Chapter 523: Interrogation (2) (1/2)

Mo Chenggui and Huang Zhijian stood at the entrance of the private residence. They each had a horse in hand with dreadful expressions on their faces.

The dim lantern light from the front gate illuminated their faces, giving Mo Chenggui’s scarred face a yellowish cast as if it was covered by a layer of crude paper.

He muttered weakly, “It’s over… It’s over… It’s all over now. Brother, I’ve dragged you down with me this time.”

What else could Huang Zhijian say now? He just shook his head with a bitter smile. This was completely Mo Chenggui’s fault. As a private soldier for a noble family, he had committed the worst taboo: disloyalty. He had good intentions at the start, but he had reported some baseless information to the matriarch. That had been a very foolish action.

Most established military families kept private soldiers in their household. His band of soldiers had gone into service for the He Family after serving under the old count in the army. They were considered the most experienced and respected generation of family soldiers.

Once the private soldiers pledged their loyalty to the head of the household with blood-smeared lips, they would have to remain loyal to the household for the next three generations of family heads. If they failed to fulfill this oath, it would be regarded as betrayal. Although it seemed like the soldiers were on the losing end of the deal, that was not the case.

The head of the household would take care of the next three generations of the soldier’s family in return for their loyalty.

When it came time for succession, the private soldiers would simply follow the next head of the family. The blood oath would still be in effect.

Huang Zhijian and Mo Chenggui knew that the next head of House Jing’an would be Second Young Master or Third Young Master.

Eldest Young Master occupied a cushy position within the capital. He would also need to inherit the title of Count Jing’an in the future, so there was no way that he would become the next head of the family. The family soldiers would follow the orders of the head of the He Family, not the successor to the noble title of Count Jing’an.

If there were some special circumstances, it would be possible to both inherit the title of Count Jing’an and become the head of the family. This was the case for the current Count Jing’an.

However, judging by the current situation, it seemed like Third Young Master had the highest possibility of becoming the next head of the He Family.

If Third Young Master ever became the He Family head, then their relationship with Third Young Master would definitely be broken because of what Mo Chenggui did.

Mo Chenggui’s actions had silently killed the future prospects of the next three generations of their families.

The future of a whole family with more than a dozen members was ruined because of a few careless words. Troubles stemmed from a loose tongue.

Since it had already happened, it was useless even if Mo Chenggui regretted it now.

It was already around 9pm when He Sanlang returned to the Jing’an Estate.

Most people were already asleep at this time during the Great Wu Dynasty.

He Changdi found out that Chu Lian had already gone to bed when he entered Songtao Court. When he met with Senior Servant Zhong, she was in the middle of cleaning up while holding a clay pot.

With his sensitive nose, He Sanlang detected the scent of medicinal herbs from the ceramic pot. He creased his brows as he asked, “What’s this?”

Senior Servant Zhong was all smiles as she replied, “This old servant prepared some nourishing soup for Third Young Madam. Third Young Master, please don’t worry. Great Doctor Miao has already looked over the prescription and approved of it. This old servant will personally brew the soup every day as well.”