Su Fengyi’s statement that General Shen bore responsibility was not made lightly.
Maintaining the relationship between an employee and their boss is naturally the employee’s duty and obligation, not the boss’s.
Especially under imperial authority, unlike in modern times, if you don’t like this boss, you can’t simply switch to another.
Having mastered both literary and martial arts, one sells their skills to the imperial family. There are only so many positions in the court, yet the Emperor has the entire realm to choose from. Why would he choose someone who opposes him when there are obedient candidates available?
The Emperor is the sole boss for all civil and military officials in the realm. As a military general, if you don’t want to rebel and change bosses, you must maintain a good relationship with the Emperor.
Even if you don’t report in the morning and evening, or write daily memorials asking, “Your Majesty, are you eating well? Sleeping well? Have you lost weight? Gained weight? Your servant misses you day and night,” at the very least, you shouldn’t insult him.
A military general should focus on fighting wars. Insulting the Emperor is the job of the censors—what business does a general have meddling in that?
Moreover, in the memorial, comparing the Late Emperor to Yao and Shun, likening the current Emperor to King Zhou of Shang, and equating Qiao Gui to Zhao Gao, while using the Late Emperor as a benchmark to urge the Emperor to learn from him—wasn’t that stepping on the Emperor’s biggest sore spot and stabbing him in the heart?
For the Emperor, the letter General Shen wrote to the Little Prince of the Northern Barbarians might not have been as significant. The memorial submitted by Shen Quan’s student was the fatal blow.
Su Fengyi stated bluntly:
“The worst thing General Shen did was insult the Emperor.
Zhou Yucheng’s memorial was truly highly inappropriate.”
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Shen Quan nodded in agreement:
“Your Highness speaks wisely. Zhou Yucheng’s handling of this matter was indeed somewhat rash.
However, this matter has nothing to do with me. Although he is my student, I neither instructed nor encouraged him to do this.
Since I promised the Late Emperor, even if I am displeased, I would at most remain silent. Why would I insult Wen Rui’s son?”
Shen He couldn’t help but interject:
“Exactly! Zhou Yucheng is Zhou Yucheng, and the Shen family is the Shen family. What does his insulting the Emperor have to do with our Shen family?”
The expressions and tones of the Shen brothers showed no sign of deceit, indicating they spoke the truth.
Su Fengyi suddenly became alert, realizing she might have made a mistake—she had placed too much trust in the information from the original book.
The original book was often written from the male lead’s perspective, not an omniscient one, focusing more on his personal experiences and subjective thoughts.
Content unrelated to the male lead wasn’t written in the book, so the male lead wouldn’t know about it.
Thus, what the male lead believed or knew might not necessarily be true.
First, the memorial! Then, the letter!
The memorial wasn’t orchestrated by the male lead or Qiao Gui—it just happened to be written by General Shen’s student.
The letter was also obtained by the male lead by chance. Even he exclaimed, “This is heaven’s help!”
How could there be so much “heaven’s help”? It was all too coincidental.
Su Fengyi suddenly realized that because General Shen died so early in the book, she hadn’t considered this possibility before.
Assuming it wasn’t a coincidence but a deliberate act, then someone behind the scenes was targeting General Shen. Whether it was the male lead or Qiao Gui, they were merely pawns of this hidden mastermind.
So who could it be?
With General Shen dead, besides the male lead, who else stood to gain?
After pondering for a moment, Su Fengyi asked:
“Does the Shen family have any enemies?
Speaking of which, another group of armed men barged into my residence today and were captured by my personal guards.”
“General Shen, who do you think the visitor is? What is their intention? Are they here to rescue you or to kill you?”
Shen He immediately jumped up:
“I came precisely for this matter. Naturally, they are here to rescue us! Since they are our own people, you should release them.”
Su Fengyi looked at him:
“How do you know? Do you recognize them? Whose people are they? The Shen family’s?”
Even as impulsive as Shen He was, he knew he couldn’t speak carelessly at this moment and shook his head vigorously:
“I don’t recognize them, I don’t. But my Shen family acts with integrity and has never made enemies. Where would enemies come from? They must be here to rescue us.”
Even now, Shen He was still secretly protecting King Pingliang, indicating that his trust in King Pingliang surpassed his trust in the Grand Princess.
Su Fengyi did not openly expose him but continued to sow discord against King Pingliang:
“Never made enemies? Then how did the Shen family end up in prison?
The world is full of people who hide daggers behind their smiles. Young General Shen, do not be too naive.
I personally raided the execution ground. My personal guard commander personally executed Eunuch Gao. I caused such a commotion—who in the capital doesn’t know I stand with the Shen family?
Think carefully, both generals: if you were in their place today, would you knowingly come to my Eldest Princess’s Residence shouting and killing?”
Shen Quan remained silent, and even the boisterous Shen He quieted down.
After a moment, Shen He seemed to make a decision. Uncharacteristically solemn, he straightened his attire and formally bowed to Su Fengyi:
“What you say makes sense, but perhaps there is some misunderstanding. If I rashly suspect them, wouldn’tt I be betraying their sincere intentions toward my Shen family?
I believe they are all righteous gentlemen who came to rescue my family. Please release them first.
I, Shen He, owe you a favor for this. How about I go eliminate the Northern Barbarians’ Royal Court for you and retrieve their Secret Treasure?”
The male lead’s rescue at the execution ground had been well set up, earning Shen He’s trust in advance. If Su Fengyi spoke ill of the male lead now, Shen He likely wouldn’t believe her.
So she turned to Shen Quan and asked:
“What does General Shen think?”
Shen Quan also clasped his hands and said seriously:
“I was just thinking of asking Your Highness for a favor. If Your Highness trusts me, could you temporarily spare them? I will handle the matter properly and repay Your Highness’s kindness.”
Seeing is believing; words are useless. It would be better to let the Shen brothers see for themselves.
Otherwise, if the male lead’s favor today wasn’t clarified, it would surely become a major problem.
In the future, if the Shen brothers had to choose between the Emperor and the male lead, King Pingliang, with this favor hanging over them, it was unclear how the Shen family would decide.
Moreover, Su Fengyi felt a slight heaviness in her heart. Was Shen He’s trust in King Pingliang due to King Pingliang’s previous efforts, or was it the protagonist’s aura subtly at work?
Was this why Shen He, as part of the protagonist’s group, instinctively, blindly trusted the male lead, helped him, and was unwilling to doubt him?
This was a major concern. Why not take this opportunity to clarify it thoroughly?
Thus, Su Fengyi stopped persuading and only smiled:
“Why are both generals being so formal? It’s merely a trivial matter. Since we’ve already pledged never to doubt each other, I naturally keep my word.
Tonight, the moonlight is bright, and I plan to stay in the study reading by candlelight, so I won’t keep you both.
In the dead of night, if anything happens, as long as it doesn’t come before my eyes, I naturally won’t know about it.”
“Wutong, escort General Shen back.”
Wutong responded with a yes, pushing the door open to enter.
Su Fengyi glanced around; in the blink of an eye, the young general Shen He had vanished once more.
There had clearly been another voice moments ago, but now it was gone. Observing the Grand Princess’s expression and seeing she had no intention of mentioning it, Wutong pretended not to know and remained silent, pushing General Shen’s wheelchair to leave.
Just as General Shen was about to exit, the Grand Princess’s voice suddenly came from behind:
“The Little Prince of the Northern Barbarians mobilized his troops seven days ago. Fifty thousand Northern Barbarian cavalry will reach Xinghe within ten days.”