Chapter 186 Oh, what's fallen?
Just as Chen Yi was immersed in cultivation.
Having changed his clothes, Liu Lang sneaked back into the Liu family's residence on Kangning Street and headed straight for the western courtyard.
—Where Liu Zhaoxue is located.
This time, Liu Lang was more cautious than before.
Not only because of Chen Yi's instructions and Liu Wen's whereabouts, but also because of his slight apprehension towards the Five Poisons Sect.
Although the Five Poisons Sect has been absent from the martial arts world for a long time, some rumors suggest that its members are extremely ruthless.
Some of their unorthodox and poisonous techniques and drugs still have a notorious reputation in the martial arts world.
They realized that the house was completely silent.
After confirming that there were no guards around and that there was no movement inside the wooden building, Liu Lang quietly approached the side of the building.
After hiding in the corner, he pressed his ear against the wall, listening intently to the sounds inside.
Upon hearing the first words from inside, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Liu Zhaoxue's ambition... is quite large!"
All that could be heard from inside was Liu Zhaoxue's voice, which was slightly cold.
"...I will not give up the position of head of the Liu family as long as there is even the slightest possibility."
Then the Five Poisons Sect member said with a smile, "It's a good thing that Miss Zhaoxue has ambition."
"If it weren't for that, why would my Five Poisons Sect have traveled so far to come to Shu Prefecture, this place of sorrow?"
"I almost forgot, your Five Poisons Sect was previously wiped out by the Mountain Clan. Aren't you afraid that Granny Mountain will discover your activities here?"
The Five Poisons Sect member sneered, "Why should we be afraid?"
"The mountain tribes are now allied with the Xiao family, and they are already in a precarious situation."
"Even if my Five Poisons Sect doesn't take action, someone else will deal with them."
Liu Zhaoxue asked, seemingly somewhat surprised, "You know about the Xiao family?"
The Five Poisons Sect members said, "How could we not know?"
"Now that the old Marquis is seriously ill and the young Marquis is still young, Xiao Jinghong is the only one supporting the Dingyuan Army. Many people are eyeing the Xiao family."
"Just like your Liu family of Jingzhou, wasn't your idea of having Liu Wen marry Xiao Wan'er also akin to a cuckoo taking over someone else's nest?"
Liu Zhaoxue hummed in agreement.
"Now the Xiao family is surrounded by enemies on all sides, and even the imperial court is making things difficult for them. It is inevitable that other powerful families will take action against them."
She paused, then continued, "We've gone off on a tangent."
"Yan Fusha, tell me how your Five Poisons Sect plans to help me succeed."
"certainly……"
Swallows brushing the sand?
After thinking for a moment and confirming that he had never heard of this name in the martial arts world, Liu Lang calmly continued to inquire.
Then he heard the Five Poisons Sect member named Yan Fusha speaking in a low voice, his words fragmented.
"To achieve great things, Liu Wen must die, your elder brother..."
"If handled properly, it is not difficult to frame the Xiao family for Liu Wen's death."
"No! Second Brother is different from Liu Jing. If he dies in Shu Prefecture, the family will definitely investigate thoroughly!"
"Miss Zhaoxue, you can rest assured, I have made arrangements for this matter..."
Liu Lang raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself how ruthless this woman was.
Although he knew that Chen Yi also harbored murderous intentions towards Liu Wen, it was normal for Chen Yi and Liu Wen to be hostile towards each other, as they belonged to opposing sides.
But Liu Zhaoxue was willing to kill her own brother just for the position of family head; her heart was undeniably ruthless.
"No wonder the boss used the title of Liu family head to lure Liu Wen into a trap."
"It seems they all have this idea."
Liu Lang muttered a few words to himself and quietly slipped away.
He has achieved his goal for this trip.
It's best not to listen to the details of Yan Fusha and Liu Zhaoxue's discussion about killing Liu Wen.
As he left the inner courtyard and was about to return to the house on Chuanxi Street to see if the owner had left, he heard some conversations around him.
"...Liu Wu? The Second Young Master's man? I've never heard of him."
"Think about it again. That person is handsome, tall and slender, and very skilled in medicine."
"I've never heard of him before. Perhaps he's a disciple of a master physician from Xinglinzhai. It's normal that we can't get in touch with him."
Liu Wu?
Liu Lang's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately moved silently behind the two men to hide.
Seeing that the guards were all dressed in the Liu family's blue uniforms, he raised an eyebrow slightly.
"The boss was right. Black Fang will come to the Liu family to find out about him."
He pondered for a moment.
A plan formed in Liu Lang's mind, and a hint of a smile flashed in his eyes.
"We can't let the boss get exposed."
