knife

Chapter 320 The power of love

In the outer living room, Zhou Gang finally calmed down, wiped away the tears that had involuntarily streamed down his face, looked at Zhang Qingyun, and said, "Wei Zhengdao has unleashed a massacre, and everyone in the city is living in fear. My father has a close relationship with the Linghu family, and now Linghu Ye's two armies are heading towards Chang'an. My father knows he cannot escape death, so he hasn't killed us yet. I'm afraid he wants to wait until he engages Linghu Ye in close combat before using us as a sacrifice to boost morale!"

Zhang Qingyun nodded slightly: "Wei Zhengdao and his son Wei Yi are both ruthless and vicious people, so it's true that they are capable of doing this."

"My father knows that I am very close to you, so he sent me to hide here, hoping that I might escape with my life!" Zhou Gang said in a trembling voice.

"What Uncle said is quite right. The Wei family really won't do anything to me. As long as you stay here and don't leave, they won't arrest you and kill you in front of me. What do you think, Brother Zhou?"

"If my whole family dies, and I'm left to live a life of hardship here, I fear I'll never have peace for the rest of my life!" Zhou Gang stood up, raised his hands to his eyebrows, and bowed deeply to the ground. "Qingyun, I came here only to ask you one question: Do you have a way to save my whole family's lives?"

"Why do you think I could possibly save your whole family, Brother Zhou?" Zhang Qingyun countered. "The matter of Uncle forging the imperial edict back then wasn't fake, so Wei Zhengdao's killing of him was perfectly justified. Under such circumstances, how much influence would it take to save him? Do you think I have that kind of influence?"

Zhou Gang straightened up and said, "Qingyun, have you always thought of me as a good-for-nothing?"

Zhang Qingyun shook her head: "I've never felt that way."

Zhou Gang nodded: "Qingyun, you may only see me as an ordinary friend, or a friend who is somewhat useful to you, but I don't see you that way."

Zhang Qingyun was caught off guard and stared at the other person in astonishment.

“Qingyun, I’ve liked you ever since your Zhang family was still doing well in Chang’an!” Zhou Gang mustered his courage and said loudly, “Even if you had to go to the border with your father, I would have gone to see you off, because I like you. I firmly believed that you were innocent and that you would definitely come back, and later, you did come back.”

"Brother Zhou, you?" Zhang Qingyun glanced at the back room, her cheeks flushed. She truly hadn't expected Zhou Gang to express his affection for her so openly at this moment, especially since there were two other people in the back room!
One of them, in particular, is Li Dachui.

"So for the past year or so, I have been paying close attention to you. I have deliberately collected all information about you. I remember every little thing related to you. I know exactly where you go, who you meet, and who you associate with!" Zhou Gang said.

Zhang Qingyun's face gradually turned pale.

“If you connect many things together, you can roughly guess what you are doing!” Zhou Gang said, “Everyone thinks that your backer is Scholar Zhang, but I guess that’s not the case. Your real backers should be Protectors Xiao Changche and Li Dachui.”

In the back room, Wu De was also somewhat taken aback. Li Dachui smiled slightly and said to him, "The power of love! Love makes this kid spare no expense to collect all the information about Qingyun, all the things related to her, trying to find out Qingyun's hobbies and weaknesses so that he can win the heart of his beloved in a targeted way. When he has collected enough information, and has enough information to corroborate each other, and is smart enough, he can roughly piece together the truth of the matter."

"Is this a case of Miss Qingyun being caught off guard and losing her way?" Wu De, realizing what had happened, couldn't help but laugh.

I heard hurried footsteps nearby, and when I looked up, I saw Zhang Qingyun.

"Did you leave Young Master Zhou out alone?" Li Dachui asked with a smile.

"Young Master, that's not how it is!" Zhang Qingyun explained somewhat anxiously.

“I know.” Li Dachui waved his hand: “A fair maiden is sought after by a gentleman. Zhou Gang was young and admired her. You are so outstanding, it’s normal for him to like you.”

Zhang Qingyun lowered her head: "It's my fault. I didn't pay attention to this matter, I didn't nip it in the bud, and I underestimated him, which led him to guess my true identity through some clues. I will write to the dean and request punishment!"

"This is an internal matter for your Zhi Qiu Academy!" Li Dachui laughed. "I won't interfere. But right now, how do you plan to handle this?"

"Send him out!" Zhang Qingyun said without hesitation, "Not just him, but his whole family!"

"Give it to Linghu Ye?" Li Dachui asked.

“Yes!” Zhang Qingyun said, “Scholar Zhou is talented, but he is terrible at practical matters. So he is unlikely to cause us any trouble in the future. Moreover, he is of high enough status and knowledge. Even if he doesn’t have real power, he will still be able to learn about some core matters when he goes to Linghu Ye’s place, just like he was the emperor’s drafter of imperial edicts before.”

