FID – Chapter 659

Chapter 659: The Incident Begins

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Grandma Liu urged Fu Yuzheng to return to her room to rest, while she led her son and daughter-in-law to the guest house to get things ready and select their rooms.

There was no sign of Liu Zhixia in the house.

In the interval when Liu Yusheng was helping Fu Yuzheng back to her room, she asked about it and found out that after Duan Ting went missing, various prefectures in Nanling had been affected.

The local authorities, under the emperor’s orders, were searching for him everywhere.

During the time Duan Ting was recovering at their courtyard, her elder brother had been so busy with this matter that he couldn’t even come home on time.

“This morning, I don’t know what orders your elder brother received again, but he rushed off to the yamen in a hurry,” Fu Yuzheng said lightly. “It was a secret message delivered by a pigeon, and I suspect it came from His Highness. When your elder brother got the message, his face changed. I don’t know what happened, but something must have occurred

Fu Yuzheng walked cautiously, supporting her belly. Every few steps, she had to stop and rest to relieve the pressure on her abdomen and the pain caused by the stretching of her pelvic bones.

“The delegation from Beicang has faced one incident after another, and there hasn’t been a moment of peace. Now, Prince Ting is still nowhere to be found, and so much time has passed. I’m afraid…”

Fu Yuzheng didn’t continue, her lips pressing into a thin line.

If something really happened to Prince Ting in Nanling, the peace talks between the two countries would be completely invalidated. Any further conflict would be a major disaster.

Seeing her worried expression, Liu Yusheng raised her hand and dismissed the maidservants who were following them. Then she leaned closer to Fu Yuzheng’s ear and whispered a few words.

“Really?” Fu Yuzheng’s eyes widened, a glimmer of joy flashing in her gaze.

“Of course it’s true. Do you think I would lie to you about something like this just to make you happy?” Liu Yusheng teased her with a smile.

Fu Yuzheng immediately patted her chest, her entire demeanor relaxing. “That’s good. As long as he can return safely, the situation between the two countries, which was on the brink of explosion, will be alleviated. The war at the border won’t happen, and the people can be peaceful again.”

“Wow, you’ve only been with my brother for a short time, and now you’re already starting to worry about the country and the people with him?” Liu Yusheng teased.

She got a gentle pinch in return. 

“Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog. Your older brother is the prefectural magistrate, and what he worries about, I naturally worry about as well. His Highness also works hard for the nation, and don’t you also support him behind the scenes? The pot is calling the kettle black.”

Liu Yusheng coughed lightly and didn’t dare to retort.

Her sister-in-law had a sharp tongue.

After helping her back to her room to rest, Liu Yusheng returned to her own room in the manor. She took a short nap for half an hour and, as she left the hall, she ran into her older brother, Liu Zhixia, who had just returned.

“Big Brother, your face looks terrible. What happened?” As soon as she saw him, Liu Yusheng frowned.

Her older brother was someone who could control his emotions well, especially in front of family. He almost never showed negative emotions.

But now, he was clearly frowning, and it wasn’t until he saw her that he reluctantly smoothed out the wrinkles on his forehead.

“You came over today with the elders, but I wasn’t able to greet you. I was worried that Grandma would blame me,” Liu Zhixia said.

“That excuse might work on Grandma, but it won’t work on me. There’s no one else around. Can’t you tell me the truth?” Liu Yusheng asked.

Liu Zhixia rubbed his brows, walking side by side with the young woman, slowly heading toward the living room, no longer hiding anything from her.

If Feng Qingbei were here, he certainly wouldn’t have hidden anything from her if she asked.

“The Beicang delegation ran into trouble again. We received a secret report this morning that a general of Beicang was attacked in a border city. He was just one city gate away from crossing the border.”

“…” Liu Yusheng’s breath caught, and her heart sank.

What her older brother meant was that someone had attempted to assassinate the general of Beicang at the border checkpoint.

Since it hadn’t crossed the city gate, that meant the attackers were still within the borders of Nanling.

Just as Duan Ting had just left, a Beicang general was assassinated. One thing after another, it felt like someone was controlling the pace behind the scenes.

It was as if they were not allowing Nanling to have peace!

“Did the general… die?”

“He’s dead, dismembered.” Liu Zhixia’s face remained grim, unable to shake off the somber expression. “The general of Beicang had been stationed at the border for over a decade. He fought countless battles against us. To the people of Beicang, he was a war hero, almost a symbol of faith. Now that he’s dead in Nanling, Beicang will never let this go.”

One general’s success comes at the cost of countless lives.

It was clear how rare military talent was.

With the sudden loss of a border general, even if Prince Ting safely returned, this matter would never end peacefully.

What will Feng Qingbai do in response?

Could it be that war was truly on the horizon?

If war breaks out, it will bring destruction and suffering to the people, causing widespread chaos in Nanling.

Who, exactly, was behind the assassination of the Beicang general?

What was their true intention in repeatedly stirring conflict at the border?

Liu Yusheng felt a dull pain in her head.

Then, suddenly, the war letter surfaced in her mind!

Her entire body went cold.

Those people were constantly stirring up trouble—was it really just for fun?

No, it couldn’t be that simple.

Behind this, there must be a great conspiracy!

“Brother, did you receive a secret letter? What does it say about how to handle this?”

“Not yet, but I suspect that the two countries will definitely meet again at the negotiation table,” Liu Zhixia said. “Beicang will be furious, but war is not something that can just happen at will. We still have the veteran general Qin Xiao here, and their side doesn’t have many talents who can compare to him.”

“Feng Qingbai might need to go to Beicang and personally negotiate with their royal family, right?” Although it was a question, Liu Yusheng was almost certain.

They could only wait.Apart from him, no one else had the qualifications to sit at the same table with the Beicang royals and negotiate.

Liu Zhixia didn’t answer her; it was too difficult to say.

What decision Feng Qingbai would make was still unknown.

They could only wait.

They had already reached the living room. Inside, Grandpa Liu and Grandma Liu, along with other elders, were sitting, sipping tea, chatting and laughing, discussing what name to give the baby after it was born.

The two of them immediately straightened their expressions, suppressing the gloom, and put on smiles as they stepped into the hall.

“Grandpa, Grandma, have you thought of any nice names?” Liu Yusheng asked with a smile.

“We can’t think of any. When it’s time to use them, we regret not knowing enough. All of us are illiterate, and we can’t even think of a name with a good meaning. We should let Zhixia choose the name himself, or should we perhaps go to the temple and ask for a name?” Grandma Liu said.

In the past, their child’s name was chosen by the temple abbot, who used divination to pick the characters. Since then, their children had always been lucky and blessed, and it was believed that she had received the Buddha’s protection.

“Grandpa, grandma, father, mother, there’s no need to make it so complicated. We can decide on the name later. I discussed it with Yuzheng, and once the child is born, we’ll just give them a nickname. Isn’t that what we country folk usually do?”

“That’s fine! We old folks are good at picking nicknames; we could come up with several right away!”

The elders immediately smiled and laughed.

They didn’t notice the subtle weight of the situation on the children’s shoulders.

Liu Zhixia and Liu Yushseng exchanged a glance, and joined in with the elders, casually chatting about lighter topics.

Meanwhile, in the capital, the atmosphere in the palace was tense and oppressive.