Doomed to be Cannon Fodder

“Oh? I didn’t know that killing an enemy spy made me a murderous maniac. Could it be that Miss Lin has some kind of special relationship with him?” No one knew exactly when Long Heng had arrived. As he walked forward, he revealed Duan Yunying’s true identity in a voice that could’ve frozen magma. Minister Lin, who’d come running after he heard about the commotion, was shocked by all the revelations as well. If that Duan person really was an spy from the enemy nation, then Lin Qianzi had practically almost single-handedly destroyed the entire Lin Family.

He immediately walked up to Lin Qianzi without second thought and gave her a hard slap. She spun around once from the force of the slap. “Men, take the young miss home to await her wedding.”

Minister Lin had decided to let Lin Qianzi off the hook last time, but he’d never expected that she’d return so soon with the intention of taking revenge for an enemy of the nation. Minister Lin was in so much pain that his heart felt like it was bleeding.

Lin Qianzi wasn’t a fool. She immediately understood the seriousness of the situation and allowed herself to be taken away. Bai Xiangxiu was smart enough to know to keep her mouth shut as well. Now was a time to hide herself well or someone might put a bounty on her head for this. Long Heng then turned to Minister Lin and asked, “Minister Lin, I wonder what relationship does the Lin Manor have with Duan Yunying?”

“None. None at all...”

“Then that is for the best because this prince will be reporting this incident to the emperor. A spy from the enemy nation has infiltrated our nation to assassinate important officials. For all we know, Minister Lin might even be one of his targets. When His Majesty asks about it, I hope that you can will reveal everything as is.”

“How can Your Highness be so sure that Duan Yunying is a spy?”

“I naturally have the required evidence at hand.”

Minister Lin was drenched in cold sweat. When he returned back home, he immediately gave Madame Lin two hard slaps to her face. His wife and his daughter were truly adept at making trouble for him. They have nearly brought ruin and disgrace upon him! He couldn’t allow them to tarnish his name any further. Thus, he sent someone to inquire Ji Zhangshu’s opinion of his daughter and to ask whether he would like to marry her.

Ji Zhangshu was more than willing. After all, he had been in love with his younger cousin since a long time ago. Even though there were a lot of bad rumors about her floating around, he strongly believed that they were just rumors. His cousin could never possibly be such a loose woman. He was more than happy to accept her hand in marriage. It didn’t matter how strongly his family disapproved of his decision.

Ji Zhangshu was ready with the preparations for marriage with Lin Qianzi in half a month’s time. Lin Qianzi had wanted to put up a fight, but she simply had no say in this matter. She could only marry him, albeit unwillingly. Surprisingly, the ceremony went smoothly. Nobody came to cause any disturbances at her wedding. Instead, a certain drunk person came to disturb Bai Xiangxiu instead.

The man sat on a chair after he’d caused Xiaoshi to faint after tapping her acupoints. He continued to drink as he wept. “How many men can a woman love at one time? I’ve done so much for her, yet she only thinks about other men. She even told me that the father of her child was another man.”

“Uhh... Luo Yunzheng, why did you come to me to cry about your troubles?” He even chose an opportune timing to come to my bedroom when Long Heng wasn’t around.

“I just thought that since you’re close to her, you might know her thoughts.”

Bai Xiangxiu could sense that he had no killing intent. So, she set her mind at ease and walked closer to him. While caressing her tummy she sat down and retorted. “I’m not close to her at all. Isn’t it just a breakup? Do you have to be so devastated by it that you have to come over to my place to cry about it?”

“Breakup?”

“Yeah. Unless... the two of you haven’t broken up yet?”

“Haha! I guess that’s true!” What else could a person do after a breakup other than drink? Luo Yunzheng was thoroughly drunk by now and began to talk about his past journeys with Miss Lin. Bai Xiangxiu already knew about it all since she had read the novel and now she was listening to the same story again in person. Her patience was almost at its breaking point.

Just outside the room, Long Heng was being so nervous that cold sweat was pouring out from his palms. He was afraid that his sudden presence might trigger Luo Yunzheng to do something that might harm Bai Xiangxiu. She had already gotten to the stage where there was a small bulge on her stomach. His child was slowly growing inside of her. Luo Yunzheng must be a lunatic! Why would he come all the way here to cry about his drunken sorrows?

Halfway through his story, Luo Yunzheng suddenly hiccuped drunkenly and fell onto the floor with a loud thud. Long Heng quickly rushed into the room and saw Bai Xiangxiu staring at Luo Yunzheng. “Are you alright?”

Bai Xiangxiu nodded her head. Long Heng then yelled, “Men! Lock him up in the dungeons!”

“Understood.” A concealed guard then came in and carried Luo Yunzheng away.

Bai Xiangxiu stood up and asked, “Have you been outside the whole time?”

“I was only worried about you. I immediately noticed when he came in. Xiu’er, something is about to happen soon. I will assign some concealed bodyguards to protect you. You need to be cautious at all times. Understood?”

“What do you mean by that?” Bai Xiangxiu could tell that something big was about to happen. She looked at Long Heng curiously. No wonder he has been so secretive lately. Could it be that... “Is it enemy nation trying to blame you for killing Duan Yunying?”

A woman’s intuition was often very accurate in these sort of things.

“It’s not an issue since they are no match for me. It’s just that I have to return to the battlefield.”

“Return to the... battlefield?” That plot point had certainly been brought forward for quite a bit. He has to kill me first before he returns to battle right? Why is he returning to the battlefield so soon?

“Don’t worry. It won’t happen so soon. At least, not until you give birth to our child.” Are you kidding me? I have to return to the modern era after the child is born! If you go into battle, who’s going to take care of the child? All sorts of complications began to fill Bai Xiangxiu’s mind. As she busily contemplated about her problems, someone suddenly hugged her.

“Don’t overthink it. You need some rest now.”

“But... you don’t need to hug me right?”

“You should be... alright if we...?”

“Y-yes...” Bai Xiangxiu had wanted to reject his advances at first, but she decided to be a little more understanding since Long Heng was soon going to return to the battlefield. However, that moment of understanding led to her downfall. Long Heng had only predicted his return to the battlefield. He hadn’t meant that he was going into battle tomorrow. On the bright side, he was much less rough on her now, but they still did it at least once a day.

As for Luo Yunzheng, he was tortured through and through in the underground cell, but ultimately released in the end. Long Heng didn’t want to butt heads with the wulin before the war. Otherwise, he’d be faced with troubles and worries within and without.

Currently, the emperor showing a lot more towards the Prince Li Manor. After all, it was only right for him to care for his general so that he could go to battle with a peace of mind! Even though Long Heng was technically the one who had killed their prince, the only person who could properly deal with the enemy nation’s armies was him as well. And, how dare the enemy nation plant a spy in their country! Such insolence. Fortunately, the spy hadn’t set their sights on the palace as the royal didn’t have the same immunity to poisons like Long Heng did.

Due to fear of such a development, the emperor then tasked Long Heng with a mission to ferret out all enemy spies, especially within the palace. Everyone was riddled with anxiety. It was a war without the overt signs of one. The emperor had no choice but to admit that he didn’t know who else he could trust other than Long Heng. Thus, Long Heng began the cleansing within the court and the palace. Months went gone by with the blink of an eye.