Chapter 128: To Like Someone is for a Lifetime
Coincidentally, Yan Shiyi Lang came to the border city to deliver silver today. Upon hearing that his sister had been taken to the borderlands by the Li King, he was furious.
“Good for you, Jun Yanqing, to dare take my sister to such a dangerous place!”
Just as he was leading people out of the border to meet Yan Twelve Niang, he saw Han Xing protecting his sister, galloping on horseback. He saw Yan Shiyi Lang leading a large contingent of guards.
Han Xing said joyfully, “Young Master Yan, please escort Miss Yan to leave the border city quickly. Enemies are attacking!”
Without giving Yan Shiyi Lang a chance to ask more questions, he cupped his hands to Yan Twelve Niang, turned, and rushed into the forest to capture the assassins.
Even though Yan Twelve Niang had a belly full of things to say, she could only suppress them and return to Yanzhou City with Second Brother, awaiting news from the Prince.
Yan Shiyi Lang had seen the scorched earth at the old site of the border city. He only wanted to quickly return to the city to report this matter to his Elder Brother and Li Heng, to prevent the war from affecting Yanzhou City.
After clarifying with Yan Twelve Niang that the enemies were not Tartars, but masked assassins, Yan Shiyi Lang was relieved.
“That’s good. The assassins were only here to kill Jun Yanqing, not to attack the city.”
Yan Twelve Niang was both shocked and angry, “How is that good? The Prince will be in danger!”
Yan Shiyi scoffed, “He won’t die! If Jun Yanqing were killed by assassins within Yanzhou Territory, he would have died on the road to the border city long ago.”
He warned his sister, “Elder Brother is very angry about you not coming home last night. You’d better not come to the border city again. Getting involved with Jun Yanqing never brings anything good.”
Yan Twelve Niang retorted sarcastically, “When Second Brother was making money at the restaurant with the Prince’s secret recipe, he didn’t say that.”
Yan Shiyi Lang was immediately choked. His situation at home was that he didn’t dare to retort to Elder Brother, and he couldn’t win arguments with his sister. He felt stifled!
Meanwhile, Han Xing was fortunate that he had returned in time, because he had captured an assassin alive.
He intended to interrogate them, but Gu Changxiao executed them on the spot, leaving no survivors, annihilating them all.
Han Xing was very confused and a little resentful. He felt that he had been influenced by Yan Twelve Niang, and Lord Gu was indeed too autocratic.
He reported this matter to Jinsui. Jinsui understood Gu Changxiao’s intentions at once. He was afraid that if any of the survivors spoke, they would reveal the truth about the real and fake Li King.
Prince Yu’s men would naturally recognize the real Li King. They might have been stunned at the time, not understanding why the Black Feather Camp soldiers, in front of the real Li King, called the imposter the fake Li King, and the real Li King was willing to be the imposter’s bodyguard.
The plan to lure Zheng Yun into a trap and capture all the assassins sent by Prince Yu was at a critical juncture. Even Han Xing and others had to be kept in the dark to make it convincing.
Therefore, Gu Changxiao could not leave any survivors for Han Xing and the others to interrogate, lest Zheng Yun get any information and not show up.
It’s like fishing; the bait is important, and the game between the angler and the fish after the fish bites is also important.
Jinsui saw the confusion on Han Xing’s face and knew that he had objections to Gu Changxiao’s actions, but because he was loyal to the Li King, he would not question him.
Therefore, Jinsui took the initiative to explain to him. She didn’t want any lingering resentment between Han Xing and Gu Changxiao after their identities were swapped back.
She whispered to Han Xing, “The specific situation cannot be revealed to you at the moment. You just need to know that Lord Gu’s actions are correct. Trust me, you will know the truth in a few days.”
Han Xing reacted quickly, realizing that Prince Yu’s men could not have known the Prince’s whereabouts so accurately. There must be an insider from Yanzhou.
