Li Badao was stunned for a moment, frowned, and turned to look at Man Qing'er.
Man Qing'er smiled and said, "Xiu'er, you misunderstood! The government and the army have recently been rectifying military discipline, and it is inevitable that some offenders will be punished. As for letting you go to Hengshan, it is because the master values and trusts you.
"The participants of the Huangshan meeting are all powerful figures from various forces. In Kuaiji City, besides the master and you, who else can represent the Huangtian Army to Huangshan?"
Li Xiu'er felt secretly resentful, knowing that it was Man Qing'er who was gossiping again. It would be fine if it was any other time, but how could she dare to leave Kuaiji so easily at this time and give Man Qing'er the opportunity to attack her people
She ignored Man Qing'er and said with tears in her eyes, "Father, you don't have to hide it from me! The changes in the government during this period are by no means that simple. Although I don't know what happened, I have been worried all day long. I dare not ask about what my father has done. Since my father wants me to leave Kuaiji, I will leave now..."
Turned around and was about to leave.
Li Badao suddenly stood up, pulled her to sit down at the stone table, and said, "Xiu'er, don't worry! There is indeed something else going on in the government hall. I will not hide it from you now. There are spies from the Demon Sect infiltrating our army. What we have done in the past few days is to eliminate the spies."
Li Xiuer listened to Haozhen's advice and took a step forward to retreat.
The government was carrying out a purge, and she, not knowing what was going on, made too many associations, and then found out that she was leaving Kuaiji, so she overreacted in panic... This was naturally reasonable.
If she had no reaction at all, it might have made people even more confused.
But she knew in her heart that Li Badao might not be willing to take away her power, let alone at this time.
Even if he really wanted to take back power, he would never do it so directly. While the other side was still clearing out the "remnants" of the Black Lotus Realm, Li Badao had to keep her stable no matter what.
Even if they wanted to target her, they would only slowly clip her wings. If they defeated her directly, those people in the government and the army who were closely related to her would be in danger all of a sudden.
Although in theory, she and the Black Lotus Realm both belong to the Evil Lotus Sect, the people on her side and those on the Black Lotus Realm are two different groups.
When Li Badao was eliminating the troops on the other side, most of the people under her just sat there and watched, and some even wondered whether this was the beginning of their faction being given more important responsibilities.
If all of a sudden, Li Xiuer's faction found out that they were also going to be purged, and they joined forces with another faction in a desperate struggle, even Li Badao would not be able to withstand it.
"The Demonic Sect?" Li Xiuer opened her eyes wide, trying to make herself look surprised and terrified.
This is also the normal reaction of ordinary people after hearing about the "Demon Sect"... Although many people have no chance to come into contact with the Demon Sect, in the cognition of many people, this is a weird and terrifying existence.
Li Badao nodded: "That's right! Because it involves the Demon Sect, I don't want you to get involved. The Demon Sect's methods are insidious and their actions are covert. My father didn't investigate for a while, and many of the people he recruited in the past were infiltrated by the Demon Sect.
"Do you know the Dongting Army? The real power behind the Dongting Army is the evil sect Xie Lian Zong. The spies that have infiltrated our army were also arranged by Xie Lian Zong. One day, we will fight from the south to the north. By then, the Dongting Army occupying the upper reaches will be our biggest enemy. If we cannot expel these spies sent by Xie Lian Zong as soon as possible, we will be destroyed by the Dongting Army sooner or later."
Li Xiuer pretended to be shocked: "I didn't expect it to be like this."
Li Badao continued, "I am not asking you to go to Huangshan this time because I want to take your power. If I don't even trust you, who else can I trust? I want you to go so that we can have a marriage."
Li Xiuer asked doubtfully, "Marriage?"
Li Badao said: "Li Chenglong of the Dragon and Phoenix Society has a son named Li Yun, you know this. The Dragon and Phoenix Society sent someone the day before yesterday, hoping that our army and the Dragon and Phoenix Society would form a Qin-Jin alliance to fight against the barbarians together. The Dragon and Phoenix Society hopes that you and Li Yun can become husband and wife..."
