"Lord of the city, is Shen Muzhi trying to give us a hard time? Why haven't we seen him yet?" This was the third time Pu Qingshan had looked towards the entrance.
From the moment they entered the house, apart from the two servants who initially came up to serve them tea, they did not see a single person from Jiangbei.
Qi Chengfeng sat in his seat with his eyes closed, seemingly not in a hurry at all, but in reality, he was almost losing patience.
Just then, footsteps finally came from the doorway. The group immediately turned around and saw Shen Muzhi leading two maids in.
They had all seen these two maids before; they were two of the four maids in the Jiangbei delegation.
At that moment, they were holding some fruit and snacks in their hands.
"I'm sorry, something came up and I was delayed. Please don't take offense, Lord Qi."
"Come, Lord Qi, you must be tired from your journey. This place is simple, and I don't have much to offer you, so I'll just have some tea and snacks to help you relax."
As Shen Muzhi spoke, the two maids placed all the food they were carrying on the table in front of Qi Chengfeng, and then waited to the side at Shen Muzhi's signal.
Of these two maids, Yanxiao was naturally one who hadn't yet shed her disguise.
From the moment she entered the room, Yan Xiao kept glancing at Jiang Xinrui, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
She noticed that after Shen Muzhi entered the room, she remained stiff and did not even glance in his direction.
This reaction seems a bit off.
Yan Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly, his fingers rubbing together intentionally or unintentionally, but he ultimately suppressed the urge to act immediately.
After Shen Muzhi spoke, Qi Chengfeng didn't even glance at the food on the table, and went straight to the point:
"General Shen, given our relationship, there's nothing to reminisce about. Let's get down to business."
He glanced at Jiang Xinrui as he spoke, and then continued:
"I've brought you all the people you wanted. Now, can you state your conditions for resolving this Gu poison?"
Shen Muzhi didn't glance at Jiang Xinrui once from beginning to end. Upon hearing this, he smiled and shook his head.
"Lord Qi, you're being too polite. We're all from Qi. Although we're now governing our own countries, we're still connected by blood. I understand the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold'."
Qi Chengfeng didn't believe a single word Shen Muzhi said.
A mocking smile appeared on his face: "So, according to General Shen, you're willing to solve the current crisis for my Yanyun City free of charge?"
"That's natural."
Shen Muzhi agreed so readily, with an air of righteous indignation that not only Qi Chengfeng, but even Yan Xiao was stunned by his words.
Before Qi Chengfeng could even feel happy, Shen Muzhi continued in a serious tone:
"Only Lord Qi may not know this, but this time the Miao people did not only target your Yanyun City, but also my Jiangbei City was ambushed."
Although the antidote was prepared in time, the losses were still enormous. Now, I truly lack the ability to prepare medicine for you in Yanyun City.
Qi Chengfeng truly didn't know about this, and a look of suspicion flashed across his face upon hearing it:
"Is this really true?"
"How can such a thing be faked? Qi Cheng mainly doesn't trust Shen, so he can send his own people to investigate."
As soon as Shen Muzhi finished speaking, Pu Qingshan, who was standing next to Qi Chengfeng, seemed to have heard something. He gestured to Qi Chengfeng and then left the room.
Seeing this, Shen Muzhi picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and made no attempt to stop him.
Not long after, Pu Qingshan returned, his expression somewhat grave.
Once he reached Qi Chengfeng's side, he immediately bent down and whispered a few words in Qi Chengfeng's ear.
After hearing his words, Qi Chengfeng's expression gradually became strange. After Pu Qingshan finished speaking, he looked at Shen Muzhi with some inquiry in his eyes.
"Why is Lord Qi looking at me like that? Is there something wrong?"
Qi Chengfeng's eyes flickered slightly upon hearing this, and he pondered for a moment before speaking:
"General Shen, I have just received news that the situation in the other cities is exactly the same as in my Yanyun City. Several delegations from my city are on their way here, hoping to ask for your help."
This is a huge matter; none of us in the city dare to stop them. I estimate they'll arrive soon.
Upon hearing this, Shen Muzhi immediately feigned surprise:
"Oh? Such a thing actually happened? These Miao people are too arrogant! Could it be that they have some new plan with the barbarian bandits?"
Qi Chengfeng had been observing Shen Muzhi's expression closely, not missing a single detail, hoping to glean some clues from his face, but he was destined to be disappointed.
"General Shen is truly unaware of this?"
Shen Muzhi chuckled:
"Lord Qi's question is quite interesting. Even if my spies are very capable, how could they transmit news back to the various cities so quickly?"
Even Lord Qi, if those envoys hadn't happened to be gathered together, wouldn't he have received the news so quickly?
As Shen Muzhi finished speaking, he seemed to suddenly realize something, his face darkened, and his tone became somewhat displeased:
"Could it be that Lord Qi thinks this matter is related to my Jiangbei City?"
I just heard General Cui say that you encountered an ambush by Miao people on the way. Lord Qi, did you immediately suspect that it was my doing?
I never imagined that in Lord Qi's heart, I, Chen Muzhi, possessed such divine power.
Hearing Shen Muzhi's tone, Qi Chengfeng's expression froze, and he hesitated for a moment before saying:
"General Shen has misunderstood. I was just saying it casually."
He quickly changed the subject:
"Since the Miao people have made such a big move, their ambitions must be quite significant."
As you said, we are all people of Qi, and we should unite against external enemies. Therefore, I implore General Shen to help Yanyun City get out of its current predicament.
This isn't just for my home city of Yanyun, but also to thwart the Miao people's plans, General Shen, don't you agree?
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