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After Huo Fenglie left the Imperial study, he saw two people waiting for him at the palace gate nearby. One of them was He Lan, who was wearing a blue feiyu uniform, and the other was Qin Yu, who was in the special white uniform of the Dongchang eunuch intelligence bureau. He Lan leaned against the stone wall, nonchalantly holding a leaf in his mouth, arms folded and one foot raised against the wall. Qin Yu, on the other hand, had no expression on his face and stood up straight with his hands folded, behaving in the same manner as the other eunuchs in the palace.

“We just saw the Eighth Princess waiting here, so we’ll send you out,” He Lan teased with a smile.

“What happened?” Huo Fenglie asked, raising his eyes.

“Is something wrong? Are you in a bad mood?” He Lan said, smiling. Although to outsiders, Huo Fenglie had a face like a cold coffin, they had known each other since they were young and had also studied at the Imperial Academy together, so they were naturally more familiar with him.

But if they asked, the other party usually wouldn’t tell them.

Seeing that Huo Fenglie wasn’t answering, Qin Yu said succinctly: “Something happened. There was a conflict with the city guards.”

Huo Fenglie nodded slightly, and just as he was about to depart with the two of them, he saw the First Princess’s contingent walking along another palace path.

“We all heard that you ransacked the gambling house overseen by the First Princess’s cousin. She has sued you several times.” He Lang casually threw an arm over Huo Fenglie’s shoulders as he spoke. Both of them were warriors, and with their statures it wasn’t awkward, but Qin Yu beside them was much slimmer than them.

Huo Fenglie was speechless.

He Lan was unconcerned. This was how they got along. They gossiped while Huo Fenglie kept his silence.

Qin Yu said: “The First Princess’s cousin…..”

“What, is there some gossip?” When it came to collecting information, the Jinyiwei, which was the Imperial Guard’s intelligence division, had to admire the Dongchang’s ability, though they would usually laugh at the Dongchang behind their backs because they just liked to listen to gossip around walls and corners.

Qin Yu turned his head away in disdain and dodged away from He Lan, who had suddenly drawn closer.

“There is indeed a bit of news related to the person who saved Yunci and Yunqian.”

“Liu Xiaozhu?”

. . . . . . .

“Grandpa, say it again. I didn’t hear you clearly just now. Are you talking about……me?”

“You heard correctly. You are engaged to Jiang Zi’er, the eldest daughter of the Minister of the Ministry of Rites’ family. Jiang-daren sent someone to deliver the marriage contract before. He will come to the door later, so I’m here to ask you, do you still want this engagement?”

Lying on the sickbed, Liu Zhenqing had begun to wonder if his injuries were serious enough to affect his hearing. It was no wonder that the outside world had a bad impression of Liu Xiaozhu. He was already engaged, yet he blatantly pursued Huo Fenglie. At first, he only thought he was a bold and wishful thinker, but now he felt that he was a little immoral.

Liu Zhenqing said in disbelief: “Grandpa, aren’t I a cut-sleeve? Or are the rumors outside not dramatic enough? The Jiang family has no objections? You also aren’t concerned about me?”

The Old Master looked a little uncomfortable. He coughed, then roughly explained the situation.

When that matter happened with Liu Zhenqing, the Liu family was afraid of being implicated, so they made a gamble and took the initiative to serve the new emperor. To receive a reward, they must have someone to recommend them, and it was Jiang Hong, the Minister of Rites, who dared to take this risk.

He came from a poor family and had limited financial resources, so it would be difficult for him to rise further. He planned to win the emperor’s heart for his own future, but didn’t expect that it would actually happen. Thus, there was marriage and cooperation between officials and merchants. This happy event occurred under the eyes of the emperor, and although it was not an Imperial marriage, it was not an easy thing to break off the engagement.

Moreover, Jiang Hong had also made a lot of extra money by investing in the Liu family, so he was naturally not willing to give up this big fish. Therefore, they had turned a blind eye to Liu Xiaozhu’s ridiculous behavior in the past two years. In their opinion, Liu Xiaozhu could not shake Huo Fenglie’s resolve, and for reasons of the past, he could not tolerate a man’s admiration for another man. In addition, Liu Xiaozhu was indeed not a pure cut-sleeve, so they had dilly-dallied until now.

