Qi Ning thought for a moment and then asked: "Your Majesty, what identity should I use this time? Is it an overt investigation or a secret visit?"
"I have already thought about it." The little emperor handed over something, "You will go as an imperial envoy. You are going to supervise the army and suppress thieves on behalf of the imperial court." Having said this, he handed over the gold medal from last time, " If you carry this gold medal, you may not be able to mobilize Xichuan's troops, but with this gold medal in hand, they will not dare to disobey too much on the surface."
Qi Ning sealed the imperial edict and the gold medal in his hand, cupped his hands and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I know what to do."
"Qining, I know that it may not be peaceful here." The little emperor hesitated for a moment, and then said: "But you are the person I trust most. I can't just sit back and watch someone try to mess up our country, so I can only send you there. , you must be careful in everything, whether Heiyan Cave rebels or not, as long as you investigate the truth and bring the evidence back to me, you will have made a great contribution."
Qi Ning knew that the young emperor had great suspicions about Xichuan. He thought that the young emperor had been worried about Xichuan for a while, and said: "Your Majesty, you are sending me to Xichuan. Does Zhongyi Hou know?"
"I only said that I would send someone to investigate, without going into details." The little emperor said, "But he will always know, and it doesn't matter. Sima Lan also has doubts about Xichuan, and I'm afraid he has already sent someone. Go to conduct a secret investigation, but if he finds out the truth, he may not report it to me honestly."
Qining nodded slightly, and the little emperor added: "I originally wanted to select some helpers from the Yulin Camp for you, but... I thought about it, you should choose your own trusted attendants to accompany you, and I will not send anyone to you."
"Yes." Qining knew that the little emperor's words seemed to be nonsense, but they had a profound meaning.
If the little emperor sends people to follow him, it will inevitably make people think that he sends people to follow him as eyes and ears. If the little emperor does not send people, it means that he has complete trust in himself.
"Qining, pack up and leave as soon as possible." The little emperor said, "I'm just worried that someone on the Xichuan side is too anxious, and they will start fighting before you arrive."
Qi Ning is actually worried about this. The little emperor is trying his best to maintain peace in Xichuan, so he will not attack Heiyan Cave easily before there is conclusive evidence, so as not to arouse the hatred of other Miao caves. After all, there are still people in Miao territory. The Black Lotus Holy Sect has always wanted to assemble the forces of the Miao people from the Seventy-two Cave to become enemies of the imperial court, and attack the Black Rock Cave without sufficient evidence, just as if the Miao people from the Seventy-two Cave were sent to the Black Lotus Cave. The Holy Cult pushed over.
The new king has just ascended the throne, and the situation of the court is still undecided. At this time, the most important thing for the court is of course the stability of the country. Once Xichuan really becomes turbulent, it will naturally be extremely detrimental to Dachu.
Qi Ning knew the little emperor's true thoughts.
We can neither make the Miao people hostile to the imperial court, nor make the Miao people unafraid of the imperial court. Naturally, it would be best not to fight. However, if Heiyan Cave is really causing trouble, we will naturally fight if necessary, but we must fight. Before that, they had to let the other Miaodongs understand that it was Heiyan Cave that caused the trouble first.
The little emperor, a majestic king of the empire, may not really care about the small black cave, but the forces involved behind the black cave incident are what the little emperor is most concerned about.
Qi Ning said goodbye to the little emperor and went back to the Hou Mansion. The little emperor had already told him to leave as soon as possible. Naturally, he couldn't delay, so he called Duan Canghai and Zhao Wushang over and told him about their preparations to go to Xichuan. After a while, both of them were a little surprised. Duan Canghai frowned and said: "Master Hou, Xichuan has high mountains and long roads. You have never been to Xichuan. How can the emperor send you there?"
"The imperial edict has been issued, and it is useless to say this." Qi Ning said: "After I leave, the Black Scale Camp will be left to you. The emperor has already said that he will send people to help. If there is anything missing then, you can ask the court for it. .”
"Master Marquis, Lao Zhao stays, I will accompany you to Xichuan." Duan Canghai said immediately: "I have been to Xichuan. Although I am not familiar with Xichuan, but...!"
"You and Zhao Wushang put your thoughts on the Black Scale Camp. This is the most important thing for you." Qi Ning said, "Qi Feng can just take a few people and follow me."
Qi Ning is very clear in his mind. With his current cultivation level, he will never be inferior to Duan Canghai. If he cannot solve the problem, it will not help even if he brings Duan Canghai with him. On the contrary, it is inseparable from the reconstruction of the Black Scale Camp. Duan Canghai.
Duan Canghai wanted to argue, but Qining stopped him with his hand and explained again. Seeing Qining's insistence, the two of them knew that talking more would be useless, so they could only obey.
On this trip to Xichuan, the mountains are high and the road is far away, and he doesn’t know how long it will take to get back. Qining naturally wants to explain to Gu Qinghan, but since the last incident, the two of them haven’t sat down and talked for a long time, or even even I've never been alone together.
Although Qining felt a little embarrassed, he still looked for Gu Qinghan and wanted to explain to him. After searching around the house, he found out that Gu Qinghan had gone to the backyard.
After Gu Wenwen brought his family to Beijing, he has been living in the Hou Mansion. Although the house he bought has been packed up, Gu Wenwen has been busy with several shops since then. Before the Gu family came to Beijing, He bought a shop in Beijing and started selling goods after the seventh day of the first lunar month. Although Gu Wenwen was far less interested in doing business than wielding swords and guns, as the head of the Gu family, the family business could not be abandoned after all, so These days, I have been focusing on the store, and I haven't been able to find time to move out of the Hou Mansion.
