Chapter 65 Going to Meet the Believers
On the front lines.
Moba Zanpu rode a tall horse, holding a long sword, his dark armor making his already robust figure appear even taller.
His deep, thick eyebrows and eyes were very different from those of people from the Central Plains. His gaze passed over the two deputy generals who were fighting fiercely and looked at the tall figure in front of the Da Ning army.
That man was Qin Xiao, the most powerful and influential "Prince of Ning" in Da Ning.
The two vice generals were evenly matched in the fight and could not end the battle in a short time, but when they noticed the appearance of Mobazanpu, they knew that things had changed.
Therefore, even though the two had not yet determined a winner, they tacitly stopped fighting and returned to their respective army formations.
After the deputy general returned safely, Qin Xiao rode his horse toward the center of the two armies, as did Moba Zanpu.
The two commanders, one being the regent of Da Ning, second only to the emperor, and the other the ruler of the Western Regions border kingdom, will affect the reputation of their respective countries regardless of who wins or loses.
Logically speaking, under such circumstances, the two commanders should not be fighting each other on the battlefield. Mobazanpu just wanted to talk some more.
If Qin Xiao agrees to give him Gansu, then he can directly reveal the fact that the Prince of Dingbei colluded with him. After all, tangible benefits are what truly matter.
However, when Qin Xiao first arrived here, he also sent people to "negotiate," but he only made this one request, and the other party resolutely refused. Then, the next day, they came knocking on his door.
The situation is different now, and Mobazanpu feels it is necessary to have a talk with Qin Xiao.
And he has leverage.
The internal strife in Da Ning is severe, and Qin Xiao is besieged on all sides.
However, if the two of them reach a cooperation agreement, then Moba Zanpu can guarantee to keep an eye on the neighboring Shaanxi and Sichuan regions to prevent the Dingbei King and the Pingxi King from making any underhanded moves.
This was an offer that Qin Xiao absolutely could not refuse.
However, Qin Xiao had no intention of wasting words with him. After getting closer, he spurred his horse and charged forward quickly.
Mobazanpu was caught off guard by his sudden attack. His face darkened and he reacted immediately, gripping his long sword and stepping forward to meet him.
This Prince Ning was born into the Qin family, and in the past few days he had killed several of his fierce generals. He dared not underestimate him at all.
Qin Xiao thrust his spear straight at Mobazanpu's face, his spear technique swift and powerful, in no way inferior to that of a general who had fought on the battlefield for many years.
Mobazanpu felt a strong sense of pressure, and with a flick of his wrist, he slashed out with his long sword.
The blade struck the spear tip, the piercing clang of the blade shattering the eardrums, and both armies began to stir, poised for battle.
After the first attack, the two immediately launched a second attack.
Qin Xiao wielded his spear with ease, each move aimed at vital points. Mobazanpu's expression grew increasingly grim, and he felt a throbbing pain in the web of his hand. Yet, Qin Xiao remained composed throughout, his hand holding the spear not trembling at all.
The Prince of Ning's arm strength is truly astonishing!
Another spear thrust towards his abdomen. Mobazanpu raised his sword to block, but the spear tip suddenly changed angle and stabbed towards his throat.
He hurriedly changed his defensive stance, but it was too late. He only had time to catch the bullet with his arm, and the tip of the gun pierced through him, splattering blood on his face.
Mobazanpu roared and struggled to pry the spear tip away, his hand almost numb.
But Qin Xiao, on the other side, suddenly braced himself on the horse's back with one hand, leaped up, and thrust his spear forward.
After being injured, Mobazanpu's reaction time slowed down, and Qin Xiao pierced his shoulder directly.
Without hesitation, Qin Xiao drew his spear and took several steps back.
At the same time, Mobazanpu had already slashed down with his long sword, stirring up a moment of wind and rain.
This strike was both a counterattack and an order.
A long, deep horn sounded from the Serbian army behind him, and the burly men roared and charged forward.
Qin Xiao did not turn away, but instead spurred his horse and attacked Mobazanpu again.
And the Da Ning army behind him also moved.
Qin Xiao brought a fierce general named Cheng Shuo from the capital with him on this expedition. When they passed through Shanxi, he also brought Hu Fang, the local garrison commander.
Hu Fang was in his forties, a former subordinate of the Qin family, and a seasoned veteran of the battlefield.
With Cheng Shuo away, Hu Fang has become the highest-ranking military officer under Qin Xiao.
