Chapter 1747: [Help Yourself] (Part 2)

He reminded himself to stay calm, and after settling his emotions, he looked at Hu Xiaotian and said, "Why have you come to find me? I don't know what I can help you with."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Although you have been dismissed from office, you still have many friends and comrades in the Xichuan army, so investigating the situation will be much easier for you than for others."

"Why should I help you?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed and said, "It's not to help me, but to help yourself, and it can also aid the soldiers and civilians of Xichuan. If Xichuan falls into the hands of Yang Haoran and the conspirators behind him, the people's lives will surely be much more miserable."

Yan Huacheng said, "You still aren't trying to seize Xichuan for yourself, are you?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Xichuan rightfully belongs to Dakang; if it falls into Dakang's hands, at least the people of Xichuan can be treated equally."

"Can you guarantee that the people of Xichuan will live a peaceful and happy life?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded, emphasizing his tone, and said, "I can guarantee it!"

Zhou Mo sighed, "Should I go or not?" He had just received Hu Xiaotian's invitation, asking him to gather at the Hall of Hundred Herbs that evening.

A faint pallid smile appeared on Xiao Tianmu's lips: "Go, why not? I'll go with you!"

Zhou Mo was stunned for a moment; he had thought Xiao Tianmu would choose to avoid it.

Xiao Tianmu said, "What is meant to come will always come; it's time for us to have a final settlement between us."

Xiao Tianmu came uninvited, clearly not what Hu Xiaotian had expected. Compared to that, Xiao Tianmu's mind is deep and cunning, close to demonic, making him much harder to deal with than Zhou Mo. When Hu Xiaotian reunited with Zhou Mo, he could see remorse from deep within Zhou Mo's eyes, but from Xiao Tianmu's face he could see no expression at all, especially since he was originally blind.

Xiao Tianmu spoke softly, "Third brother, long time no see!" His voice was flat and unremarkable, showing no trace of remorse or feeling, as if nothing had ever happened between them.

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "Second brother, it's indeed been many years since we last met; are your eyes still unable to see?"

Xiao Tianmu heard the implication in his words; though his eyes cannot see, his heart understands, and he smiled, "I'm afraid I may never see again in this lifetime, but fortunately I've grown accustomed to it."

Hu Xiaotian said meaningfully, "Although your second brother's eyes cannot see, his inner understanding surpasses that of many people."

Xiao Tianmu laughed and said, "In this world, the clearer one lives, the more painful it tends to be; otherwise, how could there be the saying that it's a blessing to be blissfully ignorant?"

Zhou Mo naturally could hear the hidden meaning in their words, coughed once, and said, "Second brother, I heard that third brother has also come to Xizhou, so I must definitely meet him."

Xiao Tianmu said, "Third brother, you won't blame me for coming uninvited, will you?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "How could that be? We three brothers, long separated and now reunited, are as close as branches on the same tree, sharing life and death; saying such words would be treating us as outsiders." He invited the two to sit down and had someone bring a set of bowls and chopsticks.

After filling the cups before them, Hu Xiaotian raised his cup and said, "We brothers haven't sat together to drink in a long time; let's first down three cups before we talk."

Zhou Mo nodded, lifted his cup before him, and drank first as a sign of respect; Xiao Tianmu also drank, but after just one cup he began to cough violently.

Hu Xiaotian heard from his coughing that he likely had a lung ailment, and softly said, "Second brother, if your health makes it inconvenient, you don't have to drink."

Xiao Tianmu caught his breath and said, "These three cups of wine must be drunk no matter what."

Zhou Mo looked at Xiao Tianmu with worry, knowing that Xiao Tianmu's health had been poor recently.

Xiao Tianmu insisted on finishing the three cups of wine, covered his mouth, coughed a few times, and said, "It's just my old ailment."

Hu Xiaotian said, "If you're sick, you must treat it; you can't keep delaying it, or even a minor illness will worsen and may become incurable."

Xiao Tianmu smiled and said, "Do you remember how we brothers met at Azure Cloud back then?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "I remember every single thing that happened between us brothers clearly."

Xiao Tianmu said, "Third brother, do you have many things you want to ask in your heart? Take this opportunity to speak them all out."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Saying it now is pointless." He poured a cup for Zhou Mo, filled his own, but did not pour for Xiao Tianmu, since Xiao Tianmu's health made it unnecessary to insist. He clinked cups with Zhou Mo and said, "This cup is to thank the elder brother."

Zhou Mo raised his cup, his face showing an awkward expression; he didn't think he had anything worthy of Hu Xiaotian's thanks.

After drinking that cup, Hu Xiaotian then said, "Without the elder brother's help, Xi Yue would not have escaped from Da Yong smoothly."

Zhou Mo's face flushed slightly; this matter was exactly where he felt he had let Hu Xiaotian down the most. He had not followed Hu Xiaotian's orders to take Long Xi Yue to the agreed place, but secretly abducted Long Xi Yue to the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom, fabricated lies, making Hu Xiaotian mistakenly believe that Long Xi Yue had betrayed him. Now Hu Xiaotian's remark was likely sarcastic, mocking himself. Zhou Mo gave a dry cough and said, "Third brother, actually all these years I have wanted to say sorry to you, I..."

