Love Lock

Chapter 288 The Third Letter
"Report! Report! Report—Urgent report from Dongguan!"

Three announcements rang out in succession, and the carved gate of the Golden Palace was suddenly flung open. A guard stumbled and scrambled in, his hat hanging askew on his head, looking like a frightened quail.

The urgent message he held aloft was covered in bright red sealing wax, which shone particularly brightly in the morning light.

All the civil and military officials turned their heads in unison, their movements as synchronized as a trained opera troupe.

"Say!"

Emperor Jing was startled by the commotion.

Emperor Jing tried to remain calm, but his hands, hidden in the wide sleeves of his dragon robe, were already clenched tightly.

The guard swallowed hard. "Your Majesty, our scouts have just reported that the Eastern Ming Empire is mobilizing its troops and will be amassing 300,000 soldiers on the border. The neighing of their warhorses can be heard even at our pass! Their cooking smoke has blackened half the sky!"

"What?! Three hundred thousand?!" Emperor Jing stood up abruptly, the pearl strings on his dragon crown hitting his face with a "crackling" sound. "Are they coming to attack Great Jing?"

"According to the scouts..." the guard's voice trailed off, "The Emperor of Dongming said... said he wants to come here... to eat... to eat..."

"What do you want to eat?" Emperor Jing's beard stood on end.

"Eat...eat roast whole lamb..."

"What?!" The court erupted in chaos.

Dongfang Jiming, the Grand Commander of the Intelligence Division of the Dongming Empire, was able to openly lead a group of spies into Dajing, so there must be spies from other countries within the Dongming Empire as well.

On this continent, the Eastern Ming Empire is the strongest nation. The Great Jing Dynasty is like a mouse before a cat compared to the Eastern Ming Empire.

Once the Eastern Ming Empire decides to attack the Great Jing, the Great Jing will have no hope of victory.

The Eastern Ming Empire was unique in that it possessed a vast territory, a strong and well-equipped military, abundant iron ore, and sophisticated weaponry. No other country on the continent could rival it.

The Eastern Ming Empire referred to people from other countries as "two-legged sheep." When the ruler of the Eastern Ming Empire said he wanted to come to Dajing to eat roasted whole lamb, the meaning was self-evident.

The Minister of Revenue stumbled and collapsed to the ground, his official robes suspiciously soaked with a large patch of water.

The general trembled, his armor rattling loudly.

The Minister of Rites, who was over seventy years old, suddenly became energetic and darted behind a pillar.

"Silence! Silence!"

Emperor Jing slammed his fist on the armrest of the dragon throne, making a deafening noise, but his heart was pounding with anxiety, like he was holding a live, jumping rabbit.

He has only been on the throne for half a year, and he hasn't even warmed his seat yet. How did he get into such a mess?
Emperor Jing pounded his thigh twice with his fist, his face showing both fear and frustration.

What kind of imperial throne did he seize? He clearly just stole a mess.

The King of Cangzhou in the northwest has already become too powerful, and now the Eastern Ming Empire is poised to pounce on us from the east. How can an emperor rule like this?
Outside the main hall, the cold wind howled and the weather was frigid, but it could not chill the hearts of everyone in the court.

With the year-end approaching, the Eastern Ming Empire's mobilization of troops clearly indicates its intention to launch a westward offensive against the Great Jing as soon as spring arrives.

Faced with the Eastern Ming Empire, which was many times stronger than the Great Jing Dynasty, Emperor Jing asked his civil and military officials what good strategies they had.
The Minister of Rites stepped forward tremblingly: "Your Majesty, the territory of the Eastern Ming Empire is five times that of ours, and their soldiers eat meat at every meal, while our soldiers have to save even porridge and pickled vegetables..."

"Their swords can cut through iron like mud," the Vice Minister of Personnel added with a bitter face, "Our weapons are simply no match for them."

Emperor Jing felt dizzy and wished he could smash his head against a block of tofu and die.

"Your Majesty!" A loud voice suddenly rang out. Everyone turned around and saw a minor official of the fifth rank who had somehow squeezed to the front row. His official robes were still covered with crumbs of scallion pancakes he had eaten before the morning court session.

Emperor Jing squinted: "Li...Li..."

