Love Affairs in Chang'an - Chapter 229

Chapter 229 Ming Xiuzhan Said,
The next day, Qin Mubai returned to the barracks.

Today was still the scheduled day for the military examination. Qin Mubai did not forget this important matter. However, Zhao Chong and Pang Fei had disappeared together for a few days. There were already some rumors and speculations in the barracks, but they had not yet spread and amplified. Pang Fei’s place was easy to fool, so Qin Mubai said that she had sent him out to handle other matters. However, the Zuoying Navy had lost their captain for several days, causing everyone to have divergent speculations.

The assessment of the military order and the military rules went smoothly. Perhaps everyone was frightened by Feng Dao Sha’s head. Qin Mubai gave the order and few dared to neglect it. The passing rate of the exam was quite high, and only a few of them failed the exam because of nervousness. This time, Qin Mubai recited a favor and didn’t give it any weight. Instead, he gave those people a chance to make up for their mistakes and decided to take the supplementary exam a few days later.

In the evening, Qin Mubai called Du Chengyuan and the other deputy generals over to discuss with them and recommend another Zuoying captain to temporarily replace Zhao Chong.

Everyone asked in shock, where did Zhao Chong go after disappearing for a few days?

Qin Mubai said helplessly, “To tell you the truth, he’s missing.”

“What?!” Everyone was truly shocked, even Du Chengyuan was able to perform perfectly.

“I will personally investigate this matter. All you have to do is to conceal the information from the soldiers and not let them know. This will give rise to speculation.” Qin Mubai said, “Alright, the Zuoying Navy cannot be left without a commander. Please recommend one person or volunteer to temporarily take charge of the Navy in Zhao Chong’s stead.”

After a pause, Qin Mubai said, “General Du, you are the old lodger of the Military Manor, and you are familiar with them from head to toe. Let you propose the candidate first. Let’s work together!”

Qin Mubai’s actions were only for Du Chengyuan to see. He wanted to show the water ghosts his “cooperative” attitude. The reason for that was because the grain trade must be carried out on the waterway, and the captain of the Zuoying Camp who was patrolling the surface of the water must be a crucial role. The person that Du Chengyuan had chosen must be his confidant. If that was the case, then the Guardian Ghost would definitely be satisfied.

Du Chengyuan understood and casually said a few names. They were none other than Brigade Commander Zuo Ying and the others. Everyone made a move and discussed for a while before deciding on a candidate.

Qin Mubai said, “General Du, I have been busy with business recently and need to travel outside. I will probably have a lot of time in the barracks. You will be in charge of the matters in the army. Besides, the Left Battalion Navy has always been very important, so I have to trouble you a lot.”

Du Chengyuan cupped his hands and said, “The general has an order. I will definitely obey.”

“That’s good.” Qin Mubai nodded with a meaningful smile and sighed, “Although I came to Xiang Zhou to be an official, I still can’t take off the skin of a capital official. In a few days, the newly promoted Governor of Deng Zhou, King Qi You, will take office. You know that Deng Zhou is Xiang Zhou’s Lin Zhou, and King Qi is his original general … So, I have to personally go and congratulate him.”

Du Chengyuan smiled knowingly, “King Qi, isn’t that Princess Gaoyang’s brother, General Qin’s brother-in-law? It’s normal for us to go. This season is busy with farming. The soldiers are mostly busy with farming. There is neither winter training nor any major matters in the military. General, please rest assured. Leave the big and small matters to the humble ones.”

“Then I’ll have to trouble you all.” Qin Mubai stood up and cupped his hands.

“General Qin is too polite!”

When he walked out of the tent, Du Chengyuan deliberately looked back at Qin Mubai, his eyes extremely warm and complicated. Obviously, he knew what had happened in the past few days. Qin Mubai and he were considered “people on the same boat”, but before that, Qin Mubai had beheaded his brother-in-law. Public grudges and personal grudges were probably quite entangled in his heart.

After explaining these matters, everyone dispersed. Qin Mubai sat there alone, wondering who was the Song Cao Master?

With this kind of repeated tossing and turning, this “Cao Master Song” had never officially appeared. According to Hua Niangzi, not many of Aquamancer’s own people really knew him. It could be seen that this person was hiding very deeply. Now, a dark net had been cast, the purpose of which was to capture the Water Ghost and his accomplices in one fell swoop. However, until now, he didn’t know who that Cao Master Song was, and where would he start if he wanted to capture him?

