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He said coldly, “To have those Brocade Guards willingly take poison and commit suicide, Chen has quite the skill!”

Generally, those who are caught and immediately commit suicide can be considered devoted soldiers. What the Sum Emperor didn’t expect was that Lu Chen had cultivated so many loyal to death.

The Sum Emperor had only recently learned about the Brocade Guard; not long before, the Shadow Guard had accidentally discovered their existence while investigating matters related to Lu Shuyun. Further inquiries by the Shadow Guard revealed that the Brocade Guard was a massive intelligence organization similar to the Shadow Guard, and their information-gathering capabilities had even surpassed those of the Shadow Guard.

The Shadow Guard immediately reported this matter to the Sum Emperor. When the Sum Emperor learned of the Brocade Guard’s existence, he flew into a rage. He had established the Shadow Guard mainly to collect intelligence throughout Great Sum, to monitor officials, and most importantly, to conduct dirty deeds on his behalf.

He had never anticipated that someone else had set up a similar organization. The Sum Emperor immediately ordered the Shadow Guard to investigate the Brocade Guard. To his dismay, upon investigation, it turned out that the Brocade Guard was actually an intelligence agency of the North Country, and furthermore, it was publicly known.

This infuriated the Sum Emperor even more. He wasn’t even dead yet and Lu Chen had created an organization akin to the Shadow Guard. What was he trying to do, stage a coup?

In a fit of anger, the Sum Emperor ordered all Brocade Guards within the Capital City to be eradicated. However, the result was not very effective. Knowing they had been exposed, the Brocade Guards immediately went into hiding.

The Brocade Guards were essentially contacted through individual channels, making it difficult to capture all of them through one person. The most critical point was the Brocade Guards’ absolute loyalty to the North Prince; even if one was captured, they would not reveal anything.

Because of the Brocade Guard’s actions, the Sum Emperor promptly gave up on Bai Qingqing, the Deputy Commander of the Shadow Guard. This was the important chess piece that Situ Ce had just mentioned as having been sacrificed.

The Sum Emperor had already noticed that although Bai Qingqing had been relaying intelligence about the North Country to the Imperial Court and to him, she had completely omitted some critical information about the North Country in her reports.

Most crucially, the Brocade Guard was a publicly known intelligence agency of North Country, but Bai Qingqing, the Deputy Commander of the Shadow Guard, had never once reported on the Brocade Guard in her intelligence briefings from beginning to end.

Bai Qingqing had already climbed into Lu Chen’s bed, becoming his confidante, yet she still knew very little about Lu Chen’s affairs.

The Sum Emperor did not believe that Bai Qingqing, having shared a bed with Lu Chen for so long, had failed to uncover any useful intelligence. It was evident that Bai Qingqing had defected.

Although he didn’t know why Bai Qingqing had betrayed the Imperial Court, the Sum Emperor was certain that he would no longer trust the intelligence she sent back in the future.

The fact that Lu Chen had managed to subjugate an emotionless Deputy Commander of the Shadow Guard deepened the Sum Emperor’s wariness of Lu Chen or, to be exact, of the power behind him.

At this moment, the Sum Emperor said to the Shadow Guard Commander, “Bai Qingqing was selected and trained by you. Since she has betrayed the Shadow Guard, you will take care of it.”

The Shadow Guard Commander immediately responded, “Your subordinate obeys.”

The Sum Emperor said, “Go now. Leave not a single Shadow Guard hidden in the North Country.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Your subordinate takes his leave.”

Afterwards the Shadow Guard Commander left the Royal Garden.

After the departure of the Shadow Guard Commander, the Sum Emperor no longer continued his game of chess. He rose from his seat and walked out of the pavilion, hands clasped behind his back, as he watched the fish swimming leisurely in the lotus pond.

He couldn’t help but wonder if Lu Chen could be the illegitimate son of Zhuge Zhongguang and Chu Yue. However, Zhuge Zhongguang had already been over a hundred years old decades ago, and Chu Yue was in the prime of her youth; it seemed inconceivable that she would fancy an old man.

If Lu Chen wasn’t the illegitimate child of Zhuge Zhongguang and Chu Yue, then why would Zhuge stand by Lu Chen, even moving the entire Universal Academy to North Country?

As the Sum Emperor’s thoughts were in utter disarray, a Shadow Guard soldier entered the Royal Garden, “Your Majesty, merchant ships of the Dongfang Clan have recently been transporting grain to North Country. Should we intercept them?”

His eyebrows furrowed at these words, his expression turning even grimmer. It seemed as if gusts of cutting wind rose in the air, and the carps in the lotus pond, as if startled by something, dived deep into the water.

The Dongfang Clan had already reached a cooperation agreement with him, yet at this moment, instead of focusing on assisting the Imperial Army in eradicating the rebels, they were conducting business.

The Sum Emperor didn’t suspect that the Dongfang Clan’s merchant ships heading to North Country had any ulterior motives. In his eyes, merchants were profit-driven, and with the current internal strife in Great Sum jacking up the price of grain several times over, it didn’t surprise him at all that the Dongfang Family was looking to make money in these times.

However, the actions of the Dongfang Family greatly displeased him.

After a moment, the Sum Emperor finally said, “If the Dongfang Family’s merchant ships require supplies, provide them with whatever they need. In addition, assign someone to escort the Dongfang Family’s merchant ships to North Country.”

Although the Sum Emperor didn’t believe the Dongfang Family would turn around and head north with the rebels at this time, it was best to be cautious when necessary.