The Old Master had originally wanted to take advantage of his amnesia to save the marriage, but now he had other considerations.

Liu Zhenqing was also taken aback by such a sketchy thing for a long moment before shaking his head decisively. 

But when Jin Li on the side learned Liu Zhenqing’s decision, his expression suddenly warped, as if he wanted to interrupt but didn’t know what to say.

The Old Man narrowed his eyes, and suddenly sent the steward to fetch a pile of account books. “It is not impossible to break off the engagement. Please, take a look at these first and tell me if there are any problems?”

The smile in Liu Zhenqing’s heart gradually faded. Sure enough, he had just been thinking it was strange. How could the old man ask his opinion? Was he so kind-hearted?

In fact, the person who least wanted a problem with this engagement was the old man. After all, even if he was an Imperial merchant, his status as one was low. Not to mention that his surname was Liu. The Liu family needed a backer to protect them, and nothing was more reliable than marriage. 

Now he was suddenly given a choice…..as it turned out, he saw that his grandson was useful. Marrying a useless grandson into a wealthy family was equivalent to him becoming part of the wife’s family. Useful grandsons could not be wasted like this.

No, it was not entirely because of his sudden ability. For more than two years, he had not restrained his grandson’s behavior, and had allowed it to develop. This seemed to have no benefits, but it was actually a test. The place in the capital most likely to cause harm to the Liu family was the General’s Manor. There was a feud, after all, and the Old Master used this to figure out the bottom line of the Huo family’s tolerance for the Liu family.

And now that Liu Xiaozhu was their life-saving grace and the other party had come to express his gratitude, this proved that the Liu family no longer had to worry, and they no longer had to rely on the Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Combining the two, the Old Master didn’t care so much whether he wanted this engagement or not. After all, being tied too tightly to a single official was not conducive to development. Moreover, it would be rumored that the grandson was the at-fault party, so the dissolution of the engagement would also make the other party look decent, and although there would be no marriage, they would not be enemies either.

There was not much familial affection in wealthy households. To be able to support such a large family, there could be no such good thing.

Liu Zhenqing calmly glanced at the ledgers in front of him. “Grandpa, I’m still injured.”

“It’s okay, take your time reading them.” The old man was extremely stubborn.

The corners of Liu Zhenqing’s mouth twitched. His calling it quits had failed, but…..it could still be considered a turn for the better. With a roll of his eyes, he magnanimously pulled over the several account books related to port and river transportation. These were also the account books that he had found problems with before.

“There’s no need to test me. Grandpa, look at these books and read them carefully.” Then Liu Zhenqing pointed out a few areas. The old man stared doubtfully at the apparently fine account books for a long time, and then suddenly sucked in a breath.

Because he saw that someone was secretly modifying the content of the transports. He feared that someone was using the Liu family to smuggle something.

“You…..what……”

Liu Zhenqing smiled faintly.

“Were you keeping quiet to hide your skills?” This was the only thing the old man could think of. It was easy to understand, considering this family. After all, this child had two uncles who were eyeing him. “Then why did you expose yourself?”

“Wasn’t it because of my amnesia? I forgot about it, but now I know.” Liu Zhenqing shrugged.

The Old Master had a rare look of guilt on his face. “Child, don’t worry. You don’t have to pretend to be ignorant in the future. Grandpa will…..”

“Grandpa, I have an idea,” Liu Zhenqing interrupted.

“What is it?”

“After the engagement is broken off, and after I recover from my injuries, let me go south to investigate the port and river transportation privately,” Liu Zhenqing said sincerely.

The old man frowned and said: “For what reason?”

Of course, it was to leave the capital in a reasonable way, and then to use a new identity to hide in the south. This would be less risky than disappearing directly from the capital.

“The problem of the port and river transportation is hidden and not easy to detect. You can just let me go down to practice and learn. After all……” Liu Zhenqing was the best at reading people’s hearts. He hesitated to speak, but the casual sentence moved the old man’s heart.

Considering that his eldest grandson had suddenly revealed his capabilities, as well as the situation at home, the poisoning, and the kidnapping incident, going south could not only officially allow him to start familiarizing himself with the affairs of the chamber of commerce, but it could also test how far his eldest grandson’s abilities could extend. It was better than everyone staying together and consuming each other. Leaving the eldest grandson alone to keep a low profile would wrong him.

