Cao Yi brought the envoy into the central military tent. This official had come from the capital on the Emperor’s orders, carrying the peace terms for Northern Di.
The envoy was tied up tightly, gagged, and had a black cloth covering his head. He had been whimpering and struggling the entire way.
“Chief, the man is here.”
Hearing that title, the envoy’s body instantly went stiff. His knees buckled, and he fell prostrate on the ground.
Cao Yi removed the black cloth from his head and pulled out the hemp gag.
The envoy cautiously lifted his head. When he saw Lu Shiting’s expressionless face, his eyes filled with terror. His lips trembled as he buried his head back down.
“Chief… Chief Lu… I… I am only following the orders of His Majesty and the Crown Prince to take the peace terms to Northern Di. I don’t know anything…”
Cao Yi sneered. “Speak properly. Why are you shaking? The Chief didn’t say he was going to kill you yet. Where are the peace terms the Emperor and Crown Prince had you draft? Hand them over.”
The envoy immediately pulled a scroll from his sleeve and offered it up.
His face was still pale with shock. No one knew why Chief Lu had suddenly appeared here. The capital was quiet, with no word of him secretly leaving for the northern border.
Everyone heard that Chief Lu had a cold and was resting at his estate. He hadn’t attended morning court for half a month, but since the memorials were still being reviewed in his usual handwriting, no one suspected a thing.
Lu Shiting scanned the terms on the scroll.
From the moment the Black Armor Army reached the border and the Sixth Prince left as a hostage, he had intentionally ignored the peace talks, leaving those trivial matters to the Crown Prince’s faction.
Lately, the Crown Prince had been busy fighting the Ninth Prince. He wanted a quick fix for the border troubles to suppress the Ninth Prince’s influence and secure his own position. He had actually agreed to most of the ridiculous conditions Northern Di had demanded earlier.
“These are the terms the Crown Prince had you bring?”
Lu Shiting’s voice was low and cold, impossible to read.
The envoy knocked his head against the floor. “Yes…”
“Do you want to live?”
The envoy gasped and kowtowed repeatedly. “I want to live! I want to live! I have an eighty-year-old mother and a three-year-old child at home. They cannot survive without me! Please, Chief, give me a way to live. I’ll do anything—”
Lu Shiting looked over at Cao Yi. Cao Yi immediately picked up a pre-written scroll from the desk and threw it at the envoy.
“Leave for the Northern Di border camp immediately. Negotiate every term according to this. Do not back down a single inch. If the Northern Di people don’t sign this treaty…”
Cao Yi gripped the hilt of the saber at his waist.
“You, your eighty-year-old mother, and your three-year-old child—not one of you will survive!”
The envoy collapsed on the floor, then quickly snatched up the bright yellow scroll.
When he saw the imperial seal and realized the handwriting was clearly Lu Shiting’s, he looked up at the man in the high seat with pure horror.
Writing his own imperial decrees, using the seal, and deciding the fate of two nations without the permission of the Emperor or Crown Prince…
This was no mere Chief of the Eastern Depot. If this man had been a “whole” man, he probably would have taken the throne for himself long ago.
Cao Yi said, “What? Is the Lord Envoy unwilling to work for the Chief?”
“No, no, no! I am willing, I am willing! But the terms on this scroll… can I…”
“Read it quickly. Once you’re done, leave immediately.”
The envoy lay on the ground and read the scroll. The terms weren’t actually cruel. Many points were set at a level that Northern Di would find hard to accept, yet tempting enough that they would want to haggle—the exact edge where they wouldn’t want to give up the deal.
By making him sign this, Chief Lu wasn’t making things impossible; he just had to work his tongue a bit harder.
Cao Yi asked, “I heard you are a favorite of the Crown Prince and have a silver tongue. Are you sure you can convince Northern Di to sign this?”
“The Thousand-Man Commander flattery is too much, but I will do my absolute best. However, I’m afraid it will take some time.”
“How many days?”
“At… at least five days.”
“Five days it is. Now, take the scroll and go. The Chief will be here waiting for your good news.”
The envoy breathed a sigh of relief and scrambled out of the tent.
Cao Yi followed him out and spat. “Eighty-year-old mother and three-year-old child? He’s not even married. He only has two concubines in his house. Total nonsense.”
Once the envoy left under the escort of a dozen secret police, Cao Yi returned to report.
“Chief, our fast horses can get the envoy to the Northern Di camp in a few hours. They’ll definitely have a lot to argue about once they see those terms. The Black Armor Army is ready. Once you give the order, we will crush their camp and send those dogs running home.”
“Follow the original plan. Deploy at midnight the day after tomorrow. Attack the camp at 3:00 AM.”
“Yes, Chief… also, there is news from the capital regarding the Crown Prince and the Ninth Prince.”
Lu Shiting said, “Speak.”
“The Ninth Prince’s men have been investigating the Jingchun Garden, which the Emperor gave to the Crown Prince years ago. The Crown Prince spent a massive fortune renovating it. The Ninth Prince wants to find proof that the Crown Prince accepted ‘gifts’ from officials to pay for it.”
“I also had our men look into it. The money used for the renovations is indeed suspicious and has been recorded. But our spies found something else.”
Lu Shiting’s long fingers tapped lightly on the desk. “Something about the Sixth Prince?”
Cao Yi was surprised. “How did you know, Chief?”
“He brought you a few lunches and some dried fruit, and now you have to mention him in everything.”
Cao Yi gave a dry laugh, thinking to himself: I didn’t get to eat a single bite of that fruit; you took it all.
But seeing that the Chief wasn’t angry, Cao Yi continued.
“Eighteen years ago, shortly after Consort Li entered the palace, she became pregnant. she went to Jingchun Garden for three months to escape the summer heat. In the eighth month, she gave birth to the Sixth Prince. There was heavy bleeding, nearly killing both mother and child. She stayed there for another six months to recover before returning to the palace with the baby.”
“However, when our spies questioned the old staff at the garden, they learned that Consort Li’s pregnancy seemed to have ‘disappeared’ as early as the sixth month. No one knows how she gave birth to a healthy prince two months later.”
“Looking deeper, we found that the midwife and the physician present at the birth have either died or retired to their hometowns. Consort Li’s personal maid was also beaten to death by the Emperor three years later when the Consort was accused of adultery.”
“The spies went to the physician’s hometown, but he was very old and passed away a few years ago.”
“It seems no one can clearly explain what happened in Jingchun Garden that year. The spies are still looking. If we can find a witness, we might be able to find the truth.”