Liu Zhenqing had no grudge against the Dai family. At most, loyal ministers and commanders like the Dai family didn’t care to see him after hearing about him, and cared little for the Liu family.

He also likely believed the rumors about Huo Fenglie’s hatred for Liu Zhenqing.

It was true that there was no hatred in Dai Tingyu’s eyes. He just greeted him a little awkwardly, then immediately changed the subject to invite them back to the city together.

Huo Fenglie looked at Liu Zhenqing, who nodded. Then he spoke a few words to Han Ye, who also nodded and said: “Okay.”

Since their whereabouts had been exposed, it was naturally inconvenient to go to Medical Valley. They could only trouble the master to come out, and since it was close, this wouldn’t make things difficult for him.

Han Ye had originally wanted to give the carriage to Liu Zhenqing. They left on their own the next day, but Liu Zhenqing looked at Dai Tingyu, who had warmly invited Huo Fenglie to ride back with him, and shook his head. He walked directly to Chen Jiangue and mounted the horse.

Chen Jiangyue turned to look at him without a care, but Dai Tingyu to the side was dumbfounded. He naturally knew of Huo Fenglie’s Chen Jiangyue. That kind of horse was a special breed, not at all like a normal horse. Other than Huo Fenglie, it usually didn’t let anyone else ride it, or at times even touch it. How was the young master of the Liu family able to ride on it without Huo Fenlgie opening his mouth?

Dai Tingyu could only turn his head to look at Huo Fenglie.

Huo Fenglie looked tranquil as he walked over to the horse and asked: “You don’t want to rest in the carriage?”

Liu Zhenqing shook his hand and gestured for him to come up.

In the end, under Dai Tingyu’s disbelieving gaze, Huo Fenglie mounted his horse and rode with Liu Zhenqing in his arms.

Dai Tingyu’s eyes turned back and forth between their two faces, then saw Liu Zhenqing deliberately lean into Huo Fenglie’s arms. This sort of posture could not be attributed to friends riding together. They were clearly a couple.

Everyone around saw this clearly, and Dai Tingyu had to accept it as reality.

So Brother Huo had been enlightened? He had forgotten the past? This guy with a cocky expression should be Huo Fenglie’s substitute to forget about Liu Zhenqing.

Speechless, Dai Tingyu didn’t dare look too long. He mounted his horse straight away and turned back to the rest of his team.

And at this time, Liu Zhenqing was asking in a low voice while in Huo Fenglie’s arms: “What’s the deal with Dai Tingyu? He’s so enthusiastic about you and keeps looking at you. It shouldn’t be that he has any thoughts about you.” 

Huo Fenglie pulled the reins helplessly: “Qing-ge, you’re overthinking. It’s only that we fought together and we’re long-time friends.”

“That time with the Three Southwest Kingdoms?”

“En, the Dai family originally withstood that battle, but there was no one in their family who could fight at that time, so they could only let the young Dai brothers go to the battlefield. They were inexperienced, and had a tough time.”

“So you showed up and became their idol? That’s great, ah, Er-gou,” Liu Zhenqing said with a smile. 

The corners of Huo Fenglie’s mouth ticked up helplessly. “If you feel tired later, you can just sleep in my arms.”

Liu Zhenqing looked up at the earnest Huo Fenglie and recalled how everyone had knelt down just now. Then he remembered how the cheek he kissed had turned red, and his heart suddenly felt itchy. 

He rubbed his head against Huo Fenglie’s chin, and when the other lowered his head to look at him, he asked with a smile: “Before, did it feel good?”

Huo Fenglie’s pupils quivered and he raised his head shyly, not daring to look at him.

Liu Zhenqing rubbed the top of his head against Huo Fenglie’s chin again and said: “I’m asking you something. Answer honestly, did I perform better this time?”

The jut of Huo Fenglie’s throat shifted, and he eventually gave a muffled affirmative hum.

He knew that according to Liu Zhenqing’s character, if he didn’t answer, he would continue to ask relentlessly and in the end, the only one in trouble would be himself.

Sure enough, after getting this answer, Liu Zhenqing was satisfied and no longer embarrassed Huo Fenglie.

Just as this moment, Dai Tingyu rode up on his horse.

“Brother Huo, let’s go.”

As the two horses walked together, Dai Tingyu asked a lot of enthusiastic questions. Over time, Liu Zhenqing could pretty much see through him as he observed. 

