Border Soldier: My fiancée snatched credit and broke off the engagement, so I promptly became a marq

There was no wind in the dungeon.

But Zhao Hong sat there, still shivering from the cold.

It wasn't frozen.

It's fear.

He clutched the letter in his hand; the paper was soaked with sweat.

Confess before sunset to save Zhao Chenglie's life.

These ten words, like a knife, peeled away the last layer of skin between the Zhao and Han families.

Zhao Hong used to think that he belonged to the Han family.

He corrected the records of military merits in Blackstone Fortress for the Han family.

He had hidden the Black Tiger Camp's private grain for the Han family.

Zhao Chenglie's merits were due to his service to the Han family.

He thought that as long as he obeyed, Han Wenshan would protect the Zhao family.

Now he understands.

Han Wenshan only keeps useful people.

If the Zhao family falls into trouble, they will be the first piece of rotten meat to be thrown out.

When the dungeon door opened, torchlight shone in.

Chen Mu did not come in.

The first to enter were Zhou Tie and two of Lu family guards.

Then there's Ji Yunzhou.

Behind them, the registrar was holding a chopping board and a pen.

Zhao Hong looked up, his throat extremely dry.

Where is Chen Mu?

Zhou Tie sneered.

"You want to see him now?"

Zhao Hong closed his eyes.

"I want to talk to him."

The footsteps stopped at the door.

Chen Mu entered, leaning against the wall for support.

Lin Qinghe stood behind him, her face still pale.

She didn't want Chen Mu to go to the dungeon.

The dungeon is damp and cold, and wounds are most vulnerable to this.

But Chen Mu said that Zhao Hong wouldn't tell the truth if he were behind closed doors.

When Zhao Hong saw Chen Mu, his eyes were filled with complex emotions.

Two days ago, he was still able to order someone to take down this lowly cook in the training ground.

Now, he's going to use the Zhao family's lives to talk to this nobody.

Chen Mu sat on the wooden stool that had been moved there.

"explain."

Zhao Hong gritted his teeth.

"I want to protect Cheng Lie."

Chen Mu did not respond.

The torches crackled and popped.

Water droplets slid down the dungeon wall little by little.

Ji Yunzhou held his pen, waiting.

Zhao Hong's fingers dug into his palm.

"I acknowledge half of what happened to the Zhao family."

Chen Mu looked up.

"half?"

Zhao Hongdao admitted, "I admit to stealing credit, altering records, and keeping an inside man."

"But the Zhao family is not the only one to engage in treacherous activities."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yunzhou stopped writing.

Chen Mu was not surprised.

"Who?"

Zhao Hong glanced outside the door.

It was as if he was afraid that the large Korean flag could hear him speaking.

"Han Zhao"

Zhou Tie snorted coldly.

"Do you even need to tell me?"

Zhao Hong shook his head.

"It's not any of those you found."

"Han Zhao's help to suppress the Zhao family's military achievements is only superficial."

"The true source of the alteration lies in White Wolf Pass."

The dungeon fell silent.

White Wolf Pass.

That's where the military commander reviews the case.

This is also where Han Wenshan can truly reach out.

Zhao Hong continued, "The number of soldiers who have died in the Black Stone Fortress in recent years is not limited to the seventeen cooks."

"Many people's merits have been corrected."

Some were given to the Zhao family.

"Some were given to the Black Tiger Battalion."

"Some were taken by the people from White Wolf's prison."

Ji Yunzhou's expression grew increasingly grim.

He came to Blackstone Fortress only to investigate the controversy surrounding Chen Mu's military achievements over the past few days.

Now the case is like a ditch under the snow; once it's stepped on, all that's left are old bones.

Chen Mu asked, "Where is the tent?"

Zhao Hong remained silent.

Chen Mu didn't urge him.

He just looked at Zhao Hong.

His gaze was very flat.

There was no anger.

There was no joy in it either.

It's like looking at an old account that's about to be filed.

Zhao Hong finally whispered, "Outside White Wolf Pass, in the Mass Grave."

"The old military license plate is buried there."

"Before each revision, Han Zhao's people would first collect the death squad tokens."

"Burn what should be burned, bury what should be buried."

"A batch that wasn't destroyed in time was buried under the third crooked willow tree in the mass grave ditch."

Zhou Tie's expression changed.

"You're only telling me now?"

Zhao Hong gave a bitter laugh.

Why did I say that before?

"If I had said it, the Zhao family wouldn't have survived either."

He looked at Chen Mu.

"But now Han Wenshan wants me to confess."

"I accept it. The Zhao family won't survive either."

"I don't acknowledge it, and Cheng Lie won't survive either."

Chen Mu said, "So you sold Han Zhao."

Zhao Hong nodded.

I'll sell it.

"But I will live on."

A slight noise came from outside the door.

Zhao Chenglie was imprisoned in the cell next door.

He can hear.

His face was pressed against the wooden fence, and his eyes were bloodshot.

"father……"

Zhao Hong's shoulders trembled upon hearing this.

He didn't turn around.

Chen Mu looked towards Zhao Chenglie's direction.

"You heard it too."

"The Zhao family stole credit, altered records, and secretly harbored spies."

Do you admit it or not?

Zhao Chenglie gripped the wooden fence, his knuckles turning white little by little.

He used to be most afraid of being recognized.

Because if he were to be recognized, his career as a young general would be over.

But now, even if he doesn't acknowledge it, he's just being treated as a disposable pawn by the Han family.

