Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 199 Never
Gao Zhan rode his horse unsteadily to the gate of the palace.

He was accompanied by more than ten servants.

After getting off the horse outside the Yunlong Gate, the servants also dismounted. He Shikai came forward, untied the weapon from Gao Zhan's waist, and took out the sachet. The Queen Mother did not like sachets.

Gao Zhan asked them to wait here and strode into the Yunlong Gate.

A eunuch came forward and led Gao Zhan inside.

Walking on the familiar road, Gao Zhan kept muttering to himself, but he was actually practicing over and over again how to convince his mother when he saw her later.

Gao Yan wanted Liu Taozi to marry Hulugu's daughter, and Gao Zhan already knew about this.

Gao Zhan was not willing to give up these two powerful generals easily.

Hulugu also has a very good relationship with Gao Zhan. If Gao Yan can marry him, then so can he!

My mother has always doted on me. If I can convince her to get married, even the emperor will not be able to interfere.

Gao Zhan was quite confident, with a faint smile on his face.

The female official at the side lowered her head and walked forward.

Gao Zhan even felt like showing off to her. He pointed to the left and right and said, "If it weren't for me, Your Majesty wouldn't have been able to enter the Yunlong Gate!"

The female official did not respond.

They came all the way to the outside of Zhuhua Gate. A soldier opened the gate and Gao Zhan strode in.

As soon as Gao Zhan walked into Zhuhua Gate, he was stunned.

There were many guards standing inside the Zhuhua Gate, and most importantly, he did not know these guards.

Gao Zhan had previously been appointed as the Grand Commander of the Capital, and all the troops inside and outside Yecheng were under his jurisdiction, including the Imperial Guards. The guards within the palace were not so unfamiliar.

Gao Zhan suddenly stopped and slowly took a few steps back.

The Zhuhua Gate was closed instantly.

Gao Zhan reached for his waist but found nothing. He looked around vigilantly.

"Why did the king stay?"

Suddenly someone asked.

Gao Zhan turned around abruptly.

Liu Taozi, leading several guards, was standing in front of the door, looking at him coldly.

"Hahaha, who did I think it was? It's my Zhe Kui Zhen. Are you here to greet me?"

Gao Zhan said with a smile.

Liu Taozi nodded and walked towards Gao Zhan.

Gao Zhan smiled and said, "It's good that you're here too. I was just thinking about talking to my mother."

Just when Liu Taozi was close enough to Gao Zhan, Gao Zhan stopped talking, his whole body tensed up instantly, he shouted angrily, and reached out to grab the sword at Liu Taozi's waist. His movements were extremely fast.

"Boom."

Liu Taozi hit Gao Zhan with his knee, and he felt a sharp pain in his chest. His eyes went dark, and he didn't even have the strength to grab the sword, let alone hold it tightly. Liu Taozi grabbed his shoulders and pressed him to the ground. Several soldiers rushed up and tied him up.

It took Gao Zhan a long time to recover.

His eyes widened, his face full of anger, "I listened to the witch's words and missed the opportunity. It's my fault!!"

He looked at Liu Taozi, "Doing such a thing in the harem, isn't he afraid of being punished by the Queen Mother?!"

Liu Taozi ignored him, grabbed him and walked towards Zhaoyang Palace.

Gao Zhan's eyes widened, and he was a little stunned for a moment.

He was pushed into the hall.

When Gao Zhan saw the Queen Mother sitting on the throne, his face was full of disbelief.

"Mother??"

"Mother, save me!!"

Lou Zhaojun sat in the upper seat with a stern face, looking at Gao Zhan who was asking her for help.

"Prince Changguang! You indulged in pleasure in Yecheng, and did shameful things with your attendants, ruining the reputation of the royal family. Do you know your crime?!"

Lou Zhaojun questioned.

At this moment, Gao Zhan looked at Lou Zhaojun blankly.

He didn't say anything, tears streaming down his face, "Is mother going to kill me?"

"If Mother wanted to kill me, why would she go to so much trouble? Wouldn't it be better to just send someone to tell them and let me commit suicide?"

He suddenly yelled and was about to hit the wooden pillar beside him. Liu Taozi grabbed him in time, but he was still struggling and screaming, "I'll just die!"

Lou Zhaojun trembled all over and quickly stood up, "Catch him! Catch him!"

