At 100 years old, he joined the army in place of his granddaughter, and became a national war god.

In the study.

Xiao Jingyu sat in the main seat, his brows furrowed.

Su Mu sat at the lower end of the table and asked calmly:

"Your Highness, why are you so troubled?"

Xiao Jingyu sighed, stood up, and replied:

"Elder Su, today I intended to go to the Crown Prince's residence to investigate the situation, but I unexpectedly ran into the Second Prince on the way."

"The Second Prince told me that Prime Minister Li Yuan went to the Crown Prince's residence early this morning, and the two had a long private conversation in the study."

"The Second Prince's spies have also discovered that the Crown Prince is already preparing carriages and horses, planning to go to Ziyun Temple ahead of time to welcome His Majesty back to the capital."

He turned around, looked at Su Mu, his eyes full of worry.

"Old Su, in my opinion, the Prime Minister must have already told the Crown Prince about what happened at the Blood Robe Tower last night."

"And they must already know that this was done by Elder Su."

"The Crown Prince's initiative to go to Ziyun Temple to welcome His Majesty is ostensibly to show his filial piety, but in reality, he wants to take the lead in telling Consort Xu about the murder of the Xu brothers, so that she can slander him to His Majesty. Coupled with your previous crime of 'treason' for letting Tuoba Lie go, the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister are trying to kill you."

"Treason and collusion? Holding military power for personal gain?" Su Mu sneered, his tone mocking. "I fought bloody battles in the northern border, recovered five states and thirteen cities, killed the Northern Di King, and preserved the Great Qian's empire. In the end, I offended the current Crown Prince, the future heir apparent. How ridiculous."

Xiao Jingyu's eyes were slightly red, and his voice was a little hoarse.

"Old Su, matters of the imperial court cannot be explained by military achievements alone."

"The Crown Prince's cronies are everywhere in the court, forming cliques for personal gain and persecuting loyal officials. This has been going on for quite some time."

"How many loyal ministers have been framed, dismissed from office, imprisoned, and even lost their lives by them? I..."

He paused, his voice lowering, carrying a long-suppressed anger.

"I have long disliked the Crown Prince's faction. These parasites have turned the court into a mess, with corrupt officials running rampant and the people full of complaints."

"I have been holding back because I am not confident enough."

"But now, they're even trying to harm a meritorious official like Elder Su. I can't tolerate this any longer."

He raised his head, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes like never before.

"Elder Su, I have already contacted the Second Prince."

"When the time comes in court, I and the Second Prince will stand up to the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister to protect Elder Su!"

Su Mu stood up, cupped his hands, and said:

"Your Highness, eloquence alone is probably not enough."

"Since the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister dared to act in this way, they must have prepared their explanations."

"You and the Second Prince speak up for me in court, but they will also slander me in court. Words are not enough; we need real evidence."

"Old Su is right, but what evidence do we have besides the fact that you rescued Qingxue from the Blood-Clad Pavilion? The Xu brothers are dead, and the Blood-Clad Pavilion has been burned down. There's no way to prove anything."

"Your Highness, do you have a way to quickly send messages to the Northern Border?"

Xiao Jingyu was taken aback, then nodded.

"Yes, we can use carrier pigeons; the message will reach the North in two days."

Su Mu walked to the desk, picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write on a piece of paper.

After finishing writing, he folded the letter and handed it to Xiao Jingyu.

"Your Highness, please immediately send this letter by carrier pigeon to the Northern Border and deliver it to Qin Hao."

After reading the contents of the letter, Xiao Jingyu was overjoyed.

"Very well, I will order someone to do it right away."

He turned and called out to someone outside the study.

……

Two days later.

Northern Border, Mozhou Prefecture Government Office.

The north wind howled, whipping up the remaining snow on the ground and making a rustling sound as it hit the windowpane.

In the main hall, Qin Hao sat in the main seat, with a newly received message delivered by carrier pigeon spread out in front of him.

He recognized it at a glance; it was Old Su's handwriting.

His expression changed from calm to solemn, from solemn to ashen, and finally to anger.

"Someone come here!" Qin Hao suddenly stood up and shouted towards the door.

The guards outside the door were startled and rushed in.

"General, what are your orders?"

"Summon Zhou Huchen, You Zhongyi, Zhang Heng, and all other generals to the government office immediately for a meeting!"

"yes!"

The guard turned and ran out.

In less than half an hour, Zhou Huchen, You Zhongyi, Zhang Heng and others arrived one after another.

As soon as everyone entered the main hall, they sensed that something was amiss.

Qin Hao frowned and remained silent.

Zhou Huchen sat down in a chair with a carefree air, rubbed his hands together, and laughed, "General Qin, why did you suddenly summon us? Did Old Su send word? Did Old Su see Xiao Qingxue? It must be a reunion between grandfather and granddaughter, coming to let her know he's safe!"

