Chapter 336 - Midnight Meeting in the Capital
Qi Zongbi's face darkened as he asked, "Where is the imperial decree now?"
Li Qingtang hesitated, moving his lips slightly before finally speaking, "It's ashes now... How could I dare keep it? If some Imperial Guardians or Eastern Depot brat saw it, I'd be in for a hard time."
"Intercepting an imperial envoy!" Qi Zongbi's voice involuntarily rose. "Destroying the imperial decree! Delaying reinforcements! Plotting against a general in the middle of a war! These are all capital crimes! You're only afraid now? I thought you, Li Qingtang, feared neither heaven nor earth!"
Li Qingtang's expression finally changed as the gravity of his situation sunk in. "Then my lord... what should I do now?" In his panic, he came up with an idea. "What if I forge an imperial decree and deliver it to Qi Yanzhu? Using the fastest horse, there's a chance it can make it in time!"
"Forge an imperial decree?" Qi Zongbi sneered. "Have you not committed enough crimes already? The more you do, the more mistakes you make. Are you in such a rush to die?"
"Then what should we do, my lord?" Li Qingtang slapped his thigh, his face full of despair. "At least give me an idea! I did all this for you!"
Qi Zongbi sighed inwardly and waved his hand. "Enough, do not panic. What is done is done, and it cannot be changed."
Qi Zongbi pondered for a moment. "Was everything handled cleanly?"
Li Qingtang nodded hurriedly. "Clean, absolutely clean. That eunuch envoy was stabbed dozens of times— he couldn't come back to life even if an immortal descended."
"What about the corpse?"
"I had it dumped in a deserted forest. The body won’t last a night before the wild wolves tear everything apart. I guarantee no one will ever find him again. His clothes were burned to ashes along with the imperial decree."
Qi Zongbi nodded, seemingly satisfied.