Saving the foolish general, she accidentally becomes his favorite.

Jiang Wen's appearance was purely accidental, but that did not prevent Ye Li from agreeing to his conditions.

Seeing Ye Li nod in agreement, Mo Chen smiled gently, indicating his consent.

However, he stated frankly that this was not a suitable place to talk, and the two agreed to meet again that night.

Mo Chen hurriedly left the palace with Ye Li. The two sat in the carriage. Ye Li had been lost in thought for a long time since then. Her lowered eyelashes blinked slowly, her thoughts wandering. She didn't even notice the tea that Mo Chen handed her.

Mo Chen called her softly, "Li'er?"

"Have a little to calm your nerves."

Ye Li didn't react for a moment.

It was only later that I realized he had called my name—and in an unusually gentle way…

Ahhhhhh, help...

Ye Li then realized that in her haste today, she had actually hugged him in public!

This is not Mo Chen holding a child.

This wasn't meant to comfort Mo Chen.

It was a desperate, heartfelt embrace—a reunion after loss!

Suddenly, her head felt like a boiling kettle, a deafening roar followed, filling her ears with a barrage of internal monologues.

"You're finished! You hugged him!" "He's going to hold you responsible!"

Her face suddenly turned red, like the finest rouge, beautiful and captivating.

She hurriedly grabbed the cup and gulped it down, unable to taste anything. She just felt so nervous that her heart was about to jump out of her chest...

Mo Chen calmly analyzed the current situation, and slowly said:

"A dragon boat sinking is not fatal, nor is releasing snakes into the water."

However, envoys from various countries have witnessed successive internal strife within the Heavenly Pivot, fearing endless future troubles.

Ye Li nodded in agreement. In any case, she initially suspected Fu Xiyang, since he had a motive.

Mo Chen paused for a moment, then continued, "I don't entirely believe what Jiang Wen said today, but I wasn't in Beijing at the time, so I really don't know anything about this matter. It would be good to have more clues."

Ye Li continued to nod. Fu Zeshan's case had evolved from the death of the only son of a high-ranking official into a shocking unsolved case that had even been heard of in other countries. Naturally, the faster the case was solved, the better.

Mo Chen is not at his peak right now. If other countries were to wage war against him, it would truly be a disaster!

At night, the moon was bright and the stars were few, with no wind and no clouds.

Jiang Wen paid a visit.

The General's Mansion was bustling with activity tonight. Mo Chen and Ye Li sat together, while Xiao Ziming, Li Siyi, and Ru Feng gathered around, listening to Jiang Wen recount what had happened.

“That day, Zeshan asked me out. I thought it would just be a casual chat about poetry, but I never expected that he had drunk a lot of alcohol. When he saw me, he said in a panic that he was going to die.”

"I thought he was drunk and wanted to persuade him to drink less, but he said that the emperor had summoned him to the palace."

At this point, Jiang Wen glanced cautiously at Mo Chen before continuing hesitantly:

"Zeshan said that the Emperor wanted him to put on a show so that people would think he was framed by General Mo Chen, suffered some injury, and then the blame would be pinned on General Mo Chen..."

Upon hearing this, Ye Li realized that it matched what the eunuchs had told them in the palace: Fu Zeshan had indeed visited the emperor before his death.

If the emperor likes Lu Wanning, this move is ostensibly to have Fu Zeshan frame Mo Chen, but if the charade becomes real, Fu Zeshan is gone, and the evidence is in place, then Mo Chen can still be framed.

Kill two birds with one stone.

However, something unexpected happened in the middle of it all. After Fu Zeshan died, the matter was ultimately resolved by a sudden heart attack.

It's as if someone suppressed the incident, there's no evidence, and it didn't escalate further.

Jiang Wen continued, "At the time, I did advise Zeshan that although it was difficult to disobey the imperial decree, this action would offend General Mo Chen, and he would be in a dilemma if he were to enter the court as an official in the future."

Ye Li thought to herself: Even if Mo Chen looks down on you, he wouldn't resort to underhanded tricks.

"But Zeshan got drunk and cried that he was going to die. He said that he was going to die no matter what. Disobeying the emperor's orders would mean death, and not doing this would also mean death, because at that time, besides his fiancée Lu Wanning, he also had a confidante... that woman was pregnant with his child."

"If we break off the engagement because of this, we will offend the Lu family. The Lu family already stole the Mo family's marriage proposal. If we let Lu Wanning suffer such humiliation, it would be like trampling on General Mo Chen's face..."

"His days are going to be tough..."

Ye Li: ...

There's this other layer of relationship too?

Fu Zeshan is quite the ladies' man. He's the only son of the Minister of Rites, one of the Four Young Masters of the Capital, and engaged to Lu Wanning. He appears to be a gentleman, but in reality, he's utterly corrupt...

Mo Chen, however, paid no attention to these worldly entanglements and asked directly, "Where did this woman go afterward?"

He wasn't in the capital at the time, otherwise we wouldn't be in such a passive position now.

Fu Xiyang was waiting to drag him down with him, and Xuan Yuanming was secretly plotting, but he didn't know much about Fu Zeshan.

Jiang Wen said, "Ze Shan said at the time that he was afraid Lu Wanning would find out, so he hid the woman, saying that he hid her in a very safe place."

Ye Li thought to herself: Safety what? He's all gone...

After listening to his explanation, Xiao Ziming raised some questions:

"Since he has no choice but to do it, he won't show any mercy. What is his ultimate plan? And what role do you play in all of this?"

Jiang Wen became serious at this moment, sat up straight and said solemnly: "I am not talented. I have studied hard for ten years and finally have the opportunity to enter the Golden Palace. I am really powerless to interfere in such an important matter. So I took advantage of Zeshan's drunkenness and left alone."

"I was not involved in his plans."

Ye Li raised an eyebrow and gently covered her lips: "You put 'protecting oneself wisely' in such a fresh and refined way. No wonder you're a talented scholar."

However, everyone present was someone who had risen through the ranks by overcoming all sorts of power struggles and intrigues, and Li Siyi raised a question:

"Based on what you've said, who do you think killed him?"

This is a very skillful question. Jiang Wen is one of the last people Fu Zeshan saw besides the Emperor. If his testimony points to a certain person or direction, then Fu Xiyang's criticism will be directed at that person.

This case has now attracted attention from various countries and has become a popular topic of conversation.

Whether Jiang Wen wants to protect himself depends on his choice...

……

The room was completely silent, and the lamp in the darkness was gently swayed by the wind.

The flame of the lamp wick dimmed, becoming so weak it seemed about to go out.

The flames reignited after a short while, and then burned quietly.

Jiang Wen calmly said, "I really don't know who killed him. It's possible that Lu Wanning discovered Zeshan's actions and killed him, or it's possible that Zeshan accidentally offended someone else."

"The reason why His Majesty did not investigate this matter at the time was probably because he thought that Lu Wanning was the one who killed Zeshan, so he wanted to protect Lu Wanning and thus concluded the matter."

"At this point, as long as people believe that he was killed by someone, the 'truth' will spread further and further."

“I know Zeshan’s final mission, and if I’m gone, no one will know.”

"That's why I've come to seek the general's protection..."

Mo Chen asked, "What do you intend to do?"

Jiang Wen: "I am unwilling to be slaughtered by others. Only by forming an alliance can I ensure my safety."

Ye Li then understood that Jiang Wen had come to pledge his loyalty.

only……

is it possible……

This matter is actually not that complicated.

She glanced at Mo Chen and tugged at his sleeve with her small hand.

Ye Li thought of a possibility...