Deposed Empress General Chapter 67

The sky gradually darkened. The wardens that had been patrolling slowly stopped patrolling. Zuo Canglang kept hugging her knees, sitting on the ground, as she knew things wouldn't be resolved like this. The people that planned on forcing her death would definitely take advantage of this opportunity.

But she no longer wanted to think about these things anymore, as she only wanted to sit like this, not caring about anything. She didn't want to think of anyone.

A bit later, outside, the warden that was sending food over, put a bowl of porridge by the door. Zuo Canglang sat for a while, but still ultimately went over. Someone who had never been loved in the world, she actually didn't wait for anyone to come and persuade her to eat. She picked up the bowl, and that porridge was thicker than normal, and although it had gotten cold, it was still passable.

She took some large gulps, and suddenly discovered that there was something in the bowl, dark and slithering. She used her chopsticks to peel away the grains of rice, and suddenly saw a flowery snake head!!

Her hand quivered, and the whole bowl fell on the ground, her stomach turned, and she turned her face, vomiting on the floor.

And then, in her heart, she suddenly understood. She had always thought, the one that wanted to harm her last time in prison was Jiang Sanyi. After all, Jiang Sanyi could only find people to easily harm her in prison. But now, it looked like, this person was actually Jiang Bilan.

Perhaps it was last time, when she had saved her at Fang City, that she suddenly discovered her weakness. But her hands, could they really find their way into the royal prison?

Then this time, her miscarriage, was it also part of the scheme? But why did she need to use her own child for such a price? Even if the attachment of mother and child was not a factor, this type of price, was still not worth it, ah.

Her mood turned, as she had already puked out all the contents of her stomach. In the hay beside her, there was something letting out a slithering sound. Zuo Canglang perspired, and turning her head, she saw a black snake making its nest in the bedding.

She slowly retreated, and she didn't have anything in her hands. But that snake grew increasingly close. She only felt the sweat on her body freezing, and ultimately, she had no way, but to shut her eyes, and to reach her hand out, grabbing that snake. She didn't know if she managed to lock it down, and she used all her force to throw it against the wall.

That snake fell to the ground, and stopped moving. However, her hands still felt that cold slippery sensation, as though within her body, it would not dissipate.

She took deep breaths, and her stomach still felt wave after wave of pain, but she could only stare attentively at the hay, occasionally also checking the various corners.

Suddenly, it seemed as though something hit her head, and raising her head, she only saw a greenisyellow and black snake slowly descending from above. Upon raising her head, the snake practically touched her nose.

"Aa-" she screamed out, raising her hands to block. That snake bit into her wrist. She didn't know whether or not it was venomous, as it was already too late to think of this. She seized the snake's tail, and used all her force to throw the snake out. And then she hugged her head with her hands, only shaking-- what should she do? She wouldn't be released, so what should she do?

She didn't sleep the whole night, and her whole body felt waves of cold. Outside, someone came to send food, so she carefully used her chopsticks to peel away the rice. Beneath it was indeed a bloody snake head. She knew that she should remove the snake head and force herself to eat it. Right now, she didn't know how long she had to stay here, and if she didn't eat, then the others would only feel that she is doing it in anger.

Nobody would believe that it was someone secretly utilizing a scheme.

But she couldn't, and it was such that just thinking of the feeling of that item entering her mouth, she couldn't help but puke.

At this time, the royal court encountered a strange change. Since Wenqi's passing, the military chief's position had always been empty. Originally, Zuo Canglang, as the Biao Qi Great General, practically controlled most of the military power. Murong Yan also originally intended on making her a Wei General. Thus, the position of military chief would also naturally be hers.

But it was just these two days, that Murong Yan suddenly summoned Di Lianzhong. Di Lianzhong was also someone who had military merit, and back then, he was a comrade of Wen Xingye's. Originally in the army, he still had some prestige, but later on, he criticized Wen Xingye for seizing military rations. Murong Yuan was unhappy, and as a result, he stopped utilizing him.

Now that he had once again returned to court, the court officials all couldn't guess what Murong Yan was doing.

And this day, in morning court, Murong Yan announced to the court, that back then, Di Lianzhong's matter of seizing military rations, was a matter without evidence. Now that he had discovered the truth, the court would once again begin using him, and promoted him to Wei General, to take the position as head of the military.

Once this decision was made, of course the army felt stunned. But at this time, nobody dared to speak out. Zuo Canglang had harmed the queen, slain the royal child, and this crime, nobody could bear. Currently, Murong Yan, not deciding to kill her was already fortuitous. Now that she was in prison, could they hope for Murong Yan to keep this military chief position for her?