“Li Sheng, Your Majesty,” the fifth-rank official said respectfully, “I have an idea. Didn’t you already order the Ministry of War to forge that ‘Aim XVI’? Let’s spread the word that we have a divine weapon…”

“But ours is just a copy! We don’t even know what it will look like when it’s actually made.” Emperor Jing glared at him, desperately tugging at the stubble on his chin.

The fifth-rank official smiled mysteriously: "Your Majesty, what appears real can be made real, and what appears real can be made fake. If we hang clotheslines all over the city walls, wouldn't it look just like the Aimu Sixteen that Deputy General Lu Heming described? And then we'll have the blacksmiths work through the night to make some tin tubes..."

The court was silent.

Immediately, someone agreed with the fifth-rank official's idea: "Brilliant! I know a theatrical troupe whose fireworks can light up the night sky like daytime!"

"Your Majesty, I can organize the soldiers for nighttime drills," the Prefect of the Capital said excitedly. "We have a large number of men, and our battle cries can definitely be heard for ten miles..."

Emperor Jing was greatly displeased.

What terrible ideas did these good-for-nothings come up with?

None of them can solve the actual problem.

"Dongming is mobilizing its troops; 300,000 soldiers are about to be stationed at the border." Emperor Jing's voice was like ice. "My dear ministers, do you have any good strategies to repel the enemy? Speak plainly!"

The Minister of Revenue stepped forward first, his hand trembling slightly on his tablet: "Your Majesty, to repel external threats, we must first pacify the internal strife. Perhaps we should first quell the rebellion in Cangzhou, and then..."

"Absurd!" General of the Cavalry suddenly interrupted, "By the time we pacify Cangzhou, the Dongming cavalry will have already trampled through Dongguan! Your Majesty, I advocate attacking Dongming first."

"Fight?" Emperor Jing frowned. "How should we fight? Who will lead the troops?"

A soft cough came from the corner of the hall. The elderly Minister of Rites said tremblingly, "This old minister believes that we should first send an envoy to Cangzhou to negotiate peace with Zhao Zun..."

"Make peace with Zhao Zun?" Emperor Jing slammed his hand on the table, startling Li Zhongxin, who was standing behind him. "Zhao Zun wants my empire! How can we make peace?"

A spark popped out of the gilded charcoal brazier, its sound particularly jarring in the deathly silent hall.

Emperor Jing looked at Cao Ge, the Minister of War, who had remained silent. Everyone followed Emperor Jing's gaze and turned their heads, with countless eyes falling on the silent Cao Ge.

With the enemy pressing in, he's the one who should be making a statement!

But the Minister in charge of the Ministry of War was staring intently at the dragon pattern on the palace pillars.

He pictured his younger brother, Cao Xiong, guarding the border in the wind and snow. Several months had passed, and there had been no news of Cao Xiong.

"Minister Cao? The Eastern Ming are invading. Do you have any good strategies?" Emperor Jing's voice suddenly rose.

"Hmm?" Cao Ge seemed to snap out of a daze and blurted out, "Your Majesty, I humbly request that you send secret guards to investigate Cao Xiong..."

"You scoundrel!" Emperor Jing roared.

When is it?

Cao Ge was only thinking about his younger brother, Cao Xiong.

Enraged, Emperor Jing took off his jade thumb ring and smashed it hard against Cao Ge.

The jade ring slammed into Cao Ge's forehead with a whooshing sound, immediately drawing a line of blood.

Emperor Jing rose, leaning on the armrest of his dragon throne, his bright yellow figure standing high above: "Among all the civil and military officials, is there not a single one who can share my burdens?"

General Zhang Kai, steeling himself, stepped forward, the clanging of his armor echoing through the hall: "This humble general is willing..."

"You even suffered heavy losses in suppressing bandits!" Emperor Jing interrupted with a cold laugh, frightening the young general into lowering his head and retreating.

The veteran generals in the court have long been replaced by Emperor Qianlong, and the generals standing in the court now are all from the new generation.

Like Cao Xiong before them, they had no outstanding military achievements. Their only merit was their unwavering loyalty to the imperial court, but none of them were capable generals.