...
It was just past the hour of Yin (3-5 AM).
Even on a rainy day, the sky remains dim.
With the rain obstructing the view, most early risers had to rely on candlelight to see their surroundings.
The situation was somewhat better in the towns and cities of various prefectures and counties, where lanterns illuminated the streets and alleys year-round.
However, nearly a thousand miles away from the capital of Shuzhou, in the dense forest that Xiao Jinghong and the mountain tribe named "Wushan Mutual Market," the visibility was much lower.
Fortunately, torches were lit around the foundations of each shop.
At least there is some light inside the trade market.
Early in the morning, men dressed in shorts and t-shirts and wearing straw hats came out of the wooden house in groups of three or five to collect their breakfast at the foreman's call.
Despite the rainy weather, the trade market was of great importance, and both the Xiao family and the mountain tribe had detailed requirements.
—Within three months, two streets of shops, one street of warehouses, and five hundred residences were built.
Time is very tight.
So after breakfast, these dark-skinned men got busy.
Not long after.
The entire site selection for the Wushan border market was filled with all sorts of chaotic noises, which could be roughly described as "bustling with activity".
While the laborers were busy, Xiao Jinghong was not idle either.
She was dressed neatly as usual, in simple and light clothing, wearing only a long blue dress.
Apart from the half-mask she wore on her face, she wore no other ornaments.
Like a chivalrous knight-errant.
Compared to her, Su Zhenyue, dressed in a long dress, looked more like a girl.
The two ate breakfast.
Xiao Jinghong glanced at the sky outside the window and pondered, "The mountain tribe is coming today. You will accompany them to inspect the progress of the border market construction."
Su Zhenyue nodded in agreement, then placed the booklet in front of her.
"General, these are letters just sent by the garrison commanders of the three towns, all of which mention the training of the new army."
Xiao Jinghong opened the letter, glanced at it, and instructed, "Reply to everyone and tell them to prepare. I will inspect the new army in the three towns again after the Mid-Autumn Festival."
She paused, then asked, "Has there been a reply from the Commandery?"
Su Zhenyue said, "There is no news yet."
Xiao Jinghong nodded slightly, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes as he looked out the window at the gloomy rain:
“It is right for the three towns to pay grain tax, but one-tenth of the tax is a bit too much.”
"If the Commandery fails to do anything this time, don't blame me for coming to their door."
Su Zhenyue paused, looked at her expression hesitantly, and said, "The old Marquis sent a message earlier instructing him to handle this matter properly."
Xiao Jinghong glanced at her and said indifferently, "Two different things."
"The Provincial Administration Commission did put pressure on the three towns because of the dispute between the Xiao and Liu families, but that does not mean that the Regional Military Commission can stand aside from this matter."
“Before the summer harvest, there was a shortage of food, and the Regional Military Commission could not get the court to allocate funds. I do not blame them.”
"After all, this matter was decided by His Majesty and the Nine Ministers."
"But now that the granaries of the three towns are full, it's not something that can be easily excused by the Commander-in-Chief's Office with a few words.
Upon hearing this, Su Zhenyue understood her decision and did not try to persuade her further.
Then she found three more booklets and was about to speak when she heard a series of jingling sounds coming from afar.
The next moment, the wooden house they were in was pushed open.
A figure stood outside the door; it was Pei Guanli, who had come from Shuzhou Prefecture City braving the wind and rain.
She looked at the two people inside, her round face full of smiles, and skipped and hopped into the house with her bare, white feet.
"Sister Jinghong, Sister Zhenyue, it's been so long! Have you missed me?"
Xiao Jinghong looked her over and asked with slight surprise, "Why are you back?"
"I came back to see... Grandma and the others."
Pei Guanli finally remembered Chen Yi's instructions. After sitting down, she glanced around and said:
“Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon, and I brought so many things for Grandma and other people in the clan.”
Seeing that she was serious, Xiao Jinghong didn't think much of it and nodded, saying, "In that case, I'll have someone send you back to the mountain tribe later."
Pei Guanli waved her hand: "No need, no need..."
"Sister Wan'er has already prepared a carriage for me; they can just come back with me."
Then, as if she had remembered something, she reached into the pair of bells and rummaged around for a while.
"Oh, right, Sister Wan'er asked me to bring a letter to Sister Jinghong."
"And my brother-in-law's too."
Xiao Jinghong's lips twitched slightly when he saw her "shameless" actions:
"You put the letter in your clothes?"
Pei Guanli raised her voice and, while taking out all the letters, replied:
"It's been raining all this time. I'm worried these letters will get wet."
Actually...
