There were only a few pedestrians along the way, and among the dense woods, you could occasionally see a few scattered thatched houses in the distance.
"I have seen many scholars like you who studied books day and night and never cherished their bodies. Before they had time to serve their country, they were buried in the soil with a belly full of ink."
"Perhaps this is a person who pursues something different in this life."
Hearing this, Rong Di lowered his head and was silent for a while. Then he suddenly raised his head again, looking at the orange-red sunset in front of him and said, "Mr. Pei, Rong admires you. We rough men can only protect our territory. Lan Guo's What the people want is nothing but stability. What you learn will definitely benefit the people. But you must not imitate those 'nerds'. You should always exercise yourself and take care of yourself."
Gu Qi looked at Rong Di and saw that he was looking at the setting sun in a trance, with tears flashing from the corners of his eyes.
"I will."
The two looked at each other and smiled, heading towards the setting sun.
A gust of cold wind blew, and Gu Qi shrank his neck.
Rong Di raised his hand to stop: "After walking for a long time, everyone is tired, so why not camp here."
As he dismounted, Gu Qi pointed forward and asked, "How long will it take to reach the county?"
Rong Di tied the cloak on Gu Qi: "It's almost time. According to our speed, we will be there in three to five days."
Gu Qi nodded and gathered with everyone to eat a few mouthfuls of dry food.
Late at night, Rong Di began to arrange night watch soldiers, while the rest went into the camp to rest.
On the second day, Yan Churong invited Gu Qi to ride with him on the pretext of changing the dressing.
Thinking of yesterday's scene, Gu Qi did not agree immediately, and subconsciously looked at Yuan Zhe who was standing with his hands behind his back.
There was no displeasure on Yuan Zhe's face, and he always looked cold: "Your old wounds have not healed. Now that you have encountered twists and turns, it's time to pick things up again."
Gu Qi bowed deeply to Yuan Zhe and followed Yan Churong into the carriage behind.
There was a creaking sound, and the carriage moved forward slowly.
Yan Churong took out ointment, fine cloth, etc. from the wooden box beside him. After cleaning the wound, he applied cold ointment. After bandaging it, he sat down opposite Gu Qi.
"Have the old wounds healed?"
Gu Qi nodded and said: "It's much better, but I still can't stop coughing when I get angry."
Yan Churong frowned, put his slender fingers on Gu Qi's wrist, and put them down after a moment.
"The wound on your arm suppurated, and some inflammation came out, which caused the wound to heal slowly. If you rest for a while, you can use force."
Gu Qi nodded, looked at Yan Churong and asked, "What are your plans next?"
Yan Churong was stunned for a moment and then laughed: "I'll stay with you."
"Boring." Gu Qi rolled her eyes at him, wondering if he could still joke at this time.
Yan Churong pursed his lips and said softly: "You have a special status. It will be much more convenient if I am here."
After that, he lowered his head and started packing his things, his ears turning slightly red.
The group of people walked for five consecutive days before arriving at the county.
It was almost dusk when we arrived at the county. The city gate guards took the token and the mighty procession walked into the city, which aroused discussions among the people around them.
Gu Qi was taking a nap with her eyes closed when the car suddenly stopped. She opened her eyes, lifted the curtain and looked forward.
Three or four rows of soldiers stood neatly in front, and a man in official uniform stood next to Yuan Zhe's carriage.
After a while, Rong Di rode towards the back.
Gu Qi poked his head and asked, "General Rong, what's in front of you?"
Rong Di sat on the horse, bowed and said: "This is Mr. Liu Jigang. His Highness asked me to come over and say that we will stay at the Liu Mansion tonight and go to the palace early tomorrow morning to meet the saint."
"Oh." Gu Qi pointed to Song Lian's carriage in front and asked, "I just saw you coming directly to us. Why didn't you notify Mr. Song?"
Rong Di laughed twice and said, "Have you forgotten that Master Song's residence is in the county?"
"Haha, that's right." Gu Qiqian laughed twice: "In that case, I will bother Mr. Liu. If there is anything vulgar, I hope you will forgive me."
"Okay, let's set off now."
After Rong Di left, Gu Qi lowered the curtain and looked at Yan Churong, who was silent next to him: "What is the background of this Liu Jigang?"
Yan Churong thought for a while and said: "Prefecture and state defense. I once heard Han Zizheng say that the court of Lan State is not as plain as it seems on the surface. Liu Jigang was promoted by Yuan Zhe, so he was naturally loyal to Yuan Zhe. Emperor Yuan Cheng Although Xi had doubts, he never found any real clues."
"According to what you said, this prince of Zhenguo seems to be usurping the throne?"
Yan Churong shook his head and continued: "We originally thought the same way. Yuan Zhe is about the same age as his emperor's nephew, but in terms of power and strategy, he is better than the little emperor. But he has always been content with being a governor. The prince of the country has never done anything beyond the rules. If he is ambitious, the entire Lan country will be within his reach."
The water in this court is deep!
Gu Qi suddenly laughed, with a cunning light in his eyes: "It seems that I want to thank Qingzhou for being assassinated."
Yan Churong asked in confusion: "What do you mean?"
"If we hadn't met in Qingzhou, it would have been difficult to find an opportunity to get close to Yuanzhe."
At one point, Yan Churong understood Gu Qi's intention. He couldn't help but worry: "There are risks in getting close to Yuan Zhe."
Gu Qi was not worried at all. He had already forgotten about the copycat incident and was only immersed in what he thought was a "god-given opportunity."
When they arrived at the garrison mansion, it was completely dark. Gu Qi packed her luggage in the wing and changed into clean clothes. After a while, Yan Churong came from next door. Before he could speak, the servant from the house came over to send a message for everyone to go to the banquet.
