Jun You Ji Fou

Chapter 22

"Then shouldn't the master give the order now?" Su Bai couldn't contain his excitement, taking a few steps forward involuntarily. "It's rare for that Lord General Chu to reveal such a big flaw!"

"It's not him," Su Shiyu said calmly.

"Huh?" Su Bai was puzzled.

"Lower your voice; you've made me forget where I was about to play next." Su Shi Yu glanced up at Su Bai.

Su Bai immediately shut his mouth and pointed a finger on the chessboard.

After placing a black piece on the board, Su Shi Yu continued, "You also know that since the era of the previous emperor, our Great Xia has favored the literati over the martial, which has prevailed. We've gone through two disturbances by the Xiongnu, our military strength has already been weakened, and since the emperor ascended to the throne, there have been several disasters and the people have been displaced. There are few with outstanding martial skills, let alone someone as rare as General Chu. The former Minister Chen Xuanwen highly praised and esteemed him, and after father's death, looking across the court, there is no other military general that can compare with him.

Over these three years, his position has become increasingly stable. Now holding the office of the Grand General, he is at the peak of success and many officials in the capital wish to associate with him. The situation was just right, why would he bother to kill and create panic? Not to mention, it would easily backfire, truly lacking motive and benefit."

"Such blatant slaughter is obviously meant to make the court pay attention, and the evidence pointing to General Chu is too conspicuous to be his mistake; it seems more like someone is intentionally guiding it." He paused, "Moreover, having known him for many years, I have never seen him use words like those found in the letters used as evidence."

"Did the young master mean there's a hidden hand framing and setting a trap?" Su Bai couldn't help but express his confusion immediately after speaking, "But that doesn't make sense. Currently, the situation in the capital is divided into two factions, and if it's not us, could it be internal strife within the Chu party?"

"There are only two parties in the capital, but outside of Chang'an, there are many hungry wolves watching eagerly. How do you know that someone hasn't already intervened?" Su Shi Yu lifted his face, smiled, and glanced at Su Bai, then diverted his gaze again, saying, "But I still can't figure out why the opponent suddenly targeted Chu Taiwei."

"Maybe it's because Chu Taiwei's personality is really too poor," Su Bai speculated.

Su Shi Yu stopped his chess move and said softly, "Rescuing those in danger and being grateful and seeking to repay those debts, that doesn't count as too poor."

Su Bai didn't hear clearly, "What did you say, young master?"

Su Shi Yu then continued from where he left off, saying, "There are many doubts in this case, so I plan to personally start from the beginning to investigate. After all, Chu Taiwei has commanded the army for many years, and who knows how many soldiers can no longer distinguish whether their surname is Li or Chu. If he is rashly executed following the trend, it may cause unrest within the military heart. Moreover, there are not many people left in the court who have the talent for leading troops. Once the border takes advantage of this..." His voice suddenly paused, and a smile appeared on his lips as he tasted the word again, "Border."

Su Bai was still confused, only to see Su Shi Yu standing up facing him, instructing, "Confiscate all existing evidence to the Imperial Censorate, and without my permission, no one may act rashly. Tell the Deputy Censor-in-Chief that they can continue as usual, and there's no need to do anything about this case for now."