Chapter 738: Old Friends! (Thanks to the book friend Liu Feng Tianyu for the reward!)

Facing Cui Shao’s question, Zhu Xiaowen did not answer immediately, but lowered his head and thought seriously·························
After thinking for half a cup of tea, Zhu Xiaowen slowly said:
"Since Lord Gu came to Liaoyang, he seems to be trying not to make any achievements but to avoid mistakes. He only asks about important matters concerning the Governor's affairs. He leaves other relatively minor matters to his subordinates!"

"And these things I discovered were some clues I found in some case files after I was about to take office as the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner. The other party was very careful in doing this and did not reveal too many clues. Therefore, it stands to reason that Lord Gu should not know about this matter!"

Listening to Zhu Xiaowen's words, Cui Shao nodded slightly and ordered:

"This is a serious matter. Don't report it to the commander-in-chief without solid evidence! Be careful not to alert the enemy!"

"Yes! Uncle!"

Cui Shao pondered for two seconds and continued:
"Don't continue investigating this matter. Pay attention to your own safety!"

Zhu Xiaowen was somewhat surprised when he heard this:
"Uncle, I am the Liaoyang Censor. How dare they be so bold?"

Cui Shao carefully warned:
"It's better to be careful! They dare not do anything to you openly, but it is not impossible for them to create accidents in secret..."

Zhu Xiaowen was shocked when he heard this, and once again realized the seriousness of the matter. He nodded heavily to Cui Shao and said;
"Uncle, I will pay attention!"

After an incense stick of time, Zhu Xiaowen left Cui Shao's study. Cui Shao sat alone on the armchair, thinking behind closed doors. After a moment, he seemed to have thought of something and stood up from the chair. He found several official documents from the study and examined them carefully. Looking at the records in the documents, Cui Shao's eyes could not help but flicker again.

Cui Shao realized something and paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. After walking for about an incense stick of time, Cui Shao had an idea in his mind. He immediately bent over the desk and began to write quickly. After finishing the letter, Cui Shao shouted outside the room:

"Bring Cui Xin to me!"

"Yes!"

While waiting for the servants to come, Cui Shao felt unsafe when looking at the letter in his hand. After thinking for a while, he burned the written letter with a candle.

At this moment, a middle-aged man with ordinary looks but extremely strong build came in front of Cui Shao.

"Master, are you looking for me?"

Cui Shao nodded and ordered:
"Go back home and tell Wende to keep an eye on the Ershunshan warehouse and the owner of the Dadongsheng Company in Liaoyang!"

Cui Xin was shocked when he heard this, and after a moment of hesitation he said:
"Master, the shop owner of Dadongsheng Company in Liaoyang is called Ye Zhanpeng. He is Ye Hongsheng's nephew. It would not be a good idea for us to send someone to keep a close eye on him. What if some misunderstandings arise..."

Looking at Cui Xin who was hesitant, Cui Shao snorted coldly and said:
"Just do whatever I tell you to do!"

"If anything goes wrong, I will take care of it! What are you afraid of, you bastard?"

Hearing what Cui Shao said, Cui Xin naturally couldn't say anything else, and immediately nodded and said:

"Master, I understand! I'll go and deliver it tomorrow morning!"

Cui Shao warned in a deep voice:
"You leave tonight! And you must tell Wende that this matter must be kept secret and no news can leak out!"

Seeing Cui Shao's look of being on high alert, although Cui Xin didn't know why Cui Shao did this, he also realized that the matter Cui Shao had entrusted to him was of no trivial matter.

Cui Xin took a deep breath, nodded heavily to Cui Shao and said:
"I understand. I'm ready to go now!"

After getting this answer, Cui Shao nodded slightly. After Cui Xin left, he looked at the bright moon outside the window and sighed slightly.

Although it is still unknown where the situation will go in the future and whether those people are involved in this matter, what he can foresee is that the power structure of the Fengwu Army may usher in a new round of reshuffle in the near future. Some people will lose power, while others will come to power.

