Chapter 298: Chapter 298: Gone

Shang Jingwang was taken aback, “Is the news reliable?”

The Household Soldier said, “I saw with my own eyes that the Prefectural Governor’s carriage was heading towards the military camp!”

Shang Jingwang muttered, “It’s over, it’s over. Lord Yu arriving so quickly is like rushing through day and night. This is clearly leaving us no way out!”

Not only did he think so, but Huangfu Jingchen also deeply agreed.

Even before Yu Shikui arrived, he had ordered Wen Hao to prepare kerosene and firewood and rushed here himself. Although the carriage was slower, it was only a day behind Wen Hao. His attitude was already very clear.

Shang Jingwang said, “I will go to see Lord Yu!”

Huangfu Jingchen said, “I’ll accompany you!”

Shang Jingwang hurriedly handed in a letter, wanting to seek an audience with Yu Shikui.

After the letter was delivered, he paced outside the camp non-stop, his anxiety evident. Huangfu Jingchen stood quietly on one side, observing the tent.

Calculating the time, the letter should have reached Yu Shikui’s hands for a while now, but there was no response from that side.

Shang Jingwang, with a worried face, said, “Young Master Jing, do you think Lord Yu will see me? Mr. Wen should have told him everything. Will he allow us a bit more grace period?”

Huangfu Jingchen, seeing him like this, didn’t have the heart to tell him that Wen Hao had never been sent back and was still tied up in an empty room in the severe epidemic area.

However, he didn’t know that at this moment, Yu Shikui was in a rage.

He arrived at the military camp, but there was no sign of Wen Hao, who always valued the Military Strategist highly, and he was nowhere to be found either.

A dignified Military Commander isn’t in the army, has he disappeared into thin air?

What made Yu Shikui even angrier was that as long as the Military Commander was present, he could discuss any plans and have Wen Hao give orders and execute them. But now, with the Military Commander absent, how could he ensure seamless execution of his plans?

He ordered people to search, but nowhere in the military camp was there any trace of Wen Hao.

The Military Strategist also said that he had seen General Wen last night, just when General Wen was about to rest.

Everything seemed normal, but Wen Hao vanished without a trace.

Yu Shikui couldn’t help but wonder if Wen Hao was being deceitful? Claiming he respected his authority and would definitely follow his plans, but it seemed Wen Hao had other intentions.

After all, they were of equal rank.

Wen Hao initially claimed he’d obey his orders, positioning himself in a way that if things went well, he would share in the credit, and if they went wrong, he wouldn’t have to bear responsibility.

Clearly, he thought those thousands of lives were too significant and chose to avoid confronting the situation directly?

This way, if something happened, Yu Shikui would bear all the responsibility, whereas if it succeeded, since it was the garrison that facilitated the plan, Wen Hao would also take a share of the credit?

What a cunning and sly Wen Hao.

In his moment of urgency, Yu Shikui received the letter from Shang Jingwang and naturally refused to see him. Even if he wasn’t in a rage, he wouldn’t have agreed.

Upon receiving Shang Jingwang’s petition, his first thought was to eradicate the epidemic source entirely from Wangshan Town. Therefore, when Wen Hao arrived, he explicitly instructed not to meet with anyone from Wangshan Town, especially Shang Jingwang.

He told Wen Hao not to meet them, so he certainly wouldn’t either.

He asked the Military Strategist, “Was there anything unusual about General Wen’s sudden disappearance?”

The Military Strategist shook his head, “There was nothing unusual!”

Yu Shikui said, “Since there is nothing unusual, he must have gone to handle some matters. Where is General Wen’s Command Token?”

The Military Strategist rolled his eyes; the Command Token is used to mobilize troops, and whoever holds it can command the Generals and Deputy Generals. But the Command Token was held by Wen Hao.

He said, “The Command Token might still be in the Commander’s tent.”

Yu Shikui looked at him, “Go find it!”

The Military Strategist froze for a moment, looked up, and saw Yu Shikui’s piercing gaze fixed upon him. With an ambiguous glint in his eyes, the Military Strategist quickly said, “I will go find it immediately!”

The Military Strategist, having been with Wen Hao for a long time, understood his mind and knew Wen Hao wanted to achieve merit without taking responsibility. He thought to himself that perhaps General Wen deliberately avoided appearing, letting Lord Yu handle everything. It would be telling if the Command Token was found in the tent because it would mean Wen Hao left it there on purpose. Otherwise, it might indicate an unexpected development.

With this in mind, the Military Strategist hurriedly went into the tent to search for the Command Token.

Yu Shikui waited outside, his expression dark, determined to achieve his goal whether or not the Command Token was found or whether Wen Hao showed up.

Eradicating the entire epidemic source was a significant achievement, one he wished to claim!

The lives of a mere town’s worth of people meant nothing; let them serve as stepping stones on his path to promotion.

Sure enough, the Military Strategist retrieved the Command Token from under Wen Hao’s pillow. He wiped his cold sweat, thinking the Commander was indeed a sly one, using such a method to keep himself out of the responsibility.

He promptly took the Command Token out, presenting it to Yu Shikui with both hands, “My Lord, General Wen’s Command Token is here!”

This Military Strategist had keen instincts. Yu Shikui, in his thirties, had achieved the position of Prefectural Governor, being in the prime of his career, and had support in the capital. He would likely climb higher in the future, so aligning with him would ease his own future path.

Yu Shikui’s expression darkened further. He shared the Military Strategist’s thoughts: if the Command Token wasn’t there, it might be an accident; if it was, it confirmed Wen Hao’s intention.

This old fox.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. Yu Shikui immediately said, “Pass down the order to gather all the Generals. I have instructions to give!”

The Military Strategist promptly hurried away to call the others.

Shang Jingwang waited outside the tent, seeing soldiers going out to relay orders, and after a while, several Generals in armor headed towards the Central Army Tent. He stopped one and asked, “Young General, is Lord Yu inside? What about General Wen?” Seeing either one would do.

The General didn’t recognize Shang Jingwang, cast him a cold glance, and said, “What’s it to you?” and then went inside.

Shang Jingwang instinctively felt something amiss. He realized that Yu Shikui, like Wen Hao, would likely refuse to see him.

He thought it best to hurry back and discuss countermeasures with Young Master Jing.

Just as Shang Jingwang was about to run back hastily, the Generals emerged from the Central Army Camp, dispersing towards their respective areas.

At this moment, in the quarantine area, Huangfu Jingchen had come to find Xia Wenjin early in the morning,

Xia Wenjin was handing a prescription to the Undying Poison Doctor. It was a prescription unrelated to the epidemic, which the doctor had whimsically decided to test her on the previous day.

Upon seeing Xia Wenjin’s prescription, he grunted without saying a word or expressing an opinion.

Xia Wenjin knew that the grumpy old man didn’t want to praise her verbally. It seemed this test was another pass.

In this lifetime, she wasn’t technically the Undying Poison Doctor’s apprentice, and he hadn’t acknowledged her as such, but he would test her from time to time, and she was very cooperative.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep