Chapter 940

Qiqi's beautiful eyes lit up, and she immediately understood the reason: Old Lady Xu feared that openly providing the court with a fleet and trade route would bring great disaster to the Xu family, so she publicly refused the Emperor, but secretly conveyed goodwill to the court through the Hu family, exchanging a trade route for the court's understanding of the Xu family; thus the Xu family would not openly involve itself in imperial affairs.

Qiqi asked, "Is this route reliable? After smoothly reaching Luosong, will they be willing to sell grain to us?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "If Your Highness doubts, you can simply pretend I said nothing."

Qiqi said, "Now organizing the fleet, we should be able to return before autumn; as long as we can secure this trade route before this winter, grain can continuously flow into Dakang, allowing us to survive this harsh winter—but… who should we send?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Your humble servant is willing to personally go to Luosong for a trip."

Doubt filled Qiqi's eyes; the journey to Luosong is thousands of miles, and Hu Xiaotian volunteering for this task surely has another motive—could he intend to use this sea voyage as a chance to escape and completely free himself from imperial control?

From Qiqi's hesitation, Hu Xiaotian already guessed she must doubt his intentions—something he had anticipated before coming; he intended to use her suspicion to achieve his goal. He whispered, "This trade route must be personally traversed by me to be secured."

Qiqi calmly said, "What's the rush?" Her gaze fell upon the nautical chart, and after staring at it for a long while, she said, "Let me think it over carefully."

Hu Xiaotian lowered his voice: "This matter is of great importance; Your Highness must not leak it to anyone else, including the Emperor."

Qiqi nodded.

Hu Xiaotian also did not press too hard, took his leave and departed the imperial palace. Knowing Qiqi, he knew she would never allow him to personally go to Luosong. This trade route was provided by Old Lady Xu; he also hinted to Qiqi that besides the Hu family, no one could manage this. If Qiqi refuses to let him go, the only remaining choice is his parents—if his father and mother take this opportunity to go to Luosong, he would then have no further worries.

Hu Xiaotian did not directly return to the Minister's Residence; instead, after some detours he arrived at the Hall of Abundant Treasures, where he received the delightful news that his sworn elder brother Zhou Mo and the others had returned together.

Seeing Hu Xiaotian's ashamed expression, Zhou Mo clasped his fists and bowed deeply: "Third Brother, Elder Brother owes you an apology!" Hu Xiaotian hurried forward a step, supporting his arms, and said, "Elder Brother, among brothers there's no need for such formality."

Zhou Mo sighed. He firmly gripped Hu Xiaotian's hands, and Gao Yuan, Liang Yinghao, and the others also came over to meet Hu Xiaotian.

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhou Mo and Hu Xiaotian went to Xiao Tianmu's study, evidently to give Hu Xiaotian a detailed account of Long Xi Yue's affairs—although Zhan Peng had already explained everything to Hu Xiaotian beforehand. Zhou Mo, however, repeated the whole story from beginning to end, for he values promises; he had once promised Hu Xiaotian to take good care of Long Xi Yue, yet he never expected such an outcome. His remorse and guilt are beyond words.

Hu Xiaotian comforted Zhou Mo: "Her departure was her own choice—don't say that, Elder Brother. Even if I were there, I still could not have stopped her."

Zhou Mo said, "We had Zhan Peng return first to report, then we stayed in Hai Prefecture for several days, searching inside the prefecture on one hand and checking the dock on the other for any ships setting out on long voyages. After elimination, we did come up with several possibilities."

Hu Xiaotian nodded. Although he deeply cared about Long Xi Yue's whereabouts, he could not show it in front of Zhou Mo; the more anxious he appeared, the more guilty Zhou Mo would feel. Hu Xiaotian did not want him to keep blaming himself for this, especially since the matter was not Zhou Mo's fault at all.

Zhou Mo said, "One possibility is that she hid in Hai Prefecture awaiting our departure before leaving; another is that she left by sea—on the day she disappeared, a passenger ship sailed south to the Fragrant Scent Kingdom. Although the Fragrant Scent Kingdom is merely a vassal of Dakang, its queen is Dakang's former Eldest Princess Long Xuanjiao. I suspect she may have gone there to seek refuge with her aunt. Third Brother, rest assured—as long as Elder Brother still draws breath, he will surely find her and bring her back."

Hu Xiaotian smiled indifferently: "Brothers are like limbs, wives like clothing—it's just a woman; out with the old, in with the new." This remark made Zhou Mo stare wide-eyed; he could not agree with Hu Xiaotian's saying.

Xiao Tianmu, listening nearby, already understood Hu Xiaotian's intention—he was clearly worried that Zhou Mo would blame himself for this, so he adopted an indifferent attitude toward Long Xi Yue's departure. In fact, everyone knows Hu Xiaotian's feelings for Long Xi Yue; if it weren't genuine affection, how could he have risked so much to pull off the scheme of deceiving heaven and crossing the sea, stealing the beam and replacing the pillar? The cost and effort involved are unimaginable; the greater the sacrifice, the greater the loss. Xiao Tianmu knows that Long Xi Yue's sudden departure must have dealt Hu Xiaotian a tremendous blow, and his sudden collapse a few days ago is directly related to this.

