Remarrying Chun Yuan

Chapter 465 Operation

That's the thing inside that could take his life.

Wei Gongming gave a bitter laugh, unable to suppress his self-mockery.

Perhaps the only person who wholeheartedly supports Qin Muyan is himself, but he never expected that Qin Muyan would also be full of hostility and wariness towards him.

"I will not say any more. I will go and do it now."

"We must wait for the Chu Kingdom to raise its army first before we make our move," Qin Muyan earnestly instructed. "This is no small matter; we must ensure that everything goes perfectly!"

Even after Wei Gongming left, Qin Muyan remained uneasy. He sent a member of the Jiang family to follow Wei Gongming, ostensibly to be his assistant, but in reality, he was merely a watchdog.

Wei Gongming did not refuse and proceeded with the steps as instructed.

……

Four days later, Qin Muyan received news that the State of Chu had invaded the border of the State of Qi. He was very excited and immediately announced that he would raise an army and march straight into the capital of the State of Qi to "purge the court of corrupt officials and kill Yuan Cuo".

Unfortunately, it was just a slogan; the private army had barely left the city for less than a hundred miles before being surrounded by Chen Hongwu's southwestern army.

Qin Muyan is somewhat crazy.

He simply didn't understand why Chen Hongwu had arrived so promptly.

The Chu army has already invaded the southwest, yet he still has the energy to capture him here?

Moreover, the Jiang family members who were lurking in various places did not give him any intelligence at all. Chen Hongwu even gave him a cage full of dead carrier pigeons.

Those were all exclusive carrier pigeons sent by Qin Muyan to secret agents in various places.

They were all dead!

"Since we've met, Governor Chen, you should at least tell me a reason. What is the real reason? Otherwise, I will die with my eyes open in disgrace!"

Qin Muyan couldn't understand it. Even if the rebellion failed, it shouldn't have ended so absurdly. It was like a few ants challenging an elephant—something he simply couldn't tolerate!

Chen Hongwu would never give him a chance to know the truth. "What right do you have to know the reasons of someone who colluded with foreign enemies to annex the Great Qi?!"

Qin Muyan: "..." He was indeed speechless, because he had indeed contacted Chu Lan, and there was no way to deny it.

"I want to see my father, the Emperor. I want to ask him why he treated me this way. I am his son too!"

"Moreover, a great fire broke out in the capital, and the Emperor was forced to hand over all power to Yuan Cuo. How could I not suspect that Yuan Cuo was using the Emperor to command the other lords? He is the one who should be taken down!"

Chen Hongwu completely ignored his fallacies and directly ordered his men to throw Qin Muyan into a pre-prepared wooden cage and imprison her before sending her back to the capital.

The person next to him responded with a cupped hand.

Qin Muyan: "..." Why does this voice sound so familiar?

Qin Muyan looked up and saw that it was Wei Gongming.

His eyes were like knives, instantly filled with bloodshot veins. His hands pounded the wooden cage incessantly, causing wood chips to fall from the ground. He desperately wanted to go out and tear the person in front of him to pieces!

"It's you! I knew I shouldn't have kept you alive!"

"Wei Gongming, why did you do this?!"

"You were the one who urged me to fight for the highest position, and now you're the first to betray me? You've even sold me out?"

"I will haunt you even in death!"

Wei Gongming, no longer bothered by the gazes cast upon him by the ninjas around him, knelt before Qin Muyan's wooden cage, took the medicine and bandages, and threw them inside.

“Your Highness scolded me, I accept it, but I advised you to let go long ago, but you wouldn’t listen.”

Wei Gongming spoke slowly and deliberately, as if he were a child who had done something wrong and was admitting his mistake to his elders.

"Actually, the news from Chu was false; Chu Lan never raised an army."

"The Chu Emperor did not die, but returned to the Chu Kingdom safely and completely subdued Chu Lan. In fact, all of this was just a game in which the Chu Emperor used you to get rid of Chu Lan."

……

Wei Gongming had long been a follower of the Chu Emperor.

He had someone set fire to the royal gardens, creating the illusion that the Chu Emperor and Liu Yuechu had disappeared.

He then went to Qin Muyan's side and waited for Chu Lan to contact Qin Muyan, thus obtaining evidence of their collusion.

He handed over all the secret letters Chu Lan had sent to Qin Muyan to the Chu Emperor; and he also handed over all the instructions Qin Muyan had issued to Yuan Cuo in the capital.

He now harbors no resentment towards Yuan Cuo, for one is a high mountain deity, and the other a muddy frog; he is no longer qualified to be compared to Yuan Cuo.

However, the fact that he did not betray the Great Qi is something he deserves to be praised for, and he can proudly say that for the rest of his life.

"So, whose side are you really on?" Qin Muyan's eyes were filled with fear. "You've been by my side all these years, whose side are you really on!"

“I am Your Highness’s man, but I do not wish for Your Highness to go down a path of no return.” Wei Gongming asked himself, “In my heart, Your Highness will always be worthy of respect, but I am unwilling for Your Highness to betray the Great Qi.”

"Because the honor you desire comes at the cost of countless lives of the people of Great Qi..."

"I am not a virtuous person. I am greedy and love money more than anything. But even if I do all kinds of evil, I do not want to be a person who betrays the Great Qi. After all, I was born on this land."

……

Qin Muyan had no interest in listening to Wei Gongming's confession anymore. To him, it was nothing but nonsense.

The victor is king, the loser is villain; he had nothing more to say.

Wei Gongming kowtowed three times to him, covered the wooden cage with a black cloth to conceal it, and after handing it over to Chen Hongwu, personally led troops to escort Qin Muyan to the capital.

At this time, Yuan Cuo had also received an urgent message from the west.

He showed the news to the Minister of War and several generals, and the veteran officials couldn't help but sigh.

"Why bother?"

They didn't know what else to say besides that one sentence.

He was clearly a prince, yet he ended up like this? He truly brought it upon himself.

In truth, everyone could understand Qin Muyan's madness, but his biggest mistake was joining forces with the Chu Kingdom to advance on the capital.

"We still need to inform His Majesty of the news," the old master of the Lu family said. "If the Duke of Baoguo feels it is inconvenient for him to come forward, I can go in person."

"Let's wait a little longer; perhaps other news will come." Yuan Cuo was not in a hurry.

The group looked at each other, puzzled.

Sure enough, the next day, everyone received another battle report from the west.

All of Qin Muyan's remaining followers were arrested, and the Jiang family was exterminated, with their entire clan executed and their heads displayed in various places. There was no need to bring them to the capital.

Most importantly, Qin Muyan is dead.

The report of Wei Gongming's death was very detailed.

Qin Muyan died from vomiting blood, according to the examination results of several doctors in the army, who all affixed their fingerprints to the assessment.

The Minister of War glanced at Yuan Cuo and understood the meaning behind his words from yesterday. They had been wondering whether Yuan Cuo would allow Qin Muyan to enter the capital alive, but it seemed they had overthought things. After all, Qin Muyan was a prince, and he couldn't bear the humiliation of being a prisoner.

But it's fine this way.

Otherwise, if Qin Muyan really entered the capital and faced Emperor Qi Xiao, who was a dignified emperor, he would never have killed his own son with his own hands.