Zhao Hong closed his eyes, his voice hoarse.

"Chenglie, acknowledge it."

Zhao Chenglie suddenly looked up.

The firelight in the cell shone on his face.

His face has become noticeably thinner in the past few days, and the affected elegance he had at the celebration banquet is gone, leaving only a disheveled look as if his face has been peeled away layer by layer.

He wanted to call Zhao Hong a coward.

I also want to curse Chen Mu for being ruthless.

But when the words reached my throat, all that remained was a dry, painful sensation.

He remembered the two marks Chen Mu had made for him on the north wall.

The master will strike with his might.

One of the White Fox Guards was stabbed.

Those two strokes of skill didn't save him, but they made him realize for the first time that you can have your name written on something without stealing it from others.

Zhao Hong did not look at him.

"At least audit according to the accounts."

"Don't let them write your story and kill you off on the road."

These words pierced Zhao Chenglie's heart like a knife.

I'll die on the road.

He has seen things all too clearly these past few days.

Chen Mu kept accounts so that people would have a name to remember them in life and in death.

Han Zhao's bookkeeping was a way to turn the living into the dead, and the dead into deserters.

Zhao Chenglie closed his eyes, his jaw clenching so hard it made a cracking sound.

After a long silence, he whispered, "I admit it."

The registrar's pen fell to the ground.

Zhao Chenglie admitted that the Zhao family had stolen credit, altered records, and privately kept inside agents; this matter is pending verification.

Su Wan stood outside the dungeon, holding the supplementary register in her hands.

When she heard Zhao Chenglie confess his guilt, her face turned deathly pale.

This man almost became her husband.

She had thought he could give her dignity.

Now he's kneeling in jail, admitting that he used her to set up the scheme and that the Zhao family stole the credit by altering the register.

Su Wan lowered her head, her fingertips pressing against the corner of the supplementary booklet.

The edges of the supplementary book still bear scorch marks from last night's fire.

The back of her hand still hurts.

But what hurt her even more than the pain in her hand was Zhao Chenglie's word "accept".

She once chose this person.

I wasn't forced into it.

She felt that Zhao Chenglie was taller, more stable, and more capable of making her live a dignified life than Chen Mu.

This facade of dignity has been torn apart by a thin sheet of paper, revealing nothing but escape and scheming.

Su Wan lowered her head, her fingertips pressing against the corner of the supplementary booklet.

She pressed a shallow mark into the corner of the paper.

She was suddenly relieved that Chen Mu hadn't turned around to look at her.

If he saw it, she wouldn't know where to put her face.

Chen Mu asked Zhao Hong, "Who can testify about the mass grave you mentioned?"

Zhao Hongdao said, "The clerk beside Han Zhao is surnamed Miao."

"Miao Jiu".

"He used to be in charge of military license plates."

"After Han Zhao was forced to retreat last night, Miao Jiu should still be in the Black Tiger Camp."

Ji Yunzhou immediately looked up.

"If we can get hold of Miao Jiu, the case can lead to Bailang Pass."

Chen Mu did not speak immediately.

He looked at the snow gleaming outside the dungeon.

Han Wenshan's personal guards were stationed outside the fortress.

Han Zhao is still in the Black Tiger Camp.

If Miao Jiu, a mere accountant, truly knew about the old accounts, he would be dead before tonight.

Chen Mu said, "Zhou Tie."

"exist."

"Miao Jiu cannot die."

Zhou Tie frowned.

"How do I take it?"

Chen Mu looked at Zhao Hong.

"You write a letter."

Zhao Hong was taken aback.

Chen Mu said, "Tell Han Zhao that you are willing to plead guilty to all crimes, only asking to see Miao Jiu once to settle old scores."

Zhao Hong's expression changed.

He will have doubts.

Chen Mu said, "So I'll add one more sentence in the letter."

"I didn't mention the third crooked willow in the mass grave ditch."

Zhao Hong's pupils contracted.

Once this sentence is written, Han Zhao will surely panic.

He panics, and then he'll mess with Miao Jiu.

He made a move, giving Chen Mu a chance to seize the opportunity.

Zhao Hong looked at Chen Mu.

At that moment, he suddenly understood why he couldn't defeat this nobody.

Chen Mu was not afraid of others hiding knives.

What he feared was that the sword would not be drawn.

He can keep accounts as long as the knife moves.

Zhao Hong's hands trembled as he wrote the letter.

Halfway through writing, a muffled thud suddenly came from outside the dungeon.

One of the guards, who was holding a prison cell, collapsed at the doorway.

The torch flickered.

In the shadows, a short crossbow was aimed at Zhao Hong.

Zhou Tie roared, "Assassin!"

Chen Mu did not move.

He didn't even get up.

Because the moment he saw the crossbow stick out, Lin Qinghe had already smashed the medicine box.

The medicine box knocked the crossbow arm off course.

The short arrow pierced the wall, causing ashes to fall in a flurry.

The assassin turned to run.

Anado's voice came from outside.

"Don't let him grit his teeth."

Zhou Tie lunged forward and punched the assassin in the jaw.

The man was pinned to the ground in the snow, black powder seeping from the corner of his mouth.

Ji Yunzhou's face turned deathly pale.

Chen Mu looked at the assassin.

"remember."

The registrar's hands were shaking.

"What should I remember?"

Chen Mu said, "The Han family killed the witness."

Outside the dungeon, snowflakes began to fall again.

Chen Mu knew.

From this moment on, the military trial will truly begin to draw blood.