The Old Master frowned. There was still some conflict between reason and familial affection, but in the end, he still wanted to train someone who could support the Liu family chamber of commerce. At least in the eyes of the old man, the Second and Third Masters were not good enough.

Finally, the Old Master nodded in agreement.

Just at this time, the steward came to report that the Minister for the Ministry of Rites had arrived.

It wasn’t until the Old Master left that Liu Zhenqing glanced at Jin Li, who had been holding his breath since the beginning with his face turning blue.

“What’s the matter?”

“Master, do you really want to break off the engagement?”

Liu Zhenqing was a little displeased to hear this. “Is it possible that your master has the nerve to take advantage of this girl’s engagement when he has made such a fuss over his pursuit of a man? And haven’t you always supported your master’s pursuit of General Huo?”

“That isn’t the case, Master,” Jin Li said anxiously. “Ah, the truth is…..it is actually Miss Jiang who broke off the engagement first.”

Liu Zhenqing made an inquisitive sound.

Jin Li could only quickly explain the ins and outs of this matter.

After getting engaged that year, the shy Liu Xiaozhu was very happy. After all, he’d had no father or mother growing up, so getting married and having his own family was a beautiful dream for him. Even though he had never met her, Liu Xiaozhu would still send people to give gifts to Jiang Zi’er from time to time, showing his full respect and goodwill.

But not long after going out, he inadvertently heard about Jiang Zi’er’s whereabouts. Liu Xiaozhu couldn’t help being curious. He took Jin Li to secretly pay a visit to his future wife, but didn’t expect to directly catch Jiang Zi’er having a secret tryst with another man. The tryst happened to be with the First Princess’s cousin, a little bully with a bad reputation in the capital.

Liu Xiaozhu was terribly upset.

When the two separated, he took the initiative to intercept Jiang Zhi’er. He told her what he had seen and asked what was going on. Was she being humiliated, or…..Upon hearing the other party’s identity, Jiang Zhi’er’s expression became very ugly. The way she hesitated to speak made Liu Xiaozhu understand that it had been voluntary.

Liu Xiaozhu didn’t want to embarrass the girl, so he only asked Jiang Zi’er to take the lead in asking her father to break off the engagement.

In the end, it was unknown whether Jiang Zi’er didn’t dare to do it, or if it was because of something else, but she kept putting it off again and again. Not only did she do nothing, but she even returned to her hometown to observe filial piety, as if she was hiding on purpose.

During this period, Liu Xiaozhu encountered trouble and was rescued by Huo Fenglie, who had returned to the capital. This sense of utmost security caused Liu Xiaozhu to become obsessed. He fell in love at first sight, and the entanglement began. He also brought up breaking off the engagement with the Old Master. At that time, the Old Master simply wanted to find out the limits of the Huo family’s tolerance. He didn’t think this could be done, and naturally would not agree to his grandson’s request. When Jiang Zi’er returned, the Old Master did his utmost to get them married quickly, so as not to let the trouble get worse and make both families lose face. Unexpectedly, the other party’s attitude was somewhat ambiguous, and the Old Master also had an unexpected change of mind.

“So even if the engagement is broken off, we should also think of some grounds that are beneficial to us. After all, it was the other party who broke the contract first. If the Old Master doesn’t know the truth and gives a reason that paints us as being in the wrong, the outside world will definitely say that it’s your fault.”

Jin Li protected his master. In his opinion, the marriage contract between the two was in name only. Why was his master still protecting the other party’s reputation when he would be able to pursue the person he liked afterward?

Hearing this, Liu Zhenqing didn’t care about the issue of whether he would suffer a loss in reputation. He was going to disappear anyway, regardless of these technicalities. He just suddenly had a sense that something wasn’t quite right.

After discovering Jiang Zi’er tryst, Liu Xiaozhu encountered an accident. Jiang Zi’er returned, Grandpa urged them to get married, and Liu Xiaozhu was kidnapped and silenced. Could there be such a coincidence?

But when he considered it carefully, he felt that he was overthinking it. Killing a person just because she didn’t want to marry him was too dramatic. It would be better to just terminate the engagement.

