Qin Zhao was silent for a moment after hearing this, and then he said slowly: "I am not in good health and cannot stand the rain. I am afraid I can't do anything."
The coachman was also stunned by his answer and blurted out: "Just send someone to help. Is everyone in your family in poor health?"
Qin Zhao nodded seriously: "Yes."
Jing Li couldn't help but: "Pfft."
It was raining heavily outside, and the coachman didn't hear Jing Li's movement. He advised again: "At worst, you can get off and wait for a while. There are so many people in the carriage that it's really hard to move. It's getting dark now. If we get stuck here, it will waste your time, right?"
Qin Zhao sat very steadily: "I am not afraid of wasting time."
Coachman: “…”
"You haven't woken him up yet?" The man dressed as a peddler was pulling the horses in front. Seeing that there was no movement for a long time, he shouted at the top of his voice, "I didn't use much medicine. Why is he sleeping so soundly?"
As soon as he came over, he met Qin Zhao's gaze, and the atmosphere became a little awkward for a moment.
The coachman spat and kicked the peddler into the mud: "You little bastard, you're causing trouble. I shouldn't have brought you here!"
After he finished speaking, he turned around and smiled at Qin Zhao, his tone surprisingly polite: "Sir, please don't listen to his nonsense, there are some misunderstandings. Why don't you get off the carriage first, we will pull the carriage out, and explain while we walk?"
"So anxious?" Qin Zhao smiled faintly, "What if I don't want to leave?"
The smile on the coachman's face froze: "What do you mean?"
"It means exactly what it says." Qin Zhao said, "You are the ones who are worried that I am unwilling to set off and delay the journey. You should be the ones who are worried about me and delay the journey, right?"
The coachman made no reply.
He had been standing in the rain for a long time, water dripping from his raincoat. Lightning flashed across the sky, making his strong-featured face look gloomy and terrifying.
But Qin Zhao did not dodge and looked at him quietly.
After a moment, he wiped the rain off his face and sighed, "Ah, I knew you were not that easy to deal with."
He straightened his slightly hunched back, bowed to Qin Zhao, and said solemnly: "I, Sun Mengyi, congratulate the prince on his return to the capital."
In a flash, the whole person's aura was different.
Qin Zhao said calmly: "This doesn't look like a gift to me."
"This..." Sun Mengyi hesitated for a moment and touched his nose, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Jing Li listened to the whole thing and became more and more confused.
So these aren't enemies
Is he Qin Zhao’s old subordinate
Jing Li asked Qin Zhao: "Do you know them?"
"I don't know them." Qin Zhao glanced at Sun Mengyi and said, "But I can roughly guess who sent them."
Jing Li: "Who?"
Qin Zhao: "Xiao Yue."
The great general Xiao Yue, who had once been a guest at Qin Zhao's house and had always been at odds with him, was there.
Although Jing Li had only met this person once and hadn't seen him for almost a year, that person's appearance and temperament were so hard to forget.
When Xiao Yue came to visit his home, Jing Li had already seen that the other party's identity was unusual. Not long ago, when Qin Zhao confessed the truth to Jing Li, he explained this matter in the same way.
But Jing Li still didn't understand, and muttered: "What's wrong with Xiao Yue? Why did he send people to arrest us?"
"Cough cough..." Sun Mengyi was not paying attention and choked on a mouthful of rain water.
Qin Zhao suppressed his laughter and whispered, "Who knows? You can ask him in person when you see him later."
Qin Zhao's words made the two people standing beside the carriage a little embarrassed. The man dressed as a peddler tried to smooth things over, "Let me introduce you again. This is General Xiao's deputy general. My surname is Geng, and I am the fourth child in my family. Your Highness, you can just call me Geng Si."
"It is indeed General Xiao who sent me and Old Sun to welcome the prince today."
The rain in the sky came quickly and went away quickly, and gradually stopped.
Qin Zhao and Jing Li got off the carriage and kindly asked Ah Qi to help push the carriage, and finally they rescued it from the mud pit.
While they were working, Jing Li asked quietly, "Why don't you seem surprised at all?"
Qin Zhao asked back: "What are you surprised about?"
"Xiao Yue." Jing Li said, "Isn't he at the border? How come he suddenly appears here?"
Qin Zhao said calmly: "I wrote him a letter."
Jing Li: “Ah?”
"I sent him a letter a few days before we set off." Qin Zhao said, "Calculating the date, he will indeed arrive a few days earlier than us."
Jingli blinked.
