Hua Youxian was stunned and asked, "Master He...isn't he a girl?"

"That's not it," Xiao Jue frowned, with a sharp look in her beautiful eyes, "You mean the 'girl' from 'that year'?"

Hua Youxian nodded in confusion, "That little girl wearing a mask... didn't Master Xiao know about it?"

Xiao Jue's eyes suddenly turned incredulous, "Girl?"

"Don't you think Young Master Xiao doesn't know about this?" Hua Youxian was also surprised. "Back then, Young Master Xiao specially asked someone to replace the girl's Bifang wine with Rose Dew. I thought Young Master knew about this a long time ago..." She seemed to remember something and her eyes narrowed. "That's why I teased her on purpose and made her blush. It was very funny."

Xiao Jue was shocked and murmured, "I don't know."

At that time, he smelled the sweet and mellow Bifang wine, which was probably intoxicating. He Rufei had just been beaten up in the manor house and had been given medicine not long ago. If she was going to drink, it would be better to drink something light. So he asked Hua Youxian to change to sweet rose water. But Xiao Jue never thought that Hua Youxian would tell him that He Rufei was a girl?

"Are you sure," Xiao Jue looked at the woman in front of him, "he is a woman?"

"I have lived in Ruyun Tower for a long time. Occasionally, there are girls from wealthy families who want to play around and disguise themselves as men to play in the tower. My mother told my sisters that if they encounter such girls, they should not expose them, but let them play around and protect them. So if a girl really dresses up as a man, I can tell at a glance."

"The young master wearing the mask actually dressed up as a man very well. She didn't wear earrings or pearl hairpins, and her behavior was no different from that of an ordinary man. But I always felt something was wrong, so I made an excuse to sit next to her..." She laughed, "She was clearly wearing a chest binder and was very nervous. When I teased her, she panicked to death. But the mask was quite intimidating. If it were someone else, they probably wouldn't be able to tell. And the young masters didn't have much contact with women at that time, so it's natural that they couldn't tell she was a woman at first glance."

Xiao Jue was speechless.

He and He Rufei had not been classmates for long, only a year or so, but in all these years, he had never doubted that He Rufei was not a man. It was hard to believe what Hua Youxian said suddenly. But he knew very well that Hua Youxian was not a person who spoke without thinking, and although he said it in a tactful way, he must have been sure to say so.

"It seems that... the Miss He today is not the same person as the young master back then." Hua Youxian looked at Xiao Jue curiously, "I thought that Young Master Xiao was taking care of that girl just like he did back then, so I thought they were the same person."

Xiao Jue was confused at the moment, and shook his head when he heard this, "She is not."

"Mr. Chu seems to be interested in Miss He as well," Hua Youxian held her chin up, this action made her look a little playful like a young girl, "But, I can see that the girl likes you."

Xiao Jue raised his eyes and looked at her.

"Young Master probably doesn't know," Hua Youxian chuckled, "At the dinner table today, she spent more time looking at you than at that Mr. Chu. And... when Cailian asked someone to persuade her to drink more, Miss He was so nervous that she almost dropped the cup."

"If you like Miss He, you should take the initiative. A flower is beautiful enough, and more than one person would want to pick it." After saying this, she stood up, picked up the wine pot on the table in the pavilion, and said, "I am drunk too, so I will go back to the house to rest. You stay here, think about it slowly, and you will understand it tomorrow." She bowed to Xiao Jue charmingly, "Goodbye."

Hua Youxian disappeared deep into the corridor. Xiao Jue sat in the pavilion, looking at the lantern on the table.

After talking for so long, what still shocked him was one thing: He Rufei was actually a woman?

No one had seen He Rufei's face under the mask. Was He Rufei a woman from the beginning, or was it just the "He Rufei" who followed them to Jinling who was a woman? Xiao Jue pondered for a moment and concluded that the He Rufei who followed them to Jinling was not replaced, but the He Rufei he had met in Xianchang Pavilion in the past. In other words, the He Rufei in Xianchang Pavilion, the He Rufei in front of the world, was a woman.

All of a sudden, all the strange behaviors of He Rufei in the past were given reasonable explanations.

Why does he always wear a mask that covers his entire face, not even when he sleeps? Why are the servants of the He family so distant from He Rufei and never serve her personally? Why has no one ever bathed in the hot spring with He Rufei? Why is He Rufei so weak, short, and much thinner than an ordinary teenager?

Because "He Rufei" is a woman.

But when He Rufei took off his mask in front of Emperor Wenxuan, he was clearly a real man.

