Adoption brings disaster

When Ah Er saw that the master came to invite me, I followed him for some unknown reason. I was very anxious for a while, but Ah Da had no desire to live. I was afraid that if I let go, Ah Da would commit suicide on the street.

Ah Er had no choice but to knock Ah Da unconscious, then carried Ah Da to protect me.

Seeing this, I was also afraid that Ah Er's behavior would cause a commotion and be bad for Chongguang, so I patted the jade token of the Zhenbei Palace on my waist and signaled him to wait outside.

Seeing that I gave the order with the jade token, Er naturally did not dare to disobey. He just looked around and saw someone climbing into the Jingzhao Prefecture from the shadows.

These people are very good at light work and are good at hiding, so I didn't notice them.

Although I didn't know that someone had gone in to protect me, I wasn't afraid. After all, it was broad daylight, and who would dare to attack the Seventh Prince? Could it be that the King of Zhenbei was too old to lift a knife?

Jingzhao Prefecture was not very big, so the lawyer led the way in front, and in less than half an incense stick of time, they arrived at a pavilion in the backyard.

The lawyer stopped where he was, bowed, and said, "The master is in the pavilion. Please move aside."

After saying that, he lowered his head and walked away without even glancing back, as if it had nothing to do with him.

I looked at the pavilion from a distance. It was not big and a bit shabby. The prefect was standing inside early in the morning. The prefect was so dignified that the pavilion also had a sense of nobility.

I walked slowly into the pavilion. When the prefect saw me, he immediately knelt down and saluted, saying, "Your servant greets His Highness Qianqiu. May His Highness Qianqiu be well."

This surprised me a little. My identity is awkward and I have rarely interacted with officials in the capital in recent years. Not many officials know me well.

Moreover, over the past year or so, I have been sick more often than healthy. I have almost always stayed in Qianqiu Pavilion and have not gone out.

Moreover, I was in disguise today, but the prefect recognized me at a glance. I was secretly trying to guess who he was.

"I seldom move around in Beijing. You're amazing to have recognized me at first sight." I asked.

"Your Highness is so graceful and elegant, like the bright moon in the dark night among the crowd of people, shining brightly. It is hard for me not to recognize you."

The flattery sounded nice, but it was useless. I interrupted him coldly and asked, "Stop the compliments. Who are you?"

"Your Highness, I am a lieutenant commander in the Northern Frontier Army. My last name is Wang."

The man revealed who he was, his eyes still filled with excitement, and he couldn't help but say, "I had the honor of meeting His Highness before, and your grace has been firmly etched in my mind. Seeing Your Highness again today, your grace is even more impressive."

I looked carefully at the man in front of me, and it was indeed General Wang. He looked mighty in his military uniform before, and now he looked like a graceful gentleman in his official uniform. He was indeed a wonderful man.

I had a good impression of General Wang, but I was a little curious. I asked, "I remember that according to the regulations, the position of prefect must be one with meritorious service."

Wang Pianjiang's eyes were full of admiration for me. He also bowed as a disciple and stood aside, saying, "Your Highness is knowledgeable and wise. I admire you."

I was also pleased by his humble attitude, so I lost my previous guard, sat down and let him continue.

When General Wang saw me sit down, he hurriedly poured me some tea. After I took a sip, he continued, "Before joining the Northern Border Army, I had already achieved great success. I happened to be a candidate for the position of Jingzhao Prefecture Governor. Since every man doesn't want to make great achievements and defend his country, I joined the army. This year's military reduction coincided with the previous prefect resigning due to a serious illness, so the Ministry of Personnel sent me here."

"So that's how it is. You are a man of both civil and military talents." I exclaimed sincerely.

"Your Highness, you are too kind to me. With my limited martial arts skills, I'm afraid I can't even withstand three of your moves. I've also heard about your punishment of that little tiger. Your intelligence and wisdom are something I can never match even if I live ten more lifetimes."

"Don't underestimate yourself. Jingzhao Prefecture is the parent government of the people of the capital, so it's naturally more difficult than other places. I think you've managed it very well, which shows that you are quite capable." I said, "You are now an official, so don't call yourself a slave anymore."

"The King of Zhenbei and His Highness the Seventh Prince have both been very kind to me. Regardless of whether I am still in the Northern Frontier Army or not, I am the Prince's servant and the servant of both His Highnesses."

General Wang's words were indeed loyal, but I don't know if other people can be so loyal.

