After the fairy disappeared

Chapter 2712 The Real Culprit Emerges
"I drank a bit too much that day, and I asked Wu Laosan, 'Even if you don't tell me what the mission is, can't you at least tell me where we're being sent? Is it in China or overseas?'"

"Old Wu said, 'South, beyond the border.'"

South of Baling Kingdom, beyond its borders, isn't that the territory of Shen Kingdom?
Blackwater City was located in the northwest of the Shen Kingdom.

"The next day, Wu Laosan was transferred away; a few days later, news of the assassination of the Prince of Shen in Blackwater City spread." The first prisoner swallowed hard. "When we heard that, we thought, 'Isn't that the southern border?'"

"How do you know that Wu Qisheng was the one who killed He Changjue in Blackwater City?" He Yue remained calm and asked deliberately. "Perhaps Wu Qisheng was transferred to another dangerous mission."

"When news of He Changjue's death reached China, we heard a description that said the person who killed him knew he couldn't escape, so he also committed suicide."

In fact, there were at least three murderers who killed He Changjue: one died in an explosion, one was shot, and the last committed suicide.

But the prisoners weren't entirely wrong, since the information they had gathered was limited.

"A few days later, Wu Laosan's pension came through, and we, his fellow villagers and friends, delivered it to his home in Luanping. It was indeed exceptionally generous. If he hadn't done anything significant and had just died on the battlefield like everyone else, he wouldn't have deserved such a pension. Moreover, General Zhao himself gave Wu Qisheng's family fifty taels of gold, with the comment, 'He obeyed the orders of the country and faced death with composure.'"

Fifty taels of gold. The jade paperweight in He Yue's hand shattered with a crack.

The two prisoners exchanged a glance: "If Wu Laosan didn't commit suicide after carrying out a mission in Blackwater City, why did General Zhao praise him for 'facing death calmly'?"

The phrase "to die calmly" is usually used in special circumstances, such as behind enemy lines, rather than in a direct confrontation on the front lines.

"Accept the order? Ha." He Yue chuckled softly. "Anything else?"

"That's all," the prisoner said cautiously. "This should be useful information for you!"

Of course it's useful; it points directly to the murderer of He Changjue—if the information provided by these two is true.

He Yue's confidant said from the side, "Words are not enough; how can we verify them?"

How can we be sure these two aren't just making things up to save their lives?
"It can be verified, it can be verified! Marshal, you can send people to Luanping Town to investigate. We are all from Luanping Town, and we'll be able to verify it every time!"

He Yue thought for a moment and then said, "Take them to Luanping Town and confront the locals. If they utter even a single false word, cut off their heads."

"Yes."

Luanping Town is not far from Wancheng. A round trip by car, plus the time for on-site investigation, would take about seven hours.

During those seven hours, He Yue continued to handle military affairs as usual. He appeared calm and composed, but inside he felt like a fire was burning, making him extremely restless.

Time passed slowly until nearly noon the next day, when his trusted confidant finally returned and reported to the tent.

"how?"

"If we take these two back, twelve residents of Luanping Town can accurately say their names and nicknames and point out their residences. These people also basically recognize Wu Qisheng. So we will have the village security officers of Luanping Town lead the way to Wu's house."

“We went to the Wu family to inquire, and it turned out that these young men did indeed return to the town with military personnel two months ago to inform the Wu family of Wu Qisheng’s death and to hand over a large sum of compensation. Zhao Shuo also gave them an extra fifty taels of gold, and they did indeed relay those two sentences.”

"To obey the country's orders and calmly face death?"

"Yes."

The confidant added, "We took the two heads to the Wu family, the townspeople, and the town government to identify them. They all recognized which one Wu Qisheng was."

Of the murderers who killed He Changjue, one was blown to pieces in the explosion, while the other two had their heads cut off and preserved with ice talismans after their deaths.

He Yue was thinking about revenge and wanted to leave evidence, which has now come in handy.

So the two prisoners were right. The murderer who killed the eldest son was indeed from Luanping Town, indeed Wu Qisheng, and indeed... sent by Zhao Shuo!
He Yue clenched his fists again and whispered, "Zhao Shuo, good, very good!"

His enemy is Zhao Shuo!
He stood up, about to give the order, but then swallowed his words.

His father and brothers had repeatedly warned him not to act impulsively.

His father and brothers also believed that the mastermind behind this was Beka, but now the clues he received and the result of his investigation revealed that it was General Zhao Shuo of Baling.
"Why did Zhao Shuo kill Jue'er?" Before this, there was only national enmity between Baling and Shen, not personal grudges.

The confidant immediately said, "Last year, Zhao Shuo's army was defeated by you at Zhaohe, and he made some harsh remarks on the battlefield at that time."

"Anyone can say polite words, this is nothing." He Yue waved his hand. "Battlefield scores are settled on the battlefield. Zhao Shuo has been fighting on the battlefield for many years, he should have some magnanimity. Besides, I originally had no personal grudge against him."

Why would Zhao Shuo, as a general of Baling, specifically assassinate He Changjue, and why would he incite the State of Shen to continue attacking Baling?

"Isn't this going against Baling?" That doesn't make sense. Could it be...?
He Yue pondered for a while: "Send me a message to Chief Secretary Gu and ask him about Zhao Shuo's background."

Baling sent many generals to resist He Yue's army, and He Yue couldn't possibly know them all by heart. Zhao Shuo was not among Baling's famous generals.

"Yes."

This matter took longer to handle than a round trip to Luanping Town by his subordinates.

During this time, He Yue had no intention of attacking Wancheng, so he held back and dealt with another night attack sent by Wancheng.

Finally, Chief Secretary Gu's message arrived:

Zhao Shuo rose rapidly in the Baling Army, reaching his current position after only a few victories. Although he did possess some command talent, the main reason for his repeated promotions was that his uncle, Zhao Huanrong, had served as the deputy prime minister of Baling and had only retired this year.

Zhao Huanrong repeatedly recommended him, and Zhao Shuo's several victories were all due to the opportunities Zhao Huanrong secured for him to play.

Therefore, the uncle and nephew must have had a very close political connection, and their relationship was also very good. Zhao Shuo would personally attend and present lavish gifts to Zhao Huanrong on her birthday.

"So he's Zhao Huanrong's nephew!" He Yue exclaimed in realization. "So it's still related to Bei Jia!"

He knew Zhao Huanrong's background. Although he was the deputy prime minister of Baling, the upper class of Baling believed that he was close to Beka and believed in Jialoutian. When he was young, he was exposed and reported, and the evidence was conclusive. However, the king of Baling only lightly punished him by deducting a few months' salary and making him stay at home to reflect on his mistakes for a year. He was not seriously harmed.

If it were any other official who committed the crime, they would probably have been dismissed and exiled long ago.

The officials of Baling were convinced that it was Beka who had mediated between them.

As the Crown Prince of Shen, He Yue understood things more thoroughly than many of the officials of Baling: In fact, Zhao Huanrong's backer was not entirely Bejia, but mainly the Heavenly Palace!