Green Mountain

In the darkness of night.

Chen Liqin pursued Chen Wenxiao with a blade, yet no matter how fiercely he pressed forward, the blade in his hand never fell upon Chen Wenxiao.

As Mrs. Liang wept, six border army infantry swarmed in, pressing Chen Wenxiao onto the yellow earth, tying his hands and feet with hemp rope.

Chen Liqin froze in place: "What are you doing?!"

One of the border army infantry stepped on Chen Wenxiao and said, "Isn’t Mr. Chen going to kill him? We’re helping you hold him down—please, go ahead and kill him."

Chen Liqin flushed with anger: "This is a Chen family affair—since when is it your place to interfere?!"

The border army infantry sneered: "I risk my head and shed blood on the battlefield, and this kid colludes with the enemy and betrays the nation from behind. If the general hadn’t ordered us to escort him to the Imperial Capital, he wouldn’t have made it out of Guyuan City alive!"

Chen Wenxiao’s face was pressed into the ground, and he screamed with all his might: "Let me go! Father, save me! Mother, save me!"

Mrs. Liang threw herself forward like a madwoman, pushing away the border army: "We are the relatives of the Junior Scholar from the Master’s Mansion. When did we collude with the enemy and betray the nation? Do you have any evidence? Don’t slander us with baseless accusations!"

The border army infantry turned to glance at Hu Junxian. The border army hadn’t been present when Chen Wenxiao allegedly colluded with the enemy, and they had no evidence—only Xiao Man’s testimony.

At some point, Xiao Man had slipped away quietly, leaving only Hu Junxian and Zhou You seated on their horses.