Jinghong Tower

Chapter 449 Siblings
It was almost noon, and the sunlight shining on He Zongqun's body seemed to be inlaid with a circle of gold.

He Shuting's eyes blurred for a moment, and she suddenly felt that He Zongqun in front of her was somewhat strange.

"My Lady Concubine, please stand up and receive the order." He Zongqun's voice was cold, yet filled with an irresistible majesty.

He Shuting was stunned. Accept the order? Accept what order?

Only then did she notice that there were many people behind He Zongqun. Some of these people were people she knew, while others were not. They were all generals in the Chang'an army, local officials from Longxi County, and some unfamiliar faces that she seemed to have never seen before.

He Zongqun looked around and didn't see Wu Guochang, so he asked, "Where is the King of Chang'an?"

Hong Xiu, who had been standing behind He Shuting, stepped forward and said to the servants who were at a loss, "Why don't you go and bring Prince Chang'an here to receive the decree?"

The servant woke up as if from a dream, ran out in a panic, and soon brought back Prince Chang'an, who had just changed his pants.

Seeing Wu Guochang standing beside her like a fool, He Shuting was furious. She was not stupid, so what was there that she didn't understand about the current situation?
He Zongqun betrayed her!

She suppressed her anger, and the smile on her face became even weaker: "Brother, what is going on? What is this purpose, and who are these people?"

She pointed at the unfamiliar faces.

He Zongqun said: "It's not your fault that the Concubine doesn't recognize them. They came all the way from Zhangye and Zhuanglangwei to witness this important moment together."

Zhangye? Ganzhouwei? Zhuanglangwei? Hexi region?
He Shuting had heard of these two places a long time ago. She had heard Wu Ji talk about the importance of these two places, and that the Dark Lord used to be the general of Zhangye.

Are those people the officials of these two places?

They actually came to Longxi County?
why?
Seeing that she didn't move at all, Hongxiu reached out and pressed her neck. She didn't know what kind of strength she used, but He Shuting's body fell to her knees involuntarily.

She widened her eyes in astonishment. She wanted to ask Hongxiu why, but Hongxiu held her neck tightly, making her head unable to move.

She could only kneel on the ground in humiliation. When her wet nurse saw this, she quickly picked up Wu Guochang and knelt down with him.

When the officials who followed He Zongqun in saw the two men kneeling down, they also knelt down on the ground.

He Zongqun took out a scroll from his sleeve, unfolded it, and read aloud: "By the will of Heaven, the order of the General who supervises the country!"

He Shuting's head was buzzing. The Regent General, she knew who this was. It was He Ran!

Although everyone called her He Da Dangjia, He Shuting still remembered that He Ran had once appointed herself as a general. Later, she had several generals under her, so in order to distinguish them, she gave herself the title of regent.

He Ran, it’s actually He Ran!

He Zongqun's voice was ups and downs. He Shuting discovered for the first time that He Zongqun was not the modest gentleman she had imagined. At this moment, He Zongqun was a powerful official.

"Today we have the Ganzhou Army, the Zhuanglang Army, and the Chang'an Army. The soldiers of the three armies are as brave as lions. They are brave and brave. They defeat the enemy and defend the territory. They terrify the barbarians and bandits and allow the people to live and work in peace."

He Shuting couldn't hear what He Zongqun said next. She just felt like there were huge waves in her ears, making her feel like she was about to fall.

The Ganzhou Army and the Zhuanglang Army have all surrendered to He Ran. What about the Chang'an Army? Chang'an Army, what qualifications does He Ran have to commend the Chang'an Army?
This is her army, it's hers!

What does this have to do with He Ran?
She subconsciously covered her ears with her hands. She didn't want to listen. She didn't want to hear it anymore.

But He Zongqun's voice still made its way into her ears: ".Chang'an Prince Wu Guochang is a descendant of the Wu family and a famous general. Thinking of his fatherless death at a young age, I am very sad. I specially ordered the Longxi Grand Marshal He Zongqun to send someone to escort him to the capital to be raised and taught by the women of the Wu family."

There was another buzzing sound, and He Shuting was struck by lightning. He Ran not only wanted to snatch away the Chang'an army, but also wanted to snatch away Wu Guochang!

"No, I won't agree. He is my son, my son!"

"He Ran, this bitch, can't give birth to a son herself, so she wants to steal my son. I won't allow it!"

"No one can take him away from me!"

