It seems that Yuan Zhe didn't expect that Yuan Zhe would speak so straightforwardly.
Gu Qi was stunned, covering his mouth and nose and coughing: "Ahem...Your Highness, what did you just say?"
Yuan Zhe looked down at her, pursed his lips and smiled: "Nothing."
Then he leaned close to Gu Qi's ear and whispered: "I am not as good as you at pretending to be stupid."
"Your Majesty, what do you mean by your Majesty's words?"
"Go to rest early." Yuan Zhe raised his hand and patted Gu Qi's shoulder: "I will go to Luzhou with you tomorrow."
"Laozhou?"
"Yes. Food is in short supply in Tuzhou, so I need to transfer some of it to Luzhou."
"The granary in Luozhou also requires His Majesty's imperial edict before it can be opened. What's the use of our past?"
Yuan Zhe put his hands behind his back and said confidently: "You'll know when you get there."
next day
Everyone gathered in the main hall to discuss disaster relief and village relocation matters.
Gu Qi secretly yawned to relieve her tiredness.
"Pei Qihuan has just recovered, so it's better not to travel. Why don't I go to Luzhou with your highness?"
Yuan Zhe looked at Xue Peilin with a smile: "Mr.
Feng Rui, who was sitting next to him, turned red with embarrassment.
Yuan Zhe ignored him, rolled his eyes at Feng Rui, and looked at everyone: "If there is nothing else to do, please disperse and do what you need to do."
"I'll take my leave."
After the county guards left, Xue Peilin and Feng Rui sent Yuan Zhe and Gu Qi out of the house.
As soon as they reached the door, Yan Churong ran over panting.
"Doctor Yan?"
Yan Churong straightened his clothes and saluted Yuan Zhe respectfully: "Greetings to His Royal Highness King Zhe and all your lords."
"No need to be polite." Seeing Yan Churong sweating profusely, Yuan Zhe asked hurriedly: "Is there anything urgent?"
Yan Churong looked at Gu Qi: "Although Master Pei's injuries have healed, there are still things that need attention. The common people need to be warned."
"In that case, I will get in the car first."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Yan Churong bowed slightly towards Yuan Zhe's back.
Xue Peilin and Feng Rui followed Yuan Zhe to the carriage and lowered their heads to listen to Yuan Zhe's instructions.
Yan Churong pulled Gu Qi further away and whispered: "I can't accompany you to Luzhou. It's just you two, so you should be more careful."
Gu Qi was a little surprised. He didn't have time to inform Yan Churong of yesterday's arrangement.
"Remember, don't expose your martial arts, protect yourself, and don't get hurt. The most important thing is to keep a distance from Yuan Zhe. You can stop taking the medicine for a while, and you don't need to take it too often..."
Yan Churong was still chattering endlessly, not noticing anything strange about Gu Qi at all.
"Wait a minute." Gu Qi couldn't help but cut him off.
"Um?"
Gu Qi narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at Yan Churong: "How did you know that I was going to Luzhou today?"
Yan Churong was startled: "Are you questioning me?"
Gu Qi licked her lips guiltily: "I didn't mean that."
"When you come back, I will explain it to you carefully." Yan Churong lowered his eyes, slightly disappointed.
Gu Qi stopped looking at him and just said "hmm" lightly.
Seeing that he was speechless, Gu Qi raised her feet to leave.
"The look on your face just now looked very much like a person."
Hearing Yan Churong's words, Gu Qi turned his head slightly: "Who?"
Yan Churong looked at the ground: "Yuanzhe."
Gu Qigang was about to say something when he heard Feng Rui shouting from the front: "Master Pei! His Highness asked you, when will we set off?"
"Come right here!" Gu Qi ran over.
After Gu Qi got into the car and sat firmly, the coachman shouted "drive", the horse raised its feet and walked forward, the bell on its neck made a clear sound.
"You have a good relationship with Yan Churong."
Gu Qi smiled and said: "Doctor Yan has excellent medical skills and is a humble man. Although I am weak and sick, I have many contacts with him. I have become a friend every time I go back and forth."
"Um."
Yuan Zhe stopped talking and began to close his eyes to rest.
Gu Qi's heart was pounding. She couldn't figure out the Buddha in front of her, so she said no more.
The carriage creaked forward, and after leaving Tuzhou City, pedestrians and carriages became scarce.
