Chapter 289 - 231, Hu Junxian
In the darkness of night, the streets of Guyuan were eerily quiet.
Everyone looked back from horseback in silence, watching the solitary dun horse move closer.
Yulin Army Commander Li Xuan dismounted and quickly strode over to take the reins of the dun horse, examining it from head to hoof.
He touched the horse’s body, then brought his fingers close to his eyes—there was blood.
Li Xuan turned back to look at the Crown Prince: "Your Highness, I’m afraid Wang Guang has met with misfortune."
Qi Zhenzhuo said fiercely: "The Guyuan border army is lawless, daring to ambush the Imperial Guard. How is this different from plotting a rebellion?"
The Crown Prince frowned but said nothing.
Li Xuan, holding the dun horse’s reins, came back to his side and looking up said, "Your Highness, this is no place to linger. Please, let us depart immediately. We can rest in Tianshui County tonight and leave for Taiyuan Prefecture tomorrow to request His Majesty dispatch the Jiefan Guard and the Longevity Army to quell the rebellion! If we send a report at maximum urgency of six hundred li per day, it can reach the capital in six days—there’s still time!"
Chen Liqin was startled: "Quell a rebellion? There’s still no evidence; General Li, let’s not jump to conclusions rashly."
Li Xuan’s expression turned fierce: "The border army first poisoned thirty-four members of the Chen family and then ambushed a report of six hundred li of urgency. If this isn’t rebellion, what is? Mr. Chen, are you aware of the crime for intercepting a six hundred li report of urgency?"
The Crown Prince, calm and collected on horseback, looked from afar at Zhang Xia: "I’ve long heard that the Imperial Academy once had a female scholar proficient in Book and Mathematics who could recite the laws of Daning with ease. What should be the punishment for the border army?"