Chapter 587

For this speculation, Xu Qi'an was both surprised and not surprised.

What was surprising was that he had always thought that the princess of the King of Zhenbei was the most beautiful vase of Daibun. In essence, she was still a woman and should not be involved in any confidential matters.

What was not surprising was that he had noticed that Chu Xianglong had women with him. After learning from Yang Yan that the princess was accompanying him, he was mentally prepared.

"Since there may be danger, then I have to take measures to deal with it. Caution comes first … Well, there is no hurry now. I have my own business …"

Xu Qi'an picked up the cloth bag and placed eight pieces of butter jade on the table. Then he took out the prepared carving knife and began to carve.

…

After eating and eating, the old woman lay on the bed for a while. She slept lightly and was soon awakened by the noise on the dock.

She punched the pillow a few times angrily, got up and walked to the table. She cleaned up the dishes, put them back into the food box, and left the room with it.

Going down the stairs to the second floor, she walked along the corridor and looked left and right at the rooms on both sides. This was the area where the night watchman and the officials of the three departments lived.

She was not quite sure which room Xu Qi'an lived in. Fortunately, she soon found the room of the lecherous Xu Ningyan as she wished. Because the door was open.

After returning from Yunzhou, the young man whose skin had become particularly delicate sat at the table and carved a few pieces of butter jade.

"Knock knock."

She knocked on the door and waited for him to look up. She said with a straight face, "Here is the food box. Thank, thank you …"

It seemed that she was not good at saying thanks. When she spoke, her expression was particularly bashful.

"Put it behind the door."

Xu Qi'an responded faintly. He lowered his head and continued his homework.

The old woman entered the room and gently put down the food box. She glanced at the table, where there were a few carved things. They were a small sword, a steamed bun (x2), an octagonal amulet, a seal, and a jade pendant.

She asked with great interest, "Why did you carve these things? The knife skills are quite ugly. "

After that, she giggled.

"Give the girl away," Xu Qi 'an said.

For women … The old woman stared at the things on the table, and her smile gradually disappeared.

"Every time I leave the capital, I will send some local specialties to women who like me and write a letter. It does not cost much money, and it can make them like me even more."

Xu Qi 'an spoke eloquently about his experience in raising fish.

The old woman was furious. She looked at Xu Qi'an's eyes as if she was looking at scum. She sneered, "What a man.

"Xu Qi'an" Qi'an said. "Unfortunately, there is no place for you."

The old woman sneered. "Who wants it?"

The old woman said angrily.

Not long after, all the jade carvings were completed, and Xu Qi 'an gave them souls.

He first kept the 'small sword' into the shard of the Tomes of the Earth. There was no need to mail it because it was for Li Miaozhen. When they met up in the north, Xu Qi 'an would give it to her.

Xu Qi 'an spread out the letter he had prepared, fetched a brush and ink, and wrote:

"Half a day after leaving the capital, I arrived at the Yellow Butter County. This place has a special product called the Yellow Butter Jade. This jade is soft and moist to the touch. I like it very much, so I bought a rough piece and carved a seal for Your Highness.

"There are words on the seal, it says: You pick up a flower and smile, the sky is filled with sunset."

"This seal has words: When you smile, the sky is filled with sunset."

The second letter was written to Huaiqing. He put the seal into the envelope.

"Half a month after leaving the capital, I have arrived at Yantu County. This place has a special product called Yantu Jade. This jade is soft and warm to the touch. I like it very much, so I bought it and carved a jade pendant for Your Highness.

"I am a very vulgar person. I see mountains as mountains, seas as seas, and flowers as flowers. But when I see you, there are only four words in my mind: Three lives, three worlds. "

He put the jade pendant into the envelope.

The third and fourth letters were addressed to Cai Wei and Lina. The contents were exactly the same:

"Half a month after leaving the capital, I have arrived at Yantu County. There are thousands of delicacies in the world. I heard that in a distant country, there is a delicacy called 'Hu Jianren'. If there is a chance, I want to take you to find it."

He put the jade steamed bun into the envelope.