He was a straightforward and heroic military officer, and his looks weren’t bad. He was just a bit rough and boorish.

In any case, he definitely didn’t like men, but…..he didn’t seem to be very interested in women either.

When Liu Zhenqing asked him curiously if he was married, Dai Tingyu said directly that a woman would affect his courage on the battlefield. Because in the eyes of this boor, women were all soft and weak, like water, and he couldn’t bear that they cried at a touch. Moreover, they were long of hair but short of knowledge, which he felt was extremely troublesome.

This kid was so unexpectedly sexist. Liu Zhenqing said at once, “I recall there was a marquise in your family.”

Dai Tingyu suddenly choked, then gave Liu Zhenqing an awkward look.

Liu Zhenqing spoke again: “Have you never met Sister-in-law Huo?”

Dai Tingyu immediately begged for mercy: “Young Master Liu is so capable. You’re not wrong, but it’s just that there are very few women like this. Most girls, especially those in the south, are quite weak and need to be taken care of. I really don’t like that sort.”

Sexism followed by geographical discrimination, atta boy.

Liu Zhenqing wasn’t familiar with him, so he naturally would not say much. The topic quickly shifted to the bandit incident just now.

“They came from the Western Shu Kingdom.”

“The better part of Western Shu consists of slaves, so there should be no such bandits,” Huo Fenglie said.

“Naturally, they aren’t slaves. They are all originally landowners or higher of Western Shu. Perhaps they violated some of the new king’s laws and couldn’t survive, so they escaped to burn, kill, and loot nearby. There have been many of them recently, which keeps us busy. However, these people should have been killed for abuse of power in their home country. We usually kill them directly and don’t take the trouble of bringing them back.”

“What about the ones just now?”

“We inquired, and they came from the capital city. We’ll take them back for interrogation and see if there is any valuable information.”

Liu Zhenqing said abruptly: “Has it always been like this? If you fail to catch up to them just like today, won’t the common people around you suffer?” Many common people had died in the attack. If Huo Fenglie hadn’t been there, half of them would have died before their arrival.

Dai Tingyu looked at Liu Zhenqing in surprise and said: “Young Master Liu is kind-hearted. In fact, we’ve tried our utmost to arrange for people to follow them, but there will still be fish that slip the net. Tang-chengzhu is also very troubled by this matter, but his manpower is exhausted and there is nothing he can do.”

Liu Zhenqing went silent.

Huo Fenglie asked directly: “What can be done?”

Dai Tingyu looked at Huo Fenglie strangely and thought to himself, what are you asking him for? Dai Tingyu had spoken in detail, and expected the God of War to give them some suggestions on defense.

Liu Zhenqing thought for a moment and said: “There is indeed a way. It depends on whether Tang-chengzhu is willing to give the order.”

Dai Tingyu was a little disdainful. In his eyes, the most resourceful and intelligent Chengzhu could do nothing, so how could he, an Imperial merchant, think of something?

“Speak, Young Master Liu,” Dai Tingyu said at will.

Liu Zhenqing said: “We can announce to the Western Shu Kingdom that, considering that the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty are being endangered by fugitives from Western Shu, foreign trade at the border is suspended, and all trade caravans from their country will be cut off from now on. This will last until no fugitives from Western Shu flow frequently to Great Zhou’s border.”

The horse suddenly neighed as it was stopped by Dai Tingyu.

Staring blankly at Liu Zhenqing in Huo Fenglie’s arms, Dai Tingyu said in disbelief: “Is….it okay? This method?”

Liu Zhenqing said with a smile: “Commander, this can be discussed with your City Lord. It’s useless to say more.”

Dai Tingyu swallowed and looked at Huo Fenglie, whose face was calm. He didn’t seem to object.

Dai Tingyu didn’t dare ask further questions. He seemed to have revealed his shortcomings, but couldn’t help but pick up his pace, feeling vaguely that this was a very different approach.

Because they arrived in the city late at night, Dai Tingyu initially wanted to knock on the door of the City Lord’s house, but the city gates were far away from the City Lord’s manor. Huo Fenglie looked at Liu Zhenqing, who had dozed off in his arms. He said: “It’s too late tonight. Let’s rest nearby and pay a visit tomorrow.”

Huo Fenglie spoke in a low tone. Although it wasn’t harsh, his attitude brooked no objection. Dai Tingyu seemed to take it as a military order and quickly obeyed, knocking at the nearest inn to settle the guests in.