If she couldn't take the role, Di Lianzhong, whether in seniority or in military merit, could also take this rank-one military official position.

Nobody had any complaints, and thus the matter was settled like this.

Di Lianzhong received such a big favor from Jiang Sanyi, so of course he couldn't only thank him verbally. Thus he worked hard to praise Jiang Sanyi's eldest son, Jiang Qi as someone who was intelligent and useful. Jiang Sanyi thus had Jiang Qi greet him as his godfather. Thus, Di Lianzhong in the short term, could not use Jiang Qi, but normally, he would be quite reasonable for him to usually bring Jiang Qi along.

In the military, all the old generals knew his past enmity with the Wen clan. So Yuan Xi and the others were naturally dissatisfied with him. And, ultimately Di Lianzhong had been away from the military for a long time, so he could only slowly raise his own confidantes. Within a short period of time, the military started having a strange change.

In the night, Murong Yan accompanied Jiang Bilan. After much difficulty, she had finally fallen asleep, so Murong Yan left Qi Feng Hall. These days, he practically didn't sleep with Jiang Bilan, but every day he would still come over to accompany her.

Wang Yunzhao followed behind Murong Yan, lightly saying, "Your majesty......"

Murong Yan harrumphed coldly, saying, "You've been by this king's side for so many years, so you should know what words shouldn't be said." At the least, you shouldn't say it at this time.

Wang Yunzhao was stunned, but still said, "Your majesty, last time the general entered prison. In the prison, someone had wanted to cause her death." Murong Yan was not moved, and Wang Yunzhao said, "Your majesty, please think, based on General Zuo's personality, it wasn't to the point that she couldn't think it through, how would she not ask for help, and kneel on the ground, begging for forgiveness?"

Murong Yan said, "And this king had thought, she had thought things through. But it turns out, that it was because she had no other way? Thus it looks like, I have truly caused her suffering."

Wang Yunzhao didn't think that he would think this way, and immediately said, "Your majesty......"

Murong Yan yelled out, "Shut up! If she is so unwilling, then why should this king force her?" Saying thus, he left. Wang Yunzhao chased after him, still wanting to say more, but looking at his expression, he didn't dare to say anything more.

This day, in the royal study, Murong Yan was in the middle of issuing edicts. This time, Zuo Canglang had been thrown in prison, and everyone's response wasn't particularly strong. Perhaps it was due to the matter last time, that nobody thought he would truly punish Zuo Canglang. After all, last time, he had also been greatly enraged, but only imprisoned her for a few days before releasing her.

And when she was released, the royal favor had only increased instead of decreasing. As things had come to this, no matter if it was generals or civil officials, nobody had the worry or concern of last time. It was only that Di Lian Zhong sent a report, criticizing Zhuge Jin, claiming that he was disrespectful to his superiors. When he went to the camp, his carriage had come before the tent, but Zhuge Jin hadn't come out of his tent to welcome him. This caused him to wait outside the tent for two hours.

Murong Yan put the report by the side, not passing judgment on it.

The study was quiet, and suddenly someone's shadow appeared, and without making a sound, stood before him. The servants serving inside were all startled, but luckily Wang Yunzhao was present, so nobody made any noise. Murong Yan glanced over, saying, "Leng Feiyan, did you announce your arrival? How could you just appear like this in this king's study?"

Leng Feiyan stood without kneeling, saying, "Announce my arrival? Back when lord master was still his second highness, he didn't have this type of arrogance."

Murong Yan's brush stopped, living a thick blot of ink. He lifted his head, looking at Leng Feiyan. Leng Feiyan didn't retreat at all, "Last time, Ah Zuo went into prison, because you wanted to support Duanmu family. This time, what is it for?"

Murong Yan's expression slowly darkened, "Is this something you should concern yourself with?"

Leng Feiyan said, "Occasionally, I would still think. This time, instead of saying that she harmed a royal descendant, why not say that towards Wenqi's old subordinates, you have always been afraid of them. Thus, you needed to find a reason that everyone would be unable to reject, to have her enter prison. Only this way, could you legitimately support a faction to counterbalance Wen clan, to reduce Wen clan's influence on the military. Because back then, it was you that forced Wenqi's death."

Murong Yan slowly put his brush away, and took out a cloth to wipe away the ink on his hand. Wang Yunzhao was worried, sweating on the side, but he lowered his head, afraid to speak.

Murong Yan said, "So what?"