She was just worried that the letter Chen Yi had given her would get wet, so she simply carried all the letters with her.
Furthermore, in order to ensure that Xiao Jinghong could see the letter as soon as possible, Pei Guanli deliberately placed it at the top.
And after taking it out, she didn't immediately throw the letter on the table in front of Xiao Jinghong, but instead pretended to accidentally drop the paper on the ground.
"Oh no, something fell down?"
Pei Guanli bent down to pick it up, a smile flashing in her bright eyes, then feigned surprise and said:
"Huh? This letter... doesn't seem to have been written by my brother-in-law and the others."
Xiao Jinghong and Su Zhenyue exchanged a glance, and they could easily see that there was something fishy about her over-the-top behavior.
Immediately, Xiao Jinghong stretched out his hand: "Give it to me."
Pei Guanli first handed her the two letters in her hand, then opened the separate sheet of paper and said:
"Let me take a look first, to see if it's a lyric my brother-in-law wrote especially for me."
Before she could even see the familiar words clearly, the letter was already in Xiao Jinghong's hands.
Pei Guanli immediately pouted and exclaimed, "Sister Jinghong, why are you like this?"
But while she said this, her eyes remained fixed on Xiao Jinghong, and she thought to herself:
"He frowned, hehe."
"Shocking...Why isn't there any?"
"Look over here, look over here, Sister Jinghong, it's time for you to ask me something."
"Ask away, ask away. My brother-in-law has already explained everything. There's no way I could have any problems."
Little did she know that Tiger Girl's plan was quite good; Xiao Jinghong's first words almost made her unable to sit still.
"Tell me honestly, did you write this letter?"
"Pei Guanli, military matters are not child's play. If you don't explain yourself clearly, I will deal with you according to the law today!"
"What?"
Pei Guanli was startled and almost jumped up.
Fortunately, she had practiced dozens of times on her way here, so she appeared somewhat calm and collected in the face of danger.
Then she looked at Xiao Jinghong with feigned confusion: "What? I wrote it?"
"Sister Jinghong, I'm already here, why are you writing a letter?"
"Honestly, someone was just kindly delivering a letter to you on their way, and you want to prosecute me..."
"You wait, I'll go tell Grandma on you later, hmph."
Xiao Jinghong stared at her for a long time, then frowned slightly and asked, "Is it really not you who wrote it?"
"I don't even know what's written on it..."
Pei Guanli smiled and leaned closer, saying, "Let me see what's written that's making you so nervous?"
"Could it really be lyrics written by my brother-in-law? Are there any lyrics that are even better than the ones he wrote for you?"
Xiao Jinghong reached out and pressed her head down. After thinking for a moment, he handed the letter to Su Zhenyue beside him. "Take a look."
Su Zhenyue took it and glanced at it, then her eyes widened suddenly, and she abruptly stood up angrily, saying:
"These people have some nerve!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Su Zhenyue turned her head to look at Pei Guanli, who was still shouting, and asked with a serious expression:
"Miss Pei, is it really true that you didn't write this letter?"
"I already said no."
"Then how did it end up on you?"
"I...I don't know..."
No matter how Xiao Jinghong and Su Zhenyue interrogated her, Pei Guanli remembered Chen Yi's instructions and stubbornly denied ever having read the letter.
a long time.
Xiao Jinghong released her, took the letter again, and read it carefully twice before speaking:
"I'll believe you for now."
"If I find out in the future that you wrote this, even if Granny Shan protects you, I will not let you off the hook!"
Pei Guanli pouted and said "oh," secretly cursing to herself.
That's really strange.
This is not what I expected.
Sister Jinghong wasn't startled by the letter, nor did she rush out the door immediately. Instead, she interrogated me first...
Bad guy.
However, at this moment, Xiao Jinghong and Su Zhenyue clearly had no intention of paying attention to her anymore.
A moment of silence.
Su Zhenyue couldn't help but ask, "General, when 'Knife Maniac' left, he said he wanted to repay your kindness in sparing his life. Could it be...?"
Xiao Jinghong had naturally not forgotten this matter, and nodded slightly, saying, "It's better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't."
"What does the general intend to do? Should I send a message to the three towns now?"
"No need."
"you……"
Before Su Zhenyue could say anything more, Xiao Jinghong had already stood up and ordered, "I will go there myself."
"The letter did not say who was hiding in the three towns' army. I cannot rule out the three garrison commanders as suspects. I must confirm this before I can make arrangements."
"While I'm gone, you'll stay here in my place. Remember to act as my representative and don't let anyone know I'm leaving."
At this point, she had already become suspicious of everyone in the three towns.
She didn't even plan to send a message to the Xiao family, lest she alert them.
