Chapter 373 He Family Orphan
"General, maybe you are overthinking it. The injuries on He Yan and his servant cannot be fake." The deputy general whispered.
Di Shuangcheng frowned: "It's better to be careful."
"With the new emperor ascending the throne in Beiling, the internal chaos has subsided, and they have set their sights on our Great Wei. There have been constant probing along the border, and small-scale battles have become increasingly frequent. I always feel a sense of unrest."
"The appearance of these two people is such a coincidence. Let's have someone check their background first. If they really have nothing to do with Beiling, I will naturally come and apologize to them in person."
But if there really is a problem, and he sacrificed so many guards to set up a trap to send people into the Di family, then his plan must be something more than simple.
He is responsible for the 180,000 soldiers of the Zhen'an Army.
The deputy general's expression tightened when he heard this, and he quickly nodded in agreement.
Di Tao wanted to speak, but Di Shuangcheng glared at him.
"You stay in the mansion for the next few days and don't wander around. I know what's happening with He Yan. The Di family won't neglect their true benefactor. I'll send someone to watch over here and take good care of their injuries. Don't cause any more trouble."
After saying that, he frowned: "By the way, where is your mother?"
Di Tao said, "There were too many people chasing us at the time, and it would have been too conspicuous for my mother to walk with us, so I asked Li Yong and the others to escort my mother and walk separately from us."
"Isn't mother back yet? She should have arrived before us."
Di Shuangcheng's eyes were filled with worry: "Not yet, where did you separate?"
Di Tao told me the place.
Di Shuangcheng said, "I will send people to search along the way. Beiling has sent many spies to intercept and kill you in Wei. And if the news of your return home leaks out, I'm afraid there must be an insider. You and Fangyun should stay in the mansion and recuperate well. Don't let anyone take advantage of the opportunity."
Di Tao's expression changed upon hearing this. Although he was worried about He Yan, he had also witnessed the methods used by Beiling's spies. He whispered, "I understand, father."
…
After the people from the Di family left, someone came in and said he would help Xiao Yan wash up. However, seeing that it was someone left behind by the Di family, Xiao Yan drove the person out in annoyance, leaving only water and a towel.
After the door was closed again, Xiao Yan leaned against the bed and took a breath for a while before reaching out and taking out a bottle from under the pillow.
He poured a pill into his mouth, then walked to Zhang Bin who was lying beside him, took out two pills and stuffed them into his mouth, then pushed hard on his jaw.
As Zhang Bin's throat rolled, the medicine was swallowed into his stomach.
Xiao Yan felt Zhang Bin's pulse and saw that his breathing had stabilized a little. Then he stood up and walked to the window, looking out through the window frame.
After a while, Zhang Bin's voice came from behind.
"master…"
Xiao Yan turned his head: "How is it, can you still hold on?"
Zhang Bing gave a weak smile, "It's okay. Tu Bai held back. He just looked a little too strong."
His heart was not born on the left side, so the sword looked dangerous, but in fact it did not hit the vital part.
After sitting up by the bed, Zhang Bing covered his wound and gasped, then looked up and whispered, "It seems that the Di family didn't notice that our injuries were serious. It seems that Geng Ji deceived the Di family."
Like him, Geng Ji came to the northwest with the governor. However, when they were looking for the mother and son of the Di family in Anxi, Geng Ji took his men and entered Fengcheng first.
Tu Bai and his men pretended to ambush Di Tao, and they must have already sneaked into the city by now.
Xiao Yan said, "It's no use trying to deceive him. Di Shuangcheng is much more cautious than I thought."
He originally wanted to take advantage of the life-saving grace of the Di family's mother and son to sneak into the Di family, and then find out about the dragon-patterned pendant after getting acquainted with Di Shuangcheng. However, he did not expect that Di Shuangcheng, a military general, would be so cautious. He seemed to be teaching Di Tao a lesson, but did not mention the life-saving grace at all, and it was obvious that he was suspicious of them.