He held the military flag high in his hand and waved it a few times with a strange rhythm, and the army was instantly divided into three parts.
The infantry on the left raised their shields and spears, forming an impenetrable wall, and quickly advanced.
The soldiers in the central region all drew their longbows, the bows were full, and the swords gleamed coldly.
The light cavalry on the right flank numbered only a little over ten thousand, but they were fast-moving and had already taken advantage of the chaos on the battlefield to flank the Serbian army from behind.
"Release the arrows!" Hu Fang shouted.
A barrage of arrows.
The Serbian army also raised their shields to protect themselves, but because they were too close, the cavalry and infantry behind these shield bearers were already hit by arrows.
In an instant, screams, the clash of weapons, and the mournful neighing of warhorses all converged in one place, and the entire narrow plain was stained with blood.
The battle lasted for three full hours, from dusk until late at night.
This narrow strip of terrain was originally advantageous to the Sai army, but the Da Ning army directly broke through their flank, outflanked them from behind, and formed a pincer attack.
Fearing he would be trapped, Mobazanpu had no choice but to turn around and run back.
But the more than 10,000 Da Ning cavalrymen blocking their way held firm, making it impossible for them to move an inch.
Within a few hours, the entire plain was piled high with corpses, and the Serbian army had broken through the barriers behind them and fled.
Qin Xiao led his army in pursuit all the way to where the Sai army was stationed before stopping.
The long march and battle had left the soldiers physically and mentally exhausted, and now that the rain was getting heavier, their clothes were all wet, and the night wind made them shiver with cold.
Qin Xiao then stopped pursuing and ordered his army to set up camp and rest on the spot.
We will continue our pursuit at daybreak tomorrow, striving to drive the Serbian army out of Gansu within a few days.
The soldiers set up tents and lit fires.
Standing on high ground, Qin Xiao could see the densely packed camps of the Sai army and the chaotic and scattered formation of tens of thousands of soldiers.
Hu Fang walked to his side and stopped, squinting at him for a while before saying, "Sir, Cheng Shuo will probably arrive around noon tomorrow. Should we wait until then to make our move?"
"No need." Qin Xiao turned and walked towards the camp. "The enemy has suffered at least 40,000 casualties, while our army has only 20,000."
Now that their forces are roughly equal in number, their chances of winning are extremely high.
In fact, Cheng Shuo will not be joining them; he has other things to do.
However, this matter was confidential, and Qin Xiao did not tell anyone else.
Hu Fang had fought in countless battles and had learned a great deal from Qin Taiwei when he was young, so he naturally saw that Qin Xiao had other plans.
However, the most taboo thing in the military is the leakage of military information; the fewer people who know, the better.
Therefore, Hu Fang did not delve further into the matter, but instead asked about something else: "After we drive the enemy out of Gansu, should we continue our pursuit?"
"Um."
“But—” Hu Fang glanced at the 20,000 soldiers who formed their own faction in the crowd.
Those were all men from the Northwest Army; their commander, Pang Ruizhi, was not among them.
Previously, the Northwest sent a letter to the capital, saying that its 70,000-strong Northwest army was no match for the Siberian army and lost Gansu within three days.
After Qin Xiao led his army to Shaanxi, he sent men to find Pang Ruizhi.
This General Pang was the brother-in-law of Lu Youwei, the Minister of War. He was in his early thirties and had a carefree attitude. When he saw Qin Xiao, he burst into tears, saying that he was incompetent and that he wanted to make amends. He volunteered to come to Gansu with Qin Xiao.
But Qin Xiao said, "Since you know you are incompetent, take off this armor and go home to be your young master."
Everyone in the capital was used to Qin Xiao's words, but this was the first time Pang Ruizhi had ever heard them.
However, since he was a military officer, it was easier for him to accept.
Upon hearing this, he continued to say that he was indeed incompetent, but still wanted to make amends and asked Qin Xiao to give him a chance.
They even adopted a posture of crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide; I wonder where they learned that from.
However, Qin Xiao was not buying it at all and said directly that if he continued to dawdle like this, he would be dismissed from his post.
Pang Ruizhi finally calmed down.
Qin Xiao then asked him for another 20,000 Northwest Army soldiers, which he added to the army, bringing the total number of soldiers to 110,000.
In fact, along the way, Qin Xiao would select soldiers and generals from the city defense army or the guards in each place he visited.
The path to promotion for military officers was on the battlefield, and now that they had the opportunity, they were happy to come along, bringing their trusted confidants. Therefore, this seemingly disorganized group was actually quite unified.
