239 Tang Pei
Du Tao hesitated.
“But General Tang is still unconscious. Even if you go, you can only watch and not even say a word.”
Xiao Juan said, “It doesn’t matter. We just have to see him.”
Du Tao had no choice but to agree.
“Then I’ll take you to see General Tang now.”
They stood up and walked out.
Du Tao explained the general situation in the military camp to them as they walked. The commander of the Eastern Expedition Army was Tang Pei. Below him were four generals.
While Tang Pei was seriously ill, Du Tao took care of everything in the military camp. The other three generals assisted him. The four of them were quite capable and managed the huge Eastern Expedition Army well.
Along the way, Lu Yaoguang praised them.
Xiao Juan suddenly asked.
“I heard that there are military prostitutes in the Eastern Expedition Army. Is this true?”
The expressions of Du Tao and Lu Yaoguang changed.
They met Xiao Juan’s deep gaze and felt a little afraid.
Du Tao forced a smile.
“Your Highness, you must be joking. The emperor has long banned the raising of military prostitutes. Even if we had a hundred guts, we wouldn’t dare to disobey the imperial edict!”
Xiao Juan said, “In that case, let the Eagle Guards search the military camp later. After the search is over, we’ll confirm that the rumors are fake. If anyone says such things again, I’ll immediately send someone to capture them and punish them severely.”
Du Tao’s smile was almost gone.
“I—I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Xiao Juan asked, “What’s wrong?”
Du Tao said, “This is the camp of the Eastern Expedition Army, not the Justice Department. The Eagle Guards shouldn’t have the right to search, right?”
Xiao Juan said unhurriedly.
“When the emperor set up the Justice Department, he said that as long as someone broke the law, the Justice Department had the right to investigate and deal with them. I’m actually doing this to protect your reputation. As long as we can find out the truth and confirm that the rumors are fake, no one will slander you in the future.”
Du Tao broke out in a cold sweat.
He looked towards Lu Yaoguang, hoping that he would help say something.
However, Lu Yaoguang looked elsewhere. It was obvious that he did not want to get involved in this mess.
Du Tao had no choice but to grit his teeth and say it as if he was risking everything.
“Since Your Highness insists on searching, let’s search. After visiting General Tang, you can search as you please. Anyway, we’re upright and not afraid of being investigated!”
Xiao Juan seemed to be satisfied with his answer and nodded slightly.
“That’s good.”
They walked into the courtyard.
Before opening the door, Du Tao spoke to the others.
“I’m sorry. General Tang was still unconscious. The military doctor had instructed him to recuperate. There were too many people and it was easy to disturb General Tang’s rest. So we can only get four people in at most at a time. The rest of you, please wait outside.”
Xiao Juan instructed Meng Xizhou, who was following behind him.
“Stay outside with the others and wait.”
“Yes.”
Du Tao knocked. A moment later, the door was pulled open and a manservant walked out.
When he saw so many nobles standing outside, he hurriedly knelt down and bowed.
Du Tao called him up and asked.
“How is General Tang now?”
The servant replied honestly, “He’s not awake yet.”
Du Tao sighed, then turned to Prince Min and Duke Lang and gestured for them to come in.
Prince Min and Prince Lang walked into the house first, followed by Du Tao and Lu Bianguang.
When the four of them walked into the house, the door was immediately closed from the outside.
Prince Min frowned and asked, “Why are you closing the door?”
Du Tao explained with a smile, “This is so that the noise outside wouldn’t disturb General Tang.”
They walked around the screen and saw the bed.
The bed was surrounded by gauze. Through the gauze, they could barely see a person lying on the bed, but they could not see the person’s exact appearance.
Du Tao walked over and reached out to lift the bed curtain. He turned to the other three and said.
“This is General Tang.”
Xiao Juan and Prince Min walked to the bed and were slightly stunned when they saw the person lying on it.
When Tang Pei entered the capital to report his work in the past, Xiao Juan had seen him. His impression of Tang Pei was that he was an extraordinary, straightforward, and meticulous man.
But now, Tang Pei was lying motionless on the bed. His face was pale, his eyes were closed, and his lips were blue.
At first glance, he looked dead.
Xiao Juan’s eyes moved. He wanted to reach out to check Tang Pei’s breathing, but Du Tao stopped him.
“What is Your Highness going to do?”
Xiao Juan lied without changing his expression. “I’ve read many medical books and know a little about the Tao of Qihuang. I want to take General Tang’s pulse and see how his condition is.”
