Chapter 58: Snatching Merit (Three)

  (Collected, recommended, Ah Cao is looking forward to it. If nothing unexpected happens tonight, there should be another chapter coming up.)

  As soon as the words fell, a young man of twenty-seven or eight years old came out from the inner hall. At the sight of this person's appearance, Li Jin Hua suddenly stood up, but under Li Xuan Chi's stern gaze, she bit her teeth and slowly sat down again.

  He smiled slightly at Li Jin Hua, nodded and then bowed respectfully to Li Xuan Chi. Li Xuan Chi waved his hand slightly, looked at the two of them and smiled: "You've rushed for so many days, arrived here but didn't rest properly, really exhausted. You siblings haven't seen each other for a long time either? As descendants of loyal and good people, you're also one family. You chat first, whatever you want to eat or drink, let the servants outside take care of it. I'll go rest too. Tonight, don't leave, I'll celebrate with you..." After finishing speaking, he didn't wait for them to respond, turned around and walked out.

  As soon as he left the main hall, Li Xuan's face immediately turned gloomy, and his expression also showed a few more shades of helplessness and fatigue. Lao Wu was getting more and more urgent, and the other brothers were also getting restless. On this side, there was such a big mistake, losing Zhe Muhe, which meant losing the support of some people from the Zhe family. His power as the crown prince in the army was even weaker. This was an absolute loss, but now he couldn't care about it anymore. The imperial court's spies should have already discovered some clues, right? But nothing mattered, as long as he could find that person with the surname Cui again, everything would still be under his control.

  It was the Li family who took the initiative to come forward, giving him a sense of sudden clarity, and with the support of the Li family, it would be much stronger than cooperating with that guy from the Ando family who was suppressed by his own brother. The requirements of the Ministry of War's servant were not high either, as long as he could let his youngest son take credit for something from his niece, he would be satisfied. So he put aside his pride and made a deal with that young captain, if this Li captain refused to cooperate, then things would get ugly and everyone would lose face. Fortunately, although things were a bit bumpy, that Li captain was quite stubborn, but not as disgusting as the people from the Imperial Censorate, who were both arrogant and hard to deal with. It's just that this woman really... ...Thinking of this, Li Xuan's heart suddenly felt warm...

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  When Li Jinhua walked out of the main hall of the Commander's Mansion, her state of mind was vastly different from that of Li Xuancheng. Her heart was in a mess, although the battles on the battlefield had made her much stronger, but after all, she was still young and inexperienced, not to mention compared to the Crown Prince, even that cousin who was known for being spoiled at home would be hundreds of times better than her in these underhanded matters.

  As she thought of her brother's coercion, the family's reputation and everything else that mattered to her, Li Jin Hua bit her lip tightly, feeling a sense of weakness in her heart. The image of the young man flashed before her eyes, but at this moment... At this moment, what face did she have left to see him? When she stamped her seal on the letter her brother had drafted for her, it was as if she had abandoned the young man who had helped her all the way to Qingyang. But she had no choice, she didn't want to die, nor did she want the efforts of over a decade to be in vain just when success was within reach. However, this required sacrificing someone... What could be more suitable than a small, rootless team that had achieved great merit?

  She covered her eyes with her hand, and she had never felt that the sunlight at noon was so dazzling and annoying. At this time, footsteps sounded, and Li Shu followed behind her. Seeing that the young lady of their own family was not in a good mood, Li Shu called out softly, "Miss..."

  Li Jinhua waved her hand with all her might, her voice hoarse as she said: "I'm tired, let's go back to our place, don't ask anything, we'll talk about it tomorrow..."

  Li Shu was stunned for a moment, exchanged a glance with the other two, and then silently followed Li Jinhua's back as she walked quickly.

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  It only took three days for Zhao Shi to notice that something was amiss. Li Jinhua had not shown up, and many of the tasks in Qingyang City that he was responsible for were slowly being taken over by others. After making some discreet inquiries, it became clear that most of these people were Li Jinhua's clansmen, while others were brought in by the Crown Prince. As for the three generals, they had all returned to their garrison posts outside the city, and Qingyang was completely calm once again.

  Zhao Shi suddenly understood what had happened. Betrayal and selling out are the same throughout history, as long as there is enough benefit to be gained. Such things were not rare in his past life, and it seemed that they were also common here.

  Is he angry? Does he hate? There's no need for that, nobody wants to be the one who betrays others, they all have their own reasons, just like nobody wants to be a beggar. As for whether it was coercion or temptation, there's no need to know that either. What he needs to consider now is whether to leave immediately, if he were still his past life identity, he would undoubtedly leave without hesitation, because otherwise, he'd be in mortal danger.

  But here it's different, he has a legitimate identity, and unless absolutely necessary, he won't go back to those days of hiding and seeking ways to conceal himself. However, necessary preparations still need to be made, being vigilant about everything around him, preparing dry rations and water, the surroundings he is already familiar with to the point where it's impossible to be more familiar, no need to go explore the terrain again. He believes that even if someone wants to deal with him, with his current inconspicuous identity, the other party will absolutely not make a big fuss, ten or twenty people? A hundred people? In this vast city of Jing, no one can find him when he deliberately hides.

  Without anyone noticing, Zhao Shi had already made all the preparations. Once there was any sign of trouble, he was confident that he could leave first without anyone realizing it.

  Such days were ordinary for Zhao Shi in his past life, but now they are somewhat difficult to bear. The long-term mental tension has taken a toll on his current body. The people around him find it strange that in just over a decade, Zhao Shi's body seems to have shrunk by a circle, with bloodshot eyes and an icy gaze that is quite intimidating. However, Zhao Shi himself doesn't care about these things. Survival always requires a price to be paid; only warriors who can withstand the trials of spirit and flesh can gain more opportunities for survival than others. This was what he heard from his instructors during his first training session in his past life, and he has always believed it to be true. Sometimes, even a single moment of negligence can be a matter of life and death.

  It was several months before anything unusual happened, during which time the Crown Prince and his haughty guards left Qingyang, and as for that woman, she had not appeared either.

  It's already May, and the weather is getting hotter. While all the soldiers around him are enthusiastically discussing their military achievements and how they can be used to advance their careers, Zhao Shi's heart is growing increasingly anxious. He has thought about leaving several times, but each time he has endured and stayed.

  That night, the May night still had a bit of chill, and the snores, foot odor, and sweat smell filled every inch of this not-so-large tent. Zhao Shi slept lightly, it was his habit, especially at times like these.

  The faint footsteps outside the tent suddenly made him wake up with a start, has he finally come? He wasn't quite sure, the footsteps indicated that there was only one person, but he didn't relax himself, instead, he grabbed the horizontal knife beside him in the first time, slowly sat up, and in the darkness, Zhao Shi's eyes, which were full of bloodshot, showed a hint of ferocity.