You expect me to serve your mistress? The mistress is driving this scumbag and his entire family cra

Chapter 157 Ordered to Arrest Tong Shouliang

Not long after, Imperial Guards entered and announced: "Your Majesty, General Tong is not at the General's Mansion! No one in the manor knows where he has gone."

Everyone was quite surprised.

Could it be that he fled to avoid punishment?

Liang Jiang said with certainty, "Before I entered the city, I was just chased by the men he sent, so General Tong must still be in Shangjing."

The emperor scoffed, "What about in the military camp? Have you sent men to arrest him?"

The Imperial Guard shook his head: "No."

"Then hurry up and go! Deploy more men and relay my orders: anyone who dares to resist arrest or harbor criminals will be executed without mercy!"

"As ordered!"

Liang Jiang stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and volunteered, saying, "Your Majesty, I request permission to go with you to arrest Tong Shouliang and confront him before the palace."

The Emperor did not hesitate: "I can grant permission, but Princess Heya has just returned to the capital from Xiliang. She has had a long and arduous journey. How could I bear to let her put herself in danger again?"

"As long as Tong Shouliang can be captured and my father's innocence restored, I will not hesitate to die for him, and I am not afraid of any danger."

The emperor readily granted his request: "Then I will assign you five hundred guards to command. As long as he is apprehended and brought to justice, once the facts are verified, I will punish him severely without exception, upholding justice for you and giving the country a just reputation!"

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace."

After speaking, he stood up, took three steps back, then turned around and walked out of the main hall with a spirited air. Under the astonished yet admiring gazes of the civil and military officials outside the hall, he held his head high and walked down the steps with firm steps.

A gentle breeze lifted her hair, and sunlight shone on her proud, upright, and unyielding spine. Everyone squinted as they watched her leave.

Outside the palace gates, Xie Fubai, upon receiving the emperor's decree, immediately personally counted five hundred guards, awaiting Liang Jiang's command.

Upon seeing Liang Jiang, Xie Fubai immediately stepped forward. Seeing her face, which was roughened by the wind and sand, he was overwhelmed with mixed feelings and felt a little ashamed.

"My cousin just came by. They're all safe and sound, and they even captured a few assassins and are interrogating them. He asked me to tell you to rest assured and just go ahead and do what you're supposed to do."

"Liang Jiang, you're truly remarkable! I'm so proud of you, my sworn brother, and I feel ashamed of myself in comparison! I, a grown man, am utterly inadequate in terms of courage and insight compared to you, my sworn sister."

Liang Jiang grinned: "Brother, why belittle yourself? I am only doing this because of the circumstances and the help of a benefactor."

Xie Fubai raised his hand: "These five hundred guards will follow your command, my sworn sister. I wish you a great victory and hope you can capture Tong Shouliang and bring him to justice as soon as possible, so that you can avenge your previous humiliation!"

Liang Jiang nodded: "Thank you, sworn brother."

Xie Fubai lowered his voice again: "Fang Chengxu just learned that you filed a complaint against Tong Shouliang in front of the palace. He left the guards in a hurry. I wonder if he went to inform them. Should I send someone to keep an eye on him for the time being?"

Liang Jiang shook her head: "Thank you for your kindness, sworn brother, but Fang Chengxu should not know about this matter. Everything still depends on the Emperor's decision."

"Alright!" Xie Fubai said in a deep voice, "If there is anything I can do for my sworn brother, please don't hesitate to ask.

Liang Jiang mounted her horse and said, "Brother, just wait patiently for my good news."

With a majestic wave of his hand, he declared, "Let's go!"

The guards immediately mounted their horses and followed Liang Jiang out of the city, heading straight for the military camp.

Along the way, the people who saw the commotion quickly made way for it and stood on both sides of the road, wondering what had happened.

Who is this imposing female general on horseback? Liang Jiang, without glancing to the side, led her guards to the military camp in a grand procession, only to be immediately blocked by soldiers.