Moreover, although Di Shuangcheng and the others had left, some people were left outside.
Zhang Bing hadn't expected the plan to go awry. "Master, what should we do now?"
It can't be all in vain.
Xiao Yan folded his arms across his chest and looked through the window at the people guarding outside.
This courtyard was arranged by Di Shuangcheng. It is not in the downtown area, and there are people guarding outside. It is not impossible to avoid Di Shuangcheng's eyes and go out, but there is no need.
If he couldn't gain Di Shuangcheng's trust, it would be difficult for him to proceed to the next step.
Xiao Yan tapped his arm with his fingers. Di Tao could not move for the time being. As for Di Shuangcheng, he should not be so vigilant. Even if he really had doubts about his life-saving grace, he could just give him some benefits and send him off. But now he was like a "prisoner" and someone was sent to monitor him.
Being so cautious, could it be that something went wrong at Luoyan Pass or Beiling?
The next evening, Geng Ji, disguised as a doctor, came to treat the injuries of Xiao Yan and the other two under the noses of the Di family guards. Only then did Xiao Yan learn the reason from him.
"The new emperor of Beiling has ascended the throne?" Xiao Yan frowned.
Geng Ji nodded. "I only learned the news after arriving in Fengcheng. Previously, Beiling had been in turmoil, with the princes vying for power and unable to care about the Great Wei. Luoyan Pass and Fengcheng were relatively peaceful, but Beiling has been harassing the border on a small scale for a while now, and the Zhen'an Army has occasionally engaged in battles with them."
"Not long ago, several spies from Beiling were captured in Luoyan Pass. I heard that they nearly wiped out a 2,000-man vanguard unit of the Zhen'an Army. A village was also massacred by Beiling's men. Di Shuangcheng found them, dragged them to the front of the army, and skinned them alive."
During this period, patrols around Fengcheng and Luoyan Pass have been extremely strict.
Xiao Yan paused as he gently twisted his fingertips. No wonder...
Di Shuangcheng was probably worried that Beiling was setting up a trap for him to save Di Tao, and that they thought he was a spy sent by Beiling to infiltrate the Zhen'an Army.
"How unlucky I am that Beiling is causing chaos at this time." Zhang Bing was hit by a sword after all, so he was a little out of breath when he spoke.
Xiao Yan also frowned slightly. It would be difficult to gain Di Shuangcheng's trust under such circumstances, unless he could be sure that they had nothing to do with Beiling.
He rubbed his fingertips for a moment and said, "Geng Ji, send a message and have a few unfamiliar people come here to find me. Remember to have them act nervous and extremely wary of the Di family. Then lead the Di family to Zhangxing."
Geng Ji was surprised: "Master, are you going to directly contact Di Shuangcheng using the identity of the He family?"
The He family’s ancestral home was Zhangxing.
Xiao Yan hummed, "This Di Shuangcheng is a little different from what I found before. Since he's suspicious now, let's just lead him to investigate the He family. His identity as an orphan of the He family is enough to test his attitude towards what happened back then."
Geng Ji hesitated: "Isn't this too risky?"
Xiao Yan said calmly, "Coming to the Northwest is risky in itself. Unless I can give myself a year or two to slowly approach Di Shuangcheng and win over his people, there will be risks no matter what I do."
He couldn't stay in the northwest for too long, as something could easily happen in the capital. Moreover, the identity of "Xiao Yan" could not appear in Fengcheng and Luoyan Pass before confirming the attitudes of the Di family and the Longting Guards.
But if he waited for Di Shuangcheng to clarify his doubts and sever his ties with Beiling, it would be a waste of time and he couldn't afford to delay.
"Do as I say. When you send someone here, try to avoid the Di family. Be extremely careful, but also make sure Di Shuangcheng knows."
Geng Ji understood what he meant: "Okay, I'll make arrangements once I get out."
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