Du Tao spoke slowly.
“General Tang’s condition is very serious. Not only did I get a military physician to take a look at him, but I also specially hired a famous doctor to treat him. However, there was no improvement. Even if His Highness takes his pulse, it’s useless. There’s no need to trouble you.”
Xiao Juan said, “It’s just taking his pulse. It doesn’t take much effort.”
Du Tao said, “Forget it. This is not something a duke should do.”
“Are you teaching me how to do things?”
“Your Highness, you’ve misunderstood. I just don’t want to waste your time.”
They stood toe to toe, neither willing to back down.
Prince Min flicked his horsetail whisk and said slowly, “Duke Lang just wants to take General Tang’s pulse. It won’t take long. There’s no harm in letting him try.”
The two princes had spoken. Du Tao could not handle it alone. He turned to look at Lu Jiaoguang.
“What do you think, Lord Lu?”
Lu Yaoguang was trying his best to reduce his presence when Du Tao directly called his name. This time, everyone looked at him.
He had to bite the bullet.
“Didn’t the County Prince say that he just wanted to look at General Du? Now that we’ve seen him, shouldn’t we leave?”
Xiao Juan looked at him steadily. “It seems that County Governor Lu has a good relationship with General Du.”
Lu Yaoguang smiled awkwardly.
“We just knew each other and don’t have a deep relationship. Compared to General Du, I have a deeper relationship with General Tang. After all, the Tang and Lu families are old friends.”
Xiao Juan continued to ask, “Since you’re a family friend, why didn’t you report this to the Imperial Court when General Tang was seriously ill for a long time?”
Lu Yaoguang choked. He quickly defended himself.
“Previously, I saw that General Tang’s injuries were not serious. In addition, General Du actively hired someone to treat him. I thought that he would recover quickly, so I did not report this matter to the Imperial Court. Who would have thought that his injuries would suddenly worsen? If I had known earlier, I would have reported it to the Imperial Court.”
Xiao Juan said, “In that case, I’ll send a message back to the Imperial Capital now and tell the emperor about this.”
With that, he walked out.
Du Tao stopped him again. “Your Highness, why are you in such a hurry?”
Xiao Juan spat out two words coldly.
“Get lost.”
239 Tang Pei
Du Tao hesitated.
“But General Tang is still unconscious. Even if you go, you can only watch and not even say a word.”
Xiao Juan said, “It doesn’t matter. We just have to see him.”
Du Tao had no choice but to agree.
“Then I’ll take you to see General Tang now.”
They stood up and walked out.
Du Tao explained the general situation in the military camp to them as they walked. The commander of the Eastern Expedition Army was Tang Pei. Below him were four generals.
While Tang Pei was seriously ill, Du Tao took care of everything in the military camp. The other three generals assisted him. The four of them were quite capable and managed the huge Eastern Expedition Army well.
Along the way, Lu Yaoguang praised them.
Xiao Juan suddenly asked.
“I heard that there are military prostitutes in the Eastern Expedition Army. Is this true?”
The expressions of Du Tao and Lu Yaoguang changed.
They met Xiao Juan’s deep gaze and felt a little afraid.
Du Tao forced a smile.
“Your Highness, you must be joking. The emperor has long banned the raising of military prostitutes. Even if we had a hundred guts, we wouldn’t dare to disobey the imperial edict!”
Xiao Juan said, “In that case, let the Eagle Guards search the military camp later. After the search is over, we’ll confirm that the rumors are fake. If anyone says such things again, I’ll immediately send someone to capture them and punish them severely.”
Du Tao’s smile was almost gone.
“I—I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Xiao Juan asked, “What’s wrong?”
Du Tao said, “This is the camp of the Eastern Expedition Army, not the Justice Department. The Eagle Guards shouldn’t have the right to search, right?”
Xiao Juan said unhurriedly.
“When the emperor set up the Justice Department, he said that as long as someone broke the law, the Justice Department had the right to investigate and deal with them. I’m actually doing this to protect your reputation. As long as we can find out the truth and confirm that the rumors are fake, no one will slander you in the future.”
Du Tao broke out in a cold sweat.
He looked towards Lu Yaoguang, hoping that he would help say something.
However, Lu Yaoguang looked elsewhere. It was obvious that he did not want to get involved in this mess.
Du Tao had no choice but to grit his teeth and say it as if he was risking everything.
“Since Your Highness insists on searching, let’s search. After visiting General Tang, you can search as you please. Anyway, we’re upright and not afraid of being investigated!”