Li Xiu'er's face changed: "Father, why didn't your daughter know about this?"
Li Badao glanced at Man Qing'er. Man Qing'er hurriedly pulled Li Xiu'er's hand and said, "Aiya, Xiu'er, this hasn't even started yet. The master was afraid that you would think too much, so he didn't tell you. Look, aren't you overthinking it? Don't worry, the master has already rejected this marriage."
Li Xiu'er was secretly resentful, knowing that Man Qing'er must have persuaded Li Badao to marry her off, but had failed.
Li Xiu'er pondered, "Although my daughter will not marry into the Dragon and Phoenix Society, it is necessary for us to form an alliance with the Dragon and Phoenix Society. The Dragon and Phoenix Society has been in turmoil recently and they also want to cooperate with us. Father has to eliminate the spies of the Demon Sect and guard against the Dongting Army upstream of the Changhe River. Cooperation with the Dragon and Phoenix Society is really necessary."
She knew that the best scenario would be for the Huangtian Army to cooperate directly with the Dongting Army. This would be equivalent to controlling both the upper and lower reaches of the river.
But at this time, she absolutely cannot make such suggestions, but must make reasonable suggestions based on "reality".
Of course, it was impossible for her to marry into the Dragon and Phoenix Society.
Li Badao said: "That's right! So your father wants you to promote another marriage. The great philanthropist Du Shun has a legitimate daughter, whose name is Du Yuejiao, a female disciple of Kunzhenyuan of Chongxian Sect. When our army started the uprising, the Du family fully funded us. Du Yuejiao is also a female disciple of Chongxian Sect, a rich woman.
"The head of Kunzhen Academy of Chongxian Sect, Danying Sanren, came yesterday and discussed with my father about the idea of marrying the Du family to the Dragon and Phoenix Society. In this way, our army, Chongxian Sect and the Dragon and Phoenix Society can rely on this relationship and work together. Once spring comes, we can attack the Dongting Army together.
"When the three directions attack simultaneously, our army will go up along the Changhe River, the Dragon and Phoenix Society will approach from Hengzhou, and the Chongxianmen's 'Liuguang Xianshu' and 'Bi Tao Wuya' will attack from Chenzhou. With the combined attack from the east, south, and west, the Dongting Army will be destroyed without a doubt."
Li Xiuer was secretly shocked, but her eyes lit up: "Father, this is a great idea!"
Chapter 300: Hidden Demonic Shadow, a Scheme
Seeing that she also agreed with this plan, Li Badao nodded with satisfaction and said, "Xiu'er, don't worry. You are going to Huangshan on behalf of your father, so you don't need to worry about other things.
"Generals Xiao and Jing will also stay in Kuaiji. Please help me appease them. The recent changes in the government must have made them uneasy. Tell them not to worry. As long as they are loyal to you and me, they will be valued. The spies planted by the Demon Sect in our army will be eliminated soon. Please help me stabilize the morale of the army.
"After we unite with Chongxian Sect and Longfeng Society, we will wipe out the Dongting Army and overthrow the Barbarian Court. If I become king, you will be my princess. If I become emperor, you will be my princess."
Li Xiuer said happily, "Thank you, father!" She said goodbye to Li Badao and Man Qing'er and left.
I watched Li Xiuer reach the garden gate and walk away with her guards.
Li Badao turned to look at Man Qing'er and said, "Xiu'er is my daughter. If it weren't for her, the Huang Tian Army would never have developed to this point in just a few months. No matter what you think of Xiu'er, since she is my daughter, your people cannot touch her at will."
Man Qing'er quickly stood up and said, "Master, just rest assured! We will never do anything unnecessary."
Li Badao nodded, stood up, walked out and went to the government hall.
