Li Ting patted Hou Minghui on the shoulder: "Captain Hou, please keep quiet about whatever happens next. For the sake of your family's life, and for the sake of my entire Li family's life!"
Hou Minghui nodded blankly.
Li Ting also instructed Hou Minghui to keep an eye on Zhao Yunchen's movements after returning to the Northwest, and to send back any information through the Li family's special channels should anything happen at the border.
Before leaving, Li Ting clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "I hope you will take care, Commander Hou. You must be wary of Zhao Yunchen. The Northwest is the gateway to our Nan Chen Kingdom. The Northwest gate must not be opened! If any unusual activity is detected, please do everything you can to hold it and await my news!"
"I've assigned two highly skilled guards to escort you to the Northwest. Once we arrive, you can entrust them with anything you need to do."
Leng Han and Feng Zhu led Hou Minghui to an inconspicuous rockery in the garden of the Li family courtyard. There was a hole in the rockery. Hou Minghui followed them into the hole, and Leng Han lit a tinderbox. After walking around for a long time, the three of them finally reached the ground.
Leng Han surveyed the surroundings and, after confirming that no one was following them, allowed Hou Minghui to come out with Feng Zhu.
Hou Minghui turned around and looked back; the capital city had already been left far behind.
The three mounted their horses, and even Hou Minghui, who had fought on the battlefield for more than ten years, was amazed. This horse, is this the legendary steed that can travel a thousand miles?
They rode their horses at full speed without stopping. By the beginning of Hai hour, the three of them had been traveling for about three hours and were nearly three hundred li away from the capital.
After resting for two hours in an inconspicuous courtyard, replenishing their supplies, they continued on their journey.
Hou Minghui simply followed Leng Han's lead throughout the journey, asking few questions and showing no curiosity.
His injuries had been treated very well and seemed to have healed completely. Surprisingly, Hou Minghui found the journey exhilarating and felt no fatigue whatsoever.
Traveling day and night, the three of them arrived in the Northwest in three days. Hou Minghui returned to his post and still had time to inspect the last few larger villages.
After Li Ting saw Hou Minghui off, he asked Leng Bing to find a man from the secret guards who was similar in build to Hou Minghui and had recently suffered minor injuries. He then placed him in an inconspicuous courtyard of the Li family.
Then he quickly sent men to kidnap Fu Qing, arranging everything so that the Dali Temple officials couldn't find a single clue. These methods were taught to him by Xu Ningyou back in the Northwest. It was part of their fun.
Li Ting taught Xu Ningyou military strategy, while Xu Ningyou taught Li Ting mechanisms and crime-solving.
After finishing these tasks, it was already late afternoon when Xu Ningyou and Li Xingran both woke up.
After feeding Li Xingran, Aunt Cheng had already set the dining table.
Li Ting was busy all afternoon and forgot about Xiao Sheng in the study, so he invited Xiao Sheng to stay for dinner.
Xiao Sheng didn't want to return to that heartless palace so soon. But thinking about Li Xingran's words, he felt suffocated by the presence of several highly skilled imperial guards back in the palace.
Why does everyone want him to go astray? Even his own father won't give him any guidance.
[I'm full! I wonder how Daddy arranged things today.]
All five sons turned to look at their father.
What happened while they were away from home?
Li Ting ignored his sons' gazes. He simply coughed once, signaling them to mind their own business.
The sons ate their meals with their heads down in silence.
After the meal, Li Ting had Liu Fu escort the Crown Prince to his carriage, and the little horse followed the Crown Prince back to the palace.
It rained at night, and the streets were deserted on the way back to the palace, with only a few vendors struggling to sell more goods and earn more money.
So this is how tough life is for ordinary people? In the past two days, Xiao Sheng has slowly come to appreciate the realities of life. Those street vendors, without anyone to help them, are all earning their living with their own hands. He, on the other hand, still has the title of Crown Prince, so he can surely forge his own path to success.
At the Li family home, Li Xingran started talking to herself again.
[Lu Dacheng, sent by the Empress tomorrow, is also a formidable figure. He's a master of the Great Yue Kingdom, a national advisor! Not only is he proficient in medicine, but he's also well-versed in the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, and knows the art of Qimen Dunjia.]
[Zhao Yunwan was able to help Xiao Ding become the young emperor because she had many talented people around her.]
The emperor, it's laughable, really. Although he loved Zhao Yunwan deeply, he also frequented the palaces of other concubines.
Finally, exhausted and drained of his strength, he died! Zhao Yunwan seized control of the court.
Another family was attentively listening to Li Xingran's "storytelling".
I wonder if Mother's trap has been dismantled.
Upon hearing Li Xingran's words, Xu Ningyou hurriedly shut down all the mechanisms in the house and ordered Leng Feng to dismantle any that could be removed.
The five sons followed her around like shadows. It was the first time they had ever known that their mother actually knew such amazing techniques as mechanical arts.
Upon seeing those ingenious mechanisms, the brothers thought to themselves, "Wow, Mom is amazing! Wow, how do you use this thing? Wow, this looks incredibly powerful."
They no longer knew what words to use to describe what they had seen and heard over the past few days. It seemed that their parents were no longer the couple they remembered.
By the time all this was done, it was already late in the evening.
Li Ting went up to the roof to check; it was now an ordinary house. It was indeed built according to the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, but only for feng shui purposes.
The mechanisms are all hidden underground. Unless the Empress sends someone tomorrow who can dig three feet into the ground, it will be impossible to discover the Li family's secrets.
Xu Ningyou and Li Xingran slept for too long in the afternoon, and Li Xingran was not sleepy at this time.
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