Gu Qi opened the curtain. The outside looked a little desolate, but it was much better than when he first came.
In the wild forest on the roadside, green grass leaves grow, which is really beautiful.
A gust of wind blew in, and Yuan Zhe opened his eyes and looked outside the curtain.
Further ahead is the place where he was assassinated last time.
Gu Qi lay by the window and yawned: "The breeze blows, it feels really comfortable."
The creaking sound of the carriage seemed like a pleasant lullaby.
Yuan Zhe's heartbeat began to speed up. He stared at Gu Qi closely, and his hands changed from palms to fists.
The distance was only a few feet, but it seemed like we had walked for a long time.
Squeak...
Squeak...
The horse shook its head, its mane moving up and down in the wind.
The driver was a little tired and leaned inside, feeling drowsy.
Yuan Zhe breathed a sigh of relief.
Looking at Gu Qi who was sleeping soundly, he took off his cloak and lightly covered her shoulders.
After Yuan Zhe and Gu Qi set off for Luozhou, Xue Peilin took a carriage to Qishui County, while Feng Rui drove straight out of the city.
"Why don't you act on such a good opportunity?"
Feng Rui's roar came from inside the thatched house.
The person outside the door folded the jade fan in his hand and pushed the door open.
Seeing someone coming, a row of well-trained secret guards said respectfully: "Master."
Feng Rui turned around and saw Han Zizheng standing behind him.
"Han...Major General!!"
"Master Feng, you are fine."
"When did you arrive in Tuzhou? Why didn't you inform me?"
Feng Rui gave a flattering smile and waved his hand to let everyone disperse.
After Han Zizheng sat down, Feng Rui picked up the fruit on the table, took out the handkerchief and wiped it again before passing it over.
Han Zizheng held the fan handle and pushed Feng Rui's arm aside: "How long have you been the governor of Tuzhou?"
"Thanks to Old General Han, it has been seventeen or eight years."
"Well, that's long enough."
Feng Rui trembled and almost lost his grip on the fruit in his hand: "Young...General, what do you mean?"
Han Zizheng lost his temper and smiled sinisterly: "It's time for you to make this move."
Suddenly I felt a chill running down my spine, and cold sweat ran down my temples.
My throat is dry and my legs are a little weak.
After a long time, Feng Rui closed his eyes as if resigned to his fate, straightened up, and sighed: "I hope the young general will be kind to the dog."
Han Zizheng stopped looking at him and only fiddled with the fan in his hand: "Don't worry, your son is fine in Yun State. I promise you that when the matter is completed, I will give you and your son enough time to say goodbye."
After saying that, Han Zizheng looked up and saw tears gathering in Feng Rui's eyes.
He stood up and patted Feng Rui on the shoulder: "Master Feng, you don't have to be like this. The glory of more than ten years is something that others can't get in several lifetimes. It's worth it no matter what."
When I opened my eyes, it was almost dusk.
Gu Qi rubbed his sore neck, raised his arms and stretched hard.
"Your Highness, where are you?"
"It's still far away."
"Oh." Gu Qi picked up the water bag and took a sip of water. She suddenly felt hungry and turned to look at Yuan Zhe: "Your Highness, is there anything to eat?"
"No."
"Ah? How can you not bring dry food with you when you are traveling far away?"
Yuan Zhe suppressed his hunger and grunted: "I never bring my own dry food when I go out."
"This..." Gu Qi suddenly felt troubled: "I came out too hastily, and... I didn't have time to prepare."
"Then just go hungry, no one will die."
Just as Yuan Zhe finished speaking, his stomach growled.
Gu Qi smiled and said: "Your Highness actually knows ventriloquism."
Another gurgling sound.
This time it wasn't Yuan Zhe's.
Gu Qi hurriedly covered her stomach, her cheeks red with embarrassment.
Yuan Zhe couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Pei Qing, you have a great ability to learn things."
I don’t know whether it was because my stomach growled too loudly, or because the coachman overheard the conversation between the two.
The driver laughed naively outside: "My lords, if you don't mind, I have some grass and fruit here, which can barely satisfy my hunger."
Gu Qi's eyes lit up when he heard that there was food!
"What is grass fruit? Can I try it?"
The driver put his hand into his pocket and took it out.
Then, a dirty hand stretched out from outside, holding two green to black... grass balls?
