Yu Jin Chang An (With Jin's Chang'An)

Chapter 45

The city gates of the capital were indeed locked, and martial law was enforced for ten days, during which no one was allowed to enter or leave. The ambassador from the Western Kingdom was placed under house arrest, delaying his return journey. Despite his repeated requests for permission to leave, each request was denied, and the news seemed to disappear without a trace.

As the ambassador remained unable to return, tensions escalated in the border regions. The Western Kingdom amassed troops, and the conflict that failed to erupt last winter seemed to unfold in this approaching early summer season.

External pressure slowly intensified, while there was no trace of Jin'an to be found within the capital. Finally, Sima Yang ordered the city gates to be opened, allowing the Western Kingdom's envoy to depart. However, from the moment the envoy left the capital, he was surrounded by soldiers from Great Jin, strictly guarded, and not permitted to take anyone else with him.

Li Shuang was summoned to the court countless times, interrogated by trusted aides of the prime minister. Speaking of the current prime minister, Ji He, when Sima Yang was still the crown prince, Ji He, as the uncle of the third prince, fully supported the third prince's bid for the throne. However, after Sima Yang ascended the throne, the third prince was confined to the North Mountain while Ji He remained due to his intricate network of influence within the court.

However, it was clear to the discerning eye that the current situation was not so much about the prime minister preserving his own position as it was about Sima Yang temporarily allowing him a way out. Sima Yang, now the monarch, relied heavily on the support of the Grand General, his queen, and the forces behind him. Some even went so far as to call the Grand General 'King General,' indicating his high prestige and significant influence.

Sima Yang needed a force that could counterbalance the Grand General. Through the political maneuvers in the court, Sima Yang could have the opportunity to develop his own power. How long Ji He would remain in his position depended on how Sima Yang balanced his imperial strategies.

Ji He's role in interrogating Li Shuang demonstrated his usefulness to Sima Yang.

Ji He's confidants constantly questioned her, asking about the appearance of the person, the last time she saw him, and who he still knew.

Li Shuang was not unfamiliar with such high-pressure inquiries, as she had often watched her subordinates interrogate others in this manner before. Her answers were half true and half false, seamlessly woven together without any discrepancies, leaving no leverage for others to grasp.

In her view, she was simply a general who had saved a stranger out of gratitude.

She didn't know who the person was, where he came from, or why he was being subjected to such interrogation now. All she knew was his appearance and his strength.

The Grand Marshal also turned a blind eye to Li Shuang's interrogation, without even using any connections, making it impossible for the Prime Minister to find a pretext to involve the Grand Marshal.

Half a month passed, and as the situation in Great Jin gradually calmed down, one morning in court, the Prime Minister suddenly accused the Grand Marshal of colluding with enemy states. The reason was the discovery of an underground chamber in the White Temple south of the city. Traces of recent habitation were found inside the chamber, and Li Shuang had once lived in this temple before she entered the Marshal's residence as a child.

They interrogated the monks of the White Temple, using all sorts of torture, but unable to use them on Li Shuang. Eventually, one monk couldn't bear the beating and confessed that someone had been living there recently. He had conversed with that person, who claimed that the Grand Marshal had arranged for him to stay there, instructing the monks not to speak of it. Li Shuang immediately realized that this confession was extracted under compulsion.