HBBMAWH Chapter 106

The food this morning was excellent, and everyone could go to training with full stomachs. Moreover, Yan Cai also distributed winter clothes to everyone. For a moment, the entire camp was filled with joy, and there was a more heartfelt welcome towards Yan Cai.

"This year's clothes are really good, so thick and warm," a soldier said while holding the winter coat he had just received. "So warm! The food today was also great. It's been a long time since I've seen oil in the dishes. You know, today I actually had meat. I can't even remember the last time I had meat."

"It smells so good. Hey, where's Chen Xiaolei? I didn't see much of him during lunch."

"I don't know. Have you guys seen him? I don't know where he went at noon. Just this morning, he was energetically sparring with Brother Jiang. You know, Brother Jiang looks weak, but he's quite good at fighting. If it weren't for being unable to compete with others, I would also want to spar with him."

"You're kidding. It's not that you can't compete with others, you just find it tiring and don't want to spar."

The man blushed and scratched the back of his head embarrassedly. "How would I know that the food today would be so good? I thought we wouldn't have enough to eat, so I wanted to save my energy. If I had known we could eat our fill today, I would have joined in too."

"You see how clever Chen Xiaolei is. He fought hard on stage and almost had a chance to win. If it weren't for the Prince's whip scaring him at the end, disrupting Chen Xiaolei's rhythm, he might have won."

"Alright, enough. Speaking of which, where did Chen Xiaolei go?"

Top of Form

Just then, other people from the same tent walked in and heard them asking about Chen Xiaolei. They said, "I just saw Chen Xiaolei. He's been transferred to another team and won't be living with us anymore."

Sure enough, not long after, someone came to tidy up Chen Xiaolei's bedding and clothes. Others were curious, "Chen Xiaolei is moving out, why didn't he come to pack his things himself? Why bother others?"

The one tidying up is an unfamiliar soldier, looking quite ordinary, easily lost in a crowd, easily forgettable. Moreover, there's not a hint of expression on his face.

"He's with General Liu, has some business, so he asked me to pack his things for him," the unfamiliar soldier said expressionlessly, but gave off a sincere vibe that he wouldn't lie. So, those who had lived with Chen Xiaolei for a while believed him.

Someone also joked: "It looks like Chen Xiaolei is being valued by General Liu. He's going to be promoted. I wonder where he'll be transferred to."

After they had such a conversation, they never mentioned it again, at most occasionally wondering why they hadn't seen Chen Xiaolei for a long time.

But everyone's lives are busy, and soon Chen Xiaolei's bunk had a new comrade. The new comrade was lively and humorous, making interactions with him enjoyable, further fading Chen Xiaolei from memory.

In an army of tens of thousands, it was normal not to encounter someone, and nobody thought much of it. Little did they know, Chen Xiaolei had been taken to a secluded tent. There were guards outside, and inside was a "three-court interrogation.

"Speak, who are you? Who sent you?"

Chen Xiaolei looked heroic and refused to say a word.

Chen Nan couldn't sit still. The Prince had just arrived at the military camp, and someone wanted to kill already. Could it be instigated by Liu Neng? It couldn't be. Even if he didn't want someone giving him orders, he wouldn't resort to murder.

Moreover, what would be the point of killing Jiang Manyue? The only one who could pressure him under the name of the Emperor was Yan Cai.

Furthermore, if anything happened to Yan Cai, Liu Neng would be held responsible, unable to escape. The Emperor even bestowed the Shang Fang sword to the prince, showing his favor.

If anything happens to the prince, the Emperor will definitely be furious and investigate the matter thoroughly. Liu Neng would definitely bear the blame. The incident occurred under his jurisdiction, and it would be normal for him to be held accountable.

At the lightest, he would lose his official hat, and at the worst, it would be a grave crime punishable by beheading!

Yan Cai sat in a chair, while Jiang Manyue stood with his back turned. Neither of them spoke. Chen Nan felt he had to do something to salvage the situation.

"Come clean... Are you?!" Chen Nan grabbed Chen Xiaolei's collar, but suddenly noticed that Chen Xiaolei spat out a mouthful of black blood...

Chen Nan's face changed drastically, and he quickly checked the other person's breathing, finally confirming, "He... he's dead."

This person's death is too suspicious. How could he conveniently start spitting blood and die just as he approached? If someone tends to overthink, they might even suspect that he intentionally poisoned the person during interrogation. 

This definitely looks like he is attempting to hide something.

But he really didn't do anything.

Jiang Manyue squatted down, pinched the person's mouth to take a look, then immediately went to wash his hands before saying, "He committed suicide by taking poison. He hid a wax pill containing poison in his teeth. Once the wax pill is bitten, the poison immediately takes effect. The toxicity is extremely strong, causing immediate death upon contact with blood, sealing the throat."

"Hiding in the teeth?" Yan Cai crouched down, examining closely, which made Chen Nan genuinely worried that he might get scared. Although when they first met, Yan Cai was just an ordinary commoner, now he had transformed into a prince. 

Things are different now; he's someone you can't afford to offend.

Unexpectedly, he was quite bold. Chen Nan's worries were unnecessary. This was also a problem with Chen Nan's mentality. Although he remembered that Yan Cai was not originally born into a life of luxury and privilege, and might not have the delicate habits of royalty, as soon as he looked at the prince's face, all these knowledge disappeared.

