Liu Qi then told her that he had originally planned to meet Wu Guotai in the afternoon, but was temporarily excused and had to go to Ganlu Temple instead.
Qiao Xuan didn't know what she meant, so he promised to go to the mansion to congratulate Wu Guotai early the next morning, and if there was any news, he would send someone to inform her.
Liu Qi chatted for a while and seeing that it was getting late, he returned to the inn. Xu Shu had already returned and Zhuge Jin was completely unaware of the situation. In previous years, Wu Guotai would burn incense and leave on the same day and had never set up a Taoist ceremony in the temple.
Xu Shu laid his cards directly on the table: Guan Yu's 50,000 troops were in Jiangxia, and Liu Pan's troops retreated to Fankou. They sent people to exchange information every day. Once the situation changed, the army could reach Jianye in one day.
"Is this Zhou Yu's plan?" Liu Qi said solemnly, "Or does Ganlu Temple have another plan?"
The sudden change cast a shadow over everyone's hearts, and the atmosphere in the entire inn became tense. Zhao Yun ordered the Bai Li soldiers to patrol in shifts throughout the night and not to let their guard down.
It was midnight when Xi Guan came back drunk. He got Lu Yi drunk but failed to get any valuable information out of him. After Sun Quan came back, he was busy with military affairs and there was no movement in the mansion.
Liu Qi had no choice but to wait until Qiao Xuan met Wu Guotai tomorrow to see if he could get any information out of her.
The next morning, it was Zhuge Jin who arrived first. Having met with Xu Shu the night before, he was afraid that something might have happened, so he went to ask Lu Su overnight.
Zhuge Jin told everyone not to worry, it was just that Wu Guotai was afraid that Liu Qi would not be to her daughter's liking, so she wanted to arrange a blind date at Ganlu Temple and then arrange the marriage, that was all.
Liu Qi and others were skeptical, and Gan Ning even cursed loudly, "It was you, Jiangdong, who proposed the marriage, and you came to help so much, but you changed your mind at the last minute and directly urged Liu Qi to leave. Why should you suffer such injustice?"
Zhuge Jin tried to persuade him again and again, saying that Wu Guotai doted on her little daughter Sun Shangxiang, and Sun Quan was a very filial man, so it would not be easy for him to go against the old lady's wishes.
Liu Qi thought that if it was just a blind date, it wouldn't be a big deal. The worst that could happen is that they wouldn't be compatible. Your Sun family is trying to marry into my royal family, but you're still being so pretentious. Are you giving me face
The most important thing in this trip is to form an alliance and stabilize the people in Jiangdong so that they will not stab him in the back, so that he can enter Shu with peace of mind. So he asked Gan Ning to leave the city to meet Su Fei, and the others prepared to leave.
While they were packing, Qiao Qiao came in from the back door and came to see Liu Qi alone. He clasped his fists and said, "My father has already found out that the Queen Mother wants to go on a blind date at Ganlu Temple."
Liu Qi nodded and said, "Mr. Lu has come here just now and told me about this matter. I wonder if I can ask him about the whole story?"
"This..." Qiao Qiao said in embarrassment: "If I tell you, I'm afraid the general will be embarrassed."
"It's okay to tell me!" Liu Qi said, "Now that I know the whole story, I feel relieved. It also helps me to have a solution, right?"
Qiao Qiao said, "The day before yesterday, Mr. Zhang came to the mansion and said that the general was greedy for money and lustful. He had an affair with a maid before marriage and forced Zhao Fan's brother and sister-in-law to marry him in Guiyang. He has a bad character and is not worthy of being a son-in-law of Jiangdong."
"It seems that Mr. Qiao also believes it?" Liu Qi smiled helplessly.
Qiao Qiao laughed dryly and said, "My father dare not make any rash judgments about the general's character."
Explaining this kind of thing will only make things worse. People who gossip only believe what they imagine, so how could they listen to the person involved
If you say too much, they will accuse you of trying to cover up the truth and spread rumors even more!
But if no explanation is given, misunderstanding will arise, and even Qiao Xuan will be unwilling to help, and the subsequent situation will be difficult to handle.
