Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot
Chapter 212 - 196: Reunion of the 12 Guards

Chapter 212: Chapter 196: Reunion of the 12 Guards

"This life is unbearable!"

Ji Li felt like he was going to be driven mad by a snake and a tiger. To think, he was once the esteemed Commander Guard, basking in so much glory. Now, with the Marshal gone, his status was at the bottom rung.

Thinking back, life was better when the Marshal was alive.

He shook his folding fan and sighed introspectively, "Ah, the Twelve Guards have disbanded. It’s so lonely now."

Meng Qianqian finally responded, "Then pull yourself together and reunite the Twelve Guards!"

"Easier said than done." Ji Li sighed pessimistically. "Let’s not even mention that Shen Hou is already dead. Of the remaining eleven, there’s a traitor lurking among us. Finding them alone is hard enough; how are you supposed to regroup them? Don’t say I didn’t warn you—on the surface, the Twelve Guards seemed harmonious, but that was only because the Grand Marshal was holding it all together. With the Grand Marshal gone, nobody listens to each other anymore."

Si Snake didn’t offer a retort, but inwardly, he felt the same way.

From the moment Chu Grand Marshal passed away, the Twelve Guards ceased to exist.

Meng Qianqian knew that this endeavor would be even harder than when she first subdued the Twelve Guards. Yet no matter how difficult it was, she would never give up.

"How will you know if you don’t try?"

Ji Li tapped his palm with his fan, "Fine, you try. Just don’t drag me into it."

Meng Qianqian replied, "That won’t do."

Ji Li flared up, "Hey, do I owe you something?"

With justified confidence, Meng Qianqian nodded, "Yep."

Ji Li: "...!!"

Ji Li took a deep breath, then turned to Si Snake, "Si Snake, you’ve got a grudge against Li Haiya. Now that his heir is standing right here, don’t you want to settle the score?"

Meng Qianqian blinked, "So you’re admitting that I am Yin Hu?"

Ji Li choked, "I..."

Dammit!

How did I manage to fall into this trap too?!

"Let bygones be bygones; bullying a kid isn’t anything worth bragging about."

Si Snake said this, his calm blue eyes steady as they fixed on Meng Qianqian. "Nonetheless, Little Yin Hu, your mentor and I once faced off in a contest that ended in a draw. Someday, I may come to you to conclude that unfinished battle."

Meng Qianqian readily replied, "Fine, I promise—if you challenge me, I won’t refuse!"

Ji Li stared at her incredulously, "Hey, are you crazy? Even your mentor Yin Hu couldn’t beat him! Do you know why it ended without a winner? It wasn’t because it was evenly matched—it was because something urgent interrupted them right after the fight started. If they had exchanged just a few more moves, your mentor would’ve lost!"

Si Snake thought it over, realizing that forcing this might be an unfair advantage on his end. His gaze deepened as he added, "You can choose to decline."

Meng Qianqian smiled brightly, "I’ll give it my all."

"You’re doomed. Completely doomed."

Ji Li slumped back into his chair, casually fanned himself, and muttered thoughtfully, "Well, maybe it’s for the best. Once the little lass is out of the picture, nobody will threaten my position as Commander Guard anymore."

Meng Qianqian saw through his scheming intentions and shook her head. Turning to Si Snake, she asked, "Earlier, when we brought up the traitor, you said ’as expected.’ What did you mean by that?"

Si Snake fell into thought, "I’ve suspected for some time that someone deliberately diverted the Twelve Guards’ attention the night of the Chu Family tragedy, leaving the manor unguarded. The culprit then set the Chu Family ablaze, likely to cover up the true cause of the Grand Marshal and his wife’s deaths."

To be one of the Twelve Guards, of course, they were no ordinary people.

Meng Qianqian silently marveled, but refrained from revealing that she had read through the case files. Until the traitor was exposed, she resolved to trust no one.

"Where were you that night?"

She asked.

Si Snake replied, "Hunting down the Beiliang Shadow Guard who were lurking in the city."

Meng Qianqian continued, "And who gave that order?"

Si Snake answered, "The Grand Marshal. Chen Long passed the command on to me."

