No title, no marriage? Do you think I'm some kind of lapdog?

Inside the General's Mansion at Yumen Pass.

Ye Qingyue collapsed as soon as she entered the door.

She leaned against Yue Xinyang like a soft lump of mud, the silver armor digging into him and making him wince, but he didn't dare to dodge.

This is a kind of happiness, even though you don't gain any real advantage or get any real physical benefit.

"Su Chuang... Su Chuang must die."

Her voice was low and hoarse, as if it were being ground out from between her teeth.

"Don't worry, he won't live past this month."

Yue Xinyang put his arm around her waist, his hands wandering upwards, but he couldn't find anything.

It's all hard, and nothing but hard!

"I want him to die silently, to rot like a wild dog in the sands of northern Xinjiang, so that not even his bones can be found."

Ye Qingyue slapped his hand away, sat up straight, and her eyes shone frighteningly bright in the candlelight.

"That's easy!"

"In the northern frontier, there's nothing else but bandits, outlaws, and reckless men who value money over their lives."

Yue Xinyang grinned, and the scar on his face twisted in the grin.

"I know the leader of 'Black Wind Stronghold,' who has more than three hundred men under his command, all of whom are ruthless and bloodthirsty."

"And then there's the 'Vulture Ridge' gang, they specialize in kidnapping and murder..."

He leaned close to Ye Qingyue's ear, his hot breath brushing against her neck.

"Where's the money?"

Ye Qingyue's eyes flickered.

"silver?"

"We don't need to pay."

"Spread the word that Su Chuang came to the northern frontier this time with a military pay of 500,000 taels of gold."

"And countless treasures brought from the capital..."

Yue Xinyang's smile grew even more sinister.

He paused, then lowered his voice.

"When those desperados hear this news, won't they swarm like flies to blood?"

Ye Qingyue was silent for a while, then suddenly smiled.

That smile was both cold and alluring, like a peony dipped in poison.

"it is good."

"If you succeed in this matter, I will treat you well."

"Let Brother Xinyang have some fun."

She reached out and hooked Yue Xinyang's chin.

Yue Xinyang's eyes lit up, and he was about to pounce on her when Ye Qingyue stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window, the night view of Yumen Pass is visible, and in the distance, the firelight can be faintly seen in the direction of Wangbeitai.

Su Chuang... just stay there and behave yourself.

Waiting to die.

At the same time, look north from three miles away.

The torchlight flickered in the wind, illuminating the deeply lined old faces.

The leader was an old man with one arm, around fifty years old, whose left sleeve was empty and tied with a hemp rope.

Behind him stood about a hundred people, young and old, all dressed in tattered clothes, but their eyes were frighteningly bright.

"Lord Xin Guo..."

"Old man... I've finally waited for you!"

When the one-armed old man saw Su Chuang get out of the car, he knelt down with a thud, his voice trembling.

"Who...who are you? You're scaring me in the middle of the night..."

Su Chuang, still looking cowardly, shrank back behind Xu Mengran, trembling.

"My surname is Chen, Chen Dashuan, back in the day..."

"Back then, I was the captain of the third squad of the vanguard battalion under Marshal Su Zhenbei."

The one-armed old man raised his head, tears welling in his old eyes.

Su Chuang's body stiffened slightly.

Xu Mengran was also stunned and subconsciously pressed down on the hilt of her sword.

Zhao Yun silently took half a step forward, the tip of his spear pointing diagonally at the ground.

Yue Fei had already commanded the Flying Tiger Army to disperse their formation, subtly surrounding the hundred or so men in the middle.

"You...you're talking nonsense..."

"All of my father's men died long ago..."

Su Chuang stammered.

"Not all of them are dead!"

Chen Dashuan kowtowed suddenly, his forehead hitting the gravel with a loud "bang".

"This old man has lived until today, just waiting for this day..."

"Let's wait for the marshal's descendants to come and explain what happened back then!"

The people behind him also knelt down in unison, a dark mass of them.

Su Chuang looked at them, his eyes flickering.

"You...explain yourself...what exactly happened back then?"

He took two steps forward, squatted down in front of Chen Dashuan, and still had that bewildered expression on his face.

"Marshal... the Marshal was murdered."

Chen Dashuan wiped away his tears, his voice so low that only a few people around him could hear it.

"We shouldn't have lost the battle at Luofeng Slope."

"Someone...someone sold our defense maps to the Xiongnu."

Su Chuang's breath hitched.

Xu Mengran's expression changed drastically.

