In the backyard of Xishan Villa, the fog fell like gauze, reflecting the light of lanterns, making it hazy and ethereal, giving it a fairyland feel.
In this mist, Fu Xiaoguan and others sat around a stone table. On the table were a few side dishes to go with the wine, which were steaming hot.
"Come on, let's have a drink." Fu Xiaoguan raised his glass, and Bai Yulian, Su Mo, Su Jue and Su Rou all raised their glasses and drank.
Bai Yulian suddenly looked at Fu Xiaoguan curiously and asked, "When you were interrogating Liu Sanbian, was that calmness real or just an act?"
What kind of question is this? Fu Xiaoguan glared at Bai Yulian and said, "Okay, just think of me as pretending."
Bai Yulian gave him a meaningful look, lowered her head, and drank a glass of wine. You say this guy is indifferent to life, but he saved tens of thousands of disaster victims. You say he is full of reverence for life, but when he moves his knife, it's like killing chickens and dogs.
"What about Song Dabao?" Fu Xiaoguan ignored Bai Yulian's gaze and asked Su Mo.
"Run away."
Bai Yulian laughed loudly, and Su Mo was furious. "I cut off one of his arms, the one holding the mace. So what if he ran away? That bastard is already useless."
"According to what Liu Sanbian said, Huang Silang will come with 500 bandits in two days. Should we plan an ambush for him?" Bai Yulian asked.
Fu Xiaoguan thought about it and rejected this suggestion. "We should treat this battle as a direct war. If Huang Silang uses poison, we need to ask a doctor to determine whether it will kill people, how long it will take to die, and whether there is an antidote. If there is an antidote, let them be poisoned once and learn a lesson."
Su Mo thought that this guy was really crazy and would do anything to achieve his goal. Those soldiers were going to be in trouble again.
But this was nothing in Fu Xiaoguan's mind. Thinking back to his previous life when he was receiving training, the instructor's poisoning was impossible to guard against. So after leaving the base, he would make a judgment before even drinking a sip of water. This was an instinct deeply ingrained in his bones. Only in this way could he survive in the ever-changing environment.
"Doctors are unreliable when it comes to detoxification, so let me do it."
The person who spoke was Su Jue. He had just picked up a piece of fish maw, chewed it carefully, and swallowed it.
Fu Xiaoguan looked at Su Jue in surprise, "Big Brother, you know this?"
“A little bit.”
Fu Xiaoguan laughed, and Su Mo also laughed and said, "Big Brother is a true master of Qihuang and an expert in detoxification. There is no poison in the world that can stump Big Brother."
Su Jue waved his hand: "Little Junior Brother, please don't say that. Using poison is a minor skill, but it has thousands of variations. I, Senior Brother, have only studied it casually and am far from being an expert."
Su Rou raised her slender eyes and glanced at Su Jue, thinking that the senior brother had indeed done some casual research and almost killed the master.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Senior Brother. You'll need to know when and where Huang Silang uses the poison. Only you and Su Mo will monitor this."
Bai Yulian nodded, thinking of Liu Sanbian who had been dragged to the training camp, and asked, "What do you think of sparing his life, Liu Sanbian?"
"Let him hang on to his life. Tomorrow we'll hang him up on a pole and stick him in front of the monument to the heroes."
Su Rou raised her eyes and glanced at Fu Xiaoguan again, wondering if the boy's methods were a little too cruel.
But Bai Yulian agreed deeply, "This is a good move. First, let those new recruits see it, and second, lure Huang Silang into the trap."
The five of them ate, drank and chatted, and then the topic turned to the barbarians.
"I really didn't expect that the person who wanted to kill you this time was actually hired by the barbarians, and he was Tuoba Qiu, a well-known figure among the barbarians! I say, what kind of evil things did you do to the barbarians in Shangjing?" Bai Yulian asked curiously.
"I don't even know what a barbarian looks like. Tell me, am I wronged? That day in the Golden Palace, all the civil and military officials were discussing the etiquette of the marriage between the Third Princess and Tuoba Feng, and I was hiding in the back, thinking about other things. Tell me, what does this marriage have to do with me? Yet, His Majesty chose my name and asked me to speak out."
"What could I say? I didn't know the etiquette of the royal family, so I just casually said that Her Royal Highness the Third Princess is a jewel of our Yu Dynasty, and that the place where the barbarians live is too cold and harsh, so why not let them build a princess's mansion like ours in Dayu? But they turned it into asking them to build a palace! I just said that, but I didn't expect His Majesty to have someone take note of it."
Fu Xiaoguan spread his hands, his face full of innocence, "This barbarian is really unreasonable. He actually hired someone to kill me. This wasn't my decision!"
Everyone was delighted. Bai Yulian shook her head and said, "You, that's what they call a mouth that brings disaster."
He took a sip from his wine glass and continued, "You have no idea how poor the people of Huang are. They used to be nomadic, living in yurts that could be removed at any time and taken away by oxen and horses. Later, they built a city over at Yanshan Pass—actually, it was just houses made of stone, without even walls. They named it Huangjing, indicating that Huangguo now had a capital."
"So think about it, because of your words, the barbarians are able to mobilize the entire nation to build a palace, which is a labor-intensive and costly undertaking. In my opinion, once this palace is built, the barbarians will be impoverished again. Tuoba Qiu is Tuoba Feng's uncle, equivalent to a prince of our Yu Dynasty. He is also well-versed in our Great Yu culture. It is said that he once studied at the Jixia Academy in Shangjing. He is Tuoba Feng's true think tank. He must understand the harm involved, but Tuoba Feng has already agreed to build the palace, so he can't object. So he can only vent his anger on you."
Su Mo and the others finally understood what was going on. Looking at Fu Xiaoguan, they felt that this boy was indeed a nuisance.
"Now that we know the real culprit, will you give the credit to Yan Xiwen?"
"Here, give him some credit, and see how the Shangjing Yan family reacts."
After a pause, Fu Xiaoguan pondered for a moment and whispered, "Next year, when the Huangren Palace is completed, the Third Princess will be getting married. I've heard that His Majesty is very likely to send me as an envoy to Huangren. I think that by then, these soldiers will have gained a certain level of combat capability. I'll find a reason to insert them into the wedding procession and have them accompany me to Huangren."
Bai Yulian nodded and said, "If you really become the envoy for the marriage, you must bring these people with you. I don't think Tuoba Qiu will let it go."
"No, no, no..." Fu Xiaoguan waved his hand. "My problem won't be too serious. After all, His Majesty doesn't want me to die at the hands of the barbarians. I need you to take these soldiers to seize some war horses."
Bai Yulian and others were shocked and frightened by Fu Xiaoguan's wild idea.
The barbarian people's war horses are indeed unparalleled in the world, but if you run thousands of miles to steal their war horses, how are you going to handle the marriage?
If Tuoba Feng gets angry and becomes disloyal, how many heads do you, Fu Xiaoguan, have on your neck that are enough for His Majesty to chop off?
Fu Xiaoguan laughed and said, "Come on, let's drink some wine. I'll tell you how to do this in detail later."
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