"You think you can take advantage of him?"

“We can use Zhou Gang!” Zhang Qingyun said. “I think we can recruit him into Zhi Qiu Academy to plant a spy on Linghu Ye. He’s not as useless as I used to think; he might be of great help to us in the future!”

Wu De nodded repeatedly, "This is a good move. This man is so fond of Miss Qingyun, we can take advantage of this and keep him firmly in our grasp!" Zhang Qingyun glared at Wu De, but did not refute him.

“Since Zhang Bing and Wu Ding both think it’s feasible, let’s do it this way!” Li Dachui said, “Qingyun will take control of Zhou Gang, keeping him on a single line of command. Don’t let Zhou Gang have any contact with others. Linghu Zhishu is quite capable. Wu De will handle the matter of rescuing them out of the city.”

Zhang Qingyun nodded, turned and walked out of the hall. After taking a few steps, she turned back, looked at Li Dachui, and said earnestly, "Young Master, I really didn't know he had these thoughts!"

Li Dachui smiled and waved.

Wu De watched Zhang Qingyun's retreating figure, then turned to look at Li Dachui. He blinked a few times, suddenly realizing something. He raised his eyebrows, looking thoughtful.

Zhang Qingyun, who had returned to normal outside the hall, was back to normal. Zhou Gang, on the other hand, was restless outside because his son was fidgeting.

“Qingyun, I have no intention of offending you in the slightest. I know that it will be very difficult to help my whole family escape this disaster. So I am only trying my luck here with a sliver of hope!” Zhou Gang said, “What I am thinking is that if I can’t escape, I probably won’t live for many more days. I have to let you know my feelings before I die, so that I will have no regrets even if I die!”

"Stop, stop!" Zhang Qingyun waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Brother Zhou, I have always regarded you as my best friend and the friend I trust the most. So when I returned to Chang'an from beyond the Great Wall, the only person I notified was you. But there is one thing: I really have no romantic feelings for you!"

Zhou Gang took a deep breath: "I understand, but whether you like me or not is not important! You can't stop me from liking you, can you?"

Zhang Qingyun was speechless. Even though he was usually quick-witted, he was speechless for a long time before finally saying, "Brother Zhou, you won't die, and your Zhou family will be fine too."

Zhou Gang was stunned for a long time before he reacted, looking at Zhang Qingyun with an incredulous expression: "Qingyun, you mean, you can help us escape from Chang'an City?"

“I certainly can’t do it, but there are people who can!” Zhang Qingyun said, “You must know Commander Wu De of the Black Ice Guard, right?”

"Of course I know! Wu De is now the most powerful person in the Black Ice Bureau. I heard that even the new Grand Magistrate He Bing has to watch his face. You mean he can help my family?"

“When Commander Wu was outside the pass, he owed me a favor. I went to him and asked him to plead with Wei Zhengdao to spare your family’s lives. Given his current power and importance to Chang’an, Wei Zhengdao should give him face!” Zhang Qingyun said.

"Qingyun, thank you, thank you!" Zhou Gang bowed deeply once again.

“Brother Zhou, as I told you before, we are friends, best friends! If there is even the slightest possibility, I will not stand by and watch your family suffer. Since Uncle Shi has a past relationship with Linghu Ye and was demoted for working for Linghu Ye, this time when I send you out of the city, I will send you directly to him! Linghu Ye should be able to protect you!” Zhang Qingyun said.

Zhou Gang nodded repeatedly.

"When you get back, tell your uncle to get ready. We'll be sending you out of the city in the next few days," Zhang Qingyun said. "Time is short, so I won't keep you any longer. Go back and prepare. I also need to talk to Commander Wu about this. He's a very busy man right now, and he's not easy to reach!"

"Okay, Qingyun, thank you, thank you!" Zhou Gang said, "You're right, we are best friends, no, no, not just best friends. In the future, if you need me for anything, just tell me. Even if it means my death, I will not hesitate."

"Brother Zhou, what are you saying? We all need to live, and live well." Zhang Qingyun said, "If I really need your help in the future, I will send someone to find you."

They came with a glimmer of hope, but received far more than they had imagined.

Zhou Gang left the Zhang residence in high spirits.

Looking back now, when we saw Zhang Ruo and Zhang Qingyun off, parting at Baqiao Bridge with a willow branch, I was severely whipped by my father and locked up at home for a month. If it weren't for that favor back then, my whole family probably wouldn't have had the chance to ask for help now! Even if we had, they might not have agreed.

Every sip and every bite, is it destined by fate?

The son, whom his father considered the most useless and incompetent, stepped forward when the family was about to suffer its greatest calamity, pulling the whole family back from the brink of death.

Watching Zhou Gang's retreating figure, Zhang Qingyun couldn't help but rub her temples; another worry had been added to her list.

(End of this chapter)