"besides……"

"My lord, there is something else I need to say... Please listen carefully."

Chen Dashuan looked up at Su Chuang, his lips trembling.

"What is it?"

Su Chuang asked.

"Your mother... didn't die of illness back then."

Chen Dashuan spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice as soft as a sigh, yet it resonated in Su Chuang's ears:

"She was...poisoned to death."

The night wind suddenly picked up, whipping up sand and gravel that stung my face.

Su Chuang knelt there, motionless.

He had his head down, so his expression was obscured, but his shoulders were trembling slightly, as if he were crying.

Xu Mengran was heartbroken and was about to step forward when she suddenly caught sight of something.

Su Chuang's hands, hanging by his sides, were clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

His fingernails dug deep into his palm, and beads of blood seeped out, dripping onto the sand.

But his face still showed that bewildered and helpless look.

"R-Really...?"

"My mother...my mother was murdered?"

His voice was trembling with tears.

Chen Dashuan nodded emphatically.

"This old man saw with his own eyes that three days before the lady passed away, a maid with a completely unfamiliar face added something to her medicine pot..."

He couldn't continue, tears streaming down his face.

Su Chuang slowly raised his head, tears streaming down his face, his eyes red, looking like a good-for-nothing young master crushed by bad news.

But Xu Mengran was close enough to see it clearly.

Deep within those eyes, a flame frozen in ice was hidden.

"Uncle Chen..."

"Get up, get up and talk..."

Su Chuang shakily helped Chen Dashuan to his feet.

He turned around and waved to Yue Fei.

"Pengju, arrange for the villagers to go into the beacon tower and get some hot food."

"Yes, sir." Yue Fei accepted the order.

The crowd gradually moved inside.

Su Chuang was the last to arrive, and Xu Mengran stayed by his side.

Once everyone had gone inside, Su Chuang suddenly stopped.

His back was to the firelight of the beacon tower, his figure appearing thin in the wind and sand, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible:

"Sister Xu".

"Um?"

"My mother...loves osmanthus cake the most."

Su Chuang turned his head, his face still wet with tears, but a faint, cold smile tugged at the corner of his mouth:

"I'll buy a few more boxes when I get back to the capital."

"Burn it for her."

Xu Mengran's heart skipped a beat.

She reached out and gently wrapped her arms around Su Chuang's waist, pressing her face against his back.

"Chuang," she said softly, "I'll go with you."

Su Chuang didn't speak, but simply raised his hand and placed it on the back of her hand.

My palms were warm, but my fingers were icy cold.

In the distance, the lights of Yumen Pass flickered in the night.

Like pairs of eyes, watching from the shadows.

Inside the beacon tower, Chen Dashuan was invited into a separate earthen house.

Su Chuang closed the door and turned around; the cowardly look on his face had completely disappeared.

"Uncle Chen," he said calmly, "sit down and talk."

Chen Dashuan was stunned. Looking at the sharp-eyed, composed young man in front of him, he felt as if he were seeing Su Zhenbei from back then.

"Lord Duke, you..."

"It's just for show, for outsiders to see."

Su Chuang waved his hand and sat down on the earthen bed.

"Please continue, what exactly happened back then?"

Chen Dashuan took a deep breath and lowered his voice:

"There was a traitor within the Ministry of War who caused the Marshal's death."

"But as for who it is, this old man has been investigating for six years and has only managed to find a clue—that person is very well hidden, and..."

He paused, then lowered his voice even further: "And it seems to have connections with the palace."

Su Chuang's eyes turned cold.

In the palace?

Emperor Wu?

Or...someone else?

"As for the lady..."

Chen Dashuan's eyes reddened again.

"I suspect the poisoning was done by the Ye family."

"But there was no evidence. The maid threw herself into the well and died the next day. When her body was pulled out, she had twenty taels of silver in her pocket."

Twenty taels.

A human life.

Su Chuang smiled.

That laugh was cold and chilling; even a veteran like Chen Dashuan felt a chill run down his spine.

"understood."

Su Chuang stood up.

"Uncle Chen, please stay here for a few days. We'll have to make do."

"After I've made arrangements, I'll send you to a safe place."

"My lord!"

Chen Dashuan became anxious upon hearing this.

"This old man came to seek refuge with you, not for a life of ease!"

"We want to follow you and avenge the Marshal and his wife!"

Su Chuang turned to look at him and remained silent for a moment.

"I will report it."

He pushed open the door of the earthen house, and the wind rushed in, making the candlelight flicker wildly.

"Not a single one can escape."