Zhou Mo said, "Perhaps her silent departure this time was due to unavoidable hardship; Third Brother, I see that she must have deep feelings for you."

Xiao Tianmu said, "Although your remark is somewhat biased, I believe that if the feelings were truly deep, there would be no need to part in this manner. A man of honor need not worry about lacking a wife; Third Brother, in your youthful prime, you should aspire to lofty goals and create a staggering achievement—why entangle yourself in romantic affairs?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "Second Brother is right; I came here precisely to discuss urgent matters with you. Now that Elder Brother and the others have returned, it's naturally perfect."

The three brothers came together to the table; Hu Xiaotian produced a nautical chart. Since Xiao Tianmu is blind, he naturally cannot see what is drawn on the chart. Hu Xiaotian then explained the whole background from start to finish, and he also fully disclosed his own plans and ideas to his two sworn elder brothers.

After listening, Zhou Mo whispered, "This trade route is inevitably tied to the survival of Dakang's state and altars, as well as the livelihood and happiness of countless commoners; this matter must be handled with utmost caution."

Hu Xiaotian said, "I have already proposed to Princess Yongyang that I personally open this trade route, transporting grain by sea from Luosong into Dakang. However, given her suspicious nature, she certainly will not let me go myself; since this route was provided by my maternal grandmother, it must be undertaken by members of the Hu family to Luosong in order to be realized."

Xiao Tianmu whispered, "You mean Old Lady Xu will arrange people on the Luosong side to provide assistance?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "She will surely help covertly; otherwise, even if we reach Luosong, we cannot resolve this grain trade."

Xiao Tianmu said, "As you said, Princess Yongyang is very likely not to let you leave; then her only remaining option is Uncle Hu, and only Uncle Hu can bring this trade route to fruition."

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "I intend to use this opportunity to free my father and mother from the control of the Dakang imperial household."

Xiao Tianmu said, "Indeed, this is an opportunity; if we control this grain transport route, it is tantamount to holding the future fate of the Dakang dynasty in our hands—even if the court becomes reckless, they would not dare to act rashly against you and your father."

Hu Xiaotian said, "The distance from Kangdu to Luosong is vast; the sea voyage alone takes a full two months, and a round trip is nearly half a year. I truly cannot bear to let my father endure such a long, arduous journey—moreover, summer has begun, typhoons are frequent at sea; if any hint of this leaks out, foreign powers will surely intervene, and who knows how many unforeseen circumstances may arise."

Zhou Mo said, "Third Brother, why not let me accompany Uncle Hu on this trip?"

Xiao Tianmu said, "Or let me go!"

Both were slightly taken aback; Hu Xiaotian's original intention had been for Zhou Mo to protect his father on the journey, together with Zhan Peng and the others, which should have ensured peace of mind—yet he did not expect Xiao Tianmu to volunteer to go.

In Hu Xiaotian's view, Xiao Tianmu's scheming and wisdom were all superhuman, but the greatest regret was that Xiao Tianmu's eyes were both blind, making it truly hard for him to bear sending him out to sea on a long voyage.

Xiao Tianmu smiled and said: "You don't need to worry about my health; although I can't see with my eyes, I can judge direction more accurately than anyone with eyes. This trip to Luosong to pioneer a trade route is of great significance; our Baofeng Hall can also conveniently do some business along the way. For such an important matter, I really can't rest easy not going. Since Xiaotian has prepared for the worst, the elder brother must stay in Kangdu; if anything happens, with the elder brother's martial skill, you can have someone to look after you. Zhan Peng and Gao Yuan will go with me, plus other capable hands; even if we encounter any trouble, we will be more than able to handle it."

Zhou Mo nodded: "Good! Just do as the second brother says."

At this moment, Gao Yuan came over to call Zhou Mo to eat; they had just returned and hadn't even had time to eat, really.

After Zhou Mo left, Hu Xiaotian went to Xiao Tianmu's side, patted his shoulder, and said, "Thanks, second brother."

Xiao Tianmu smiled and said, "What are you thanking me for?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "The thing just now."

Xiao Tianmu said, "You said that just now just because you didn't want the eldest brother to bear too heavy a burden in his heart; actually I know your feelings for Princess Anping are deep-rooted, not so easy to let go."

Hu Xiaotian sighed and said, "Perhaps the second brother is right; we are in our prime, we ought to have lofty ambitions and create an earth-shaking great undertaking; how can we be entangled in romantic entanglements?"

Xiao Tianmu said, "Third brother, do you really want to serve the Long family for a lifetime?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "I have long lost hope in the Dakang dynasty; Long Xuan'en is foolish and corrupt, Dakang has come to this state, yet he still thinks only of his own posthumous affairs and even fantasizes about immortality; under such a foolish ruler, Dakang is not far from ruin."

Xiao Tianmu said, "Since we have seen the outcome, we must plan ahead; but this is an excellent opportunity for you."

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