Chapter 113: I Am Zhao Hengyi

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“I originally thought the same as you did—that Sister Ruolan had gone over to Su Shenchang.”

At the mention of the young woman who had appeared so abruptly at Hibiscus Garden, Lu Jiuniang’s expression remained calm. “But when she encountered me at the poetry gathering, she did not raise the alarm. I asked around, and everyone said she was Su Shenchang’s newest concubine... She had a rope tied beneath her clothes. Yet when I moved to kill Su Shenchang, Sister Ruolan threw herself between me and the pursuers...

“She was clearly bent on dying. She never betrayed the village. She stayed at Su Shenchang’s side only to await her opportunity.”

The truth was far more complicated than Zhao Hengyi had imagined. With so little information, it was difficult to piece together the full picture, and Lu Jiuniang had been able to succeed so easily only because of that young woman, Ruolan.

By then, Zhao Hengyi and the others had already left the poetry gathering. Once Ruolan discovered that Lu Jiuniang had disguised herself as a maidservant, she had shouted that Su Shenchang was conspiring with the barbarians, that he had hidden barbarian ambushers in his private residence, and that they intended to open the city gates from within that very night in coordination with the barbarian army waiting outside the city!

It was plainly preposterous, but it was more than enough to create tremendous confusion.

And it was by taking advantage of that chaos that Lu Jiuniang had been able to strike so easily and escape without difficulty.

Lu Jiuniang, however, did not believe Ruolan’s final outcry had been mere nonsense. She had then led the Ningwu Army to Su Shenchang’s little-known private residence...

“There truly were quite a few barbarians hidden inside. I imagine they had disguised themselves as a merchant caravan and slipped secretly into Jiangling City.”

Lu Jiuniang’s expression remained composed, but her hands trembled faintly. “After leading the Ningwu Army there, I shouted that we were arresting barbarian spies. The two sides began fighting immediately.”

Although the events of that night had been bizarre, they had ultimately turned into a battle between the Ningwu Army and the barbarians who had infiltrated Jiangling City. Several hours had passed, yet the fighting still had not ended. The barbarians hidden in the private residence had not only routed the Ningwu soldiers, leaving them fleeing in disarray, but had also started fires everywhere to create further confusion. By now, no one had the leisure to pursue Lu Jiuniang.

Zhao Hengyi closed his eyes and traced the entire chain of events in his mind.

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The barbarians hidden in Su Shenchang’s private residence had certainly come to Jiangling to meet some powerful figure. They had slipped into the city in secret, believing that no one had noticed them. Yet late that night, the Ningwu Army had stormed their door, with men shouting that they were arresting barbarian spies.

The barbarians must therefore have believed that Su Shenchang had betrayed them—that they had fallen into a carefully laid trap.

Unfortunately, the Ningwu Army’s combat ability was truly abysmal. They had failed to surround the barbarians, allowing them to break through the encirclement and set fire to the city in a bid to create chaos. If Jiangling had not possessed such high walls and stout fortifications, those barbarians might already have fought their way out of the city.

Now that Su Shenchang was dead and all of Jiangling had fallen into disorder, news that barbarian spies had infiltrated the city had become common knowledge. The powerful figure who had intended to meet with the barbarians would certainly never appear.

For a long time to come, the web behind Su Shenchang would lie dormant around Jiangling Prefecture. In other words, Zhao Hengyi would gain a precious period in which to develop in safety.

“Wang Erhu, notify everyone who remained at the inn to withdraw to the County Princess’s Residence. The city is too chaotic. Our people must stay safe!”

Zhao Hengyi and his companions could now simply sit back and watch the tigers fight from the safety of the mountain. Moving all the guards stationed at the inn to the County Princess’s Residence would not only ensure their safety, but also significantly strengthen the residence’s defenses.

Having fought the barbarian army at Yonggu City, Zhao Hengyi knew perfectly well that the barbarians and the Ningwu Army were on entirely different levels. Moreover, those who had infiltrated Jiangling City were certain to be the elite among the barbarians.

Though the County Princess’s Residence was guarded by the Daughters’ Army, Zhao Hengyi was far from reassured.

After conveying the message to the guards who had remained at the inn through a special channel, all that remained was to wait quietly.

The guards acted with remarkable speed. After receiving the order, they reached the County Princess’s Residence in less than an hour—and brought their master, Zhao Hengyi, an unexpected gift.

“Master, on the way here, the brothers encountered a group of men behaving suspiciously. One look was enough to tell that they were no good!”

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The veteran leading the group had served in the Black Character Battalion and had fought the barbarians in real battles with real blades. “The brothers kept their wits about them and greeted the group in the barbarian tongue. We never expected them to answer!”

What happened next followed naturally. The barbarians they encountered were ferocious, but faced with more than a dozen veterans holding loaded hand crossbows, they met a miserable end. Only one survived—a man who appeared to be their leader.

“Master, before those barbarians died, they kept shouting for General Tuoba to be protected.”

General Tuoba?

Tuoba was one of the great surnames among the barbarians, and the most powerful of all the tribes. During the earlier defense of Yonggu City, the supreme commander of the barbarian army opposing Zhao Hengyi had been a man named Tuoba Dewang.

As he gazed at the bloodstained barbarian captive, who kept his eyes tightly shut and remained utterly silent, Zhao Hengyi felt a sudden stir in his heart.

“General, I never expected that we would meet in a place like this... My name is Zhao Hengyi.”

The barbarian leader’s eyes flew open.

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