Qi Ning went straight to the backyard. Before entering the house, he heard laughter coming from the house. When he got to the door, he saw several female family members talking around the house. He didn't know whether to go in or not. Gu Qinghan was sitting in the house. When he saw the figure in front of the door, his eyes were sharp, his red lips moved slightly, and he wanted to say something, but no sound came out.
Mrs. Gu saw it, but she had already stood up and said with a smile: "Master Marquis." Only then did the others notice Qi Ning and stood up to salute.
Qi Ning was a little embarrassed, so he forced himself into the house and said, "Hello, madam, I have been busy these days and I haven't come over to say hello to the old madam, so... So I came here to see the old madam today." As he spoke, he glanced out of the corner of his eye. He looked at Gu Qinghan and saw that Gu Qinghan didn't look at him either. Instead, he took a piece of unfinished embroidery from the side and looked at it casually.
Seeing this situation, Qining was even more embarrassed.
Mrs. Gu, who was present, said hurriedly: "Master Hou, you are so polite. The whole family is disturbing the Hou family these days. It is really troublesome to Master Hou."
"Old lady, you're welcome. We are all a family. Don't say such foreign things." Qi Ning said hurriedly, hesitated for a moment, and saw that Gu Qinghan was indifferent and didn't say a word. Naturally, he and the old lady didn't have much to say. But he finally said: "I will leave Beijing tomorrow, and I don't know how long it will take to come back. The old lady will stay in the house for a while. If you need anything, just tell me...!"
Gu Qinghan had been pretending to be nonchalant, but when he heard Qi Ning's words, his delicate body trembled, he immediately raised his head, and couldn't help but said: "You... you want to leave the capital? Where are you going?"
Qining felt relieved when he heard Gu Qinghan's voice. He felt that there was obvious concern in Gu Qinghan's tone, and his heart couldn't help but warm up. He thought to himself that although this beautiful young woman had a cold war with him on the face, she still cared about her in her heart after all. Although there were many people in the room, Qining could only act naturally and said: "The emperor summoned me to the palace and sent me as an imperial envoy to supervise the army. Time is tight, so I have to pack up today and leave early tomorrow morning."
He never told anyone in public that he was going to Xichuan.
However, Mrs. Gu smiled and said: "The emperor sent the Marquis to supervise the army. This is because he respects the Marquis."
However, Gu Qinghan had already stood up and said to Mrs. Gu and others: "Mom, you guys sit down first." Without saying much, he walked over, passed by Qining, winked at Qining, and then turned around. Qining hurriedly walked out with his waist bent. Knowing what Gu Qinghan meant, Qining bowed his hands to Mrs. Gu and others, turned around and walked out.
Gu Qinghan walked lightly in front, Qining followed a few steps behind, looking at Gu Qinghan's swaying and beautiful back, thinking that it was really depressing not being able to talk to Gu Qinghan easily these days.
After leaving the backyard, Gu Qinghan went straight to a pavilion by a pool. When Qining came in, he turned around and looked at Qining expressionlessly, then snorted coldly and turned to look at the pool.
Facing this charming and pretty woman, Qi Ning was a little nervous at this time. Seeing that Gu Qinghan didn't speak, he could only bite the bullet and get closer, but he didn't dare to get too close. He was only three steps away before he stopped and hesitated. After a moment, he finally said: "Sanniang, you...!"
"If you don't travel far this time, are you not ready to talk to me?" Gu Qinghan glanced sideways at Qining and said angrily.
Qining was startled and smiled bitterly: "Sanniang, you... you misunderstood. I want to talk to you all the time, but... I'm afraid that you don't want to talk to me, so...!"
"If I had known now, why bother then." Gu Qinghan bit her moist red lips and rolled her eyes at Qining, "If you weren't lawless, you wouldn't be like this. It's all your fault."
Qi Ning said: "Yes, yes, it's all my fault. If I didn't do anything to Sanniang...!"
"You are still talking nonsense." Gu Qinghan stamped her foot and stared at Qining, her cheeks flushed slightly, charming and charming.
Qi Ning stopped talking, not daring to continue.
Gu Qinghan sighed lightly, glanced at him, and then said: "Are you leaving tomorrow? Where are you going?"
"Xichuan." Qining said: "Xichuan officers and soldiers blocked Heiyan Ridge. One of the barracks was attacked by a sneak attack. Dozens of people died. It is said that it was a sneak attack sent by Heiyan Cave. Wei Shutong's soldiers and horses will attack Heiyan Ridge at any time. The emperor is worried that there is something fishy in this cave, and he is even more worried that Xichuan will be plunged into turmoil because of this matter, so he sent me to investigate the truth."
Gu Qinghan frowned and said: "There are so many people in the imperial court, why should we send you? Don't you still want to train the Black Scale Battalion?"
"To find out the truth, we must contact Heiyan Cave." Qi Ning said: "The Miao people are suspicious, and even if ordinary officials are sent there, the Miao people will not believe it. Our Qi family and Heiyan Cave have a connection in the past. The emperor may value this. a little."
Gu Qinghan's charming eyes were full of worry, and his tone was filled with complaints: "Don't you know, your Majesty, that when the old Marquis conquered Xichuan, he killed many people there and forged many grudges, so he sent you there. ... Doesn't this ask you to go to the pit of fire? You... can you tell the emperor to send someone else there? "