Chapter 143: It Is Time to Bring Out the Emperor for a Spin

"Then why did Deputy General Han say earlier that as long as this General awoke, he was willing to lead his men and pledge allegiance to this General's command?

"Since the Capital Garrison troops are all this General's soldiers, where did his own men come from, and what allegiance is there to speak of?

"Could it be that, behind this General's back, Deputy General Han has been forming cliques for personal gain and gathering a massive military force because he intends to rebel?"

Deputy General Han's face turned ashen, and he felt like weeping without tears. Just a moment ago, he was accused of disrupting military morale.

Now, two more serious charges had been piled onto him.

This was practically a death sentence!

Every single man seated here, without exception, had formed private factions and hoarded military power behind the back of this fellow surnamed Chu.

The difference between saying it out loud and keeping it hidden, however, was monumental.

How could he possibly have known that the fellow surnamed Chu was still alive?

Had he known the man wasn't dead, he wouldn't have dared to utter such words even if he had been given a hundred times his courage.

Besides, he wasn't the only one who had said those things; other old codgers had made the exact same remarks.

Why did the fellow surnamed Chu have to single him out? Couldn't he spread his wrath evenly among them all?

"What else does Deputy General Han have to say for himself!" Shen Zhao asked, glaring at the deputy general who had collapsed onto the ground, her tone stern and fierce.

What else was there for him to say? It was abundantly clear that the fellow surnamed Chu was using him as a stepping stone to execute an example; no matter how much he said, it would be in vain.

He only blamed his own loose tongue for lacking tact and always wanting to stand out. Now he had really managed to stand out—straight into a grave!

"It is all this subordinate's fault for worrying excessively and speaking foolishly without thinking. Whether the General wishes to beat or punish this subordinate, I will submit entirely. I only hope the General will soothe your anger and prioritize your health above all else." Uttering these words nearly made him vomit with fury.

Why on earth wouldn't this fellow surnamed Chu just drop dead?

He had even consulted the almanac before going out these past two days, so why did he keep falling flat on his face at the hands of this Chu fellow every single time?

It was truly deeply humiliating.

Both Deputy General Han and the other deputy generals assumed that the fellow surnamed Chu was merely manufacturing pretexts to discipline them, harboring zero concern that he could actually absorb and reorganize them.

The fellow surnamed Chu simply didn't possess the capability to swallow the massive, lucrative meat pie that was the Capital Garrison in one gulp.

Shen Zhao's gaze shifted subtly. These men clearly held her in absolute contempt.

It was time to invoke the Emperor's name and put it to use.

"Not a single one of you sitting in your current positions is foolish. Whether those words were mere nonsense, you all know better than anyone else. Since this General has some leisure time recently, I can enter the palace at any moment to seek instruction from His Majesty.

"I wonder if someone whose tongue trips over itself the moment they feel nervous and excited is still fit to hold the position of deputy general in the military."

The hearts of the deputy generals skipped a beat.

This Chu fellow was issuing a blatant, naked threat!

They glared fiercely at Deputy General Han, shooting daggers at him with their eyes. You're the smart one, aren't you? You're the one who just had to flap your gums! Now that you've handed the Chu fellow a handle against us, none of us will have a moment of peace.

Deputy General Han felt wronged, and he wanted to cry.

Why were they all turning around to blame him?

It was clearly the fellow surnamed Chu playing dirty, and they knew better than anyone else that the man was merely venting his unspent rage onto him.

He wouldn't stand for it!

Since they showed no righteousness toward him, they shouldn't blame him for showing no loyalty!

He refused to take the blame from both ends!

"We are guilty, and we beg the General to punish us accordingly!" Letting him die alone was out of the question; if he had to die, he would drag them all down with him. No one was going to escape alone.

The deputy generals felt a swelling rage in their chests and a throbbing at their temples. This fellow Han was determined to drag them all down into the mud with him!

What a fine fellow Han was. If they didn't know he was the Crown Prince's man,

they would have suspected him of being a spy planted among them by Chu Mu,

ready to betray them at any moment and plot their utter ruin.

"This subordinate and the others are guilty. We should not have committed such a lapse in a moment of panic. We beg the General to spare us."

Grinding their teeth in intense hatred, the deputy generals now harbored even greater animosity toward Deputy General Han than toward Shen Zhao.

Shen Zhao let out a cold chuckle. "Are you gentlemen still hoping to muddle through? Do you honestly think that once this General punishes you, this matter will simply be considered over and done with?

