knife

Chapter 170 Reunion

Tiele was not in the city, but recuperating at his estate outside the city.

Walking on the road outside the city, Li Dachui felt that Yandu was no different from the big cities inside the pass.

The endless farmland stretches as far as the eye can see.

It's spring planting season, so countless farmers are busy in the fields.

The air was filled with shouts of people, neighing of horses, flying chickens, and jumping dogs; the smell of smoke was extremely strong.

"Brother Gao, your Qin dialect is excellent!" Li Dachui asked, trying to establish a friendly relationship. "Could it be that you lived in the interior of China before?"

Gao Qunshu smiled slightly and nodded, saying, "I lived there until I was eighteen."

"Then how did we end up in the Yuan Dynasty?"

"Twenty-five or twenty-six years ago, something unexpected happened!" Gao Qunshu said with some melancholy. "In order to survive, we had no choice but to flee to the Yuan Dynasty."

Li Dachui's heart tightened. It was twenty-five years ago again!
"Brother Gao and his family have all come?" he asked.

Gao Qunshu was silent for a moment, glanced at Li Dachui, and said, "It's just me. The rest of them died on the way to escape!"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked about this!" Li Dachui said, somewhat surprised, and bowed in apology.

“That was a long time ago!” Gao Qunshu shook his head.

“I also know something about what happened twenty-five years ago!” Li Dachui said, “So, back then, Brother Gao’s whole family worked under the Beiting Protectorate.”

"I didn't expect Brother Li Bao to know this too!" Gao Qunshu was somewhat surprised: "That's right, my father, elder brother and others all served under the Beiting Protectorate back then."

He shook his head. "Overnight, loyal ministers turned into traitors, colleagues became enemies, and there was a bloodbath. It's quite surprising that Brother Li Bao, at his age, knows about this."

"It's not that I know, it's that my ancestor knew. He told me about it when he was bored!" Li Dachui said, trying to cover it up. Now he realized that Fu Qingzhu was indeed a very good shield. If there was anything he couldn't lie about, he could just push it onto him, and even the unreasonable would become reasonable.

He has a high status, is respected, and is old, making him the perfect scapegoat.

The man in front of me, Gao Qunshu, was one of the border troops who were implicated in the Chang'an Incident.

However, judging from his age, he probably hadn't entered officialdom yet at the time. He was implicated by his father and brothers and ultimately had no choice but to flee to the Northern Yuan. These people had no one to rely on in the Northern Yuan, so it was to be expected that they would seek refuge with Princess Chang Le at the time.

"I heard that the princess is now living with the Second Prince, which is quite unusual!" Li Dachui asked.

In the Qin Dynasty, this was practically impossible.

"Your Majesty's grace!" Gao Qunshu said, "Before His Majesty's northern expedition, he allowed the princess to leave the palace and live with the Second Prince."

"The age gap between His Majesty and the princess is indeed quite large. It seems His Majesty is already making arrangements for his passing!"

“This cannot be denied!” Gao Qunshu said with a smile. “His Majesty also knows that his life is coming to an end, so he naturally has to make the necessary arrangements. If the princess does not leave the palace, I am afraid that once His Majesty passes away, life will not be easy.”

"From this perspective, Yingzhuo is not a bad husband!"

"His Majesty is still a wise emperor!" Gao Qunshu said, "He is far superior to the one in Chang'an."

“That’s true!” Li Dachui agreed. “If the one in Chang’an were as powerful as Ying Zhuo, I’m afraid the Great Yuan would be living in constant fear and trembling right now. And those of you who escaped back then probably wouldn’t have received the Great Yuan’s protection!”

"The Qin state is now just like the Yuan emperor, terminally ill and beyond saving!" Gao Qunshu said with a hint of schadenfreude, "Overthrow is imminent, how delightful!"

"Brother Gao, do you think the Yuan Dynasty can replace the Qin Dynasty?"

"It doesn't matter to me!" Gao Qunshu laughed. "Whether Yuan takes their place, Chu destroys them, or a new one emerges from their internal strife, as long as the Li family of Qin is wiped out, that's fine!"

This man harbors a deep resentment towards the Qin state!
But it's understandable. His whole family died in Qin. How could he not hate them?

“The Qin state is indeed in dire straits now!” Li Dachui said, “But even a centipede with a hundred legs will not die easily; it will still struggle for a while.”

As they spoke, the group arrived outside a manor. There were people waiting at the gate, who opened the manor gate and let them in.

“Mr. Fu, His Highness is unwell, otherwise he would have personally come to the gate to greet you,” Gao Qunshu said to Fu Cheng.

"Not at all, Brother Gao, you're too kind. His Highness is of noble status, how could we dare to have him waiting at the gate!" Fu Cheng said with a smile.

The estate was enormous, complete with fields, rivers, and mountains; once the gates were closed, it was practically an independent kingdom. Such a vast place could easily house tens of millions of people.

They continued along the road for what seemed like an eternity before finally seeing clusters of houses. At a glance, there were at least a hundred of them, making it resemble a small market town.

This kind of manor is a completely self-sufficient little society, just like those fortresses outside the Great Wall. Once the gates are closed, it can completely cut off all contact with the outside world.

