Chapter Thirteen: Bastard! Let go of my daughter!

  "Let them pass around! Don't charge into the formation!"

  It was unclear whether Qin Xu's expression was too realistic or the matter of Zhao Yu's rebellion was too serious. After hearing Qin Xu's shout, the Longbiao soldiers who had already formed an array loudly shouted at Qin Xu and others.

  The soldiers who came rushing over from behind also ignored this strange combination of men, women and children, and let Qin Xu and the others pass by.

  "You guys should at least ask me, right? I've prepared so many excuses." Qin Xu muttered under his breath.

  It was so smooth to break through the siege of thousands of dragon cavalry soldiers, Qin Xue was a bit bewildered. If it was said that the soldiers who had seen Qin Xue and others before at the gate of the big camp did so, there was still room for excuse, but almost all the soldiers and generals were deaf and dumb to Qin Xue and others, making Qin Xue feel a little uneasy.

  "Is... is that all there is to it?" Lü Linggui's round eyes widened in incredulity as she stared at the Longxiang Guards, who had already sealed off the entrance of the imperial prison, and said in disbelief.

  "It seems that General Lü has indeed been defeated." Cai Yan did not seem surprised, but instead looked thoughtful as he gazed at Qin Xu, and said in a low voice to the crowd.

  "What!?" exclaimed Lao Xu and Sima Meng in unison.

  "Yan sister, you said that my father was defeated in battle, so these people are like this? But they don't know us, how can it be?" Lü Linggui asked anxiously.

  "These people were also part of the Western Liang army sequence and had already been suspected by the imperial court. Now, outside the city, the two bandits Li and Guo are leading the remnants of the Western Liang army to attack, their choice is only two, either surrender or kill the enemy." Cai Yan explained to Lü Linggui: "Now that the prison has caused chaos, if there is no incident in the city or General Lü returns victorious, they will at most be guilty of dereliction of duty! But if General Lü loses and returns, and the prison happens to have caused chaos again, how do you think Wang Yun, the old thief, will treat them?"

  "The Longxiang Guard can still be fully manned after Dong Zhuo's death, and they also get along well with Wang Situ. It seems that there are indeed people who understand the situation in the army." Qin Xu was only surprised by the attitude of the Longxiang Guard, but he hadn't thought about the underlying reasons. At this time, Cai Yan's words made Qin Xu exclaim: In the Three Kingdoms era, there were not a few people with a broad perspective, they were just covered up by the rolling wheels of history."

  "Cough! Cough!"

  "Governor Cai, is everything all right?"

  As the crowd left the Xiyuan Longxiang Wei military camp, the entire street was filled with running soldiers, but no one paid much attention to this group of people. Just as they were about to arrive at the gate of Lü Bu's Fengwu General Mansion, Cai Yan, who had regained his composure and looked much better, refused to move forward, instead staring strangely at Qin Xu with a scowl on his face, clearing his throat, leaving Qin Xu somewhat perplexed.

  "Hmm! Cough cough! Cough cough!"

  "Mr. Cai, are you feeling unwell?" Lü Linggui asked strangely "Do you want me to call the imperial physician to take a look at you?"

  Lü Linggui's concern did not receive Cai Yong's gratitude, but instead Old Xu and Sima Mao also coughed twice, looking at Qin Xu and the two women, then looking at the faintly flashing figure in the slightly open door. A smile that was neither a smile nor a laugh appeared on their faces.

  "Qin Xu! You this rebellious son!" Nor did he know what this stubborn old man Cai Yong was going crazy about again, as nothing had happened on the way. This old man suddenly struggled free from Sima Mao and Old Xi's supporting arms, pointed at Qin Xu with his hand, and glared at him with both eyes, seemingly wanting to rush over to Qin Xu.

