“On October 15th, Prince Liang will marry the Nandu Commandery Princess. The commanders under Prince Xian of Nandu have already quietly entered the capital, precisely to instigate fighting between the Empress, Prince Xin, and the Crown Prince. They want to catch everyone off guard against Prince Liang, who has a reputation for weakness. Prince Liang intends to use this opportunity to force his way to the throne through a palace coup…”
What Bai Qingyan spoke of was clearly treason, yet her expression and tone were extremely calm, so calm that if these words hadn’t come from Princess Zhenguo herself, Fu Ruoxi would have thought it was merely a joke.
“Currently, whether the Crown Prince leaves the city or I leave the city to meet with the twenty thousand soldiers of Anping Great Camp… both targets would be too conspicuous and easily guarded against by Prince Liang. What needs to be done now… is to make Prince Liang jump out himself, then capture him in one fell swoop!” Bai Qingyan looked at the utterly shocked Fu Ruoxi. “As long as you can lead the twenty thousand soldiers of Anping Great Camp to quell Prince Liang’s rebellion, you’ll be a meritorious official. Not only the Fu family… even you can be spared from death. Does General Fu understand?”
“Prince Liang?! How could Prince Liang possibly…” Fu Ruoxi couldn’t believe it. How could Prince Liang, that prince who was bullied by everyone, weak and incompetent, who only knew how to cry, dare harbor treasonous intentions?!
“No matter how incompetent Prince Liang is, he’s still a prince. From offering elixirs to the Emperor… to using children’s lives to refine pills, having the contributing alchemist named National Master, then the Emperor building the Nine-Tiered Platform and falling unconscious after the horse accident—which of these events can be separated from Prince Liang? General Fu must never again view Prince Liang with old eyes. Now… behind Prince Liang stands Prince Xian, who holds military power!”
Bai Qingyan watched Fu Ruoxi, who was stunned by this news and couldn’t recover for a long while. She sat down on a small stool nearby and, after a moment of silence, asked Fu Ruoxi: “There’s only one chance like this. If you’re willing to do it, then do it…”
Fu Ruoxi clenched his fists tightly: “If Princess Zhenguo entrusts the twenty thousand troops of Anping Great Camp to me, aren’t you afraid… that I might still assist the Empress?”
Upon hearing this, Lu Ping pressed his fingers against his sword hilt, his cold gleam dark and threatening.
If Fu Ruoxi couldn’t be used by the First Miss, Lu Ping wouldn’t leave Fu Ruoxi to cause trouble for the First Miss.
Hearing this, Bai Qingyan’s eyes took on a faint layer of amusement. She rested her elbow on the table, tapping her fingers: “Since I dare let you handle this matter, I naturally have… ways to clean up when you can’t control the situation! Though this is a risky move… Bai Qingyan never does anything without leaving herself an escape route.”
“I’m willing to trust General Fu, and I’m willing to give you a chance for survival for the sake of Grand Dowager Fu. But if you lead troops and betray us, think about the other Anping Great Camp generals detained in the Grand Court of Judicial Review prison. While Anping Great Camp follows your lead, it’s also because these generals follow your lead! These generals’ families are all within the capital. Do you think… they would be like General Fu, willing to abandon their own families’ lives for the Empress?”
Bai Qingyan spoke lightly: “If these generals step forward, claiming Fu Ruoxi is rebelling, and order the soldiers of Anping Great Camp to immediately apprehend you, tell me… would the soldiers of Anping Great Camp trust you, this traitor who drew his blade against the Crown Prince and was brought back to the capital, or would they trust the other generals of Anping Great Camp?”
Fu Ruoxi looked steadily at Bai Qingyan, who had once fought alongside him through blood and battles, his eyes filled with admiration.
“I once said that if anyone could rally support in Anping Great Camp with a single call, that person would be none other than you, Fu Ruoxi. But that was entirely under circumstances where no one could constrain you! Now… the Anping Great Camp generals detained in the Grand Court of Judicial Review prison are precisely the people who can constrain you most! Not to mention your entire Fu family!”
