"General Lin, this won't do!"
Lin Xie looked fierce, but his methods were far inferior to the Princess Consort's.
Lin Xie's wrist flicked, and the whip in his hand nearly flew towards Ying Wu. The assassin was bound to a wooden stake, blood trickling down his robes. Despite being bloodied and barely clinging to life, he remained stubbornly silent.
Lin Xie had never encountered such a hard-boned assassin.
"If you think you can do better, you come!"
Lin Xie shifted aside and gestured for Ying Wu to proceed.
Ying Wu rubbed his chin and asked Lin Xie, "General Lin, do we have anything like rock sugar or honey in the camp?"
Lin Xie replied, "We have honey."
"Please have someone bring the honey, and also catch some insects."
Lin Xie looked at Ying Wu, "You said you weren't good at torture?"
On Ying Wu's face, which Lin Xie found rather repulsive, a shy smile suddenly bloomed. He nodded and said, "I've observed!"
Lin Xie: "..."
What are you feeling shy about?
Are you out of your mind!
Cheng Zimo stayed by Cheng Chongyu's side, while the shamanic doctor was examining Cheng Chongyu.
"Doctor Cheng, how is my father? Why hasn't he woken up yet? Is it..."
"Little General, there's no need to worry." The shamanic doctor, seeing that Cheng Chongyu had only inhaled the sleeping potion and fallen into a deep sleep, breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing how worried Cheng Zimo was, he didn't play coy and said with a smile, "General Cheng only inhaled the sleeping potion, which is why he's sleeping so soundly. He should wake up around noon tomorrow. Little General, please rest assured."
Cheng Zimo's heart finally settled upon hearing that his father was alright. He thought of his own panic and fear from earlier and felt a pang of regret.
He had originally thought himself capable of handling matters, but today, he truly saw himself!
The shamanic doctor reached out and patted Cheng Zimo's shoulder, comforting him, "Little General, you don't need to be like this. When loved ones are in danger, who can truly remain calm? You are still young; you don't need to be so hard on yourself."
"If you can remain unfazed by a mountain collapsing before you at this age, wouldn't that make the years we old folks have lived seem like they were all for naught!"
"Alright, I'll go and prepare a calming decoction for your father. Although his body is not seriously injured, he seems to have been somewhat restless and unable to sleep soundly in recent days. His falling into such a deep sleep, in a way, is a good thing."
As the shamanic doctor spoke, he slowly stood up.
Cheng Zimo also stood up and bowed to thank the shamanic doctor. The shamanic doctor stopped him from escorting him and said, "What happened today is not over yet. Stay by your father's side and do not leave him for even half a step, lest any more villains try to harm your father."
After the shamanic doctor finished speaking, he mused. He had spoken quite a bit today, and since that was the case, he might as well say a little more. "Little General, this is not something I should say, but I have worked with Chongyu for many years, and we are quite close. Therefore, I will speak a bit more."
"Uncle Cheng, please, say what you must."
"You need to think carefully about who your father might have offended to suffer this ordeal..." The shamanic doctor paused and spoke again. "The person who appeared in your father's tent and severely injured the assassin is most likely a hidden guard. Hidden guards... are not ordinary people. You need to have a clear idea of who they represent, what forces are behind them. Well, as people age, they tend to chatter. I'm going to prepare the medicine."
The shamanic doctor lifted the tent curtain and walked out.
Cheng Zimo returned to Cheng Chongyu's bedside, gazing at his father, the shamanic doctor's words echoing in his mind.
Who had his father offended?
Although his father was rough and uninhibited, it wasn't to the point of inviting assassins to carry out a murder. Their Cheng family was merely a noble household in Wucheng. To the citizens of Wucheng, they might seem like a prominent family, but in the grand scheme of Lin Yuan, their Cheng family was nothing. Forget hidden guards; even with their guards, retainers, and servants, the Cheng mansion had no more than a few dozen people.
How could a family like theirs be involved with individuals or forces who were qualified to possess hidden guards?
Cheng Zimo racked his brain but couldn't figure out the reason behind everything that had happened today. He looked at his father, who was unconscious from the sleeping potion and snoring loudly, and remained silent.
Never mind, it was best to wait until Old Cheng woke up!
...
Lin Xie watched the assassin whose wounds were being gnawed by insects and ants, then turned to look at the hidden guard who was contemplating deeply over a pile of charcoal.
The charcoal had been tampered with. The camp's daily charcoal was prepared by logistics. Soldiers from each battalion would come to collect charcoal, and after topping up the charcoal for their battalion commanders, they would take the remaining charcoal back to their own tents.
The soldiers guarding Cheng Chongyu today, those who collected charcoal, and the logistics soldiers who prepared the charcoal had all been secretly apprehended. Lin Xie didn't know why he was still looking at the charcoal.
Ying Wu pointed at the still burning charcoal and said to Lin Xie, "You said he should swallow it..."
Lin Xie's eyelids twitched, "Then you might as well just kill him."
Ying Wu uttered an "oh."
"If he still refuses to speak before dawn, then subject him to Lingchi."
Lin Xie: "..."
"General, how should we interrogate the apprehended soldiers? Do you need my assistance?"
"Not at all!"
"General, I must also remind you that you don't know how many hidden nails have been planted within your Langhuan Army. If I were you, I would take this opportunity to sort things out properly, to crush all the vermin hidden within the camp, lest the vermin proliferate in the future, turning a giant tree to dust, and then regretting it."
Lin Xie detested Ying Wu's attitude but had to take his words seriously. Since the other party could secretly add sleeping potion to Old Cheng's charcoal, they could also tamper with other things. If these people couldn't be found, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Lin Xie actually wanted to ask why a hidden guard would appear by Old Cheng's side and who wanted to kill Old Cheng. Old Cheng... to put it bluntly, he wasn't someone worth assassinating!
However, seeing his demeanor of "these matters are sensitive, outsiders should not inquire," Lin Xie suppressed his questions. No matter what the Prince intended to do, there would be a day when these things became clear.
Although the Prince was ambitious and aimed for the throne, he was, after all, the God of War of Lin Yuan. No matter how he contended with His Majesty, he would never do anything to harm the common people or damage the military generals.
Lin Xie pondered for a moment. There was something he needed to ask. "I can refrain from asking too many questions about today's events, but..."
He hesitated, actually carefully choosing his words. Although he admired the Prince, he was ultimately a subject of Lin Yuan. He was loyal to Lin Yuan and to His Majesty, and he would never dare to align himself with the Prince and commit acts of rebellion.
"You want to write a memorial?"
"Write whatever you want!"
What good would it do to write it? What could His Majesty do to the Prince?