I didn't dwell on the slave issue, but instead asked, "Have a lot of the recently retired Northern Territory soldiers been causing trouble? I just heard from the civilians that it seems like soldiers are causing trouble everywhere."

"There have indeed been more cases of soldiers causing trouble recently, but most of them are misunderstandings. Your Highness, you know that these people have been in the army for a long time, and their words and actions are different from those of the people in the capital. Conflict is inevitable."

After listening to what General Wang said, I realized that the issue of retired soldiers might be a bit troublesome. I felt annoyed and couldn't help but sigh.

Seeing me sigh, General Wang thought I was unhappy with him, and panicked. He quickly added, "But I have tried my best to explain to the soldiers, and there aren't many who are really causing trouble. After a while, everyone will get used to it and everything will be fine."

After hearing what General Wang said, I felt even more annoyed. I took a sip of tea and said, "It's useless. Since we've already had a conflict, and it's a conflict of such concepts, it's almost impossible to reconcile."

When General Wang heard me say this, he wanted to show his loyalty again. I didn't give him the chance. I looked at him and said, "The more you help the soldiers explain, the more the people will hate them. It's not worth it. It might even get you into trouble."

"Your Highness, I am not afraid of getting into trouble. The Northern Army is my home, and those soldiers are my family. I only regret that I am too lacking in talent and knowledge to help my family and make their lives better."

I rubbed my fingers together, pondering, and couldn't help but mutter to myself, "This matter involves a lot of things, and it will take some time to resolve it properly."

"Your Highness is a man of great talent. He has found a proper solution. I would like to thank Your Highness on behalf of those soldiers."

"I can't say that I have a proper solution, I just have some ideas."

It was just an idea, and it might not work, so I didn't want to discuss this topic with General Wang, so I changed the subject and asked, "What's going on with Wuda?"

"I actually know this Wu Da. He's one of the best soldiers in the army, but he's a bit arrogant. As a scout, he rarely hangs out with the soldiers. He's a bit of a loner and doesn't like to talk. He's also a heavy drinker. If he doesn't have any missions, he'll often get completely drunk. The prince even punished him a few times, but he refused to change. So, he just started to ignore him."

"Don't laugh at me sleeping drunk on the battlefield. How many have ever returned from battle? In the environment of the Northern Frontier Army, it's not surprising that I'm addicted to alcohol, lonely, and careless."

"Your Highness is absolutely right, but that's not the case in the capital. Wu Da isn't good with words, and he can easily offend people without realizing it. People in the capital are incredibly cunning, and they could easily set up a few traps to defraud Wu Da of all his money, leading to this incident."

"Did the shop owner set up this setup?" I asked with a smile. "This was probably done in secret, so Wu Da wouldn't have discovered it. I guess it was the shop owner's wife who revealed it herself, causing this fatal disaster."

"Your Highness is truly insightful, like Judge Bao incarnate. It was just as Your Highness said. Wu Da was defrauded of all his money, and not only did he not tell anyone, he even owed a huge sum. But Wu Da remained honest and upright, accepting the beatings and insults from the thugs who demanded money without fighting back. I don't know how many injustices he suffered during that time. When he realized that this was a setup to harm him, he naturally became furious and killed the shopkeeper's wife and children, as well as the thugs, with a single blow."

"If Wu Da didn't admit to being beaten or scolded, then this woman probably wouldn't dare to speak out. This is just the way he is. He bullies the weak and fears the strong."

Wu Da is a capable person. If he could meet a good boss, this kind of thing would never happen. Unfortunately, almost all retired Northern Territory soldiers are like this, and few of them meet a good boss, so naturally they get into a lot of trouble.

"It's a pity that Wu Da killed someone after all. No one cares about the injustices he suffered." I said, "Even if he didn't kill anyone, he was not good at speaking and offended people everywhere. Who would care about him being framed, cheated of all his money, and suffering so many injustices?"

"If Wu Da comes looking for me, I will do my best to give him justice."

I waved my hand and said, "You are just a small-time Jingzhao prefect. You can only give justice to a few soldiers. If we want this to happen again, these soldiers must have a way to make a living and not have to rely on others to do things."

"Thank you for your consideration, Your Highness." The prefect said with tears in his eyes, as if I had done him a great favor.

"Are these people giving you trouble?" I asked.

"How is that possible? We are all family."

"It's true that I didn't cause you any trouble, but it's also true that I said a lot of nasty things, right?"

"Your Highness has a discerning eye. Nothing can be hidden from Your Highness."

