"To avenge Xu Yueqin?"
Gu Qi spit out the core into the bowl and looked at Yan Churong: "Xu Yueqin is not the only one Jiang Mingchuan has harmed? How many women have been harmed by him? Such a person will only do evil if he stays in the world. But I will kill more than just him. People from harm."
"how do I say this?"
Just as Gu Qi was about to speak, he heard a cock crow.
She raised her eyes and looked out the window and said lightly: "It's dawn."
Just as he was about to stand up, Yan Churong held his wrist down.
"What's wrong?"
Yan Churong had a sullen face and whispered: "Stay away from this young prince."
Gu Qi was puzzled and tilted her head and looked at Yan Churong carefully: "Did something happen that I didn't know about?"
"He is suspicious," Yan Churong leaned back and looked out the door. Then he whispered into his ear: "He suspects you are a woman."
"Ah?" Gu Qi was shocked!
If you are caught disguised as a man, just be careful to verify your identity and you will be exposed!
"Don't be too panicked, I found..." Yan Churong hesitated to speak.
"What did you find?"
He took the empty bowl from Gu Qi's hand and said with a serious expression, "I found that this young prince seems to like you."
Gu Qi scratched her head: "Isn't this normal? If he didn't like me, why would he try to win me over? He just wanted to have more right-hand men."
"The love I'm talking about is the relationship between a man and a woman, not the relationship between friends."
Gu Qi was so shocked that her mouth opened wide and her eyes widened!
"You're not talking nonsense, are you?"
"Oh, I hope I'm overthinking it. I'll change his dressing first."
Yan Churong got up and left the room, leaving Gu Qi sitting on the bed, unable to calm down for a long time.
"gentlemen!"
Rong Di walked to the door and found it open. He knocked twice and stepped in. He smiled and said, "Are you feeling better?"
Gu Qi came back to his senses, smiled and nodded: "General Rong, do you have anything to do with me?"
"The main thing is to see how your body is recovering. If you can move around, then go to the front hall to eat and talk about the next arrangements."
"Okay." Gu Qi put on her shoes and socks and a thicker coat, and followed Rong Di to the front hall.
After a cup of tea, Yuan Zhe stepped into the hall. After everyone bowed and took their seats, they began to have breakfast.
"Master Pei," Xie Ruoling stood up with a cup of tea in hand: "I saw your case in Tuzhou before. His Highness tried it again and again. He thought it was bullying the people and criticized you. After getting along with him, I found out that you You are a gentleman! I, Xie Ling, am here to apologize to you and offer you tea instead of wine. I hope you will forgive me."
Gu Qi was startled and hurriedly picked up the tea cup and stood up: "Thank you, Master, it doesn't have to be like this."
After drinking a cup of medium-light tea, Xie Ruoling laughed happily: "Master Pei, I really admire you! Can you explain in more detail why this list is not in the secret room but in the pawn shop?"
"Haha, this," Gu Qi sat down slowly and put down the tea cup: "It's just a wild guess. Jiang Mingchuan has been in Qingzhou for many years, relying not only on Concubine Hui's power, but also on his own ability. There are people in the study If you break in, he will definitely notice it, so it is inevitable to move the important things and set a trap in the study."
"When I came out of Jiang's Mansion and returned to the General's Mansion, His Highness was no longer there. I thought it was a step too late, but I was shocked!"
"Your Highness is not here?" Gu Qi was slightly surprised and turned to look at Yuan Zhe who was eating porridge quietly.
Rong Di laughed heartily: "Sir, His Highness actually set out with you. Since you entered the Red Sleeve Building, you have been guarding the back door. It was not until you found Xi Zuo that you chased him to the pawn shop."
Gu Qi frowned slightly and asked, "Then who was left in the hall that day?"
"Secretary of State Mu Yan." Yuan Zhe put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth lightly.
Xie Ruoling nodded: "Yes, he turned sideways and stretched out his hand towards me. I shouted, 'Your Highness, the list has been obtained!' and handed over the list we prepared."