Dai Tingyu stepped forward and gave careful instructions: “Shopkeeper, prepare ice for two rooms. Don’t let the guests overheat.”

Liu Zhenqing, who had been lifted off the horse by Huo Fenglie, suddenly pinched Huo Fenglie’s arm.

Huo Fenglie was startled. Seeing that the shopkeeper was about to take them inside, he could only summon his courage and say: “One room.”

Dai Tingyu almost crippled his foot climbing up the stairs.

The shopkeeper turned his head to look, immediately saying with a smile, “Okay, okay, please come inside.”

Huo Fenglie crossed over to Dai Tingyu and said: “You don’t need to send us off. Go back and rest early.”

Dai Tingyu looked awkwardly at Huo Fenglie, who was carrying someone. He stammered: “Okay….I’ll pick you up tomorrow.”

Huo Fenglie nodded and carried Liu Zhenqing to the room.

Dai Tingyu shook his head, dumbstruck. It wasn’t that there were never handsome brothers who admired Huo Fenglie and wanted to recommend themselves as a pillow, but Huo Fenglie had never given them a glance. But now…..sure enough, it was because of the surname Liu. He was related by blood and looked similar, so it was no wonder he could melt this glacier.

On the other side, Huo Fenglie placed the person in his arms onto the bed. Liu Zhenqing didn’t open his eyes or speak the entire time, and directly stretched out his arms to Huo Fenglie.

Huo Fenglie obediently helped him remove his outer layer, shoes, and socks. Liu Zhenqing rolled over and patted the space next to him.

It was only the two of them.

Huo Fenglie hesitated for a moment, then said: “Qing-ge, I have the smell of blood on me. I’ll go wash up and come back. You rest first.”

Liu Zhenqing didn’t respond. He grabbed the pillow next to him and hugged it in his arms. It was obvious that he had been just about to hug Huo Fenglie.

It was already late at night. Liu Zhenqing was indeed tired, and fell asleep, and fell asleep quickly. But when he woke up the next day, he found that he was holding Huo Fenglie in his arms.

Liu Zhenqing was somewhat amused, holding his head up as he gazed at the person next to him. Unless someone took away what he was hugging to sleep, he usually wouldn’t replace it.

Last night, he’d thought that Huo Fenglie still had some scruples and would avoid him, but it seemed he had made some progress and got into his gege’s arms.

Liu Zhenqing looked at Huo Fenglie sleeping there, with his handsome features and heroic spirit. The more he looked, the more delighted he was, and he couldn’t help but move forward to kiss him on the cheek.

Suddenly, Huo Fenglie opened his eyes and stared at Liu Zhenqing. He seemed to be in disbelief.

Liu Zhenqing looked back at him with clear eyes. He had obviously awoken long ago but didn’t dare to wake him, so he pretended to be asleep, not expecting to be secretly kissed by him.

Liu Zhenqing was so thick-skinned that he was not ashamed at all when he was caught. On the contrary, he said: “It turns out you were already awake. Say, did you secretly do something to me before I woke up?”

As expected, Huo Fenglie’s eyes widened, full of the injustice of being falsely accused by the actual criminal. Liu Zhenqing began the new day with uncontrollable laughter.

Sure enough, he felt refreshed after teasing Er-gou in the morning. Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but look forward to it. If this could happen every morning in the future, he would be happy for the rest of his life.

After a moment, there was a knock on the door. Huo Fenglie went to open it, and the shopkeeper’s voice could be heard.

Because they got up late, Dai Tingyu had already been there. Seeing as they weren’t up, he had left a message for the shopkeeper to pass on.

He asked them to wait at the inn when they woke up.

The two cleaned up and went down to eat. The people in the inn could be heard discussing which village had been attacked the night before.

“Even though it’s said that the new policies implemented by Western Shu are good for the people, they cause disaster for us. It’s really irritating if you think about it.”

“Don’t say that, I think the new king wants to end slavery and try to learn from our Great Zhou. He can be considered promising, and he’s more humane than the previous king. It’s just that the distance is very long, and he can’t cover all of it, so please make allowances, everyone.”

“You are magnanimous, but you won’t be affected in Nanfeng City, and you don’t think about how miserable the common people around you are. They are the people from our Great Zhou. Instead of being sympathetic to other countries, it is better to sympathize with those compatriots who cannot survive without the breadwinners of their families.”