“This matter has ten thousand aspects, and there’s not just one way to resolve it. But for you, only this method… can give you and the Fu family a way to survive. It’s your best choice. For me… besides this method, there are other solutions, just slightly more troublesome, but not unusable!”
“Capture the ringleader—arrest Prince Liang, the Empress, and Prince Xin, then what can you do? For another example, right now, Zhong Shaozhong has already begun contacting his former Imperial Guard subordinates. I can ask the Crown Prince and Imperial Teacher Old Tan to immediately order… the arrest of all generals Zhong Shaozhong has met with, and send our people to take over. With the Imperial Guards… as long as we guard the capital’s city gates and kill the Empress and Prince Xin, what can you do? It’s more troublesome… but do you think this rebellion can’t be quelled?”
Bai Qingyan’s eyes, deep as dark pools, revealed their sharp edge: “So Fu Ruoxi, I’m giving you an opportunity, not asking for your help.”
Fu Ruoxi knelt on one knee before Bai Qingyan: “Princess Zhenguo’s strategic foresight runs so deep that Fu Ruoxi is filled with admiration! Fu Ruoxi won’t act for any other reason… even if only for my wife and son, to whom I owe so much, I absolutely won’t do anything foolish. This time, Fu Ruoxi was confused. Princess Zhenguo has extended aid multiple times, saving Fu Ruoxi’s worthless life and my entire Fu family. From today forward, Fu Ruoxi will obey Princess Zhenguo’s commands. Should Princess Zhenguo give any order that Fu Ruoxi disobeys… may my mother’s soul find no peace after death! May the entire Fu family die terrible deaths!”
Hearing Fu Ruoxi’s words, Lu Ping finally released his fingers from the sword hilt.
A few hours ago, the words Bai Qingyan had spoken to Fu Ruoxi in the prison—Fu Ruoxi had listened to them all.
The Empress no longer had any affection for him, only exploitation. Just as Princess Zhenguo had said… If the Empress needed support, why didn’t she seek her brother? Zhong Shaozhong held the position of Deputy Commander in the Imperial Guards and was right here in the capital!
Controlling the Imperial Guards meant controlling the Imperial City. She didn’t use such convenience, but instead had to use him, who was far away at Anping Great Camp!
The Empress wanted to destroy his entire Fu family, but Princess Zhenguo had saved the entire Fu family. Whom should he listen to… if Fu Ruoxi still couldn’t see this clearly, then his mother, Grand Dowager Fu, would have died in vain.
Fu Ruoxi’s eyes were red-rimmed. The guilt he had felt toward the Empress in his heart, after today’s attempt on his life by the Empress’s people, had completely disappeared and been replaced by hatred!
He hated the Empress, and he hated himself even more!
If he hadn’t been stupid, blindly trusting the Empress, and being indecisive… how could his mother have died in such a tragic way?
He still remembered his mother once saying she wanted to wait for all the children to marry and see her great-grandchildren born… While Fu Ruoxi was far away at Anping Great Camp, she would teach his grandchildren for him, not asking for them to achieve great things, only hoping to help those little saplings grow into upright people.
Upright…
This was what Grand Dowager Fu had constantly impressed upon Fu Ruoxi when he was young.
But after growing up, Fu Ruoxi hadn’t done well!
He had failed his mother, failed his wife Lady Luo, and even more so failed his two sons and the entire Fu family.
Bai Qingyan nodded and bent down to help Fu Ruoxi up: “Please rise, General Fu. Then… the twenty thousand soldiers of Anping Great Camp outside the city will be entrusted to General Fu. I’ll have Lu Ping escort you out of the city under the pretext of Princess Zhenguo’s mansion sending a safety report to Shouyang. How to explain things to the soldiers… General Fu can decide for himself.”
“Princess Zhenguo can rest assured,” Fu Ruoxi nodded.