He was still confused, but Qin Zhao had no intention of continuing to explain.
Qin Zhao and Jing Li said that Xiao Yue had promised to help him.
But Qin Zhao has not yet told him what specific help he needs and how he needs it.
Qin Zhao told him too many things at once that day, and he couldn't consume so much information at once, so he didn't pay attention to this part. Now thinking about it, it feels a little strange.
The truth of what happened back then is still unclear, but if we want to investigate, we must start with the emperor.
According to Qin Zhao, Xiao Yue's family is a group of people who strongly support imperial power. Why would he be willing to help Qin Zhao investigate the emperor
Jing Li didn't ask any more questions.
He didn't want to wait for Qin Zhao to explain everything, as that would make him seem stupid and useless.
Let him think for himself...
Jing Li held the little fish in his arms and frowned in trouble.
…unexpected.
So difficult.
Jing Li was unable to come up with an answer in the end. The deputy general surnamed Sun came over and said, "Your Majesty, the carriage is ready. Shall we set off now?"
Qin Zhao nodded: "Okay."
For the next part of the journey, Sun Mengyi did not continue driving the car, but rode in the car with Qin Zhao and others.
He had been pretending to be a driver for the sake of his wife, but now that he had confessed his identity, there was no reason to leave him alone in the car.
Accompanying guests is the proper way to entertain them.
After this little incident, Jing Li was completely awake and sat up straight. Xiao Yuzi was also completely awake now, and kept pestering Qin Zhao to see the scenery outside.
Sun Mengyi looked at this family who acted as if nothing had happened, and his confusion grew deeper and deeper.
In order to make the plan go smoothly, they deliberately put some knockout drugs in the car. Although the dosage was extremely high, how could it be that there was no effect at all? Even this child who looked only about one year old was not affected at all
Sun Mengyi was curious to the point of discomfort, but he did not dare to ask the former regent who seemed mysterious. He only secretly looked at the incense burner in the corner of the carriage.
"Don't look at it, there's nothing wrong with the incense burner." Qin Zhao said when he turned around and saw this scene.
"..." Sun Mengyi was caught red-handed. He touched his nose and smiled apologetically, "It seems that the prince has discovered it."
Qin Zhao did not hide it: "I have been very sensitive to the smell of drugs and poisons over the years."
Qin Zhao has been taking medicine all year round and has paid close attention to medical knowledge. Now he can smell the odor of most poisonous drugs just by sniffing them.
It is easy to detect this kind of common drug on the market.
Sun Mengyi took the opportunity to ask his doubts: "How did the prince detoxify?"
Qin Zhao pointed to a pouch on his waist and said, "This medicine pouch contains a variety of medicinal herbs that can repel snakes and insects, clear the mind and detoxify."
This prescription was prepared by Qin Zhao not long ago. Before leaving, he took the opportunity of the wedding banquet to show it to Mr. Xue. After confirming that there was no mistake, he gave one to each of them.
With this thing, ordinary drugs have no effect on them.
"I see." Sun Mengyi exclaimed, "You are worthy of being Prince Rong."
After about half an hour, the carriage finally stopped.
When everyone got off the car, Jing Li realized that this was not the capital city, but a remote mountain stream.
There was an open space in front of them, with dozens of large and small tents set up on the ground, and bonfires lit in front of the tents. However, due to the terrain and the obstruction of the woods, even at night, no light could be seen from outside the mountain stream.
"This is where General Xiao is temporarily stationed." Sun Mengyi led Qin Zhao into the camp and introduced.
Qin Zhao looked around for a moment and nodded: "It is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is extremely well hidden. You are worthy of being General Xiao. If we can break into the capital from here, we will definitely catch the imperial guards off guard."
Sun Mengyi opened his mouth, so shocked that he forgot what he wanted to say: "..."
"Bah, what nonsense are you talking about!" A voice came, and Xiao Yue, dressed in light armor and cloth, walked out quickly.
He received the news when Qin Zhao and his companions entered the mountain stream. He wanted to come out to greet them, but as soon as he came out, he heard the other party talking nonsense.
Xiao Yue spat: "I only brought a hundred personal guards this time. I didn't intend to help you rebel. Don't harm my brothers!"
Qin Zhao murmured thoughtfully: "If I lead the army, it shouldn't be a problem for the hundred guards to capture the little emperor."
"..." Xiao Yue couldn't tell for a moment whether he was joking or serious.
Jing Li held the baby in his arms and watched the show with great interest.
Xiao Yue was indeed a young and promising general. He looked even more majestic in armor than the last time they met in Jiangling, making people dare not look at him.