“Ai, Brother, what you’re saying isn’t right. I’m not unsympathetic, ah, I just think that we need to be tolerant and look at things comprehensively. The more similar they are to a nation with proper conduct, won’t they pose less of a threat to our Great Zhou?”

“What a colossal joke. Aren’t the countries around us so-called nations of proper conduct? They don’t show any mercy in battle, ah.”

The person being criticized immediately choked, unable to find a reason to refute.

The sarcastic fellow snorted. “As long as it violates our general interests, I don’t care whether or not it’s difficult to reform Western Shu. Don’t forget that four or five years ago, they attacked us together with two other countries. If not for the general who guards the country, you and I might not be able to stand here alive.”

More and more people responded upon hearing this, and someone suddenly said in anger: “The Kingdom of Western Shu is just an ill-raised white-eyed wolf. Everyone, don’t forget the blood feud of the past just because trade relations have improved over the years. More than ten years ago, our Nanfeng City nearly became the territory of the Western Shu Kingdom. There were countless casualties among the defenders and civilians of the city at that time, and they almost couldn’t hold on any longer. How many of you here are authentic people of Nanfeng City? You may or may not remember it, but we, people who have been citizens of Nanfeng City for generations, remember it clearly. That period of humiliating and tragic history will never be forgotten. The stone sculpture of our previous City Lord still stands in the city today.”

As soon as he said this, everyone in the inn became quiet. The old shopkeeper couldn’t help but sigh: “Everyone, please stop arguing. The days of today were hard-won. Thinking about the sacrifices of the old City Lord and the current City Lord Tang-chengzhu, us living good lives is the greatest reward for the Tang family.”

Hearing this, someone promptly said: “We must live good lives for ourselves and develop Nanfeng City well. Don’t let that evildoer in the underworld see us as a joke.”

“Right, don’t let that treacherous evildoer Liu laugh at us!”

Everyone immediately echoed this. It seemed that only when this person’s name was mentioned would everyone’s opinions be highly consistent.

After all, this was one of Liu Zhenqing’s major crimes. It was said that once, the southwest border town was harassed by foreign tribes and was struggling to survive while awaiting support. Liu Zhenqing went there directly and forced the good general defending the city to his death, offering his head to quell the anger of the foreign tribes, which nearly caused the border town to fall and the common people to suffer.

This was truly a serious crime worthy of wiping out his entire clan, but no one could sue him at that time.

The people inside the inn gradually began to talk about Liu Zhenqing’s glorious deeds. This was likely a topic they often brought up after eating. It was no wonder neither Liu Zhenqing’s master nor Han Ye liked to come here.

“Hmph, it was a little close. If it hadn’t been for the young Tang-chengzhu who dared to lead the troops to fight back, we would all be slaves of the Western Shu Kingdom now.”

“Isn’t that right? Liu Zhenqing was simply a devil. Half our people died back then, but we still persisted. It would have been good that he came, but instead of helping his own people, he directly forced the old City Lord who pleaded with him to his death, and even chopped off his head to offer it to the king of Western Shu. It’s also said that he wanted to talk about cooperation, and to give Nanfeng City as a territory to Western Shu and ask for peace talks.”

“If the young City Lord hadn’t taken advantage of the peace talks to launch a sneak attack and kill many important figures of the Western Shu kingdom, we would really be…..”

“Yes, ah, the Tang family has truly given us a new lease on life. Facts have proven that heaven has eyes, and good will be rewarded with good and evil will be rewarded with evil!”

Liu Zhenqing took a sip of his soup upon hearing this. Sure enough, if the previous City Lord was mentioned, he would be mentioned as well. He really wasn’t used to these familiar voices of condemnation after not hearing them for a long while. He looked to the side where Huo Fenglie, with a gloomy expression, had stopped eating a half-finished dumpling.

Good people were rewarded?

That’s right, wasn’t this a good reward? He was allowed to come back and pick up a great treasure.

Liu Zhenqing suddenly leaned forward and bit into the half-eaten dumpling on his chopsticks. Holding the chopsticks in his mouth, he looked up at Huo Fenglie with a smile.

Stunned, Huo Fenglie could only look at Liu Zhenqing uneasily and take the initiative to pass the chopsticks forward as if feeding it to him.