Because such a village could basically produce everything it needed for living.

It may be simple, but it will definitely not lack anything.

Of course, there was no such thing as a simple estate at Tiele's manor; everything was of the highest quality. This time, Tiele personally came out to greet them.

"Your Highness, this is Mr. Fu Cheng," Gao Qunshu introduced enthusiastically.

"I've heard so much about you!" Tiele greeted with a broad smile and clasped his hands in a gesture of respect.

"This is Physician Li Bao, whose words are as sharp as knives before His Majesty!" Gao Qunshu continued.

"I've heard so much about you." Tiele's smile froze halfway through his polite words.

The face in front of me was definitely the first time I had ever seen it, but the feeling it gave me was very familiar, as were its aura and those eyes.

"It's been several months since we last met, Your Highness has recovered very quickly, congratulations!" Li Bao clasped his hands in a bow, his face beaming with a smile like a flower.

Upon hearing this, Tiele immediately recognized who the man in front of him was.

What a scoundrel! He dares to trespass here, and he even invited us himself!

This is infuriating!

Looking around, he realized there wasn't a single player he could boast of.

This guy is a ninth-rank expert, and now we know he's extremely skilled in using poison. If this flares up, we're definitely going to suffer a loss right now.

The key issue is that we can't do anything to him right now!
"Congratulations to you too!" Tiele gritted his teeth and grabbed Li Bao's hand. "I've missed you so much these past few months, Brother Li!"

"Same here. I've been wanting to visit Your Highness for a while, but I've been so busy at home that I only managed to find the time to come now that I've almost finished. But it's alright, it's not too late to come now, is it?"

Hey!
Hahaha!
The two acted like old friends, holding hands and heading straight inside, completely ignoring Fu Cheng, the nominal protagonist of the day, leaving everyone stunned.

Gao Qunshu's eyes flickered, but he did not follow them inside. Instead, he stayed behind until everyone had entered the house. He glanced around, beckoned with his finger, and a guard immediately came over.

Something's not right! Something's definitely not right!

There's something wrong with this Li Bao.

Recalling his earlier conversation with Tiele, Gao Qunshu suddenly realized who the person in front of him was.

After a moment of shock, he immediately thought of going to find someone.

This is inside the manor, and the military guards are all on the perimeter. Moreover, it doesn't seem like a good idea to bring in troops. This person is nominally Fu Qingzhu's grand-disciple and has even met His Majesty. If something really happens to the Second Prince, the Third Prince will probably be the one laughing.

We need to find a master!
Duanmu, the old nanny who serves the princess!
Others might not know about this old woman, but Gao Qunshu, as a trusted subordinate of the Tiele, knew her very well.

"Go to the princess's quarters and ask Duanmu, the old woman by her side, to come over. Tell her that His Highness has something urgent to ask you to do!"

The guard nodded and sprinted off to the other side. He could clearly read the anxiety in Gao Qunshu's eyes.

Fu Cheng followed Tiele and Li Dachui into the interior. Seeing this situation, how could he not understand that Tiele had already recognized who the so-called Li Bao was?

"I heard you taught my older brother a good lesson in the capital!"

"Of course, of course, does Your Highness feel better now?" Li Dachui smiled and said, "Now that Your Highness is so affectionate with me, aren't you afraid of following in the footsteps of the First Prince?"

Tiele stiffened slightly, but immediately retorted, "It's alright, it's alright. With Granny Duanmu helping me, these little trinkets are nothing!"

This time it was Li Dachui's turn to freeze.

Duanmu Miaomiao is such a ruthless person that she still makes people feel uneasy.

“A couple of nights ago, someone came to visit me, but it was dark and he was carrying a big stick. At first, I thought it was the Second Prince, but then I realized it couldn’t be! So I didn’t show him any mercy and just left him lying there like a corpse.”

"Of course, I would never do something so despicable!" Tiele sneered. "I have always disdained such low-down methods as poisoning and assassination. What I want is to defeat my opponents honorably!"

Li Dachui's face flushed slightly. Damn it, he curses without using any vulgar language!

"Your Highness is absolutely right. Secretly colluding with demons and monsters, yet acting carelessly and almost losing one's life in the end, is truly shameful and disgraceful!"

The two glared at each other, then burst into laughter at the same time, leaving those following behind completely bewildered.

Are these two people sick?
Upon reaching the gate, Tiele suddenly turned around and addressed Fu Cheng: "Mr. Fu, I'm truly sorry, but this Brother Li and I hit it off immediately. We'd like to have a private chat. Would you please come to the small hall for some tea?"

"It's alright, it's alright!" Fu Cheng nodded.

"Qunshu, go and keep Mr. Fu company, and serve him the best tea!" Tie Miao said with a smile.

"Your Highness, didn't Her Majesty also say that she wanted to invite Mr. Fu to have his health checked? I've already sent a guard to inform him!" Gao Qunshu said calmly.

Tiele immediately understood Gao Qunshu's meaning and said with a smile, "Alright, let me know if Granny Duanmu comes over!"

(End of this chapter)