Song heard that this trip to the south of the Yangtze River was for a serious matter, and now that the mastermind had been caught, he should return to Chang'an immediately.
However, he only sent Qi Zhou and a few others to escort Liang Fengye back to the capital, while he stayed behind.
He stayed for more than a month, and the two in the palace sent countless messages through intermediaries, but Song Ting pretended not to hear them.
"Brother Qi Zhou, does the lord intend to emulate King Zhou of Shang, who would rather love a beauty than his kingdom?"
In the inn, Xiao Wu, who had just delivered the body, tossed a pot of wine from his arms to Qi Zhou.
The two men had just returned last night to report their mission when they witnessed their master, enraged by a beautiful woman, unleashing a bloodbath.
"Your Excellency has your own plans."
Xiao Wu rolled her eyes: "I knew you'd say that."
"Of course, adults can do whatever they want."
Qi Zhou's life was saved by Song Ting, and since then he has become Song Ting's lackey, blindly trusting their master.
Xiao Wu mocked him quite a bit for this.
"Yes, yes, yes, what you say is true, Your Excellency, and so is Lord Qi..."
Xiao Wu pointed to the rooftop, "The moon is very round tonight. It's rare for us brothers to have such a pleasant time. How about we go up and have a drink?"
They were staying at a post station with a low roof, but the weather was fine tonight, making the moon seem very close to them.
Xiao Wu lay down with his arm as a pillow, waved the wine glass in his hand at Qi Zhou, and the two clinked glasses in the air before each taking a big gulp.
"That feels so good!" Xiao Wu sighed contentedly.
"Speaking of which, it's been a long time since the master has been so angry. The last time he personally turned someone into a human stick was five years ago..."
Five years ago, when Qi Zhou first came to Song Ting's side, he had a particularly deep impression of this matter.
Song Ting disappeared for a period of time. When she returned, she was seriously injured and seemed to have been drained of all her energy. She was ill for a long time.
That very day, the secret guards received Song Ting's orders and set off to find someone.
One by one, the carrier pigeons returned, but the results were all unsatisfactory.
Song Ting's body grew thinner day by day, and on the worst days, she even coughed up blood.
Until that winter, Thirteen returned to the manor covered in snow and wind, bringing someone with him.
The adults turned that person into a human pig, making that person wish they were dead but unable to live.
"Speaking of which, didn't you think that male prostitute looked somewhat familiar?"
Of course he looked familiar; that male prostitute looked exactly like the young master the adults had been searching for all those years ago.
Xiao Wu stroked his chin and thought for a while, then suddenly jumped up:
"I understand! Sir, you're using that male prostitute as a substitute for that one!"
Qi Zhou's expression darkened, and he warned him in a low voice, "Watch your words."
Xiao Wu is usually carefree, but he becomes unusually serious when it comes to that person.
He almost made a mistake in this matter back then, and he has kept it in mind all these years.
Reminded by Qi Zhou, he subconsciously swallowed.
After glancing around nervously, he lowered his voice and whispered in Qi Zhou's ear:
"Don't you think that Huaiyue looks a lot like that person...?"
Qi Zhou took a sip of his drink, a rare hint of helplessness appearing on his usually expressionless face:
"You'll get into trouble because of that mouth of yours sooner or later."
Qi Zhou really didn't understand. Xiao Wu and the adult had clearly come from the same place, so why was the adult so decisive and taciturn, while Xiao Wu was always chattering and talking without restraint?
If it weren't for Song Ting being the person they were following, given Xiao Wu's personality, he would have died countless times already.
"Why didn't you learn even a single thing about how adults behave?"
"What's an adult like?" Xiao Wu laughed. "Does he always have a stern face? Isn't that just like you? I might as well learn from you..."
Qi Zhou: "..."
"But what's so good about that? People like us don't even know what tomorrow will bring."
"If you keep suppressing yourself and living like an ascetic, what's the point of living?"
"But the gentleman is different from me. He used to laugh, but ever since that..."
At this point, Xiao Wu forced a smile.
"We've had such a hard life before, we always need to find a reason to keep living so that we can keep going."
"I enjoy drinking and eating meat. The master is fond of that young master, who is the master's pride. It's just a pity..."
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned, and now they no longer have to live in that dark and hopeless place.
Song Ting even rose to a position second only to the emperor, but he completely lost what he wanted in the power struggle.
"If Huaiyue is obedient, it would be good for her to stay by the adults' side," Xiao Wu said.
He squinted at the distance, then put the wine jug down beside him and said to Qi Zhou, "It looks like someone's coming..."
The man who came was none other than Prefect Zhang Lu. His son had been murdered in a gruesome manner, yet he was still in a hurry to apologize to the murderer.
I was inwardly groaning with despair.
As soon as he entered the inn, he was met with a shout: "Who goes there?!"
Following the sound, Zhang Lu looked up and saw two men in black leaping from the rooftop to stand in front of him, each carrying a wine jug and reeking of alcohol.
The post stations were set up by the imperial court and were usually only used to receive envoys and officials from various countries. They were people you couldn't afford to offend.
Therefore, most people who come and go from this place are polite and courteous, and very few are so arrogant and domineering.
You can guess who it is at a glance.
Zhang Lu bowed deeply, adopting an extremely humble posture:
"Please forgive me for disturbing you so late at night, but I have urgent business to discuss with the Commander."
"Are you Lawyer Zhang?" a man in black asked.
"It is indeed your humble servant," Zhang Lu replied.
"The master is not in the building at the moment. Please leave."
Zhang Lu wasn't sure if the person who wasn't in the building was truly absent or just pretending, so he gave a wink to the servant following behind him.
The latter then presented several gleaming silver ingots, saying, "Please, gentlemen, be lenient."
"Lord Zhang, what are you doing?" Xiao Wu glared at him. "If the lord is not here, he is not here. Please leave!"
The two men exuded a menacing aura, and Zhang Lu dared not argue with them, so he reluctantly took his leave.
"Sir, are we really leaving like this?" the servant asked unwillingly.
Zhang Lu was in a bad mood when he heard this, so he slapped him on the head:
"Otherwise, you don't intend to trespass, do you?"
The servant shrank back, not daring to utter a sound.
Zhang Lu's eyes darkened, and he instructed his servant, "Go and tell the clerk to come see me immediately."
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