Lou Zhaojun walked quickly to her son's side and asked the rest of the soldiers except Liu Taozi to leave.

She then looked at her son, her eyes full of helplessness, "My son, I don't want to kill you, I want to save you."

"You think we can't see what you're trying to do?"

"Just stay by my side. When the situation is stable, I will let you out."

Gao Zhan's eyebrows twitched, and he suddenly said with a sad face: "Mother, I have never had any idea of ​​harming my brother. I am in Yecheng, recruiting soldiers and buying horses to help my brother deal with the nobles."

"Those nobles relied on their military power to harm my brother. I was trying to help my brother! If I really had rebellious intentions, why would I openly recruit soldiers and contact everyone?"

Empress Dowager Lou frowned, "Do you think I'm old and confused?"

"Ever since the Sixth Prince appointed the Crown Prince, you have refused to call him brother. After returning to Ye City, you have been socializing with nobles. Do you think that the world can't see your thoughts?"

"My son is innocent! I grew up with my brother. From childhood to adulthood, I always obeyed his orders and fought for him. This time, it was clearly him who asked me to return to Yecheng, it was him who asked me to prepare to settle domestic affairs, and it was also him who asked me to contact the nobles and secretly inquire!"

"How come now, I have become someone who wants to rebel?"

"How did I offend my brother? Why did you harm me like this?"

Gao Zhan suddenly burst into tears.

His crying was heartbreaking and he almost collapsed.

Lou Zhaojun looked at her crying son and was confused for a moment. She didn't know what to say. Her eyes turned red and she started crying too.

"Queen Mother, please send the King to the East Palace first and let him stay there temporarily."

Liu Taozi spoke.

Gao Zhan cried even louder, looked at Lou Zhaojun, and begged, "Mother!! Save me! Don't leave me, don't abandon me!! They will kill me! They will definitely kill me!!"

Lou Zhaojun slowly looked at Liu Taozi, "If he doesn't go to the East Palace, he will stay with me."

Liu Taozi didn't say anything.

Gao Zhan suddenly said: "Mother, my subordinates don't know what's going on here yet. Can I meet with them and tell them the situation, so that they can't find me and do something stupid?"

"No need."

Someone said this and walked in from the main door.

The person who came was Lou Rui. Lou Rui was fully armed. The soldiers escorted a group of people and walked here quickly.

Those people were tied up and were waiting outside for Gao Zhan and his group.

When they saw Gao Zhan, they immediately started crying.

Gao Zhan looked at Lou Rui and cried, "Cousin! Why do you treat me like this?!"

Lou Rui said calmly: "Your Majesty, I am here to help you on the orders of the Queen Mother. You don't have to worry. With me in Yecheng, no one dares to touch you, unless I die first."

Lou Rui spoke very seriously, holding the sword in one hand, without any of his usual frivolity or cunning.

Gao Zhan was suddenly speechless.

Empress Dowager Lou breathed a sigh of relief, and then said to Gao Zhan: "Don't worry, I let Lou Rui take over the troops in Yecheng. With him here, no one can touch you. Just stay with me. You don't have to worry about His Majesty. I am punishing my own son, and it has nothing to do with him!"

Gao Zhan's lips trembled.

He looked at Liu Taozi standing aside with an extremely complicated look in his eyes.

He sighed, "I know."

The Empress Dowager still has some influence in the court. Not to mention Lou Rui, even Duan Shao is a close confidant of Empress Dowager Lou.

Compared with an emperor like Gao Yang who had been in power for many years and had great prestige, the empress dowager's power was not too strong. But compared with Gao Yan, who had been on the throne for less than a year and had an unstable foundation, she could still slightly compete with him.

Gao Zhan stayed beside the empress dowager, crying.

Lou Rui followed Liu Taozi and left.

After coming out, Lou Rui said slowly: "The Queen Mother has ordered that Prince Changguang be protected."

Liu Taozi nodded, "I heard it."

"Taozi, I didn't just say empty words. I will obey the Queen Mother's order. No matter who wants to attack Prince Changguang, they must get past me first."

"I see."

Lou Rui's expression eased, "Don't worry, since it's been done, I will persuade the Queen Mother not to let him come out to do things."

"I'll be watching over the city and beyond, just go and do your own thing."

"Thank you, sir."

