Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot
Chapter 85 - 84: The Ruthless Grand Commander

Chapter 85: Chapter 84: The Ruthless Grand Commander

Lu Lingxiao opened his mouth and finally called out to her: "Meng... Qianqian."

Meng Qianqian stopped in her tracks.

Ban Xia and Tan’er turned to look at him.

Tan’er put her hands on her hips: "Why does it always come back to N?"

Ban Xia, who now deeply resented Lu Lingxiao, thought of how her mistress suffered countless grievances in the Lu Family—an indignity she could never forget for the rest of her life!

Lu Lingxiao felt deeply conflicted.

She severed ties with him publicly. He had been angry, embarrassed, furious, and resentful. Later, meeting her at the border, he felt anxious, worried that she’d disgrace him in front of others, but she didn’t.

She completely pretended not to know him, sparing him from being branded as a heartless man.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of disappointment. Why exactly, he didn’t know.

"You came at the perfect time."

Meng Qianqian spoke.

Lu Lingxiao stared at her with slight astonishment: "You... came to find me?"

Meng Qianqian thought for a moment and nodded: "You could say so. After all, your grandmother is avoiding me, so I have no choice but to find you to repay your debt."

Lu Lingxiao’s expression stiffened.

Meng Qianqian pulled out an account book: "My dowry—what was spent on Haitang Courtyard and your grandmother’s chambers isn’t counted—but your Lu Family still owes me sixteen thousand taels. Write a new IOU."

Lu Lingxiao clenched his fists tightly: "You really..."

Meng Qianqian smiled faintly: "When we were still husband and wife, we only discussed silver. Surely you don’t think that now that we’ve broken ties, I’d suddenly share sentimental musings with you?"

Lu Lingxiao’s face flushed red.

Meng Qianqian: "Tan’er, paper and pen."

"At your command!"

Tan’er quickly fetched paper and pen from the carriage, afraid that any delay would give the scoundrel an excuse to deny his debt.

Lu Lingxiao clenched his teeth and wrote out the IOU.

She acted one way in front of her great-grandmother and mother, another way before him, and yet another on the battlefield!

But one thing remained unchanged—she was as infuriating as ever!

Meng Qianqian tucked away the IOU: "Let’s go."

Tan’er puffed up her chest: "Let’s go!"

The group boarded the carriage and left in a cloud of dust.

The Governor Mansion.

Bao Shu woke up and found herself—once again—back at the Governor Mansion, sitting alone in a corner, sulking at the wall in frustration.

Lu Yuan leisurely sipped tea, a table piled with memorials and correspondence before him.

Shangguan Ling entered the room and cupped his hands in salute: "Grand Commander!"

Lu Yuan glanced at him: "Injured?"

Shangguan Ling, pale-faced, nodded: "I was ambushed by a few petty assassins, but unfortunately none were captured alive."

Lu Yuan curled his lips into a smile: "These past days, the Capital City has been lively, hasn’t it?"

Shangguan Ling said, "Indeed, quite lively. Many fence-sitters have emerged, and we’ve lost quite a few of our people. Several valuable properties under our name have been seized, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel convicted and imprisoned, a Chief Clerk of the Imperial Guard dismissed, and even the Wenyuan Pavilion Academician and Imperial College Director were impeached by students... Our power has been halved at least."

"I expected we might face some suppression after Your Excellency left, but I didn’t expect it to be so severe."

At first, they didn’t dare act so recklessly. But when Lu Yuan remained unaccounted for over a month, rumors spread that he had suffered a defeat at the border, prompting many to seize the chance to pile on.

Those originally opposed to Lu Yuan used the occasion to crack down, which was unsurprising. But disappointingly, some betrayers came from his own camp.

Accepting benefits from Lu Yuan while secretly conspiring against him—this was the ultimate betrayal.

Shangguan Ling pulled a list from his coat and placed it cautiously on Lu Yuan’s desk: "The names of those who betrayed are all here. I’ve uncovered evidence against them. After this lesson, I believe they’ll think twice before ever betraying the Grand Commander again!"

