Chapter 193 Do You Want to Cooperate?
After breakfast the next day, Qi Wuhan went out. Before leaving, he informed Jiang Lan that he would be back late and she didn't need to wait for him for lunch.
After Qi Wuhan left, Jiang Lan stayed by the window looking at the street.
The grocery store and rouge shop, which had been closed yesterday, were now open for business. An elderly woman, carrying a basket, was selecting fish from a fishmonger. A young man brought a shy girl into the rouge shop to buy rouge. The grocery store owner, beaming, escorted a customer carrying bags out the door. The owner of the nearby stall had sold his last bowl of wontons and was preparing to close.
Everything in the small town made her feel both novel and peaceful.
She lay on the windowsill and watched for the whole morning. All the people who set up stalls on the street had gone home, and there were no customers coming to the grocery store and rouge shop. However, the small restaurant across the street was very busy.
When it was time for dinner, people came in groups, and the proprietress's hearty laughter could be heard from time to time.
The aroma of the food drifted to the window, and Jiang Lan felt hungry as soon as she smelled it.
When the waiter came to deliver the meal, she asked him, "Has the business of the restaurant across the street always been so good? What are their specialties?"
The waiter replied attentively, "Everything they have is delicious. They have braised beef with soy sauce, stewed pork elbow, steamed fish, fried quail, and white-cut chicken. What would you like to try?"
Jiang Lan just smelled an aroma that sounded like braised beef and stewed pork elbow, so she gave the waiter some money and asked him to buy some.
The waiter quickly ran to the small restaurant across the street and said a few nice words to the proprietress to ask her to do him a favor. It was dinner time and there were many customers waiting for their food.
When the proprietress heard that the guest was from out of town, the young lady wanted to try his braised beef with soy sauce and stewed pork elbow after smelling the delicious food. So she went to the kitchen herself and cut more than half a pound of braised beef with soy sauce. She skillfully cut it into thin slices and mixed it with the secret sauce and put it on a plate. Then she scooped out a large pork elbow with rich soy sauce from the casserole, poured a spoonful of rich soup on it, carefully wiped off the sauce that splashed on the edge of the plate, put it in a food box, took it out and gave it to the waiter, and told the waiter to tell her if the guest felt there was any problem with the dish.
The waiter assured the boss lady that he guaranteed that customers would want to eat it again after the first time.
When the waiter came back with the lunch box, Jiang Lan was a little surprised. She didn't expect him to come back so soon. She thought she would have to wait in line for a while.
"This braised beef is a must-try, ma'am, please try it~" The waiter brought out the braised beef and then the steaming hot stewed pork elbow, "This pork elbow is still hot, ma'am, please try it~"
Jiang Lan first tasted a piece of braised beef with soy sauce, nodded in approval, and praised it as delicious. Then she tasted the pork elbow and gave a thumbs up.
After receiving the feedback, the waiter left happily, then went to a small restaurant across the street and told the proprietress about it. The proprietress gave the waiter two more plates of side dishes as a gift and asked him to bring them over.
In the evening, when Qi Wuhan came back, he smelled a hint of soy sauce as soon as he entered the room. Jiang Lan asked him if he had eaten and strongly recommended the braised beef and stewed pork elbow from the small restaurant across the street.
He was also happy to see her have such a good appetite. He had previously noticed that she would feel sick at the smell of fish and meat and had a poor appetite, which had worried him. He had never expected that a small restaurant in the small town could actually cure her anorexia. This was truly a pleasant surprise.
So before setting off the next day, Qi Wuhan went to the restaurant and bought two pounds of braised beef and two stewed pork elbows. Jiang Lan said she couldn't eat so much, and they finished eating before noon.
It was noon when the carriage arrived outside Youzhou City.
It just so happened that the officers and soldiers checking at the city gate had changed shifts.
Qi Wuhan showed the pass to the officers and soldiers who were checking him and was able to enter the city smoothly.
There was a reward notice posted at the city gate, and the portrait on it looked very similar to Qi Wuhan.
However, he made some modifications to his face while in the inn.
Jiang Lan watched him draw his eyebrows and add a beard, making his sword-like eyebrows thick and black, and the beard extended all the way to his temples, perfectly fitting the temperament of a rough man.
She stood next to him, like a concubine he kept...