Meng Qianqian sharply inhaled.

No wonder, earlier when she had casually suggested "Maybe Chen Long is the traitor," Si Snake hadn’t refuted her. He had been quietly suspecting Chen Long all along.

Meng Qianqian turned to Ji Li.

Ji Li’s eyes widened, "Don’t look at me—I was out in Beiliang with Yin Hu gathering intel at the time. I wasn’t anywhere near Yumen Pass, okay?"

Meng Qianqian withdrew her gaze and asked Si Snake, "You’re looking for Chen Long to confront him about what happened back then."

Si Snake nodded, "Correct. I want to know who passed that ’order’ to him—or if he was the one who made the call."

Meng Qianqian added, "Then it seems the one who issued the order is undoubtedly the traitor."

They were one step closer to the truth.

After leaving Ji Li’s home, Meng Qianqian visited Grandma Feng.

She brought a jar of pickles made by Lady Du.

Grandma Feng loved the pickles and wanted to give Meng Qianqian something in return. Meng Qianqian firmly declined!

Grandma Feng asked curiously, "Don’t you like my gifts?"

Gifting your late husband’s bones—who would like that?

Maintaining her smile, Meng Qianqian replied, "I like them. It’s just that your gifts are always so expensive. If you keep giving them, I’d be too embarrassed to visit again."

Grandma Feng understood, "Alright then. I won’t give anything pricey—maybe a little trinket instead."

And then Meng Qianqian found herself gifted with a box of finger bones: "..."

She forced a laugh that looked more like a cry, "These aren’t your late husband’s, are they?"

"What are you thinking?" Grandma Feng replied, "The finger bones are fake—they were carved out of beast bones by Big Hatchet."

Meng Qianqian let out a long sigh of relief.

Grandma Feng continued, "But the box itself was made from my late husband’s bones."

Meng Qianqian: "...!!"

Grandma Feng added, "Little Nine, in a few days it’ll be my late husband’s death anniversary. I’ve built a cenotaph for him outside the city. Would you mind burning some paper money for me?"

Meng Qianqian agreed, "Of course, Grandma Feng."

She noted down the burial site of Grandma Feng’s husband, returned to the Governor Mansion, fetched two horses, bought paper money along the way, and set out from the city with Tan’er.

"Thirty miles outside the South City Gate? Why bury him so far away?"

Tan’er asked, perplexed.

Meng Qianqian replied, "Maybe the feng shui there is good."

"Feng shui." Tan’er didn’t understand the concept, but decided not to dwell on it. "Fine, then."

Meng Qianqian turned to Tan’er, "Let me see if your riding skills have improved."

Tan’er had only recently learned to ride. Before, she was too small, and Meng Qianqian had always worried she’d fall.

"Watch me!"

Tan’er gripped the reins tightly, raised the horse’s front hooves, and galloped off like the wind.

Meng Qianqian chuckled, urging her own horse to catch up.

After traveling for some distance, the two stopped.

Tan’er looked around blankly and pointed at the thorn-covered shrubs, "Sister, where’s Grandpa’s grave? Did we take a wrong turn? There’s no path ahead!"

Meng Qianqian recalled, "After leaving the South City Gate, head south to the first way station, cross the road to the opposite hill, and follow the path uphill—you’ll reach the Purple Bamboo Forest. That’s the route, isn’t it?"

Tan’er held up her fingers, "Could there be two separate paths?"

Meng Qianqian said, "Let’s go back to the way station and check."

The two descended the hill.

Tan’er glanced toward the way station and gasped indignantly, "Sister, look—they’re armed!"

Meng Qianqian focused her gaze and saw Shangguan Ling leading the Jinyi Guard at the way station, exchanging their horses. Not only that, they had even doffed their distinctive flying fish robes.

Tan’er whispered, "Sister."

Meng Qianqian considered it for a moment, "Unusual circumstances signal trouble. Let’s follow them and investigate."

Shangguan Ling’s group disguised themselves as a common merchant caravan, moving south swiftly until the hour of You. They finally arrived at another way station.

Shangguan Ling dismounted and stood respectfully at the entrance, as if he were waiting for someone.

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