Love Affairs in Chang'an - Chapter 124
Chapter 124 Visitors from the Eastern Palace
“Then how is that possible!” Seeing that Zhang Tianci refused to give him a reward, Li Ke said with a straight face, “Father has told me many times that if I go on this trip, I will be rewarded for my merits and punished for my mistakes. How can I not reward those who have made merits?”
“This … since His Highness must reward Xiao Hou, then give these gold and silver to these soldiers of the government who are in need of disaster relief! Let’s treat this as Xiao Hou shaking his courage and offering flowers to Buddha!” Zhang Tianci chuckled.
“Alright, I’ll leave it to you.” Li Ke laughed loudly and walked to Zhang Tianci’s side. He patted him heavily on the shoulder twice, “Tianci, you really are a minister of the Great Tang Country!”
“Your Highness is overestimating me, Your Highness is overestimating me!” Zhang Tianci clasped his hands and nodded like a chicken pecking rice, panicking and uneasy.
After chatting for a while, Zhang Tianci didn’t have any serious matters to attend to. He just brought people to deliver thousands of stones of grain to the army. He didn’t dare to disturb him and left.
“His Highness is testing his words. Is he trying to shake the tiger?” Qin Mubai said, “How do you feel?”
“He seems to be loyal and good, but in fact, he is a traitor. This person’s mind is not shallow, and his skin is extremely thick.” Li Ke sneered, “Actually, his coming here also shows that he is a little guilty and can’t sit still. He really wants to personally probe our situation.”
“It’s a pity that he’s facing you. In addition, we’re well prepared. He didn’t find anything this time.” Qin Mubai said, “It seems that Zhang Tianci’s life is harder than ours. He is like an ant on a hot pot. I don’t know if he should enter or retreat. This trip to the barracks just so happens to reveal their fox tails. If they weren’t guilty and nervous, why would they have the guts to personally snoop around?”
“That’s right.” Li Ke snorted coldly, “Now he may have a feeling that a great calamity is about to befall him.” As expected, he must have sent someone to inform the Crown Prince first. However, the Crown Prince did not show any attitude, so he was restless and personally stepped forward. “If the Crown Prince said with a clear attitude that he would be able to’keep him safe ‘, he would definitely be as calm as Mount Tai without fear, and he would be unfazed in his own mansion.”
“Your Highness is wise. I admire your insight.” Qin Mubai said sincerely, “According to His Highness’ analysis, we are investigating a case in Jiangzhou, and the Eastern Palace of Chang’an is definitely not so peaceful?”
“That’s inevitable.” Li Ke took a deep breath and knitted his eyebrows. “It’s not just the Eastern Palace, it’s time for Father Emperor to receive your secret report … In the Imperial Court, a huge uproar is about to erupt. A small Jiangzhou, a small Marquis of Shengnan … Just how big of a disturbance will it be?”
“No matter how big a storm is coming, for the sake of today, we can only wait and see with inconvenience.” Qin Mubai said.
“Yes, that’s the only way.” Li Ke frowned, his handsome face gradually revealing a serious expression.
Later on, Qin Mubai rested for a while before starting to “get down to business”. Quan Wanji was still locked up, and some of the things he was in charge of transporting relief materials had fallen on Qin Mubai’s shoulders, so he was a little busy.
After Chen Yan entered the tent that Qin Mubai had arranged for her, she did not show her face again. Qin Mubai instructed the two Baiji soldiers to secretly protect and monitor her, so she did not have time to take care of her for a while.
In the afternoon, while Qin Mubai was inspecting the flood control embankment, a government soldier ran over and bowed, “Report to General Qin. There is a person under the embankment requesting to see the general.”
“Who?”
“This lowly person doesn’t know. The person here claims to be an old acquaintance of the general, so this lowly person dares not neglect to hurry up the embankment to report.”
“Oh, then you guys go ahead. I’ll go down and take a look.” Qin Mubai handed over the matters at hand to his subordinates and went down the embankment. Right now, the flood control levee was an important military area, and ordinary people were strictly forbidden from entering.
After getting off the dike and leaving the sentry post, Qin Mubai saw a person sitting in a carriage waving at him from afar.
“Who is this? He actually hasn’t appeared yet and is hiding in the carriage. Gods, gods, ghosts, ghosts?” When Qin Mubai stepped forward, that person would bow to Qin Mubai in the car.
“General, forgive me, forgive me! I didn’t mean to be arrogant, but my ears and eyes are mixed here, so it’s not convenient for me to show my face!”
“Who are you? Why do you call yourself my old friend?” Qin Mubai looked at the man up and down for a while, but he did not recognize him.
The man was in his twenties and had curly hair on his nose. He was obviously a Hu. He had a pair of triangular eyes, but his gaze was exceptionally sharp.
“General, why don’t you get in the car and talk? The reason why this lowly person came up with such a bad plan to invite the general here is because there must be something extremely important to discuss with the general.” The Hu man bowed and smiled.
“Alright!” Qin Mubai stepped into the carriage and said, “Speak, what is it?”
“General, there’s no need to be anxious. Please allow me to find a quiet place and talk to the general-let’s go!”
The coachman waved his horse whip and the carriage headed towards the remote forest.
Qin Mubai frowned slightly and looked at the Hu man like a knife. “You’re hiding your head and showing your tail. You’re either a rapist or a thief. I’m sure you know who I am. If you’re playing tricks on me, don’t blame me for being merciless with my long saber!” Qin Mubai said.
“How dare I! I’ve heard of General Hu Wei for a long time. It’s really like thunder piercing through my ears.” The Hu man was calm and unhurried. He still smiled and said, “The general will know when he arrives. It must be a worthwhile trip.”
