Chapter 37: The Undercover Strategy: Young Master, Are You Willing to Take Me as a Concubine

"Have you seen the notice? Heads will be rolling again tomorrow! You still don't know? Tsk, it's Zheng Xuancheng's accomplices, the Xuan Sect rebels; they are to be beheaded at noon tomorrow."

"Then I must prepare some extra steamed buns in advance."

"You tell me, what are these people making such a fuss for all day long? It's not like we can't get by these days. They cause such unrest, and for no good reason, they end up throwing their lives away."

In the crowd, an old woman with a full head of silver hair and a hunched figure walked with difficulty, her steps faltering; from time to time, she coughed dryly, as if she were about to cough her lungs out.

After lowering her head and walking into a small inn, she ignored the waiter's greeting and headed straight for the guest rooms upstairs.

Stumbling into the room, she slammed the door shut, slid to the floor, and panted heavily.

After recovering a little, the old woman reached behind her ears, peeled off a mask as thin as a silkworm's wing, and revealed a pale but handsome young face.

It was none other than Zhou Shunqing, whom all parties were searching for; at this moment, his expression was uncertain, and his eyes were filled with sorrow.

………………………

Night fell, and Tongzhou was once again shrouded in orange-red lamplight; Pei Shaoqing had drunk his fill with Sun Youliang at Qunfang Yuan and returned home covered in the smell of alcohol.

"Young Master is back; this concubine will see you to your room."

Wearing light makeup and a water-blue ru skirt, the housekeeper Liu Yuheng, who was full of mature feminine charm, stepped forward to support the visibly tipsy Pei Shaoqing.

"No need to trouble yourself, Madam." Sniffing the faint, delicate fragrance emanating from the beautiful woman beside him, Pei Shaoqing did not let his imagination run wild; instead, he broke free like a gentleman, "Having Hanshuang see me to my room is enough."

Gongsun Yi was his top fierce general, and for this reason alone, no matter how alluring Liu Yuheng looked, he had to keep his distance and never dared to cross the line.

The Prime Minister's "one cannon harming three worthies" was a cautionary tale.

A man can be lustful, but he must not let lust cloud his judgment.

"Yes, Big Brother." Ye Hanshuang replied.

Liu Yuheng watched the departing Pei Shaoqing, standing there in a daze; she could feel that Pei Shaoqing desired her body, but she could also feel his restraint.

It reminded her of the saying, "A gentleman's feelings arise from emotion but stop at propriety," and the negative image of Pei Shaoqing in her heart faded significantly; she no longer worried about Pei Shao desiring her, but instead felt proud of it.

Because this showed that although she was already a married woman, her charm remained, and even a young man would be captivated by it.

What woman doesn't hope to be charming?

Liu Yuheng smiled brightly and said to their retreating backs: "I will boil a bowl of hangover soup for Young Master later."

"That's enough, you go back and rest early too." Pei Shaoqing said to Ye Hanshuang when they reached the door of the room.

Ye Hanshuang, who was always cold-natured and taciturn, nodded and turned to leave without a word.

Pei Shaoqing pushed the door open and entered, "I'm back."

"I have an idea." Xie Qingwu had clearly been waiting for him for a long time, and she spoke as soon as he entered the room.

Pei Shaoqing closed the door, took off his outer robe, and asked casually: "What idea? Let's hear it."

"Li Jiangjun has four cats; although they aren't Demon, they are clever and can understand human speech." Xie Qingwu said while taking the robe he had removed: "Since they have no Demon Qi, there's no fear of being discovered by the experts in the palace. Could we arrange for one to go undercover beside Wan Guifei?"

"As long as we can grasp Wan Guifei's movements and always anticipate the enemy, why should we fear her retaliation?"

Pei Shaoqing was stunned for a long while listening to her whimsical idea before he came back to his senses, "It's four or five thousand li from Tongzhou to the Capital; how would the intelligence be transmitted?"

"Post stations." Xie Qingwu spat out the two words.

Pei Shaoqing frowned, "Post stations?"

"Exactly, the post stations are already there. We can have Li Jiangjun arrange for one or two cats to be stationed at every post station along the way, and the intelligence can be passed on by word of mouth until it reaches Tongzhou." Xie Qingwu said, her breath as fragrant as orchids.

Pei Shaoqing pondered the feasibility of this matter.

Xie Qingwu continued: "Using the imperial post stations to transmit intelligence is zero investment. Once such an intelligence line is established, it won't just be news about Wan Guifei; we could also eavesdrop on all sorts of major events in the Capital."

"Whether this can actually work still depends on asking Li Jiangjun." Pei Shaoqing looked around and found that the dead cat was not there again, saying: "I'm going to the study; tell it to come see me when Li Jiangjun returns."

Xie Qingwu nodded obediently, "Mm."

Arriving at the study, Pei Shaoqing found a map of the Zhou State; it was left behind by Zheng Xuancheng, and the content was extremely detailed, with the location of every post station marked.

The more he looked, the more he felt that Xie Qingwu's proposal had great potential, provided that Li Jiangjun's subordinates were reliable.

Because to establish such an intelligence line,

it would require nearly a hundred cats to operate.