Many different versions of news coming from Yecheng are spreading to various places.

And Liu Taozi has also arrived in Cheng'an.

Neither the Queen Mother nor Lou Rui were willing to let Liu Taozi stay in Yecheng. Perhaps they all knew that this guy was capable of doing anything.

The city walls of Cheng'an are still gray.

The roads haven't changed much.

Liu Taozi led a group of knights and appeared at the gate of Cheng'an in the cold wind.

These more than 300 elite cavalrymen were originally assigned by Gao Yan to General Han to escort them, but when their general suddenly decided to resign halfway, they followed Liu Taozi.

They were also confused.

But Yecheng obviously would not keep them, as they were sent by His Majesty. They could only continue to follow Liu Taozi.

However, they prefer to follow Liu Taozi. At least, this general will not mess with the knights, and he is a man with real ability. When a knight group of this size appeared outside Cheng'an, it had already caused panic in the city.

The arrival of a noble person is not a good thing for any city.

Many counties were unwilling to let soldiers enter the city.

The official at the city gate ran in to report.

But some people discovered the identity of the visitor.

"Mr. Liu!!!"

A minor official rushed up and hurriedly paid his respects.

Liu Taozi lowered her head, "Lord Wang."

The clerk's face flushed and he trembled. "Mr. Liu still remembers me."

"Remember, didn't you and Yao Xiong break into my house?"

The clerk was frightened and didn't know what to say. Liu Taozi smiled and said, "Are you distributing land?"

"Yes, we are granting land. The Murong family's farmland has not been used up yet."

As the two were chatting, they saw a large group of people rushing out of the city.

Lu Qubing rode his horse and rushed to the front like a charging general. Behind him followed many officials, some on horseback and some on foot.

Lu Qubing rushed all the way to Liu Taozi and almost bumped into his superior in front of him.

He jumped off his horse.

"Peach Liugong!!"

Lu Qubing bowed.

Liu Taozi slowly got off the horse and said, "If I level up a few more times, won't Qubing's head have to stick to the ground?"

Lu Qubing laughed loudly and raised his head quickly, "Isn't it because I'm afraid that Mr. Liu will blame me?"

"Don't mention the name Liu Gong."

"How dare I be disrespectful to Mr. Liu? Mr. Liu is so noble that he never replies to my letters."

Seeing the two of them chatting like this, the newly appointed chief clerk's forehead was covered with cold sweat. He was a new follower of Lu Qubing, but he had also heard of Liu Taozi's reputation. Hearing his own county magistrate chatting with this killer, and even with some sarcasm and ridicule, he was trembling with fear.

He plucked up his courage and said, "Mr. Lu, shall we talk after we enter the city?"

Lu Qubing finally reacted and enthusiastically introduced his own chief clerk to Liu Taozi. The chief clerk greeted Liu Taozi tremblingly.

The rest of the officials were extremely excited at this moment, but they were also very nervous.

The big brother of the past has now achieved a level that none of them dare to look up to. The gap between a fourth-rank general and a local official is really indescribable. In Da Qi, the gap between humans and dogs is not that big.

Liu Taozi met many acquaintances.

Yao Xiong and Tian Zili appeared here at some point, and seeing their brother safe and sound, they all breathed a sigh of relief and did not disturb their brother from reminiscing with everyone, but just stood not far away.

Lu Qubing led Liu Taozi into the city, and the crowd gathered around him.

Liu Taozi asked Yao Xiong to take the knights to the parade ground, and he followed them to the government office.

Lu Qubing excitedly told him about the current Cheng'an. The city had undergone tremendous changes, but they were not easy to see in this winter.

When they arrived at the office, County Lieutenant Changsun had also put on his clothes and came to greet them.

"Oh, I didn't know General Liu was coming. How rude, how rude."

"No need to do that, Lord Changsun. Just call me by my given name."

"How dare I? In this line of work, we cannot take titles lightly."

Surrounded by the crowd, Liu Taozi walked into the government office. This office had changed a lot. It no longer had the gloomy feeling of the past, and gradually had a more majestic demeanor.

Everyone sat in the backyard, with Lu Qubing and Changsun Jiaye sitting on either side of Liu Taozi respectively.

The other officials also took their seats one after another.

Lu Qubing held Liu Taozi's hand. They hadn't seen each other for a long time, and Lu Qubing really had a lot to say to him.

