The next morning, the early morning sun pierced through the long darkness. The people of Xianyang City walked out of their homes and found that nothing had changed. The streets were still bustling. Zhang San next door was still collecting protection fees from house to house. Li Si, who lived on the street, was still strolling around the street with seven or eight concubines. The Wu Ji Baozi Shop was still full of people queuing up to buy buns...
Nothing had changed, so the people suddenly realized: what happened last night had nothing to do with them, and the days would still pass one by one.
However, some people secretly discovered some small abnormalities.
Several grain stores owned by Mr. Liu were managed by new managers. Except for a few servants, even the accountant was gone.
Boss Jia's salt warehouse seemed to have caught fire last night. Even though the fire was put out in time, the salt bought today still has a smoky smell.
The bank of Ouyang Company opened an hour later than usual, and the head of the bank was gone. I heard that he had a sudden illness last night...
At noon, Master Feng Si received the message handed over by his subordinates. After reading it for a while, he walked to the desk, pondered for a long time, and then wrote down a few words.
After sealing it, he handed it to his most trusted subordinate. The young Fourth Master Feng showed a rare solemn look, "When it is handed over to the master, there can't be any mistakes."
The east wind blows the catkins, the flowers are red and the willows are green, it is another good time of the year. At this moment, wisps of smoke were rising from the silent valley. After the large-scale killing, the camp had obviously shrunk a lot, with only less than 700 people left. The rest had lost their lives in a night of massacre.
Zhuge Yue brought a bowl of porridge and walked over to Chu Qiao. His expression was still very ugly, but he had calmed down. The tent was very small, and he couldn't stand straight at all. He could only squat down, help Chu Qiao up, and whispered, "Eat something."
Chu Qiao's face was pale, and it was obvious that she was getting weaker and weaker, but she still asked in a deep voice: "What's the situation outside?"
“What else can we do?” Zhuge Yue said in a disdainful tone, “Those who should have died have died, and those who shouldn’t have died also died with them. The Liu family has taken over the wealth of these wealthy families without any effort. It’s a very vulgar show.”
Chu Qiao frowned slightly and said slowly, "So, Liu Xi has seized the property of several other wealthy businessmen? Isn't he afraid that those people's families will come to retaliate?"
Zhuge Yue shook his head and said, “The original families of these wealthy merchants may no longer be alive.”
"You mean..."
“Yes,” Zhuge Yue nodded and said in a deep voice, “If it were me, if I were to do it, I would definitely make sure it was done once and for all. Although the wealth of the Ouyang, Jia, and Wang families is not as great as that of the Liu family, once they unite, they will definitely not be able to contend with the Liu family. Since Liu Xi has decided to swallow up these wealth and capture all the people from these families, then Xianyang City must not have been at peace last night.”
Chu Qiao frowned, "Does Liu Mingjun agree with Liu Xi's decision? If so, their foundation in Xianyang City will be completely destroyed."
“You still think that Liu Mingjun was behind this?” Zhuge Yue chuckled, “Xing’er, you have a good brain, strong skills, and quick reactions, but you just don’t understand people’s hearts. Liu Xi rebelled. If I’m not mistaken, the first person to see the King of Hell last night was Liu Mingjun.”
"Liu Xi rebelled?" Chu Qiao was slightly stunned. She tried to recall the young man she had met in Xianyang City. He had white teeth when he smiled and was an excellent horseman. When Liu Mingjun introduced his nephew to her, he laughed loudly, patted the young man's shoulder proudly, and said proudly that this was his half son...
"Why did Liu Xi rebel? Perhaps he was unwilling to be a rich man and wanted to enter the official career. However, the Great Xia regime was exclusive and the aristocratic families dominated. He had no foundation in the court and it might take him thirty or fifty years to climb up. So he made a desperate move and gathered the wealth of all the wealthy merchants in Xianyang as a stepping stone to enter the upper class of Bian Tang. With such a huge fortune, no one can look down on Liu Xi during this trip to Bian Tang."
Zhuge Yue analyzed it bit by bit, but these words sounded even more irritating to Chu Qiao. Her thoughts were not as simple as Zhuge Yue’s, because she knew the identities of the people who died. What she was most worried about at this time was that Liu Xi was from Daxia, and that he had eradicated the Datong Guild's roots in Xianyang and occupied the wealth that the Datong Guild had accumulated over the years. As for why they wanted to go to Bian Tang, she couldn't guess.
Zhuge Yue was also considered an extremely smart man, because at this moment, after the news quickly passed back from the Bian Tang spy camp, the officials of Bian Tang also came to an almost identical conclusion.
Liu Xi eliminated the forces of several other parties and united them into one. Now he went to Bian Tang to surrender and seek an official position.
However, what they didn't know was that a few days ago, Liu Xi, who was deeply feared by everyone, had been put into a sack, tied with stones, and sunk into the Chishui River.
In the face of this chaos, some people retreated in a hurry, some were ignorant, some watched coldly, and some were in control of everything. The ignorant ones thought it was a robbery and a pursuit by enemies; the smart ones like Zhuge Yue and Li Ce were able to unravel the mystery and try to understand the reasons behind it; and only those who truly control it can sort out the layers of relationships and solve the final mystery until the day when the truth comes to light.