He Shuting didn't know where she got the strength from, she broke free from Hongxiu's hands, snatched Wu Guochang from the wet nurse's arms, strangled Wu Guochang's neck tightly, and roared at He Zongqun: "He Ran wants him, right? Then I will strangle him to death, strangle him to death!"

She couldn't take back the Chang'an army, but she could kill Wu Guochang!

Wu Guochang was already petrified. He felt his mother's hand tightening around his neck. His neck was already uncomfortable from the heavy collar, and now it was pinched by his mother. He felt very uncomfortable. He opened his mouth to beg his mother not to pinch him anymore, but he couldn't make a sound. He stretched out his little hand and tried to pry open his mother's hand, but he had no strength. His little body kept twisting and twisting.
He Shuting was still confronting He Zongqun. Everything that happened today happened too suddenly, leaving her unprepared.

She didn't know how to change the situation, and Wu Guochang was the only person she could hurt and her only bargaining chip now.

He Zongqun looked at her, his eyes devoid of warmth: "He Shuting, that's your own flesh and blood, do you want him to die?"

He Shuting sneered: "That bitch He Ran wants to take him away. Fine, then I will strangle him to death, and you bring the body back to report."

He Zongqun shook his head: "The eldest master didn't want to take him away, he just wanted him to live in the capital. The Wu clan has already sent two respected women to the capital. The Prince of Chang'an is a little older, and he can study and practice martial arts with the noble children in the capital. Isn't it better for him to stay in this northwest land?"

"Bullshit! He Ran." He Shuting's attention was all on He Zongqun, and she didn't realize that Hongxiu was already behind her. She only felt a sharp pain at the back of her neck, and then she fainted.

Even though she fainted, her ten fingers were still tightly wrapped around Wu Guochang's neck.

Hongxiu pried her fingers open with force and rescued the dying Wu Guochang. The doctor in the palace was called over, and when he saw Wu Guochang's condition, he was shocked and rushed to rescue him.

After a long while, Wu Guochang finally burst into tears.

Everyone then breathed a sigh of relief, and He Zongqun finished reading the scroll in his hand.

From this moment on, the Chang'an Army, Ganzhou Army, and Zhuanglang Army changed their flags and all joined the Ran Army.

He Zongqun was appointed as the Grand Marshal of Longxi.

Some administrative officials in the three places were dismissed, while others were retained.

Wu Guochang, King of Chang'an, came to Beijing.

Concubine He Shuting stayed in the Chang'an Palace and was not allowed to step out of the palace even once in her life.

When He Shuting woke up, it was dark all around her and her head was still aching. It took her a long time to remember what happened today.

She looked around. This was her bedroom. Everything was the same as before. She was still here. "Someone, someone!"

He Shuting called several times before she heard the door open. The light was dim and she couldn't see who was coming. She could only see a tall figure walking in.

She was startled and shrank into a ball involuntarily: "Who are you? How dare you! Get out of here! Someone, someone, someone!"

The man had already walked to the bedside. He took out a tinder and lit a lamp beside the bed. The light illuminated his face, a face that He Shuting seemed familiar with.

"Second sister, don't you recognize me?"

He Shuting was stunned. Second sister? A name that seemed so distant that it seemed like another world. Although the person in front of her was tall and strong, he was still a young man in his twenties.

"Are you Shuqiao?"

Shuqiao, He Shuqiao, how long had it been since she last thought of this name? Three years, five years?
It seemed that she had not thought about it since she left Jinyang.

"Yes, second sister, I am Shuqiao, we finally meet again."

He Shuting looked at him in disbelief: "Why are you here? How did you find me? Was it He Ran who asked you to come here?"

A hint of disappointment flashed across He Shuqiao's eyes. He shook his head and said, "Second sister, my superior was General He Dali. I made a contribution in the battle where Wu Ji was defeated in Xianyang. That was my first time making a contribution."

He Shuting's face changed drastically. She raised her hand and slapped He Shuqiao in the face: "You heartless thing, Wu Ji is your brother-in-law, don't you know? He lost that battle, but you made a contribution? You were in the Ran army at that time, right? You forgot who brought you from Zhending to Jinyang, you forgot how I took care of you in Jinyang, you forgot everything?

You were in He Dali's army, and He Dali was stationed in Xi'an. When I fled from Xi'an, you were in Xi'an. Do you know how embarrassed I was at that time?

You just keep watching me suffer, you ungrateful bastard!

It’s He Ran. This is all what He Ran taught you, right?
You watched me suffer, and now I'm being bullied, do you know that?