Qin Mubai pondered over and over again, taking everyone into consideration. Duan Rongji of the Zhengchang Grain, Ouyang Jun of the Yongye Salt Square, Wei Xiaochen, Du Chengyuan, and a few others might all be Cao Master Song, but there was not the slightest bit of evidence to prove it.

This person was truly a divine dragon that never saw the end, and he hid it very deeply.

After dinner in the army, Qin Mubai was ready to leave the manor alone again. Just now, he and Du Chengyuan had already made it very clear that he would “leave the military manor” for a very long time. The implication is, take advantage of this period of time to quickly complete the transaction. Do whatever you like. I’m out of sight and out of mind. I will neither embarrass you nor join you.

Thus, in Du Chengyuan’s opinion, Qin Mubai’s attitude did not change very quickly. He did so with a bit of helplessness, and still maintained his last “clean and lofty” attitude. Considering Qin Mubai’s identity and personality, this was clearly more “credible”.

Just as Qin Mubai rode his horse and was about to leave, a loud noise came from the camp entrance and a group of soldiers hurriedly ran over. Qin Mubai walked over curiously, and a few soldiers hurriedly came forward to report, “General Qin, Captain Zhao, who has been missing for a few days, has returned!”

“What?” Qin Mubai was shocked and strode forward.

Zhao Chong was lying on the door of a residential building, his eyes closed as if he had fainted. There were strangulation marks on his left and right wrists. His entire body looked haggard and weak, and his anger was like silk.

“Where did you find it?” Qin Mubai asked.

A sergeant pointed forward and said, “Those fishermen found it in a ditch by the river when they were retracting their nets and returning home.”

Qin Mubai bent down and pressed down on the carotid artery with his nose. “I’m just unconscious. Fortunately, I’m alive. Quickly ask the military doctor to treat me,” he said.

“Yes!”

Several soldiers hurriedly carried Zhao Chong away. Qin Mubai came to the fishermen and questioned them personally. The fishermen were naturally a little scared when they saw the officer in charge, so they obediently explained the whole story clearly. Qin Mubai observed their expressions carefully and did not seem to be lying.

It turned out that Zhao Chong was also a native of Xiangyang. He knew quite a few people in Xiangyang City, and the fishermen nearby also knew him. The fishermen accidentally discovered Zhao Chong, who was unconscious in the ditch, and carried him to the military mansion nearby.

Qin Mubai muttered in his heart, “Strange, why did Zhao Chong suddenly come back?” Could it be that he escaped by himself? Or … did the water ghosts intend to let him come back?

After thinking for a long time, although Qin Mubai did not come to a definite conclusion, his train of thought gradually became clearer. He summoned Du Chengyuan and said to him, “Zhao Chong was sent back just now. Unfortunately, he was unconscious. I can’t find any reason to interrogate him now. I’m in a hurry to leave, so I’ll leave the rest to you first. If Zhao Chong recovers, he will return and continue to lead the navy.”

“This lowly one will obey my orders.” Du Chengyuan silently cupped his hands.

Qin Mubai nodded and said, “I’m going to invite Prince Wu to Dengzhou with me. At the very least, I’ll be back in 10 days or 20 days. I’ll leave the matters in the military manor to you first. Alright, I’m leaving. You can go back!”

“Send General Qin respectfully!”

Qin Mubai left the barracks alone on horseback. Not far away, he bumped into a great acquaintance.

“Yuwen Hongtai, why are you here again? Are you here to barge into my barracks again?” Qin Mubai purposely said with a cold face.

“Third Brother Qin, why do you look like someone else?” Yuwen Hongtai jumped off his horse and stopped Qin Mubai. He pulled his horse’s bridle and said with a bitter face, “You weren’t like this before! Why did you turn against His Highness?”

“I can’t explain these things to you.” Qin Mubai said, “You are the official of King Wu’s Mansion now. We are the masters. It is better not to talk about this. Tell me, what are you doing here?”

