ask
Qin Lan walked all the way to the courtyard where Xiao Yingzhu lived, with his followers following closely behind him:
"Master, can't we discuss this further? Isn't this too casual?"
After the Wing Division lost, from the information room to Xiao Yingzhu's courtyard, this sentence began to repeat in Qin Lan's ears.
Only when they reached the courtyard gate, which they could not enter, did Qin Lan stop his slightly hurried pace, take a deep breath, and then turn around and look at him without saying a word:
"A man should accept defeat if he loses the bet."
The Wing Tribe member, who was only about fourteen years old, curled his lips and said, "Since the Pavilion Master says so, I will go to the government and report you for enslaving the weak."
Qin Lan: “?”
He laughed for a moment at the words of the corps. He raised his hand to his forehead and glanced at the sturdy corps in front of him. He didn't look like he was lacking in nutrition. It was obvious that he was well-fed. "Okay, go ahead and sue."
"You can decide who to sue. The provincial government or His Majesty is fine. It's all right."
Qin Lan, who had already been treated with disdain by Emperor Changde, was too lazy to pay attention to his subordinates' unreasonable tantrums:
"It's not your job, why are you so angry?"
Before the general could make another sound, asking his brothers and sisters in the wing division not to leave and saying that he would have to do the work if they left, Qin Lan raised his hand and pulled the gate of the courtyard, isolating the wing division from Xiao Yingzhu's pressure.
Knowing that Xiao Yingzhu would not be as patient as Qin Lan in playing with them, seeing Qin Lan enter the courtyard and close the door, Yibu Buqu saw the hem of Xiao Yingzhu's clothes from a distance, and a chill suddenly came over him. He shuddered and immediately slipped away from this place where he could not stay for long.
—
After walking along a path in the bamboo forest, Qin Lan felt much more at peace.
He sighed, reflecting on whether he had been too indulgent towards the Wings, leading to the current situation in the Intelligence Office where the Armament Department was so obedient. The Feather Department dared not speak out, and was very timid. Even when he wanted to make him aware of the Wings' unreasonable behavior, he had to timidly use the excuse of playing rock-paper-scissors to achieve it.
After walking a few steps forward, I saw Xiao Yingzhu sitting under the eaves of the corridor, leaning against the eaves pillar to rest.
Wow, that's really rare.
Qin Lan crossed his arms, paused slightly, and stood under the bamboo forest.
Familiar memories came flooding back. The last time I saw you was...
Thinking of that not-so-good time, Qin Lan frowned slightly. After a moment's silence, a smile appeared on his lips again:
"When did you become so sentimental? You came to sit here as soon as Jiang Nian left?"
"She can't see you sitting here, but she can't pity you."
Beside the eaves, Xiao Yingzhu's black hair cascaded down, the ends of her hair hanging on the snow-white hem of her clothes. Her long, crow-feather-like eyelashes drooped slightly, and her expression was indifferent. Only after hearing the other party's words did she slowly move her eyeballs and look up at him.
"What's up?"
As expected, this seemingly fragile appearance was a pretense, perhaps only revealed in front of Jiang Nian, but those who knew him well knew that he was not like that...
Just lie to Jiang Nian.
Once she opened her mouth, this fair and indifferent figure, whose porcelain-like beauty seemed to fall apart at the slightest touch, immediately became a different person, and her former inaccessible coldness and indifference reappeared.
His expression changes faster than turning the pages of a book.
Qin Lan sighed in his heart as he showed Xiao Yingzhu the route of this trip:
"The troops are preparing to take this route and join up with Yu He's men."
"are you going?"
He placed the circuit map in Xiao Yingzhu's hand and continued:
"If you don't go here, then you should go to the foot of Qixia Mountain to visit the villagers. Anyway, you can't pretend to be a maid and sneak into Zuihua Tower to see what Jiang Nian is doing. It's impossible to wait here for Jiang Nian to come down from the sky."
"It's better to quickly choose one of the two. This is more realistic."
Xiao Yingzhu glanced at the circuit map and even handed the map back to Qin Lan with a dull expression and lack of interest.
"No."
"?" Qin Lan took the blueprint and blinked. "You're not going to either of these places, so what else do you want to do here?"
"If we wait for the epidemic to change, it will take a while. We have to wait until Jiang Nian gets information from the goddess and the goddess triggers unrest."
Halfway through his words, he suddenly thought of something, and his eyes dropped thoughtfully, looking at Xiao Yingzhu's still distracted and cold face.
"Is it time to go to the capital?"
"I remember that—His Majesty instructed you to go there once a month, right?"
Xiao Yingzhu remained silent.
"He's always been interested in the people who make insect repellent. If I refuse, I'm sure he'll just use someone he 'trusts' to forcibly take her away and use her as bait."
An extremely useful bait that can attract many fat fish.
Qin Lan was stunned for a moment. Although he had guessed it before, he didn't expect that Xiao Yingzhu would refuse to explain to Jiang Nian for this very reason: "Are you worried that he might do something behind your back?"
Although Emperor Changde has not done this so far, just because he hasn't done it now doesn't mean he won't do it in the future.
What's more, they have never really trusted each other.
It is still too difficult for people of their level to make two people truly trust each other.
