Chapter 88

Qin Zheng looked at the battle report sent back from Hu Prefecture, her brows furrowing and never relaxing.

Upon learning that Emperor Wu’s tomb had been desecrated,

Song Heqing nearly fainted on the spot, angrily cursing, “These dogs of the Li family will surely face divine retribution!”

The news spread like wildfire throughout Qing Prefecture.

The military and civilians in the city were filled with fighting spirit, each becoming a powder keg, eager to immediately go to war with the court to seek justice for Emperor Wu.

Even the incense at the Yun Gang Temple, which had been sparse since the fall of the Chu, suddenly became prosperous.

People flocked there to pay their respects to Emperor Wu.

Qin Jian was also unable to contain her anger.

He immediately launched a scathing attack on the court, unlike his usual subtle criticisms and innuendos.

This time, He directly unleashed a torrent of curses.

His vocabulary was rich and his insults precise, satisfying to anyone who read them.

Lin Zhao, filled with righteous indignation, came to find Qin Zheng.

She wanted to join the next battle against the court and kill enemies on the battlefield.

But when she saw the article written by Qin Jian that had been copied by numerous scholars, the fire in her heart simmered down considerably.@@novelbin@@

Lin Zhao slammed the thin paper onto the table. “Sister Zheng, who wrote this article? I must apprentice myself to them!”

Qin Zheng, who had been somewhat troubled by the desecration of Emperor Wu’s tomb, found Lin Zhao’s righteous anger amusing.

“This scholar is indeed talented, but whether or not he accepts disciples, you’ll have to ask him yourself…”

Lin Zhao put her hands on her hips. “I don’t want to learn anything else, just how to curse people! Every time those court dogs infuriate me, I always feel like my curses aren’t strong enough!”

Qin Zheng couldn’t help but laugh.

She was about to mention that the author was her own brother when Song Heqing arrived to discuss matters with her.

“Princess Consort, since Young Master Dong has come to surrender and the court has absurdly desecrated Emperor Wu’s tomb, losing the people’s hearts, many former officials of Great Chu are considering coming to pledge allegiance to His Highness. I have received five or six confidential letters, please take a look!”

Seeing this, Lin Zhao quickly said, “Sister Zheng, you’re busy, I’ll go ask myself.”

She was always impulsive in her actions, and as soon as she finished speaking, she ran out of the council chamber.

Qin Zheng couldn’t even say anything before thinking that anyone in the mansion would know that Qin Jian had written the article, so she didn’t pay much attention to the matter.

The confidential letters brought by Song Heqing were indeed the current headache for Qin Zheng.

It was certainly a good thing for people to come and pledge allegiance, but after Cen Daoxi’s earlier remarks, Qin Zheng also realized the problem.

Not everyone who came to pledge allegiance could be trusted.

If the court were to play dirty, sending people to feign allegiance to obtain confidential information or infiltrate their ranks to gain trust, then collaborate with the court to catch them off guard, it would be disastrous.

Regarding how to handle former Great Chu officials like Dong Cheng who came to pledge allegiance, it required careful consideration.

They couldn’t treat them lightly, making them feel guarded against, nor could they allow them access to military secrets.

So, they had to assign them to seemingly important but actually powerless positions.

Qin Zheng finished reading through those confidential letters from defectors.

Since she wasn’t familiar with the past deeds of these officials or their complicated family and social relationships, she instructed Song Heqing, “Kindly have Mr. Song thoroughly investigate the inter-family and social relationships of several major families, from the main branches to the side branches, along with their achievements and character during their previous official duties.”

Song Heqing had already looked into their official achievements and characters, but he hadn’t meticulously examined their family and social connections.

Hearing Qin Zheng’s request, he understood the importance of this information for determining the trustworthiness of those defecting.

Once Song Heqing left, Qin Zheng sent for Cen Daoxi to ask for his opinion on how to place Dong Cheng.

Dong Cheng came with intelligence to defect, but the intelligence turned out to be inaccurate, neither meritorious nor harmful.

According to Song Heqing, Dong Cheng was a talented general. If he could truly serve Chu Chengji, Qin Zheng would naturally be pleased.

However, Cen Daoxi’s messenger had not returned yet, which puzzled Qin Zheng.

Just as she was about to send someone to inquire, the servant she had sent earlier to summon Cen Daoxi returned in a hurry.

“Something’s wrong! Princess Consort, Miss Lin has thrown Mr. Cen into the lotus pond!”

How did these two end up fighting?

Qin Zheng couldn’t stay seated any longer and quickly headed to the lotus pond.

When she arrived, Cen Daoxi had already been pulled out, his elegant Confucian robe soaked through, lying on the ground, spitting out water in a sorry state.

Lin Zhao stood with her arms crossed, wearing a vibrant red dress, her expression extremely cold as she watched Cen Daoxi.

Qin Zheng rarely saw Lin Zhao in such a state. Upon seeing her, she asked, “Zhao, what happened?”

Lin Zhao simply said, “I’ve caused trouble for Sister Zheng. I threw him into the lotus pond. I’ll accept any punishment or scolding, but I won’t apologize to him.”