If you still recognize me as your sister, then go and kill He Zongqun, kill him!

You are the son of the He family's direct branch, and He Zongqun is just a poor relative from the side branch, not even worthy of carrying shoes for our family. Go kill him, kill him!"

He Shuqiao stared blankly at the woman in front of him who looked like a mad woman. Is this his second sister?

He knew that his second sister had made a mistake, but whenever he thought of her, the image in his mind was still of the second sister who sat in the charity hall embroidering, the quiet and graceful second sister.

He wanted to tell his second sister that he had followed He Dali to fight bandits everywhere in recent years and had made many military achievements.

When he was young, he refused to become an official. He saved up all his military achievements just to atone for his second sister's crime.

The second sister killed the eldest brother, which is a capital crime.

Later, as he grew up, he gradually realized that the merits he had earned with his life could not atone for his second sister's sins, because his second sister had done too many wrong things.

He can't afford it.

This time, He Dali sent a team of people to Longxi to escort He Zongqun. He volunteered to come. He knew that if he missed this opportunity, he might never have the chance to see his second sister again. This was his only chance to see his second sister, so he came.

He Shuqiao smiled bitterly: "Second sister, I owe you this slap. Thank you for bringing me from Zhending to Jinyang, so that I could grow up healthy and safe. Second sister, thank you."

After saying that, He Shuqiao knelt beside the bed and kowtowed three times respectfully.

He Shuting closed her eyes and said bitterly, "I don't need you to thank me."

He Shuqiao stood up and said to He Shuting, "My eldest brother's body has been sent back to Zhending and buried in the ancestral tomb. Two years ago, the Yan family found the whereabouts of my mother and her body. I asked someone to send money back and asked the Yan family to buy a plot of land for my mother."

He Shuting snorted coldly: "Why are you telling me this? I have nothing to do with them since the day I left Zhending."

He Shuqiao said, "Second sister, my nephew will be sent to the capital soon. Don't worry, I won't hurt him. If I have the chance, I will go to the capital to visit him."

Hearing He Shuqiao talking about Wu Guochang, He Shuting's eyes widened: "What did you say? He Zongqun sent Guochang away? This bastard, running dog! He Ran, this bitch, she even wants to snatch my son, bitch!"

He Shuqiao shook his head: "Big sister didn't want to take your son away, she just couldn't bear to let the descendants of the Wu family live outside."

"How could he be living outside with me, his mother? He Ran has bad intentions. She is worried that my son will rise up in rebellion one day and take back everything that belongs to him! So she wants to detain my son in the capital, under her nose." He Shuting gritted her teeth.

He Shuqiao sighed, "But what in this world belongs to a nephew? The Chang'an Army? Is the Chang'an Army really his? Will the Chang'an Army obey his orders? If you are talking about the old troops left by Wu Dongming, they are not his. Wu Dongming left all his people and his money to Wu Ju. As for Wu Ji, the friendship that my elder sister had with him on the battlefield has long been consumed by you.

My nephew has nothing. Even the so-called King of Chang'an is a title you gave to yourself, so it doesn't count."

He Shuqiao looked around: "This palace also belongs to the Meng family."

He looked at He Shuting steadily, as if he could see deep into her heart: "Second sister, you want to keep your nephew, you can't bear to let him go, is it really because of the mother-son bond?

If that's the case, why did you strangle him today?"

He Shuting wanted to say no, but her lips moved and in the end no word came out.

He Shuqiao stood up straight and said, "Second sister, I will personally escort my nephew to Beijing, don't worry, I will definitely send him there safely.

When I return from the capital, I will go to Zhending to pay respect to my ancestors. I will burn a stick of incense for you at my mother's grave."

After saying that, He Shuqiao resolutely turned around and walked out of the house without looking back.

The heavy carved wooden door closed again. All around was quiet. It seemed that He Shuting was the only one in the vast world.

He Shuting sat on the bed in a daze. She vaguely remembered that when she first arrived in Jinyang, she sat in the courtyard of the charity hall, with the warm sunshine shining on her shoulders. Little Shuqiao happily told her that he could work and earn money here. He could pick beans and shell peanuts with other children, and his second sister could also do needlework.

She forgot what she said at that time, she only remembered that she was very happy and satisfied at that moment.

He Shuting shook her head vigorously. Why was she thinking about these things? Her past experiences in the charity hall were a shame to her.

She got out of bed and wanted to walk out of this room. She was still the distinguished concubine.