Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 266 The Flower King Reappears
Zhu Wen burst into laughter upon hearing Lan Suting's words.

It was indeed the right thing to let his subordinates handle state affairs.

Lan Suting has been with me for so long, and his wisdom and strategy have greatly improved.

She was also not afraid of trouble, which was perfect for helping to deal with many of the social niceties that Zhu Wen disliked the most.

The calculations involved were actually quite simple. The dispute over water was a minor matter; the real problem was that it allowed the government to take advantage of the situation, investigate the actual acreage of the land in the village, and raise taxes, which resulted in a huge loss for the government.

In that case, it would be better to find a way to settle this privately.

However, if Lan Suting had not carefully conducted on-site investigations, reviewed case files, and pondered human nature, he would not have been able to come up with this seemingly simple solution.

Li Bai's poem "The Road to Shu is Hard" describes the perilous nature of the Shu Road, but the poem's ending points out that no matter how dangerous the Shu Road is, it is not as complicated as the human heart.

Lan Suting remained as kind and lovely as ever, but her methods of discerning people's hearts became increasingly sophisticated, which truly delighted Zhu Wen.

Zhu Wen was a meticulous person, and in this chaotic world, there were few people he could trust. After his second brother, Zhu Cun, passed away, there were even fewer.

Lan Suting was undoubtedly one of the few remaining people.

……

After a long day of work, Zhu Wen returned to the back office of the governor's mansion.

He is a clean person, and even in winter he still takes a bath after sweating so much from doing farm work.

While washing, she had servants scrub her vigorously with coarse hemp towels, scrubbing off all the black and white grime. After washing, her hair was repeatedly wrapped with silk rope to wring out most of the water, and finally carefully dried over charcoal fire.

For Zhu Wen, who disliked extravagance, being able to take a bath every day in winter was already a great pleasure.

When I was a child, there was no hot water in winter, so I couldn't take a bath all winter. Although winters in the Central Plains were much colder than in Lingnan, after a while, my hair would inevitably become greasy, and my body would have an unpleasant odor. Fleas and lice would lurk on my body, occasionally leaving one or two red spots from biting me.

For Zhu Wen, who had always loved cleanliness, this was extremely distressing.

When I crawled into bed with my smelly body, I loathed myself and wished I could jump into the freezing stream immediately.

After taking a bath, Zhu Wen sat on the nanmu wood screen bed, wearing his nightgown.

Eleven screens surround three sides of the bed, carved with scenes of banquets and carriages, leaving only one side open for the owner to use when getting into bed. With this structure, mosquito nets can be set up in the summer without the need to tie bamboo poles.

The straight-lattice window facing the screened bed was wide open, and the moonlight flowed with the evening breeze onto Zhu Wen's cheeks, making him feel warm and comfortable.

At that moment, a blurry figure suddenly flashed by.

Zhu Wen almost thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Then I noticed a pair of beautiful eyes that seemed to be smiling but weren't.

Kao Yu-di's plump, snow-white skin was adorned with a plum blossom and jade hairpin on her forehead. She wore a pale yellow, cross-collared, narrow-sleeved ru-ao (a type of traditional Chinese jacket) with a double phoenix pattern and six pomegranate-colored skirts. She also wore a shawl with five shades of silver embroidery. She leaned lazily against the wall on a chaise longue, completely at ease.

Her uncanny demonic movement techniques seem to have improved again.

"On such a beautiful night with a full moon, our young master Zhu is all alone, without even someone to drink with?"

You Di's lips curled into a smile that was three parts smile and seven parts coldness. As she spoke, she stood up and gracefully took a step closer to Zhu Wen.

Zhu Wen's vigilance was immediately heightened.

Since he himself came to the governor's mansion in Fengzhou and did not live with the soldiers, the defenses were naturally greatly reduced.

But to sneak into her room so silently, it's unlikely that anyone but You Di could do it.

After the fierce battle against Gao Yan in Guilin, Zhu Wen had already become a master of the "half-step sect leader" level. In terms of hard-fought duels, he was no less skilled than figures like Tie Mole, the leader of Kunlun Sect, or Cheng Qianxi, a descendant of Cheng Yaojin, the Duke of Lu.

Zhu Wen would not underestimate You Di because of this. When they first met, even when Zhu Wen and Tian Jun joined forces, they were no match for You Di.

As the direct disciple of the Demon Lord Qiao Beiming, You Di's skills surpass those of her old friend, Yang Xingmi, a highly skilled disciple of the Hidden Sword Sect. Her skills have recently improved, and she may now be comparable to Ge Jian and Ming Shiyin, who are also among the Four Kings of the Ming Cult.

Of course, Youdi also had a fatal weakness: she was not a military general and had little battlefield experience.

On the battlefield, You Di's unpredictable movements were no longer effective, his martial arts prowess was greatly reduced, and his ability to break through enemy lines was far inferior to that of renowned warriors like Ge Jian and Ming Shiyin.

Even in the battle between Zhu Wen and Gao Yanqu in the south, You Di was caught off guard when facing the fierce attack of Dong Hou, and was defeated due to his fear.

Dong Hou's identity was merely that of Ming Shiyin's former head of personal guards.

In a close contest, the brave prevail, but You Di's fighting style seems to have nothing to do with courage.

But this does not diminish Youdi's strength in the battles of the martial arts world.

You Di arrived silently, making Zhu Wen realize that he was probably no match for You Di in a one-on-one fight.

He was just wondering about something.

Youdi himself could never achieve a quick victory.

If the two of them were to fight like this, it would inevitably attract the attention of outsiders. As a result, Youdi would be in a very dangerous situation.

What exactly was she planning to do by sneaking into the prefectural governor's office?

"The Li family father and son are dead. The Flower King is angry that I ruined the betting, and he can't tolerate Zhu anymore."

Zhu Wen had many thoughts, but they all turned over in a flash. He smiled and said, "Do you know that I, Zhu, have long wanted to take the Flower King's life?"

“Alas, on such a beautiful day, Liang Yu, you immediately start shouting for battle, which is quite unseemly.” You Di raised her chin, twisted her waist and turned to the side. The moonlight shone on her profile, making her creamy skin seem to be able to see through the light. “I said that today I just wanted to admire the moon with you and express my feelings. Do you believe me?”

You can't believe a single word this woman says.

Zhu Wen certainly thought so.

Her languid tone, though seemingly ordinary, possessed a captivating charm.

Hidden within is an endless killing intent.

But when the other party arrives, all you can do is react to their moves.

You Di tossed her golden hair that fell beside her cheek and looked at Zhu Wen with her lake-blue eyes.

Suddenly, he asked, "Young Master Liangyu, where is your sword?"

These words caused Zhu Wen's mind to race once again.

A gleaming short knife was already in his right hand.

Before taking a bath, he put the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Treasure Sword into the large tricolor cabinet in the corner of the wall.

Could it be that Youdi is telling him that his treasured sword has been stolen?

However, even with an ordinary short sword, he possessed considerable combat power, and it was not something that You Di could defeat in a short time.

Or is he trying to trick himself into checking so he can take the opportunity to ambush him?

It couldn't be that someone had already planted a trap inside the tricolor cabinet on his own turf to assassinate him.

Strangely, after Youdi finished speaking, she acted as if she were the master of the place, dragging the chaise longue by the window and placing it perpendicular to the window.

Then she lay down leisurely, bathing her delicate face in the serene silver moonlight.

He seemed to be in no hurry to take action against Zhu Wen.

(End of this chapter)