The fifth letter was addressed to Zhong Li.

"Half a month after leaving the capital, I have arrived at Yantu County. When I am not in the capital, I need to stay in the Celestial Commissioner's office. We must believe that the days of suffering will eventually pass away. Suffer a little more, suffer a little more, everything will blossom from suffering.

"Be my little princess in the future. I will only eat XX and not suffer."

He put the octagonal amulet into the envelope.

Then there were letters from Lingyue and Fu Xiang, as well as their belongings.

The sixth letter was addressed to Lingyue.

"Half a month after leaving the capital, I have arrived at Yantu County. I have had a safe journey, but I miss my gentle and amiable sister. When I return, I will make some jewelry for you. In my heart, sister Lingyue is the most special. No one can replace her. "

The seventh letter was addressed to Fu Xiang.

"I forgot which great scholar once said, 'If you have a bosom friend in life, you will have no regrets.' Miss Fu Xiang is my bosom friend. I hope our friendship will last forever, and be more Hengy Yuan than gold. "

Please continue our current relationship!

Every fish must have a different message. He must fully reflect his concern for them and make them feel that they are the most important. He must not be perfunctory.

This was the self-cultivation of a Sea King.

After doing all this, Xu Qi 'an stretched lazily as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He looked at the seven letters on the table and felt a sincere sense of satisfaction.

Last time at the border of Qingzhou, he had also written seven letters. Two of them were written by Second Uncle and Aunt. But now, there were seven letters from girls. Including Li Miaozhen, there were eight letters.

Xu Qi'an was happy for the development of his fish pond business.

…

After taking care of the items, Xu Qi'an left the room and went to Yang Yan's room first. He said in a deep voice, "Boss, I have something to discuss with everyone. How about we discuss it here?"

Yang Yan was still sitting cross-legged. When he heard this, he frowned. He was instinctively disgusted with his cultivation being disturbed, but he still nodded slowly. "Sure."

Xu Qi'an immediately ordered a silver gong to invite Chu Xianglong and the officials of the three departments to his room.

After sitting quietly at the table for a few minutes, the officials of the three departments and Chu Xianglong came in one after another. Naturally, they did not give Xu Qi'an any face. They looked cold and did not say a word.

One of the two imperial censors, who was used to smoothing things over, smiled and said, "Why did your excellency Xu summon us?"

"I want to change the route and go by land."

Xu Qi'an's words were shocking. He threw out a shocking news right at the beginning of the meeting.

"This is impossible!"

Chu Xianglong was the first to object, and his tone was firm.

Having learned his lesson last time, he did not continue to argue with Xu Qi'an. Instead, he linked his hands behind his back and put on an uncompromising posture.

"Your excellency Xu, don't mess around. We will arrive at Chu Zhou City in ten days. If we go by land, we might not even reach there in half a month. "The Dali Monastery Prime Minister snorted.

"Even though you're the organizer, you can't do whatever you want."

If it was a normal order, they could accommodate and tolerate Xu Qi 'an, and they could recognize his position and prestige as the leader. However, that did not include changing the route at will.

It was too troublesome to change the route by land. They had to arrange for horses, carriages, and transport vehicles. After all, there were only two hundred people, and they could not afford to travel light. That was why the delegation had chosen the faster and more convenient route by water.

Secondly, in a battle, only the highest-ranking general could change the route. Although the delegation was not an army, changing the route was still a taboo.

Arrester Chen looked at Yang Yan and said in a deep voice: "Yang Jinluo, what do you think?"

Yang Yan's face was expressionless. "It is indeed inappropriate."

Even the night watchman, Yang Yan, did not agree with Xu Qi'an's decision. If Xu Qi'an insisted on changing the route, he would be looking for trouble. Even if it was the other night watchers, they would not support him.

"Humph!"

Chu Xianglong snorted and said: "If there is nothing else, I will go back now. Don't be so stupid in the future."

The arrester glanced at Xu Qi'an and said: "General Chu, please wait. Why don't you listen to what your excellency Xu has to say?"

