When Yan Liqiang left Concubine Rong's tent, he looked a little embarrassed, but no one else could see it. In the eyes of other people in the camp, Lord Yan entered the Empress's tent openly and stayed there for a while. He was probably reporting to the Empress and discussing today's affairs with her. A moment later, someone from the county magistrate's mansion came to find Yan Liqiang and reported outside the tent. Yan Liqiang then walked out of Concubine Rong's tent in neat clothes. There was nothing unusual about anything. Only Yan Liqiang understood how thrilling it was just then.
Until he left Concubine Rong's tent, Yan Liqiang could still feel a pair of reluctant eyes staring at his back in the tent. Yan Liqiang was secretly afraid in his heart. If the person who came to report had come a few minutes later, he might not be able to hold on. Not even Wei Xiaobao had done such a thing as cheating on the Emperor. If he did it, he would be better than Wei Xiaobao in one fell swoop.
But then again, as His Majesty the Emperor, you have three thousand beauties in your harem, but while you were practicing martial arts, you neglected these beautiful women in the palace for many years, leaving a bunch of concubines and ladies living a life of luxury in the palace. This is too cruel. To put it bluntly, this is called occupying the toilet without doing anything. No wonder Concubine Rong was so attracted to him as soon as she came into contact with him.
Yan Liqiang was thinking about these questions in his head as he walked. When it came to the Emperor, he felt a little strange. Logically speaking, the Emperor was not a tyrant. He had strong intelligence and skills. He was even more diligent, hardworking, and self-disciplined than many people Yan Liqiang had met. Such a person should have been a promising monarch. But why did the court of the Han Empire suddenly collapse in his hands, and the most prosperous capital area of the Han Empire was devastated overnight
On the surface, the reason for the emperor's failure is that he hired the wrong people, that is, he failed to supervise them. Once his failure to supervise was taken advantage of by evil, with Lin Qingtian in front and the imperial physician in the back, just one carelessness could make him lose everything. The Yu Luo Palace allowed the emperor to survive the calamity of Lin Qingtian, but he did not survive the calamity of the imperial physician. As for the deeper reasons for the emperor's failure, perhaps it can only be explained by God's will. God rewards good deeds, and the Han Empire before us has made this cycle of heaven's way to the point where it is unsustainable. If heaven does not die, then only this empire will die.
The tent was cramped, and there was no seating for entertaining guests, only blankets for sleeping. It was not a place to receive outsiders. When the chief guest from the Luquan County Magistrate's Office came to see him, Yan Liqiang couldn't let two grown men lie down and talk in the tent, so he simply found a relatively quiet place next to the camp, under a big banyan tree, and asked someone to bring the chief guest over.
"The Luquan County Magistrate's Office's Chief Guest Sima Qingshan greets you, sir!"
This Sima Qingshan was none other than the aide to Zhou Shouren, the Magistrate of Luquan County, and the man whom Zhou Shouren honored as Mr. Sima.
When Sima Qingshan arrived, Yan Liqiang only needed to take a look at the man's pair of slender eyes like blades to know that this man must be scheming and probably not a simple character. The Mind Snake in Yan Liqiang's head had already started to move. In front of the Mind Snake, all scheming was nothing but rubbish and a joke.
Yan Liqiang smiled and said, "I was a little surprised that the county governor would let you come here at this time. What's the matter? Does the county governor have any advice for you?"
Sima Qingshan looked at Yan Liqiang's face seriously without leaving any trace, and a series of names flashed through his mind. On the surface, his attitude became more respectful. "What is your name, sir?"
"I'm just a nobody in the Imperial Cavalry Department. I'm just passing through Luquan County on an important mission. I don't deserve to be called an adult!" Yan Liqiang was not fooled.
"My master has many friends in the Imperial Capital. He is familiar with Eunuch Liu of the Imperial Capital, Minister Gui of the Ministry of War, and Commander Zhu of the Imperial Horse and Infantry Division. I wonder if my master knows these gentlemen. What happened today was definitely a misunderstanding!"
"The people you mentioned are too far away from me. I can't reach them. But whether it's a misunderstanding or not is not up to you. Your county magistrate's son actually dared to set up a checkpoint to intercept and check our imperial horse and infantry troops, and even dared to take action. He is really brave. In the entire Han Empire, there are probably not many people braver than your county magistrate's son!"