"Hah, perhaps this General should enter the palace and recount your words to the Emperor, letting His Majesty judge whether you are in the wrong and how you should be punished."

Upon hearing this, the deputy generals hurriedly spoke in unison, "This subordinate and the others would never dare! We beg the General to graciously instruct us on how we might be pardoned." Damn that Chu Mu, and damn that Han Wenzai.

If the things they had said, coupled with their current attitudes, reached the Emperor's ears, would any of them still be able to preserve their lives?

"It is not difficult. As long as you gentlemen act in accordance with the very words you uttered, this General is willing to turn a blind eye and let bygones be bygones." She knew very well that one couldn't become a giant in a single bite; attempting to subdue them all at once was sheer wishful thinking.

Many of them felt an immense wave of relief, glad they hadn't tried to show off earlier, hadn't uttered any inappropriate remarks, and had merely followed along with the empty howling.

A few others wore dark expressions, especially those who had spoken the exact same words as Deputy General Han. They wished they could slap their own mouths a few times.

Why couldn't they keep their loose tongues in check? Why did they have to let any random words spill out?

Look at the catastrophe they had brought upon themselves now!

If they truly acted in accordance with what they had said, they wouldn't even need to live anymore; if they didn't die today, their own masters would have them killed tomorrow.

Either way it meant death—whether sooner or later—so they chose... later.

"This subordinate and the others will obey!" They would just have to weather the immediate crisis first; as for their master, they could always spin an excuse later.

They would claim... they would claim that they had been plotted against by the Crown Prince's faction and the fellow surnamed Chu.

After all, it was Deputy General Han who had dragged them into this mess, so saying they had been manipulated by him was entirely accurate!

They were merely deputy generals, powerless against the Crown Prince and General Chu; being caught up in their schemes was entirely excusable, and their master would surely understand their plight.

"Dismiss yourselves. Deputy General Han, stay behind."

Hearing this, a gloomy look flashed in the eyes of the deputy generals, and they cast suspicious glances toward Deputy General Han.

Could this old codger have truly betrayed his master and defected to the fellow surnamed Chu?

Was all of this just an act played out between this old codger and the Chu fellow, specifically designed to trick them?

They needed to dispatch someone immediately to transmit this news to their master so he could be on guard. What if the Crown Prince and the Chu fellow had secretly joined forces? That was entirely within the realm of possibility.

A chill ran down Deputy General Han's spine. The fellow surnamed Chu was truly trying to drive him to his death.

Why did he have to single him out and make him stay?

Wasn't this setting him up to become the target of public criticism?

Wasn't this causing everyone to suspect his loyalty to the Crown Prince?

Dammit! It seemed they wouldn't be satisfied until they hounded him into his grave.

Once the deputy generals had withdrawn, the only person remaining in the tent besides Deputy General Han was Shen Zhao's entourage.

The pressure weighing on Deputy General Han was immense.

Why did he feel as though these people wanted to tear him apart alive? Their gazes were like those of wolves and tigers, making him extremely uncomfortable.

"Do you know why I had you stay behind?" Amidst the silence, Shen Zhao spoke.

"I do not know. Please enlighten me, General." (You're just harboring malicious intent and trying to kill me.)

"How truly dim-witted you are. Naturally, it is to use you as a target for arrows."

The old imperial physician at the side could no longer hold his tongue. Why was this deputy general so dense? Even he, an outsider, could see the situation with absolute clarity, yet this man possessed not an ounce of situational awareness.

When those deputy generals were leaving, the looks they shot him suggested they wanted to carve him up alive, clearly transferring all their anger toward the Chu lad directly onto this fellow.

The Chu lad's maneuver was akin to the Universe-Shifting Move; he had shifted the burden brilliantly. Who knows, those people might even start suspecting the Crown Prince now.

That would be for the best, as it would reduce the Chu lad's troubles and give him more opportunities to spend time with him. The Chu lad's inexplicable loss of pulse and sudden coma, followed by his equally inexplicable recovery and returning pulse,

was a bizarre phenomenon that fascinated him deeply. Before he died, he was determined to figure out what was truly going on.

Deputy General Han desperately wanted to tell the old man to shut his trap. He might be a little slow-witted, but he wasn't brainless—of course he knew he was being used as a target.

The corners of Shen Zhao's lips curled into an eerie arc, sending a fresh wave of dread through Deputy General Han's heart. Here it comes again!