Qin Mubai’s heart was filled with suspicion. He thought to himself, “It’s fine if we go and find out. I’m sure he won’t be able to do anything to me!”
The carriage turned into a dense forest and stopped in front of a small wooden house. Looking at this small wooden house, it seemed to be abandoned, somewhat messy and shabby. A few people stood scattered outside the room. Qin Mubai glanced at those people and knew that these people were all practitioners. Their skills were definitely not weak and their training was quite good.
“Here we are. General, please get out of the car.” The Hu man jumped out of the car and respectfully cupped his hands to welcome Qin Mubai. He pointed to the cabin and said, “Please speak in the General’s room.”
“Humph!” Qin Mubai sneered and walked in without any worries.
Inside the room stood a person wearing a brocade robe with his back facing Qin Mubai, but his exposed hair was curly.
He was also a Hu.
“Who?” Qin Mubai asked.
The man turned around. He was also a Hu man in his twenties, with a small red and yellow beard on his chin. He bent down and bowed to Qin Mubai, “I, Hegan Chengji, greet General Qin.”
“Hegan Chengji? I don’t know you.” Qin Mubai frowned, “You should introduce yourself!”
“General Qin is such a big and small creature, so I naturally don’t recognize such a careless pawn.” Hegan Chengji smiled and said in fluent Chinese, “But I am no stranger to my boss and general.”
“Who is your boss?”
“My boss … is someone who lives in the east of the imperial palace.” Hegan Chengji smiled meaningfully.
The Crown Prince? ! !
Qin Mubai’s heart skipped a beat as he solemnly sized up Hegan Chengji and asked, “What proof do you have?”
“The general is at the Imperial Palace. He must have recognized this item.” After saying that, Hegan Chengji took out a jade class finger.
Qin Mubai took it and looked at it carefully. His heart couldn’t help but tremble, “That’s right!” Apart from the emperor and the Crown Prince, no one else dared to use this kind of Dragon-Headed Finger! At first, Qin Mubai had seen Li Shimin wear this Drunken Jade Dragon Class, but later, he heard that he had given it to the Crown Prince, Li Chengqian, as a birthday present!
“That’s right.” Qin Mubai returned Ban Zhi to Hegan Chengji, “But Ban Zhi can be fake.”
“General Qin is indeed very meticulous. He is someone who does great things.” Hogan Chengji calmly took out a letter and said, “There is a letter here. The general will naturally understand after reading it.”
Qin Mubai took the letter. The envelope was blank, and there was only a sheet of paper stamped with a seal. It was indeed the Eastern Palace Crown Prince’s seal!
“Impersonating the royal family is a heinous crime. I don’t have the courage to do so. Furthermore, there are a large number of troops stationed a mile away from here. The general himself has unparalleled divine might and can instantly kill someone under his palm. I should be able to trust him with confidence.” Hegan Chengji said with a relaxed smile.
“Alright, I’ll trust your identity for now.” Qin Mubai said, “Tell me, why are you looking for me?”
“Actually …” Hegan Chengji was halfway through his words when he suddenly gave a strange chuckle. He rubbed his beard and whispered, “The general is a smart man. There’s no need for me to make it clear. The general must know why I’m here, right?”
Qin Mubai chuckled, “I have always been very blunt. It’s better for you to explain it clearly. Otherwise, guessing and guessing will easily cause misunderstandings.”
“Since the general is so strict and careful, then let me be clear!” Hogan Chengji said, “Our boss said that we hope General Qin won’t pursue the Jiangzhou case any further. If there is a need for the criminals to deal with the case, Liao Lirong and Cheng Songnian are more than enough. Furthermore, the general had better think of a way to turn these people into dead people.”
“How about this” Qin Mubai blinked her eyes blankly, but her heart was filled with killing intent!
Crown Prince Li Chengqian, you’re so foolish. You’ve made a big move!
How could you send your trusted aides to Jiangzhou to interfere in this case? Isn’t this three hundred taels of silver here? Originally, this matter could have nothing to do with you. At most, it was because of “carelessness in making friends” that you were implicated. Right now, regardless of whether this case is really related to you or not, you can’t even jump into the Yellow River!
Moreover, I, Qin Mubai, have been ordered by the Emperor to do the work. If I agree to the Crown Prince, what should I tell the Emperor and Li Ke about it? What awaits me is death! If I don’t agree, I will offend the Crown Prince again!
Neither side felt good!
So, Hegan Chengji, you’re dead!
“General, what are your considerations?” Hogan Chengji smiled and said, “Actually, our employer has admired the general for a long time and has long been interested in making friends with him. Unfortunately, he has always been mischievous. The employer said that when this case is completed perfectly, he will definitely take the initiative to visit the general and have a drink with you.”
So you’re offering me a bribe? Qin Mubai couldn’t help but laugh coldly in his heart-taking such a big risk against the emperor for the sake of the Crown Prince’s little bribe, unless I was an idiot!
Unfortunately, Li Chengqian definitely didn’t know that the emperor had given me and Li Ke a secret order, otherwise, he wouldn’t have made such a stupid move. This fellow was unlucky enough to actually hit the muzzle of a gun at this moment!
“You already said that. Do I still have the nerve to refuse?” Qin Mubai laughed heartily and said to Hegan Chengji, “Jiangzhou is just a small case. A few corrupt officials are already clean after killing them. Please reply to your boss. Don’t worry about this. I will handle the matter properly.”
“That’s good!” Hegan Chengji happily clapped his hands and laughed, “General Qin is indeed a person who has achieved great things. He has good manners and is straightforward. Our boss will definitely become best friends with the general!”
