The arrival of Zhang Lie timely diluted the gloomy atmosphere in the room. Lu Xiao ordered Yongzhen and Xiaoxue to carry Chen Fu back to his room, and took Jingchou with a slow expression and Yu'er with a complex expression downstairs to greet him.
"don’t worry."
Lu Xiao rubbed Yu'er's head and comforted her: "You have grown a lot during this trip. Brother Zhang will only feel happy when he sees you, and he will only give you a few scoldings."
"Hmph~"
Yu'er turned her head and retorted harshly: "I'm not worried!"
"Then don't put on that sad face..."
"I want you to take care of it!"
Zhang Lie is a strong middle-aged man with a curly beard and a height of nearly two meters. He is an out-and-out giant in this era.
It was Lu Xiao's first formal meeting with Zhang Lie, and the heroic spirit that struck him made him speak highly of Zhang Lie when they first met.
"Haha! Brother Chen, long time no see."
Zhang Lie first greeted Chen Jingchou with clasped fists, then turned to look at Lu Xiao who was standing in the first place: "Brother Lu, I have long admired you, my wayward sister-in-law didn't cause you any trouble, right?"
Yu'er puffed up her mouth in dissatisfaction, and showed a rare look of coquettishness in front of Zhang Lie: "Brother-in-law! I am not willful!"
Zhang Lie and Lu Xiao smiled and greeted each other. When they turned to look at Yu'er, the smile on Zhang Lie's face suddenly disappeared.
"How dare you say that! Do you know how worried Yue'er is about your safety?"
When she mentioned her sister, whom she had been dependent on since childhood, Yu'er's aura immediately weakened.
"...Is sister okay?"
Zhang Lie choked out angrily: "Huh~ At last I'm not mad at you."
After receiving Yu'er's look of help, Lu Xiao stepped forward to smooth things over for the two of them.
"Brother Zhang, I think Yu'er has realized her mistake. This trip abroad has also made her grow a lot. Let her go for the time being."
Zhang Lie glanced at Yu'er who was looking at him carefully, sighed softly, nodded along with Lu Xiao's words and said: "Okay, today is a good day for first encounters and reunions, so let's put this willful girl aside for now.
"
When Zhang Lie was young, he was busy avenging his father's murder and had no intention of getting married. When he married Tuoba Yue'er, he was already over 10 years old. In this era when young people get married at the age of 20, he is definitely considered a late marryer.
According to Yu'er, Zhang Lie should be 43 years old this year. Due to his rough beard, he looks much older than his actual age.
Yu'er is a few years younger than her sister Yue'er, and she just turned 17 this year.
Rather than saying that she is a sister-in-law, the childless Zhang Lie treats Yu'er as a daughter.
17-year-old Yu'er has entered the age suitable for marriage. Zhang Lie probed the relationship between her and Lu Xiao without leaving any trace. Unfortunately, he could not see any pink atmosphere.
Zhang Lie, who has traveled all over the country for many years, has long developed a keen eye for recognizing people.
Although Yu'er would joke and quarrel with Lu Xiao from time to time, he could vaguely see the respect for Lu Xiao from Yu'er's eyes. This attitude was very rare for Yu'er, who had been self-centered since childhood.
'A teacher and a friend? That's not a bad thing.'
…
When they welcomed Zhang Lie to the top floor of the inn, Xiaoxue and Yongzhen had already placed the unconscious Chen Fu.
The reunion with Zhang Lie after a long absence made Yu Xiaoxue's face show shy joy, while Yongzhen met Zhang Lie as Lu Xiao's wife.
After some pleasantries, the resolute Zhang Lie quickly turned the topic to business.
"Brother Lu, I heard about your deeds from Brother Cheng and Brother Shubao as early as after the change in Demon King's Village ended."
Zhang Lie solemnly said: "My opinion is the same as yours. The Grand Master Yuwen who appeared in Demon King's Village that day is definitely not him."
"According to the information found by Brother Li Jing, when you all had a conflict with the fake Grand Master in Demon King's Village, the real Yuwen Tuo was taking care of the follow-up matters of the dragon boat fire and was busy appeasing the furious Yang Guang and had no time to distract himself."
