Rumor Has It That I’m Pregnant with His Highness’ Child

241 Inescapable Net

Xiao Juan looked at Lu Yaoguang not far away and said in a low voice.

“Let’s talk.”

Lu Yaoguang was flustered and looked at him warily. “What do you want to talk about? Let me make it clear to you first. Tang Pei’s death has nothing to do with me. I didn’t kill him.”

Xiao Juan asked, “Do you mean that Tang Pei was killed?”

Lu Yaoguang shut his mouth and stopped talking.

Xiao Juan asked, “The person who killed him was Du Tao, right? What’s your relationship with Du Tao? Are you accomplices?”

Lu Yaoguang remained silent.

Xiao Juan said, “You don’t think Du Tao will come back to save you, do you? He doesn’t trust you at all. Otherwise, he would have told you where the exit of the secret passage is. He has been guarding against you.”

Lu Yaoguang gritted his teeth. “You don’t have to sow discord. I’m not familiar with Du Tao, to begin with.”

Xiao Juan asked, “Then why did you help him keep the secret?”

Lu Yaoguang refused to admit it. “I have nothing to do with Du Tao! I don’t know anything about him!”

Xiao Juan knew what he was worried about. He was just afraid that he would be implicated after betraying Du Tao.

“I’m giving you a chance to confess now. As long as you tell me everything honestly, I’ll think of a way to plead for you later.”

Lu Yaoguang did not believe it. “You can’t even protect yourself now. What right do you have to promise me?”

Xiao Juan said slowly, “Since I dared to follow you to Xiangtai, I naturally had a backup plan. If I don’t go back in three days, someone will send a message about the situation here to the Imperial Capital. Soon the emperor would send troops to take over Liaodong County. You and your family won’t get away with it.”

Lu Yaoguang’s expression changed.

At this point, he had already been abandoned by Du Tao. Du Tao would not take the risk to come back and save him. Once what happened in Liaodong County was leaked, the head of the Lu family would be blamed.

After weighing the pros and cons, Lu Yaoguang finally made a choice.

“I can tell you everything I know, but I have a condition.”

Xiao Juan gestured for him to speak.

Lu Yaoguang said, “No matter what happens to me in the end, I don’t want my family to be implicated.”

Xiao Juan promised, “I’ll try my best to save the lives of your family.”

Although Duke Lang had a fierce reputation, he had always been true to his words. Lu Yaoguang took a deep breath and spoke slowly.

“Du Tao joined the Eastern Expedition Army four years ago. He was very skilled and smart and was already very familiar with the entire army despite having just joined. Even Tang Pei had a good impression of him and had mentioned him to me. He said that he was a promising talent and had a bright future. Who would have thought that this person was actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing?”

“After Du Tao became familiar with the generals in the army, he understood every general’s personality and weakness. Then, he schemed to lure those generals into a trap and force them to collude with him. By the time Tang Pei realized that something was wrong, it was too late. All the trusted generals around him were controlled by Du Tao. This was equivalent to taking over Tang Pei.”

“Three years ago, Tang Guixi suddenly disappeared. Tang Pei told the public that she had gone out to play. I knew in my heart that Tang Pei had probably asked Tang Guixi to send a letter to ask the Imperial Court for help. However, Tang Guixi did not return. I guessed that she had most likely encountered an accident.”

“After that, Du Tao and Tang Pei fell out. At that time, the Chen Nation sent troops to harass the commoners at the border of Liaodong County. Tang Pei led the troops to resist to chase the Chen Nation’s troops out of Liaodong County.”

“It was on that battlefield that Tang Pei was injured and fell sick. It was clear that Du Tao is definitely involved in Tang Pei’s injury.”

Prince Min could not help but say, “Tang Pei knew that there was something wrong with Du Tao, so why did he personally lead the army at that time? Swords have no eyes on the battlefield. Isn’t he afraid of being stabbed from behind?”

Lu Yaoguang sighed.

“This is Tang Pei. Even if he knows that there’s a tiger’s den ahead, he won’t take a step back because of this. It was also because of his principle of not giving in that he could guard the border of the Dayan Dynasty and protect the safety of the people of Liaodong County.”

“For so many years, they didn’t give the Chen Nation a chance.”

Prince Min did not know whether to scold Tang Pei for being stupid or admire his fearless spirit.

Lu Yaoguang continued.

“Tang Pei was sick in bed and his movements were restricted. Hence, Du Tao rightfully took over the Eastern Expedition Army. He took the opportunity to kick out all the people who were loyal to Tang Pei and replace them with his own. Soon, the entire Eastern Expedition Army fell into Du Tao’s hands.”

“Du Tao took the initiative to look for me. He said that the military funds of the Eastern Expedition Army were tight and asked me to think of a way to get money. ”

“If I didn’t agree, he would expose me for colluding with the local powerhouses and annexing the land of the commoners. I was forced to follow his instructions and increased the taxes in Liaodong County. Then, I gave the extra tax to Du Tao.”

“Du Tao used that money to bribe military generals again. He was also the one who raised military prostitutes to buy peoples’ hearts. On the one hand, he grasped the leverage, but on the other hand, he satisfied the desire of the generals. With grace and power, he has those people firmly in his palm.”

At this point, Lu Yaoguang let out a long sigh.

“You’re too late. Now that the Eastern Expedition Army has been completely taken over by Du Tao, his status in the army is unparalleled. Unless Tang Pei can survive, no one can shake his status.”

Prince Min was desperate. This meant that even if they could escape the secret passage, they could not escape Xiangtai.

The Eastern Expedition Army had 100,000 troops. It was easy to kill them.

Xiao Juan said, “That’s not necessarily true.”

Facing Prince Min’s puzzled gaze, Xiao Juan explained calmly.

“There are a hundred thousand troops in the Eastern Expedition Army. Du Tao can’t control everyone firmly. He can only control the generals at the top. If he wants to mobilize the troops, he needs two more things—the Commander’s Seal and the Emperor’s Order.”

He looked at Lu Yaoguang and asked, “If I’m right, Du Tao didn’t get either of those things.”

Lu Yaoguang smiled bitterly. As expected of Duke Lang, he immediately grasped the crux of the matter.

“Yes, Du Tao has been looking for the Commander’s Seal and Emperor’s Order, but he can’t find them. Tang Pei did not have it on him. It was also not found at the military camp or Tang Pei’s house. It was also because of these two things that Du Tao did not dare to let Tang Pei die.”

“For the past three years, he had been keeping Tang Pei alive with medicine, wanting to interrogate him about the whereabouts of the Commander’s Seal and Emperor’s Order

“Tang Pei refused to say and the two sides were in a stalemate. Until recently, when Du Tao learned that you were coming. He knew that there was no way he could cover up, so he might as well kill Tang Pei. He set up an inescapable net, planning to kill you all.”

Prince Min was angry and afraid. “If Duke Lang and I are here, he won’t be able to escape death once the emperor investigates!”

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