In the big tent in the valley, a man in a white robe was sitting on a warm couch, and a group of guards as straight as javelins stood outside the door.
A young man in his twenties wearing leather armor came in, knelt on the ground, and said in a sonorous voice: "Your Highness."
Yan Xun was wearing a pure white fur coat and lying on a warm couch heated by charcoal fire. There was a slight sweat on his forehead, but his face was still a little pale. He was sitting there, and when he heard the report, he didn't even open his eyes. He just said "hmm" to indicate that he was listening.
"The property has been counted, and the masters and servants of other families have also been dealt with. I sent someone to dig a pit in the back mountain and have buried it."
Yan Xun still didn't speak, as if he had fallen asleep. The young man licked his lips slightly and continued, "It's just that the young master of the Ouyang family has not been found yet."
Yan Xun frowned slightly, but still did not open his eyes. He just said calmly: "Then go find it."
“Yes, yes!”
The young guard quickly said, "The child is only four years old. There are mountains and forests outside. I don't think he can run far."
"stop."
A deep voice suddenly sounded, startled the young man and he quickly agreed.
Yan Xun finally opened his eyes, his eyes were dark and wise, and his tone was very calm, "Do you know why Daxia has fallen to this point today?"
The man was stunned for a moment and opened his mouth twice but said nothing.
"It's because when they killed my entire family, they didn't decisively kill me off. Do you understand?"
The young man said in a panic: "I understand, I understand."
"Okay, let's get to work." Yan Xun waved his hand gently.
The man hurriedly and carefully stood up and was about to leave when Yan Xun said calmly, "Remember to lead the army after you finish your work. It seems that I need a deep impression to make you remember my current identity."
"Yes, I will remember this, Young Master."
The big tent became increasingly quiet. Young Yan Xun leaned back on the couch, his entire body almost buried in the thick fur. He slowly frowned and said with some annoyance, “Damned southern barbarians…” The next day, the entire camp had no intention of leaving. Zhuge Yue went out and looked around. Except for Liu’s servants, almost all the other family’s followers were gone. He was a little anxious, but given Chu Qiao's current condition, he couldn't rashly take her away at this time.
He went to the carriage to get some dry food, and when he came back he saw the little girl named Xingxing again. The child was hiding next to a small tent, timidly sticking out her little head, with a dark face. She was looking at him quietly, and looking left and right, as if she was looking for the friendly Chu Qiao.
Seeing Zhuge Yue saw her, the child narrowed his eyes flatteringly and smiled at him foolishly.
Zhuge Yue's face suddenly darkened, and without even looking at the child, he turned around and walked towards the tent.
He had only taken two steps when he heard rustling footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw the child still following him carefully in small steps.
What are you doing? Still want meat? Zhuge Yue frowned and said in a deep voice: "If you follow me again, I will break your legs!"
“Wow!” A startling burst of crying suddenly came, which actually scared Zhuge Yue. The child was seen crying loudly with his mouth wide open, and while crying he ran in the opposite direction, the other servants in the camp looked at Zhuge Yue with strange eyes, as if saying: Look, a decent person is actually getting excited with a child.
Zhuge Yue suddenly felt a little depressed. He actually just wanted to scare her.
When we returned to the tent, Chu Qiao was still sleeping. She seemed to be able to sleep especially well recently. Even when we were talking, she would fall into a daze.
Zhuge Yue started to get a little worried, but when he saw that she could barely walk when she wasn’t sleeping, he felt relieved.
At the very least, after this difficult experience, she has begun to believe in herself a little more. For example, now, I am sitting next to her, and she won't suddenly jump up and put a dagger against my neck.
The sky gradually darkened, and Zhuge Yue sighed, feeling very depressed.
A tiger in dire straits is bullied by a dog. Now, at this moment, he couldn't even get out of such a shabby camp.
“Hmm…” A lazy humming sounded faintly. Chu Qiao slowly opened her eyes and suddenly saw Zhuge Yue sitting next to her. She couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. She stroked her hair unconsciously, and asked unnaturally with a strong nasal tone in her voice: "What time is it? Oh, I slept for so long."
Zhuge Yue did not say anything, but handed over a water bag.
Chu Qiao took the water bag and just took a sip, but she saw Zhuge Yue still looking at her. She accidentally choked, "Ahem..."
“How stupid.” Zhuge Yue rolled his eyes, but gently patted her back.
After coughing for a long time, Chu Qiao actually felt more energetic. She glared at Zhuge Yue fiercely, then snatched the water bag and drank two gulps of water. Then she said carelessly, "I'm hungry."
In fact, Zhuge Yue had gone out just now to get food, but now seeing her bad attitude, he didn’t want to give it to her, and snorted coldly: “Am I your slave?”
"Slave?" Chu Qiao squinted at him. "What can you do? If you were sold in the slave market, you wouldn't be worth even a penny."
Zhuge Yue glared at her sideways, then snorted, "Are you worth money?"
"I'm worth more than you anyway."