Chu Xianglong turned around and looked at him in surprise.

To be able to become an arrester of the Ministry of Justice, he was naturally an experienced person. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was wrong. At first, he thought that Chu Xianglong was returning with the delegation to the Northern Region for convenience and to "monitor" the delegation on behalf of the King of Zhenbei.

After all, the case the delegation was going to the Northern Region to investigate might be against the King of Zhenbei.

But the more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was wrong. If only Chu Xianglong was accompanying them, it would be fine. But if the Princess was also accompanying them, shouldn't a group of imperial guards be sent to escort them to the Northern Region?

Why was she with them?

The ship was full of men. It was somewhat unreasonable for the Prince's wife to be traveling with them.

The Dali Monastery prime minister couldn't help but look at Arrester Chen with a slight frown. Then, he looked at Xu Qi'an and Chu Xianglong thoughtfully.

Oh, as expected of the arresters of the Ministry of Justice, they are much sharper than the civil officials … Xu Qi'an unfolded the map in his hand and looked at Chu Xianglong.

"General Zhu, why is Princess Consort in the accompanying envoys?"

Arrester Chen of the Ministry of Justice, the two imperial censors of the Imperial Censorate, and the Dali Monastery prime minister all looked at Chu Xianglong in unison.

Xu Qi'an's question was what they were curious about.

"Is there a problem with the Princess going to the Northern Region to meet up with Duke Huai?" Chu Xianglong narrowed his eyes and stared sharply at Xu Qi'an.

This matter could not be hidden from the people on different ships. He knew one thing. He knew that there was no need to hide it. As long as they left the capital quietly and no one knew, their goal would be achieved.

"I am the leader of the delegation. Why didn't I receive any notice?" Xu Qi'an asked again.

Chu Xianglong said indifferently, "It's just a small matter. The Princess is going north. She is of noble status, so it's better to keep a low profile."

"Since the Princess is of noble status, why didn't they send an imperial guard to escort her?"

At this time, Arrester Chen suddenly asked.

"Yes, there are crooks mixed in the official ships. If they knew that the Princess was going out, they would have prepared another ship." The Dali Monastery prime minister said with a chuckle.

"Hmm … it is indeed inappropriate." An imperial censor frowned.

This group of old foxes … Chu Xianglong glanced at the officials of the three departments and became angry.

A few days ago, they had shown their hostility towards Xu Qi 'an and secretly expressed their goodwill towards him. However, once they encountered something that might be disadvantageous to them, their attitudes immediately became ambiguous.

Seeing that Chu Xianglong didn't say anything, Xu Qi'an laughed coldly.

He looked around and said, "As Arrester Chen said, if the Princess was going to the north to reunite with Duke Huai, then His Majesty could have just sent an imperial guard to escort her. She might not have snuck into the diplomatic mission. Furthermore, she kept it a secret from us. My lords, did you know that the Princess was on the ship? "

The Dali Monastery prime minister and the two imperial censors shook their heads.

Xu Qi'an said again, "Then do you know what this means?"

The Dali Monastery prime minister hurriedly asked, "Your excellency Xu, if you have something to say, just say it."

Xu Qi'an said firmly, "This means that she might encounter danger. For example, an ambush, an ambush against the Princess."

The two imperial censors and the Dali Monastery prime minister raised their eyebrows and their faces turned serious.

Arrester Chen's expression didn't change, as if he had already expected this.

Seeing this, Chu Xianglong knew that if he continued to deny it, he would be deserted by his own people.

He snorted and said, "The Princess's trip to the north this time does indeed have an ulterior motive, but Xu Qi'an doesn't need to be alarmist. Even you didn't know that the Princess had left the capital, let alone other people.

"An ambush needs to be prepared in advance. We traveled all the way north, using the fastest waterway. The Princess's accompanying was also kept a secret. How would we encounter an ambush? "

The Dali Monastery prime minister and the others nodded slowly, thinking that what Chu Xianglong said made sense.