However, this also makes the scene where he was choked by Qin Zhao and couldn't speak even more interesting.
Xiao Yue didn't think of a rebuttal for a long time, and glared at Qin Zhao fiercely: "Let's talk inside the tent."
Xiao Yue was indeed not lying. There didn't seem to be many people in the camp, and even the tents were relatively simple, not as well-equipped as those during a real march or battle.
"I have already prepared the place for you to stay. I will let Lao Sun take you there later."
Xiao Yue sat down at the table and said, "But you are still so boring. I thought you would be more surprised to see me."
"I don't see that you want to give me a surprise." Qin Zhao said coldly, "You sent people to pretend to be kidnappers and led me to a place like this. What do you want to do?"
Xiao Yue glared at Sun Mengyi and spat, "Useless thing, you can't even do this."
He paused and said with a smile: "It's just a joke. You haven't been back to the capital for many years. How can you not prepare some gifts for us?"
"Are you kidding?" Qin Zhao asked, "You drugged me and frightened my husband, and you're just going to blow the whistle with just one joke?"
It’s my husband again.
Xiao Yue knew that a small joke would not make Qin Zhao so angry. The reason he was angry was that his beloved husband was scared.
This is a thing that values love over friendship.
Xiao Yue thought he was unlucky, so he took the wine pot and wine glass on the table and poured three glasses of wine: "Okay, I'll apologize to my sister-in-law. It's my fault."
As he spoke, he pushed two glasses of wine in front of Qin Zhao and Jing Li.
Jing Li frowned slightly, recalling some unfriendly memories.
Wasn't this the guy who took Qin Zhao drinking last time and caused him to have a fever when he came back
"My husband never drinks." Qin Zhao didn't even dare to glance at the wine glass, and said seriously, "I don't drink either."
Xiao Yue was silent.
He thought to himself, wasn't this the person who could have drunk him before
Before he could say anything, Qin Zhao took the initiative to change the subject: "What is it that you want to talk to me about in person? Just tell me."
"Why rush?" Xiao Yue said, "It's getting late now. Even if you rush back to the capital now, you'll have missed the curfew and won't be able to enter the city. Just stay here with me. I'll have someone take you into the city tomorrow."
As they were talking, a guard came to the door and reported: "General, dinner is ready."
"Let's eat first, and then we can talk slowly after that." Xiao Yue said to Jing Li, "Sister-in-law, you haven't tried the grilled lamb chops in our military camp, right? The taste is indescribable, and you'll never forget it once you've tried it!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Jing Li's stomach growled spinelessly.
In fact, from the moment he entered the camp, Jing Li could already smell the ubiquitous aroma of lamb chops.
I'm really hungry.
Qin Zhao originally wanted to chat with Xiao Yueyue, but seeing her young husband's pitiful appearance, she had to give up.
Everyone left the tent together.
General Xiao Yue was a very humble person. Like other soldiers, he sat on the grass, cut a piece of sizzling mutton with a knife, and started eating it with big mouthfuls.
The food in the military camp was not very good. The sheep were hunted in the mountains and only sprinkled with a little salt and spices when roasting. It was not as delicate as what we had at home.
But perhaps due to the influence of the surrounding environment and atmosphere, Jing Li actually felt that the originally ordinary ingredients tasted unique.
"It tastes good, right? It's made by the best cook in my barracks." Xiao Yue said.
Qin Zhao was carefully cutting the meat into small pieces for the little fish. When he heard this, he looked up and saw that the little fish was enjoying the meal, taking bites of mutton and sips of mare's milk.
He looked down at the white water he had asked Ah Qi to find, and suddenly felt a little unhappy.
Seeing this, Xiao Yue handed over the wine bag in his hand and asked in a low voice, "How about a sip?"
The young man beside him was concentrating on feeding the kid meat and didn't notice them. Qin Zhao's eyes moved slightly, and even his fingertips seemed to move slightly.
The next second, he saw from the corner of his eye that the young husband seemed to turn his head back and resolutely stopped what he was doing.
Even Xiao Yue withdrew his hand like lightning.
But Jing Li just reached out, took a piece of cut meat from in front of Qin Zhao and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Eat quickly, what's wrong with you?" Seeing that Qin Zhao and Xiao Yue didn't move, Jing Li blinked blankly, "Is there any problem?"
Qin Zhao: “…”
"No." Xiao Yue said seriously, "There is no problem."
It just made him more determined to get married so early.
It's so pitiful.