"Jing Er, thank goodness you reminded me. Return to the capital at once... ah, no."
That was too slow. Even riding hard and spurring their horses on, they had been away from the Ninth Prince's Residence for quite some time.
"Use the pigeons from Golden Mountain Temple to send a letter back. Make sure they report everything happening at the Prince's Manor truthfully."
Xia Siheng immediately sat down at the desk and picked up his brush to write home.
After finishing one letter, he wrote another detailing Yuan Can's circumstances, hoping to ask his daughter what had happened.
His heart pounded wildly, without rhythm, and unease gripped him. If hundreds of thousands of soldiers had not still been waiting for his orders, he would certainly have mounted his horse and rushed home at once.
Jing Er took the letters and immediately went to make arrangements. His palms were slick with cold sweat, too. He could only hope that he and the Prince were overthinking things!
Xia Siheng called outside, "Jing Wu! Bring the battalion commanders in!"
Once the battalion commanders entered and saw the corpse lying in a pool of blood, their eyes instantly reddened, and they dropped to their knees before him.
"Your Highness, what on earth..."
Xia Siheng closed his eyes, concealing the sorrow in them, and said gravely, "Battalion Commander Yuan Can died on the battlefield, sacrificing his life for his country."
There had been no betrayal. He would leave behind a name honored for loyalty and valor in service to his country!
The battalion commanders wept in anguish.
They all understood that Old Yuan must have chosen suicide to spare his family from being implicated.
The Prince was benevolent and had preserved his good name, offering comfort to both the soldiers and Battalion Commander Yuan's family.