Leng Feiyan said, "You treat us all like transactions. You invest, so we give returns. Thus, all these years, we have supported you, and you have given us authority and power. But even if you were raising a dog, would you really not even have any old ties? I can't understand you, but I hope that you know, she has never treated you as a transaction. Everything you have given her, is all unimportant things to her. If you can't even trust her, then in this world, is there anyone left that you can trust?"

Murong Yan said, "What is the point of telling me this? If you want to point your sword at me, you can."

Leng Feiyan said, "I hope there isn't such a day." Saying thus, she turned, leaving. The study was silent. Wang Yunzhao was afraid to speak, and the servants by his side all knelt, all quivering. Murong Yan looked them over, and lightly said, "This person......"

And then he rose, looking at Wang Yunzhao. With only a gaze, Wang Yunzhao's heart turned to as- today the servants that served in this hall, could not be kept.

This day, Murong Yan ordered Di Lianzhong to head towards Xiao Quan Mountain to gather troops. Currently, Western Jing wouldn't invade Great Yan, and Gu Zhu and Tu He, Wu Zhong, and the other small nations, all believed that Great Yan hadn't recovered yet, and so they had all begun harassing Great Yan's border cities.

They all knew, once Great Yan truly recovered, they would be in extreme danger. In the past, Great Yan's ruler was Murong Yuan, and Murong Yuan feared combat, and had always sought compromise. Currently, Murong Yan's means of resolving matters, is entirely different from his father.

In the past, when Western Jing attacked Great Yan with large armies, they would just observe on the side. But now, Western Jing had retreated to the west of White Wolf Lake, so they began feeling threatened.

But even they would not have thought, that at this moment, Murong Yan dared to attack Gu Zhu. That night, Murong Yan summoned Di Lianzhong into the palace, and spread out a map of Xiao Quan mountain, discussing matters with him the whole night. Di Lianzhong was still rather versed in military tactics, and he still needed an opportunity, to attain military merit, to establish his own prestige in the army.

Thus, he thought this opportunity was particularly precious, and discussed the matter rather seriously with Murong Yan.

That day, Di Lianzhong was the commander in chief, and with seven vice generals, ordered a hundred thousand troops, to head towards Xiao Quan Mountain.

Everything was planned thoroughly, and Xiao Quan Mountain's map, he and Jiang Qi both had it in the palm of their hands. This battle, should have been an easy opportunity to establish their accomplishments. It was also supposed to be the battle in which Great Yan flexed its military might towards the small nations. But when the hundred thousand soldiers arrived outside of Mayi city, right as they were encamping, rumors spread in the army.

Someone said that actually Zuo Canglang had long been framed and had died, and Murong Yan didn't have any usable generals, and thus, had made Di Lianzhong as the marshal!

Zuo Canglang's prestige in the army, was something Di Lianzhong could not compare to at all. Once this rumor spread, immediately morale was impacted. Di Lianzhong was extremely angry, and executed dozens of soldiers that had spread the rumor, but it caused this rumor to grow even more widespread.

That night, some soldiers secretly deserted, and Di Lianzhong was even more enraged. Although he also knew of Zuo Canglang's accomplishments, but actually, in his heart, he still considered her nothing. Originally, she was just a little girl, and when she started she was still a nobody, and had just suddenly become famous. Perhaps it had just been Murong Yan coming up with the schemes and plots for her behind the scenes.

If it hadn't been for Murong Yan's continuing support, what insight could a little girl have?

So how could these soldiers each treat her like a god?

He felt that currently, the army's morale was unstable, due to the fact that it had been a long time since he had seen action. Thus he felt that delaying matters would be harmful, and so he discussed with Jiang Qi, to ambush Xiao Quan Mountain that night.

But when he led the troops to arrive at Xiao Quan Mountain, Xiao Quan Mountain had actually planted Western Jing's Ren Xuan's Marshal flag. Di Lianzhong hesitated, and didn't dare to attack-- he hadn't even known when Xiao Quan Mountain's control had shifted hands, so how did he dare to attack frivolously?

Thinking it over, he could only retreat. The soldiers' morale was originally low, and now, they had, after much difficulty, finally attacked the city, but now they had to retreat without success, resulting in a further drop in morale. But right at this time, Xiao Quan Mountain had a large army surge forth. They thus attacked the retreating Yan troops.

Di Lianzhong ordered the soldiers to return and fight, but at this time, the formations had gotten messed up. The enemy troops continued to come out of the city, and the sky hadn't grown light yet, so Di Lianzhong didn't even get to see if the enemies were Jing troops, and had no knowledge of their number, so how could he fight the enemy?

