Chapter 94 Identity
"Captain, tea."

In the small building in the backyard of Anle Pavilion, Ji Ruxue sat by the window with her ears slightly tilted, her extremely bright eyes fixed on Yu Youshu who was making tea.

In her opinion, this woman was very gentle, yet also had a heroic spirit and great temperament. And most importantly, her every move was much gentler than that of a pure swordsman like her.

It seems much more beautiful too.

Over there, Yu Youshu came over slowly with a peaceful smile on her face and made her a cup of tea.

"This is Miss Ji, right? Come, have some tea."

Ji Ruxue looked up at her, and listening to her tone, she inexplicably felt her nose getting a little sour. She took the teacup, tilted her head to look out the window, and remained silent.

Yu Youshu pursed her lips and smiled.

She now understood the reason for the hostility. She was no longer a young girl in love. If she hadn't figured out the reason in the lobby just now, and now Miss Ji had been paying attention to Xiao Yan, if she couldn't figure it out, then she would have spent more than twenty years in Anle Pavilion in vain.

But she would not explain, after all, she was a bad person. And this Miss Ji, Miao Chengtian, and Xuan Jingtian who came later to act as bodyguards, were all just people from Huanyinfang, and at most they had some interest relationship.

She was born to be of the same school as Xiao Yan.

Aside, Miao Chengtian felt a little sad. A few months ago, they were still thinking of arranging a beauty trap to induce Xiao Yan to work for Qiguo.

But now it seems that there is no shortage of beauties around him!

What kind of good man would live in such a brothel all day long? !
In the room, Yu Youshu bowed gracefully, "Captain, do you need me to prepare some breakfast? The three girls from Huanyinfang have come a long way, I'm afraid they need to be treated well..."

Beside the wooden window, Ji Ruxue couldn't help but start to grind her teeth, and her turned face was full of coldness.

She had made up her mind. From now on, she would definitely draw a line between herself and Xiao Yan! She would just ask the Empress for another Su Xin Sword.

Men in the world are more fickle than each other!
Ji Ruxue thought about the past few months and her selfless leap to the bank of the Yellow River. The tea that she had been gulping down suddenly tasted inexplicably bitter.

She clenched the cup and sniffed unconsciously.

At this time, Xiao Yan, who was not far away, suddenly smiled and said, "Ask Miss Xue'er what she wants to eat, and then arrange it for her."

When she suddenly heard her own name, Ji Ruxue's ears moved subconsciously, but she still restrained herself and stared out the window.

Then, Xiao Yan paused and said, "She shouldn't have any dietary restrictions... Well, Miss Xue'er, come over here and sit down."

I don't want to go there.

Thinking of this, Ji Ruxue's cold expression suddenly relaxed a lot, and then she walked over with a tense face.

Then, as if possessed by some mysterious force, she sat next to Xiao Yan.

It was not until her buttocks touched the stool that she was startled for a moment, and then she was a little surprised at her boldness today, but inexplicably, she suddenly felt confident, and then pretended to be calm and said: "The two saints and I have no dietary restrictions, so the girls can arrange it as they please."

Xiao Yan didn't take it to heart, he just smiled faintly and said to Yu Youshu: "I'm a little hungry too, prepare more, don't worry about wasting, I can eat it all."

On the opposite side, Miao Chengtian covered his mouth and chuckled, "Xiao Lang is getting more and more humorous..."

Unintentionally, they have shown their close relationship with Xiao Yan.

Yu Youshu had a peaceful smile on her face all the time. She bowed slightly, nodded politely to Ji Ruxue, and retreated quietly.

…………

In the room, Miao Chengtian winked at Ji Ruxue calmly.

The latter had a stern face and quietly moved his stool, unnaturally distanced himself from Xiao Yan.

"Does King Qi have any objection to the strategy Xiao proposed last time?"

At the table, Xiao Yan drank tea while curiously asking, "Have you made any plans to build a horse trading company in the Central Plains?"

"King Qi thinks Xiao Lang's plan is excellent and is willing to support it. He can even make peace with Dingnan and Shuofang. However..." Miao Chengtian hesitated and said, "My sister Xue'er and I came east from Fengxiang. From what we saw along the way, it seems that the Liang army has made a lot of movements, and the Xuanming Sect's troops are also secretly blocking the land west of Chang'an. Does Zhu Wen still want to invade Qi?"

Xiao Yan pondered for a moment and said, "Don't worry, Zhu Wen may go west, but I assert that his troops will not be many."

"What does Xiao Lang mean?"

"His eyes should have been set on the north at this time." Xiao Yan closed his eyes, took out a letter from his bosom, and said: "The civil unrest in Hebei is Zhu Wen's only chance to rule Hebei. If he wants to truly hold Li Keyong hostage, he has to take over Hebei."

