Chapter 1198
The Unfavored Princess 20
When the news came back, Yuan Cheng and Dou Yuexin initially didn't believe it, thinking that Liang Kingdom had used a divisive tactic.
They had already achieved a great victory and even captured Jiang Lijun. The Chu state was in a low mood at the time, and this news would be an even greater blow to the Chu soldiers who were fighting.
However, this matter is of great importance. It's one thing to disbelieve, but another to investigate thoroughly.
This matter was not difficult to investigate, and they didn't even need to assign anyone specifically. News of the latest battle developments quickly arrived: the general leading the Liang army was none other than Li Gufang, who had once served under Jiang Lijun.
Now, even if Jiang Lijun only fell for Li Gufang's scheme, the defeat of the Chu Kingdom must be attributed to him.
Yuan Cheng immediately ordered that everyone in the Guangde Marquis's residence be imprisoned.
The capital was abuzz with discussion about this. Many people didn't really know the inside story, but there was one thing they did know: if Jiang Lijun hadn't failed to discover the spy in his life, the Chu Kingdom would never have suffered such a crushing defeat, losing several cities in just a few days.
They didn't even know how many secrets Li Gufang had gathered in Chu over the years, or how Chu was going to fight the upcoming battles. Could they even win?
If Jiang Lijun hadn't been so foolish, how could the State of Chu be in its current predicament?
Jiang Lijun, once a war god, is now a sinner. The entire capital is cursing him, and many court officials have submitted memorials demanding severe punishment.
Emperor Yuan Cheng was naturally furious about this matter. He felt anger and disappointment towards Jiang Lijun. Even though he had somewhat disliked seeing Jiang Lijun because of his sister's situation, he couldn't deny that Jiang Lijun was capable. He had his own schemes, but he was still useful.
He was especially happy when the good news came recently.
Who would have thought that it was this Jiang Lijun who had brought the State of Chu to such a state?
Even if the leaking tactic was not Jiang Lijun's original intention, he is still a sinner, and his crimes are heinous.
With the memorials from the officials, the support of the people, and the need for Chu to boost morale, the decision regarding the Guangde Marquis's residence was quickly made.
Lady Hou never expected that the Guangde Marquis's mansion would fall into such a state in such a short time.
Having just suffered the blows of her husband's execution and her son's capture, she now couldn't even protect the Guangde Marquis's mansion. If it weren't for the fact that the Marquis was innocent and had made contributions in the past, even more people would probably be implicated. Even so, the Guangde Marquis's mansion was finished, and those connected to it were pretty much finished as well.
Actually, she had heard some rumors about her son some time ago, and she felt something was wrong. She had a very bad feeling.
So when Zhu Xin secretly came to her that night, saying she wanted to take the child away, she didn't stop her, and even gave her some money.
She couldn't do anything else.
As the wife of the Marquis of Guangde, she was doomed no matter what.
In the prison, Lady Guangde suddenly said to her maid, "Do you think things would have turned out differently if she hadn't divorced the princess?"
“Madam, this matter is far too serious. Not to mention the princess’s husband, even those two above, if they were involved in similar matters, would incite public outrage. Fortunately, our Marquis has merits and died in battle, so everyone knows he is innocent; otherwise, who knows how many people would have died.”
Lady Guangde remained silent. She had only mentioned it casually, but she knew the truth in her heart. Even if the princess's husband was involved in this matter, he couldn't possibly escape unscathed. If they were unwilling to sever ties with the princess, the royal family would simply abandon the husband.
Lady Guangde silently shed tears, her eyes red, not understanding how things had come to this.
"If I had known, I should have tried my best to stop this back then. I should never have let Jun'er become obsessed with that Li Gufang." Lady Guangde was full of regret. It was all her fault for not daring to stop it back then because she was afraid of falling out with her son.
If she had known what would happen today, she would have turned against her son to lock him in the room and do everything in her power to kill Li Gufang. Then none of this would have happened, and perhaps the Marquis wouldn't have died in battle because Li Gufang knew Chu's tactics. The maid dared not say more; in this world, there are no such things as knowing beforehand.
In fact, some things are destined.
The young master's infatuation with men is something she doesn't know if it's right or wrong. After all, the high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital have all sorts of tastes, and as a maid in the Marquis's mansion, she has seen a lot. It's just that those men don't seem to be that devoted.
But she knew the prince's purpose in marrying the princess, and as a woman, she felt it was wrong.
Of course, she wouldn't say these things, and saying them now would be even less useful.
"Do you think the princess will come to see us?" Lady Hou suddenly asked.
The maid shook her head: "This servant does not know."
She knew that the princess had never cared about anyone in the Marquis's mansion, and probably wouldn't come.
At this critical juncture, it's even more inappropriate to come. Who would want to get involved with the current Marquis's mansion? Even if everyone knows that the leak of tactics is only related to Jiang Lijun, no one would want to get involved or give others any leverage against them.
The matter of the Marquis of Guangde's residence has come to a temporary end, but many troubles await the State of Chu.
Even with a new commander dispatched, the situation remained dire, and Yuan Cheng was so worried his hair was practically turning white. Even though he knew that the Liang Kingdom couldn't possibly attack the capital so easily, he was still deeply concerned.
However, continuing this war would be a drain on resources and manpower, and Chu simply couldn't sustain it. If it went on for too long, serious problems would inevitably arise. Besides Liang, Chu also had several smaller states surrounding it. If things went wrong, Chu could be caught in a pincer movement.
At this time, many court officials also wanted to negotiate peace.
They believed that the situation in Liang Kingdom could not support their continued fighting.
Chu has its concerns, and Liang probably does too. If the two countries continue fighting, neither will benefit in the end.
These past few days, the imperial court has been embroiled in heated debate over whether to fight or seek peace.
Ultimately, because the State of Chu was indeed suffering continuous losses, the court decided to negotiate peace.
The envoy was quickly dispatched, and news soon came back to the people of Chu. To their relief, the war had temporarily ceased.
Next came the negotiations and peace talks between the two sides.
The so-called discussion was merely a wait-and-see approach, waiting to see what demands the Liang Kingdom would make, since it was the Chu Kingdom that was constantly suffering losses. Even the few cities that had been captured by the Liang Kingdom were impossible for them to reclaim at this point, and they didn't know when they would be able to.
In fact, in order to make peace, they even had to agree to the other side's conditions.
Because of recent events, Azhen has been visiting the palace more frequently.
"Did Mother not sleep well again?" she asked.
Dou Yuexin sighed, "Given the current situation between the two countries, how can I sleep? I don't even know what harsh conditions Liang will propose. The thought of possibly ceding cities makes it impossible to sleep." (End of Chapter)