Rebirth: Marry a General instead of a Prince

On the other side of the Bai Mansion, Bai Zhiyuan sat quietly in the courtyard, tapping the table with his fingers, as if waiting for someone.

Suddenly, he heard a commotion outside the door. Bai Zhiyuan's heart moved and he thought, "Finally, they are here."

Then he stood up and strode towards the gate of the mansion.

The man who came was none other than Wu Shou, the guard of the Yulin Army and the Minister of the Imperial Household.

Wu Shou looked solemn as he bowed to Princess Duanhui and Bai Zhiyuan: "Greetings to Princess Duanhui and Princess Rong'an."

"I am here to search the Bai Mansion on the orders of His Majesty. I am afraid I have disturbed your peace, please forgive me."

Princess Duanhui knew nothing and was shocked when she heard this: "Sir Wu, what happened? Why did the emperor search the mansion?"

Seeing this, Wu Shou looked up at Bai Zhiyuan, who looked calm, and he had a little more respect for the Rong'an County Lady. Then he said seriously, "I don't know. I am just following the emperor's order to search the Bai and Jiang mansions."

Bai Zhiyuan was calm when he heard this, without any panic on his face, and smiled lightly, "In that case, please go ahead, sir.

Upon seeing this, Wu Shou waved his hand, and a group of Yulin guards quickly dispersed in all directions and disappeared into the various courtyards of Bai Mansion.

Bai Zhiyuan still stood there calmly, as if everything had nothing to do with her, which formed a sharp contrast with the anxious Princess Duanhui beside her.

Soon, the Yulin troops who were searching returned empty-handed. Seeing this, Wu Shou could only bow and say, "Princess Duanhui, Princess Rong'an, I cannot disobey the emperor's order. Please forgive me."

Bai Zhiyuan smiled slightly, "Master Wu, you are too polite. Since it is the emperor's order, you can rest assured after searching. You have important matters to attend to, so I will not invite you to have tea in Bai Mansion. If you come to Bai Mansion again in the future, I will ask you to sit down and have a cup of tea."

Upon hearing this, Wu Shou thanked Bai Zhiyuan and quickly left Bai's mansion with the Yulin Army.

Bai Zhiyuan knew that the place they were going to must be Jiang Mansion. After all, that was where they had what they wanted.

Wu Shou led the Yulin Army to the Jiang Mansion at high speed. They knocked on the door, entered the Jiang Mansion, and reported the emperor's order to search, causing chaos in the Jiang Mansion.

Jiang Muyun was flustered, trying to keep calm. She was confused. Her and her father's plan was to search Bai's house, so why did they search Jiang's house now? But she thought about it and felt relieved. Her father had already hidden the letter in Bai's house, so they couldn't escape this time.

But Jiang Muyun's mother Xia Su'e, who had no idea about the situation, looked very unhappy. She grabbed Wu Shou's arm tightly and said, "Master Wu, what happened? Why do you want to search the mansion?"

Wu Shou coldly shook off her hand and said, "I am only following the emperor's orders. I have nothing more to say."

Jiang Muyun hurriedly pulled Xia Su'e and whispered, "Mother, don't worry."

When Xia Su'e heard her daughter say this, she felt relieved.

Not long after, the Yulin Army actually found some letters in Jiang Shuyan's study.

After reading it, Wu Shou's face changed and he immediately recalled the guards and prepared to return to the palace to report.

Jiang Muyun felt more and more uneasy when he saw this. Just as he was about to ask, Wu Shou had already walked out.

On the other side of the palace, everyone was waiting anxiously.

The Emperor Renxiao sat on the high seat with a gloomy look in his eyes, tapping the dragon throne with his fingers. The ministers below did not dare to breathe, knowing that the Emperor was on the verge of a rage, and were afraid of offending the Emperor at this time.

Bai Tingxuan, who was kneeling down, looked calm, and no one could tell what was going on. Jiang Shuyan, on the other hand, looked confident, which made people worry for Bai Tingxuan.

At this moment, there was a sudden noise outside the hall. It was Wu Shou who came back with the Yulin Army.

Jiang Shuyan was delighted, and there was even some impatience in his eyes.

Wu Shou strode in and bowed to Emperor Renxiao first.

Emperor Renxiao raised his eyes and asked deeply, "Did you find anything?"

Wu Shou said respectfully, "I followed your majesty's order to search the Bai Mansion and Jiang Mansion. I did not dare to neglect it and searched the two mansions carefully. However, the Bai Mansion was not as General Huaiyuan said. No letters of treason were found in the search."

Jiang Shuyan had a determined look on his face, but when he heard this, he was incredulous and shouted, "Impossible, you must not have searched carefully, how could it be that there is nothing?"

Wu Shou said coldly: "Your Majesty has personally issued an order, how dare I neglect it."

The emperor on the high throne had a deep look on his face, then he smiled and said, "I was wondering how General Weiyuan could have colluded with the enemy and betrayed his country."

