"Tell me, what do you think, or who did you guess?"
Su Qi'an asked, but Shui Sheng shook his head, "Sir, this is just a subordinate's speculation, and now we have suffered heavy losses. If we really go for screening, it will definitely break the hearts of the brothers. This matter should wait until Sir to calm people's hearts. Then, just investigate it privately."
Su Qi'an nodded, looked at Shui Sheng seriously, and said softly, "Shui Sheng, it's been three days since we've seen each other. I treat you with admiration. You've grown a lot now."
"Sir, that's ridiculous. Shui Sheng is just doing his job. If my subordinates had been alert earlier, I'm afraid the casualties among our brothers wouldn't have been so heavy, and Shopkeeper Qin wouldn't have been caught."
Shui Sheng blamed himself, Su Qian patted his shoulder and comforted him, and then everyone entered Lingbei City one after another.
It has been almost a year since I left Lingbei County, and not much has changed. Perhaps it was because of the search ordered by Xizhou Mu.
The streets in Lingbei County were a bit deserted. Everyone walked by without speaking a word, especially the New Army, whose faces were a little sad.
The guards who returned with Su Qi'an glanced around. One of them had a good relationship with Huang Wenyan. He glanced around and seemed to notice something unusual.
He said in a low voice to Huang Wenyan beside him, "Commander, this street seems a little too quiet. Is this possible?"
Before the guard could finish speaking, he was stopped by Huang Wenyan's gaze. The guard instantly realized that he had said the wrong thing.
He nodded repeatedly, his face returned to normal color, but his palm unconsciously rested on the handle of the knife.
The streets were deserted, and after walking for a while, everyone finally arrived at the Lingbei County Government Office.
There was no yamen guard at the gate of the county government office, so he should have gone to report it.
As soon as Su Qi'an and others came forward, the government officials ran out and went out to greet them.
He said to Su Qian, "The county magistrate has prepared wine and specially asked us to welcome Mr. Su."
Su Qi'an didn't speak, just nodded, and then led by the yamen servants into the Lingbei County yamen.
The place they went to was the reception room of the county government office. As Su Qi'an walked towards them, the newly appointed Magistrate He came face to face.
Magistrate He walked over quickly and greeted Su Qi'an for a while, acting like a friend he hadn't seen for a long time.
Although it is very enthusiastic, it always feels unreal and a little nervous.
Su Qi'an didn't mean to reveal anything, and chatted with Magistrate He, and soon everyone entered the living room.
A table of delicious food had been prepared in the hall. Magistrate He said to the Yamen servant, "Hurry and prepare hot water so that Mr.'s subordinates can take a good bath to relieve their fatigue."
With Su Qi'an's acquiescence, except for Su Yong and Huang Wenyan who stayed with them, the rest were arranged under the leadership of the Yamen servants.
Everyone sat down, and County Magistrate He first raised his glass and said, "Mr. Su has been working really hard all the way. Fortunately, he is finally back and can reunite with his family. The county is not so capable, so we can only do our best. I hope Mr. Don’t blame.”
"Magistrate He is out of touch. Magistrate He is able to take such a risk. I am very grateful to Su. As for the rest, what else can Su ask for."
"Yes, Magistrate He, you know what kind of person you are, sir. If it weren't for Magistrate He, none of us would be able to escape the murderous hands. Come on, I'd like to toast you with this drink on behalf of my sir."
Shuisheng also added on the side, raising his wine glass and motioning towards Magistrate He.
It was just a toast, but it seemed a little awkward, because he was the only one at the table who stood up to signal.
People like Su Yong, Huang Wenyan and others were motionless, which made Shuisheng's face look a little stiff.
He said softly, "Sir, after all, we have been favored by Magistrate He. Su Yong and the others have not shown any expression, which is a bit inappropriate."
Magistrate He smiled and waved his hands and said, "Well, this is a trivial matter. It's nothing. They are all Mr.'s right-hand men. It's normal to be a little arrogant. Don't let this trivial matter hurt your harmony."
Magistrate He said this, but Su Yong and Huang Wenyan remained indifferent. It’s like I didn’t see it.
Although Shuisheng cannot be compared with Su Yong in terms of position, he is still one of Su Qi'an's confidants.
Moreover, Magistrate He lowered his attitude so low, but these two people were indifferent, which was really disrespectful.
Shuisheng frowned and continued, "Sir, don't you plan to take care of them? If they do this, it will bring disgrace to you."
"Sir, there is something I have to say. Sir, you are too doting on them. This will harm them."
Shui Sheng was so aggressive, and Magistrate He beside him was still trying to smooth things over. At this time, Su Qi'an, who had been silent, said.
"Shui Sheng, are you going too far with what you said? When will you still be so aggressive? I remember, it seems that I didn't teach you this."
"You are so eager. Could it be that there are some ulterior secrets hidden in this wine?"
Shui Sheng's expression changed when Su Qi'an said this, but he quickly recovered and explained to Su Qi'an.
"Sir, this matter was caused by my subordinate's abruptness. I just want to express my gratitude to County Magistrate He for lending a helping hand."