They only found out that there were women on the ship after they had set off. Then, they slowly realized that Princess Huai was among the women. Even they only found out about this after they had set off. Think about it, if there were enemies, how would they ambush them?

They wouldn't even make it in time.

"It was a false alarm, a false alarm …" The Dali Monastery prime minister exhaled, his complexion turning better.

Xu Qi'an chuckled and said, "Sirs, please calm down. Let me finish, then you can think about it."

Only then did he shift his gaze to the unfurled map, pointed at a certain spot, and said, "Based on the speed of the ship, we will pass through here by tomorrow evening at the latest."

Everyone walked to the table and looked at it. It was a narrow, fast-flowing river basin, surrounded by mountains on both sides.

"Here, if someone really wants to ambush on both sides, with the rapid current, we won't be able to change direction quickly, or else we will be in danger of capsizing. And the mountains on both sides will become an obstacle for us to escape ashore. They only need to ambush people in the mountains, and they can wait for us to walk into the trap. In short, if there is an ambush along the way, it will definitely be here. "

Xu Qi'an's words made everyone's relaxed mood tense up again.

Chu Xianglong stared at the map for a moment, and refuted, "The premise of all this is that there is an enemy ambush, and as I said earlier, the enemy has no time to set up an ambush.

"As long as we pass through here, we will reach Jianzhou in ten days. At that time, His Highness's army will welcome us, and our mission will be accomplished. But if we take the land route, it will drag on for half a month. That will be a long night of trouble. "

Both sides insisted on their own arguments, and could not come to an agreement.

The Dali Monastery Prime Minister and the others were hesitant. Both sides had their reasons, but both had their shortcomings, and they felt that it was not safe to choose either side.

"Then let me add fuel to the fire …" Xu Qi'an sneered.

"Taking the land route is indeed a long night of trouble, but there is still room for maneuver. If we are ambushed tomorrow, then we will all be wiped out, and we will not have any chance. "

The expressions of the two censors and the Dali Monastery Prime Minister immediately changed.

"I agree with your excellency Xu's decision to change the route," Constable Chen of the Ministry of Justice said first.

"I also agree with your excellency Xu's decision. Make preparations quickly, we will change the route tomorrow," Dali Monastery Prime Minister immediately agreed.

The two censors also chose to support Xu Qi'an, because his words hit the civil officials where it hurt. Compared to the more troublesome and tiring land route, the water route that could wipe out a whole team in one wave was more terrifying.

No one dared to gamble with their lives.

Chu Xianglong's cheek muscles twitched, and he was furious. He glared at Xu Qi'an and said, "Xu Qi'an, I want to make a bet with you. If we are not ambushed tomorrow, what do you think?"

Xu Qi'an pressed his hands on the table, and refused to look him in the eye. "From now on, you are in charge of everything in the diplomatic mission. But what if we are ambushed? "

Chu Xianglong said, "If you say one, I will not say two."

Xu Qi'an curled his lips and said disdainfully, "If I say one, you dare to say two? Don't give me that, give me something practical. "

"What do you want?"

"Three thousand taels of silver, and the departure records of the Northern Border Garrison."

"Okay."

Chu Xianglong agreed, but in his heart, he thought that he could go back on his word when the time came. In the Northern Border, he was not the one in charge. He had soldiers and generals under him, and he had the support of the King of Zhenbei.

Xu Qi'an sneered, "Let's write a contract."

Chu Xianglong braced himself and said, "Fine, but if you lose, you have to give me three thousand taels of silver."

Both sides wrote a contract, but did not sign it. They had to wait for the results tomorrow.

Xu Qi'an turned to look at Yang Yan and said in a negotiating tone, "Boss, tomorrow you will take the boatmen to test the waters. How many people can you take with you?"

Yang Yan thought for a moment and said, "Six."

Six people obviously could not steer the boat … but Yang Yan could only take six people. If they were really ambushed tomorrow, the rest of the boatmen would be dead … Xu Qi'an was in a dilemma when he heard Yang Yan say,

"Tomorrow I can use my Qi to push the sails and steer the boat, so there is no need for the boatmen to row. I only need to leave a few people to steer the boat. "

"With the boss's level, it should not be a problem to steer the boat for a short time …" He breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, "Okay, let's do it."

