Chapter 46: The World in Chaos

  "I should have kept a horse for myself earlier, now I'm so tired from walking." Li Jiancheng muttered to himself as he walked home. He had given away the horses to look good for a moment, but didn't expect it would lead to this result, what a pity! "Besides, if I gave them two horses, Qin Shubao wouldn't be able to ride with Li Rongrong on one horse, and who knows, maybe he's still resenting me now! What a mistake!" Li Jiancheng thought to himself, feeling that his thinking was not thorough enough.

  It's not easy to get home before dark, of course, if he uses his lightness skill to run back it's also possible, but he doesn't want to do that, walking slowly back can still experience the scenery along the way, why not?

  When they arrived home, dinner was already being prepared. Du Xian saw Li Jiancheng returning in a state of dishevelment and couldn't help but ask: "Cheng'er, how did you end up like this? I asked you to escort Qin En Gong for a while, why are you so late coming back?"

  "Mother, it's like this..." Then Li Jiancheng told how he met the woman Qin Shubao liked on the road, rescued her from her evil uncle, and gave them a horse, so he had to walk back himself, ending up in his current state. As for some of the details, Li Jiancheng didn't mention them.

  "You little scamp, you're still teasing Master Qin." Du Xian also burst out laughing when she heard Li Jiancheng tease Qin Shubao.

  "Cheng Er, you're being too ridiculous, how can you do this?" Li Yuan scolded on the side, but Li Jiancheng saw the look on Li Yuan's face and knew that he also wanted to laugh, it's just that for the sake of maintaining his dignity, he didn't laugh out loud.

  "Yes, father! I won't dare next time." Li Jiancheng casually replied.

  "Alright, let's start eating!" Li Yuan said, and the meal was quickly finished. Then they each returned to their rooms and didn't mention it again.

  ……

  In the 6th year of Daye, November, Li's family had moved to Taiyuan for three months. Under Li Yuan's governance, Taiyuan was becoming a place where people lived and worked in peace and contentment, with a trend towards not picking up things on the road at night and not closing doors. In Taiyuan City, most of the Yuwen family members had been laid off, and there were also soldiers monitoring them, making it difficult for them to pass on messages. The Li family, on the other hand, was rapidly developing in Taiyuan, gathering several Jianghu figures to serve as guards. These people weren't high-ranking officials, just slightly better than ordinary soldiers, and they had come to work as guards because their lives were struggling.

  That morning, Li Jiancheng came to the "Journey to the West" branch again. It was still the same service staff who had received him for the first time. He had been there many times, so she also knew that Li Jiancheng's relationship with the boss was not ordinary, and immediately called someone to call the boss.

  "Built up, how come you're here again today?" He asked with a smile.

  "No big deal, just dropping by!" Li Jiancheng said casually. "By the way, Uncle He, I've never seen He Bin before?"

  "That beast just talking about it makes me angry." He Taochong first scolded before continuing to say: "Originally thought that after a long time he would forget the idea of practicing martial arts, but unexpectedly later on, he became more and more fond of it. In the end, I had no choice but to send him to the training camp." The training camp was the place where those orphanages were located, which would be one of the bases in the future, so Li Jiancheng spent a lot of money to build it up.

  "Oh! So that's how it is." Li Jiancheng nodded in understanding.

  "By the way, Aunt He brought someone from Daxing." Madam He said with a sly smile, her tone as evil as it gets.

  "Who?" Li Jiancheng asked in puzzlement.

  "Come on, follow me to where I live, and you'll see," said Mrs. He, not saying another word, leading the way in front, while Li Jiancheng could only helplessly follow behind.

  Before long they arrived at his home, a large courtyard not far from the wine tower.

  "Grandpa, why are you back so early today?" A girl's voice called out to He Taichong as soon as he walked in the door.

  "Huh? How is it you!" Li Jiancheng said in surprise, this person was none other than He Qing's daughter Qin Yao. He hadn't expected He Qing to send her over. "Why did Auntie He send you here?" Li Jiancheng asked curiously.

  "Mother asked me to come and serve you!" Qin Yao blinked her eyes and said. "Mother let me study cooking in Daxing, now I have learned most of the Manchu-Han full courses, so mother sent me over." As she said that she had learned so many dishes, her face was filled with excitement, as if she had done something great.

