At those words, silence fell over the room. It was as still as a realm of the dead; no one spoke, and no one answered.
Qin An said nothing. His fingertips tapped a steady rhythm against the table. After a long while, he broke the silence.
"I've thought about that too. Perhaps it really is as Marshal Liu said, but what can we do about it?"
There was no need to speak in riddles. Marshal Liu had brought the matter into the open, so Qin An saw no reason to beat around the bush.
The task Emperor Xuanwu had given him this time was vague, but anyone with a little sense could work out what he ultimately meant.
A spy had appeared among the Great Qian Kingdom's highest ranks. Among those ranks, practically everyone knew it.
The other high-ranking officials were all in the Mystic Capital. Even if the spy was one of them, Emperor Xuanwu could deal with the problem at once and keep the danger to a minimum.
Marshal Liu alone was different.
He was stationed at the border, guarding it from a place ten thousand miles from the Mystic Capital.
If he was the spy, then no matter how formidable Emperor Xuanwu was, his reach could not extend that far.
Qin An's arrival therefore made him an observer Emperor Xuanwu had planted at the border, there to watch for anything unusual about Marshal Liu and determine whether he was the spy.
Marshal Liu sighed. "Those of us who fought alongside His Majesty to win this realm understand him. A spy among our highest ranks could change the course of everything."
"If I were His Majesty, I would do the same. So I have no objection to your coming here, Lord Qin."
Those who had fought beside Emperor