After Li Badao left, Man Qing'er also left the back garden, wandered around, and came to a secret room.
The secret room was dim, and a shadow appeared in the corner, swaying: "What's the situation?"
Man Qing'er bowed and said, "Cheng Protector! Although I have used all my eloquence, I still cannot convince Li Badao to marry Li Xiu'er to the Dragon and Phoenix Society. He even became suspicious and warned us not to touch Li Xiu'er."
The figure said slowly: "In this case, we should just listen to him. Before we wipe out the Dongting Army and defeat the Evil Lotus Sect, the Huangtian Army is our indispensable help."
Man Qing'er said: "But I suspect there is something wrong with Li Xiu'er."
The man said in a deep voice: "What do you mean?"
Man Qing'er said, "Li Xiu'er was adopted by Li Badao when she was nine years old. She was a little over ten years old when she showed her intelligence. It's hard to tell where this little girl came from, but she's so precocious, which makes people suspicious."
Cheng Hufa said: "But Jin Yuhui has already guaranteed that Li Xiu'er is definitely not from the Black Lotus Realm."
Man Qing'er whispered, "Even if she is not from the Black Lotus Realm, who can guarantee that she is not from the Moon Lotus Tower or the Mirror Flower Water Moon Pavilion? The inner disciples of these two places are all female, and they are trained from childhood. With the ability of the Moon Yao Terrace or the Sha Ling Shan, it is not surprising to train a Li Xiu'er."
Cheng Hufa said: "This..."
Man Qing'er said: "Before, the three sects of the Evil Lotus were fighting each other, so it was not surprising that Yuelian Tower or Jinghua Shuiyue Pavilion placed spies around Li Badao. Now that the three sects have merged into one, the Evil Lotus has reappeared, and there is no longer a distinction between the Black Lotus Realm, Yuelian Tower, and Jinghua Shuiyue Pavilion.
"Originally, Li Xiu'er and Jin Yuhui belonged to different sects. After the three sects merged into one, they both belonged to the Evil Lotus Sect. In this way, Li Xiu'er and Jin Yuhui both belonged to the Evil Lotus Sect, but Jin Yuhui didn't know that Li Xiu'er was also a spy of the Evil Lotus Sect... This is entirely possible."
Cheng Hufa appeared in front of Man Qing'er and paced a few steps. "Have you told Li Badao about this suspicion?"
Man Qing'er shook her head and said, "Not yet! After all, this is just speculation. If we bring this up without any evidence, he will suspect that we are slandering Li Xiu'er and have ulterior motives."
Cheng Hufa nodded: "But your suspicion is not entirely unreasonable. Li Badao is a force secretly supported by the Black Lotus Realm. Before the three sects of the Evil Lotus Sect merged into one, Yuelian Tower and Jinghua Shuiyue Pavilion were hostile to the Black Lotus Realm. They planted spies around Li Badao... This explanation makes sense."
"Li Xiu'er is indeed too precocious. She is not an ordinary orphan as Li Badao said. If she is really a member of the Evil Lotus Sect, she must be eliminated!"
Man Qing'er said, "But how should we find evidence? Without evidence, Li Badao won't believe it."
Cheng Hufa asked, "What is Li Xiu'er's foundation in martial arts?"
Man Qing'er said, "It seems to be an eighth-grade martial artist. She practices the Mandarin Duck Legs and Orchid Finger techniques, which are external martial arts that are not likely to cause a girl to lose her figure. Li Badao once wanted to pay a large sum of money to find a Taoist master to teach her the Taoist martial arts, but she was handling government affairs and recruiting talents for her father and had no time to practice, so she refused."
Cheng Hufa snorted coldly: "Is it because you have no time to practice, or you can't practice?"
Man Qing'er said: "The guardian is suspicious..."
Cheng Hufa sneered, "If she is really an inner disciple of Yuelian Pavilion or Jinghua Shuiyue Pavilion, she must have secretly practiced magic skills since she was young. It doesn't matter if she practices external skills at the same time, but if she practices Taoist skills, it is tantamount to seeking death."