Su Zhenyue knew the situation was urgent, so she naturally didn't try to dissuade her.
However, upon seeing Pei Guanli standing to the side with her cheeks puffed out, she couldn't help but ask, "What about her?"
As Xiao Jinghong hung a long sword at his waist, he gave the order:
"Her brother came today. After he finishes inspecting the progress of the trade, let her go back to the mountain tribe first."
Pei Guanli subconsciously shook her head and said, "I don't want to. I want to go back to Shu Prefecture to find my brother-in-law."
"Huh? Didn't you say you were going back to the mountain tribe for the Mid-Autumn Festival?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jinghong frowned and looked at her, his suspicions rising again. He asked in a serious tone:
"I'm asking you one last time, do you know what's in the letter?"
Feeling the terrifying aura emanating from her, Pei Guanli shrank back and lowered her head, saying:
"I mean, I'll go back to see my brother-in-law after the Mid-Autumn Festival."
Xiao Jinghong naturally didn't believe her.
After staring at her for a moment, Xiao Jinghong snorted, "When I get back, I'll make you tell the truth!"
Before she finished speaking, she tucked the letter on the table into her sleeve, and her entire body transformed into a pale, blurry figure as she darted out of the wooden house, disappearing without a trace.
Then they realized that there was no sound around them.
Pei Guanli finally dared to raise her head, her eyes darting around before meeting Su Zhenyue's gaze.
Feeling slightly relieved, she couldn't help but show a pitiful expression and ask:
"Sister Zhenyue, what exactly did the letter say? Why are you and Sister Jinghong so nervous?"
Su Zhenyue gave her a deep look, but didn't say anything. She got up and found Xiao Jinghong's clothes to change into.
Seeing this, Pei Guanli pursed her lips, but dared not say anything more.
However, there was an undeniable hint of distress on her face.
Brother-in-law, what should I do? It seems like I've been caught.
Sister Jinghong, are you really going to interrogate me?
No, I'm afraid of pain...
Fortunately, Pei Guanli had some tricks up her sleeve and eventually came up with a solution that was hardly a solution.
"At worst, I'll just ask my grandma for help."
"Hmph, with Grandma's shrewdness, she must know how to help me escape Sister Jinghong's interrogation."
Thankfully, Grandma Shan was unaware that her granddaughter perceived her as "shrewd," otherwise...
I reckon the tribal rules of the mountain tribe will teach Tiger Girl what pain is.
...
Shuzhou, the residence of the Marquis of Dingyuan, Chunhe Garden.
Chen Yi was unaware that Xiao Jinghong had noticed something amiss with Tiger Girl.
After getting up early in the morning, he took Xiao Wuge and Xiao Die to Jiaxingyuan for breakfast.
However, this breakfast was not a peaceful one.
It wasn't Xiao Wan'er's "lecturing" that caused the four visiting cards to arrive during the meal.
This doesn't even include the messages relayed by the second and third wives.
This left Chen Yi in a dilemma, unsure whether to stay or leave, as he felt somewhat guilty for letting Xiao Wan'er suffer in his place.
Xiao Wan'er, on the other hand, remained as usual.
The visiting card was accepted as usual.
She would deal with any visitors from the second or third wife's family or collateral branches on her own.
Even though Chen Yi was sitting right next to her, Xiao Wan'er didn't let him say anything or ask for his opinion.
After breakfast, as Juan'er, Cui'er, Xiao Die, and the others were clearing the table, Xiao Wan'er smiled and said:
"Most of the people here are close to the household, so it's not good to refuse them directly. Let them come and sit for a while, and we can ask about their recent situation."
Chen Yi saw that she spoke so casually, but he knew that this matter was caused by him.
After thinking for a moment, he promised again, "I will resolve this matter as soon as possible."
The people who have come now are those close to the Xiao family; inevitably, some people who are not so close will come later.
He couldn't very well expect Xiao Wan'er to put on a smiling face and entertain those people.
Xiao Wan'er let him have his way, smiling and nodding, before changing the subject to other matters.
“The articles of association from that Mr. Chen have been submitted for several days. I have thought about it carefully and I should find him and tell him my grandfather’s intentions.”
"Brother-in-law, if you have some free time today, could you please go to Baicaotang and ask if Boss Chen is still in Shuzhou?"
Chen Yi's heart stirred slightly, and he asked, "Aren't you waiting for news from the old master?"
"I think Mr. Chen should be fine."
"Even if he does have a problem, we are only making preparations recently, and it will not affect the subsequent arrangements."
"In that case, I'll go to Baicaotang later."
Anyway, Boss Chen is definitely not in Shuzhou.
(End of this chapter)
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