But these 20,000 Northwest Army soldiers were different.
Perhaps because the main general did not come along, he lacked a leader, or perhaps he was influenced and misled by Pang Ruizhi, so he always formed his own faction and was out of step with the main army.
Fortunately, they knew that they had to obey military orders on the battlefield, otherwise this battle would not have been possible.
What Hu Fang is worried about right now is whether there are any disloyal people among these soldiers.
These people are currently focused on driving the enemy out of Gansu, so they are obediently following orders. But once they leave Gansu, things might change.
Qin Xiao is now everyone's assassination target. If there really is an assassin hiding among these soldiers, he could suddenly shoot a cold arrow in the middle of the battle and it would be impossible to defend against.
Therefore, if Qin Xiao wanted to fight his way to the Western Regions and penetrate deep into enemy territory, he would face even more dangers.
Qin Xiao didn't even glance at those people, and casually said, "Of these nearly 100,000 soldiers, half are from various factions, so we can't defend against them."
It would be better to simply present the benefits to them.
Taking back Gansu was a great achievement, but recovering lost territory was merely the duty of military officers, and even if there were rewards, they wouldn't be much.
However, if the army marches westward and conquers the Western Regions, it will expand the territory of Da Ning and be an absolute great achievement.
When this tremendous achievement is realized, everyone will reap unexpected benefits.
Moreover, the Western Regions had many good things, all of which were spoils of war, enough to fill the pockets of these soldiers.
Why not?
After hearing his explanation, Hu Fang felt enlightened and laughed, "Your Excellency is right. This old minister was confused."
No wonder Qin Xiao wasn't worried or on guard from the beginning; he knew exactly what was going on.
Indeed, these soldiers are backed by various forces, but they are merely small pawns in the hands of those forces.
For them, tangible achievements are more important than vague promises or so-called protection.
These people had already sided with various forces for personal gain, so they could also side with Qin Xiao for personal gain and be used by him.
"Don't worry," Qin Xiao added, "Right now, everyone hopes I will continue westward and conquer the Sai Kingdom. No one will make a move against me until then."
Hu Fang was taken aback, and then his expression changed slightly.
Meanwhile, in the distant Serbian military camp, tens of thousands of soldiers who had hastily fled back were in disarray, with many rushing directly into the camp.
In the seemingly endless camp, many delicate dancers and singers rushed out screaming, while many others were trampled to death by the chaotic warhorses.
Baili Yu sat in his tent, listening to the noise outside with a calm expression, and slowly sipped his tea.
"My lord," the subordinate said in a deep voice, "the Serbian army is preparing to retreat. What should we do?"
"It hasn't been withdrawn yet, has it?" Baili Yu said calmly.
His cooperation with the Sai Kingdom was originally intended to force Qin Xiao to come to his territory.
Everyone wanted Qin Xiao dead, but no one dared to make the first move and set up the stage.
Baili Yu gave everyone this opportunity, and let's see how the others would act.
The Wang family can't be relied on right now, and it's unclear what other forces are planning to do. In any case, Prince Ning will stay here for a while longer, so Baili Yu isn't in a hurry to make a move.
He can use his own methods only when everyone else has run out of options.
But when the time comes, he will inevitably have to take on more risks.
So if possible, he still doesn't want Qin Xiao to die at his hands.
Therefore, he had previously thought that it would be best to get rid of Qin Xiao through Mobazanpu's hands, but now it seems that the other party is obviously no match for Qin Xiao's methods.
However, it must be said that the Serbian army is not going to withdraw its troops at the moment.
Gansu is a very important strategic location. If the Sai Kingdom occupies this place, it will be taking its first step into the Central Plains.
Therefore, Mobazanpu will not withdraw his troops unless absolutely necessary.
His decision to lead his troops back to their camp is actually the wisest one.
The camp here is flanked by steep mountains, making it truly easy to defend and difficult to attack. Because the terrain is narrower than the previous battlefield, there is no need to worry about being surrounded by Qin Xiao from behind again, leaving us vulnerable to attacks from both sides.
On the contrary, Qin Xiao should be the one who is more nervous right now.
After three hours of fierce fighting, both the soldiers and their horses were exhausted and needed a rest.
Compared to the Serbian army resting in their camps, the soldiers of Daning had to rebuild their battalion and start cooking again, which was much more troublesome and they certainly wouldn't get proper rest.