"The question is, who is the person pretending to be Yuwen Tuo, and for what purpose does he go to Demon King's Village to snatch the Shennong Cauldron?"
Lu Xiao admired Zhang Lie's intelligence gathering ability, "As expected of a veteran, as long as he uses his connections seriously, he will soon be able to get closer to the truth of the matter through pieced together pieces of intelligence."
Lu Xiao followed Zhang Lie's question and said, "About this...Yu'er, do you still remember the mistakes those three fakes accidentally exposed?"
"Um."
Yu'er subconsciously looked up at the roof, tapped her lower lip with her hand and muttered: "I remember that one of the fakes seemed to blurt out and call the fake Yuwen Tuo 'Jun' or something."
"Jun? Jun?"
Zhang Lie thoughtfully touched his bearded chin: "Do you want to be called Junhou? Are you the leader of some force?"
"No, the real pronunciation is not Jun."
Lu Xiao corrected him: "The impostor spoke relatively briefly, and he realized his mistake only halfway through. Mishearing is inevitable."
"Unfortunately, my five senses are better than ordinary people, and I can hear the other party's true meaning in that very short pronunciation."
"That's not Jun, but the pronunciation of the word 'Jun'."
Chen Jingchou, who had the highest literary skills, counted with his fingers: "Jun, Jun, Jun, Jun..."
"etc."
Zhang Lie suddenly thought of something, frowned and saw Lu Xiao confirming: "Brother Lu? It can't be a certain county king, right?"
Lu Xiao smiled and shook his head: "Although we missed, we're not far off."
"Based on my observations during this period, I can basically determine who the person impersonating Yuwen Tuo and his subordinates is."
Following Lu Xiao's line of sight and looking to the north of the inn, Zhang Lie was stunned for a moment, then showed a look of surprise and astonishment: "Could it be... that it's Princess Dugu Ningke?"
Due to the changes caused by Lu Xiao, Chen Jingchou and Yu Xiaoxue did not have in-depth contact with Dugu Ningke, and only saw her once from a distance outside the palace in Daliang City.
Suddenly, they heard that one of the three big men in the Demon King's Village was disguised as a charming princess, and both of them had expressions of disbelief on their faces.
Jingchou scratched his head blankly: "I once disguised myself as a woman and joined Yang Guang to collect the dragon boat palace ladies' boats. It is not incomprehensible for a woman to disguise herself as a man, but how can a short princess disguise herself as the majestic Grand Master Yuwen? "
Dugu Ningke is less than 1.6 meters tall, while Yuwen Tuo is similar in stature to Lu Xiao, about 1.8 meters tall. Chen Jingchou couldn't figure out how she could make up for such a big height difference.
"It's very simple."
In front of everyone, Lu Xiao took out the disguise props from his pocket and played with them with his back to Jingqiu and others who were confused.
When he turned around again a few minutes later, Lu Xiao's appearance looked almost the same as Zhang Lie's. The shoes covered by the long gown had been modified to make his height look almost the same as Zhang Lie's.
"this……"
Chen Jingchou was dumbfounded, while Zhang Lie laughed heartily: "It turns out to be the art of disguise. No wonder Brother Lu was able to escape Daxing City's inspection as a wanted person."
"That is to say, the appearance I saw before was not your original appearance, right?"
Lu Xiao nodded, wiped away all the disguises on his face, and revealed his true appearance: "I will obey the authority in emergencies. Please forgive me, Brother Zhang. This is my original appearance."
"Haha! It's okay, I understand."
After some jokes, Zhang Lie's expression became serious again: "If Princess Dugu or the people around her also know the art of disguise, then the three fakes at the beginning would make sense."
"But unfortunately, we can't produce any evidence."
"Yes."
Lu Xiao nodded and said: "This is the biggest problem. Dugu Ningke's actions can be said to be watertight. Even if we know that she is responsible, as a relative of the emperor, there is nothing we can do against her."
"Um……"
Zhang Lie pondered for a while, and when he couldn't think of a solution, he temporarily ignored the topic.
"Leaving aside how to expose her, why did Princess Dugu pretend to be Yuwen Tuo to seize the Shennong Cauldron? Could it be that she also believed in the Nine-Five-Year Plan and wanted to become the emperor as her daughter?"