The officials had no chance to interrupt at all. They could only listen to him and sit there with helpless looks on their faces.

The banquet lasted until very late, and everyone left happily with the joy of reunion.

Only Liu Taozi and a few close friends were left in the room.

Lu Qubing's words finally came from the past to the present.

"I heard that you are going to Yecheng to start a family. Has the Queen Mother arranged a marriage for you?"

"Never."

Lu Qubing's face was a little heavy. "Zili told me something. Is Prince Changguang really planning a rebellion?"

"Ah."

"I've noticed that things have not been peaceful around Yecheng these days. There are always officials passing by here who want me to entertain them."

"And those minions under his command are really hateful."

Just as Lu Qubing was complaining, Tian Zili suddenly asked, "Brother, why didn't the Queen Mother grant me the marriage?"

"Didn't the Queen Mother summon my brother for this matter?"

"Something has happened."

Lu Qubing said, "It's probably because of Prince Changguang."

"Prince Changguang is stationed in Yecheng and has frequent contacts with the nobles. The current situation has just stabilized, and I am afraid that something big is going to happen again."

"Not yet."

"The Queen Mother has taken him to the palace."

Liu Taozi told a sensational story in a very calm tone.

"what??"

The room suddenly fell silent. Lu Qubing, Yao Xiong and Tian Zili were all looking at Liu Taozi in astonishment.

Lu Qubing hurriedly asked: "Caught? How come?"

"I reported this to the Queen Mother, and following her order, Prince Changguang was captured alive in the palace, and Prince Lou temporarily took over the army in Yecheng."

Several people still looked stunned.

Lu Qubing asked dully again: "How could it be?"

Yao Xiong didn't care about that. He patted his thigh happily and said, "Okay, brother. If we catch the Prince of Changguang, there will be peace in the country from now on!!"

It took Tian Zili a long time to react.

What my brother did was really scary.

He also hurriedly asked: "Brother, does His Majesty know about this?"

Liu Taozi replied calmly: "It's just temporary peace."

"Your Majesty will find out soon, but he can't kill Prince Changguang."

"He can only wait."

Yao Xiong asked, "What are you waiting for?"

Tian Zili glared at him and said, "Don't ask any more questions!"

The atmosphere in the room was somewhat silent.

The impact of this incident was quite great. Everyone was still worried about the war that Prince Changguang might cause, but suddenly they found out that their brother had already taken care of the matter and had arrested everyone.

For a moment, Lu Qubing and Tian Zili didn't know what to say.

Lu Qubing looked at Taozi beside him dimly, "Brother Taozi is really...getting faster and faster."

"Yes, if His Majesty knew, I wonder how happy he would be!"

"not necessarily."

Liu Taozi said, "Your Majesty is hot-tempered but indecisive, the Queen Mother is protective and indecisive, the King is cunning and has no immediate concerns about his life. Moreover, there are nobles and foreign thieves eyeing us covetously. I'm afraid this matter will not be resolved so easily."

"But, there are some peaceful days."

"We have to go back quickly."

Tian Zili then said, "Brother, something happened in the city, and someone found my old brother."

After listening to Tian Zili's story about those people, Liu Taozi seemed to be thinking about something.

"I see."

Liu Taozi stayed in Cheng'an for another day, and Yao Xiong also told Liu Taozi about the matter of his eldest grandson Jiaye.

Liu Taozi naturally had no objection.

After finishing the work in the city and meeting the people in the city.

Lu Qubing took Liu Taozi back to Zhangjia Village.

That is to say, in winter, Lu Qubing doesn’t have much to do.

The two men rode their horses towards Zhangjia Village, and Lu Qubing talked about those scattered officials.

Not everyone is willing to leave their hometown and go to the border, but there are still many people who are willing to go there because of the name of the mandrill. After all, there is really no place for them in Cheng'an.

And Liu Shanxiao is a "fellow villager" they can trust.

Throughout the dynasties, generals and ministers have liked to use people from their hometown to do things.

The two men rode on horses and walked in the front. Lu Qubing looked at this familiar yet unfamiliar road with mixed feelings.

"We walked to your house along this road."

“In just two years, everything has changed.”

"Brother Taozi, have your ambitions changed now?"

"Never."

(End of this chapter)