Furthermore, during this period, under the cover of darkness, events that could potentially impact the course of the battle could occur.
Baili Yu got up and walked out of the tent, looking at the military camp that was gradually returning to peace, and looked up into the distance.
He could vaguely see flickering lights, which were where the Da Ning army was stationed. The terrain was high, and from there he could definitely see every move in the Sai Kingdom's camp.
The rain seemed heavier than during the day, and the cold wind pierced straight to the bone.
Baili Yu adjusted his robes, his eyes deep and unfathomable.
At this time, the 5,000-strong force sent out by Moba Zanpu should have arrived at Ganying Post Station.
Baili Yu only mentioned that the grain and fodder stored there for the Da Ning army, saying that they would cut off the food supply once the weather cleared up, but Moba Zanpu was already impatient and sent people there directly, presumably intending to take a hard line.
Or perhaps the other side wanted to rob and steal the grain from the granary and bring it back for the Serbian soldiers to use.
Baili Yu leans more towards the latter.
At the same time, the 5,000 cavalrymen of the Sai Kingdom had indeed arrived near the Ganying post station.
Ganying Post Station is located in Ganying Town. Because there are few local people, the granary is almost abandoned. Wang Pengyi, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, put the grain and fodder that were escorted here here.
It is far from the battlefield, so that we can evacuate in time if anything goes wrong, and it is not too far away, so that we can be supplied with food and fodder at any time.
On a low hill outside the town, the captain and his troops hid in the woods and carefully observed for a while. They only saw less than a thousand guards, and they had a good idea of what to expect.
With a wave of his hand, nearly a hundred soldiers dismounted, traveled lightly, and sneaked into the city.
These people traveled silently to the granary and quietly went inside to check if there was really grain, in order to avoid being scammed.
Before long, a soldier spotted a fire somewhere in the city.
This was their code: if the granary had grain and the city's guards were not a threat, they would set fire to any random spot in the city.
If the situation changes, the granary will be burned down, and the remaining soldiers will be able to evacuate.
The fire that is now burning is not in the granary, proving that the city is safe and has food.
Therefore, the captain gave an order and led the remaining four thousand soldiers to rush into the town.
However, just as they reached the outskirts of the town, they saw a group of two or three thousand soldiers from the Da Ning army rushing out of the town.
The captain's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately realized that he had fallen into a trap. He made a quick decision to retreat, but a group of soldiers rushed in from a distance behind him, and they were trapped in the middle in an instant.
Inside the town, Wang Pengyi arrived at the granary entrance and saw that Cheng Shuo had already led his troops to capture all the soldiers who had infiltrated the city earlier.
"General Cheng, you've worked hard all day. You can leave the rest to me." Wang Pengyi said, "You've been busy for most of the day. You can leave the rest to me."
Cheng Shuo glanced at him coldly and said, "No need to trouble Lord Wang, we'll leave immediately."
Wang Pengyi knew that he did not trust him, so he did not say anything more and said, "The things that Lord Ning asked for have been prepared. General, please take them back with you."
"Thank you," Cheng Shuo said businesslike, and strode out of town.
Behind him, the hundreds of captured Serbian spies had their throats slit by the soldiers of Da Ning.
Wang Pengyi frowned as he looked at them. Although he knew they were all enemy soldiers, he thought they were just lowly soldiers being controlled. If he could persuade them to surrender, it would be better than killing them.
However, he was never as good as these military generals when it came to military matters, and his ideas were often too kind and lacking, so he didn't think of saying anything more.
Unable to bear the bloody scene any longer, he turned and left, telling the servant, "Bury him."
It wasn't that he felt he should be buried, but rather that although the weather was getting cooler, he was worried that so many corpses piled up together would rot and cause disease.
Daning military camp.
The strategist Qian Ziming sat in his tent, toying with a teacup in his hand, his thoughts racing.
Previously, when discussing with the Prince of Dingbei the possibility of colluding with the Sai Kingdom to lure Qin Xiao to this place, Qian Ziming and other strategists had already listed out all the possibilities and countermeasures and handed them over to the Prince of Dingbei.
Given the current situation, Baili Yuding will inform Moba Zanpu of the location of the Da Ning military supplies and try to persuade the other side to send troops to destroy the granary.
Qin Xiao had obviously guessed this possibility, so he directly ordered Cheng Shuo to guard the granary.
Although Qian Ziming did not know when the other party arrived, he guessed that they had brought at least nearly 10,000 soldiers, which was quite a large number.
