Chapter 155 Meeting
The innkeepers went around informing the guests one by one, glancing into the rooms intentionally or unintentionally as they did so, which made Fu Mingyi think even more.
Sure enough, a squad of soldiers soon came to inspect the inn's guests.
The soldiers who came to check the information checked one by one. When they got to Fu Mingyi, they looked him over carefully after checking his information, sizing him up from head to toe, and said, "You're from Xi County, looking to join the army? What skills do you have to offer?"
Xiao Qing was startled.
This all happened during the day, less than three hours ago, and they've already managed to find the person through just a few words?
Fu Mingyi said, "That is indeed me. I don't have any special skills, but I just want to join the army. As long as I can be in the army, I am willing to learn anything."
Xiao Qing blinked; Fu Mingyi was also quite skilled at acting.
The soldier nodded, wrote something in his notebook, had the shopkeeper who was accompanying him sign it, gave him a few instructions on what preparations he needed to make before joining the army in Feng County, and then really left.
This was the first time Xiao Qing had witnessed such a scene, and he immediately sensed that Feng County was no ordinary place.
Who in a normal place would be so strict about this?
No wonder Li Qinghe behaved that way when Fu Mingyi mentioned Laifeng County.
He must know something.
The two exchanged a glance, and Fu Mingyi felt more and more that this matter might be more complicated than he had imagined.
What secret is Zhao Ziyuan trying to hide?
As night fell, in the garrison tent of Fengxian, Zhao Ziyuan was reviewing the records of the day's patrol of the city.
If Zhao Youchen hadn't urgently reported that a censor from the Wang Xiang faction had been sent from Nanhua, he wouldn't have returned to Feng County so early, much less personally examined these records.
Now, he can't trust anyone else, so he has to find clues in these records himself.
As long as the censor and his entourage are prevented from entering the city, the matter cannot be brought to the attention of Nanhua for the time being.
It's all because of that stubborn old man, Feng Zhengmin.
It's just a small amount of tax money he was charged. It's not like he's not going to pay it back; he's just short on cash and borrowed it temporarily. Why is he so angry and even went to file a complaint against him?
Does he even realize that if he hadn't relentlessly reformed the military over the years, would his position as prefect have been so easy? Look at the situation in the neighboring prefectures; apart from Dingzhou, there's no safer place than Yingzhou, okay?
Do they really know how to be grateful?
Zhao Ziyuan cursed Feng Zhengmin, that stubborn old man, in his heart again. Finally, he found the names of several people who were interested in joining the army in the long and trivial records sent by his subordinates.
At this time, he came to Feng County to join the army.
If they hadn't come because of his reputation, they probably would have come to take his life.
But he cannot die yet.
He still has important things to accomplish.
In the dead of night, Feng County was quiet, but Fu Mingyi was still sitting at the table, unable to fall asleep.
If Xiao Qing saw this, she would definitely say that Fu Mingyi is a workaholic again.
Fu Mingyi really stays up too late.
A short while later, a faint knocking sound came from the window.
Fu Mingyi gently tapped the table a few times with his fingers until it was quiet outside before opening the window.
A rectangular box was hanging outside the window.
Fu Mingyi looked around, then brought the box in, closed the window, and sat back down at the table.
The box was opened, and inside were several documents.
He knew that this must be a rubbing.
He took out each document one by one and examined them carefully. After reading them all, he sat there alone for a long time.
The Zhao family is a family of military generals.
Although neither its scale nor the official positions of its military commanders throughout history are outstanding, it cannot be said that it has no family heritage.
Zhao Youchen's early fame was undoubtedly related to the atmosphere of the Zhao family.
He thought he should go to Fengqi Gorge to check out the situation first.
Thinking of this, he walked to the window, opened it, and stood there looking out.
Before long, Li Qinghe appeared.
"Isn't what I brought you enough for you to see?" Li Qinghe was very surprised.
Fu Mingyi nodded, "That's enough, but one thing is still missing."
"seeing is believing."
Li Qinghe was not surprised at all.
"You want to go to Phoenix Perch Gorge?"
Fu Mingyi smiled and said, "Brother Li is truly understanding."
Li Qinghe felt that this did not sound like a compliment at all.
"Taking you there is no problem. Are you comfortable leaving him here alone?"
Fu Mingyi smiled again, "Who said they were taking me alone?"
Li Qinghe was surprised.
He felt that this trip with Fu Mingyi had been constantly refreshing his understanding of the world.
“Impossible!” Li Qinghe said firmly. “Do you know what Phoenix Perch Gorge is? Do you know what kind of people Zhao Ziyuan has been looking for all these years? If you take him there, it’s… it’s…” He couldn’t describe it.
"There's one more thing," Fu Mingyi said calmly.
"What is it?"
“I share the same thought as Governor Zhao: we cannot allow those who should not enter the city to enter.”
"So you want to protect him?" Li Qinghe's gaze was somewhat complicated. "You already know where he misappropriated state taxes, and you still want to protect him?"
Fu Mingyi looked at him and said, “No one does things without a purpose, even if they don’t realize it at first. What’s rare about Zhao Ziyuan is his military strategy and the fact that he was able to keep it a secret for so long.”
Li Qinghe rolled his eyes.
He roughly knew why Fu Mingyi had brought that person along.
This is probably preparation for protecting Zhao Ziyuan.
After daybreak, the three of them sat together again.
Fu Mingyi made no attempt to conceal the things Li Qinghe had stolen and placed them in front of Xiao Qing, gesturing for her to look at them first.
Xiao Qing noticed the bluish-black color under his eyes first.
A workaholic who doesn't get enough sleep.
She calmed down and carefully read through the documents. After she finished reading them, some ideas began to form in her mind.
She looked up at Fu Mingyi, "Brother, are you planning to go to Phoenix Perch Gorge?"
Fu Mingyi nodded.
"Brother, shall I go with you?"
Fu Mingyi nodded again.
Li Qinghe thought to himself, "This level of understanding is unmatched."
Xiao Qing nodded, "Okay, when do we depart?"
"tonight."
Just then, the waiter's voice came from outside the door again.
"Are the guests awake?"
This is Xiao Qing's room. Fu Mingyi opened the door, and the waiter spoke with him outside for a while before leaving.
"What's up?"
Fu Mingyi glanced calmly at Li Qinghe and Xiao Qing, and said, "They said the Grand Commander invited them, and there are also several young people who want to join the army."
That was fast.
"Shall we go?"
“Of course I’ll go. If I didn’t go, they probably wouldn’t have been so polite in inviting me again and again.”
Li Qinghe nodded, deeply agreeing.
"The prison in Feng County is probably full by now."
Fu Mingyi looked at Xiao Qing. "Do you want to go?"
Xiao Qing felt that Fu Mingyi had truly given her the greatest possible tolerance and freedom by bringing her out this time.
"Although you are still a minor, your riding and archery skills are already outstanding. If you go with us, it will be much more convenient for us to go to Phoenix Perch Gorge."
Xiao Qing realized she was wrong. What Fu Mingyi offered wasn't tolerance and freedom; he wanted someone to work for him.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