“I’m fine. I’m just panicking. I want to talk to you.” Yuwen Hongtai said, “Tell me, you guys have been so mysterious these past few days, yet you’ve suddenly turned against each other. There’s nothing I can understand about each and every one of these things.” Yesterday, after you and His Highness finished arguing, His Highness burst into a wave of nameless karma in the manor, cursing and smashing things whenever you saw anyone. Early this morning, he left the manor with Xue Rengui and a group of soldiers. The yamen and the manor did not tell anyone and only left me dumbfounded to look after the house. My heart is stuffy, panicked and aggrieved. Why do you smart people like to put honest people like us in the middle of things? ”

Qin Mubai laughed heartily, “It’s alright, idiot. Your Highness may have gone to Dengzhou.”

“What are you doing in Dengzhou?”

“King Qi You, the new Governor of Dengzhou, go and congratulate him.” Qin Mubai sighed, “No, I’m going too!”

“Then, when the time comes, you guys will bump into each other again, and you won’t make a big fuss?” Yuwen Hongtai said worriedly, “I really can’t figure it out. How can you turn against each other? Ah …!”

Qin Mubai patted Yuwen Hongtai’s shoulder and said, “It’s fine. Get on the horse and come to Xiangyang with me!”

“Alright!” Yuwen Hongtai got on the horse and walked alongside Qin Mubai.

Looking at his worried expression, Qin Mubai felt both moved and guilty. Yuwen Hongtai was a straightforward person, but he was also a warm-hearted and honest person. Deceiving such a person was the last thing he should do. However, the fewer people knew about the plan, the safer it would be. Thus, he had no choice but to grieve Yuwen Hongtai for a while. Moreover, the more he didn’t know the truth, the more realistic he was. The more he could help blindfold those spies.

As the saying goes, adversity sees the truth. The more critical a situation is, the more one can see the essence of a person. The performance of Yuwen Hongtai in front of Qin Mubai made one thing clear: from the beginning, Yuwen Hongtai had not made friends for nothing!

When they arrived at Xiangyang City, Qin Mubai and Yuwen Hongtai separated.

Before parting, Qin Mubai said, “Hong Tai, if I turn against His Highness one day, which one will you help?”

Yuwen Hongtai’s face was bitter. He was so anxious that he scratched his ears and cheeks. After massaging for a long time, he finally said, “Why do you have to ask me such a difficult question? I have never thought about it, and I don’t understand either.”

“Let’s put it this way. If His Highness orders you to slash me with your saber, what will you do?” Qin Mubai asked with a smile on his face as if he was serious and joking.

“If I cut off this bird head of mine, then it won’t be difficult! This is still possible, right?” Yuwen Hongtai almost roared as he finished his sentence. He glared at Qin Mubai angrily and flapped his horse away.

“Haha!” Qin Mubai shook his head and smiled. He flapped his horse towards the five-mile square in the south of the city and headed towards the small building.

Chen Yan knew that Qin Mubai was coming, so she prepared some dishes for him to eat. When the two of them entered the seats, Chen Yan asked, “We have sorted out everything in the military manor.”

“Mm. I just went through the motions and handed over everything to Du Chengyuan. They can do whatever they want after I leave the Xiang Province.” Qin Mubai casually picked up some dishes and knitted his brows. “But something strange happened during that time that I didn’t expect.”

“What is it?”

“The missing Zhao Chong has returned.” Qin Mubai said, “He was unconscious. He was found by the fishermen by the river and sent to the military manor.”

“Is there such a thing?” Chen Yan was also a little surprised. She frowned slightly and held her chopsticks in her mouth as she thought, “Did you ask if he escaped by himself, or did the water ghost intentionally release him?”

“No, I told you he was unconscious.” Qin Mubai said, “Assuming he escaped, then things will be simple. Du Chengyuan will definitely know the news beforehand, so it will never be possible for him to appear in the military manor again.”

“That makes sense!” Chen Yan’s eyes lit up. “If Zhao Chong escaped, it would definitely be big news for the water ghosts. There is no reason not to inform Du Chengyuan to make preparations in advance, so that you won’t see Zhao Chong and know something that you don’t want to know.” However, now that Zhao Chong had returned safely to the barracks, it proved that Zhao Chong had not escaped, but that the water ghost had deliberately let him come back!

“Smart.” Qin Mubai knitted his eyebrows and said, “But why did the water ghosts let Zhao Chong come back?”

Their eyes lit up at the same time, “Could it be …?!”

…

That night, Qin Mubai arrived at the Hua Niangzi mansion and met with the water ghost contact person.