These cats are not human; what if they slack off or leave their posts without authorization in the absence of supervision?

"Knock, knock, knock." A knocking sound rang out, followed by Zhao Zhilan's voice, "Young Master, Lan'er is here to bring you some hangover soup; is it convenient to come in?"

"Come in." Pei Shaoqing said softly.

Zhao Zhilan pushed the door open, and after closing it, she moved with lotus steps, holding the tray to Pei Shaoqing's side, and bent down to place a steaming bowl of hangover soup on the table.

"Young Master, please taste and see how it is."

"Did your master's wife tell you to come?" Pei Shaoqing didn't touch the bowl of soup but looked at Zhao Zhilan and asked.

Zhao Zhilan shook her head and said in a soft, gentle voice: "This bowl of soup was cooked by Lan'er herself."

"Oh?" Pei Shaoqing became interested and asked curiously: "Have you ever cooked hangover soup for your senior brother?"

Zhao Zhilan's small face turned pale; she didn't understand why this villain always liked to mention her senior brother to stab her in the heart when she was trying to curry favor with him. She forced a smile and said: "Never."

There were already too many things she had never done for her senior brother, yet now she was doing them one by one for this corrupt official.

"Then I must have a good taste." Pei Shaoqing laughed, picked up the hangover soup, took a small sip but didn't swallow it, pondered for a moment, and said: "The taste is not bad, but I personally prefer fish soup."

"Lan'er will go catch fish and make soup now." Hearing this, Zhao Zhilan took the tray and turned to leave.

Pei Shaoqing grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms amidst her exclamation, "Why go far when you can find it nearby?"

Zhao Zhilan was wearing a simple, plain white long dress today, leaning towards a martial outfit, which tightly wrapped her body, making her undulating curves appear even more graceful.

The scent of a young maiden was intoxicating; with such warm, fragrant jade in his arms, Pei Shaoqing naturally couldn't keep his hands to himself.

"Young Master, what do you mean by that?" Sitting on Pei Shaoqing's lap, Zhao Zhilan's voice trembled; her face was flushed red, and she didn't dare to move, her toes curled tight inside her embroidered shoes.

Pei Shaoqing did not speak, only continuing his exploration.

Zhao Zhilan was ashamed and furious to the point of despair; her delicate, red lips were almost bitten through, and her small hands gripped the edge of the table in front of her to steady herself. Breathing rapidly, she asked in a low voice: "Young Master, are you willing to take me as a concubine?"

"It depends on your performance; I like women with sharp tongues." Pei Shaoqing withdrew his hand, gently brushed her delicate, flawless cheek, and said meaningfully.

A look of confusion appeared in Zhao Zhilan's eyes.

Pei Shaoqing leaned toward her ear and whispered a few words.

"This... how can this be!" Zhao Zhilan was flustered and her face was red enough to drip blood; she was incredibly shy.

Pei Shaoqing's attitude turned cold, and he said in a calm tone, "If you are unwilling, you may leave."

Zhao Zhilan immediately fell into a dilemma; if she left just like that, then her body had been seen by Pei Shaoqing for nothing last night, and she had been touched by Pei Shaoqing for nothing just now.

The sunk cost was too high; she had no way to retreat.

"I hope Young Master keeps his promise," Zhao Zhilan said in a voice as thin as a mosquito's, dragging her limp and weak body as she slid off Pei Shaoqing's lap and knelt under the desk.

"Knock, knock, knock!" Along with the knocking, Liu Yuheng's voice rang out, "Young Master, is it convenient for me to come in?"

Zhao Zhilan's delicate body trembled instantly.

Pei Shaoqing stroked her head and said in an unruffled tone, "Please come in, Madam Gongsun."

Liu Yuheng pushed the door open and entered, looking around the study; she breathed a sigh of relief after not seeing Zhao Zhilan's figure, as she had only rushed over after hearing from the kitchen servants that Zhao Zhilan had come to deliver hangover soup to Pei Shaoqing.

"Young Master, drink a bowl of hangover soup." She wore a smile on her face as she stepped forward with the soup, and upon seeing the bowl of soup on the table, she feigned ignorance and asked, "This is..."

"It was just brought by Miss Zhao." Pei Shaoqing smiled slightly and said in a gentle voice, "To receive soup from both Madam and Miss Zhao at the same time, I am truly fortunate."

"It is just a bowl of soup, how could it compare to how Young Master takes care of my Iron Sword Sect." Liu Yuheng set down the soup in her hands with a smile and said softly, "I won't disturb Young Master any further; I still need to go see where that girl Lan'er has run off to, she is nowhere to be found in the middle of the night."

In fact, she would have been able to see her if she had only lowered her head slightly.

"Please walk slowly, Madam, I will not see you out."

Hearing the sound of the door closing, Zhao Zhilan finally felt at ease, looked up, and said, "Young Master, Mistress is going everywhere looking for me; Lan'er must leave quickly."

"What's the rush? To receive without returning is impolite."

After another quarter of an hour or so, Zhao Zhilan, whose cheeks were as red as clouds, snuck out of the study.

And the study welcomed its third guest of the night.

Li Jiangjun pushed the door open and entered.

"My Lord, you were looking for me?"

(End of this chapter)