Ji Ruxue became serious when she heard that. She held the stool with her hands, moved a little closer to Xiao Yan, and leaned closer to him.

The letter stated that the former Lulong Jiedushi Liu Rengong had been completely imprisoned in Youzhou, and Liu Shouwen, the eldest son of the Liu family stationed in Cangzhou, had also officially sent troops north to fight with his younger brother Liu Shouguang to see who would be the final Lulong Jiedushi and the real master of Hebei.

Miao Chengtian raised his hand to take it, and after browsing it he was a little surprised.

It's not that she doesn't know about military affairs, let alone Zhu Wen, a veteran general who had served in the army since the Huang Chao Rebellion. It's said that it's better to kill him when he's sick. Although there were many frictions among the states in Hebei, they were united against the outside world. They were on guard against Li Keyong and Zhu Wen. Whenever there was an invasion, they were united. Now that they were officially divided into two factions, there was no reason for Zhu Wen not to send troops.

"Xiao Lang has foresight, and he actually calculated this?"

"No, it just happened suddenly." Xiao Yan denied, "But it is enough to satisfy King Qi's defense of the land."

Miao Chengtian nodded slightly, "King Qi is afraid that Zhu Wen will be so crazy that he will send out all his troops. By then, Qi will be devastated and it will take many years to recover. But if he focuses on Hebei, we sisters in Huanyinfang are not afraid of repelling the enemy."

On the side, Xuan Jingtian, who had been silent the whole time, was wiping the bowstring, and he agreed with her. They had been staying in Huanyinfang for many years, following the Empress, and they had been influenced by her and attached great importance to the responsibility of defending the land.

Afterwards, Yu Youshu personally led someone to deliver breakfast. After Xiao Yan accompanied the three girls, he left Anle Pavilion and went to Prince Jun's Mansion in the north city.

……

Daoguangfang, both are royal palaces.

A new batch of eunuchs had been transferred to the palace. No one knew where the original attendants who had served Zhu Youzhen for many years had gone, and no one dared to ask.

At this time, a new eunuch supervisor led Cui Yu through several garden gates and waited outside a side hall.

It was not until the sun was high in the sky and about noon that Zhu Youzhen was helped out of bed. Then, while having lunch, he met him.

In fact, Cui Yu had been waiting there since early morning and had not yet had lunch. Zhu Youzhen's meal was extremely luxurious, which made him a little hungry.

Zhu Youzhen had no intention of inviting him to eat together. He just ordered his maid to pick up some food for him and put it into his mouth. At the same time, he asked with a stern face, "How is the work I asked you to do going?"

"Your Highness, I have already contacted all the generals and officers in Luoyang that I could win over and intimidate, including..."

"I didn't ask about this. It was Zhu Hanbin. How did you get in touch with him?"

Cui Yu bowed with some embarrassment, "Zhu Hanbin is far away in Bianliang, and I have not had the opportunity to get close to him on behalf of Your Highness." "No need to win him over, think of some ways for me to suppress him." Zhu Youzhen sneered disdainfully and said, "What kind of status do you have? Do you really think that just because your father gave you the surname 'Zhu', you can be compared with me?"

Cui Yu was startled and said subconsciously: "But he still has evidence of my contact with His Highness..."

"That's because you are stupid. You can't even do such a trivial thing. I don't care. If you don't do it well, I will punish you!" Zhu Youzhen angrily slapped away the food handed to him by the maid and stared at him viciously.

"Your Highness, please give me some time." Cui Yu dared not disobey. As the most famous "cruel official" in Xuanming Sect, he was the expert at framing people. It was nothing more than spending more energy.

Although he was helpless, his eyes suddenly turned, and then he bravely looked around carefully, and whispered: "Your Highness, although I am sure I can deal with Zhu Hanbin, I am still a little powerless. Can Your Highness send Zhong Xiaokui to assist me for a while?"

Zhu Youzhen waved his hand impatiently, "Zhong Xiaokui is also working for me, so she is busy now. Get out of here."

Cui Yu was stunned when he heard this, and then felt a little unwilling. He wanted to say a few more words, but seeing that Zhu Youzhen was determined not to pay attention to him, he could only retreat cautiously.

When he turned around and passed by, his face became a little gloomy.

Zhu Youzhen was always so arrogant no matter who he treated, and he had long been accustomed to it. But he always believed that he was not valued by Zhu Youzhen because Zhong Xiaokui stayed with Zhu Youzhen all day long.

If there was no Zhong Xiaokui, Zhu Youzhen would have to rely on him, and with his talents, it would not be a problem to control Zhu Youzhen by then.

With this in mind, Cui Yu walked out of the flower hall and ceremonial gate, but before leaving the palace, he met Zhong Xiaokui.

