Tusheng

When I woke up again, I was in a wooden house in an unknown place.

Outside the wooden house were mountains and forests, with lush trees stretching as far as the eye could see. Xiao Yingzhu once thought that she had been discovered by the enemy and was being used as a hostage, forcing them to reveal some information in exchange for what they wanted from Huandu.

The battle in his memory was a disastrous defeat, and he didn't know whether Huandu had won in the end.

And my father...

The thought of those bloody scenes gave Xiao Yingzhu a splitting headache. Standing outside the wooden door, Xiao Yingzhu closed his eyes, pressed his aching forehead, took a few steps forward with a dizzy feeling, but fell to the ground again.

......

Didn’t you return to the capital?

He had never been here before.

If I can't get back now, the Duke's Mansion will...

He was already in the midst of public opinion, and Emperor Changde's intentions were unclear. He had successively taken the lives of his parents. Was he planning to get rid of him and take back the Duke's Mansion next?

He absolutely wouldn't allow it.

Xiao Yingzhu only felt that all the blood in his body was flowing upwards, filling his head, and his breathing was unstable. He wanted to raise his hands to support himself from the ground, but his whole body went limp and fell to the ground again.

Very tired. Extremely exhausted, my body and bones are worn out.

All his limbs were screaming, telling him that his body was not strong enough to support him down the mountain.

What's more, when you walk out of this mountain, there is another mountain, and the mountains are connected to each other, endlessly.

Where is he?

There was a hurried sound of footsteps in the distance. The other party saw from afar that the figure lying on the bed was gone in the wooden house. The bitter smell of medicine came from afar. Qin Lan ran to the right side of Xiao Yingzhu lying on the ground, looked at him in surprise for a moment, quickly put the bowl on the ground, and moved him back to the wooden house before Tao Yu came.

"Oh no, oh no! I didn't watch out for this. Tao Yu is going to use this to blame me again!"

"But it's all for the great cause of my Intelligence Bureau..."

The voices of the people around him were noisy and chattering. Xiao Yingzhu was drowsy and immersed in darkness, but these words could penetrate the thick darkness and reach his mind.

After a flurry of activity, Qin Lan was left in a state of confusion: "This is strange! Where did I put the medicine I just brought from Tao Yu? I remember I brought it with me. Could it be that I left it in the kitchen?"

Turning around hurriedly, the sound of footsteps on the wooden board rang out. Just as the man was about to go out to look for the rare-looking medicine, he heard a familiar female voice coming from afar.

"Where are you going? Did you give him the medicine?"

"I have a feeling he will wake up in the next two days. If you want to accomplish that task, you must rescue him. And then—"

"Send it back to the capital."

Qin Lan responded repeatedly, afraid that Tao Yu would suddenly ask him where the bowl of medicine was, so he quickly laughed and said, "I know, I know. You go and rest first, I'll take care of this."

Tao Yu hadn't slept at noon and was feeling lazy. When he heard the words, he stood up from the wall, turned around and walked away: "Well, then you keep an eye on it."

"Okay, okay."

Looking at Tao Yu's figure about to go away, Qin Lan breathed a sigh of relief and raised his hand to wipe the sweat that didn't exist at all.

Just as he was thinking about finding the medicine quickly and then prying open Xiao Yingzhu's mouth to pour the medicine into her, he saw Tao Yu, who was about to walk away, suddenly stopped.

"What's this?"

She smelled a slightly bitter, yet familiar scent.

Tao Yu paused, and followed the bitter taste downwards, his eyes stopping at a medicine bowl that seemed to be growing in the grass.

"?"

Although Qin Lan was far away from Tao Yu, he was still frightened by Tao Yu's sudden drop in pressure as he stood at the door. He quickly took a few steps back and raised his hand to block the light that was about to blind his eyes.

Oh no, oh no, she’s going to be angry!

Qin Lan, sensing that something was wrong, turned around and wanted to run outside, but was stopped in his tracks by a faint questioning voice coming from a distance.

"...You left the medicine I made here on the ground. Who were you planning to give it to?"

"Soil? Or do we have to do a prayer ritual and then pour it into his mouth?"

......

The noise in the distance came intermittently into Xiao Yingzhu's mind through the non-soundproof wooden door. Xiao Yingzhu frowned a little irritably, moved his aching arms, pressed his forehead with his fingertips, then closed his eyes and stood up from the bed.

Qin Lan, who was being beaten by Tao Yu with a stick he had found in the woods, saw from afar the person in the room getting up from the bed again. He was terrified and excited, as if he had seen a corpse resurrected in a cemetery.

"Wait, wait! Look, look over there—"

Qin Lan used some strength to escape from Tao Yu's clutches and ran forward quickly, feeling lucky that he had escaped again.

Holding a bowl that was almost cold but had not cooled down completely because it had been in the sun, he ran into the wooden house and quickly stretched out his hand to stop Xiao Yingzhu from turning over and getting out of bed.

