"PS: I have something to go out tonight, and I will probably get back around 12 o'clock. You don't have to wait until very late... I won't have it until midnight. I will make up for it tomorrow morning. It will be the same if I check it out then."
————The following text————
"squeak--"
The slight sound of the door opening slightly woke up the bird lying beside Zhao Hongrun.
"Who? Who came in?"
Que'er opened her eyes, quietly pulled out a dagger from under the pillow with her right hand, and tiptoed off the bed with her waist bent.
Vaguely, she saw something like a figure in the house, standing in the corner and not knowing what she was doing.
"Thieves? Assassins?"
Several years flashed through his mind, and Que'er quietly touched the back of the figure in an attempt to subdue him.
Unexpectedly, the other party seemed to notice it and said calmly: "Little girl, what are you doing standing behind my sister?"
"Huh?"
Que'er was stunned for a moment, she felt that the other person's voice was particularly familiar.
And at this moment, there was a shout, and the other party blew out the flame tongue in his hand and lit the candle.
Only then did Que'er discover that the visitor was none other than her estranged sister, Zhao Ying.
After lighting the candlestick, Zhao Ying turned around and saw Que'er holding a dagger. She was not surprised. She smiled and joked: "You are really dedicated to your duties..."
Under her sister's narrow gaze, Que'er, who was only wearing a thin shirt, felt a little shy. She subconsciously covered her chest with her left hand and asked expressionlessly: "What are you doing here?"
"That's strange. Didn't you ask me to come?" Zhao Ying asked with a smile, leaning casually on a wall cabinet.
Que'er frowned and said, "I didn't ask you to come here in the middle of the night..." As she said that, she looked up and down at her sister, who was dressed like a lady, and asked in confusion: "How did you get in?"
As far as Que'er knows, the defense of Prince Su's Mansion is quite tight. Not only are there patrolling and guarding Prince Su's guards, but occasionally the clan guards who can't sleep are drinking in the yard and trying to sneak into the north room quietly.
, this is not something that ordinary people can do - even she thinks she can't do it, let alone the sister in front of her who is not as good as her in martial arts.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Ying said with a smile: "How to get in? Of course, I have to tell Wei Jiao's name, and Wei Jiao personally brings him in from the door..."
Que'er was speechless. She thought her sister's martial arts had improved a lot. Unexpectedly, she was brought in by Zong Wei Chief Wei Jiao - Wei Jiao knew the identities of her sisters very well, and he really didn't doubt them.
What.
"Okay, stop complaining." Zhao Ying said impatiently, perhaps because Que'er wanted to say something else, "I rushed back from a hundred miles away after receiving your call..."
As she said that, Zhao Ying glanced at the bed, and couldn't help but feel a little angry in her heart: Just because you wanted to see me, I made me rush back to Daliang day and night. It would be better for you to just lie on the bed comfortably... What's wrong with you?
What if you don't want to die?
Thinking of this, she walked towards the bed and looked at Zhao Hongrun, who was sleeping soundly. She became more and more angry as she looked at him, and was ready to reach out and pinch the latter's nose to wake him up.
However, Que'er seemed to notice something and grabbed her sister's wrist.
"Are you really loyal?" Glancing at her dearest sister, Zhao Ying felt a little uncomfortable and couldn't help but taunted: "Why, are you afraid that your sister will hurt your young master?...Hmph, if I want to harm him,
, there were plenty of opportunities back then.”
Indeed, if Zhao Ying really wanted to hurt Zhao Hongrun, her sisters could have done it at any time when they were sleeping with the latter. This is true, but why does this sound so strange?
No, Zhao Ying herself also realized the gaffe, and when she became angry, she pretended to be angry and said: "Why don't you let go?"
Que'er stared at her sister for a while, then suddenly said: "I'm going to boil a pot of water to make tea... Remember, if the young master is woken up while sleeping and has a bad temper, please bear with me, sister."
After saying that, she turned and left.
"Tantan? You actually asked me to be more Dantan? You...hey, are you really leaving?"
Zhao Ying looked at Que'er's leaving figure with a gloomy expression.
