Chapter 12: Yuan Chonghuan (Part 1)

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  After spending nearly a night in the cold prison cell, the people who were previously suspected and brought in were taken out one by one for questioning. Most of them did not return after being questioned. It was soon Zhu Yinglong's turn, but they were not taken out for questioning. Instead, they were released directly, leaving Zhu Yinglong confused and unable to understand the reason. Lu Haitian grabbed a prison guard and curiously asked: "Brother soldier, why did you bring us in without rhyme or reason, and then release us without any reason?"

  The prison guard glared at Lu Haotian and said, "You little brat, why so much nonsense? If I let you out, will you still be chattering on? Do you want to stay in this cell forever?"

  Lu Haitian lost interest and walked out of the cell with his head down, following everyone else.

  Although he was finally able to see the light of day, Zhu Yinglong's mood did not improve. He had originally wanted to take this opportunity to secretly meet with Yuan Chonghuan, but now that everyone's attention had been avoided, it would be difficult to go see him again without arousing suspicion. What could be done about this?

  After finding an inn, everyone settled down first. Zhu Yinglong summoned Xiong Tingbi to his room and asked: "General Xiong, I have something that I don't quite understand. The soldiers guarding the city gate thought we were spies, so why did they release us without any trial?"

  Xiong Tingbi seemed to have anticipated Zhu Yinglong's question and explained: "There are more than 20 of us, it is impossible for all of us to be spies. Even if there are spies among us who get caught, they can't be found out. If you want to know whether there are any spies among us, the only way is to let us go."

  Zhu Yinglong suddenly opened his mouth and said: "So that's how it is, I knew we should have left Lu Haotian and the others outside the city from the start. You and I can enter the city alone."

  "If things go as expected, this inn must be swarming with spies." said Xiong Tingxi.

  Zhu Yinglong nodded slightly and smiled: "It's just a pity that General Yuan is wise, but the person who executed this task is an idiot. He actually let us go directly without any interrogation. If I were a spy, wouldn't I see through such a trick of deliberately letting us off?"

  Xiong Tingbi was shocked and exclaimed: "The king is indeed a natural talent, I just made a slight move, and the king can turn one into three."

  "Don't flatter me too much, I still don't know what you're thinking." Zhu Yinglong said irritably.

  "General, you're mistaken, actually..." Xiong Tingyi hastily bowed his head to explain, but was cut off by Zhu Yinglong who said: "I know you have good intentions, let's just drop the matter. But now, how can we meet with General Yuan without drawing attention from others?"

  "Let's get down to business!" The two exchanged a smile, an old and young pair of foxes.

  "Waiter!" Zhu Yinglong and Xiong Tingyi walked into a wine house called "De Xin Lou", Xiong Tingyi shouted in his loud voice.

  The wine shop had been torn down and was in a state of disrepair, barely able to open its doors for business. Just as things were at their most desolate, two customers suddenly appeared, startling the dozing shop boy awake. He gazed blankly around the room, discovering that there were now two more people inside, and hastily put on a smile to greet them: "Two gentlemen, what can I get for you?"

  "Just heat up a wok and stir-fry some small dishes, that's all," ordered Xiong Tingbi.

  The shopkeeper quickly ran down and first poured a pot of not-so-good tea for the two men. Before long, he brought up a pot of wine and four small dishes, saying: "Please enjoy your meal, gentlemen."

  "I know, you don't need to serve here, go down." Xiong Tingyi waved his hand and let the person retreat.

  Everything went smoothly afterwards, Zhu and Xiong inadvertently let the cat out of the bag, and were overheard by a shopkeeper hiding on the side. The Ningyuan War had just ended, and there was a large-scale search for spies in the city, so the citizens were still vigilant. As a result, Zhu Yinglong and Xiong Tingbi were surrounded by a group of soldiers less than 100 steps after leaving the hotel, shackled and taken back to prison once again.

