trade

Xu Qiu's voice had a seductive quality, and Gu Yu thought of the fox spirits in storybooks who seduced scholars, wondering if they also had such a captivating ending tone.

Xu Qiu is usually a refined and serious person, but who knew he would be so fond of acting cute in private.

Gu Yu continued undressing him without responding.

"Why isn't Madam speaking?" He lowered his head, his outer robe having been taken off by Gu Yu and placed aside, leaving him only in his inner garment.

Gu Yu simply tilted her head back to block Xu Qiu's relentless questioning. Xu Qiu didn't move, letting her pry open his jaw.

Seeing that he didn't respond, and that she was tired of standing on tiptoe to lift her head, she wanted to end the kiss, but Xu Qiu pressed her head down and deepened the kiss.

Seeing that she was tired, he thoughtfully carried her to the bed and sat on the bed himself. Gu Yu nestled in his arms, passively accepting the kiss.

Gu Yu's hand rested on his chest; through the thin layer of his undergarment, his muscles were surprisingly hot. Xu Qiu shouldn't be afraid of the cold; the charcoal brazier in the room had even made him break out in a light sweat.

Gu Yu tried to pull her hand back, but the man grabbed it, his five fingers interlacing and resting on her chest.

After a long while, Gu Yu pushed him away, feeling a little dizzy.

"I'm tired, let's go to sleep early."

Gu Yu squinted, her eyes still moist, her misty peach blossom eyes captivating and alluring as she looked at him through a hazy mist.

Xu Qiu lowered his head and kissed her eyes again. "Alright, Madam, go to sleep first."

He placed her on the inside of the bed and covered her with a blanket. Gu Yu didn't dare to look at him, but simply covered her head with the blanket.

As for why Xu Qiu wasn't asleep yet, she naturally knew.

After a long while, the cool body of the person beside him pressed against him again.

If this person really has any health problems later, it shouldn't be blamed on her, Gu Yu thought. It can't be blamed on her, since Xu Qiu was the one who suggested the kiss.

A few days later, Gu Yu went to the field to check on the taro and millet she had planted. Although the climate wasn't very good, at least the crops that had survived had already started to flower.

The fields were covered in a sea of ​​white, a delightful sight. Gu Yu liked to squat on the edge of the field, watching the crops. Occasionally, if she stayed too late, Xu Qiu would come to pick her up personally after finishing his business.

Five days later, Zhang Yanming replied, expressing his willingness to send troops to assist Xi'an Prefecture in arresting Li Dacheng. His words were very earnest.

However, he only made one request: he hoped that the matter of Tongguan Guard could be handled privately before being reported to the imperial court.

Xu Qiu read the letter and pondered for a moment. "Zhang Yanming wants Li Dacheng dead. Li Dacheng might have something on him. Let's agree for now. I'll handle this case and deal with the rest with him."

"Okay, how's Wei Cong doing?" Gu Yu remembered that she had told him before that she would put Wei Cong and Xu Yunliang in the same cell.

"Xu Yunliang spoke up and talked about the smuggling of salt. Although I don't know what method Wei Cong used, it was indeed effective."

When are we going to Tongguanwei?

"We will depart this afternoon. Please inform Zhang Yanming that we will meet at the hillside north of Tongguan in three days."

Xu Qiu pointed to a location on the map.

"good."

Looking at his serious expression, Gu Yu nodded in agreement, "Lord Xu, I always feel that you seem to have other ideas in mind."

“My wife understands me.”

He raised an eyebrow with a half-smile, like a cunning old fox.

Gu Yu poured the brewed, cool, and bright tea into the teacup in front of Xu Qiu, and the rising steam carrying the aroma of the tea wafted up.

"Lord Xu, please come back soon."

"Then... Madam will wait for me at home."

"Um."

Gu Yu took a sip of tea, her eyes lighting up. Her cooking skills had indeed improved again.

Even someone as kind-hearted as Wei Cong needs to learn to wield a knife to survive in this world, and she is the one who hands him that knife.

Hatred buried in the heart is a wound that will never heal. Only when the enemy dies can the hatred be resolved, and only by removing the rotten flesh can the wound heal.

Don't let her down, Wei Cong.

*

Xu Yunliang lay on the sparse straw floor of the prison cell, his body covered with dried blood wounds, his skin torn and bleeding, with not a single patch of good skin left.

My body was in so much pain that I would occasionally faint from the pain, only to be woken up by it again. I haven't had a good night's sleep since I was imprisoned.

He recognized the other man imprisoned beside him; they had recently gathered together and even had drinks at a restaurant. Now, as enemies, they were imprisoned in the same place.