Yan Cai had never seen this method of poison concealment before and reached out to try to pry open his mouth. Jiang Manyue stopped his hand.

"Don't move around."

Chen Nan nodded. He's right. Your Highness, please don't move around. It wouldn't be good if you accidentally touched the poison.

After Jiang Manyue took a deep breath, he said his second sentence. "Dirty."

Chen Nan: "... " He always felt that something was wrong, but Yan Cai accepted Jiang Manyue's statement.

Indeed, it's quite dirty. Black blood flowed from the corners of the mouth. It's better not to touch it.

"This method of poison concealment is not something people from the Chen Dynasty would use," Jiang Manyue explained, "It's rare. They can hide the small wax pill in their teeth, wait for the right moment, push the wax pill out from their teeth, and then bite it. This requires skill, which ordinary people may not be able to learn."

Yan Cai only caught the first part of the statement, "Not something people from the Chen Dynasty would use," then could it be...

Chen Nan blurted out, "Could it be a spy from Beirong?"

Jiang Manyue neither confirmed nor denied it.

"Without evidence, I can't give a definitive answer to that question. I can only say it's possible. Of course, it's also possible it could be someone from another foreign tribe. The surrounding vassal states and smaller nations around the Chen Dynasty are all eyeing us covetously, hoping to take a bite." Jiang Manyue continued, "Have you checked his luggage and belongings? Did you find anything?"

Chen Nan shook his head and had the unfamiliar guard brought by Yan Cai move all of Chen Xiaolei's belongings over, but they didn't find anything suspicious.

Jiang Manyue nodded, not expecting to find anything in the first place.

With that said, he helped Yan Cai up. As for the body of the spy, it couldn't be discovered by anyone else in the army.

Chen Nan was very clever. Without waiting for them to speak, he quickly volunteered.

"I'll handle this matter; I guarantee that no one will know."

There was no reason to disagree. Chen Nan was more familiar with this place than they were. Letting him handle the disposal of the body was naturally the best choice.

Back in their own tent, the two of them finally had some quiet conversation. While washing up, Yan Cai asked, "So you really can't determine who that person was?"

He felt that Jiang Manyue's words were somewhat reserved, and sure enough, Jiang Manyue sounded more certain in private.

"Although there's no evidence, it can be assumed that it was someone from Beirong."

Yan Cai was about to say something, like, "If you can assume that, why were you so modest just now, saying you couldn't say for sure, and there was no evidence?" But then he understood. This guy was cautious. He wasn't afraid of ten thousand things, just afraid of the unexpected backlash.

"You're all about saving face, aren't you?"

Jiang Manyue acted as if he hadn't heard, showing no sign of guilt on his face. He only thought that he was being cautious. He changed his clothes, picked up his son who was wriggling on the bed, and noticed a brown stain on his collar.

Jiang Manyue couldn't possibly let his son continue to wear dirty clothes. He lifted his son, who was still carefree, and called him a little rascal.

"Caicai, go find a clean piece of clothing in the chest. Keke's clothes got dirty, there's a big stain on it."

Yan Cai agreed and accidentally glanced at the stain, feeling somewhat speechless. Yes, it was dirty, but where was the big stain? It was just a tiny speck. Probably it got dripped onto the collar while eating at night, With the color of the clothes his son was wearing, that tiny spot wasn't very noticeable.

Jiang Manyue is mysophobic and couldn't stand dirt. Yan Cai wondered how he managed to survive in this sweaty and smelly camp before.

Wouldn’t it almost drive him crazy?

After they arrived here, at least their tent was only for the three of them, and Zhu Hua had cleaned it spotlessly. All the bedding was brand new. It could be said that it was the cleanest tent in the entire camp.

But before, Jiang Manyue didn't have these conditions. Jiang Manyue had to squeeze with a bunch of people. Yan Cai looked at Jiang Manyue disdainfully. That is to say, now that the conditions are better, he has the opportunity to be picky and fussy.

However, Jiang Manyue ignored Yan Cai's disdainful glances. Yan Cai felt helpless and went to find clothes for the father and son. They had brought two large chests, one of which was filled with clothes for their son alone.

Yan Cai picked out the clothes and suddenly found a small bundle. Originally pressed on top of the chest, he had moved it aside when taking out the clothes. Now that the clothes were sorted out, he intended to put the bundle back in its original place, but he noticed that it was a bit heavy.

What could be inside?

Yan Cai opened the bundle, his eyes showing some confusion. No wonder it was so heavy; it turned out to be some gold and jade items.

It was strange; they were here for war, so why did Jiang Manyue bring these things? They couldn't eat, wear, or use them, and they couldn't be sold in a place like this. They took up space, were cumbersome, and carrying them was a burden.

But Jiang Manyue wouldn't be so bored; there must be a reason. Yan Cai picked up the gold and jade items again and examined them carefully, realizing that some of these items looked familiar.

Underneath a lotus-shaped gold lamp base, Yan Cai found a mark. That mark seemed familiar.

"Manyue, why did you bring these things?" Weren't these the things they salvaged from the Chashan Lake in Qingqu?

The mark was similar to the official seal he found in a box of silver dug up from the lake, exactly matching the reign of the previous dynasty's Emperor.

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