Chapter 444

This place was already more than twenty li away from the checkpoint, but many traveling merchants still chose to stay here, so it was very lively. ￥￥￥￥￥

After entering the territory, Uncle Da and a group of guards bid farewell to Fushan Yue and rushed to the capital of the Chi Yan Kingdom to report everything that had happened on the road to the monarch.

Two hours later, a team of more than ten people slowly walked into the town.

He Lingchuan looked forward with anticipation and went out to greet them:

"You've worked hard, Marquis!"

The leader of the knights was dressed in men's clothing, with a high crown and a green robe, and covered with a cloth to block the wind and dust, but it couldn't hide a pair of wonderful eyes that were as clear as water.

She jumped off her horse and hugged a young girl down before taking off her face veil and smiling at He Lingchuan, "I was busy passing through customs, but you were here idling! Tell me, how are you going to thank me?"

With eyebrows like paintings and a beautiful appearance, it was none other than the Master of Songyang Prefecture, Li Qingge! The little girl she hugged down was Taozi.

After passing through customs, the little girl woke up.

Fushan Yue also followed out, and Taozi immediately ran toward him: "Young Master, Young Master!"

"Awake?" He saw that Taozi's steps were still a bit unsteady and nodded to Li Qingge, "Thank you very much."

Li Qingge smiled: "A small effort."

He Lingchuan immediately said: "The good wine and food for your dozen people, I... will cover it with him." He patted Fushan Yue on the shoulder again.

Fushan Yue rolled his eyes. Fortunately, Uncle Da had given him some travel expenses before leaving, otherwise he would be strapped for cash right now.

The group re-entered the restaurant, found a quiet private room on the second floor, and ordered a banquet. As for Li Qingge's subordinates, they stayed downstairs to take care of things.

All three toasted Li Qingge to thank her. She wasn't pretentious, drank three cups in one go, and then turned the cups over toward them: "Is that enough?"

Yesterday, He Lingchuan had met her in Dagong Town and was both surprised and happy.

Li Qingge was also heading north to Lingxu City and immediately agreed to his request.

Therefore, when they were at the checkpoint just now, Taozi wasn't in their cart at all. Li Qingge was cautious; for fear that the lowly slave mark on Taozi's hand would be discovered by the checkpoint security, she had hidden her in the Mustard Seed Courtyard in advance.

He Lingchuan had seen this Mustard Seed Courtyard once on the way to Dunyu; it was a small model that could turn back into a real courtyard when thrown on the ground, with green pines and fresh flowers inside, a must-have for home and travel.

Since green pines could grow inside, Taozi could naturally be placed inside for a short time.

Li Qingge brought her through customs without any effort.

This marked Taozi's departure from her status as a lowly slave, never again to be bound by a tragic fate.

Sometimes the chasm you face is just a small ditch that others can step over by stretching their legs.

This naturally helped Fushan Yue a lot.

He was also a smart person, and a blank check was immediately issued along with a piece of jade pendant: "I owe you a favor, which I can repay at any time. Bring this jade pendant to find me, and you can redeem it."

Li Qingge smiled: "That would be great, it seems Songyang Prefecture has a backer in the Chi Yan Kingdom."

She had already heard from He Lingchuan that this Ba in front of her was likely to become the only legitimate heir to the Chi Yan Kingdom. Then the weight of this favor would become very heavy in the future.

Business people love to make friends with high-ranking and powerful people.

The Second Master of the Shi family sighed: "I even asked Brother He to introduce me to the branch of Songyang Prefecture in the Fu Kingdom when I went to Lingxu City. I didn't expect to meet the Master of the Prefecture herself here, how fortunate!"

These two business people chatted together, hit it off, and talked happily, finalizing two deals almost a quarter of an hour later.

The Second Master of the Shi family successfully secured two agencies for Songyang Prefecture in the Fu Kingdom and was beaming with joy.

Here, Taozi had a worried look on her face and said to Fushan Yue: "Young Master, I might be dying!"

Fushan Yue was startled: "Not here! Go to the outhouse in the back to solve it!"

Taozi grinned at him: "My teeth fell out!"

Her front teeth had fallen out, and her upper left canine had also fallen out, making her speech lisp.

He Lingchuan also saw it and said casually: "It's normal for children to lose their teeth at this age."

"Three at once?" Fushan Yue rarely observed carefully and asked her while asking, "What about the other teeth?"

"They're loose, it seems they're about to fall out too." Taozi was worried, "Young Master, I might be dying."

"Who said that?"

"My grandma, she died not long after her teeth fell out."

Fushan Yue spat: "Was she also a Earth Fiend?"

Children naturally don't understand these things. He Lingchuan sipped his wine: "Is there any significance to this?"

"This girl is transforming into a Earth Fiend child, but she absorbed too much evil energy, and her body couldn't handle it, so she discharged the excess by losing her teeth." Fushan Yue wasn't worried, but rather a bit excited, "The fact that she could wake up shows that there's no big problem."

"What if she couldn't wake up?"

"She'd die." Fushan Yue shrugged, "Or become a living dead person with no intelligence who only knows how to eat people by instinct."

He went out himself to find the waiter and told the kitchen to kill a live chicken and bring the blood.

What kind of monsters aren't there in the Chi Yan Kingdom? The restaurant had heard guests make even stranger requests. So the waiter agreed and went to do it immediately.

This bowl of chicken blood was still steaming when it was brought in.

The smell was so strong that the Second Master of the Shi family couldn't help but lean away.