The prefect was really upset because he was caught in the middle. I also wanted to take care of him, so I thought for a moment and said, "What do you think of Wu Da's martial arts?"

"If it's a duel, he's about the same as a second-rate martial arts master, but if it's a fight, even a first-rate martial arts master would probably die at his hands."

This surprised me. I hadn't expected Wu Da to be so powerful. This might be a difficult situation. I thought about it and asked, "You have at least thirty yamen runners in this mansion. If we all rush in, can we capture Wu Da?"

When General Wang heard my question, he gave a wry smile and said, "Your Highness has lived in the capital for a long time, so he still doesn't understand the killing ability of soldiers. Let alone these yamen runners, if we were in the mountains, even if there were thirty of us, he would kill us all in about a stick of incense."

This General Wang's martial arts skills are not weak, but I didn't expect that he is still so much worse than Wu Da. It's a pity for such a talented person.

I sighed inwardly and said, "I do have a way that might be able to bring Wu Da back. Do you want to hear it?"

"Your Highness, are you going to lend me some of the palace's masters?"

"Don't bother with that. Besides, I can't do something like fratricide."

After saying that, I smiled and said meaningfully, "You use the shop owner as bait. As long as Wu Da kills the shop owner, I think he will definitely surrender."

"This shop owner is extremely afraid of death and absolutely unwilling to be bait."

........................

I chatted with the prefect for a few more words. Seeing that it was getting late, A'er came to pick me up. The prefect respectfully escorted me out and said nothing more.

When I returned to the pavilion, I saw that His Majesty the Seventh Prince was there, so I asked, "Why are you in the pavilion today? Have you completed the tasks assigned by His Majesty?"

"Recently, there have been several vicious incidents of retired soldiers killing people in the capital. The censors implicated me, so my father stopped me from my duties and told me to study hard in the cabinet."

"It would be good to take a break. You've been working so hard lately and have lost weight. Your Majesty is sympathetic to you. You should stay in the pavilion and take good care of your health for a while."

After saying that, he called the steward over and asked him to prepare more delicious food, so that the Seventh Prince would be fat and plump.

I said this on the surface, but in my mind I had already cursed the ancestors of the Censor of the Ministry of War and others for eighteen generations. I even complained about the Emperor several times. I originally wanted to find someone to dig up the ancestral grave of the censor who mixed with the Seventh Prince, but the Seventh Prince persuaded me not to do so.

Chongguang was amused by how angry I was, and tried to persuade me for a while. When he saw that I was no longer so angry, he asked, "Did you go to see General Wang today?"

"Yes, I didn't expect that General Wang actually had such great achievements and was considered a man of both civil and military talents. You could get closer to him; he's a respectful and loyal man."

"Qianqiu, aren't you surprised?" The Seventh Prince suddenly asked.

"What's weird?"

"According to the laws of the Northern Shang Dynasty, A-da is only a guarantor. Even if Wu-da kills someone, the most A-da would have to pay is a fine. Why should we petition His Majesty to summon A-da?"

Chongguang's words almost made it clear that there was something wrong with General Wang, but I still believed him in my heart, so I subconsciously explained to me, "I think the fine is too high, and General Wang can't afford it. Besides, if we don't call him in for questioning, he will be criticized."

"This may be enough to fool ordinary people, but do you believe it yourself, Qianqiu?" The Seventh Prince said, "His actions are just a trick to lure you away."

What the Seventh Prince said is true. A-Da is the prince's close attendant. Not to mention that he is just a guarantor, even if he was a suspect, he would never be humiliated like this. But I subconsciously still want to explain for General Wang.

The Seventh Prince didn't give me a chance to explain on behalf of General Wang. He continued, "Although the position of Jingzhao Prefecture Governor is difficult, it's under the Emperor's feet. If you have ability, it's very easy for the Emperor to promote you. How many people want to get this position but can't? He was far away in the Northern Frontier Army. How many tricks did he use to get this position so quickly? Qianqiu, have you ever thought about it?"

I understand the logic, but I tend to help my relatives rather than others. I think General Wang is okay, so I want to say a few more words to help him.

However, Chongguang didn't give me a chance and continued, "I know Qianqiu's temper. He won't believe what I say. But there's a long way to go. Just wait and see."

After that, he didn't talk to me about this matter anymore. This General Wang was an unimportant person, and it wouldn't be because of him that I and Chongguang would become estranged. Naturally, I didn't say anything more about it.

Predict what will happen in the future, and listen to the next decomposition.