  "Then why did your mother send you to serve me?" Li Jiancheng asked helplessly, stroking his face with his hand.

  "Mother said, worried that you wouldn't be used to it here, so she let me come. She also said that if I didn't satisfy you, then don't come back, just stay in Taiyuan with Grandfather." Qin Yao's face was full of grievance as she spoke. "And besides, Feng'er sister also promised Mother, and will let me enter the door later." As she said this, her face turned bright red and she lowered her head.

  Li Jiancheng was even more puzzled upon hearing this. Isn't He Qing obviously trying to shift the blame? And what's with Feng'er casually making promises like that?

  He had originally intended to refuse, but looking at her pitiful appearance, Li Jiancheng couldn't bear it either, so he said to her: "Alright then, you can follow me for now. If you're not satisfied later on, you can also leave." He left her a way out, and this way, he wasn't worried that she would definitely follow him.

  Hehe! Mother was right, as long as I act pitiful enough, the young master will fall for it. At this time, Qin Yao's heart was thinking about the method her mother taught her. If Li Jiancheng knew what she was thinking, he would probably vomit blood. A person who traveled through time and space in the future would actually be deceived by such a simple tragic attack.

  "Alright! My daughter is the only child, you have to treat her well in the future." Mrs. He showed a smile of understanding. Li Jiancheng was speechless, this old man has no respect for his elders.

  "Alright, I know." Li Jiancheng said weakly, thinking that there was nothing he could do anyway, so he might as well go home and let them handle the rest. So Li Jiancheng bid farewell to He Taijun and took Qin Yao back home.

  "Huh? Cheng Er, where did you bring this girl from? She looks quite pretty." Dou Xian asked in surprise.

  "She's from Daxing City, she's the daughter of the owner of 'Western Traveler's Inn' whom I saved. Feng'er said to let her join in the future, so she came to Taiyuan." Li Jiancheng could only say some things helplessly, as for some key points that couldn't be said, he didn't say them. Anyway, most of it was true, and a little bit false, they also couldn't confirm.

  "Feng Er, this girl..." Dou Xian also fell silent towards Dugu Feng.

  "Alright, I'll leave Mother with you. I'm going back to my room to think about some things." Li Jiancheng said to Du Yan and then went back to his room. Dugu Feng was initially arranged by the family to be his match, but gradually they developed feelings for each other, so he didn't mind. However, Qin Yao only occasionally met with him, and maybe they hadn't even spoken much, but the problem was that now he couldn't just send her away? So how should he treat her now? After thinking for a while, he still couldn't come up with a solution, so he decided not to think about it anymore and just go with the flow.

  ……

  In February of the 8th year of Daye, Yang Guang launched his first campaign against Goguryeo, with an army of over 1.1 million soldiers, but ultimately returned with less than 10,000 men remaining;

  In the 9th year of Daye, the Sui army launched its second campaign against Goguryeo, and Emperor Yang also personally went to the Liaodong front line to direct the troops. The war had its ups and downs, and Yang Xuangan took advantage of the Sui army's expedition to Goguryeo to launch a rebellion in Luoyang and attack the Eastern Capital. Emperor Yang was greatly shocked and hastily withdrew his troops. Also during this time, the famous "Yang Family Treasure" was revealed, and people all over the world knew that there was such a treasure, but no one knew where it was located.

  In the spring of the 10th year of Daxiang, Yang Guang personally went to Zhuo County again and led the army for the third time to conquer Goguryeo. Qiugu Er led the navy directly to Pingzhou, and the king of Goguryeo, Yeon Gaesomun, surrendered. Due to years of war, both sides suffered heavy losses. In the same year, Wang Shichong, the Duke of Shan Dong, rebelled, and many provinces responded, almost all over the country. Yang Guang had no choice but to withdraw his troops from Liaodong and return.

  In the 11th year of Emperor Taizong's reign, in October, Cheng Yaojin and Yu Jun'er, two daring men, robbed Yang Lin, the King of Mount Tai, of over 400,000 taels of gold and jewels. The court was shaken to its core. A thorough investigation into this case threw the entire country into chaos, on the verge of war.

  And where was Li Jiancheng, the protagonist at this time?