And this insider would either be Prefect Li Heng, or—the Zheng Family, who hated the Prince the most!
Li Heng had just made a deal with the Prince after annihilating the Tartars. The Prince had written him into the military achievements and reported it to the Imperial Court. In return, he had opened up the border city, built roads and bridges, and established trade routes.
The Imperial edict had not yet been issued. Li Heng would not want the Prince to die at this juncture.
So there was only one answer: it was the Zheng Family, Zheng Yun, who harbored bandits and horse thieves, who had colluded with Prince Yu’s men!
“The Prince and Lord Gu are luring Zheng Yun into a trap?”
Jinsui patted Han Xing’s shoulder and praised him sincerely, “Trust me, with your intelligence, you will be a general sooner or later!”
At this moment, Gu Changxiao walked over with his sword, looked at the two with a stern expression, and said in a deep voice, “Prince, the assassins have all been annihilated.”
Jinsui stroked her chin and said, “Since they have started their actions, it means the people have arrived in Yanzhou City. Li Heng didn’t even send a message. It seems he wants to be a fence-sitter again!”
“Han Xing, have Lord Cheng make a trip to deliver the corpses of these assassins to Prefect Li for him to investigate the case.”
Whether Li Heng wanted to be a fence-sitter or stay out of it, Jinsui wanted to drag him into it. She wanted to make a big deal out of this.
To completely eradicate Zheng Yun and the bandits and horse thieves he harbored, and to make this case a major news story throughout Yandi, more people would be attracted to Yandi.
That night, Cheng Yu sent someone to deliver a letter back to the border city. It was not a message from Li Heng, but from Yan Jiu.
“Zheng Yun has colluded with the Imperial Commissioner, intending to harm the Prince. Be careful.”
Jinsui unfolded the letter and showed it to Gu Changxiao, deliberately speaking well of Yan Twelve Niang, “Look, Yan Twelve Niang was frightened in the border city today, and Yan Jiu is not angry at all, and even sent us a message.”
“Yan Twelve Niang must have said many good things about the border city to her Elder Brother.”
Gu Changxiao snorted, “She should have said many good things about you.”
“It’s for the Li King!”
Gu Changxiao looked at her, “Don’t you understand yet?”
“Understand what?”
“Yan Twelve Niang likes you. She doesn’t like your identity as the Li King, but you as a person. Even if our identities are swapped back, her attitude towards me will not change.”
Jinsui was shocked, “How is that possible? Let alone my identity, even my body cannot marry a wife. Miss Yan is not stupid. She knows who to like, the real Li King or the fake Li King.”
Gu Changxiao couldn’t help but sigh, and asked her very seriously, “Brother Ji, have you never been in love, never liked someone?”
Jinsui thought for a long time and shook her head firmly, “No! I’ve been worried about survival since I was young. Where would I have the leisure to think about other things? Feelings can’t be eaten as food or worn as clothes.”
A trace of heartache flashed in Gu Changxiao’s eyes. He continued, “So you don’t understand what it feels like to like someone. Miss Yan likes you. It doesn’t matter if you are the Li King or Daoist Ji, this feeling will not change.”
“I can cooperate with the Yan Family, but not by marrying Yan Twelve Niang. Don’t bother trying to set us up or arrange for us to be alone.”
“You saw the result of us being alone together. We only ended up disliking each other and fighting.”
“Of course, if there’s a next time, I’ll just walk away.”
Jinsui gave a dry laugh, feeling like she had done something foolish. But she thought of something even more foolish she had done:
“Tell me, how can I make Miss Yan give up on me, rebuild a normal view of love, and like a good man, instead of wasting her energy on me.”
Gu Changxiao looked at her, “Is it abnormal to like Brother Ji?”
“Of course it’s abnormal! I, someone like me, can’t be liked by anyone!”
Gu Changxiao ignored her anxiety and said very seriously, “Brother Ji is very good and deserves the love of anyone in this world.”