A person who wanted to call it quits naturally wouldn’t go looking for trouble. Two days later, the first news came out that the engagement had been terminated. The reasoning was that Liu Zhenqing was frequently getting into trouble, so they found someone to calculate their horoscopes again, and the two sides decided to terminate the engagement amicably because the horoscopes were incompatible with each other. It was said that the Minister of Rites was quite hesitant, but finally agreed after thinking about it all night.

When Liu Zhenqing heard this reasoning, he nearly broke his wounds open with his laughter. Because he had used the same excuse to break off his engagement to Li Xingruo in his previous life.

It turned out that these people couldn’t find another good reason to break off an engagement?

As soon as this news came out, the previous gambling house incident immediately became the subject of gossip. Listening to Jin Li angrily talking about the situation outside, Liu Zhenqing lay on the bed and played with the various small contraptions he had used to play with before. As he listened, he wondered when the people in the capital had gotten so bored. They weren’t the children of celebrities. Did they deserve so much attention? If it were modern times, this would be like a small hot search for a minor internet celebrity.

Liu Zhenqing disregarded everything that was going on outside and only thought of making good use of Li Xingruo’s medicine to speed up his recovery. He felt that the dawn of happiness was not far away.

On this day, Liu Zhenqing was holding a map to decide which city he would choose to get rid of his accompanying guards, when he saw Jin Li staggering in.

“Master…..Master, it’s not good. Rebels sabotaged the spring plowing ceremony and tried to assassinate the Emperor. People are being arrested everywhere right now!”

Liu Zhenqing dropped what was in his hands and said: “Was the Emperor hurt?”

“He wasn’t. Although the City Guard was escorting the Emperor, General Huo was accompanying him, so the traitors were unable to approach the Emperor at all. A servant from our household went to watch the ceremony and was almost hit by a burning carriage that rushed into the procession. That scene……there were grappling hooks and arrows, and the Emperor was nearly overturned, but General Huo flew up and cut off the iron hooks with his sword. He knocked away all the sharp arrows that flew past him, and stomped the tilting Imperial carriage back to the ground. He was really one man holding the pass against ten thousand…..”

Liu Zhenqing interrupted directly: “Did they catch the assassins on the spot? Do they know who committed the assassination?”

Jin Li said: “Some were caught and some escaped. Rumor has it that the people behind the assassination this time were the remnants of the Three Kings Rebellion. Now, soldiers are still searching house to house, which is causing people to panic. This is the first time an assassination has occurred since the death of that treacherous minister.”

It was clear that the Three Kings Rebellion had been neatly solved. Could it be…..

Liu Zhenqing had just started thinking about it when he forced himself to let it go. He had already decided to give up and mind his own business. It was a pity that the trip would be delayed. After all, since such a big attack had occurred, the investigation would take at least a month or two.

But what Liu Zhenqing never expected was that the assassins were caught within ten days. The assassination incident was declared to have been completely solved, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Although Liu Zhenqing felt that something wasn’t right, he couldn’t be bothered to think about it. Also, spring was coming soon and a large number of students were pouring into the capital, so everyone’s thoughts gradually shifted.

After he recovered from his injuries, it was soon time for the agreed meeting with Lao Zhao.

He went out for the first time in a long time and acquired the goods easily. His mood was high, and seeing that Liu Zhenqing was happy, Jin Li asked if he wanted to go to Taibai Restaurant for dinner and said that this was Liu Xiaozhu’s favorite place to eat. Seeing the way Jin Li was trying his best to brainwash him, he just decided to practice being Liu Xiaozhu and got off the carriage. 

He just didn’t foresee being intercepted before he even stepped into the restaurant.

“What a coincidence, ah, isn’t this the Young Master Liu who found an excuse to break off his engagement so that he could pursue General Huo?”

One sentence immediately drew the attention of the people around who were coming and going.

Liu Zhenqing raised his eyebrows. Looking up, he saw a young man and a woman, followed by many servants.

The woman had a beautiful appearance and an indifferent expression, as if she didn’t want to look at Liu Zhenqing.

The man was not the good sort at first glance, but Liu Zhenqing was still moved by the “needs to be taught a lesson” look in his eyes.

Where had he wronged him? He hadn’t bullied anyone in a long time. He was in a good mood today, and with fun delivered to his doorstep, how could he refuse?

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Chapter Nine << Table of Contents >> Chapter Eleven