"There is a banquet in the mansion today. One is to welcome His Highness, and the other is to welcome General Rong and Mr. Pei. If there is any improper reception, I hope you will forgive me." Liu Jigang stood up and toasted Yuan Zhe with a glass of wine, and then went to Rong Di and Gu Seven toasts, no problem.
Yuan Zhe sat upright at the table, and the maid next to him began to pour wine.
"Master Liu, is there anything strange in the county recently?"
Liu Jigang clasped his hands and replied: "Your Highness, there is nothing strange. But..."
"Huh?" Yuan Zhe picked up the wine cup and paused, then raised his eyes to look at Liu Jigang.
Liu Jigang raised his arm and wiped the sweat from his forehead and said: "There are more gossips in the court. I am afraid that someone is instigating behind the scenes and alienating the emperor and his ministers. It is better to deal with it as soon as possible."
Gu Qi looked at Yuan Zhe and saw that he drank the wine in one gulp and ate the food nonchalantly: "It doesn't matter."
Liu Jigang saw this and said no more. He raised his hand to summon several dancers and danced to the music of the musicians next to him.
Looking at the posture, Gu Qi was a little disappointed, thinking that he would not say anything confidential.
On the opposite table, a woman was looking over here. When she met Gu Qi's eyes, she quickly lowered her head.
Gu Qi looked at the woman opposite, then at Yan Churong beside her, lowered her head and laughed.
Rong Di came over with a wine cup and said, "That is the only daughter of Master Liu's family. She has a beautiful face and is one of the most talented women in the capital."
"Why are you telling me this?" Gu Qi glanced at Rong Di.
"I see you have been looking at her for a long time, maybe you have taken a liking to her?" Rong Di whispered.
He couldn't swallow the sip of wine, which made Gu Qi cough.
Rong Di raised his hand and patted Gu Qi on the back: "Look at you."
Gu Qi raised her hand and broke away: "What are you talking about?"
Rong Di's eyes instantly straightened.
When I first met Gu Qi, she had a fair face and a scholarly appearance. Although I thought she was beautiful, she always had a sickly look to her.
Now that she was drinking, her cheeks turned red, her eyes filled with tears, her lips were rosy, and she felt even more charming!
Gu Qi didn't know why. Seeing Rong Di in a daze, she raised her hand and patted his face: "What's wrong with you?"
Rong Di's face turned red: "No, it's okay."
After speaking, he took two sips of wine, turned around and stopped talking.
After the banquet, Rong Di followed Yuan Zhe and left the banquet.
The rest all knelt down and bowed their heads.
Yuan Zhe walked to Gu Qi and stopped, glancing at Gu Qi: "Master Liu, let's talk about the study."
When Yuan Zhe left the hall, Liu Jigang stood up and followed him out quickly.
The rest of the people stood up one after another. The maid came over and said, "You two gentlemen, please come this way."
Gu Qi and Yan Churong looked at each other and followed the maid out of the hall.
The Miss Liu family sitting at the table opposite was still standing there and saluting. Only when she stood in front of him did Gu Qi see her face clearly. Willow eyebrows, cherry mouth, graceful figure, slender fingers.
She raised her eyes slightly and met Gu Qi's appraising eyes. Both of them blushed.
When I returned to the wing, I thought of Yuan Zhe's words "A talk about the study" and felt suspicious.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Gu Qi opened the door and saw Yan Churong standing at the door carrying a small medicine box.
"How did you come?"
Yan Churong walked straight in. Gu Qi looked back and forth and saw that there was no one in the corridor, so he opened the door and entered.
"Let me see your injury."
Gu Qi sat at the table and stretched out a hand to Yan Churong. But his mind was always on Yuan Zhe: "Tell me, what will they say when they talk in the study?"
Yan Churong did not answer and began to change the dressing on the wound: "It is not appropriate to drink alcohol in Japan today."
Gu Qi turned to look at him and saw that he had his head lowered, as if he didn't hear her words.
After he finished bandaging, Gu Qi stood up and took out the night clothes.
"What are you doing?" Yan Churong asked, pulling on his clothes.
"I want to see it."
"What are you looking at? You are not familiar with this place. Do you know where the study is? If you go out wearing this at night, wouldn't it mean that you are 'no money here' if you are caught?"
Gu Qi stayed where she was, feeling that Yan Churong's words made sense.
"Then what do I do?"
Yan Churong snatched the night clothes, suddenly remembered something, and asked: "During the interrogation at Qingzhou Pass, your night clothes were not found?"
Gu Qi smiled proudly: "The mountain man has his own clever plan."
Yan Churong smiled helplessly, folded the night clothes and placed them on the bedside.
"You haven't said yet, what should I do."
Yan Churong sat down and took a sip of tea: "Do nothing."
"Wouldn't that mean we can't get any news?"
"You have to remember that you are Pei Qihuan, not Gu Qi. Think carefully about what matters Pei Qihuan cares about." He put down the teacup, touched the teapot next to him and said, "The water is cold, if you drink For tea, remember to ask them to change it to another pot."
Nightfall
In the study
"Your Highness, it's already midnight and no one has come yet." Rong Di jumped down from the tree and walked to the door and whispered.
"Could it be a mistake? Maybe it's a coincidence?"
Yuan Zhe glanced at Liu Jigang, took a sip of tea and said, "How can there be so many coincidences."
Liu Jigang stopped talking and just walked around the room.
"That's all," Yuan Zhe stood up, dusted his upper body, and said to Rong Di, "Let them retreat."
Rong Di waved his hand outside, and all the people hiding on the rocks, upstairs, and on the roof retreated.