Lu Yuan spoke casually: "Once unfaithful, never again trustworthy. Handle it cleanly."

Shangguan Ling froze momentarily, his gaze sweeping across the extensive list. He cupped his hands and said, "Understood!"

The spring chill lingered, the moon hung ominously in a sky filled with killing intent.

Shangguan Ling, dressed in a Flying Fish Robe and gripping the Brocade Spring Saber, gazed intently at the field where rows of Jinyi Guards exuded a murderous aura.

He flung a string of wooden plaques onto the table: "Take your plaques!"

Each plaque carried the name of a betrayer.

The Jinyi Guards, disciplined and efficient, collected their plaques in perfect order.

The last plaque was reserved for Shangguan Ling.

Shangguan Ling looked at the name on the plaque, expressionless, then tucked it away and faced the blood-spattered night: "Move out!"

North of the city.

The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was sleeping soundly with his concubine.

Suddenly, his window was pried open with a blade, and a tall figure swept in, carrying an overwhelming killing intent.

The Right Vice Minister felt a chill crawl up his spine, waking him in sheer terror from his dream.

He opened his eyes to find a figure standing by his bed and exclaimed, "Who are you?"

The Jinyi Guard drew his Brocade Spring Saber: "By order of the Grand Commander, execute the traitor!"

"Help—me... ah..."

The Right Vice Minister’s eyes rolled back as he fell into a pool of blood.

...

As dawn broke, the last Jinyi Guard completed his mission and returned to the Governor Mansion to report to Shangguan Ling.

Shangguan Ling took the plaque from his hand and patted him on the shoulder: "Good work."

Shangguan Ling turned around, fingering his own plaque: "Unfortunately, you shouldn’t have betrayed the Grand Commander."

The Jinyi Guard froze.

Shangguan Ling stabbed him clean through the heart!

The faint light of dawn crept in, day began to break.

The young Emperor, having stayed up late the previous night, arrived at court later than usual.

Stepping into the Jinluan Palace, he immediately sensed an unusual atmosphere.

Upon closer inspection, a few people seemed to be missing.

He asked the eunuch beside him, "Lord Luo, Lord Zhu, and Lord Li are never late. Why are they absent today?"

The eunuchs did not dare reply.

The young Emperor fixed his imposing gaze upon the officials: "My dear ministers, what has occurred?"

The courtiers exchanged uneasy glances.

Finally, Chief of Staff Xing hesitated, stepping forward with his tablet in hand: "Your Majesty, several murders occurred in the Capital last night. Lord Luo of the Ministry of Personnel, Lord Zhu of the Ministry of Justice, and Lord Li of the Cabinet were all assassinated."

The Capital Prefecture Magistrate also stepped forward with his tablet: "And several imperial merchants were inexplicably killed as well!"

Chief of Staff Xing added, "Judging by the wounds, they appear to be from blades."

General Zhou chimed in: "Blades, invisible blades that kill... Jinyi Guards!"

Chief of Staff Xing countered cautiously: "General Zhou, there is no evidence yet, please refrain from making unfounded accusations."

General Zhou replied firmly: "These individuals were once subordinates of Lu Yuan. Later, they defected, providing substantial evidence against him. Lu Yuan returned to the Capital the day before yesterday but neither entered the palace to greet Your Majesty nor attended court to face the officials. Where has he been? I need not say more—it must have been Lu Yuan who ordered the Jinyi Guards! It was Lu Yuan!"

"Who would think of me so early in the morning?"

A voice, half-smiling yet laden with immense pressure, cut through the hall as Lu Yuan strode into Jinluan Palace wearing a purple robe, his poise suave and self-assured.

The civil and military officials felt a tightness in their scalp and instinctively bowed: "Greetings to the Grand Commander!"

The young Emperor rose in surprise from his dragon throne.

Lu Yuan smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I have returned."