Jiang Shuyan said unwillingly, "Your Majesty, even if we don't find the letter, it doesn't clear General Weiyuan of the suspicion of collaborating with the enemy."

At this time, Wu Shou said loudly: "The Bai Mansion is very clean, but I did find some letters in the Jiang Mansion. I am not sure for the moment, please take a look, Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Gao, who was standing next to Emperor Renxiao, hurried down and presented the letter to the emperor.

Jiang Shuyan looked confused, while Bai Tingxuan remained calm, making it impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.

Emperor Renxiao finished reading the letter quickly, and with a "bang", the teacup fell heavily on Jiang Shuyan.

The tea spilled all over Jiang Shuyan, making him look extremely embarrassed. He felt a chill from head to toe.

Emperor Renxiao frowned and said angrily, "The audacious Jiang Shuyan actually colluded with foreign enemies, committed treason, and even tried to frame General Weiyuan. He deserves to die."

Jiang Shuyan was kneeling, and he was shocked when he heard this, and fell straight down. He couldn't believe his ears. His face was pale, his heart was beating like a drum, and he murmured, "Impossible, impossible... I clearly..."

Then he suddenly woke up and crawled to the feet of Emperor Renxiao: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty is wise. I am loyal to Your Majesty. Someone must have framed me."

After saying that, he stared straight at Bai Tingxuan.

Emperor Renxiao kicked him away with all his strength, and Jiang Shuyan was knocked to the ground, spitting out blood.

Emperor Renxiao said angrily, "Who framed you? You were the first to ask for a search of the palace today. I think you want to pin your crime on General Weiyuan. This is really abominable. Come, throw him into the Heavenly Prison for me to see what happens."

Jiang Shuyan was horrified and trembling with fear, shouting, "It's not me, it's not me..." Then he picked up the letter that the emperor had thrown on the ground, and when he took a look at it, his face turned pale.

The letter was in his handwriting and had his seal on it. It detailed how he pretended to be lost, but in fact he was colluding with the southern barbarians to annihilate the southern troops. However, General Weiyuan managed to turn the tide and win the battle. The letter also mentioned that in order to avoid suspicion, the matter should be pinned on General Weiyuan. Every word pointed to him.

Jiang Shuyan knew that he was finished. But he had clearly put the forged letter into Bai Tingxuan's study yesterday, so how could it turn out like this?

He suddenly raised his head and stared at Bai Tingxuan with hatred, but saw that Bai Tingxuan's eyes were full of mockery. He was shocked to realize that he had already jumped into the trap he had dug.

He suddenly looked at the silent King of Yan, Qi Zeyi. Qi Zeyi saw his expression clearly, called him a fool in his heart, and looked at him coldly. Jiang Shuyan met those cold eyes and couldn't help shuddering. He hoped that King of Yan could speak for him and save him at this moment, but he didn't. King of Yan didn't speak from beginning to end.

He knelt down, looking disheveled, and seemed like a completely different person from the man who had confidently testified against Bai Tingxuan.

A large number of Yulin soldiers pinned him to the ground, but he still struggled and shouted, "Your Majesty, I am innocent, please spare my life--" until his voice disappeared.

The hall suddenly fell silent.

After a long while, Emperor Renxiao smiled and said, "For so many years, Lord Bai has guarded the southern border and defeated the enemy many times. It is a blessing for me to have such a great general. I am sorry that you were frightened by what happened today. I will give you ten thousand taels of gold and exempt you from the morning court these days. Go back and spend time with your family."

Upon hearing this, Bai Tingxuan hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

Emperor Renxiao said sternly: "General Huaiyuan Jiang Shuyan has colluded with the enemy and committed treason. His crime is punishable by death. He will be demoted to a commoner and thrown into the prison. He will be executed today. This man is truly abominable. All his family members will be executed today."

King Qi Zeyi of Yan was shocked. He did not expect the emperor's punishment to be so severe. Jiang Shuyan was indeed a traitor to the country and framed loyal officials. He was a threat to the throne, so the emperor naturally hated him.

At this time, the Third Prince, Prince Qi Zexu, said with a mocking tone, "Father, the Queen Mother has just arranged a marriage for Jiang Shuyan's daughter, Jiang Muyun, with my fifth brother. For my fifth brother's sake, will you spare her life?"

Qi Zeyi raised his head sharply. He didn't believe that the King of Qi was so kind and just wanted to laugh at him. But he couldn't act too cold-blooded in front of the emperor.

Therefore, Qi Zeyi immediately knelt down and said, "Yes, father, Mu Yun is not aware of what her father did. I beg you to spare her life."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Renxiao said impatiently, "In that case, I will spare her the death penalty for your plea for her, but since her father has committed such a serious crime and has been demoted to a commoner, I'm afraid she can't bear the responsibility of being the Prince of Yan's wife. Let her enter the Prince of Yan's mansion as a concubine."

Qi Zeyi had no choice but to kneel down to express his gratitude.

After Emperor Renxiao finished speaking, he walked out of the main hall. Seeing this, all the ministers also stood up and left.