"Your Excellency is right. It was indeed my son who was disrespectful today!" Sima Qingshan's face was solemn and sincere. He bowed to Yan Liqiang again, "My master is deeply shocked and ashamed to know about the conflict with your department today. The county magistrate has only one son, so he has been spoiled since he was a child. The county magistrate's son has a bad character since he was young. He is lawless and reckless in Luquan County. I didn't expect that he would cause a big disaster today and blocked the inspection of the imperial carriage team for no reason. The county magistrate asked me to come here to apologize for what happened today!"
"You don't have to apologize!" Yan Liqiang's expression seemed to relax, and he looked at Sima Qingshan with a half-smile on his face, "I cut off your son's ear, and your county magistrate sent you to apologize. It's hard for him. Let me ask you, does your lord really not want to avenge his son and really not want me to die?"
Sima Qingshan's eyes flickered, but his expression remained unchanged, still serious, "My lord, you are joking. Since my lord already knew that the young master was wrong, how could he make it even worse? What happened to the young master today was also caused by my lord's negligence in discipline. As for my lord, he is an official appointed by the court, knows etiquette and abides by the law, how could he do such a foolish thing and make an enemy of the Imperial Mabu Division? Isn't this digging his own grave?"
"Digging your own grave, well said, hahahaha..." Yan Liqiang laughed, "As long as we leave Luming Pass tomorrow and reach a safe place, I will naturally hand over the county magistrate's son to you. You can tell the county magistrate not to worry, we in the Imperial Horse and Infantry Division always follow the rules when doing things!"
"Well, I heard that my young master was injured today. I wonder if you can take me to see my young master and see if he is still alive!"
"Haha, this is easy!" Yan Liqiang had already made arrangements. He clapped his hands, and a few seconds later, the son of the county magistrate, who was in a dishevel and already depressed, was escorted up by Guo Sida and two soldiers.
The young master Zhou who was escorted up was still tied up with cowhide ropes, his mouth was blocked with a piece of sackcloth, a layer of blood scab had formed on the wound where his ear was cut off, and his whole face was bruised and swollen. It was estimated that he was not honest while being detained and was beaten by the guarding soldiers.
Seeing Sima Qingshan, Master Zhou's cloudy eyes suddenly lit up, and then he whimpered, appearing very excited. Sima Qingshan, however, was relatively calm. He looked at Master Zhou, knowing that he could hear him, and only said one sentence, "Master, please be patient. The master already knows about your situation. This time, you are wrong. When the people from the Imperial Horse and Infantry Division leave Luming Pass safely tomorrow, you can come back!"
After hearing Sima Qingshan's words, Yan Liqiang just sneered in his heart. These words were not actually said to Master Zhou, but to himself to make himself numb and careless.
Yan Liqiang waved his hand, and Master Zhou was taken away again. "How is it? You have also met the son of your county governor. Is there anything else? If not, please clear the official road as soon as possible so that we can leave!"
"Don't worry, sir. The official road to Luming Pass will be opened before noon tomorrow!" Sima Qingshan laughed, "You have worked hard on the way. I came here on the orders of the county governor to bring you something. The porters are waiting outside the camp. If you allow me, I will ask his mother to bring the things in."
"Oh, what is it?" Yan Liqiang asked with pretended curiosity.
"It's just some wine, meat, fruits and food. Don't get me wrong, sir. There is absolutely no manipulation in these things. You can ask someone to check. This is completely a gift from the county magistrate!"
"Hahaha, thank you so much, everyone!"
"Of course, of course!" Sima Qingshan said, pulling out a box from his sleeve and handing it to Yan Liqiang, "This is a little gift from our county governor to you. I hope you don't take this matter to heart. Maybe we can still be friends in the future!"
Yan Liqiang took the brocade box, opened it and took a look. He found a thick stack of silver notes inside, at least three hundred thousand taels. He accepted it with a smile and patted Sima Qingshan on the shoulder. "That's right. If you could have done this earlier, why would we have to resort to violence? Don't worry, I will release your young master after we pass Luming Pass tomorrow!"
"Thank you very much!"
"But I also have a condition. Tomorrow at Luming Pass, I have to meet your master in person and make this clear to you, so as to avoid any trouble when we pass through the pass. I know that your Luquan County has stationed a lot of troops at Luming Pass!"
"This..." Sima Qingshan frowned slightly. He did not expect Yan Liqiang to suddenly put forward such a condition.
Yan Liqiang also stopped smiling and squinted his eyes, "Why? Your county magistrate's son is in our hands, but your county magistrate is so arrogant that when his own son got into trouble, he just let his subordinates handle it, and he himself is unwilling to even come out of the gate of the county magistrate's mansion?"
