Chapter 104 Eavesdropping An He overheard from outside the door.........
Zhao Liangxu left the post station early in the morning. They took a path along the water, and just happened to miss Anhe.
After reading the note, Anhe asked Zhang Sheng to go out of the city with him.
Urged on by Anhe, the carriage traveled quickly and arrived at the post station before noon.
Anhe spotted the carriage in front of the post station at a glance.
That one vehicle, however, might have been used by Zhao Liangxu.
That's what he thought.
Zhang Sheng went to ask the post station official: "Three women came to stay at the post station yesterday. The carriage and other necessities were notified to the post station in advance. Are they still here?"
The official was of low rank and had never seen the true face of the Nine Thousand Years Old.
But he knew that the carriage prepared was ordered by the Ninth Prince, and the two men in front of him had clean faces, fair skin and no beard, unlike ordinary men. In fact, they could be described as young and handsome young men, but the man standing behind them had an extraordinary temperament, more like someone of high position and power.
These two must have come from the palace.
The man in the black brocade robe behind him must be a powerful eunuch in the palace.
Most of the eunuchs were subordinates of the emperor.
The official replied more cautiously, with a hint of obsequiousness on his face: "Yes, yes, the three girls left this morning, but for some reason... the tallest girl came back all alone and went back to her previous room."
The junior official rubbed his hands nervously and said, "That young lady is clearly a person of high status, and I have remembered His Highness's instructions. He gave her the best room to stay in. I suppose she has her own plans for coming back, and I dare not ask her anything."
That must be Zhao Liangxu.
Hearing that she had come from somewhere, Anhe was slightly relieved; it seemed that nothing had happened to her.
Ke Anhe was puzzled. Why did she return to the post station alone?
Why didn't Xia Yichun come back with Zhao Liangxu?
Could it be that something happened on the way back?
But judging from this person's description, Zhao Liangxu didn't seem anxious or flustered when she returned.
Zhang Sheng, being clever, followed up by asking, "She's at the post station now, right? Where's her room? Lead us there."
The official then stammered, saying, "This...the young lady was indeed at the post station..."
Zhang Sheng snapped at him, "What are you hesitating for? Explain yourself!"
The junior official said with a bitter face, "The young lady was indeed at the post station, but not long after she returned, I saw a man enter that room..."
It was rare for the Southern Zhou Dynasty to stage such a blatant act in broad daylight.
Perhaps it was because of Anhe's status as a eunuch that the officials heard that the Ninth Prince had female servants and women skilled in martial arts under his command.
There are quite a few.
Perhaps those three women also had status, and the Grand Duke himself was already enough to overturn the etiquette of the Southern Zhou Dynasty, so it seems understandable that his subordinates would be a bit unconventional.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Sheng's usually composed expression froze.
What is he saying?
Zhang Sheng subconsciously turned to look at An He, and he was startled by the dark look on An He's face.
Zhang Sheng quickly regained his composure and rebuked the official: "What nonsense are you spouting? Do you know what you're saying! Think it through, what exactly happened to that girl!"
The official frowned and quickly tried to salvage the situation: "Everything I said is true. If you don't believe me, sir, the innermost room on the second floor is where the young lady lives. You two can go and take a look. I haven't seen that man leave the post station yet."
The implication was that the man might still be in the room.
Zhang Sheng was furious that she couldn't speak properly, as if she could turn white into black. He felt that Zhao Liangxu and An He usually had such a good relationship, how could it be as the official said...
Zhang Sheng wanted to say something more, but An He interrupted him.
"Let's go take a look."
Anhe's voice was flat.
"Damn...sir." Zhang Sheng tried to stop him.
Anhe repeated it again, his tone still calm.
I said, let's go take a look.
Zhang Sheng dared not disobey An He at this point, and could only pray that the official was talking nonsense or had misunderstood something.
The two walked up to the second floor and stood outside Zhao Liangxu's original room.
An He was unsure of his own emotions. The only reason he could maintain a calm mindset was that he hadn't witnessed the scene the official described, so he shouldn't have doubted Zhao Liangxu.
But what Zhou Feng specifically said to him that morning.
It made him panic.
Anhe was about to raise his hand to knock on the door when he heard a strange sound coming from inside.
No matter how well a post station is built, it's not as soundproof as a house, so even with the door tightly closed, Anhe can still hear some sounds.
Zhang Sheng heard it too.
He quietly leaned his head a little closer to the door, and could only make out that it was a woman's voice speaking inside.
It does sound somewhat like Zhao Liangxu's voice.
But upon closer listening, Zhang Sheng suddenly stepped back, no longer daring to continue.
Anhe was somewhat familiar with the voice, not only because it was Zhao Liangxu's voice, but also because he had heard it before...
Zhao Liangxu's emotional voice.
That should have belonged to him alone.
But now, behind this small door, Anhe heard a much louder, even more unrestrained, sound.
The sound was restrained, but the soundproofing was poor; if you looked closely at the door, you could definitely hear it.
Anhe felt somewhat dazed.
Did he... mishear?
Before Anhe could even try to comfort herself, she realized that not seeing anyone meant it might not be her.
He heard low laughter coming from inside the room again, as they were talking about him.
Anhe overheard a man say, "Can that eunuch satisfy a person?"
Another voice, slightly hoarse, said, "What do you think? Aren't you annoyed by constantly asking me?"