Man Qing'er's eyes lit up slightly, but she frowned and said, "But she has guards with her, so we have no reason to force her to take action."
Cheng Hufa said slowly: "We can design some kind of situation and let her be assassinated on the street. Given her position in the Huang Tian Army, it is not surprising that she is assassinated by foreign enemies. Of course, we don't have to really kill her, we just need to let her face a life-threatening situation and force her to use her martial arts to see if she really has magic skills.
"If she is not from the Demon Sect, and your people happened to rescue her and do her a favor. If she was forced to use her magic, then that would be evidence..."
—
In the Rose Garden, in Li Xiu'er's boudoir, Shi Hao heard what Li Xiu'er said and said with a smile: "Du Yuejiao?"
Li Xiuer naturally didn't know that he actually knew Du Yuejiao and was even Du Yuejiao's man.
She explained: "The Tongcheng Du family is a well-known wealthy family in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, controlling several business houses. Although they are not called a noble family, they are actually a noble and wealthy family in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Du Shun is the head of the Tongcheng Du family. Because of this relationship, his daughter was accepted into the Kunzhen Courtyard as an inner disciple by the Chongxian Sect since she was a child.
"Kunzhen Court is the only female courtyard among the six courtyards of Chongxianmen. Daughters of ordinary families can't even think of entering. Huang Tianjun's uprising is inseparable from the support of the Du family. Du Yuejiao is not only the daughter of the Du family, but also a female disciple of Kunzhen Court of Chongxianmen. If she marries Li Chenglong's son, it means that she has maintained the relationship between Chongxianmen, Huang Tianjun, and Longfenghui.
"If the three parties really unite, I'm afraid the Dongting Army will not be able to stop them. The Dongting Army occupying Jingzhou is a threat to the three families, especially Li Badao. Since he wants to break free from the constraints of the Black Lotus Realm, he will definitely wipe out the Dongting Army at all costs."
Shi Hao said: "I can understand Li Badao. Originally, he wanted to dominate with the support of the Black Lotus Realm, and eventually conquer the world and establish himself as king. The Black Lotus Realm supports him, just like the Taisu Immortal Pavilion supported the Sheng Dynasty in the past. He came to rule the world, and the Black Lotus Realm dominated the martial arts world by supporting him.
"Now that the three sects of the Evil Lotus Sect have united as one and established the Dongting Army, he is worried that he will become a discarded pawn that will be swallowed up at any time. It is natural that he has the intention to rebel."
Li Xiuer said: "Chongxian Sect, Longfeng Society, and Li Badao want to form an alliance during the Huangshan meeting. This alliance must be destroyed at all costs. If it really doesn't work, can we ask the sect to send assassins to kill Du Yuejiao?"
Shi Hao thought that this marriage must be destroyed, but Yue Jiao could not be killed!
He pondered and said, "It seems that Li Badao still trusts you overall. Although under Man Qing'er's pillow talk, I don't know how long this trust can be maintained... Hmm!"
Li Xiuer saw him suddenly pause and stop talking, but he was listening attentively, as if he was listening to something, so she couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
Shi Hao waved his hand, asking her to be quiet, walked to the window and continued listening.
After a while, he turned around and said, "Although Li Badao still trusts you, Man Qing'er and a man called 'Cheng Hufa' are preparing to attack you."
Li Xiuer was surprised and asked, "Cheng the guardian? Who is this person?"
Shi Hao said: "It seems that they should be Man Qing'er's immediate superior! Since there is a guardian, there must be a sect leader above him. But this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that they are going to assassinate you on the street and force you to use the magic skills."
Li Xiuer's face changed!