At this moment, Cao Ge was struck on the thumb, which brought him back to his senses. He knelt down and kowtowed heavily: "Your Majesty, I recommend former Marshal of the Southern Pass, Shen Daohong, to lead the troops against the enemy!" Shen Daohong!
These three words were like a hot coal falling into a snowdrift, causing an uproar among the assembled officials.

The veteran officials exchanged glances, and one of them muttered under his breath, "Back in the day, Marshal Shen was..."

"Not an inch of Nanguan has been lost in the past twenty years." Cao Ge wiped the blood from his forehead, his voice gradually becoming steady.

"Your Majesty, I second the proposal."

"I second the proposal."

"Your Majesty, Marshal Shen is capable of undertaking this great task."

Emperor Jing's eyes lit up, and he also remembered this person.

Although the South Pass was not as plagued by war as the North Pass, it was still quite peaceful during Shen Daohong's tenure, which shows that Shen Daohong was a good general.

However, Shen Daohong was replaced by Emperor Jing and is now unemployed at home, so he must harbor resentment. It's uncertain whether he's still willing to lead troops into battle to relieve the Great Jing's urgent crisis.
Whether he liked it or not, with the Eastern Ming Empire about to invade, he couldn't care less about anything else. If Shen Daohong could lead troops to assist Dongguan in repelling the enemy, then what did it matter if he reinstated Shen Daohong to his original position?

"Summon Shen Daohong," Emperor Jing finally spoke.

"As ordered!"

Chief eunuch Li Zhongxin accepted the order and walked outside the main hall, shouting: "Summon Shen Daohong to the hall."

The young eunuch waiting outside the palace immediately braved the biting cold wind and hurried to the Shen residence.

The north wind was like a knife, stinging his cheeks, but he dared not linger.

By the time he arrived at the vermilion gate of the Shen residence, his lips had turned purple from the cold.

The old gatekeeper came out of the side room with his hands in his pockets. Upon hearing that it was someone from the palace who had come to deliver an imperial edict, he quickly bowed and apologized.

“This gentleman has come at an inopportune time. My master went out to visit a friend early this morning and his return date is uncertain.”

The young eunuch was taken aback by what he heard. The copper bells on the eaves jingled in the wind, adding to his anxiety.

At this moment, Shen Daohong appeared in front of the Duke of Heng's mansion.

Shen Daohong and the Duke of Heng were longtime friends who often played chess and drank tea together. Therefore, he didn't need to announce his arrival at the Duke of Heng's residence and walked straight in.

Shen Daohong took three steps at a time and passed through the hanging flower gate, the corner of his dark blue robe sweeping across the newly grown moss in front of the steps.

The letter in his arms was warmed by his body heat, and the two characters "Jingzhou" stamped with sealing wax were faintly visible on his clothes.

"Is the Duke at the chess academy?" He stopped a maid carrying a tea tray, his voice extremely low.

After receiving an affirmative answer, Shen Daohong skillfully turned through the winding corridor and heard a woman's tearful voice piercing the silence of the courtyard from afar.

The unfinished game of chess on the stone table in the chess academy was still there, with black and white pieces scattered haphazardly, clearly indicating that the players had left midway through the game.

The Duke of Heng stood with his back to the moon gate, his dark blue brocade robes wrinkled deeply by his wife, Madam Lin.

Lin's hair was disheveled, and her usually meticulously styled peony bun slumped beside her ear. The letter in her hand rustled as her shoulders trembled.

"Master, this time I'm going to Cangzhou to find Tianyou no matter what." Lin's voice suddenly rose, startling two sparrows under the eaves.

"Look at what Tianyou wrote—'If my parents don't allow it, I will follow Sima Xiangru's example and sell wine at a counter!' This is going to drive me crazy!"

She slammed the letter on the stone table, making the teacups rattle loudly.

When the Duke of Heng turned around, Shen Daohong finally saw the dark circles under his old friend's eyes.

He sighed softly, supporting his wife's shoulder: "Foolish! Now that Zhao Zun, the Prince of Cangzhou, is plotting a rebellion, the court will not tolerate it, and Tianyou is with Zhao Zun. If you go..."