Jinsui cupped her hands, “Thank you! Forget it, forget it. From now on, I’ll avoid seeing Miss Yan. After our identities are swapped back, I’ll leave with Grandpa Jinsui, and she won’t see me, so this feeling will naturally disappear.”
Gu Changxiao sighed in his heart. It seemed that Daoist Ji had not listened to him at all. If one liked someone, it wouldn’t be so easy to forget them, otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many lovesick men and women in the world!
Some people love deeply, and liking someone is for a lifetime.
“Let’s talk about business first. Li Heng has no response, so it seems he is determined to stay out of it. However, he hasn’t tried to curry favor with the Imperial Commissioner, which is some progress.”
“What should we do next?”
Gu Changxiao said in a deep voice, “Naturally, we should learn of the Imperial Commissioner’s visit from Prefect Li and be the first to send a calling card, inviting the Imperial Commissioner to the border city to meet.”
Jinsui slapped her thigh and laughed, “Once this calling card is delivered, I’m afraid that timid Imperial Commissioner and Zheng Yun will be so scared they won’t be able to sleep! How could they have imagined that the fake Li King would be so bold!”
But then Jinsui thought of something, “Not good! What if Zheng Yun uses the Zheng Family’s network to find the Taoist priest the Li King is looking for? My Grandpa and Jinsui…”
Gu Changxiao raised his hand, “Don’t worry, Liu Yun has gone to pick them up.”
“Liu Yun?”
“Don’t you know his name yet? He’s the secret guard I sent earlier to protect you and capture the assassin Qing Feng.”
Jinsui was then relieved, “It’s that handsome young man! Liu Yun, that’s a beautiful name.”
Gu Changxiao looked at her, “I chose it.”
Jinsui was stunned. Her intuition about cattle and horses kicked in. The big boss couldn’t stand her praising others!
She quickly said, “Brother Gu is elegant. Liu Yun emerges from the valley, like the clear moon traversing the sky. Even the name you gave to the secret guard is so beautiful!”
Gu Changxiao’s lips curved slightly. Jinsui secretly raised an eyebrow, never expecting Gu Changxiao to be like this, actually enjoying others’ flattery!
It would be great to keep Wei Assistant Secretary here to shower you with flattery every day.
Jinsui’s prediction was correct. Zheng Yun did indeed find out through the Zheng Family’s network that the fake Li King had previously sent people to the Luocheng area to find three Taoist priests.
And the people he sent followed the Imperial Commissioner Group and returned to the border city first during the battle with the Tartars. The Imperial Commissioner stayed in the suburbs of Yanzhou City, waiting for news of the battle.
As for the Taoist priests, someone discovered that an old and a young Taoist priest, who had been well-cared for by the Black Feather Camp guards, followed closely behind the Imperial Commissioner Group and also arrived in Yanzhou.
Zheng Yun said joyfully, “My Lord, these Taoist priests must be the fake Li King’s friends. Quickly, capture them, and we won’t have to worry about the fake Li King not confessing!”
Even though Imperial Commissioner Liu still found the matter too unbelievable, that the Li King, who had accomplished so many great deeds in Yandi, was being impersonated.
For him, it was no different than hearing that the Emperor on the dragon throne was an imposter.
In the eyes of these high officials of the Imperial Court, even the plays that depicted someone impersonating an Imperial Commissioner were considered exaggerated and impossible.
How could someone in this world dare to impersonate an Imperial Prince? And come to the Prince’s fiefdom to do as he pleased, accomplish several earth-shattering deeds, and even dare to lead troops to annihilate an entire Tartar army!
Imperial Commissioner Liu summoned the scout again, “Did you really see clearly?”
The scout said resolutely, “Your subordinate saw very clearly. That young man is definitely not the Li King! The Li King is nine feet tall, but that young man is at most seven feet. His appearance is effeminate, and he has no internal energy.”