She asked him if he wanted to change and dress up as a man, but he said no, their current identities were Mr. Zhang and his wife who had returned to their hometown to visit their relatives.
After the carriage entered the city, Jiang Lan pulled aside the curtain and looked out. The street was quieter than when she came before. A team of patrolling officers and soldiers were coming from the intersection ahead, so she lowered the curtain.
Qi Wuhan held her hand, signaling her not to worry, everything was fine, and asked An Yue to pull the carriage to the side and continue moving forward after the team of soldiers passed.
After settling down in the inn, Qi Wuhan went out again.
Jiang Lan felt that he was planning something in secret, and she believed that his plan would succeed.
Cui Hai and Cui Yan, father and son, were both in the city, as were the personal soldiers left behind by King Rui.
The general defending the city was named Liu Ji. He was strict in military discipline, upright and honest, and was deeply loved by the people in the city. However, because he was too upright and did not know how to flatter others, he was not favored by the governor. His official position became lower and lower every year. In two years, he would probably be sent to guard the city gate.
The person Qi Wuhan was meeting was him. Twenty years ago, he and General Qi were colleagues and joined the army together. They knew each other through fighting and later became sworn brothers. General Qi was highly valued by the emperor, but he was envied for speaking too bluntly, so he was transferred to the remote Youzhou and guarded the city for twenty years.
Later, when Qi Wuhan followed General Qi to the battlefield, he passed by this place and exchanged a few moves with the other party. The two became friends regardless of age difference.
When he learned that General Qi had passed away, he rushed over alone on horseback in the middle of the night, carrying a big knife to chop off Wei Bing's grandson. Later, he led troops to support Qi Wuhan. When he learned that Qi Wuhan had colluded with the enemy and committed treason, his first reaction was to curse. He carried a big knife and was about to return to the capital to chop off those troublemakers, but was kicked back home by his wife.
After meeting Qi Wuhan, Liu Ji asked who framed him. Qi Wuhan told him in detail about the situation in the capital. The prince was framed and imprisoned in the East Palace. Prince Rui used the emperor to control the princes. Prince Fu was accused of murdering the princess as soon as he returned. The Black Armor Army was also accused of treason. In order to clear the Black Armor Army's grievances, the emperor must be rescued first, but it is not convenient for him to show up now, so he hopes that he can arrange a meeting between him and Cui Yan.
Afterwards, Liu Ji went to visit Cui Hai and brought a message to Cui Yan, who then changed his expression.
Liu Ji said that his wife wanted to invite Cui Yan to dinner, and his wife would cook herself. He asked Cui Yan if he would be willing to do him the honor, and Cui Yan followed him home.
In the study, Cui Yan saw Qi Wuhan, and the expression on his face was first surprise, then suspicion, and finally vigilance.
"Why are you here?"
In response to Cui Yan's questioning, Qi Wuhan told him the situation in Prince Fu's mansion.
Two days after Prince Fu returned to Beijing, Cui Jingshu was poisoned. Then, some ministers accused Prince Fu of plotting to murder the princess. After all, everyone knew that the two had a bad relationship and they quarreled every few days. Prince Fu even threatened to divorce the princess. Now Prince Fu has been imprisoned in the palace.
Cui Yan was shocked to learn that Cui Jingshu was poisoned, but he had not received any message from his mother or Changle, and suspected that Qi Wuhan was deceiving him.
"It seems you don't know yet. As soon as you left the General's Mansion in the capital, you were surrounded by people from the Imperial City Bureau." Qi Wuhan revealed another piece of news to him.
Cui Yan was startled again, then his expression darkened. "How do you know all this?"
"It's not difficult to find out this information." Qi Wuhan invited, "Would you like to cooperate?"
Cui Yan stared at him gloomily, "Why should I trust you?"
Qi Wuhan curled his lips and smiled faintly, "Believe it or not, it's up to you, but if the throne falls into the hands of Prince Rui, Changle is the prince's sister, and your mother is the queen's cousin, do you think Prince Rui can still keep the general's mansion?"
Hearing Changle, Cui Yan seemed to have found his weakness. "How can we cooperate?"
Qi Wuhan called Liu Ji in and asked the two to act according to his next plan.
After staying in the city for one night, Dark Moon drove out of the city in his carriage the next morning.
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