Qin Zheng found Lin Zhao’s words confusing and didn’t know what had caused the conflict between them.

Seeing other aides also sneaking glances, afraid of spreading any negative rumors about Lin Zhao, she ordered a maid to take Lin Zhao back to the main house and dismissed the other aides with a few words.

Cen Daoxi was helped up by the servant, dripping with water from head to toe, and he bowed to Qin Zheng. “Princess Consort, the fault lies entirely with Cen. Cen will personally apologize to the young lady another day.”

Qin Zheng was well aware of Lin Zhao’s temperament.

She wouldn’t easily resort to physical violence against someone who was defenseless.

She asked Cen Daoxi, “Mr. Cen, what exactly happened between you and Miss Lin?”

Cen Daoxi just shook his head. “It was my misunderstanding of Miss Lin, and my harsh words provoked her anger.”

To make Lin Zhao throw someone into the water, it must have been more than just a few harsh words.

Qin Zheng didn’t know what he had said, but Cen Daoxi had an unpleasant mouth, and from the rumors she had heard from her aides, it was clear that they didn’t speak highly of him.

Frowning, she said, “Miss Lin is the sister of General Lin, raised in the martial world, and she acts unconventionally.

If she has been rude to you, I will apologize to you on her behalf.

However, even if she grew up in the martial world, she is still a young woman. If Mr. Cen’s words were too harsh, he should indeed apologize to her.”

Although she valued Cen Daoxi, her words seemed polite but carried a hint of reproach.

Cen Daoxi smiled bitterly. “Princess Consort is correct.”

As he was only an advisor, soaking wet and standing there being questioned by her wasn’t appropriate.

Given his tight-lipped nature, Qin Zheng had to instruct a servant to take him back to his room to change clothes.

After Cen Daoxi left, Qin Zheng called over the servant who had been on duty by the lotus pond at the time. “Tell me, what exactly happened between Miss Lin and Mr. Cen?”

How did Lin Zhao end up arguing with Cen Daoxi when she had gone to see Qin Jian?

The servant replied, “I don’t know. Miss Lin came over asking which advisor is the most proficient at cursing, and someone mentioned Mr. Cen’s name.

Miss Lin went to the pavilion where Mr. Cen was, and I was far away, so I didn’t hear what they said.

I just saw Miss Lin dragging Mr. Cen and throwing him into the water.”

After a long explanation, none of it was what Qin Zheng wanted to hear.

Qin Zheng, after returning to her courtyard, indirectly asked Lin Zhao about the incident, but Lin Zhao remained tight-lipped.

Unable to press further, Qin Zheng assured her that regardless of what happened, she would handle it.

The reputation of Chen Kingdom for desecrating the mausoleums of the Chu dynasty was abominable.

Once spread, it not only alarmed the common people but also made the old Chu officials who had surrendered to Chen Kingdom feel insecure.

Throughout history, wise rulers have always been benevolent.

However, if the royal family of Chen Kingdom could commit such a ridiculous act as desecrating the tomb of the founding emperor of Chu, who could expect them to be wise and benevolent rulers?

After consolidating their position in Bianjing, Chen Kingdom suppressed the sounds of their army’s past atrocities of pillaging and burning cities.

However, this incident of desecrating the mausoleum once again brought their misdeeds to the attention of the people.

Although the danger in Hu Prefecture had been resolved, Chu Chengji had not returned yet.

Qin Zheng assumed he was busy repairing the mausoleum, so she didn’t rush him.

Instead, she wrote to inquire about how he planned to settle the old Chu officials who had come to seek refuge.

Ultimately, she feared there might be collaborators from Chen Kingdom among them.

Chu Chengji replied to Qin Zheng’s letter, assuring her that he had a solution to the matter and asked her not to worry.

A few days later, Chu Chengji still hadn’t returned to Qing Prefecture. Instead, he diverted his route to Meng Prefecture.

The prefect of Meng Prefecture had been imprisoned by Chu Chengji for a long time.

After releasing him, Chu Chengji promoted him and claimed that he had made contributions by providing grain.

He also instructed the prefect to bring gold, silver, and treasures to persuade the first group of officials who had surrendered to Chen Kingdom to return and serve the Chu dynasty.

The prefect had suffered greatly in prison, and now that he was out, he knew that if he didn’t handle these matters well, his life might be in danger.

He had to seize this opportunity given by Chu Chengji to secure his future.

When the prefect approached these officials, some feared that the former Crown Prince of Chu would seek revenge, while others were afraid of Li Xin’s brutality and wanted to find an escape route for themselves.

However, before they could give a definite answer, Li Xin, who had caught wind of their activities, ordered them to be executed.

Li Xin preferred to maintain control over these territories rather than let them surrender to Chu Chengji.

Killing these officials not only maintained his authority but also made the Chu officials in the court even more apprehensive, outwardly loyal to Chen Kingdom but secretly having doubts.

At the same time, Qin Zheng finally received the first shipment of gold and silver items sent back by Chu Chengji.

As she examined the unique markings used for burial offerings, Qin Zheng fell into deep thought.