Wei Cong sat cross-legged in a corner with his eyes closed, his back still straight, both straight and stiff.

Xu Yunliang thought to himself, "This person hasn't changed at all. Even though he's fallen into this predicament, he's still exactly the same as when we first met."

"cough......"

Xu Yunliang tried to cough up the blood in his throat. Ignoring the pain in his body, he used all his strength and finally spat out a mouthful of blood.

He struggled to his feet, looked at Wei Cong, and asked in a hoarse voice, "I never imagined that one day, Lord Wei would fall into such a state. Has Lord Wei ever regretted it?"

Although Wei Cong had his eyes closed, he was not sleepy.

Moonlight streamed through the gaps in the high window bars, illuminating the two of them and allowing them to see each other's faces.

Wei Cong's voice drifted in the cold wind, "Regret or no regret is no use now. I will not do anything useless again."

"Huh? Lord Wei, you have quite the courage. I'm not like you. I regret it," Xu Yunliang said.

His once round face was now sunken from hunger.

"They dare to lock you and me together, aren't they afraid that one of us will die here?"

Xu Yunliang leaned against the hard, cold stone wall behind him, his eyes fixed on the flickering candlelight outside the cell.

"The reason is simple: I suggested it."

Wei Cong's eyes showed only calmness, without a trace of hatred.

“I want to talk to you. Xu Ziliu was my teacher after all. I know him. I can’t understand why he would choose to protect you when there is solid evidence?”

Wei Cong observed Xu Yunliang's expression and, sure enough, his expression changed when Xu Ziliu was mentioned.

"Do you think your teacher is some kind of upright gentleman?" Xu Yunliang sneered. "The reason is simple: he feels guilty towards me. Although I have never told him what I have been doing, it is impossible that he has not heard a word about it."

“He and I are twins and look very similar. More than 20 years ago, our family was poor. We took the provincial examination together. If we hadn’t passed, our family would not have given us any more money.”

“I passed the imperial examination with high honors, but he did not do well. He took my identity and used my name to go to the capital to take the exam.”

Xu Yunliang murmured, "I am Xu Ziliu. If he hadn't taken my identity, I would be the current Grand Secretary of the Cabinet."

Wei Cong did not show any unusual expression upon hearing such a shocking story.

He was like a jade statue, devoid of human emotions and desires, without sorrow or joy, without grief or happiness.

"Lord Wei, since you placed your hopes on such a despicable person, it's no wonder you've fallen to this state," Xu Yunliang sneered.

"Xu Ziliu feels guilty towards you, so he allows you to use his reputation to make money in Tongzhou?"

"Not really, but why should I be frank with you, Lord Wei? Don't forget we are enemies. Ever since you came to Tongzhou under the guise of being Xu Ziliu's student, I've thought of many ways to make sure you can't turn things around."

Xu Yunliang's malice was so strong it seemed to be overflowing.

"Let me guess, and see if I guess right."

He glanced at Xu Yunliang indifferently.

“You used fake permits to obtain smuggled salt. To make fake permits, you have to bribe people in the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Revenue was previously headed by Grand Secretary Cai. After he stepped down, he handed over the position to Sun Gu.”

“Xu Ziliu has always been at odds with these two. They deliberately let you do these things, firstly to amass wealth, and secondly to sow the seeds of trouble for the Xu family.”

"You are well aware of what is happening in the court, but you keep it from your... younger brother, because you hate him and resent him, so you feel justified in taking advantage of this opportunity."

"Besides, Xu Ziliu owes you a debt. If something really happens to you, he wouldn't dare not protect you. That means you have double protection, which is why you've been so reckless in Tongzhou."

Wei Cong paused, and the cell was so quiet that only the crackling of the candlelight could be heard.

"Am I right? Xu... Yunliang."

"Hahaha... So what if you guessed right?"

Wei Cong nodded slightly. "Good that you guessed right. Let me continue. So, now that you're in jail, even if you grit your teeth and keep quiet about other things, your younger brother will do everything he can to get you out."

but--"

He looked at Xu Yunliang and gave him an innocent smile. "Do you know who arrested you this time? The person who interrogated you these past few days is called Li Shiqin. He is very famous in Shengjing. I don't know if you know his identity."

Xu Yunliang looked bewildered, frowning in confusion, and asked, "Isn't he a local cruel official?"

"No, he's the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard." Wei Cong laughed. "The Embroidered Uniform Guard of Emperor Shengyuan, Xu Yunliang, Xu Yunliang, you probably didn't expect that such a small case would just happen to run into the Embroidered Uniform Guard, did you?"