What he is doing now is to prepare for a rainy day and try his best to make himself invincible in this new round of power reshuffle························
·······································
·······································
August 29, noon

A team of horse-drawn carriages slowly drove into the city of Yijing. As the carriages entered the city, the curtains in the carriages were slowly opened. A man in his early thirties, dressed elegantly, looked at everything in the city with some curiosity.

"Steamed buns! Steamed buns! Big hot pork buns for two cents each. I guarantee you'll never forget them! Come back to eat steamed buns next time!"

"Cotton! Cotton! Two silver coins a piece! Autumn is coming soon, and clothes made of this cotton cloth will keep you warm!"

･････････
･････････
Looking at the bustling scene in front of him, the man seemed to feel a little unbelievable. Although he had never been to Yijing, in his impression, although Yijing was a big city in the north, it was just a cold and bitter place on the frontier. How come it now looked almost as prosperous as Luoan?
The man was none other than Qian Buli, the current Minister of War of the Luoan court. This time, under the orders of Shangguan Hongyuan, he secretly went to Yijing in order to reach a peace agreement with the Fengwu Army.

Just when Qian Buli couldn't believe what he saw, a voice that shocked him came to his ears.

"Rice! Rice! Two coins for a dan!"

Upon hearing this, Qian Buli was stunned at first, hesitated for a moment and then immediately ordered the coachman to stop the carriage. Then he fixed his eyes on a grain store on the side of the road. Looking at the flag in front of the grain store that read "two coins for one stone", Qian Buli was finally sure that he had not heard wrong, and immediately got off the carriage and walked towards the grain store.

The grain store owner saw someone walking towards him. This person was dressed elegantly and looked like a wealthy man. His eyes immediately lit up and he greeted the person warmly, saying:

"Would you like to buy rice? We have local white rice here. It is delicious whether you are using it to cook rice or porridge. If you buy more than ten stones, I will arrange for someone to deliver it to your home..."

Qian Buli ignored the boss's call and looked at the white rice in the sack. The surface of the rice was dull and looked a little rough, and it was obvious that it was old rice. Even so, Qian Buli still found it hard to believe that this rice only cost two cents of silver per stone!
You know, the same old rice costs five cents in Luoan! It's two and a half times more expensive than here! Seeing that the man didn't say anything, the grain store owner thought that this well-dressed guest didn't like the old rice in the sack, so he introduced it enthusiastically again:

"Sir, we still have last year's new rice here. It has been stored in the granary and is very well preserved. It still has the fragrance of rice when you eat it. However, it costs three and a half silver coins per stone. Can I bring it to you and have a look?"

The man was even more shocked after hearing this. However, just as he was about to answer, a general of the Fengwu Army came over and said very seriously:
"Master Qian! Please get in the car!"

Hearing the words of the Fengwu Army general, Qian Buli showed a trace of helplessness, then obediently got into the carriage.

The carriage started for another incense stick and stopped in front of an inn. When Qian Buli saw the destination, he got off the carriage again. Zhang Ji, the general of the Fengwu Army, came to Qian Buli again and introduced him:

“Sir Qian, this Jixiang Inn will be your accommodation during your stay in Yijing. We will give you the best guest room, and someone will be responsible for your food, clothing, housing and transportation. You should stay here for the time being, and you and your entourage should not run around…”

Hearing this, Qian Buli nodded slightly and said:

“There’s nothing wrong with these!”

"But I have a question. I wonder if General Zhang can answer it for me?"

Zhang Ji said calmly:
"Master Qian, please speak."

"I wonder when your Marshal will see me?" Qian Buli asked seriously:
Regarding this question, Zhang Ji still said calmly:
"Our Marshal is very busy with official duties. Sir Qian, if you want to see our Marshal, you may have to wait for a while. But I believe that if our Marshal is free recently, the Attendant Department will arrange for you to meet our Marshal as soon as possible!"

Qian Buli was obviously not satisfied with what Zhang Ji said, but he couldn't say anything since he was under someone else's roof. He could only bow to Zhang Ji and say:

"General Zhang, can you please help me? I came here to quell the war and benefit the millions of people in Da Zhou! The sooner the war is quelled, the sooner the people can enjoy peace. General Zhang, this is a great merit!"