Xiao Juan seemed to be satisfied with his answer and nodded slightly.
“That’s good.”
They walked into the courtyard.
Before opening the door, Du Tao spoke to the others.
“I’m sorry. General Tang was still unconscious. The military doctor had instructed him to recuperate. There were too many people and it was easy to disturb General Tang’s rest. So we can only get four people in at most at a time. The rest of you, please wait outside.”
Xiao Juan instructed Meng Xizhou, who was following behind him.
“Stay outside with the others and wait.”
“Yes.”
Du Tao knocked. A moment later, the door was pulled open and a manservant walked out.
When he saw so many nobles standing outside, he hurriedly knelt down and bowed.
Du Tao called him up and asked.
“How is General Tang now?”
The servant replied honestly, “He’s not awake yet.”
Du Tao sighed, then turned to Prince Min and Duke Lang and gestured for them to come in.
Prince Min and Prince Lang walked into the house first, followed by Du Tao and Lu Bianguang.
When the four of them walked into the house, the door was immediately closed from the outside.
Prince Min frowned and asked, “Why are you closing the door?”
Du Tao explained with a smile, “This is so that the noise outside wouldn’t disturb General Tang.”
They walked around the screen and saw the bed.
The bed was surrounded by gauze. Through the gauze, they could barely see a person lying on the bed, but they could not see the person’s exact appearance.
Du Tao walked over and reached out to lift the bed curtain. He turned to the other three and said.
“This is General Tang.”
Xiao Juan and Prince Min walked to the bed and were slightly stunned when they saw the person lying on it.
When Tang Pei entered the capital to report his work in the past, Xiao Juan had seen him. His impression of Tang Pei was that he was an extraordinary, straightforward, and meticulous man.
But now, Tang Pei was lying motionless on the bed. His face was pale, his eyes were closed, and his lips were blue.
At first glance, he looked dead.
Xiao Juan’s eyes moved. He wanted to reach out to check Tang Pei’s breathing, but Du Tao stopped him.
“What is Your Highness going to do?”
Xiao Juan lied without changing his expression. “I’ve read many medical books and know a little about the Tao of Qihuang. I want to take General Tang’s pulse and see how his condition is.”
Du Tao spoke slowly.
“General Tang’s condition is very serious. Not only did I get a military physician to take a look at him, but I also specially hired a famous doctor to treat him. However, there was no improvement. Even if His Highness takes his pulse, it’s useless. There’s no need to trouble you.”
Xiao Juan said, “It’s just taking his pulse. It doesn’t take much effort.”
Du Tao said, “Forget it. This is not something a duke should do.”
“Are you teaching me how to do things?”
“Your Highness, you’ve misunderstood. I just don’t want to waste your time.”
They stood toe to toe, neither willing to back down.
Prince Min flicked his horsetail whisk and said slowly, “Duke Lang just wants to take General Tang’s pulse. It won’t take long. There’s no harm in letting him try.”
The two princes had spoken. Du Tao could not handle it alone. He turned to look at Lu Jiaoguang.
“What do you think, Lord Lu?”
Lu Yaoguang was trying his best to reduce his presence when Du Tao directly called his name. This time, everyone looked at him.
He had to bite the bullet.
“Didn’t the County Prince say that he just wanted to look at General Du? Now that we’ve seen him, shouldn’t we leave?”
Xiao Juan looked at him steadily. “It seems that County Governor Lu has a good relationship with General Du.”
Lu Yaoguang smiled awkwardly.
“We just knew each other and don’t have a deep relationship. Compared to General Du, I have a deeper relationship with General Tang. After all, the Tang and Lu families are old friends.”
Xiao Juan continued to ask, “Since you’re a family friend, why didn’t you report this to the Imperial Court when General Tang was seriously ill for a long time?”
Lu Yaoguang choked. He quickly defended himself.
“Previously, I saw that General Tang’s injuries were not serious. In addition, General Du actively hired someone to treat him. I thought that he would recover quickly, so I did not report this matter to the Imperial Court. Who would have thought that his injuries would suddenly worsen? If I had known earlier, I would have reported it to the Imperial Court.”
Xiao Juan said, “In that case, I’ll send a message back to the Imperial Capital now and tell the emperor about this.”
With that, he walked out.
Du Tao stopped him again. “Your Highness, why are you in such a hurry?”
Xiao Juan spat out two words coldly.
“Get lost.”