Zheng Yun impatiently interjected, “Are Huo Imperial Guards’ words false? He was lurking in the border city for so long…”
Imperial Commissioner Liu raised his hand to interrupt him, “This matter is of great importance. This official must be cautious.”
Zheng Yun secretly cursed, timid and indecisive!
Just then, Li Heng sent someone to deliver a message: the Li King had sent over a dozen corpses to the Prefect’s mansion. He had investigated and found that these people came from the Imperial Commissioner Group.
Imperial Commissioner Liu was shocked, “Not a single survivor was left, all failed!”
Zheng Yun said anxiously, “This is to silence witnesses! The fake Li King must be afraid that Prince Yu’s men would recognize him, so he killed them all! My Lord, this is evidence!”
“What are you waiting for? First, arrest the Taoist priests, then lead your men straight to the border city and capture the fake Li King overnight, otherwise, what if he gets wind of it and escapes?”
Imperial Commissioner Liu still refused to budge, “What else did Prefect Li say?”
“He said that regarding the matter between the Imperial Commissioner and the Li King, he has no right to interfere and will only report the facts to the Imperial Court.”
Zheng Yun said anxiously, “Li Heng is a cowardly fence-sitter! He was bought off by the fake Li King long ago.”
Imperial Commissioner Liu said, “This official knows you are referring to the Li King using his military achievements in annihilating the Tartars to buy off Prefect Li, but why would he, a fake Li King, risk danger to personally fight the Tartars?”
Zheng Yun quickly found an excuse, “Perhaps it was to win over the troops and make the Black Feather Camp soldiers believe he was real.”
Imperial Commissioner Liu shook his head, always feeling that the matter was not that simple.
However, he still followed Zheng Yun’s suggestion and imprisoned the old and young Taoist priests first. If it was later found that these two had no connection to the fake Li King, they would be released.
As a result, they learned that these two Taoist priests had left the city yesterday evening and had not returned.
Zheng Yun’s eyes turned red with anxiety. Too late! Just one step too late!
At this moment, Liu Yun was carrying Jinsui on his back and supporting Grandpa Ling, hurrying to the border city through a small path overnight.
Fortunately, they had left Yanzhou Territory and were sure there were no pursuers behind them. The people who were supposed to meet them arrived. They got into a warm carriage, drinking ginger tea and eating flatbread.
Grandpa Ling said with a fake smile, “No matter where you take my grandson and me, if the treatment is like this all the way, we’ll go!”
Liu Yun said speechlessly, “I am here to pick you up on the orders of the Li King, I am not a bad person.”
Jinsui mumbled, “If you’re not a bad person, why break into someone’s room in the middle of the night and just say to pack up and leave, without explaining anything? Who knows who you are?”
The Black Feather Camp soldiers driving the carriage were more tactful and said with a smile, “Old sir, don’t be afraid. We are indeed here to pick you up on the Prince’s orders.”
“My brother here is usually taciturn and not very good with words. Please forgive him if he has offended you.”
Grandpa Ling didn’t know if the ‘Li King’ he mentioned was his granddaughter. He cautiously asked:
“What does the Li King look like? My grandson and I are just ordinary Taoist priests, we don’t know such important figures!”
Seeing how cautious the Taoist priest was, and knowing that the journey ahead was long, it would be inappropriate to let the old gentleman be frightened. The person suddenly thought of something:
“Taoist priest, do you know Hao Duojin? He was supposed to pick you up, but something came up at the last minute, so I came instead.”
This immediately dispelled Grandpa Ling’s suspicion. He said happily, “Old Daoist knows Military Officer Hao! We traveled together, and I drank a lot of his wine!”
Jinsui was also overjoyed. If it weren’t for the cold-faced young man beside him, he would have cheered, “I can see my sister!”
The grandfather and grandson looked at each other, their eyes filled with tears. It had been too difficult for the three of them to come this far!
My Jinsui, Grandpa has finally found you!