Just as he was about to speak, Que'er suddenly stopped, turned around, and reminded solemnly: "By the way, the young master is still within the period of observing filial piety for his adoptive father, please sister, please don't do anything...well, don't do it."
A matter of etiquette."
With that said, she didn't wait for Zhao Ying's reaction, exited the room, and closed the door at the same time.
"...Damn girl!"
Zhao Ying's chest rose and fell angrily, and she cursed in her heart: Do I really want a man so much?
But having said that, when she turned around and saw Zhao Hongrun on the bed again, she couldn't help but feel an inexplicable emotion rising in her heart.
It's no wonder, after all, she has always been proud and does not admit in her heart that women are inherently men's vassals, and Zhao Hongrun is the only man who has ever had a relationship with her.
"..."
Out of some unknown thought, she sat down on the edge of the bed. With the dim candlelight in the room, she quietly looked at Zhao Hongrun's sleeping posture and murmured: "Is it true that I have to keep my filial piety for my foster father for one year?"
I’m determined…”
Zhao Hongrun, as the nephew of King Yi Zhao Yuanli, could wear mourning for his uncle and observe mourning for one year. Even Zhao Ying could not find any fault.
She couldn't help but reach out and touch Zhao Hongrun's face. Zhao Ying's pretty face couldn't help but warm up gradually. In her mind, she couldn't help but recall the past when the two sisters served His Highness, and her body felt hot for no reason.
"I'm really not ashamed!"
When she woke up, she secretly cursed herself, then pushed Zhao Hongrun deliberately and roughly, calling out: "Hey, Zhao Run, hey, wake up, wake up."
After being pushed a few times, Zhao Hongrun woke up with hazy eyes, and suddenly saw Zhao Ying dressed as a lady sitting next to the couch. He was stunned for a moment, as if he was a little wary, but then after seeing clearly who was coming, he
The vigilance in his eyes gradually faded away, and he said in a daze: "It's you...why are you here?"
"Why am I here?"
Zhao Ying became angry and said angrily: "Don't you want to see me?"
"Ah?" Zhao Hongrun was stunned for a while, and then he realized what was happening and said suddenly: "Oh, right, right... But I didn't ask you to come see me in the middle of the night, right? Forget it." With that, he
He stood up and said casually: "Get me a wet towel over there."
Zhao Ying stood up subconsciously, and then realized: I am not his maid, why should I be ordered around by him?
"Zhao Run, I'm not..."
"Go quickly."
"..." Gritting her teeth, Zhao Ying walked to the wooden frame in the corner angrily, picked up a wet towel from the basin, then returned to the bed and handed it to Zhao Hongrun with a straight face.
Unfortunately, Zhao Hongrun took the wet towel and covered his face with it, and had no time to pay attention to the indignation on Zhao Ying's face.
After wiping his face with a wet towel, Zhao Hongrun finally dispelled some of his sleepiness. He turned over and sat on the edge of the bed, glanced at Zhao Ying who was standing next to him, and asked: "You are still tracking Xiao Luan's traces recently, right?
Any clues?"
"That thief knows that I'm looking for him, so he has been hiding and not daring to show his face during this period."
While talking, Zhao Ying felt like she was standing next to the bed, as if she were Zhao Hongrun's maid, so she walked quietly to the table in the center of the room, sat on a stool, picked up the teapot on the table, and poured a cup of cold tea into the cup.
.
But before she could drink it, she saw Zhao Hongrun walking to the table. He picked up the cup of cold tea and drank it all in one gulp. At the end, he put the empty cup in front of her and said, "Pour another cup."
"..." Zhao Ying gritted her silver teeth without getting angry, and poured another glass for Zhao Hongrun.
She thought Zhao Hongrun was deliberately trying to intimidate her, but in fact, this was proof that Zhao Hongrun did not treat her as an outsider - if Zhao Hongrun hadn't actually regarded Zhao Ying as his woman, how would he have acquiesced in Zhao Ying's invasion of the Six Kings?
The family property left to him by his uncle Zhao Yuanli?