"Mr. Zhong, I haven't seen you for many days." Glancing at her prominent parts, Cui Yu stroked his beautiful beard gracefully and laughed out loud.

"Meet Lord Cui."

Zhong Xiaokui walked past him indifferently.

Cui Yu purposefully stretched out his hand and pulled her, then pointed at the tall figure behind her and said with a fake smile, "Wait, this person is dressed so strangely, and Lord Zhong can personally receive him. Lord Zhong won't introduce him to me?"

Zhong Xiaokui frowned, and then withdrew his arm with a cold face: "This is your Highness's distinguished guest, it is better for Lord Cui not to ask about it."

Behind her, Xiao Yan put on the bronze mask on his face again, but he clasped his hands across his chest and stared at Cui Yu with interest.

When he was in Bianliang, he could sense that this guy was quite ambitious.

Cui Yu said with a straight face, "Everyone is running around for His Highness. Who is someone that you, Zhong Xiaokui, can know, but I, Cui Yu, cannot know?"

Zhong Xiaokui frowned subconsciously, not wanting to argue with him, and turned back and said, "Let's go."

Xiao Yan nodded and followed her in.

But Cui Yu sneered, and with one hand he made a claw, trying to grab Xiao Yan's back.

But the next moment, a cold aura suddenly locked onto him.

In the cold atmosphere, the overwhelming murderous aura seemed tangible.

Cui Yu was stunned for a moment, and the eagle paw that had been grabbing out suddenly stopped, and instantly stopped half an inch away from Xiao Yan's outer shirt.

Then, Xiao Yan entered the ceremonial gate and went inside.

From beginning to end, his steps were neither hurried nor slow, as if he didn't care at all about the sneak attack from behind.

A drop of sweat slid down Cui Yu's forehead. When he came to his senses, he found that a layer of cold sweat had suddenly appeared on his back.

Immediately, his face became ferocious.

His status under Zhu Youzhen was even lower!
……

In the side hall, Zhu Youzhen saw the bronze mask from afar and stood up to greet it with joy.

"I have been waiting for you for a long time. The Japanese kings have been thinking about what you said that day and have benefited a lot..."

Zhong Xiaokui lowered his head and shook his head secretly.

What Xiao Yan said that day was nothing but threats. I really don't know which of them could benefit him.

Zhu Youzhen tried his best to put on a smiling face, and then raised his hand to invite Xiao Yan to have dinner with him.

The latter raised his hand to refuse, sat aside casually, and said, "Has Prince Jun delivered the memorial to Bianliang in the past two days?"

"This is inevitable. I dare not neglect your request." At this moment, Zhu Youzhen changed his address and said, "After you left that day, I sent someone to summon Wang Yanzhang. He is still in Bianliang and will arrive in Luoyang soon."

"Very good. I like to cooperate with smart people like King Jun."

"Since you have seen my sincerity, why don't you tell me a little about the Longquan treasure?" Zhu Youzhen sat back at the table, but he was no longer in the mood to eat. He waved his hand and told the maids to get out of the way. He said, "It's not that I don't believe in your ability, but if..."

"The Dragon Spring treasure is in the north."

Xiao Yan was playing with the teacup beside him and interrupted, "What Prince Jun wants to do has not been accomplished yet, why are you so anxious?"

Zhu Youzhen rolled his eyes and laughed a little shrilly: "Of course it is, of course it is. From now on, I will still rely on you a lot, sir. Let's put the Longquan treasure aside, but there is one thing that has been making me scratch my head these days. Can you let me see your true face?"

"I am sending you to the Daliang court, but it's just a small thing. But at least you should let me know your identity, right?"

At the side, Zhong Xiaokui's eyes also focused, staring at Xiao Yan, feeling inexplicably expectant.

But she guessed that no one would be stupid enough to reveal their identity like this.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Yan just smiled calmly, and then took off the mask casually.

"I am the bad guy, Xiao Yan."

------

Liang capital, Bianzhou.

The fight between the Xuanming Sect and the Imperial Guards at the beginning of the year has long faded from the sight of the people of Liangdu. Even the news that "the people of Jin murdered the Prince of Jiyin and caused chaos in the imperial city" is no longer a topic of conversation among the people.

After all, this is Bianzhou, a place that has enjoyed peace for nearly ten years. The people are becoming increasingly prosperous, and their attention is still mostly focused on the city of Bianzhou. The people, who have not heard of war for a long time, subconsciously do not want to think of the days when there were starving people everywhere.

However, today, a piece of news spread instantly to the market.

The bad guys of the Former Tang Dynasty, upon hearing that the orphans of the Li Tang Dynasty met with disaster at the hands of the Jin State, expressed their willingness to serve Daliang and suppress the rebellion to repay the country's kindness.

(End of this chapter)