  "Tsai Lao! If you have something to say, just say it straight out. What's the point of muttering and scolding? Where is your Confucian dignity? Your Confucian cultivation and demeanor? This is called repaying kindness with enmity, this is called burning bridges after crossing them... Qin Xu actually wanted to follow the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, but Tsai Yong, although already nearly sixty years old and considered long-lived in the Three Kingdoms era, had inexplicably scolded Qin Xu twice in a row, making him feel quite displeased."

  "You repay the kindness of Dong Zhuo, the scourge of the nation, yet you don't speak ill of Wang Yun, who harmed you. Why do you look at me, the one who saved you from prison, with such disfavor? If it weren't for your daughter's sake, I...” Upon mentioning Cai Yan, Qin Xu suddenly understood why Cai Yong reacted so strongly and became speechless, ashamed, and humiliated.

  Just as he rushed towards the Longxiangwei after leaving the prison, Qin Xu's mind was only thinking of using the principle of "darkness under the lamp" to fool his way through, without any other thoughts. He thought that if all else failed, he still had the identity of Lü Linggui as a trump card to block their way, after all, in Chang'an City, Lü Bu's name was still very intimidating. It was just that Cai Yong looked old, and Qin Xu feared that he couldn't keep up with their pace, so he let Old Xu and Sima Mao support him instead. As for Qin Xu himself, he subconsciously pulled along Cai Yan and Lü Linggui, the two women.

  Qin Xu dared to swear to heaven, at that time, he really didn't have any lewd thoughts, it was truly an unconscious move to hold the tender hands of this mature woman and a loli.

  "Shameless! You!" Cai Yong estimated that he had lived for more than half his life, and hadn't scolded many people. The words in his mouth were repetitive, with no new ideas to speak of.

  But this sound woke up Qin Xu, didn't it. Can you blame Old Cai for reacting so big? Qin Xu hurriedly let go of his hand in embarrassment, and Cai Yan's face had already turned pink.

  Cai Yan is still a member of the Wei family, although she has almost fallen out with them in order to come to Chang'an and find an opportunity to save Cai Yong. In front of people, especially Cai Yong, she allows Qin Xu to hold her hand, which makes this talented woman feel shy and embarrassed.

  Lü Linggui's face was unnatural as she pulled her hand out of Qin Xu's, while softly complaining: "You're holding on so tightly, it's hard for this lady to get free. Honestly!"

  When Lv Lingui complained, Qin Xu naturally pretended not to hear it. Instead, Lao Xun and Sima Mao, at an angle where people were not paying much attention, gave Qin Xu a thumbs up, even this little chili pepper dared to provoke him, which really made people admire Qin Xu's courage.

  Qin Xu now has a hundred mouths, and it's estimated that he still can't explain clearly. The gaze of these two brothers is more piercing than Cai Lao's gaze, which seems to want to devour Qin Xu whole.

  "Ling'er! Where have you all gone? Your mother and I searched the entire mansion but couldn't find any trace of you. You've worried your sister to death!"

  Just as Qin Xu and Cai Yong were staring at each other in embarrassment, a stunning beauty in auspicious attire quickly walked out of the main gate of General Feng Wu's mansion. It was none other than Lv Bu's new wife, Diao Chan.

  "Mei Xiang sister!" Lü Linggui threw herself into Mei Xiang's arms, exclaiming: "We've done something big! Look, who is this?"

  Diao Chan, who was previously Wang Yun's adopted daughter and a key figure in Dong Zhuo's downfall, saw Cai Yong, who had been thrown into the imperial prison by Wang Yun himself despite owing him a debt of gratitude. Diao Chan's beautiful face showed surprise mixed with a hint of embarrassment. She gave Lv Linggui a small glance, then bowed to Cai Yong and said: "So it was Lord Cai, I pay my respects."

  "Madam Lü, no need to be so polite! The previous matter is not about who was right or wrong, it's all the same and has nothing to do with you, Madam Lü. You don't have to take it to heart." Cai Yong, being an old and astute man, noticed Diao Chan's awkward situation and said nonchalantly: "Speaking of which, we should still thank Lord Lü Wen for his righteousness. I only had a superficial relationship with him, and yet he was able to rescue me despite the obstruction from Wang Zifu. I am truly grateful."

