Xie Jingchen was only allowed to take one antidote, and Su Jin planned to extort a sum of compensation for the Daqi soldiers who had died in battle.

How could she not give a painful lesson to those who coveted her things?

But her original intention was to ask for fifty thousand taels.

After all, the antidote taken away cured Duke Huguo’s poison, and they used the lives of Daqi soldiers as leverage; asking for fifty thousand taels was reasonable.

But if they really didn’t agree, could she really turn a blind eye to those captured Daqi soldiers?

However, the general sent by Nanliang to negotiate was a bit foolish; he exposed that Duke Huguo hadn’t been detoxified with just a few words.

Then—

Marquis Dongxiang raised the price on the spot.

If it were only to save someone else, Duke Nanliang would definitely haggle. Even if the worst case led to a break in negotiations, it wouldn’t be his life at stake.

As for him, Duke Huguo, being like meat on Daqi’s chopping board, would he dare to bargain?

He rooted out a traitor and managed to trick Nanliang; this battle was as beautiful a victory as one could wish for.

Originally, Marquis Dongxiang could have further incited things to make the negotiating general suffer.

But after thinking it over, he decided not to, feeling that having more of such officers around Duke Huguo would be beneficial for Daqi.

The poison was cured in Duke Huguo, but his anger had not subsided.

He had lost cities, been taken advantage of, and the chess piece Duke Chong painstakingly cultivated was lost, resulting in heavy losses.

But what worried him more was yet to come—

The day after his recovery, a decree from the capital was hurriedly delivered, severely rebuking General Shi and demoting him two ranks.

When the imperial eunuch held up the decree high upon entering the military camp, General Shi couldn’t have imagined that this decree was for him.

Since Duke Huguo entered the military camp, none of the strategies he proposed had been adopted by Duke Huguo.

Losing the cities wasn’t his fault, and no penalty should reach him, by rights.

Yet, this decree was indeed targeting him, and it sharply scolded him, leaving General Shi dumbfounded.

General Shi, after fighting many battles, reflected on his defeats, but that didn’t mean he should take the blame on behalf of Duke Huguo.

He knelt on the ground and refused to accept the decree.

The imperial eunuch exclaimed with displeasure, "General Shi, are you not going to accept the decree?"

General Shi retorted coldly, "Losing the cities is not my fault. The Emperor has been misled and issued this decree; how can I accept it?!"

General Shi spoke with imposing authority, every word resolute and unmistakable.

The soldiers in the army all knew how the cities were lost.

If he were to accept this decree, the blame would falsely rest on him, and he would indeed become a pushover, allowing Duke Huguo to manipulate him at will!

General Shi believed it was Duke Huguo who set him up to take the fall.

Duke Huguo had not expected the situation to unfold like this, but now that the Emperor had demoted General Shi, it was favorable for him; he had no reason not to accept it.

Moreover, the Emperor, in his anger over the loss of the city, demoted General Shi two ranks. If the decree were retracted when the mistake was realized, it would only make him even angrier.

While Duke Huguo had triumphed over General Shi by leveraging his defeats, General Shi’s prestige in the army could not be underestimated. To appease the Emperor’s wrath, even if General Shi wasn’t demoted two levels, a single level demotion was unavoidable.

Duke Huguo looked at General Shi and asked, "Is General Shi going to defy the decree?"

General Shi clenched his fists and stood up.

No matter what, he would not accept this decree!

Inside the tent.

Xie Jingchen and Dong Chenglang were still recuperating.

They had not left the tent for two days.

Outside the tent, footsteps approached, hurried and disordered.

The curtain was lifted, and Young Master Shi entered angrily.

Upon seeing him, Dong Chenglang asked, "What’s got you so upset, Cousin?"

He was still unaware of the Emperor sending people to declare the decree.

Young Master Shi, suppressing his anger, explained the situation.

Dong Chenglang, uneasy, dared not meet Young Master Shi’s eyes.

He glanced at Xie Jingchen, who was frowning and sharing the same anger expression as Young Master Shi, except he wasn’t the least bit uneasy.

Dong Chenglang felt no match for Xie Jingchen.

How could he remain so unfazed?

Seeing his cousin’s blazing fury, he thought of his uncle and felt at least 80% hopeful that he could help. He asked, "Did Uncle accept the decree?"

Young Master Shi remained silent, but the bulging veins on his forehead were answer enough.

That General Shi would accept the decree was within Xie Jingchen’s expectations.

The Emperor of Nanliang was narrow-minded, and issuing the wrong decree naturally resulted in a loss of face.

General Shi, being far at the border, was beyond the Emperor’s direct reach, but they should not forget General Shi’s wife and the Shi family juniors were still in the Capital City, under the Emperor’s nose.

For the greater good, General Shi had to shoulder this blame, whether he wished to or not.

If General Shi didn’t accept the decree and the imperial eunuch had to return it as it was, then his efforts would have been in vain.

General Shi was already full of fury; this humiliating decree would keep him on the brink of anger.

When people are angry, they are more prone to making mistakes.

Duke Huguo was always making trouble for him...

It probably wouldn’t be much longer before he could return to Daqi.

Young Master Shi’s anger was explosive, and Dong Chenglang advised him not to harm his health, "It’s only natural that Duke Huguo desires Uncle’s military power, leading to this result."

Young Master Shi clenched his fists.

Xie Jingchen thought it was not yet the right time to win over Young Master Shi, so he said, "General Shi must avoid doing anything foolish in his anger."

Young Master Shi knew his father’s temper well and promptly got up to leave.

Dong Chenglang looked at Xie Jingchen and said, "Why would you advise Cousin? It’d be great if Uncle and Duke Huguo clashed."

Xie Jingchen, "..."

Xie Jingchen’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.

One wonders what bad luck General Shi had in a past life to have such a nephew.

Dong Chenglang considered a moment, then got up from bed, fetched paper and pen, and handed them to Xie Jingchen.

Xie Jingchen looked at him and asked, "What’s this for?"

"Writing a letter," Dong Chenglang replied.

He whispered, "Your strategy was brilliant; I think we could use it again."

Xie Jingchen was utterly confused.

Upon hearing Dong Chenglang’s explanation, Xie Jingchen was thoroughly impressed.

This man was not only setting up his own uncle; he was even ruthless enough to set himself up.

Dong Chenglang brought over the writing tools so Xie Jingchen could pen a letter incriminating Dong Chenglang himself.

Xie Jingchen was to write that although Daqi had provided a bottle of antidote, it was Dong Chenglang, the Heir of Marquis Changning, who deliberately brought back only one in order to sow discord between Duke Huguo and his close subordinates, causing Nanliang to lose one hundred thousand taels due to his malicious intents.

If Dong Chenglang wanted to bring this upon himself, did Xie Jingchen have any reason to stop him?

Certainly not.

As Xie Jingchen penned his secret letter, Duke Huguo was engaged in a confidential discussion with the imperial eunuch.

With matters escalating, the imperial eunuch naturally knew General Shi was innocent.

Duke Huguo was speaking to him about this very matter.

He hoped the imperial eunuch would let the mistake stand and not report it to the Emperor.

The imperial eunuch smiled, "Since General Shi accepted the decree, it’s tantamount to admitting guilt. Why should I stir up unnecessary trouble?"

"It’s just that the consecutive losses of cities have greatly angered the Emperor; Duke, don’t let the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince be disappointed."

"As His Highness the Crown Prince is about to celebrate a great joy, reclaiming the cities would provide an excellent gift."

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