Even Qin Lan himself did not explain everything to Tao Yu.
The same is true for Tao Yu.
Xiao Yingzhu responded indifferently.
Qin Lan was silent for a moment. When he caught a glimpse of a bird flying across the blue sky, he suddenly remembered that his parents' memorial day would be coming in a few days.
No matter what happened, what he encountered, or what he was dealing with, he would return to the capital to visit the graves during those days.
Was it true that he went to the capital to see Emperor Changdeok, and that tomb-sweeping was a side trip? Or was tomb-sweeping true, and was it true that he saw Emperor Changdeok?
Qin Lan couldn't tell the difference either.
At first, he thought that Xiao Yingzhu was always trying to preserve the Duke's Mansion - the memory of his parents' existence and deeds, and was risking everything to reach for this position.
But later, seeing Xiao Yingzhu handling the incident with ease, and after getting the position of Duke, he did not show any mercy in his work, and even became more ruthless, even going against his parents' original style, Qin Lan became a little unconfident again.
If it was really for his parents, he would make the name of the Duke's Mansion or the Duke so scary that no one would dare to mention it, and even the storytellers who used to sing the stories of the late Duke's past achievements would disappear.
It feels like Xiao Yingzhu is more likely doing this for herself than for her parents.
Or maybe it was because of his...elusive faith.
Does Xiao Yingzhu have any faith?
Xiao Yingzhu didn't mention it, and Qin Lan didn't notice it.
He is like a ruthless work machine.
One batch of tasks after another.
After cleaning and tidying up one by one.
This is the next batch of tasks.
Endless.
Is it to numb my own thinking? Not really.
There is no need to think about things that you can't figure out. Thinking too much may sometimes make people unhappy.
Qin Lan stopped to guess what Xiao Yingzhu was thinking, his eyes flashed, and then he brought up another matter.
"But speaking of this route being a collaboration with Yu He, have you heard a rumor recently?"
“……?”
Xiao Yingzhu raised her eyelids, her hand still resting on one side of her knee.
"explain."
Did your talkativeness decrease drastically once you left Jiang Nian?
Qin Lan muttered inwardly, then straightened up his expression: "I wonder if it's because he's too fair and impartial in his daily life, and he's so resolute in his work, that he's caused dissatisfaction among his servants."
"Recently... there have been rumors that he's having an affair with the goddess from Zuihualou."
"You know, if this kind of rhythm occurs during this period, the people's hearts, the situation between us and the enemy, and the heart of the court will all change."
"If there's nothing else besides that pile of paperwork at the border, please say a few words for His Majesty when you go to see him."
Xiao Yingzhu remained indifferent. She just glanced at Qin Lan and closed her eyes lazily.
"It's not related to my job..."
Before he could utter the words "It has nothing to do with me", Qin Lan raised his hand to stop him from saying the next sentence.
"I know, I know. I know the strength of your secret guards. If the rumors really spread and His Majesty became suspicious, and it jeopardized your mission, you would send people to suppress it and finally quell the situation."
Those secret guards were very powerful, so Xiao Yingzhu never paid much attention to these after-dinner gossips.
And because of this idea, the rumors about Xiao Yingzhu himself don't sound good, and he doesn't win the hearts of the people. As for the Holy Heart... I don't know if he has it, but it should be barely there.
However, considering that Xiao Yingzhu's reputation was not very good, Emperor Changde usually did not invite Xiao Yingzhu to any of the events that represented his reputation, or pretended to invite her.
Xiao Yingzhu herself did not like crowds, so she rejected all the invitations, whether they were polite or fake invitations disguised as real ones.
"but--"
Thinking of how Yu He had contributed a lot to the control of the chaotic Cang County, which made it easier for his subordinates to act and how they obtained intelligence almost the fastest this year, Qin Lan couldn't bear it after all.
But if he directly told Xiao Yingzhu that he couldn't bear it, he would definitely not change his mind.
It would be better to say that once Xiao Yingzhu makes up her mind, it is difficult to change it.
unless……
"Think about it, Miss Jiang admires He very much. If someone tells her that Yu He was slandered and you could have helped but didn't—"
Qin Lan met Xiao Yingzhu's cold gaze and chuckled.
"I wonder if she'll feel bad for Yu He, or - blame you?"
"Adding resentment to resentment?"
There was silence for a while.
I don’t know if it was a few seconds or minutes.
When the wind blew through the bamboo treetops and dappled sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves, casting fragmented light all over the path, Xiao Yingzhu finally looked away and lowered her eyes slightly.
"…I see."
His voice was cold and almost emotionless.
It seems like saying one more word would be troublesome.
It is true that there is always something that can defeat something else.
Xiao Yingzhu, who never meddles in other people's affairs, changed his mind easily just because he used Jiang Nian as a shield.
Qin Lan put away the route map with satisfaction, not at all worried about the two huge tasks waiting for him in the future. After taking a few steps back, as if afraid that Xiao Yingzhu would regret it, he turned around and waved his hand and said immediately:
"In that case, I'll leave first."
"You should get more rest."
After he finished speaking, Qin Lan disappeared, leaving only the tune of his joy in the air.
Qin Lan: ~
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