In the chaos, the army fell into disarray, and when they retreated to Mayi city, they had lost about ten thousand men. The lost horses, arms, etc. were also countless.

Actually, if they had really assessed their losses at this time, it actually wasn't serious. After all, when he retreated, his reserved had become the advance guard, and thus, they slowly withdrew, and were guarded. But after the entire army returned to camp, they had actually lost a lot of soldiers, and be disorderly like deserters.

Di Lianzhong was instantly put in a difficult situation, as he could neither advance nor retreat. If he continued fighting, based on the current morale, could he really take Xiao Quan mountain? And even if they could really capture it, how many soldiers would he lose?

But if he withdrew, within the army, his prestige would hit rock bottom, and this Military Chief would become a laughingstock to the world. So how could he lose to a mere girl?

At this time, the best solution, was of course to send a letter back, asking Murong Yan to let Zuo Canglang show herself, so the rumors would end on their own. Then he would be able to reform the army's morale. At the best, he could also beg for mercy for Zuo Canglang, and thus, not only could he gain some connections with the army, but the old subordinates of Wen clan would also not treat him as their enemy.

But begging for mercy for Zuo Canglang, would Jiang Sanyi permit it? And what would Murong Yan think? He would definitely feel, that this person was ultimately still not as good as Zuo Canglang, right?

He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, being unable to retreat, and could only burrow his head into another battle.

For this battle, he chose to fight in the day, and very carefully, and seriously, he set up his formation before the city wall. But Gu Zhu's general, He Dian, at the head of the city looked at him, saying, "And I was wondering who it was. Turns out it is that Di Lianzhong that stole military rations. You'd best return, as killing you would dirty my blade."

Di Lianzhong was enraged, and ordered an attack on the city. Right as he attacked the city, Wu Zhong's soldiers went around the rear of the Yan troops, and coordinated their attack with Gu Zhu. Di Lianzhong saw that matters were not good, and could once again only order a withdrawal. But this time, with his withdrawal, he lost his vanguard, the twenty thousand elite troops. He brought the remaining sixty thousand troops to return to Mayi city.

With the two unsuccessful battles, he had lost a lot of men and arms, and thus, the army's morale fell into a pit.

Di Lianzhong couldn't do anything, but send a letter, admitting his fault to Murong Yan.

When Murong Yan received the military report, he was silent for a long time. At this, Wang Yunzhao finally carefully spoke, "Your majesty, General Zuo has been locked up in prison for some time, so I think she has probably also reflected on her mistakes. Why not..... have your majesty head over a bit later to take a look? She is ultimately still your majesty's person, so how could there be hatred that lasts overnight?"

Murong Yan didn't answer him, but lifted his hand to throw the general's letter onto ground, saying, "A dead piece of wood is difficult to sculpt." Thinking it over, he said, "Let's go, we'll head over to see her."

Everyone had thought, based on his relationship with Zuo Canglang, he would only lock her up for a few days. Even Murong Yan himself, had also only pondered what small tricks Jiang Bilan could play. At the most, all she could do was just force her to kneel for a longer period of time, that's it.

But when they arrived in prison, even he was stunned. Zuo Canglang was far away from the hay bedding, and curled up against the corner of the wall, not moving at all. The warden opened the cell door, and Murong Yan walked inside with Wang Yunzhao. Zuo Canglang didn't move, so Wang Yunzhao quickly said, "General? General? His majesty has come over to visit you."

He reached his hand over, but when his fingers had just touched her, Zuo Canglang was like a startled beast, and used all her effort to throw his hand away, he fingernails slashing against the back of his hand, immediately drawing streaks of blood. She curled up further in the corner.

Wang Yunzhao was stunned, and Murong Yan slowly walked forwards, kneeling down to look at her. The warden behind him quickly said, "Your majesty, the criminal's state of mind has recently been insane, so I would ask your majesty to stay away, to avoid hurting your royal body!"

Murong Yan ignored him, and slowly drew close to Zuo Canglang, asking, "What's the matter?" Saying this, he reached his hand over, and when it got close to her, he only felt a pain on his hand, but he didn't retreat, but rather hugged her tightly. Her nails looked as though they had been bitten, as some places were sharp beyond measure. It had practically sliced off his skin.

The warden behind had already been filled with worry, and quickly came forwards, using his strength to try and pull her away. It seemed that there were chaotic noises by his ear, and he immediately shouted out, "Stop!"

Everyone around was stunned, and they all retreated. He continued hugging her in his embrace, holding onto her pair of hands, and then he discovered that her eyes were bloodshot, as though she had gone mad. In just a few days, the person in his embrace had wasted away until she was only skin and bones.

