Chapter 878

Qingzhou City.

Di Ying grimly looked at the registration roster of students. Ever since the order from Jinling Province came back, the Grand Secretariat immediately ordered the security bureau to strengthen the supervision of students.

“Commander, what tricks do you think the merchants’ council can pull? To think they can take people away from under our noses, they must be dreaming,” a security guard said.

Di Ying lightly snorted. He said, “Even if they had heaven-shaking abilities, they couldn’t escape the eyes of our security bureau. In any case, since it’s His Majesty’s order, it must be taken seriously. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, no one can bear the responsibility.”

“Yes, Commander!” the security guards said in unison.

After instructing the security guards, Di Ying left alone. Turning a corner, he walked towards a breakfast stall. Every morning after inspecting the security, he would come here for a bowl of hot tofu pudding.

“Commander Di, you’re a bit late today, but as usual, I’ve still reserved a bowl especially for you.” As soon as Di Ying sat down, the owner of the tofu pudding stall squinted and smiled.

Because it was too late, only Di Ying was at the tofu pudding stall. Glancing around, Di Ying said to the owner of the tofu pudding stall, “Thank you.”

As he spoke, the owner of the tofu pudding stall served a hot bowl of tofu pudding and placed it down.

Taking a sip of the tofu pudding, Di Ying said seemingly casually, “They all say that when people leave, the tea gets cold. If the tofu gets cold, it’s time for people to leave too.”

The owner of the tofu pudding stall’s body stiffened upon hearing this. His eyes flickered, and he said softly, “Thank you.”

Di Ying said nothing, only lowered his head and ate his tofu pudding. But at this moment, his hand trembled slightly, because he knew that once he took this path, he would never be able to turn back.

His hand gripping the spoon tightened. Di Ying’s breathing also became rapid. He vaguely remembered the scene three months ago when the owner of this tofu pudding stall displayed five hundred thousand Golden Dragon paper coins in front of him.

Initially, he only wanted to arrest and interrogate this person, but a single sentence from this person made him finally give up.

“General Di, you risked your life for Xiao Ming, achieved brilliant military successes, and then went to Bashu alone, only to end up like this. Are you content being the commander of this security bureau? Look, now, none of Lu Fei, Qi Guangyi, or Luo Xin are not great generals leading their own forces, and what about you? You are merely a scapegoat.”

“You have failed me.” This sentence, like a curse, continuously echoed in Di Ying’s ears. He began to murmur to himself.

Since becoming this commander, he hadn’t had a single happy day. He was a soldier; he should be leading troops to fight, not cooped up in Qingzhou City, arresting petty thieves every day.

He had thought he could accept the imperial court’s punishment, but the arrival of this person completely shattered his psychological defense.

He didn’t know how he finished the tofu pudding. Di Ying slowly stood up. He looked at the owner of the tofu pudding stall, who had already disappeared into the crowd.

This person was a secret agent planted by the Prince of Chu in Qingzhou City. He had lived in Qingzhou City for six years. If he hadn’t revealed himself, no one would have known his true identity.

His words just now were to subtly inform the tofu pudding stall owner that everything was ready. He had already designed an escape route for him.

Sighing, Di Ying turned and walked back. He hadn’t gone far when he saw Wang Xuan walking towards him.

Cold sweat immediately broke out on Di Ying’s back. He couldn’t help but place his hand on his waist saber. For a moment, various thoughts filled his mind.

“Commander Di, what a coincidence.” Wang Xuan looked dusty from travel. Seeing Di Ying, he proactively greeted him.

Di Ying still dared not relax his vigilance. He said, “Commander Wang, have you just returned?”

“Yes. I plan to rest for a few days before going south to assist Li San,” Wang Xuan said calmly. Now, the northern war was basically over, and the intelligence gathering work had lessened somewhat.

Now, the focus of the secret guard’s work was in the south.

Di Ying nodded. He immediately felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. He said, “How is the war in the south going? Needless to say, Lu Fei is bound to achieve great merit again.”

Wang Xuan, a shrewd individual, immediately sensed the resentment in Di Ying’s words. He said, “Commander Di must be envious, correct?”

“What’s there to envy? Rather than risking one’s life on the battlefield, it’s easier to be at ease in Qingzhou,” Di Ying said with an indifferent expression.

“Ah, what a pity then. As far as I know, His Majesty seems to have the intention of reactivating Commander Di,” Wang Xuan said with a smile.

Di Ying’s body stiffened. He said in disbelief, “Commander Wang, please do not deceive me. I am currently a criminal and cannot re-enter the army.”

“Could my words be false? Your performance in Qingzhou these past few years has been observed by His Majesty. Your many achievements are enough to offset your past mistakes. Moreover, that matter back then was not entirely your fault. His Majesty once told me that handling you that way was also to appease public anger, so the handling was a bit hasty. He feels somewhat apologetic towards you for that.”

After a pause, Wang Xuan said, “However, His Majesty is His Majesty. Once a word is uttered, it cannot be taken back. So now that the opportunity has arrived, he intends to reinstate you.”

Di Ying was stunned. He murmured, “Impossible, impossible.”

Wang Xuan patted Di Ying’s shoulder. “Believe it or not, I’m going home to sleep.”

With that, he left Di Ying alone on the street.

His gaze wandered aimlessly. Di Ying’s expression was somewhat dazed. He didn’t know how long he had stood there, but then his expression suddenly became firm.

He immediately rushed to the security bureau and said to all the security guards, “Everyone follow me! The Prince of Chu’s secret agents are in the city! They are preparing to lead students to escape south today!”

The security guards were greatly startled. They immediately put on their plate armor and left the security bureau, blockading the four city gates of Qingzhou City.

At the same time, Di Ying sent someone to relay the same news to Wang Xuan.

At this point, Wang Xuan had just returned home. Upon receiving the news, he realized the gravity of the situation and immediately had the secret guards spring into action.

“Di Ying, you almost made a terrible mistake!”

Wang Xuan looked at Di Ying, feeling disappointed. Di Ying was one of the oldest generals in the Qingzhou Army. They had grown up together. Now, Di Ying’s collusion with the enemy outside had also disgraced him.

Di Ying confessed all his problems. He sighed, “I have harbored resentment in my heart all these years, which is why I was easily misled. I have wronged His Majesty. When this matter is resolved, I will submit to whatever punishment His Majesty deems fit.”

Wang Xuan shook his head. He said no more. Instead, he followed the security bureau directly to Bowen Academy. They still had a chance to prevent this from happening.

Di Ying also followed closely. He had made a grave mistake this time. Now, the only opportunity to make amends was to catch the owner of the tofu pudding stall.

The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair