Chapter 769 Don’t go too far!

Jiyu, Yujing, Murong Mansion Study
Looking at Murong Zhe kneeling on the ground in front of him, Murong Yuliang preached angrily:
"You bastard, what's going on with that woman? What kind of shameful dealings are going on between you and Fang Peng..."

Feeling his father's rage, Murong Zhe was frightened and trembled all over. After a moment, he whispered in fear:

"Dad, when I was in Dongning before, I ran into Wang Liu by chance. At first, I treated her with courtesy, but she told me that her husband treated her badly and often beat her, so I felt pity for her. Originally, I just wanted to help her, but then she came to me on her own initiative, and I couldn't help myself."

"I don't know how it just happened, but Wang Liu got pregnant. She insisted that I help her divorce her husband and then marry her. I naturally refused to do so, so she threatened to expose everything!"

"Just when I was at a loss, Fang Peng somehow found out about this matter, and he told me to stop worrying about it and leave it to him!"

"I thought to myself that he was promoted by you, my father, and you have been very kind to him, so I didn't think much about it and let him do it!"

“But I really didn’t expect that his method would be so cruel. He actually poisoned Wang Liu to death. Father, I really didn’t expect this to happen. At that time, I just thought Fang Peng would just scare Wang Liu. I was even going to give Wang Liu some silver so that she would beat the child. I really never thought that Fang Peng would kill people…”

Hearing his son's confession, Murong Yuliang was also very distressed, but he continued to ask:

"What did you and Fang Peng do after this incident? Did you accept his money?"

As soon as these words came out, Murong Zhe immediately shook his head and said:

"After this incident, Fang Peng organized a few dinner parties and invited me to attend. I attended because of my face. He also wanted to give me 1,000 taels of silver later, but I knew that the silver was too expensive, so I didn't take it!"

Murong Yuliang continued to ask:
"Who will be attending the dinner?"

Seeing his father questioning him, Murong Zhe immediately started to stammer. Seeing this, Murong Yuliang immediately became furious and picked up the teacup on the table and threw it at him, cursing:
"You bastard, you really won't cry until you see the coffin. Even at this point, you still want to hide it?"

Murong Zhe shuddered when he heard this, but he could only tell the truth:
"They are some business owners, officials from the Governor's Office and the Provincial Court, some people from the Ye family and the Dadongsheng Company..."

Hearing his son talking about this, Murong Yuliang's eyes flashed with a gleam of light and asked coldly:

"Is Ye Zhanpeng present at the dinner?"

Seeing that Murong Yuliang hit the nail on the head, Murong Zhe could only nod helplessly and said:
"Indeed, there was one. He wanted to give me two thousand taels of silver as a gift. The amount was too large and I was a little worried, so I returned it. Father, you must believe me. I really didn't accept Ye Zhanpeng's money, nor did I do anything for him. I just had a few meals with him at the dinner party!"

"Everything I said is true! If I tell a lie, I will be struck by lightning and turned into a wandering ghost, and I will never be able to enter the ancestral temple!"

Seeing his son swear such a cruel oath, Murong Yuliang believed what he said and was silent for a while before asking:
"Do you know about the relationship between Fang Peng and Ye Zhanpeng?"

Murongzhe thought for a moment and said:
“Fang Peng helped Ye Zhanpeng with land matters, but Fang Peng is a very cautious person. He told me that Ye Zhanpeng is too bold and will get into trouble sooner or later. So Fang Peng felt that it was unsafe to have too close contact with this person, so he took the initiative to keep a distance from Ye Zhanpeng…”

"Ye Zhanpeng really wanted to establish a relationship with Fang Peng, but because Fang Peng ignored him, he shifted his attention to Lu Chaogui. The two of them worked together to do many things, and the Yun family behind Lu Chaogui was also involved!"

After listening to what Murong Zhe said, Murong Yuliang fell silent again. He waited for about half a cup of tea. Seeing that his father still didn't speak, Murong Zhe asked cautiously and anxiously;
"Dad, what should I do next?"

Murong Zhe's words interrupted Murong Yuliang's thoughts. Murong Yuliang glanced at Murong Zhe and said bitterly:
"What do you want to do now?"

Facing his father's question, Murong Zhe was a little speechless for a moment, but still said earnestly:

"Dad, you have to help me now! We can't let the Coordination Office find out! If they find out, my life will be over!"

Seeing that Murong Zhe was still trying to conceal the truth at this time, Murong Yuliang immediately said in a frustrated tone:
"You are such a hopeless bastard. Huo San is in Dongning now. Lu Chaogui has been arrested by him. The next step is Fang Peng. He will find out about your affairs sooner or later. Do you have any brains at all?"

"I, Murong Yuliang, have been wise all my life, so how could I give birth to a bastard like you..."

Murong Zhe was stunned when he heard this, and then he said in a somewhat collapsed manner:
"Then Dad, what should I do next?"

Murong Yuliang preached helplessly:
"What else can you do? What do you want to do? Your only option now is to turn yourself in and ask for leniency!"

When Murong Zhe heard the word "surrender", his heart collapsed. He knew that if he did so, his official career would be ruined. For a child of a noble family like him who was determined to make a name for himself in the officialdom, this would be more painful than killing him.

Just as Murong Zhe was slumped on the ground with lifeless eyes, the door of the study room suddenly opened and Wang suddenly rushed in. Seeing her son with a deathly pale face, Wang naturally felt extremely distressed. She pointed at Murong Yuliang and angrily shouted:
"Murong Yuliang, when did you become such a coward?"

"Now even a woman like me can see that it was Cui Shao who was behind you! Who else but him has the ability to stir up such a commotion?"

"Zhe'er shouldn't have anything to do with that bitch, but that bitch took the initiative to seduce Zhe'er. Otherwise, how could Zhe'er be with that bitch with his status?"

"She wants to marry into the Murong family just for a child. Is she worthy? If I were you, this bitch deserves to die for being so greedy!"

"Fang Peng killed the man, and Zhe'er didn't take any money from him or Ye Zhanpeng. What is there to surrender?"

“You, Murong Yuliang, always say that Ye Mingsheng entrusted you with an important task, but now you can’t even protect your own flesh and blood. You have brought shame to your Murong family…”

"This was Cui Shao's plan. He first killed Fang Peng, whom you promoted, and then plotted against Zhe'er, letting everyone in the Fengwu Army see that you, Murong Yuliang, not only can't protect the people you promoted, you can't even protect your own son. By then, everyone in the Fengwu Army will know that you, Murong Yuliang, are a coward. Who will dare to follow you?"

Listening to what Wang said, Murong Yuliang sighed and said earnestly:

"Madam, this matter is not as simple as it seems!" "If Cui Shao really did this, he must have a backup plan given his meticulousness. Maybe he is waiting for me to protect Zhe'er!"

Wang, who was already angry, ignored Murong Yuliang's advice and said with gritted teeth:
"What's Cui Shao's backup plan?"

"In my opinion, you, Murong Yuliang, are a coward. You are being pushed to this point and you still want to compromise?"

"If our eldest brother were here, with his methods, every member of the Cui family would have been a wandering ghost long ago!"

As soon as these words came out, Murong Yuliang frowned and quickly reminded in a low voice:

"Madam, be careful with your words! Walls may have ears!"

After being reminded by Murong Yuliang, Wang Shi seemed to realize something, but she still said stubbornly:

"What am I afraid of in my own home?"

"I'm telling you, Murong Yuliang, it's ok for you to let me suffer with you, but you can't let Zhe'er suffer with you too!"

"If you are so timid, I will go find Qingwu! Let Qingwu help her brother..."

When he heard Wang mention Qingwu, Murong Yuliang's expression instantly became serious, and he said very solemnly:
"Madam, you must not mention this matter to Qingwu! Absolutely not!"

Feeling the severity in Murong Yuliang's words, Wang was also shocked. She didn't know why her husband had such a big reaction, but she still said with all her might:

"Why don't you tell me Qingwu is fine! But you can't just ignore Zhe'er in this matter!"