Liu Qi walked to the window with his hands behind his back and said slowly: "These two women do exist, but they are not as Zhang Zibu said. There are many hidden secrets that cannot be told to outsiders!"
Qiao Qiao originally had a curious look on his face, like a paparazzi trying to find out the secrets of a celebrity. Hearing this, he was quite disappointed and clasped his fists and said, "Since the general has something to hide, I will take my leave."
"Wait a minute!" Liu Qi turned around, seemed to have made a difficult decision, and sighed: "The maid was actually a spy planted by Cai Shi next to me, and I saw through her. Because of her pitiful life experience and the fact that she was coerced by Madam Cai, I spared her life. She was grateful and willing to atone for her sins by staying in the mansion on her own initiative."
Qiao Qiao was startled, then nodded and said, "So that's how it is. The general dares to keep this girl by his side. He is truly a man of great wisdom and benevolence. I admire him!"
Liu Qi added: "As for Madam Fan, it was Zhao Fan who took the initiative to act as a matchmaker. Her brother was in charge of many caravans, but unfortunately met with disaster. He wanted to use me to expand his family business. Fengxiang was established by me for Madam Fan."
"I have also heard of Feng Xiang!" Marriage alliances were common in this era, so Qiao Qiao did not take it seriously. He clasped his fists and said, "It turns out there is some misunderstanding. I will report this to my father right away."
"Three people make a tiger, people's words are scary!" Liu Qi sighed, "I don't care what outsiders say, as long as Mr. Qiao can understand my heart and live up to my father's trust, that's enough!"
This profound performance finally satisfied Qiao Qiao, and he left with a satisfied look on his face.
Liu Qi also breathed a sigh of relief. Now that he knew the whole story, it would be easy to deal with.
This matter must be explained to Wu Guotai. It would be better to tell Qiao Xuan first and let him tell Wu Guotai. There will be a buffer period so that it will not be awkward when they meet.
After they had packed up, Lu Su also came to the inn to meet them, saying, "The Marquis of Wu and the Grand Commander went to Niuzhu and Qu'a to inspect the defenses, and ordered me to accompany them. I hope you will forgive me for any impoliteness."
Liu Qi joked: "Military affairs are more important. Only when we are well prepared can I get married with peace of mind, right?"
This sentence made everyone laugh, and the slight discord just now also dissipated. Liu Qi took only Zhao Yun and Xu Shu, along with three hundred Bai Li soldiers, and went straight to Ganlu Temple.
Ganlu Temple is located on a mountain in the northwest of Jianye. It is very quiet and beautiful. Buddhism had just developed in the late Han Dynasty, and the temple was not very large, nor were there many Buddha statues. It was mainly used for practice, translation of scriptures, and preaching.
In the square outside the main hall, Sun Kuang and Zhang Zhao were watching the monks setting up their rituals. Although this had not been a custom in previous years, they still had to do it now that the words had been spoken.
Seeing Liu Qi coming, Sun Kuang hurriedly came forward and said, "I am sorry to bother you to come to this remote place again, General."
Liu Qi smiled and said, "This place is quiet and peaceful, with the fragrance of flowers and the chirping of birds. It makes me feel much more at ease."
Zhang Zhao clasped his fists and said, "General, you have made great contributions in this battle. You are truly a noble man from Jiangdong! I have already arranged a meditation room for you in the back mountain. You can rest here in peace."
"How dare I trouble you, sir?" Liu Qi remained calm and returned the greeting, "I was in Ruxu earlier and I was too aggressive with my words. Please forgive me for being young and hot-tempered and offending you, sir."
Zhang Zhao stroked his beard and laughed, "Although you and I have different opinions, we are both the foundation of Jiangdong. Don't you know that the general has good intentions? I was entrusted by the general who was suppressing the rebellion before his death. If I am still upset about these things, how can I have the face to assist the Marquis of Wu?"
Liu Qi did not point it out, and they chatted and laughed with each other, but in his heart he was cursing the old man for being so evil!
People like Zhang Zhao represent the majority of contemporary Confucian scholars and celebrities: they are full of false sense of superiority, only know how to fight among themselves, are submissive to external parties, and attack hard at home.