"If Tianyou really conspired with Zhao Zun to rebel, then I will die by my son's side!" Madam Lin suddenly grabbed the silver scissors beside the chessboard. "Today, either you give in to your son and send someone to the Zhao family in Cangzhou to propose marriage, or I will cut off my hair and become a nun!"

The scissors flashed coldly, and a few strands of hair fell to the ground.

"Madam!" Duke Heng exclaimed in surprise, and quickly reached out to snatch the scissors from Madam Lin's hand.

"cough!"

Upon seeing this, Shen Daohong, who had just walked in, quickly coughed.

The Duke of Heng rushed over as if seeing a savior, his face contorted with worry as he lowered his voice and said, "Brother Shen, you've come at the right time. Please help me persuade him..."

Before she could finish speaking, Madam Lin rushed to his side, her eyes brimming with tears, and cried out, "Brother Shen, you love Tianyou the most. Do you think he's deliberately trying to kill his mother?"

"What exactly is wrong with you guys?" Shen Daohong asked, puzzled.

Lady Heng handed the letter to Shen Daohong, saying, "This is the third letter from Tianyou, which was just delivered by the courier this morning."

Shen Daohong picked up the letter and quickly glanced at it, then noticed two other letters spread out on the stone table.

The words written above in the same handwriting read: “Your unfilial son begs for your parents’ mercy.”

It turned out that just as Shen Daohong received a letter from his daughter Shen Yanru sent from Jingzhou by carrier pigeon, the Han State government also received Hua Tianyou's third urging letter.

The letter urged the Duke and Duchess of Heng to send someone to Cangzhou to propose marriage as soon as possible. However, the servant who went to Cangzhou last month to bring Hua Tianyou back to the capital returned and said that the young master insisted on not returning to the capital, but wanted to stay by the side of Zhao Zun, the Prince of Cangzhou who was plotting a rebellion, and to do things with Zhao Zun.

Hua Tianyou also said that he wanted to sever ties with the Duke of Heng's mansion and make the Duke and Duchess of Heng act as if they had never had him as their son.

At that time, the imperial court had already determined that Zhao Zun, the Prince of Cangzhou, was plotting a rebellion. When they heard the news brought back by their servants, they were terrified and utterly desperate.

Hua Tianyou had played with Zhao Zun since childhood. Although they knew Zhao Zun's character, even though rumors circulated that Zhao Zun was using his military power to rebel, they believed that Zhao Zun had his reasons.

But the imperial court didn't believe it!

Hua Tianyou went to Cangzhou Beiguan to gain military merit for his future, but now he has gotten involved with the rebels and wants to sever ties with them because of it. How can the couple not have a headache?

Especially Lady Lin, the wife of the Duke of Heng, Hua Tianyou was the apple of her eye. How could she allow Hua Tianyou to sever ties with them? She immediately made a fuss about going to Cangzhou to find her son.

However, at that time, the imperial army was already marching towards Cangzhou, and the Duke of Heng dared not gamble with the lives of his entire family. He could only comfort his wife, Madam Lin, and say that it would be as if he had never given birth to a son named Hua Tianyou.

The couple dared not go to their son, nor did they dare to make a sound. They could only secretly miss their son and grieve in their own home.

Unexpectedly, a few days ago, they received a second letter from Hua Tianyou urging them to marry no one but Zhao Ling'er.

The Duke and his wife, who had been in despair, had a renewed sense of hope.

While the son claimed he wanted to sever ties with them, he still wrote to them begging for their parents' permission and a matchmaker's approval.

This shows that Hua Tianyou wanted to sever ties with them simply to distance himself from Zhao Zun's rebellion and prevent his parents from getting into trouble.

Today they received Hua Tianyou's third letter urging them to hurry up. After days of longing and anxiety, Lin could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

Lin said she was determined to go to Cangzhou to find her son no matter what. Even if her son was now a rebel and was going to die, she wanted to die with him.

After listening to Lin's tearful account, Shen Daohong looked around at the letter. Seeing that none of the servants in the Duke's mansion were there, he bit his lip and lowered his voice so that only the three of them could hear it.

"You...you really want to go to Cangzhou to find Tianyou?"

"Alas!" Duke Heng sighed, "What else can we do?"

“Then…” Shen Daohong hesitated for a moment, then frowned and said, “How about… we go together?”