there was a connection between them. Could it be that the matter of Deputy General Di Yun was also manipulated by the mastermind behind the scenes?
If that's the case, then it means that Jiuque is now being targeted by them!
Remembering the secret letter sent by His Majesty, Chunyu Shuang suddenly grabbed Jiu Que's hand, her expression serious.

"Jiu Que, it's time for you to return to the capital."

(End of this chapter)