The previous battle of Huayuan reappeared in his mind. He Rufei was a brave and good fighter, but he was defeated in the battle of Huayuan, and all his close associates died in the battle. How similar was this to the battle of Mingshui? The reason for silencing Xiao Zhongwu in the battle of Mingshui was that his lieutenants knew the truth that their commander was murdered. What was the reason for silencing Xiao Zhongwu in the battle of Huayuan?

What great secrets did those confidants who were "killed in battle" discover? After much thought, the biggest secret is that the "General Feihong" who followed him to the battlefield back then and the "General Feihong" who was personally appointed by His Majesty now are not the same person.

Even far from it.

"Flying slave."

In the darkness, Fei Nu walked out, unable to hide his surprise. When Xiao Jue went to Jinling, Fei Nu was one of the guards. Naturally, he knew that the masked boy was He Rufei. Now, after so much time, he found out that the fearsome General Fei Hong was a woman. How could he not be surprised?

"Quickly inform Luanying to thoroughly investigate all matters of the He family, starting from the time He Rufei was born. Also, find out if there are any soldiers in the army who have fought with He Rufei before, and protect their safety in secret."

He stood up and said, "I'm afraid that soon someone will kill people to silence them."

…

The sun shone on his face, making it feel hairy. He Yan stretched out his hand to block the glaring sunlight outside and slowly opened his eyes.

A girl in the room was putting porridge in a basket on the table and asked with a smile, "Young Master, are you awake?"

"Did I fall asleep?" He Yan asked. He drank a few glasses of rose water last night and felt extremely sleepy. He didn't know when he fell asleep. His alcohol tolerance now was really not comparable to that of his previous life. You have to know that when He Yan was still young, he couldn't even drink a few glasses.

"Young Master went to bed early, and it was Master Xiao who sent him back to his room." The girl pursed her lips and smiled, "Masters Lin and Yan have already woken up and had their meals, and are waiting downstairs. Young Master, please go down after you have breakfast and wash up."

She had no intention of serving He Yan, and after placing the food on the table, she left. I think it was Xiao Jue's idea. Now that she was a girl, only Yan He and Yang Mingzhi didn't know about it. But at least for now, the fewer people who knew about it, the better.

He Yan finished eating and tidied himself before going downstairs. As soon as he went downstairs, he heard Yan He and Lin Shuang He arguing with each other. Yan He said, "Impossible! You got drunk first yesterday."

"Don't give me that, Yan Nanguang. I saw you drink too much. How could I be drunk first? Don't deny it. If you don't believe me, ask Huai Jin. Huai Jin, was it me who got drunk first or him?"

Without waiting for Xiao Jue to answer, Yan He hurriedly said: "Why are you asking him? He is your friend, of course he will speak for you! Anyway, you got drunk first!"

"...Yan Nanguang, does your wife know that you are being so naughty?"

He Yan went downstairs, greeted them, and looked at Xiao Jue who was sitting in front of the window. He was looking out the window, lost in thought, and didn't even notice He Yan coming downstairs. This was strange. He Yan walked to Lin Shuanghe and asked, "What's wrong with the governor? You look worried."

Lin Shuanghe shrugged: "Who knows? He's like this so early in the morning. Maybe he's thinking about what to do after returning to Shuojing."

He said it simply, but He Yan felt a little worried. Could it be that she got drunk last night and said something nonsense? But she really had no memory of it at all.

"But..." He Yan looked around, "Why don't I see Lord Yang and the Fourth Master Chu?"

"It seems that they didn't stay in Ruyun Tower last night, probably because they were being particular. Yang Mingzhi doesn't like these places to begin with. As for Chu Zilan," Lin Shuanghe deliberately looked at He Yan and said slowly, "If he had stayed in Ruyun Tower last night, when he returned to Shuojing, Xu Pingting would have skinned him alive. That's not all, I'm afraid the entire Ruyun Tower would have suffered as well. So he did a good deed."

As he was talking, Yan He had already walked up to Xiao Jue and slammed the table, "Come back to your senses!"

Xiao Jue raised his eyes.

"Didn't you say you had to go see Yang Mingzhi in the morning? Hurry up," Yan He said anxiously, "Say whatever you want to say quickly, and don't delay your return to Beijing." He rubbed his hands, "I told Chengxiu the time to return to Beijing, and I can't be late for a day."

After knowing that Yan He was a "model husband", this man simply did not hide it at all, and eight out of ten sentences were about his wife. Xiao Jue was too lazy to pay attention to his seemingly unintentional boasting, stood up, and said to everyone: "Let's go."