Given that the one who left was a formidable general like Cheng Shuo, it couldn't have been just to protect the granary; there must have been other things to do.
As Qian Ziming thought about the current location of the Sai Kingdom's troops, a three-dimensional model slowly formed in his mind.
With mountains on both sides, it would be difficult for Cheng Shuo's nearly 10,000 soldiers to outflank the enemy. Unless Qin Xiao drove the Sai army to the more distant Daxing Plain, and Cheng Shuo also traveled there by another route and arrived ahead of time, it would be impossible to form an encirclement.
If that's the case, then the Serbian nation will surely be defeated.
A glint flashed in Qian Ziming's eyes.
In that case, the country of Sai would lose its value.
Why not let Qin Xiao continue fighting and expand the northwestern territory further?
At that time, whether Qin Xiao sends his own people to manage the newly conquered territories or sends people from other forces, Baili Yu will have the opportunity to bring these territories into his own fiefdom.
In the face of turmoil, the more fiefdoms and subjects he has, the more capital he has to maintain his foothold in a chaotic world.
If there had been no chaotic times, he would have had more resources to strengthen himself, seek opportunities, and seize the highest position.
Moreover, it would take Qin Xiao at least two or three months to conquer the Western Regions.
After a long and intense battle, the soldiers will be exhausted and their supplies will be running low, giving Baili Yu and other forces a greater chance to kill Qin Xiao.
This is the optimal solution.
Qian Ziming knew that as long as Qin Xiao revealed that he would continue to attack the Sai Kingdom to the west, all forces within the territory of Daning would not act rashly.
They were playing the same game as him and the Prince of Dingbei.
The practice of discarding a bow after the birds are all gone has already happened once with Qin Jingzhao and his wife; now it's just happening again with Qin Xiao.
Practice makes perfect.
While Chu Jiubian was in the capital, he received the war report from the Northwest before Qin Xiao's third secret letter arrived.
The battle report was presented by Lu Youwei, the Minister of War, during the morning court session.
The battle report mentioned that Qin Xiao had driven the Sai army out of Gansu, but he did not stop. Instead, he continued westward and captured two more cities, expanding the territory of Daming.
The few lines of text made no mention of the hardships and dangers involved, nor did they mention whether Qin Xiao was healthy or not.
But Chu Jiubian could almost imagine those situations.
And he had a better understanding of the situation.
With such a battle report in hand, all forces will certainly not take action against Qin Xiao at this moment.
They were all waiting for Qin Xiao to conquer an even larger territory, and they were all waiting for Qin Xiao to be exhausted.
Several censors and officials congratulated His Majesty, saying things like "Our Great Ning is fortunate" and "Prince Ning is brave and a meritorious official of our Great Ning," and so on.
Chu Jiubian lowered his eyes slightly, concealing the coldness in them.
What about the meritorious officials of Da Ning? They still died innocently in the political struggle.
Chu Jiubian was not referring to Qin Xiao, but to his parents—Qin Jingzhao and Wei Lingyun.
Leaving aside the Qin family, the Wei family, to which Wei Lingyun belonged, also came from a military background. During the reign of Emperor Taizong, the head of the Wei family was granted the hereditary title of Marquis. However, since then, the Wei family has not produced any more military generals, but rather a series of Confucian scholars, which makes the original Marquis Wei seem like a genetic mutation.
Until Wei Lingyun was born.
She displayed remarkable martial arts skills from a young age. Many elders said that when Lord Wei was alive, he must have been just as impressive, and that Wei Lingyun was destined to bring glory to the Wei family.
Her family, unwilling to delay her, sent her to the northern desert and entrusted her to Grand Commandant Qin.
Qin Taiwei then took him under his wing and taught him carefully.
At that time, Qin Jingzhao also learned martial arts from his father, Qin Taiwei, and grew up with Wei Lingyun.
The two could be considered childhood sweethearts, and they naturally got married and had their eldest daughter, Qin Feng, followed by their sons Qin Xiao and Qin Chuan.
After that, they also took Aunt Wu and the twin girls with them.
What should have been a warm and loving family was disrupted by the arrival of Emperor Yeongjong, who made it impossible for them to remain untainted by the political and factional turmoil, and forced them into the vortex of power.
Chu Jiubian had always known that there was something fishy about the deaths of Qin Jingzhao and Wei Lingyun.
Recently, he suspected that the invasion of the Sai Kingdom was likely a joint scheme orchestrated by the Lu family and the Prince of Dingbei, which is why he sought to investigate.
