Qin Zhou's tone softened. "Hand over the recipe, I will consider it."
Zi'an said, "I can give you the prescription. I don't intend to use it as a threat. However, there is a medicine in the prescription that is not available in Beimo, or it is very rare. It must be imported from Daliang or Dazhou."
Zi'an took out the prescription from his sleeve pocket and handed it to her. "You hold the lives of plague patients in your hands. I hope that even if you can't help us, you can make this prescription public and introduce medicinal materials. And you have to do it immediately without any delay. I have already written to the old prince An Ran, hoping that he can first bring a batch of golden keys. You will see the effect when the time comes."
Qin Zhou didn't expect her to hand over the prescription so readily. She was a little skeptical. Ever since Zi'an said that he already had the prescription, she had been mentally prepared to fight wits and courage with Xia Zi'an and get the prescription.
She took it, feeling mixed emotions.
"I'm leaving now. This recipe can also cure your grandfather." Zi'an bowed and turned to leave. When he reached the door, Zi'an suddenly stopped, paused for a moment, and looked back at Qin Zhou, with a deep and shallow light in his eyes. "Qin Zhou, you are a pro-war faction, and you have close ties with Cao Hou. Do you know why I came to you? I even told you what Lao Qi is doing now."
Qin Zhou blurted out, "Why?"
This was also her question. Logically speaking, Xia Zian shouldn't be so stupid as to come to her, as she was a pro-war faction.
Zi'an said softly, "Because I believe that you are different from Empress Cao and the Emperor. You care about the people in your heart."
After saying that, Zi'an looked at her deeply, then turned and left.
This time, Qin Zhou did not chase after him. Instead, he sat down, holding the prescription in his hand, thinking about Zi'an's words over and over again.
Zi'an returned to Wolf Tail Mountain and Lingli greeted him halfway up the mountain.
"Princess, how is it?" Lingli asked.
Zi'an shook his head gently, "You keep a close watch on the General's Mansion. If Qin Zhou has no intention of helping, kill her, and you can pretend to be her and temporarily take over the position of the General."
After saying that, he untied the scar rope and gave it to her.
"Yes!" Lingli took Scar Cable.
It is not easy to kill Qin Zhou. They are few in number and the general's mansion is heavily guarded. Qin Zhou is also very skilled in martial arts and Lingli is no match for her, so Scar Suo must take action.
Lingli changed horses and went down the mountain, while Zian walked back.
General Qin's Mansion.
In the evening, the guard Ajing returned home with a very solemn expression.
He went straight into Qin Zhou's yard, dismissed his attendants, and said, "General, just as the Regent Princess said, Cao Ji only settled the people there, but did not send any food or medicine. Instead, he deployed defenses around Ancheng and set up a blockade, not allowing anyone to enter or leave."
"Have you asked Cao Ji?" Qin Zhou's eyes turned cold.
"I did ask. I had a few words with Lord Cao. Lord Cao was very arrogant and didn't pay much attention to me. However, when I said I wanted to go in to look for someone, Lord Cao didn't allow me to go in. He also told me not to come again and sent me away. I left with an excuse and then sneaked back to eavesdrop. I heard Lord Cao said that after settling everything, we would go to the wooden village tomorrow and asked people to prepare thirty barrels of kerosene."
"Kerosene?" Qin Zhou was furious. "He wants to burn down the village?"
"It seems so. Moreover, when I saw the disaster victims who were resettled in Ancheng, I began to have some doubts. When I went to ask Cao Ji, he ordered his men to drag me away. When I saw Cao Ji's men coming back, there was blood on their swords."
"You're such a jerk Cao Ji!" Qin Zhou slammed the table and stood up, his eyes full of anger.
"General, this is probably not Cao Ji's idea. Even if Cao Ji had a hundred guts, he wouldn't dare to do this. Looking at his arrogant attitude, I'm afraid he was following orders." A Jing said worriedly.
"What's the situation in Qicheng? I have been ordering you to have people keep an eye on that place. Are all the people of Third Uncle safe?"
"Half of the Third Master Qin's family has been infected with the plague and cannot leave. More than half of the people in Qi City have begun to flock to the capital. I believe they will arrive tomorrow. However, once they enter the capital, I am afraid they will only be settled in Ancheng."
Qin Zhou was extremely anxious and angry. She turned around a few times with her hands behind her back, thinking.
"General, these civilians are probably doomed!" A Jing looked at Qin Zhou with some pity in his eyes.
Qin Zhou recalled what she saw along the way back to Beijing, the eyes of the people longing for survival. Just as Xia Zian said, she couldn't remain indifferent. How could she, as the general of the Northern Desert, remain indifferent
"By the way, I asked you to investigate the raid on the right wing. How's your investigation going?"
Ah Jing lowered his voice and said, "We have just received the news. General Qin Zhen counted the number of people on the right wing and found that only three people were killed. However, those three people were not injured by the Great Zhou army, but died in unclear circumstances. The right wing army did not encounter any attack at all."
(I would like to correct a mistake here. Previously, it was said that the person in the army was Qin Bao. This was a typo by June. The person in the army is Qin Zhen, the eldest grandson of the second branch of the Qin family, and also Qin Zhou's cousin. As for Qin Bao, he is Qin Zhou's biological brother.)
"I've been fooled." Qin Zhou felt an indescribable chill in her heart. The emperor knew that she would not attack easily, so he deliberately created the illusion that the right wing army was attacked to coax her into fighting.
The general of the right wing army is the younger brother of Concubine Liang and the emperor's confidant.
It must be the Emperor who instructed him to do this, otherwise, the Emperor would not have learned the news so quickly, and would not have issued the order to attack so quickly.
Your Majesty, Your Majesty, are you trying to force Qin Zhou to rebel
She gritted her teeth, her expression changed several times, and a decision was circling in her mind, but she couldn't say it out loud.
Because she knew that this was a road of no return, and once she made the choice, she could never turn back.
She stood up and said, "Let's go to Wolf Tail Mountain!"
"General, are you going to look for the Regent Princess?" A Jing asked.
"Yes, before making this decision, I will meet with Xia Zian to confirm some things."
Qin Zhou is a very cautious person. She is passionate about the people and Beimo, but this is not enough to make her confront the emperor immediately.
She just lost her faith and loyalty to the emperor, but that didn't mean she would go against the emperor.
Because her family still rests on her shoulders. If she is not careful, she will be considered a traitor and the whole family will suffer.
"Have you found out the whereabouts of Murong Jie?" Qin Zhou suddenly thought of Murong Jie.
"I found out that General Long held a martial arts competition to find a husband for his granddaughter. I heard that Murong Jie participated in the competition and won first place."
Qin Zhou sneered, "I really can't underestimate Murong Jie. If we want the peace faction to be united, we really need General Long to take action."
"Do we need to do anything?" A Jing asked.
Qin Zhou thought of Xia Zian's serious and stern face, and suddenly smiled, "Yes, of course, courtesy is the norm, don't let the guests from Da Zhou think that we Bei Mo don't know etiquette."
(End of this chapter)