"Ah Zuo." He called her lightly, and reached his hand to brush away the messy hair in her face. She struggled wildly, but as she hadn't eaten in days, she didn't have any strength.

Murong Yan said, "It's alright, be a bit more quiet, be good, a bit more quiet." She snarled like a wild animal, finally biting into his hand. Murong Yan's forehead creased, and the warden behind took the pommel of his sword over, and knocked her unconscious.

She fell into his arms, and Murong Yan lifted her, and discovered that she had grown light, as though she had no weight in her.

He turned his head, and saw the food that was still placed at the cell door. Behind him, Wang Yunzhao lightly said, "Your majesty, the general's condition, looks like it's really not good. Should we summon a royal doctor over to take a look?"

Murong Yan lightly brushed her hair; her entire body was cold to the touch, and her hair hadn't dried yet. Inside, it was still wet. Such a cold day, she only wore a thin shirt. He relaxed her hands, and discovered that her hands had all frozen over, and her nails had been sharpened.

He only exerted a bit of force, and the her frost bitten body dripped out some bloody water.

Not knowing why, he suddenly felt a bit of pity. This type of feeling made him feel ridiculous. Was Murong Yan someone who would pity others?

He should push her away, he should wash away this layer of blood. He should feel that it is dirty.

But he continued to hold her, and turned his head towards Wang Yunzhao, saying, "This king really wants to know, that in just a few days, how they had managed to scare one of my fierce generals into such a state. If you have the time, ask around for this king."

Wang Yunzhao of course knew what these words meant, and immediately said, "This subject obeys your order."

Murong Yan brought Zuo Canglang out, and everyone around them lowered their heads, but knowingly or not, they would still glance over. Murong Yan ignored them all, bringing her onto a carriage, and pulling out a silk handkerchief, he lightly wiped away the dust on her face.

That day, this matter was spread throughout the palace. His majesty had personally carried Madam Wen out of prison, which was rather explosive news.

Murong Yan ignored all of this, and summoned the head of the royal doctors, Hai Yun to come and take care of her.

But when taking her pulse, Hai Yun lowered his head, saying, "Your majesty, perhaps the general is only enraged, and these days, didn't take a lot of food, and also caught a cold, so it isn't particularly serious. It is enough to take two medicine prescriptions."

Murong Yan didn't speak, just letting him kneel like this for a while, saying, "The head of the royal doctors has recently had to take care of the queen, so thinking of it, you must be extremely busy. The matters of the southern palace hall, will be handled by that royal doctor then." The royal doctor Zhao Zi-En, by the side, immediately knelt down to receive his order.

Receiving the order, he once again took the pulse, but didn't dare to even ask the servant girls to clean her. She was too weak, and as she had not eaten in a few days, she relied entirely on having a healthy constitution originally, to survive the ordeal. Murong Yan waited outside the palace hall, and Zhao Zi-En fed her some porridge, before finally writing a prescription.

Murong Yan stayed by the side the whole time, when outside, suddenly someone announced, "Her ladyship the queen has arrived."

Murong Yan turned his head, and saw Jiang Bilan walking in. She wore a light gold dress, with a pink belt. Her complexion hadn't recovered yet, and she still looked a bit weak. Murong Yan asked, "How come the queen has come over?"

Jiang Bilan bowed at him, saying, "I heard the general is sick, so this wife subject especially rushed over to take a look. The matter last time...... I think perhaps the general didn't intend on it. Suffering such a punishment, this subject wife also feels unsettled."

Murong Yan nodded, saying, "The queen has put in effort."

Jiang Bilan smiled, saying, "Your majesty caring about this matter, so how could this subject wife not care about it? I heard that your majesty was in such worry, that you carried the general the whole way back to the palace, so this subject wife is only afraid that something serious had happened."

Murong Yan sat down in front of her, and slowly held Zuo Canglang's hand. Taking over the medicine that Zhao Zi'En had put together, he lightly applied it to her. Jiang Bilan was stunned, and quickly walked forwards, smiling, saying, "Just let this subject wife perform these things. Your majesty is a man, so how can you do this? I'm only afraid you will hurt the general."

Murong Yan glanced at her, carrying the same smile, saying, "In the past, when this king was in the palace, I had always lacked servants at my side, so some things, I'm actually rather good at."

Jiang Bilan was stunned, and he ignored her, only continuing bit by bit to lightly apply the medicine onto her hand.

Jiang Bilan stood by the side, her heart feeling empty.