After getting on the carriage, He Yan finally had some time to ask the question that concerned him, "Commander-in-chief, General Yan, why are we going to see Lord Yang?"

Probably because everyone drank together last night, Yan He classified He Yan as one of his own, and did not hide it, saying, "I don't know, they just said it was related to the Wutuo people. Anyway, we'll know when we get there." Speaking of the Wutuo people, his expression became a little serious, "I wonder what the situation is like in Shuojing."

The Yang Mansion was neither close nor far from Ruyun Tower. After about a few incense sticks of time, the carriage stopped at the gate of the Yang Mansion.

Yang Mingzhi was the Nanjing Patrolman, but his mansion was very simple. At first glance, it looked no different from an ordinary family. He Yan still remembered that when Liu Rui was the Nanjing Patrolman, he heard from his friends that the mansion was decorated so luxuriously that the young men who went to steal the indentures almost got lost in the garden.

Yang Mingzhi...is not greedy for wealth and at least his original intention remains unchanged. Then why did he say such hurtful words to his good friend back then?

He Yan pondered in his heart and followed the crowd into the gate.

There were not many servants in Yang Mingzhi's house, and it looked like an ordinary scholar's house in Jinling City. The garden was not well maintained, with some bamboos planted casually. When it came to the hall, there were very few decorations, and the only thing that caught people's attention was the various landscape calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall.

He Yan went up to take a look. They were not paintings or calligraphy by famous artists. They were all written by Yang Mingzhi himself. There was also a piece of written paper and ink on the table, which had not yet been framed.

"After ten years of studying, my face is still beautiful. I don't follow the world, I fight chickens on the road in the eastern suburbs. Wealth is like floating clouds, gold and jade are not treasures. Once the cuckoo cries, the severe frost will be on the grass. I feel that my ambition has been lost, and I cry and hug my arms."

He Yan was stunned. Why did Yang Mingzhi write this? Who was he satirizing? Who was he crying for?

Before he could figure out what was going on, he heard a man coming out from inside and saying, "You're here." It was Yang Mingzhi.

He was not wearing his official robes today, but only his usual casual clothes, which made it even more difficult to associate him with the Nanjing Patrol.

Everyone found a seat and sat down. Yang Mingzhi asked the servant to pour tea. The aroma of tea was wafting in the air. Yan He held the teacup, looked up at Yang Mingzhi, and asked, "Just tell me what you want to say. There is no one here. You asked someone to tell us that you have something important to tell us. What is it?"

Yang Mingzhi was silent for a moment before he said, "I heard that you are from Rundu?"

"Why? Did you hear about my reputation?" Yan He said proudly, "Indeed, I came from Rundu. If I hadn't arrived with reinforcements, the people in Rundu would have been killed by the Wutuo people. You don't know how critical the situation was. When we arrived, the general of Rundu had already started to eat people." At this point, Yan He's eyes flashed with disgust, "How could they do that!"

Yan He talked endlessly about his achievements. Yang Mingzhi obviously didn't want to hear him show off here, so he interrupted him directly: "Commander Xiao, you were there in the Battle of Jiyang River and the Battle of Rundu City. You have dealt with those Wutuo people. What do you think of them?"

Xiao Jue: “Not very good.”

His expression was calm, and He Yan explained: "I happened to be there during the Battle of Jiyang River and the Battle of Rundu City. Lord Yang, those Wutuo people were very cruel and came prepared. They were cunning and slaughtered the civilians of Wei outside Rundu City. It was very abominable."

Yang Mingzhi looked at her and asked, "Do they have any intention of expanding the territory of Wei?"

He Yan: "It's obvious."

Yang Mingzhi nodded: "I think so too."

"Everyone in the world thinks this way." Lin Shuanghe said, "Isn't that right?"

"That's not what the court thinks."

Everyone was stunned and looked at Yang Mingzhi.

Yang Mingzhi frowned, and his expression was very serious. "I got the news that the envoy of Wutuo is on his way to Shuojing. The two factions in the court, one for war and the other for peace, are arguing endlessly. Your Majesty is willing to advocate peace."

"You're crazy!" Yan He shouted before Yang Mingzhi finished speaking, "The enemy has already fought at your doorstep, why are you still advocating for peace? Do you think that the Buddha has come to the world to save all living beings?"

Yang Mingzhi shook his head. "Not only that, they proposed to set up a trading post within the territory of the Great Wei State so that the two countries could trade with each other."

－－－－－－－A side note－－－－－－－

After this dungeon is finished, you will enter the main quest. There will be no more side dungeons.