The clear dialogue gave Anhe confidence.
That voice belonged to Zhao Liangxu.
Anhe felt dizzy, so dizzy that her forehead felt like it was going to explode.
How could it be her? How could this happen?
Could it be that Zhao Liangxu was lying to him all along?
wrong.
An He tried his best to calm his breathing and said to Zhang Sheng, "Go out, get in the carriage, and see who comes out later."
There were no postal messages at this time, and not many people stayed at the post station. Among the women, only Zhao Liangxu and her group had come yesterday.
All you need to do is see who came out.
Perhaps it's just that the voices are similar.
...He shouldn't have doubted since he didn't see the face.
An He suppressed the twitching of his brow and, accompanied by Zhang Sheng, returned to the carriage they had come from.
The carriage was hidden in the shade of the trees, just like Anhe's silent and reserved heart.
Zhang Sheng was so frightened that he dared not speak.
He prayed that what he had just heard wasn't Zhao Liangxu's voice, but... it sounded too much like her.
Based on what the official said, all the clues pointed to that person being the godmother.
It's my godfather...the person in my heart.
After an unknown amount of time, a tall, thin figure emerged from the entrance of the post station.
Anhe straightened up slightly.
Through the curtain of the carriage, through that one gap, Anhe looked at her.
I looked at her as if peering at light from the bottom of a dark well.
Zhang Sheng couldn't see it; he could only observe An He's expression.
Anhe watched for a while, until Zhang Sheng heard the woman get into another carriage. Then he heard Anhe suddenly chuckle.
It seemed like they relaxed.
Zhang Sheng felt slightly relieved; he knew that person wasn't his godmother...
Then Zhang Sheng was so startled by the sound of the jade pendant breaking that he knelt down.
Having nothing suitable at hand, Anhe threw away the jade pendant at his waist.
But the crisp sound of breaking still couldn't quell his anger.
Zhang Sheng knelt, puzzled.
Could it be that person really is...?
Anhe laughed twice more, swaying from side to side. He looked left and right, but there was no one around him. No one could answer his questions, and no one could tell him why.
The person who came out of the post station clearly looked like Zhao Liangxu.
That figure, that face.
If it wasn't her, then who was it?
She emerged from the post station looking quite energetic...
Isn't what he gave enough?
She received so much tolerance, indulgence, and even humility.
She's really good at pretending.
Anhe was puzzled and resentful.
"Zhang Sheng."
Zhang Sheng's body trembled slightly.
It was all an act.
"Should our family give...?"
Isn't hers enough?
Anhe's ears were ringing, and a series of questions welled up in his mind, but he had nowhere to ask them.
Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Godfather! Godfather!"
*
Zhao Liangxu was unaware that Anhe had gone out of the city to look for her, nor did she know what earth-shattering event had occurred on Anhe's side.
The path she chose was indeed quiet; fewer people walked on it, so there were more plants along the way.
There were many kinds of wildflowers that Zhao Liangxu had never seen before. They were not so bright and colorful, but quietly grew by the roadside, cultivating their own colors.
Zhao Liangxu asked, "Why is the road at the West Gate quieter?"
After a moment's hesitation, Chunxia and the other person said, "Because... there are several streets near the West Gate where most of the residents are middle-class nobles."
Zhongguiren is a eunuch.
Although Anhe did not live in those streets, he was not far away, being closer to the West Gate.
Given the current reputation of eunuchs, most people consider them unlucky.
After Anhe took office for a few years, few people traveled this road anymore.
This is truly a case of hating one thing and then extending that hatred to the other.
Zhao Liangxu went to the riverbank again to look, and casually asked, "You're all under An He's command, so you should know each other to some extent, right? Lu Ming hasn't been found yet? Why hasn't Zhao Chengxin been arrested?"
Ideally, all those with potential risks should be caught in one fell swoop.
Only after the external threats were resolved could we then focus on dealing with the people in Nan Zhou.
Zhao Liangxu felt that not only Zhao Chengxin was a potential threat, but Zhou Feng was an even greater one.
From the information I learned from An He, I know that Zhou Feng is not a very righteous person. He is arrogant and disdainful of others because of his high achievements.
He also desperately wanted more power.
He is very useful as a minister who knows how to fight, but when it comes to governing the country, he is not as capable as Anhe.
Or rather, they were not as insightful as Li Ying, who concealed her talents.
"We have a lead on Lu Ming. The undercover agents are tracking her. I heard... Lu Ming is planning to leave the city, but she's always very slippery and difficult to monitor."
Xia pondered for a moment and asked, "Princess Zhao, are the guards of Northern Zhou really this difficult to deal with? Even our most skilled undercover agents have lost track of her several times. Did you see her when you were in Northern Zhou?"
Zhao Liangxu began to sift through her forgotten memories. Logically speaking, she had never met "Zhao Liangxu," but she had heard of this person in her memory.
She said, "I heard that Lu Ming is somewhat of a strategist? She knows all sorts of tricks to escape and confuse people, which is how she managed to sneak away from you, but..."
It's indeed illogical that she acted as a strategist but then decisively fled from Zhao Chengxin's side.
Intelligent people can advise those in power and also act as negotiators.
Given her position, who would she want to see if she escaped?
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Author's Note: Information gap, start-up, we won't go down the path of intense emotions, but we can add some spice ( ).
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