knife

Chapter 464 Worry
After finishing the last volume of documents at hand, Xiao Changzha stood up, stretched, and yawned. Since becoming pregnant, he seemed to get sleepy more easily and always wanted to take a nap.

It wasn't like this before.

Back then, it seemed like we had inexhaustible strength and energy.

Touching her bulging belly, her face showed a mixture of annoyance and happiness.

When you lie in bed late at night and feel around carefully, you can almost hear the thumping heartbeat of the baby in your belly. Occasionally, you can see some bumps or bulges on your belly, as if the little one is being restless and kicking to show his presence.

"Jiaojiao, are there any documents that haven't been processed yet?" Xiao Changche asked, looking at a woman in a blue official robe kneeling on the other side of the large table.

During this expedition, Tu Jiaojiao, who was observing the administration at the Protectorate, was also transferred to the central command tent to assist Xiao Changche in handling matters.

It's not that the Protectorate doesn't have other more mature and stable officials, but Tu Jiaojiao is also a woman, and at Xiao Changche's current stage, it's more convenient for her to spend a long time in the same room with him.

But for Tu Jiaojiao, this is indeed a rare opportunity.

"That's all!" Tu Jiaojiao looked up, still holding the pen in her hand.

Some of the things Xiao Changche reviewed needed to be conveyed to different troops or localities. At this time, Tu Jiaojiao was required to copy down some of these reviews or instructions and distribute them.

That's roughly what it means to hear confidential information.

"Any new intelligence reports have been sent over?" Xiao Changche stepped out from behind his desk and paced back and forth in the tent.

Tu Jiaojiao flipped through the documents beside her and said, "There's nothing special about it. Everything is proceeding according to plan." As she said this, Tu Jiaojiao glanced at Xiao Changche, who was holding his back, and suddenly understood something. She lowered her head and rummaged through a box at her feet for a while, and found several documents that she had not yet had time to open.

The central command tent is the operational hub for tens of thousands of soldiers. Hundreds or even thousands of documents are collected here every day. Under normal circumstances, they are first reviewed by Tu Jiaojiao, who selects the most important and urgent ones before handing them over to Xiao Changche.

Some documents that were sent out specifically stated that they must be presented directly to Xiao Changche, which was a different matter altogether.

Besides these, there were also many documents that came from the rear. These were generally not very important; they were basically just for Xiao Changche, the deputy protector of the Beiting Protectorate, to know about.

Therefore, when to show these things to Xiao Changche depends on Tu Jiaojiao's wishes.

Sometimes I feel that Xiao Changche is too tired, so I cut back on these things.

Anyway, it's not a very important matter.

Just like the intelligence reports that Tu Jiaojiao currently holds, they were all sent from the south.

The army's attention is currently focused on Yandu, so intelligence from within the pass is naturally not considered of great importance. However, being women, Tu Jiaojiao noticed something in Xiao Changche's expression and realized that what Xiao Changche really wanted to know was the Protector-General's current situation in Guanzhong.

Like myself, I'm quite worried about Ding Ergou now.

Taking the documents from Tu Jiaojiao, Xiao Changche quickly glanced at the letters inside, but focused his attention on the last one.

It was a letter from Xiao Le, sent from Ning County, regarding Li Dachui's latest whereabouts.

These letters were originally written in secret code. After they came to Tu Jiaojiao, they were restored to normal letters one by one. Tu Jiaojiao had previously thought that this was not an important matter, so she had put it aside.

Now it seems I misunderstood.

Protector Xiao was very concerned about Protector Li's current situation.

"After killing Lin Hong, he actually went to Danyang with that Jiang Ping?" Xiao Changche frowned. "Jiaojiao, did Xiao Le tell you more about Jiang Ping's background?"

Tu Jiaojiao tilted her head and thought for a moment, saying, "Guardian, it seems there was some relevant intelligence before, saying that this Jiang Ping is the cousin of Empress Dowager Jiang Qian of Chu, and is extremely favored. Guardian Li probably wants to use this relationship to gather more information about the upper echelons of Chu in Danyang!"

"I feel like there's something strange about Jiang Ping!" Xiao Changche shook his head.

“What kind of person is Protector Li? If there’s anything strange about him, he’d probably notice it!” Tu Jiaojiao said, admiring Li Dachui. “Protector Li, it’s extremely rare that you were able to use Princess Jiang’s connection to uncover more secrets of the Chu Kingdom’s upper echelons. These are the kinds of leads that no amount of money or effort could cultivate!”

“That’s true, but I’m afraid Li Dachui has underestimated the State of Chu. That Queen Dowager of Chu, at only twenty-something years old, has managed to subdue everyone in Chu. Her methods are truly superb!” Xiao Changdao said, “In Chang’an, we have at least laid some foundations. We have Zhang Qingyun’s previous efforts, allies like Wu De, connections with Master Yu, and the legacy of Dachui’s ancestors. This allows him to thrive in Chang’an. Danyang, on the other hand, is full of enemies! Moreover, we know too little about the State of Chu. We mustn’t let ourselves be caught off guard.”

Tu Jiaojiao laughed and said, "Guardian, not only is Guardian Li meticulous, but he is also a master of the Innate Realm! Xiao Le said in his letter that Jiang Ping is just a spoiled little princess with no cunning. Wouldn't she be completely fooled by our Guardian Li? Even if something really happens, it won't be difficult for her to get away!"

“I’m not worried about this Jiang Ping. I’m afraid that Li Dachui, arrogant and conceited, might underestimate everyone and try to do something in Danyang. If that Empress Dowager Jiang catches him, there will be trouble!” Xiao Changche stopped and said, “A few years ago, this little Empress Dowager sent such an important figure as Lin Yunqi to spy on the strength of our territory outside the pass. In recent years, with the help of people like Zhu Chi, she has been openly gathering intelligence on our territory outside the pass. Now that there is such a large-scale operation outside the pass, how can she not pay attention? Moreover, the Chang’an Incident, the Shu Incident, the Xingyang Incident, and the Yong’an Incident were all planned by Li Dachui. Once that Empress Dowager connects these events, she can draw up a roadmap. If Li Dachui appears in her sight at this time, I’m afraid he will expose his flaws!”

Tu Jiaojiao looked at Xiao Changche and thought to herself that this was probably a case of being too concerned to think straight!

"Protector, Xiao Le said in the letter that Protector Li only wants to use Jiang Ping's power to investigate the Demonic Sect headquarters. He won't cause any trouble in Danyang! As long as he doesn't do anything, he naturally won't attract the Empress Dowager's attention!" Tu Jiaojiao said, "She's not a god, how could she know that our Protector has gone to Danyang?"

"Write a letter to Li Dachui and tell him to be careful." Xiao Changche looked at the letter in his hand, and the name Jiang Ping always seemed a bit jarring to him.

"Yes!" Tu Jiaojiao nodded. "But Protector-General, it will take a month for our letter to reach Xiao Le, and who knows when it will reach Protector-General Li!"

(End of this chapter)