"I'm wondering if you've done anything terribly wrong besides selling smuggled salt? Otherwise, why would they personally come forward to arrest you..."

"Xu Yunliang, you can't escape, you won't survive."

Wei Cong looked at his increasingly pale face and smiled with satisfaction.

Xu Yunliang must have done something much bigger, otherwise why would he be acting like he's seen a ghost?

"So, since you're going to die anyway, don't you want to drag your hated younger brother and Li Dacheng down with you? The more you say, the more they might let you die a little easier, since you're relatively honest."

"If you implicate a few more heinous criminals, you might actually save your life, Xu Yunliang. What do you plan to do?"

Wei Cong glanced at the moonlight and suddenly remembered that he hadn't changed his medicine for the day. He used his right hand, which was recovering well, to unwrap the bandage on his left hand, sprinkled some wound medicine on it, and then gritted his teeth and endured the pain to wrap the bandage back on.

After the dressing on his right hand was changed, he realized that Xu Yunliang had been frightened into fainting and was lying motionless on the ground.

Xu Yunliang is at his weakest now, and he could kill him easily. However, Xu Yunliang definitely has other things on his mind. If Xu Yunliang is killed now, it would be equivalent to breaking ties with the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

He stared blankly at the moonlight, remembering what Gu Yu had told him: he could refrain from personally taking action against Xu Yunliang, but Li Dacheng had to die at his hands.

Wei Cong stayed up all night until dawn, when Xu Qiu was imprisoned.

"Lord Xu..."

He hadn't slept all night, and his voice was a little hoarse. "Let's make a deal."

Xu Qiu smiled. He loved making deals, especially with honest people.

"Okay, let's talk somewhere else."

He glanced at Xu Yunliang, who was lying on the ground like a dead pig, and then led Wei Cong out.

He gestured for him to sit down and poured him a cup of tea, handing it to Wei Cong. "What kind of deal?"

Wei Cong cleared his throat. "I can get Xu Yunliang to tell the truth. In exchange, Li Dacheng will die by my hand."

Xu Qiu suddenly felt that Wei Cong seemed to have changed. He was no longer the gentle and kind gentleman he used to be. He had only been here for a little over a month, and yet he had encountered such a disaster. No wonder.

"Alright. You'll come with me to Tongguanwei in three days. Just act according to the situation then."

"Give me a crossbow and some bolts; I want to practice."

Wei Cong glanced at his right hand. Although the wound had not yet healed, it had mostly recovered.

"Yes, Lord Wei, but be careful not to kill Xu Yunliang. After all, he still has many secrets."

Wei Cong lowered his eyes and replied, "Of course not."

When he returned to his cell, Xu Yunliang had already woken up. When he saw Xu Qiu, his legs trembled. "Sir, sir, I have something to say."

"Xu Yunliang, you're finally not so stubborn anymore."

Xu Qiu thought this man was a hero for enduring torture for so long.

Wei Cong must have said something to him that made Xu Yunliang speak up so quickly. He was really curious about what the two of them had talked about.

Wei Cong took the short crossbow and bolts from the jailer and tried to pull them back.

His father taught him archery when he was still alive, but he hadn't practiced for many years and had become somewhat rusty.

The short crossbow has a range of about fifty paces; with practice, one can hit the target 100% of the time.

*

Three hundred miles away, Tongguan Garrison.

Because of the recent events, Li Dacheng was busy cleaning up the smuggled salt in the secret vault. Ever since he heard that Xu Yunliang had been arrested by the people of Xi'an Prefecture, he had had a bad feeling.

However, he knew that Xu Yunliang wouldn't tell the truth so quickly. As long as he had some time, he could get rid of what he had.

"My lord, there are two people outside requesting an audience."

"who"

Li Dacheng was already on edge, and now that strangers had suddenly appeared, he was even more wary.

"They didn't explain their purpose. One of them was dressed in ordinary clothes, but looked like a refined scholar. The other was a martial arts expert with good skills."

Another pale-faced scholar? Li Dacheng sneered inwardly. Another one who overestimates himself and wants to uphold so-called justice.

So what if he brings along a highly skilled martial artist? Would he be afraid of them?

Li Dacheng grinned maliciously, "Please come in, I'll have a good talk with them."

Li Dacheng took down the long sword hanging on the wall and carefully wiped it with a piece of brocade cloth.

How dare anyone try to break into Tongguan Pass? Do you really think that if he doesn't show his power, he's just a rat that can only hide and run away?