"Then Xizuo received the news and went to Hongxiu Tower." Gu Qi continued: "Jiang Mingchuan was worried and asked Xizuo to go to the pawn shop to check. By then, His Highness had already chased after him and got the real list."
"That's right." Yuan Zhe took over the conversation and looked at Gu Qi: "It's just that after I got the list, I didn't go to rescue you immediately."
It was quiet for a while.
Gu Qi's injury was not part of the plan, and everyone wore their guilt on their faces. Yuan Zhe, in particular, has been depressed since his return.
But only Gu Qi knew that this injury was the result of his own actions.
"Hey, what are your expressions!" Gu Qi broke the silence and laughed loudly: "Now that we have the list, of course the next step is to focus on the details! Tell me, how did you catch all the details in the house? "
The gloom on Rong Di's face was wiped away, and he said happily: "Your Highness, he was worried that there would be more than one craftsman in the house. After I brought the troops together, he asked me to go back to the general's house and dispersed all the soldiers. He only said Surround the pawn shop. Some of them went to Hongxiu Tower, Jiang Mansion and the restaurant respectively, but were caught by my soldiers."
"Huh, what a big move."
"Hey, sir, it's not what you said, it's easiest to hide in the crowd. My soldiers are all very smart!"
Gu Qichao gave Rong Di a thumbs up: "As expected of the Protector General!"
Rong Di scratched his head in embarrassment: "Thank you, sir."
"The next step is to check the list."
Rong Di and Xie Ruoling nodded and expressed their willingness to check the list together.
Gu Qi raised her eyes and looked at Yuan Zhe quietly. When she met Yuan Zhe's probing gaze, she was so frightened that she quickly turned her head, raised her porridge bowl and took a big gulp.
In one day, Gu Qi, Yan Churong, Rong Di and Xie Ruoling checked all the lists. Among them, there is almost no trace of the women from fifteen years ago. The women from seven years ago were sold into various households as slaves. Most of the women from three years ago stayed in Hongxiu Tower, and a small number were sent to various wealthy families in Qingzhou to work as slaves. The concubines, and a few more, were sent to Yun State.
"What can we do?" Xie Ruoling lamented and lay on the table.
"My eyes are going to go blind!" Rong Di rubbed his eyes, stood up and said, "Sir, wait until I go out to practice sword practice and regain my consciousness."
"General Rong, count me in!" Xie Ruoling ran out after him.
In the wing room, only Gu Qi and Yan Churong were left.
"Any suggestions?"
Yan Churong was holding a cup of tea, slowly fuming his sore eyes. Hearing Gu Qi's tone, he seemed to have lost his mind. He raised his lips slightly and smiled: "It depends on you, how far you want to go."
Gu Qi asked in confusion: "What do you mean?"
Yan Churong slowly opened his eyes and lightly opened his soft lips: "If you want to give the people an explanation, the girl in the Red Sleeve Building is enough. What's more, if you overthrow Jiang Mingchuan and cut off the trafficking line, the people will know that you have tried your best. The rest, whether you find it or not, doesn't mean much to you."
Gu Qi lowered her head and sighed: "But those women who are living outside are hoping that someone can come to rescue them."
"You want to find them all without missing a beat?"
"It's unrealistic." Gu Qi shook his head, his eyes full of helplessness: "How long will it take to find out? What's more, we can't delay the flood control in Tuzhou, we have to go back as soon as possible."
"So, you've made a choice."
Gu Qi raised her eyes to look at Yan Churong, feeling as if there was a big stone in her heart, feeling depressed. She opened her mouth, which eventually turned into a long sigh.
"Have you ever noticed a detail?"
"Um?"
Yan Churong picked up his pen and circled the names of several people: "Look, where are the women from fifteen years ago sent to?"
Gu Qi picked up the list and muttered: "Laozhou, Zezhou, the capital!"
"Fifteen years ago, Jiang Mingchuan was only a few years old. It was obviously not his fault."
"Is it his father?"
Yan Churong shook his head: "If his father had such a plan, would he still be a seventh-grade county official?"