"Zhe'er has always been very conscientious in his work at the Governor's Office. He goes to work at 11:00 in the morning and comes back at 11:00 at night. He finally became the Governor's Office. His future is limitless. You can't ruin his life for your reputation. Murong Yuliang, you have been the Governor of Liaoyang for several years. Don't tell me that you don't know anything about the Cui family's dirty deeds!"

"If Cui Shao can do it on the first day, why can't you do it on the fifteenth? What are you afraid of? At worst, we will all die together and no one will have a good life!"

Listening to what Wang said, Murong Yuliang sighed, waved his hand and said:

"I know this!"

After saying this, Wang pulled up Murong Zhe who was slumped on the ground, and said firmly:
"Zhe'er, follow me! No one can bully you while I'm here!"

After Wang and Murong Zhe left the study, Murong Yuliang sighed again and felt a headache. After thinking deeply for a cup of tea, Murong Yuliang silently opened the drawer and saw a small booklet lying in the drawer. He gently stroked the booklet with his palm. A flash of anger flashed in Murong Yuliang's eyes and he murmured in a low voice:
“Don’t go too far…”

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In Yunbing, in a valley one hundred miles west of Dagu County, thousands of Fengwu Army cavalrymen were taking a short rest.

At this time, General Xun Ke of the Third Division, who was in charge of the raid, was sitting on a big rock and comparing the map. Because this operation required very high speed, Xun Ke had to travel light and chose a lighter map instead of the sand table.

Although he chose the map, Xun Ke, as a general who once guarded Pingyun County and Lingyuan County, was very familiar with the terrain in this area.

While Xun Ke was thinking, his scout came to him, bowed to him and reported:

"General, the enemy has already established a defense line at Sanmenling!"

Hearing this, Xun Ke frowned slightly. Although he knew that Wang Muzhi was not easy to deal with, he still felt a little surprised that Wang Muzhi guessed his next pass so quickly. He originally wanted to take a short rest and rush directly for fifty miles to pass Sanmenling before dark.

After a moment's hesitation, Xun Ke asked the scout:

"How many enemy troops are there in Sanmenling?"

The scout said without hesitation:
"General, according to the confession of the captured enemy, there are about 5,000 enemy troops stationed in Sanmenling, and the leader is called Wang Zhide!"

Hearing the name Wang Zhide, Xun Ke couldn't help but feel familiar, and after thinking carefully for a while he remembered that this person was introduced in the intelligence of the Coordination Office as Wang Muzhi's distant cousin, who was very trusted by Wang Muzhi and currently served as a commander under Wang Muzhi...

Although he is Wang Muzhi's cousin, compared to Wang Muzhi who is both brave and resourceful, Wang Zhide is just brave.

In the previous battles of Sanchuanjiang and Pingyun County, it was Wang Zhide who took the lead in breaking through the camp of the Fengwu Army. He was commended by Shangguan Hongyuan on the recommendation of Wang Muzhi.

Of course, the reason why Wang Zhide was able to do this was not only because he was very brave in battle, but also because Wang Muzhi equipped his soldiers with a large number of firearms and armor.

And now Wang Muzhi has transferred his cousin and such an elite army here, which clearly expresses Wang Muzhi's importance to this matter.

Realizing this, Xun Ke also felt a little difficult. He knew that in addition to sending Wang Zhide to occupy Sanmenling to block him, Wang Muzhi would most likely order the rear to clear the fields. Therefore, he was now racing against time. If he led his troops to bypass Sanmenling, it would take at least two more days to walk.

In order to pursue speed, they only carried a total of seven days of dry food. If they walked for two more days, they would inevitably consume more food. If they reached the vicinity of Jinyang, they would be in danger of being wiped out because the enemy had scorched the land and could not get any reinforcements!
After thinking carefully for a while, Xun Ke's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, and the next second he stood up and said loudly:

“Stop resting! The entire army will head straight to Sanmenling…”

(What do you think about the latest plot? Feel free to share your thoughts!)
(End of this chapter)