It was still a black-clothed man. Qin Mubai judged that the people who came this time were different from the two he had seen before. It could be seen that the other party was very cautious, afraid that Qin Mubai would see something.

Qin Mubai told the black-clothed man about his arrangements and said that he was going to Dengzhou for a period of time. During this period of time, Xiangzhou has nothing to do with him. You can do whatever you like.

“General Qin, you’re not sincere enough, hehe!” The black-clothed man laughed strangely.

“What do you mean?” Qin Mubai said angrily, “I’m already like this. What else do you want?”

“As far as I know, you and Li Ke did not reach a tacit understanding.” The black-clothed man said calmly, “Although you are willing to cooperate with us, he, Li Ke, did not nod. It is not that we look down on General Qin’s ability, but Li Ke is, after all, a governor and a prince. Do you dare not listen to his words? If he tries to interfere, it will be fatal.”

“You’re overthinking it.” Qin Mubai said coldly, “I understand Li Ke’s character. He will never allow me to compromise with you and cooperate with you.”

“Why?”

“You know what to ask!” Qin Mubai shouted angrily, “Because he is a prince, in his eyes, Xiangzhou is just a tiny place. There is no need to use his status as a prince to fight against your future.” He said that he would rather lose the princess and daughter than join in the dirt with you. That was true, but he was more anxious than anyone else. If he doesn’t get angry with me, he’s an accessory. How dare you not understand such a simple truth? ”

“So it’s like this, so it’s like this!” The black-clothed man chuckled. “Li Ke is indeed a person with profound wisdom. You can’t judge him by appearance! It seems that he intentionally fell out with you and then abandoned his son. The rest is for you to act recklessly. He is out of sight and not bothered? And you, on the pretext of opening up the Xiang Province, leave the rest to us. You don’t have to be accused of being a bandit, do you, General Qin?”

Qin Mubai glared at the black-clothed man angrily, “You talk a lot of nonsense! Are you very pleased with yourself now?”

“No, no, no, I definitely don’t mean that. It’s just that there are some things that I’d better ask clearly.” The black-clothed man hurriedly waved his hand and said, “General Qin, please rest assured. After you leave Xiang Zhou, we will start our work. When you return, everything will be settled. At that time, it will be as if nothing has happened. Then, according to the agreement, we will return the hostages. We will not commit crimes in Xiang Zhou from now on and will disappear in a year.”

“This is the best way.” Qin Mubai snorted coldly.

“In order to express our sincerity, we have already released one person today. I believe General Qin should also know.” The black-clothed man chuckled and cupped his hands. “Slowly, we will release them one by one. General Qin doesn’t have to worry about the safety of the hostages.”

“Mm” Qin Mubai snorted and said, “But I don’t think you’ll treat the hostages well. When Zhao Chong returned, he was unconscious.”

“Don’t worry, he’s just been knocked out by some stupid drugs. He’ll be unconscious for a while. Didn’t you see that he had all his hands and legs and no major injuries on his body?” The black-clothed man chuckled strangely, “We are also forced to do something helpless. Why don’t we open the door and let him go like this? If he brings a group of soldiers back to fight back, wouldn’t we suffer a terrible calamity?”

“Enough, I don’t want to talk nonsense with you anymore.” Qin Mubai said angrily, “I’ll leave Xiang Zhou now. I’ll come back in half a month. I don’t want to see you again!”

“Alright, General Qin!” The black-clothed man stood up and waved his hand to Mistress Hua behind him. “Mistress Hua, aren’t you sending the guests off?”

“Good!” Hua Niangzi was still as charming as ever. She twisted her waist and placed a hand on Qin Mubai’s shoulder. With her sticky voice, she said, “General Qin, how can you not have a beauty to accompany you when you go out for a trip? Let this servant accompany you on your journey!”

Qin Mubai glared angrily, “Is this sending someone to spy on me?”

“No, no.” The black-clothed man seemed to be a person without the slightest bit of anger. He laughed and said, “We only have a good intention to let Hua Niangzi accompany us. The journey is long and lonely. Doesn’t General Qin need a person to accompany him from the side?”

“Humph!” Qin Mubai snorted coldly and shook his front robe as he walked downstairs. Lady Hua laughed and quickly followed.

The black-clothed man slowly sat down and let out a sigh from the hole in his mask, as if he had let out a long sigh.

“In that case, it should be safe! It’s really not easy, I’ve finally eaten him!”