"Wait a minute! Where are you going? Get well first!"

A yellow-brown wooden bowl appeared in his field of vision. Xiao Yingzhu lowered his eyes, looking coldly at his own reflection in the medicine, and said calmly, "...What year and month is it now?"

Qin Lan was stunned and subconsciously reported a year.

Xiao Yingzhu reached out to take the medicine, the warm bowl against his palm. He just lowered his eyes and watched: "What's the result?"

"The result?" Qin Lan immediately thought of the battle that had not yet ended and said quickly, "A great victory in Huandu."

Xiao Yingzhu fell silent, raising her eyelids to survey the area. "Where is this place? Can I return to the capital?"

The young man in front of him and the girl who asked him to drink the medicine should be from Huandu, and they approached him with some purpose, just like the man was muttering to himself just now, wanting to accomplish some great cause.

No one wants to be on the verge of losing all power and being suspected by the emperor. Now that he is no longer seen in the war, the court should regard him as a traitor. In these cases, he will be brought back from the battlefield and saved.

Unless there is an unspoken purpose.

What will it be?

Qin Lan was naturally overjoyed when he heard Xiao Yingzhu's initiative to return to the capital - didn't this mean that his Intelligence Bureau could be saved?

However, this great undertaking is just in its initial stages, and they need to convince Xiao Yingzhu to help them.

But now it seems that Xiao Yingzhu's mother passed away due to heart disease caused by his father's expedition, and his father passed away not long ago.

Although Emperor Changde's actions were for the sake of the country, would Xiao Yingzhu come back from the battlefield and reconcile with Emperor Changde after indirectly killing both of her parents?

Qin Lan stared at him closely and asked directly, "Drink this bowl of medicine, and you can go back to the capital directly."

Xiao Yingzhu drank the bitter medicine in her hand expressionlessly, as if she couldn't taste the strong bitterness. She just wiped the medicine stains from her lips with a tissue: "Is it okay now?"

"Sure, sure."

Qin Lan took the empty medicine bowl and heard the cold and ruthless young man in front of him ask, "What do you want?"

“!”

The life-saving grass actually offered to repay the favor?! Qin Lan was overjoyed and wanted to tell everything directly, but then he remembered the previous disastrous failure that led to everyone's death due to poor planning. He had no choice but to swallow his words and first test Xiao Yingzhu's attitude.

"What do you plan to do after you return to the capital?"

Xiao Yingzhu had no intention of hiding it and said directly: "Take over the Duke's Mansion."

"The Duke's Mansion——"

Qin Lan paused for a moment, thinking of the recent rumors in the capital.

The famous Duke Xian must be suspected of treason, which is why the outside troops attacked so quickly.

If Xiao Yingzhu went to Emperor Changde to ask for the card that symbolized status and power, she should have a good relationship with Emperor Changde.

Although the road ahead is bumpy, it is not impossible to walk. If one walks well, perhaps one can clear the charge of going to the Duke's Mansion and have the Duke's Mansion returned to Xiao Yingzhu's hands.

Qin Lan nodded. Even if he volunteered, if Xiao Yingzhu really became a Duke in the future, wouldn't he be rich? He could directly cooperate with the Duke of the current dynasty.

"I have relevant intelligence information, do you want it?"

Facing Xiao Yingzhu, his expressionless eyes seemed frozen. He continued, "It's okay. Although we're relatively unfamiliar with each other now, we'll definitely get to know each other better as we return to Pingzhou from here!"

Still thinking about the usually serious grandmother in the Duke's Mansion, Xiao Yingzhu didn't say much, and just responded lightly.

Anyway, his life was in their hands. He didn't know what the ingredients of the medicine were, but he was sure that these two young men would not frame him.

If you want to kill him, you can just leave him there on the battlefield full of corpses, instead of going through the trouble of pulling him out of the battlefield.

However, after arriving in the capital, if they wanted to replace him with those nobles with malicious intentions.

“…”

Xiao Yingzhu subconsciously wanted to touch the sword he had worn since childhood, but his hand missed.

He forgot that the sword must have fallen on the battlefield and he didn't have the energy to bring it back.

The young man opposite, perhaps a young nobleman from a certain family, was not a bad person. Seeing Xiao Yingzhu subconsciously grasping the sword from his waist, he knew what he was thinking and explained directly:

"Are you looking for that sword? I've already sent someone to the capital to find a craftsman to repair it for you. I'll bring it back to you when we get there."

Xiao Yingzhu met the other person's honest and clear eyes. He did not see any conspiracy in those eyes. It was as if he was simply telling a simple story.

Even though there were still doubts in her heart, it was still necessary to say thank you. Xiao Yingzhu slightly turned away and said coldly: "Thank you."

Being thanked by this aloof young man who had a small chance of obtaining the first-rank official title of Duke from Emperor Changde, Qin Lan inexplicably felt unworthy and waved his hands, saying, "Forget it, forget it. There's no need to be so rude... As long as we both achieve our desired goals, that's all that matters."