"Who goes there? This is a military camp, no unauthorized entry is permitted!"

Liang Jiang rode forward and said, "Princess Heya of the Liang State Duke's Mansion, on the Emperor's orders, has come to arrest General Tong Shouliang and bring him to the palace!"

The soldier was taken aback: "Arrest General Tong?"

"Indeed, where is Tong Shouliang now? Tell him to come quickly and return to the capital with us."

The soldiers remained skeptical: "General Tong is not in the camp."

"Not here?" Liang Jiang refused to believe it easily: "Then please invite General Zhao Wei to come."

Without her saying so, the sight of five hundred guards, such a large formation, alerted the people in the military camp from afar with the sound of horses' hooves.

Not only Zhao Wei came out to see what was going on, but also Tong Zhao'er.

Zhao Wei stepped forward and bowed to Liang Jiang: "Princess, General Tong is indeed not in the military camp today. He has not come for two days."

Liang Jiang asked suspiciously, "He's neither at home nor in the military camp. Could it be that he really fled to avoid punishment?"

These words immediately angered Tong Zhao'er, who stepped forward, pointed at Liang Jiang, and angrily questioned, "What do you mean by that? What do you mean by fleeing from justice? What crime did my father commit? How arrogant and domineering you are!"

Liang Jiang remained mounted on her horse, looking down at her: "Want to know what crime Tong Shouliang committed?"

"Pah! How dare you call my father by his name?"

Liang Jiang scoffed dismissively: "Name? Tong Zhao'er, your father wasn't originally named Tong Shouliang. He changed the name to Shouliang himself to show his loyalty to my father. I find it ironic to say those two words."

Tong Zhao'er said disdainfully, "The Duke of Liang betrayed his country for personal gain; he's not even worthy to carry my father's shoes."

Liang Jiang sneered, raising her head high, and said, word by word, "Tong Shouliang colluded with Huyan Chao of Xiliang to frame my father for treason and refused to send troops, causing thousands of my Chang'an vanguard brothers to perish in the Great Rift Valley. Now the evidence is conclusive. Tong Zhao'er, how dare you still clamor about this?"

Tong Zhao'er was taken aback, then burst into a tirade: "Stop talking nonsense and trying to sway the morale of the army! Who would believe you?"

"I have just returned from Xiliang and brought Huyan Chao of Xiliang to justice. He confessed to his collusion with your father. The King of Xiliang also wrote a secret letter to the Emperor to prove this. You may not believe it, but others will."

These words immediately caused an uproar among the soldiers in the camp.

The discussions grew louder and louder, filled with unbelievable excitement.

Zhao Wei and other former subordinates of the Duke of Liang were so excited that they repeatedly asked Liang Jiang, "Is this true?"

Liang Jiang nodded firmly: "The letter that framed my father for treason was indeed written by Hu Yanchao at the behest of Tong Shouliang. Zhou Xie had already betrayed us long ago."

Tong Shouliang traded my father's and the vanguard's lives for the 10,000 elite troops led by the Western Liang Chanyu Ye. Both men got what they wanted, and both distinguished themselves in that battle, rising rapidly through the ranks.

Tong Zhao'er was immediately struck dumb: "Impossible, absolutely impossible! You're spreading rumors and trying to undermine morale! When my father arrives, he'll teach you a lesson!"

Liang Jiang waved the imperial edict in her hand at Tong Zhao'er: "The imperial edict for the arrest of Tong Shouliang is right here. I really hope he can stand here and confront me face to face!"

"It must be you who colluded with Xiliang to frame my father! You fabricated all of this. The daughter of the old traitor is also a little traitor."

Liang Jiang sneered and mercilessly exposed, "Tong Zhao'er, even now, don't you still understand why Tong Shouliang sent Fang Chengxu to the Western Liang border when you were pregnant?"

(End of this chapter)