Liu Zhenqing ate the half dumpling with satisfaction. As if to reciprocate, he picked up a small steamed bun and took the first bite. “En, this tastes pretty good too. You have it.”

After saying this, he brought it to Huo Fenglie’s mouth.

In fact, Liu Zhenqing had eaten Huo Fenglie’s half-eaten food before. That was when he was very young, but since his rebirth, it seemed that Huo Fenglie had never given him the opportunity. This seemed like the first time, but although Huo Fenglie often ate Liu Zhenqing’s leftovers, he had never fed them to him himself.

Just as Huo Fenglie was feeling uneasy, they heard a cough.

Turning to look, they saw a group of people coming to the door, which instantly caused a sensation.

“Chengzhu, Commander Dai!”

The guests immediately went to salute, but the man in the lead raised his hand to stop them.

The man was dressed in the blue brocade robes of a scholar, and his face was elegant and fair. He wore a white jade hairpin and a jasper waist pendant, not complicated, but exquisite. Although he was not tall, he had an air of dignity, graceful and elegant, gentle and polite.

This person was Tang Mu, the lord of Nanfeng City.

And standing behind him was Dai Tingyu, who had just coughed to alert the two of them. It was very amusing that their appearances formed a strong contrast, like a big black bear following a deer spirit. But it could be seen that the big black bear was very respectful to the deer spirit.

Tang Mu looked at the two men with a warm smile, immediately stepping forward to greet them.

Huo Fenglie took a bite of the xiaolongbao and then waved to Tang Mu, signaling for him to not say his name.

Although this trip was not destined to be kept secret, and those in the know had known for a long time, Huo Fenglie didn’t like high-profile scenes and avoided them when at all possible.

Tang Mu was not a pedantic person. He obeyed Huo Fenglie’s wishes, looking graceful when he just made an inviting gesture.

Very soon, in an atmosphere of speculation and inquiry, Huo Fenglie and Liu Zhenqing boarded the carriage prepared by Tang Mu.

After boarding the carriage, Tang Mu still insisted on kneeling to Huo Fenglie. His discipline and control was very good.

Liu Zhenqing looked at Tang Mu with some nostalgia. After so many years, this brat still looked like a soft-spoken, delicate young master. Back then, his hands would tremble for a long time after killing someone, his face pallid. It was rumored that Young Master Tang was capable of both literary pursuits and martial arts. At that time, Liu Zhenqing really felt that he had been deceived.

But now, he looked even more handsome. If Song Xingmu saw him, he would definitely compete with him to see who was the best-looking. According to Song Xingmu, without the Liu Zhenqing was of the past, he was now the most beautiful among men.

Liu Zhenqing expressed his displeasure. Er-gou was obviously the most handsome.

Song Xingmu disagreed, saying that they were not in the same category.

Okay, it could probably be said that one was handsome and the other was beautiful.

But that was only because Song Xingmu hadn’t seen Tang Mu.

Liu Zhenqing was about to give Huo Fenglie a look of complaint, but when he glanced over, he saw that Huo Fenglie’s face had gone dark and he was staring at the person in front of him with a pair of tiger eyes.

He didn’t even tell Tang Mu to get up.

The difference in level between Tang Mu and Huo Fenglie was so great that if Huo Fenglie didn’t tell him to get up, he naturally didn’t dare to move.

What was this? Liu Zhenqing wore a look of confusion. He wanted to remind Huo Fenglie, but was suddenly struck by the resentment in Huo Fenglie’s eyes when they turned toward him.

Liu Zhenqing: ? ? ?

“Tang-chengzhu, there is no need to be polite. Please rise.” Huo Fenglie’s tone was ice-cold. He was indeed displeased.

And…..why was Huo Fenglie still staring at him as he spoke?

It wasn’t until Tang Mu rose that Huo Fenglie looked back, lowering his eyes as he said: “The pendant on Tang-chengzhu looks familiar. Where did it come from?”

When they were inside the inn before, he could only see one corner of the small jade pendant due to the different style of clothing. The rest was completely hidden within the folds and could only be seen when he was kneeling or sitting down.

Liu Zhenqing had only been looking at his face just now, and it was only when Huo Fenglie mentioned it that he paid attention and took a look.

With one glance, Liu Zhenqing’s head was buzzing.

Wait, that was…..

A willow leaf jade pendant?!

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Chapter One Hundred One << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Three