Hu Xiaotian interrupted him: "Elder brother, you don't need to say that; I can see that some of the things you did were also done out of necessity." The more he said this, the more Zhou Mo felt uneasy in his heart.

Xiao Tianmu said nothing, lifted his teacup and took a sip. After not seeing each other for years, this younger brother of theirs has become much more restrained than before, but that does not mean their meeting today will be a smile that settles old grudges. Hu Xiaotian invited Zhou Mo here, presumably not merely to shake hands and make peace; Zhou Mo is upright in character, and he still feels guilty over abandoning Hu Xiaotian back then. If Hu Xiaotian knew that Zhou Mo was also in Xizhou, perhaps he would not have set up this banquet. Xiao Tianmu secretly thought that this younger brother likely wanted to probe Zhou Mo's mouth for their purpose in coming to Xizhou.

Zhou Mo said, "In short, I'm sorry to you..."

Xiao Tianmu chuckled, his laughter cutting off Zhou Mo's words again, and said, "Elder brother indeed need not worry too much; Third brother has a broad mind, and since he is willing to sit with us brothers, it shows he has already let go of the past. Bringing it up again would only be worse. Moreover, although Third Brother and Princess Anping have faced many obstacles, in the end lovers will be united; the wrongs we once did against our conscience will ultimately not bear bitter fruit, and we two elder brothers can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

Hu Xiaotian silently sighed at Xiao Tianmu's cunning; he had originally hoped to extract some words from Zhou Mo's mouth, but Xiao Tianmu's arrival today seems likely to thwart his plan.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Elder brother, you have come this time representing the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom; I heard you have already reached an agreement with the Xichuan side? The Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom is to lend grain to Xichuan without charge?"

Xiao Tianmu secretly kicked Zhou Mo under the table to remind him not to speak carelessly. Zhou Mo hesitated, then nodded and said, "Not bad, it's indeed true!"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Elder brother, do you know about the Gold and Jade Alliance?"

Xiao Tianmu hurriedly said, "Of course I've heard of it!"

Hu Xiaotian said, "You perhaps should also know that earlier I purchased grain from the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom at a price ten percent above market value, and the Empress Dowager also agreed to it."

Xiao Tianmu said, "Third brother, are you greatly lacking in grain?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "This grain is actually for rescuing the Xichuan refugees fleeing into my territory; otherwise, my grain reserves would be sufficient to feed the people."

Xiao Tianmu said, "The people are the foundation of a state; this saying is known by almost everyone, yet few truly grasp its meaning. Third brother, you have taken in many refugees this time; if you help them get through this crisis, these refugees will surely become a mighty force under your command."

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "I rescue them not out of much calculation; I simply feel the people are innocent, and Xichuan is internally turbulent, unable to attend to them. If I did not act, I wouldn't know how many Xichuan people would die in this natural disaster."

Xiao Tianmu said, "Third brother, you are truly kind-hearted."

Hu Xiaotian said, "But your kingdom's approach has introduced a variable into everything." He paused, fixed his gaze on Zhou Mo, and asked, "Was the decision to lend grain to Xichuan personally made by the Empress Dowager?"

Zhou Mo dared not meet his gaze, hesitating whether to answer the question, when Xiao Tianmu said, "Yes!"

Hu Xiaotian flatly rejected it, saying, "Impossible; if the Empress Dowager had made this decision, she would not have sent elder brother to Xichuan as an envoy, and her lending grain to Xichuan for free would be tantamount to breaking the alliance we originally agreed upon."

Xiao Tianmu said, "What alliance? Is the alliance you refer to the one where we join forces with the Gold and Jade Alliance to take Xichuan? No, that's not right; just now you said you had no ambition toward Xichuan."

Hu Xiaotian did not answer his question: "If I am not mistaken, elder brother's coming to Xichuan is at the behest of Hu Buwei; given my understanding of the Empress Dowager, she should not abandon the Gold and Jade Alliance, so the only possibility is that the Empress Dowager has been controlled by Hu Buwei, and thus the power of the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom has now fallen into Hu Buwei's hands."

Xiao Tianmu and Zhou Mo, hearing this, simultaneously felt admiration; this younger brother, after years of tempering, has indeed become more mature, having seen the essence of the problem and inferred that internal power in the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom has shifted.

Xiao Tianmu said, "Actually, the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom has not undergone any substantial change."

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said, "Li Tianheng was suddenly assassinated; I racked my brains but could not figure out who was behind it, until now I finally have some understanding."

Xiao Tianmu said, "Third brother, who do you think did it?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Whoever gains the greatest benefit is the most suspicious in this matter. After Li Tianheng's death, Li Honghan inherited his position; this man is narrow-minded, ambitious but inept, originally lacking such resolve and means, so his backers must certainly be supporting him. After Li Tianheng's death, Xichuan saw no disturbance, indicating that everything had been arranged in advance before his death, even the military's core commanders were quietly replaced, and the grain problem that troubled Xichuan was also resolved by the Heavenly Fragrance Kingdom. Elder brother, do you think all this is mere coincidence?" (To be continued~^~)