  "What instructions?" Diao Chan looked at Lü Lingqi in doubt and said to Cai Yong, "Cai Zhonglang, please come inside the mansion to talk. I have never heard of this matter from my husband before. Forgive me for being rude, please forgive me."

  "Oh dear, Sister Diao Chan, Father doesn't know about this!" Lü Linggui said with a pleased expression, holding onto Diao Chan's arm and briefly recounting the events of tonight. Diao Chan's face turned pale as she listened, embracing Lü Linggui anxiously and saying: "You're so bold, going to the prison to rescue someone? And when discovered, you even dared to charge into battle?! Luckily nothing happened, luckily nothing happened!"

  Diao Chan, after all, had seen big scenes before and had previously played with people like Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu in the palm of her hand. She only felt a momentary unease before calming down. When Lü Linggui mentioned Qin Xu, the chief clerk of Qin, she became slightly curious and asked: "Is this Chief Clerk Qin from the Youjun Army? He's really bold, why didn't he come back with you?"

  Although he had met Qin Xiang a few times, in his mind, he didn't associate the fifteen-year-old boy in front of him with the Qin Zhuliang that Lv Linggui had mentioned.

  "Heh heh!" Seeing that Diao Chan hadn't recognized Qin Xu among them, Lv Linggui, who had just been bewildered by Qin Xu holding her hand all the way and was regretful, suddenly burst out laughing. Pointing at Qin Xu standing with Lao Xu and Sima Mao, she leaned in close to Diao Chan's ear and whispered something.

  One is daring to charge into the formation with thousands of dragon and tiger guards already laid out, with courage and vision that can lead Diao Chan to be amazed; one looks low-key and shy, with a tender face, it's no wonder that Diao Chan, who has never seen Qin Xu pat Lü Bu on the shoulder, finds it hard to believe.

  "Qin Zhubao! I..." Diao Chan also felt a bit embarrassed, but Qin Xu dared not accept this courtesy.

  To get to the bottom of it, Qin Xu's rescue of Cai Yong may have fulfilled Lü Bu's wish, but strictly speaking, he had committed a military offense. Not to mention that before Lü Bu departed, he assigned ten soldiers from the Trap Array Camp to Qin Xu to protect his family, but Qin Xu used them to go and rescue Cai Yong; solely due to Cai Yong's sensitive identity, it made it difficult for Lü Bu to save face with Wang Yun, with whom he had not yet completely fallen out.

  After all, Lao Xu and Sima Mao are the soldiers of the trapped array camp, to a certain extent representing Lv Bu's attitude, not to mention that they also brought Lv Lingji, Lv Bu's heart meat, on an adventure together.

  Although Lü Bu's attitude towards Qin Xu was not ordinary, it seemed that there was something unclear between the two of them that Qin Xu didn't dare to touch, but just this one point, based on Qin Xu's understanding of the historical Lü Bu, had absolutely touched Lü Boss's bottom line.

  "It shouldn't be a capital offense, right? At least to leave Chang'an City safely and go to Cao's camp, I still need Lü Bu's military strength." Qin Xu, who had been thinking of leaving Lü Bu's army with all his heart, calmed down at this moment and thought secretly.

  "Madam, I have overstepped my bounds. Fortunately, thanks to Lord Lü's prestige and protection, Miss Lü is safe and sound." Qin Xu hurriedly returned the courtesy, not daring to be arrogant in front of Diao Chan, a woman who could make Lü Bu fly into a rage.

  "Haha, Qin Xu, let's see how you get past my father!" Lü Linggui was still somewhat clever and quickly understood the meaning behind Qin Xu's humble attitude, saying so heartlessly.

  "You still want to get away with it?! Humph! Qin Xu, you have a big nerve!"

  After a sudden horseshoe sound, a domineering voice with a hint of tiredness and gloominess came from outside the main gate of the Lyu Mansion!