Gu Qi looked at the list carefully, puzzled.
"If we look at those from seven years ago, most of them were consumed in Qingzhou City and sent to various wealthy families as slaves."
Gu Qi nodded: "Yes, this batch seven years ago was all placed in Qingzhou."
"As for the ones from three years ago, they were of the right age and either entered the Red Sleeve Tower or were given to others as concubines. Some of them were sent to the Yun Kingdom."
Gu Qi was silent. Yan Churong's reminder made her discover something new, but she had no more clues.
"Sir! What can you see?"
Gu Qi looked up and saw Rong Di and Xie Ruoling coming back sweating profusely.
"It's nothing," Gu Qi suppressed her sadness and said with a smile, "After going out for a while, can you think of any good countermeasures?"
Rong Di scratched his head and laughed naively: "I am a martial artist, how can I be as smart as my husband? However! I think all the answers should lie with Jiang Mingchuan. If you have any doubts, just ask him directly!"
Gu Qi stood up, suddenly enlightened, and patted Rong Di on the shoulder: "General Rong! As expected of you! You thought of something..."
Before Rong Di could feel proud, he saw Gu Qi mutter with his mouth flat: "What a bad idea."
"Hey, sir, you have imitated His Highness, and now you are making fun of me."
Gu Qi stuck out her tongue playfully: "You're just kidding. Jiang Mingchuan does know a lot of things, but if you don't have something, you can't pry him open."
Xie Ruoling, like Rong Di, is a simple-minded person, commonly known as "Zhangzi". I don't understand this kind of twists and turns, so I simply don't participate, just lower my head and eat tea in silence. From time to time, he glanced at Yan Churong, but Yan Churong rarely paid attention to him.
"Why not," Rong Di stuffed a piece of fruit into his mouth and said vaguely, "go ask His Highness. You are all smart people. If you think about it, you will have a clue."
Gu Qiyi was startled and looked embarrassed. In the past few months of getting along with Yuanzhe, I seemed to be used to discussing important matters with him. But Yan Churong's words in the morning made her feel worried. If you get too close, Yuan Zhe will find out the clues and expose his daughter's identity...
What's more, she speculated that the abduction fifteen years ago was related to Yun Guo, so she couldn't elaborate on it with Yuan Zhe.
That’s it!
Gu Qi picked up the list and took Rong Di's hand: "General Rong, where is Jiang Mingchuan being held?"
Rong Di didn't know why, but seeing Gu Qi so anxious, he held half a fruit in his hand and took Gu Qi to the prison.
The dungeon of the General's Mansion is much cleaner than the Yamen Prison. The people in the cell were also unusually quiet. When he saw someone coming, he was not surprised, nor did he hold the door open to complain, he just went about his business silently. He might play chess with a few stones, break off a branch and write on the ground, or look up at the small window with his hands behind his back.
"These are all carefully crafted by the Yun State. He was once a high-ranking and powerful person in Qingzhou, but he wants to do such things as collaborating with the enemy and treason! Alas!"
Gu Qi smiled awkwardly and followed Rong Di inside.
Hearing the sound of iron chains, Gu Qi took a few steps forward and saw Jiang Mingchuan's arms wrapped in iron chains, hanging in the center of the cell, and his feet also chained.
"How could this be?"
Rong Di said angrily: "He hurt Mr., so he will definitely suffer some pain."
Gu Qi lowered her head and smiled, raising her hand: "Open the door and let him down."
Rong Di nodded, opened the door and let Jiang Mingchuan down.
"General Rong, please step aside. I have something to ask him."
"Sir!" Rong Di's voice rose a few degrees and he pointed at Jiang Mingchuan: "He is not bad at martial arts. He might be in danger if he is alone!"
Gu Qi narrowed his eyes slightly, met Jiang Mingchuan's sharp and playful eyes, and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter."
Rong Di rubbed his chin in embarrassment: "Let's do this, I'll wait at that entrance. If anything goes wrong, just call me loudly!"
"good."
