Nine out of ten gamblers lose; I've run into a jerk!

Chapter 221 Xuanwu

Tao You had never been so disheveled. Her hair ornament was nowhere to be found, and her clothes were in disarray, as if they had been trampled on ten times.

Ji Kang, who was preparing to confront Tao You, was shocked to see her in such a miserable state. "How did you get into this state?"

What kind of preferential treatment could prisoners of war receive during a forced march? They weren't even given a prison cart; they were simply tied up and thrown onto a horse, where they were jostled around until they vomited up all their bile.

He had never suffered so much in his life. If no one had paid any attention to him, Tao You would have suggested giving him a quick death. He had taken laxatives and was so weak that he was afraid he would have the strength to cause trouble, so they didn't even give him food. After enduring the turmoil day and night, heaven knows how he managed to survive until he reached Xuanwu City.

Ji Kang glanced at Song Heng out of the corner of his eye. Could it be that he and Tao You had a personal grudge?

Song Heng coughed lightly: "Prefect, important matters are at hand."

Ji Kang then realized that the most urgent task was to find out the situation, and his face regained its anger when he thought of Tao You's evil deeds of colluding with the enemy.

"Tao You, I will give you a chance to defend yourself. Lord Song said that you led the Xuan army into the pass. Is that true?"

Facing Ji Kang, Tao You dared not speak so recklessly or even try to instigate the other party as he did in front of Song Heng, simply because Ji Kang was a member of the royal family of Anguo, unlike these aristocratic families who could turn against their own side at any time. He was truly bound by the fate of the country.

Now that things have come to this, it's too late to deny it outright. The only thing to do is to stir things up even more, because only by muddying the waters can one fish out of trouble and gain more room to maneuver.

Thinking this, Tao You straightened his clothes and replied, "What Lord Song said is correct."

"You heartless bastard!" Ji Kang abandoned all pretense of magnanimity and immediately kicked the man to the ground. "How has Anguo wronged the Tao family?"

"Prefect, please calm down. I'm afraid that Tao was not the only one involved in this matter. If we don't find out who the accomplices were, Andu will be in danger."

After kicking the man to vent his anger, Ji Kang calmed down and realized that Song Heng's judgment made a lot of sense. He glared at Tao You and said, "Hurry up and tell the truth!"

"..."

Seeing the two men speak with such certainty, even though it was true that he had lied, Tao You still felt that the world was quite absurd when some people actually believed it. Even if he told the truth now, he still couldn't believe that this matter had nothing to do with the Tao family.

Seeing that Tao You hesitated and remained silent, Ji Kang assumed that Tao You was deliberately covering for him and sneered, "It seems you won't confess without severe torture. Guards!"

Two strong constables immediately prepared to step forward to receive the order.

"Wait!" Tao You sighed, looking up as if she had gone through a great internal struggle before making her decision. "I'll confess."

…………

After Tao You finished writing the last character, the servant presented it to him.

Ji Kang took the document and glanced at it. His expression changed constantly. Although he didn't completely believe it, he felt that it was unlikely that Tao You was making baseless accusations, since the people listed were all Tao's relatives by marriage and friends, not his political enemies.

But what kind of family is the Tao family? How could the families that are on good terms with them be of low status? I never expected that the undercurrents under Andu had already reached such a level.

Thinking of this, Ji Kang felt worried. The powerful families were deeply entrenched, and pulling one out would bring up many more. Besides the few families that were on the surface, who knew how many people were involved behind the scenes? At this critical juncture, he dared not make any big moves, lest he alert the enemy and force them to take desperate measures. The only thing he could do now was to secretly inform the emperor to be on guard.

These powerful families, deeply favored by the emperor, are secretly engaging in such shady dealings; they are truly ungrateful wretches!

It's no wonder Ji Kang was so gullible; in recent decades, powerful and influential families have been two-faced and fickle, earning them a terrible reputation.

After finishing writing, Tao You stood quietly with his hands in his sleeves, his eyes numb and empty, looking as if his heart had turned to ashes. In reality, he was thinking: Father, stepmother, father-in-law, uncles and elders... I didn't want this either~ I hope you can be more vigilant and just rebel!

Chishan City —

After Lu's army occupied the empty city, they stopped in a hurry to continue marching and began to camp and rest.

"General Shen, Song Heng is carrying so many burdens, we might still catch up. Why not press our advantage and pursue him?"

"Don't pursue a cornered enemy. Besides, Song Heng is a man of great wisdom and resourcefulness. How can we be sure this isn't a trap?"

With things having come to this point, there was no point in dwelling on it any longer. The only option was to readjust tactics to deal with the situation that was about to unfold. The people in the command tent began to have another heated discussion.

"Song Heng has led his army to Xuanwu City. Andu will surely receive the news and send reinforcements. It seems that Xuanwu City is the final battleground of this war."

A decisive battle... Shen Qing's heart stirred. If Anguo wanted to win with its limited military strength, it would have to commit all of its current military forces to Xuanwu City. Wouldn't that leave Anguo with a depleted military force?

Just as Shen Qing had a sudden flash of inspiration and was trying to grasp something, a guard came to report, "Marshal, General Qi and the soldiers who had infiltrated the caravan have been found in the dungeon of the government office!"

Everyone in the tent was startled, and one of the generals blurted out, "Is he still alive?"

"They are all alive."

"How is General Qi? Has he been tortured?"

The guard paused as if thinking, then replied, "He looks alright, just weak, probably from hunger."

"..."

Lu Zhen instructed, "Let General Qi and the soldiers eat something and rest for a while."

"Yes, sir," the guard replied and withdrew.

After the man left, everyone looked at each other, feeling that something was amiss. As a spy who had been caught, he should at least be put on trial.

Song Heng's abandonment of the city clearly indicates his refusal to surrender. He should be even less kind to the Xuan State spy who caused the fall of Panshi Pass. Killing him as a sacrifice to the flag would be the only logical course of action. Surely he couldn't have forgotten about it because he ran too fast? How much effort would it take to stab a prisoner a few times?

But no one in the tent spoke first. It would be impolite to Qi Shang, since he had risked infiltrating Anguo. To suspect him rashly would easily discourage the soldiers.

"Alright, let's disperse for now. We'll find out soon enough by summoning General Qi." In the end, it was Lu Zhen who gave the final word.

Everyone bowed and took their leave.

Not long after Shen Qing returned to his tent, before the next meeting could even begin, Qi Shang came to find him.

"General Qi has suffered."

The weight of generals is also different. Qi Shang was appointed by Lu Zhen as a general with a miscellaneous title, while Shen Qing was appointed by imperial decree as a general with a title.

Qi Shang said with shame, "I failed to achieve anything by infiltrating Anguo this time, and almost ruined a major event. Fortunately, General Shen was quick-witted."

"General Qi, please don't underestimate yourself. Your contribution in capturing Panshi Pass is also invaluable," Shen Qing comforted him. "By the way, General Qi, do you know where Tao You has gone?"

This is another strange thing: the entire city was searched but Tao You could not be found, neither alive nor dead.

Qi Shang shook his head. "I don't know. We've been imprisoned separately since we were captured, and we haven't seen each other since."

That leaves only one possibility: Tao You was taken away by Song Heng.

Shen Qing narrowed her eyes. It was quite intriguing that Song Heng had taken Tao You away and let Qi Shang and the others go.