"Since Sir, I have said so, it is my fault. To express my apology, I will punish myself with three cups of wine."
As he spoke, Shui Sheng drank three cups in a row, cupped his hands to Su Qi'an and said, "Sir, I realize my mistake. It is no longer appropriate for me to stay here. I will go down and punish myself with the military stick."
Shuisheng put down his wine glass and after saying this, was about to leave. However, as soon as he left, Su Qian stopped him on his back.
"Shui Sheng, why are you leaving in such a hurry? Are you planning to spread the word?"
Su Qi'an's words made Shui Sheng freeze on the spot. He turned around and looked at Su Qi'an with a puzzled face.
"Sir, what did you say?"
Su Qi'an looked calm and said with a smile, "Haha, it's nothing, just let me tell you a story."
"When I returned to Lingbei County, I was chased all the way, and my whereabouts were even more uncertain. It just happened that when I was about to return to Lingbei County, I ran into you who was out looking for me. Let's treat this as a coincidence."
"After he found me, on the way back to the county town, he deliberately revealed the existence of a traitor, so he laid a trail of suspicion in order to plant a seed of doubt in my heart."
"I finally met Magistrate He. I remember that my friendship with Magistrate He was not that deep. Magistrate He dared to risk the orders of the state pastor and lend a helping hand for Su Qi'an, who didn't know whether he was alive or dead."
"And this helping hand is really generous. It helped tens of thousands of people in Dongshan Village in one go. Being able to take care of so many people under the eyes of Xizhou Mu, Magistrate He's ability to hide everything from the outside really makes Su admire him."
Su Qi'an's voice was very soft, but the eyes of Shui Sheng and Magistrate He flashed. Shui Sheng wanted to explain something, but Su Qi'an stopped him.
"Shui Sheng, you are good at everything, but one day you acted too smart. You were not like this back then. But in just half a year, haven't you noticed that you have changed?"
Su Qi'an looked at Shui Sheng with a pair of calm eyes, as if he could see through all ghosts and ghosts. He allowed Shui Sheng to quibble, but when the words came to his lips, he could not refute them.
Su Qi'an withdrew his eyes, looked ahead, and said softly, "Okay, I've played with you for so long, and I've had enough. I've called your master out."
"If I'm not wrong, your master can't wait now. Prince Tang Xiao, am I right?"
"Su is not afraid of your ambush, why isn't the prince willing to show up to meet you?"
Su Qi'an had just finished talking about this, and a burst of laughter rang out from the curtain in front.
"Haha, as expected of the Marquis of Dongshan, I know that all the plots cannot escape your eyes."
After the words fell, Tang Xiao walked out from behind the curtain.
When Shui Sheng and Magistrate He saw this, they saluted respectfully to Tang Xiao. Tang Xiao waved his hand casually and said to Shui Sheng.
"Shui Sheng, it seems that you still underestimate your master too much. You will have to continue to practice in the future."
Shui Sheng nodded and then stepped aside. Tang Xiao stepped forward and sat down opposite Su Qi'an very casually.
Even if the people behind Su Qi'an put their palms on
On the hilt of the knife, there was no change on Tang Xiao's face.
It seemed that everything was under his control.
Seeing Tang Xiao appear, Su Qi'an said softly, "I'm actually very curious, at what price did you pay to make my village guard captain choose to betray?"
Tang Xiao did not hide his intention and said with a smile, "Haha, it's very simple. I can give him what you can't give. Dongshan Hou, you are too careless. Human nature will never withstand the test."
"Dongshan Hou, you have been promoted step by step from scholar to earl, and now to the title of marquis. You are extremely glorious, but have you ever thought about these brothers of yours?"
"You were in the spotlight in Kyoto, and your brothers fought for you behind. What did you get in the end? What did you consider for them? It's just hypocrisy."
"But I can give your brothers all the glory and wealth, including you, as long as you are willing to surrender and capture Su Qi'an for my prince. In Xizhou, whatever you want, money, beauty, power, as long as you ask, This prince can do it."
Tang Xiao said, looking past Su Qi'an and looking at Su Yong and Huang Wenyan behind him.
In Tang Xiao's view, there is nothing in this world that money cannot buy. As long as the price is sufficient, anyone can be used by himself.
The two of them turned a blind eye to Tang Xiao's solicitation, and Tang Xiao didn't care about it either.
Su Qi'an's confidants like Shui Sheng can be recruited by him. As for these people, it will only be a matter of time before they are taken down.
Moreover, Shui Sheng's recruitment had an excellent effect, destroying Su Qi'an's third-level intelligence point in Xizhou in one fell swoop.
It was a huge blow to Su Qi'an. Now, what he wanted most was to see Su Qi'an's expression change, or even become angry with embarrassment.
After fighting against Su Qi'an for so long, he had never won once. Now, he could finally be proud in front of Su Qi'an.
This feeling of draining the firepower made Tang Xiao very happy. This time he came not only to capture Su Qi'an, but more importantly, he wanted to severely humiliate Su Qi'an in person.