The plan to change the route was decided. The officials of the three departments and the unwilling Chu Xianglong immediately prepared to leave the boat, and informed the guards, women and other attendants on the boat.

Xu Qi'an did not leave. Instead, he sat at the table, took a sip of tea, and analyzed, "If there is no ambush tomorrow, it means that the so-called enemy does not exist, or there is no time to set up an ambush.

"In this way, we can also be relieved. If the enemy does not exist, even if Chu Xianglong has the final say in the envoy, it will not be a big problem. At most, we can tolerate him for a few days."

Even without this bet, Xu Qi'an would privately ask Yang Yan to test the waters tomorrow.

Yang Yan nodded, "But what if there is an ambush …"

"Then we will be in trouble. We have not even reached the Northern Region, and we have already become the scapegoat for the princess." Xu Qi'an sighed and lowered his voice.

"If the situation is that bad, I have another plan. Boss, I will only discuss it with you …"

…

The next morning.

A team of two hundred people left Butter County. There were four carriages, 18 flatbeds loaded with supplies, and 40 horses.

As for the imperial guards and the soldiers brought by Chu Xianglong, they ran forward.

The team followed the official road and headed north amidst the dust.

"If there is no ambush on Yang Yan's side, then we will have to change to the water route after traveling by land for two days. It is indeed tiring to travel by land, and the journey will be tiring …" Xu Qi'an sat on the back of the horse and muttered in his heart.

The horse he was riding on was an ordinary brown horse, far from being comparable to a filly.

At this moment, he saw the curtain of a carriage behind him open, and an ordinary face peeked out and waved at him.

Xu Qi'an turned his horse around and slowly rode to the side of the carriage. He smiled and said, "Auntie, what's the matter?"

"Why do we have to travel by land?" She sat in the slightly bumpy carriage, her chest rising and falling slightly, telling of her powerful capital that no one knew about.

"For the safety of your princess," Xu Qi'an said.

She thought about it and did not argue subconsciously. Instead, she nodded cautiously to show that she agreed with this reason.

…

In the evening.

Flowing Rock Beach. The rapid current could even wash away stones, hence the name.

The width of the river was as wide as a woman's slender waist. The water roared and white foam splashed everywhere.

A huge three-masted sailboat slowly sailed against the current to the middle of Flowing Rock Beach. The turbulent water suddenly stirred up waves, and a thick object covered in black scales arched up and sank back into the water.

After a few seconds of silence, there was a rumbling sound, and the huge three-masted sailboat was lifted high up.

In the splashing water, a black-scaled Flood Dragon broke through the waves, its horns embedded into the bottom of the boat, and lifted it into the air.

"Kacha kacha …"

Cracks instantly covered the body of the boat. This large official boat that could carry more than two hundred people fell apart, and the pieces fell down.

The moment the boat was lifted, Yang Yan used his Qi to wrap around the six boatmen and soared into the air. The powerful Qi exploded under his feet, pushing him up and into the air.

The Flood Dragon plunged into the water, splashing up white foam. After a while, a man wearing a black robe emerged from the water, standing on the water.

His facial features were feminine, he had an aquiline nose, long and narrow eyes, and his eyes were cold and merciless. Both sides of his cheeks were covered with fine scales.

The black-robed man glanced at the broken pieces of wood that were washed away by the current, snorted, and said with a cold voice, "We've been tricked."

"They can't escape."

From the dense forest by the shore, a young man in white walked out, standing with his hands behind his back.

The man in white was not angry or disappointed because the ambush failed. He said calmly, "We've sent out enough people this time. It's hard to fight four hands with just one Rank-4 Yang Yan. The princess is ours. "

The black-robed man frowned. "Are you sure there are no other Rank-4 in the envoy group?"

The man in white nodded, pointed to his eyes, and said, "Trust my eyes. Besides, even if there's another Rank-4, with our deployment, we'll still be safe."