  In less than half a moment, the two were taken together for trial. The officials of Liaodong had all served under Xiong Tingbi before, although Xiong Tingbi's appearance had changed greatly and he had been away from Liaodong for four or five years, and they all knew that he had already been executed. However, to be on the safe side, they deliberately disguised themselves when they came, and even created a scar on their forehead, from the eyebrow to the brow, which made them look like a wicked person at first glance, making people feel cold in their hearts, a typical bad guy.

  The trial of the traitors could not be held in public like that of ordinary criminals, so Zhu Yinglong and Xiong Tingbi were brought to a quiet room in the prison where they met Ning Qian Dao's Surveillance Commissioner, Yuan Chonghuan.

  As recorded in history, Yuan Chonghuan was indeed ordinary in appearance, and at first glance, he looked like a rustic villager. No wonder there were imperial historians who petitioned that his appearance was not good-looking and obstructed the view. Zhu Yinglong was also greatly surprised when he saw him for the first time.

  "Kneel down!" The bodyguard Xie Shangzheng behind Yuan Chonghuan shouted loudly at the two people who came in.

  Xiong Tingbi let out a cold snort and ignored him, while Zhu Yinglong closed his eyes and remained silent.

  "A bold thief, why didn't you kneel when you saw our General?" Xie Shangzheng angrily asked.

  "We are not spies, why should we kneel?" Xiong Tingyi said coldly.

  "How dare you..." Xie Shangzheng angrily stepped forward, but was stopped by Yuan Chonghuan who had been quietly sitting aside: "Shangzheng, you go out first!"

  "Marshal, you...?" Xie Shangzheng asked in great confusion.

  Yuan Chonghuan stared tightly at Xiong Tingbi, without making any explanation. Xie Shangzheng saw that the commander had not changed his mind, so he could only retreat.

  "You said you were merchants going to Guanwai to purchase fur coats?" Yuan Chonghuan stared at Xiong Tingyi and Zhu Yinglong, asking.

  "Not bad." Xiong Tingyi's voice was shaking slightly. Now that there were only the three of them in the room, he didn't need to control his emotions.

  "What is the relationship between you and this young man behind you?" Yuan Chonghuan asked, pointing to Zhu Yinglong beside him.

  He hesitated for a moment and said, "He is one of my nephews."

  "Recalling a meeting with a smile, personally receiving instruction on military strategy at night; talented in both literature and martial arts without any leftover sons, achieving great success is immediately followed by accusations of crime."

  ……

  Sighs and bows, dogs are cooked again, foxes mourn the death of rabbits with deep feelings; Family poverty is exhausted, it's hard to redeem one's life, "Bribery is a public way" kills the famous! The red shadow dragon hummed until the end, suddenly opened his eyes and stared at Yuan Chonghuan.

  Yuan Chonghuan was shocked and asked: "How did you come to know these two poems?"

  Xiong Tingbi was also shocked and frightened. The people mentioned in these two poems are extremely similar to his own situation with Yuan Chonghuan, how could he not be surprised!

  Yuan Chonghuan was shocked to find that these two poems were written by Xiong Tingbi after he was beheaded and his head was sent to the nine borders. He had secretly mourned and cried out in sorrow, writing "Two Poems of Mourning for Xiong Jinglue" under the light of the moon, without even telling his mother or wife. How did this young man find out? It's no wonder he's shocked - if these poems were to be known by the imperial court, his whole family would be in grave danger. Although he himself is not afraid, it would be unforgivable to implicate his mother and wife.

  Having guarded the border for many years, Yuan Chonghuan had long since developed a calm demeanor in the face of events. His expression changed only briefly before returning to normal as he said: "The two poems recited by this young man seem to be a passionate person lamenting the unjust killing of his close friend?"

  Zhu Yinglong smiled slightly and asked: "General Yuan, don't you want to know who wrote these two poems?"

  Xiong Tingxu's eyes were already moist at this time, and he couldn't help but wonder who wrote these two poems. He didn't understand how Zhu Yinglong knew about the poems, but his emotions got the better of him, and the question only flashed through his mind before being temporarily forgotten.