Sima Qingshan's face returned to normal in an instant, "Your Excellency has misunderstood. The capital is in chaos right now. Our county magistrate has received an official letter from the governor these days, asking my master to leave for Guzhou City tomorrow to discuss important matters. My Excellency is angry now. He originally wanted to teach you a lesson through today's incident. He has handed everything over to me and asked me to cooperate with you. I will pick you up after you leave Luming Pass safely. Since you want to see my master at Luming Pass, I have to go back and report to my master to see if I can change my master's itinerary!"
…
Ten minutes later, Sima Qingshan left, but in Yan Liqiang's camp, there was a lot of wine, fruits and other delicacies, even without anyone having to cook. There were several carts full of them. The whole camp was filled with the aroma of meat and fruits.
Yan Liqiang squinted his eyes and watched Sima Qingshan and his group gradually disappearing in the sunset, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised with a faint smile.
Liu Xitong swallowed his saliva and came to Yan Liqiang, "Sir, those things have been checked, there is no problem!"
"No problem, then share it with everyone!"
"yes!"
"Wait a minute!" Yan Liqiang took out the brocade box containing the banknotes from his arms again, "Everyone has worked hard along the way. Take this down and share it with all the brothers!"
Liu Xitong opened the brocade box and took a breath of cold air. He glanced at the indifferent expression on Yan Liqiang's face, and his awe for Yan Liqiang increased again. He clasped his fists heavily, then took the brocade box and left.
A moment later, the entire station cheered...
Yan Liqiang had just returned to his tent when the maidservant beside Concubine Rong came over again, "Master Yan, the queen wants you to go over and ask about the guest from the county governor's mansion!"
Hearing that Concubine Rong wanted to see him again, Yan Liqiang's heart trembled with fear, and he laughed dryly twice, "Uh, this... Please tell the queen that I want to meditate now. I already know the purpose of the visitor from the county governor's mansion. The queen doesn't need to worry about anything. Just let the queen rest in peace tonight. We can leave Luming Pass tomorrow!"
The palace maid named Yingluo glanced at Yan Liqiang, smiled slightly, and then went back to report.
In Concubine Rong's tent, after hearing the reply from the maid beside her, Concubine Rong, with a rosy face, gritted her teeth and ordered again, "Just tell her that I have something important to discuss with him, and that I haven't finished discussing it yet. Tell Master Yan to come over!"
The maid took the order and left again. After a while, she came back and reported, "Your Majesty, the guards around Master Yan said that Master Yan has left the tent and is looking for a place to practice. I don't know when he will be back!"
Upon hearing this, as soon as the maid left her tent, Concubine Rong threw the fruit plate that had just been delivered to her tent onto the ground, and cursed in a low voice, feeling embarrassed and annoyed, "This heartless person..."
“Who are you mad at, sister…” The door curtain of Concubine Rong’s tent was opened, and Concubine Duan, Concubine Rui, and Concubine Yi walked in one after another. Seeing the discarded fruit plate on the ground, Concubine Rui asked with a smile.
The expression on Concubine Rong's face returned to its previous dignified and generous look in the blink of an eye, and she smiled, "My sisters, you have come at the right time. I just found out why our convoy was intercepted by the soldiers of Luquan County. I was a little angry, so I couldn't help but smash the fruit plate!"
"Sister, what happened? We were just about to come over to ask you. The scene during the day was so scary!" Concubine Duan said in a tender voice, patting her chest.
After listening to what Concubine Rong said, Concubine Duan, Concubine Rui, and Concubine Yi, who knew the whole story, were all frightened. They didn't expect that today's trouble was caused by the county magistrate's son accidentally seeing them.
"If Lord Yan hadn't escorted us, the outcome today would have been truly disastrous..." Concubine Yi said fearfully.
"Sister, you are right!" Concubine Rui also nodded and looked at Concubine Rong with a smile, her eyes sparkling. "If we have the chance, we must thank Lord Yan, don't you think so?"
"Well, I also think what you say makes sense!" Concubine Rong nodded in agreement, with a spring breeze-like smile on her beautiful face, "Lord Yan has indeed worked hard and made great contributions along the way. He has saved us sisters many times without caring about his own safety. I was just thinking that if I arrive in Jinzhou, I should really thank Lord Yan!"
"It's up to you to decide how to thank me. We'll all listen to you!" Concubine Duan said delicately...
(End of this chapter)