Gu Qi took it with both hands and held it in his hands for a long time.
Is this the grass fruit the coachman mentioned?
It looked like wild vegetables and bran, mashed and kneaded into a ball, steamed until half-cooked.
I put it under my nose and smelled it, and there was a strong grassy fragrance.
"Uncle, what is this grass fruit of yours made of?"
The coachman laughed innocently and said, "I can't even name it. There are weeds all over the place. As long as they are not poisonous to death, we can eat whatever we dig up."
"Uncle, which county are you from?"
"Moxian County to the west."
"The place next to Yong'an County?"
"right."
Gu Qi frowned.
To the north of Moxian County is the desert.
"Cough." Yuan Zhe coughed dryly.
Gu Qi came to his senses, raised the grass fruit in his hand above his head, and handed it to Yuan Zhe.
Yuan Zhe glanced at it and felt a little nauseous.
I thought that the hardships on the frontier were to endure hunger and eat some brown rice, which was to appreciate the suffering of the world.
Unexpectedly, the people of Tuzhou were as if they were in the Asura Hell. If they continued, they might turn into man-eating evil spirits.
Yuan Zhe pushed Gu Qi's hand away and said, "Stop the car."
The driver tightened the reins slightly and the horse stopped.
"Let's set up camp and rest here tonight."
After saying that, Yuan Zhe stood up, bent down and got out of the car.
Gu Qi put the straw dumplings into his sleeves and stuck his head out from the side of the car: "Your Highness, for setting up tents, it's fine for me to do it. You'd better go back to the car and rest!"
Yuan Zhe stood still and shook the sword in his hand: "I am going to find some food."
"Oh." Gu Qi got out of the car and took out the tent from the back of the car.
The driver tied the horse to the wild grass beside the road and trotted back to help.
After a while, the tent was set up.
"Uncle, why are you standing so far away? Let's sit down for a while." Gu Qi raised her head and waved to the driver.
"No, no." The coachman smiled and waved his hand.
Seeing that he was a little cautious, Gu Qi stood up and dragged the coachman to the tent: "Come on, let's take a rest."
"Thank you so much, sir." The driver shook the dirt off his body and sat down carefully.
"Uncle, have you settled down with your wife and children at home after traveling far away?"
The coachman scratched his head in embarrassment: "How can a family like ours be so lucky? The women in the village wanted to survive, so they all ran to the preceding counties, either marrying as concubines or working as slaves. At least I have something to eat. In order to survive, I begged the county magistrate to find a job, so I can make a living."
Gu Qi sighed.
"My lord, you see that you are someone who is doing great things. You are so young that you come here to control the water. If you take root here in the future, there will definitely be a lot of women rushing to serve you!"
Gu Qi made a "puff" sound and was amused by the driver: "When the flood control is over, your top priority will be to get a wife, haha!"
The coachman lowered his head and thought for a moment, then covered his face with his hands and laughed loudly. He bared his teeth and leaned into Gu Qi's ear, whispering: "When the time comes, I want to find someone with big breasts and let her give me a litter of fat babies!"
"Hahahaha..." Gu Qi and the coachman laughed in unison.
What this coachman said was too vulgar!
But it’s so fun!
Gu Qi laughed until her face turned red. Then she raised her hand to cover her cheek and changed the topic: "It's getting dark. Let's pick up some dry branches and make a fire."
"Sure!" The coachman got up and walked toward the forest.
The sun was setting.
It was pitch black all around.
Gu Qi couldn't sit still. She stood by the fire and looked in the direction where Yuan Zhe left.
Yuan Zhe hasn't come back yet. Could it be that he encountered a wild beast and was injured?
Gu Qi was a little worried, so she told the driver not to wander around, and walked towards the wild forest ahead.
The moon was obscured by dark clouds, and the dark wild forest was quiet.
"Your Highness? Are you there?" Gu Qi wanted to shout loudly, but was afraid of disturbing the wild beasts in the forest, so he had to lower his voice and call over and over again.
If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have let him go into the woods alone!
Gu Qi regretted a little, she was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, never stopping or walking, for fear of missing the chance to meet Yuan Zhe.
"Gugu...Gugu..."
Gu Qi raised her head and saw an owl standing on the branch of a tree, tilting its head and hooting at her.
Suddenly, a black shadow appeared in front of him and rushed towards Gu Qi!