The investigation, before uncovering any clues about collusion between the other party and the Prince of Dingbei, first revealed traces of their past actions in the northern desert.
Therefore, the deaths of Qin Jingzhao and Wei Lingyun are inextricably linked to the Lu family!
Chu Jiubian didn't know how much Qin Xiao knew about this, and his subordinates didn't have any concrete evidence, so he could only keep quiet for now and wait until Qin Xiao returned to discuss it further.
The morning court session continued, and everyone tacitly supported Qin Xiao's attack on the Western Regions.
Minister of Revenue Su Sheng stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the silver in the national treasury is probably insufficient to support Prince Ning's continued fighting. Please make a decision."
Baili Hong looked at Chu Jiubian.
Chu Jiubian stepped out of the queue and said, "Lord Su, there is no need to worry. The second batch of fine salt agreements has been signed, and I expect that each household will be able to pay the deposit in the next two days."
He had originally planned to sell one batch of fine salt and be done with it, but the unexpected war in the Northwest forced him to sell another batch.
In order to get the Qiu family to spend more money, he even bought some liquor from the mall for them.
This time he didn't buy the exorbitantly priced Maotai liquor, but even ordinary liquor tasted much better than the current cloudy liquor. Naturally, the Qiu family couldn't bear to part with it and signed a sales agreement at a price even higher than that of fine salt.
Su Sheng had asked these people for their debts several times before, and now he was getting more and more skilled at it.
Therefore, upon hearing Chu Jiubian's words, he agreed without hesitation and went to find these people to ask for money as soon as court was over.
In order to support Qin Xiao in continuing the war, these families stopped arguing and gave him everything he was entitled to.
After registering the money, Su Sheng allocated most of it and ordered Cai Peng, an assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, to escort it.
This choice was made by Chu Jiubian after reviewing the candidate's information.
Cai Peng came from a scholarly family, the Cai family. Although not as prominent as the Wang and Yuan families, they still had some wealth.
However, he was able to reach his current position because of his attendant, Xiao Huaiguan, the Minister of Personnel.
Unlike the first time when the personnel transporting military pay were chosen, this time whoever is responsible for the transport will be in a serious and responsible manner.
Therefore, Chu Jiubian chose Cai Peng, who was usually quite upright and rigid, and there was another reason for choosing him, which was for the sake of the Xiao family.
The Xiao family has been quiet for a long time, and Chu Jiubian does not want to see them being cautious and timid. He must make them proud again.
To bring about its demise, it must first descend into madness.
That way, more weaknesses can be exposed.
After the court session, Chu Jiubian instructed Hong Fu to take Baili Hong back to the Yangxin Hall, while he himself left the palace.
Before Wang Qichen's own paper shop even opened, he was busy opening the [Southern Xinjiang Silk Shop].
Two days ago, Si Tu Zhaoling brought a large pile of fabric and handed it over to Wang Qichen through the Divine Realm, asking him to help display it in the shop.
At that moment, Wang Qichen finally found an opportunity and said to the High Priest, "I think that Grand Tutor Chu may already know of your existence."
Actually, Chu Jiubian had worn silk from the Southern Frontier at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. After hearing people say that, he felt something was amiss and thought that the High Priest might have received something good and hurriedly sent it to Chu Jiubian.
But this was a private matter between the gods, so he couldn't ask directly and could only ask in a more tactful way.
Chu Jiubian, sitting on the divine throne at the time, felt that he was somewhat mentally unstable.
He feigned silence for a moment before chuckling, "I knew I couldn't hide it from him."
He deliberately added subtle emotions like "helplessness" and "doting" to his tone, and then he saw Wang Qichen's knowing look and smiled knowingly.
Chu Jiubian: "..."
He dug his toes into the ground, but his tone remained calm as he said, "If you see him, there's no need to mention me. If he asks, just say I'm in this realm."
Si Tu Zhaoling was unaware of the relationship between Chu Jiubian and the High Priest, and remained oblivious, but obediently refrained from asking further questions.
Although she is carefree, she knows that some things can be joked about, and some cannot.
Wang Qichen didn't actively gossip; he simply kept the high priest's words in mind.
Chu Jiubian left the palace gates and boarded a carriage to go to Jinxiufang.
Today is the opening day chosen by Wang Qichen and Si Tu Zhaoling, and the location of the silk shop is in the most prosperous Jinxiufang.
Chu Jiubian decided to take a look and meet his followers in real life.
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