Shi Hao continued, "Man Qing'er thinks you are too precocious, not like an ordinary girl who was taken in. Although they believe that you are not from the Black Lotus Realm, they are beginning to suspect that you are from the Moon Lotus Tower or the Mirror Flower Water Moon Pavilion. Of course, the important thing is... you really are!"
Li Xiuer asked in confusion: "Why does the young master know this?"
Shi Hao smiled and said, "Just think of it as some kind of magical power that allows me to secretly overhear their conversation in the dark."
Li Xiu'er was secretly surprised that Man Qing'er and "Cheng Protector" were also members of the Demon Sect.
And he had obviously been by her side all the time, yet he had some unknown means to secretly follow Man Qing'er and overhear such a secret. It was really unpredictable and incredible.
Little did she know that the one secretly following Man Qing'er was Xiao Feicui.
Little Feicui is the "secret book" of the Evil Lotus Sect. As a "secret book", the most important thing about it is that it should be kept secret and unknown to others. Man Qing'er is very cautious, but it is wishful thinking to expect people to discover her tracking.
Shi Hao looked at Li Xiu'er and said, "You should have practiced some magic skills, right?"
Li Xiuer smiled bitterly and said, "I have been practicing the magic skills since I was young, and I have never stopped practicing secretly in the past few years. On the surface, I practiced the mandarin duck legs and orchid fingers, which are external skills that do not affect my body shape. In fact, I practiced the soul-chasing and soul-locking steps, the seven fingers of Yin Ning, and some light skills that can be used to escape when necessary.
"These martial arts can be hidden from others, but they can never be hidden from the demonic forces behind Man Qing'er. If they force us to use any of them, I'm afraid we'll be finished."
Shi Hao nodded: "But it's not completely hopeless."
He smiled slightly: "Since they suspect you and want to carry out a 'street assassination', then we might as well go a step further and help them 'speed up'!"
Chapter 301: Assassination First
In a secret room in a corner of the south city, Little Feicui appeared with a secret letter.
Sha Lingshan took the secret letter from her little hand, opened it and read it, then said with a smile: "Speed up? That's a very interesting word to use."
He paused and looked at Snake Lady and Peach Blossom Lady beside him: "Do you know if there is any guardian in the Demon Sect whose last name is Cheng?"
Snake Lady and Peach Blossom Lady thought about it together, but couldn't remember for a moment... The Demon Sect is generally mysterious, and the so-called "Cheng Protector" may not really have the surname Cheng. It is impossible to infer anything based on these three words.
Sha Lingshan said, "Forget it! Let's finish the task at hand and see if we can draw out anything."
Snake Princess said: "Master Shatan, what should we do?"
Sha Lingshan smiled and said, "Assassinate Li Xiuer!"
—
Early the next morning, Li Xiuer went to the government hall to handle some matters.
Near noon, she boarded a carriage, which was followed by guards in front and behind.
The carriage drove onto the street and headed towards the Du Mansion.
Du Shun was a wealthy family in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and many members of the Du family held important positions in Huang Tianjun's government.
Before Huang Tianjun started the uprising, she went to Du's house in person to persuade Du Shun to support Huang Tianjun.
And now, the daughter of the Du family is marrying into the Dragon and Phoenix Society, representing the alliance between the Huang Tian Army and the Dragon and Phoenix Society.
In the government hall, Li Xiuer learned from the Du family that Du Shun's daughter Du Yuejiao was extremely opposed to this marriage.
As the saying goes, marriage is decided by parents and matchmaker. This marriage has the support of the Du family and Chongxianmen. The personal opinion of the daughter of the Du family is irrelevant.
Even so, Li Xiuer should still go and ask about it.
The weather was good today, the sun was hanging high in the sky, and the surrounding buildings were bathed in sunlight. On the street, many people came out of their dark homes and basked in the sun.
Ever since Fu Shiyuan started the uprising in Changbai Mountain, counties in the south have responded one after another... The Barbarian Court's control over the south is not as strong as that over the north, so it is unable to suppress these uprisings in one fell swoop.