Anyway, his thoughts did not conflict with Xiao Yingzhu's, so Xiao Yingzhu did not continue speaking. He just nodded and fell silent.

—

After several days of wandering, they finally came out of the forest and saw the shadow of the capital city in the distance.

Qin Lan is not a dull person. Although Tao Yu and Xiao Yingzhu are both talkative, he talks a lot. He can talk endlessly, even explaining to Xiao Yingzhu why they brought him to the deep mountains and forests for treatment.

There was nothing else to it. It was just that the group of people who had intentions of spying on the Duke's Mansion had evil intentions and had to find the people in the Duke's Mansion and frame them using some means.

The two people who had the final say have already been confirmed dead. By then, people who have not touched the core will not discover their plans.

Emperor Changde was also a person who remained indifferent even though many people came to see him and said with reason that the Duke's Mansion must be collaborating with the enemy and treason. Now that Xiao Yingzhu did not return, she must have fled out of fear. They earnestly asked Emperor Changde to give up the position of Duke to them.

He just listened calmly to the comments coming from below, as if watching a play, and memorized everyone's words, expressions and movements in his heart.

Seeing that the emperor was not in a hurry, the nobles became even more anxious.

The evidence of treason is right here, why doesn't he believe it? Who is he waiting for? Waiting for Xiao Yingzhu, who has disappeared and is unknown whether she is dead or not?

——It’s true.

These confused nobles went back to their homes and looked for their mothers with questions. A few days later, they heard a piece of news from the bustling streets of the capital.

Xiao Yingzhu, who had disappeared and was most likely dead or taken away by deserters from the enemy country, was actually brought back!

How is that possible!

How is this possible? !

They had clearly secretly sent people to check the remains of the battlefield, but they didn't see any trace of Xiao Yingzhu.

Is there anyone who can act faster than them?

Who is it, who is it that gets the information so quickly?

The nobles and other forces all stretched their heads and looked outside, hoping to get some accurate information.

But after waiting for a long time, the person who came to the capital was actually Xiao Yingzhu.

He seemed to be unharmed, even the sword at his waist was still there.

If it weren't for his cold expression, which made people think that he was the Black and White Impermanence who reap lives in the underworld, they would really think that this disastrous war did not leave any scars on Xiao Yingzhu's seemingly ruthless heart.

The young man who had looked somewhat aloof and aloof before, seemed to have had all his emotions drained away in that war, leaving only an empty shell to return to this world.

The nobles and officials who wanted to step forward to ask questions were frightened and took a few steps back when they saw Xiao Yingzhu's appearance. Although she was only in her teens, the murderous aura emanating from her was so oppressive that it made people breathless.

Emperor Changde learned about Xiao Yingzhu's return from the report from outside, but as if he had expected it long ago, he let him in from outside the hall with a calm expression.

The moment he saw Xiao Yingzhu return, Emperor Changde knew that the person in front of him was no longer his friend's son, but a minister, a person who had resentment towards him but could transform these negative emotions into a calm and deep pool of water, asking for something that must belong to him.

Emperor Changde showed no mercy and just turned around and ordered the people around him to give Xiao Yingzhu what he deserved most.

......

After leaving the court, he returned to his temporary residence.

Qin Lan had been eagerly waiting for Xiao Yingzhu to return home, and immediately asked, "How is it? How is it? Did the old man promise to let you take back the seat?"

Xiao Yingzhu closed the door. He had become accustomed to Qin Lan's talkativeness these days, so after hearing these repeated questions, he simply replied indifferently, "Yeah."

Following Xiao Yingzhu's figure, he saw him open the door of his temporary residence and prepare to pack his bags. He stood there and asked:

"There should be someone investigating near the Duke's Mansion. Are you going back now?"

The other party packed up the things in the house. He didn't have much stuff, so it was easy to pack up and it was particularly concise.

It was not until he passed by Qin Lan that he responded again. As if he felt something was a little wrong, he turned around and said another word to him.

"Find out... those reasons, and I will discuss it with you later."

Xiao Yingzhu actually had the mind to explain to him, that was to finalize the matter with Emperor Changde!

Qin Lan was overjoyed again and said happily: "Okay, okay, my intelligence career, your official career - go quickly, go quickly."

Before he finished speaking, he seemed to have seen an endless stream of orders and money standing in the distance on the grass slope, holding hands and jumping towards him.

Xiao Yingzhu knew what Qin Lan was happy about without even looking back.

He was in no mood to talk to the person behind him. After nodding faintly to Tao Yu who had just returned, he returned to the Duke's Mansion.

—

Raindrops hung down from the sky, and fine and dense rain threads fell from the sky. The mist scattered on the oil-paper umbrellas, blocking the people passing by hurriedly on the stone bridge.

The heavy rain blocked the faces of passers-by. Xiao Yingzhu raised his gaze slightly and it fell on a corner of a house in the distance.

After several months, he finally returned to this place that looked familiar yet unfamiliar.