You Zhongyi didn't speak, but sat quietly to the side, his gaze fixed on Qin Hao's gloomy face, a sense of foreboding creeping into his heart.

Zhang Heng also laughed and said, "Yes, Old Su has been fighting in the Northern Border for more than half a year. At his age, he should go back and enjoy his retirement. Qingxue probably misses her grandfather very much."

Qin Hao turned around, his gaze sweeping over everyone. He took a deep breath and slowly placed the letter in his hand on the table.

"Old Su did send a message, but it wasn't to let you know he was safe."

The laughter in the main hall stopped abruptly.

Zhou Huchen frowned and leaned forward: "What do you mean? What happened to Elder Su?"

Qin Hao tapped his finger on the letter, his voice low and deep.

"Someone in the imperial court wants to accuse Elder Su of treason and colluding with the enemy, as well as of having an army of his own."

"Because Elder Su released Tuoba Lie without reporting it to the court, the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister are now making a big fuss about it and impeaching Elder Su in front of His Majesty, hoping to punish him."

The atmosphere in the main hall exploded like a volcanic eruption.

"What? Treason and collusion with the enemy?" Zhang Heng stood up abruptly, his face full of anger. "Old Su fought valiantly in the northern border, recovering five prefectures and thirteen cities, killing the Northern Di King, and preserving the Great Qian's empire! With such merit, they still want to punish Old Su? Damn it, are those ministers in the court raised on shit?"

Zhou Huchen slapped his thigh and said through gritted teeth:

"Possessing military power for personal gain? Treason? What utter bullshit!"

"Old Su is in the northern border, wearing coarse clothes and living in a tent that's not much bigger than an ordinary soldier's. If he wanted to amass power, he would have rebelled long ago! Why would he have waited until now?"

"General Qin, tell me, who's going to sue Old Master Su? I'll lead my troops into the capital and slaughter all those corrupt officials! I'll just rebel against them!"

"That's right! They've rebelled!" Zhang Heng shouted as well. "Which soldier in the Northern Frontier didn't fight his way up alongside Elder Su? If Elder Su has been wronged, how can we brothers stay peacefully at the border?"

"Old Su made great contributions in the northern border region, and now that he has only been back in the capital for a few days, those corrupt officials are already trying to harm him? Is there any justice in this world? Is there any law?"

The soldiers were filled with righteous indignation, and their voices rang out in a cacophony of curses.

Qin Hao raised his hand, silencing the commotion.

"Calm down, everyone."

His voice silenced everyone.

Qin Hao's gaze swept over the crowd and landed on You Zhongyi, who had been silent all along.

"Zhongyi, what do you think?"

You Zhongyi stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and replied:

"Brothers, getting angry is useless now, cursing is useless. The most important thing is how to help Old Master Su get through this."

He turned around and looked at Qin Hao.

"General, did Elder Su say in his letter what we should do?"

Qin Hao nodded, picked up the letter from the table, and handed it to You Zhongyi.

"Old Su said that we should send someone to the Northern Barbarians to inform Tuoba Lie of this matter, and Tuoba Lie will know what to do."

After reading the letter, You Zhongyi folded it and placed it back on the table. He clasped his hands in a fist and said, "General, this humble general requests permission to immediately ride swiftly to the Northern Barbarians to meet Tuoba Lie!"

Qin Hao looked at him with a firm gaze.

"Zhongyi, have you thought this through? The journey to the Northern Barbarians is long and fraught with danger."

"Moreover, Tuoba Lie is now the King of the Northern Di. If you go, he may not be willing to see you."

You Zhongyi's lips curled up slightly, his eyes filled with confidence.

"General, rest assured, although Tuoba Lie has become the King of the Northern Di, I trust his loyalty to Elder Su."

"Moreover, I trust Elder Su's judgment. As long as he knows that Elder Su is in trouble, he will definitely lend a helping hand."

Qin Hao nodded and made the decision: "Alright, Zhongyi, take a few skilled brothers and set off immediately! Be careful on the road and return quickly!"

You Zhongyi clasped his hands in a fist salute, turned around, and strode out of the main hall.

Zhou Huchen watched his figure disappear outside the door, then turned to look at Qin Hao.

"General, are we just going to wait here?"

Qin Hao shook his head, walked back to the main seat and sat down, his gaze sweeping over everyone.

"No need to wait. Go and contact the prefects of the five northern prefectures and have them jointly submit a petition to help Elder Su."

"The five prefects are deeply grateful to Elder Su for saving their lives, and they will certainly petition the court to help Elder Su."

Zhou Huchen immediately bowed and accepted the task.

"Okay, I'll take responsibility for this!"

Then, all the soldiers got to work without the slightest slackening!