Xu Di led the scholar to another tent, untied him, and then had the kitchen staff bring him dinner.

Xu Di took a couple of bites of rice, then, seeing him sitting there motionless, said, "Hurry up and eat."

The scholar shook his head and said, "I can't eat."

Xu Di smiled and said, "Let's eat something. It's come to this point, there's no need to make things difficult for our stomachs. Oh, by the way, I've known you for several years, but I still don't know your full name. Would you mind telling me your name?"

The scholar paused for a moment after hearing Xu Di's words, then said, "My name is Meng Qiaochuan. If it weren't for our backgrounds, I would really want to be your best friend. It's just a pity that our two families are now separated by a blood feud. I don't know if there will be a next life. If there is a next life, I hope I won't live like this, unable to control my own destiny." His words were tinged with melancholy at the end.

Xu Di took a big bite of the large steamed bun and said, "Try it. This is a steamed bun made from this year's new wheat. It tastes very good. These vegetables are also grown in our Luzhou. And this pork is from a piglet we caught last year. It's been raised for almost a year. The meat is tender and it's fragrant when stir-fried." Xu Di rambled on as he ate, while Meng Qiaochuan sat to the side, watching him with a smile.

After a long while, Xu Di raised his head and said to Meng Qiaochuan, "I think you must have grown up before you met your father, right?"

Meng Qiaochuan was taken aback again, his eyes showing a hint of panic. He lowered his head to cover it up and said uncertainly, "Did he tell you?"

Xu Di shook his head and said, "No, I've been with him for over an hour, and he hasn't said much at all. How could he possibly have talked to me about you?"

Meng Qiaochuan said dejectedly, "Yes, he is a man destined for great things. How could he care about such trivial matters of love and family? Xu Di, you are the smartest person I have ever met. You can guess so much just from a few words from me. He lost to you, and it's not a loss at all. I've always thought that if it weren't for you, he might have succeeded."

Xu Di thought of the original owner's memories. He had succeeded, but in the end, the country was plunged into war again, and the people were displaced. The wars lasted for a long time, and you could even find bones on the roadside.

Xu Di asked him with some curiosity, "You and your father are not on the same side, so why did you go to the Bohai Sea to deliver a message?"

Meng Qiaochuan smiled and said, "I wanted to go to the sea to see the world, and this opportunity came up, so I begged someone to take me. It's just a pity that once I went, I couldn't come back. It's been several years, and I don't know if anyone is still looking for me. Although I call him father, we don't have many opportunities to meet. My mother served him. After she became pregnant with me, he sent her to a small mountain village in Daliang. I was born in that small mountain village. After my mother gave birth to me, she was sent to some unknown place. I think if my mother hadn't become pregnant with me by accident, he probably wouldn't have wanted a child. I'm quite unlucky to have such a different father than others."

After Meng Qiaochuan finished speaking, he laughed self-deprecatingly. Xu Di noticed that Meng Qiaochuan didn't seem to care much about the thing his father considered his lifelong goal, so he asked out of curiosity.

Meng Qiaochuan looked at Xu Di and said nonchalantly, "It's probably because I had no expectations. You see, my surname is Meng, which is my mother's surname. I grew up in a small village with my mother's wet nurse. When I was very young, I went to the village's private school. At that time, I was thinking that I would study hard, take the imperial examination, and earn a title for my poor mother. Who knew that I would be rejected by Daliang? When I was ten years old, I met the man I should call father for the first time. He took me away and sent me to a manor. There were many children about my age in the manor. Every day, all we had to do was study, practice martial arts, and learn all sorts of things that I didn't want to learn. I heard some people call him 'Lord,' but I didn't receive any preferential treatment because he was his son. Maybe he wanted to train me in this way, but I hated that kind of life. I wanted to study seriously and I wanted to go back to my wet nurse's side."

That's how people are sometimes. After holding things in for too long, once they open a crack, all those secrets that should have been kept hidden in their hearts will want to be poured out.

Seeing that Xu Di was listening attentively, Meng Qiaochuan smiled self-deprecatingly and continued, "I wanted to resist, but every time I resisted, my companions would be killed right in front of me. During those days, I felt like the sun was always dark. When I think back now, I don't know how I got through it."

Xu Di remained silent, listening intently to Meng Qiaochuan's words. Meng Qiaochuan, on the other hand, seemed to want to pour out all his grievances and resentment over the years, not caring whether what he said was a secret of the organization. It wasn't until the second watch of the night that Xu Di, seeing that it was too late, had the kitchen prepare a bowl of noodles for him. After watching him eat, he had him locked in a room in the garrison again.

After settling Meng Qiaochuan in, Xu Di went to the tent where An Muyuan was staying.

An Muyuan's expression was somewhat ferocious. He gritted his teeth and stared at Xu Di. If he hadn't been tied to the chair, Xu Di believed he would have bitten him. While Xu Di was talking to Meng Qiaochuan, An Muyuan was gagged and placed outside the tent. Xu Di had spent so much time with Meng Qiaochuan that he had a certain understanding of the man. He could tell from Meng Qiaochuan's words that he was disgusted with what he was doing. In order to break down An Muyuan's defenses, he set up this scheme to let An Muyuan hear his son's disgust for him.

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