Fushan Yue, however, cut his own arm, secretly exerted his strength, and dark red blood flowed into the bowl.

Taozi blinked as she watched.

The Second Master of the Shi family was startled: "You, you are?"

"It's rare to come across a Earth Fiend child, so I'm doing an experiment. Don't worry, it won't kill her." After saying that, Fushan Yue said to Taozi: "Drink it."

Taozi obediently picked it up, drank it in one gulp, and then licked her lips, still wanting more.

He Lingchuan was thoughtful: "Are you going to create another Ba?" This is a common trope in movies and TV shows, how can it be realistic here?

"It doesn't hurt to try."

It really is...

"It's very good for you." Fushan Yue patted Taozi's head, "But don't drink too much at the beginning."

He Lingchuan asked him: "Can all the witch children on the Twilight Plains become Earth Fiend children?"

"I don't know if the other witch children are real, but Earth Fiend embryos are very rare. Otherwise, even if you threw all the witch children into the ruins of Thousand Star City, it would be of no use."

After Taozi was full, she started to get sleepy. Fushan Yue carried her to the guest room to rest.

When the Second Master of the Shi family's excitement for chatting passed, he looked at Li Qingge and then at He Lingchuan, feeling that he had talked too much and overshadowed the host, so he quickly patted his head: "Oh my, I drank too much wine and feel a bit dizzy. You two eat and drink slowly, I have to go back to my room and lie down for a while."

After saying that, he bid farewell to Li Qingge and left the private room.

Li Qingge looked at He Lingchuan and smiled, smiling until he felt uncomfortable all over: "Marquis, please stop smiling like that, it's creepy."

Li Qingge then restrained her smile and sighed deeply: "You don't know how happy I was when I saw you yesterday."

A great beauty in front of him said this, so He Lingchuan quickly reached out to touch his own face: "I also think I'm lovable to everyone."

Just then, a waiter walked by, and he stopped the other party to clear away the extra bowls and chopsticks, clean the table, and add some wine and food.

Li Qingge watched his actions silently, her eyes flickering.

Is this kid really oblivious to romance?

"The bad news that you were washed away by the flood reached Dunyu, and I couldn't believe it, thinking that my ability to judge people was wrong, and I also regretted this precious sword." Li Qingge pointed to the Floating Life Sword at He Lingchuan's waist and said faintly, "I heard that Lady Ying cried for two days in a row."

He Lingchuan's smile also sank.

When he was at home, Lady Ying would dislike him whenever she had nothing to do, but she still had some true feelings for her eldest son.

"My father and He Yue, how are they?"

"They are still very busy, especially your father, who is busy with ten thousand things every day and doesn't even have time to be depressed alone. By the way, your house is full of guests, all coming to offer condolences." Li Qingge smiled, "I also sent a condolence note and a comfort gift. You have to pay me back later!"

"Yes, yes, that's a must." He Lingchuan coughed lightly, "How is the situation in Xia Province... Dunyu?"

Yesterday, his meeting with Li Qingge was very brief because she had other travel plans.

"It's okay." Li Qingge said, "Actually, the whole Xia Province is okay. When I left, Dunyu was just celebrating the Harvest Festival, with firecrackers sounding everywhere and red paper all over the ground. Actually, the harvest in the south of Xia Province this year is quite good."

"Eh?" He Lingchuan was puzzled, "Zhao Pan was defeated, and Xia Province is unharmed?"

Li Qingge blinked: "Who told you that Zhao Pan was defeated?"

He Lingchuan was even more surprised: "I went to the Baoshu Kingdom and heard officials there mention that Nian Zanli had achieved a great victory at the Hanhe, and I was worried ever since. If Nian Zanli won, wouldn't that mean Zhao Pan on the opposite side was defeated?"

"Oh? Beijia Kingdom thinks Nian Zanli won?" Li Qingge put away her smile and said word by word, "Then the strange thing about this battle is that General Zhao Pan and your father also sent a report of victory at the Hanhe to the capital of the Great Yuan Kingdom!"

"Sent a report of victory?" He Lingchuan said in shock, "Nian Zanli flooded General Zhao's army of thirty thousand people, how could General Zhao send a report of victory?"

"The losses were a bit heavy, but General Zhao completed the mission entrusted by the King!" Li Qingge raised her wrist and poured him a cup of wine herself, "Refusing the enemy in the north. So, the King's reward should have already been issued, right?"

"Refusing the enemy in the north?" He Lingchuan recalled what the two officials of the Baoshu Kingdom had said, as if they really hadn't mentioned whether Nian Zanli's army continued to march south, "Did the Xunzhou people not march south?"

"No, they couldn't fight either." Li Qingge shook her head, "General Zhao's army lost thirty thousand people, and the Xunzhou army didn't fare much better, also losing more than half to the flood, and Nian Zanli himself fell ill. It is said that just after the flood, your father and General Zhao gathered their troops to pursue, chasing the Xunzhou army for dozens of li, only then did they dare to write a report of victory."

"After this battle, the Xunzhou people were also unable to march south and guarded the Hanhe for two months. Because our army often went to harass and fight for it, and the Hanhe often flooded, making supplies inconvenient, they finally retreated to the north bank."

"So the front line was pushed back to before the Great Battle of the Hanhe?" He Lingchuan muttered, "In other words, except for the more than sixty thousand casualties on both sides, there was no change in the border?"

Hearing such a result, he didn't know what to say for a moment.

Happy New Year's Eve! Wishing everyone good health and good luck in the Year of the Rabbit.

(End of chapter)