As he spoke, Qian Buli quietly took out a jade pendant from his bosom and was about to put it into Zhang Ji's hand. Seeing Qian Buli's action, Zhang Ji's face changed instantly, and he pulled his hand away directly, then looked at Qian Buli and said coldly:

"Master Qian, this is Yijing, not Luoan! Please respect yourself!"

After saying that, Zhang Ji walked away without looking back, leaving Qian Buli standing there awkwardly...

Shaking his head helplessly, Qian Buli put the jade pendant back into his arms and walked into the inn. Because he was tired from the journey, Qian Buli fell asleep before it got dark. At the hour of Xu in the evening, Qian Buli heard someone calling him in his ear and he opened his eyes immediately.

There was a pretty maid standing in front of him. When the maid saw Qian Buli wake up, she immediately said in a low voice:

"Lancet, sunken boat!"

Qian Buli was shocked when he heard this, but he still said subconsciously:

"Swallow the jade and turn into a dragon!"

After saying this, Qian Buli took a look at the pretty little girl in front of him and asked in disbelief:
"How could it be you?"

The day before Qian Buli received the order and prepared to travel from Luoan to Yijing, Chen Jingyu, the commander of the Supervisory Department, found him. Chen Jingyu told Qian Buli that there was a spy from the Supervisory Department in his team. Qian Buli wanted to know who this spy was.

But Chen Jingyu rejected him. Chen Jingyu only told Qian Buli that when Yi Jing, the spy hidden in the team, took the initiative to find him, and the secret code for their meeting was the folk song that once hinted at Ye Mingsheng's becoming emperor...

Although Chen Jingyu refused to tell Qian Buli the identity of the spy, Qian Buli had been looking for the spy in his team. He had suspected everyone in the team, but he never thought it would be this little girl. If he remembered correctly, this little girl should be called Zhu'er!
Facing Qian Buli's question, Zhu Er smiled and said:

"Master Qian, if you can't think of it, then those people in the Coordination Office certainly won't think of it either!"

Upon hearing this, Qian Buli looked at Zhu'er deeply, then changed the subject and asked:
"What is your purpose in following me to Yijing?"

To this, Zhu Er smiled and said:

"Master Qian, this is not something you should ask. Commander Chen sent me to Yijing because I have a mission. I will tell you what you should know when the time comes. Please don't worry!"

Hearing Zhu'er say this, Qian Buli's heart sank slightly and he asked in a deep voice:
"Did Chen Jingyu ask you to come here to assassinate Ye Mingsheng?"

Zhu Er covered her mouth and chuckled:
“Sir Qian, you used to call him a traitor and wished you could eat his flesh, drink his blood and sleep on his skin. Why do you call him something different now that you’re in Yijing?”

Facing Zhu'er's ridicule, Qian Buli still looked at Zhu'er coldly. He had to know what Zhu'er wanted to do, otherwise, if Zhu'er really came to assassinate Ye Mingsheng or someone from the Fengwu Army, he would definitely be implicated, and then he might not be able to return to Luoan.

His wife just gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Now he just wants to reunite with his family and live happily together. He doesn't want to die in Yijing!
Seeing Qian Buli like this, Zhu'er spread her hands and said helplessly:
"Master Qian, you really think too highly of me!"

"I am just a weak woman, how can I possibly assassinate Ye Mingsheng? Do you know how strict the Governor's Mansion is? How many people are protecting Ye Mingsheng? Even if I have wings, I can't do anything to him!"

"I can't tell you what I'm going to do now, but I promise you, I will never get you into trouble!"

After receiving Zhu'er's promise, Qian Buli's expression eased a little. Seeing this, Zhu'er asked Qian Buli:
“Lord Qian, I heard that you are Ye Mingsheng’s best friend. He was able to become an official in Liaoyang because of you. Can you tell me what kind of person Ye Mingsheng is? Is he really as rebellious as the rumors say?”

(End of this chapter)