"No clues at all?" After drinking two cups of cold tea, Zhao Hongrun felt a little more energetic. He sat down on the stool opposite Zhao Ying, held the teacup in his hand, frowned and said: "I heard,
During the period when the Wei Dynasty was at war with Han, Chu and other countries, someone tried to drive up the price of rice on the market, incite public opinion in the country, and create chaos..."
"Did the Green Crows report it?" Zhao Ying asked.
"Hmm." Zhao Hongrun nodded.
Zhao Ying also knew about what Zhao Hongrun said, but she did not check whether it was the remnants of the Xiao family who were behind it.
But the matter was quickly suppressed. It was neither the Green Crows nor Zhao Ying who came forward to solve the problem, but the imperial court at that time and the Zongfu who strongly suppressed it - in this regard, the Zongfu also issued a rare warning to the country.
Nobles and families: If anyone dares to hoard rice at this time, drive up rice prices, and cause chaos, then don’t blame the country for being rude.
In the end, under the strong and threatening warning from the Zongfu, no nobles or aristocratic families in Wei State dared to exploit this war fortune. This made the imperial household department reluctantly maintain the price of rice at about three times the previous price. Otherwise, I am afraid that
The price of rice in the domestic market has long been skyrocketing.
But strangely enough, since that time, nothing out of the ordinary has happened in the Wei State. Even the remnants of the Xiao family seem to have been hiding one by one, and no longer want to overthrow the Wei State.
Of course, this assumption is impossible. The Kingdom of Wei has not yet fallen, and the Emperor of Wei, Zhao Yuanxi, is also safe and sound. The whole thing only sacrificed an unrelated King of Yi, Zhao Yuanli, from the beginning to the end. How can Xiao Luan, the leader of the remnants of the Xiao family, be willing to let it go?
?
Zhao Hongrun believed that the reason why the remnants of the Xiao family stood still was because he, Zhao Hongrun, Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, and Zhao Yuandai, the king of Yu, were too "magical" and repelled their opponents respectively, catching Xiao Luan by surprise - it was not easy to create
The trend of "Five Parties Conquering Wei" was unexpectedly resolved so easily.
Perhaps seeing that the situation was irreversible, the remnants of the Xiao family decided to lurk again. After all, in order to create the "Five Parties Attack on Wei", the remnants of the Xiao family also suffered heavy losses. They lurked in the Yangwu Army and were accomplices of the Nanyan Army.
They have all been exposed one after another, and perhaps most of them have really lost the capital to continue causing chaos.
Under such circumstances, it is really not easy to find Xiao Luan's traces.
As for Zhao Ying's method of "finding" Xiao Luan, Zhao Hongrun also heard from Qingya people that he was very crude and direct in offering a reward for his death - Zhao Ying announced a sky-high price of 100,000 taels of gold through the channels of hidden thieves and rangers, and offered a reward.
Xiao Luan's head.
It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Justice of the imperial court also learned of this news. For the sake of Prince Su Zhao Hongrun, they did not question Zhao Ying who secretly offered a reward to Xiao Luan. Instead, they obtained a copy and changed the reward list.
It’s done
The wanted order issued by the Ministry of Punishment - After all, when King Yi Zhao Yuanli came into contact with Xiao Luan, Zhao Ying and the Zhao Que sisters had also met the latter. Therefore, the portrait of Xiao Luan painted by Zhao Ying is of course the most credible.
of.
In the face of two bounty orders, Ming and Dark, it is no wonder that Xiao Luan dare not take the lead, because once he takes the lead, there will be countless hidden thieves, and the rangers will pounce on them, whether it is for the official title rewarded by the court, or for those ten
The sky-high reward of ten thousand taels of gold is worth it for those hidden thieves, and the ranger risked his life for it.
But unfortunately, neither the court nor Zhao Ying have found any clues about Xiao Luan so far.
This made Zhao Hongrun couldn't help but guess that there must be someone among the remaining members of the Xiao family who was protecting Xiao Luan with a legitimate identity that could be made public.
Moreover, this person, or these people, have a relatively low status in the country.