Plan to cut off the nine states

People in the valley had no way of knowing whether Princess Huanyan was angry, but the officers and soldiers never left. They were heavily guarded and no one was allowed in or out. The officers and soldiers also took over the water collection. Everyone, including Princess Fangde, could only move within the courtyard.

Zhang Shiqing actually didn't get angry, let alone provoke. He just rode horses, played ball, and drank in the yard every day. When he drank too much, he would chase chickens and ducks around. No one dared to care about it, and no one thought it was necessary to care about it. Only the old servant often I chased after him and tried to persuade him tactfully, but to no avail.

Xu Chu took some time off and sat reading under the window. Occasionally he was attracted by the sounds outside. He looked up and saw Zhang Shiqing and Binfen running around. He felt both happy and sad.

He was the only one who understood what Zhang Shiqing was thinking. This was a sign that a little girl was about to grow up. She knew that her happy time was coming to an end, so she had to work hard to seize it and have fun.

Zhang Shiqing's "happy time" must be interesting, so there is no place for Xu Chu. She drinks, laughs, and discusses football with Chang Yan and others. She only doesn't come to Xu Chu's place, not even once. Sometimes she meets outside. He glanced at her and rarely spoke.

The people in the valley have become accustomed to crises that come from time to time. As long as the young master is not in a hurry, they will do whatever they have to do, with one exception.

Meng Yingbo never had a moment of peace in his heart. Every time he heard the sound of horse hooves outside, he would be frightened and thought he was about to be taken away, but he changed his mind about one thing.

"There is no need for the Golden Saint to worry about the little princess. How can an adult care about a child?" This was his mantra after drinking.

Zhang Shiqing was not present, so Chang Yan reminded him: "Be careful, children are different from children. The little princess——" Chang Yan turned his head and glanced, "If he really loses his temper, he is also a tiger."

"What do you mean 'too'?" Meng Yingbo asked back. Everyone knew it and laughed. Meng Yingbo never mentioned the word "child" again.

Three days later in the morning, a group of people came to the Prince's Palace in Jibei, saying that the princess was ill and asked Princess Fangde to go home as soon as possible to visit her.

Zhang Shiqing asked a few questions about his condition and said to the woman in the house, "Wait for me for a while, pack up my things and leave."

After colorfully packing up, Zhang Shiqing said goodbye to everyone, and finally came to the study and said in a relaxed tone: "My mother sent someone to take me home. It's really time for me to go back. Thank you for your hospitality these days."

"I didn't do anything, so I am ashamed to be a landlord."

"What I wanted when I escaped here was that you 'don't do anything', and you said a lot of useful things to me. If I hadn't been enlightened by you, I might have made a few more troubles, making everyone restless and distressed. In the end But nothing can be changed. Now, I can accept it calmly. My family and Huanyan can marry me wherever they want, outside the Great Wall, Huaizhou, Jingzhou... No matter where I go, I will work hard for Ye. If my efforts fail, I really have no choice but to accept the situation. After all... I am not the princess of Wu, and the Zhang family is not in a state of ruin. "

Xu Chu had expected this moment, but still didn't think of what to say, so he had to remain silent.

Zhang Shiqing smiled and said, "There is one good thing about being here with you. After seeing such a boring person like you, I think I can tolerate any kind of people."

Xu Chu also smiled.

Zhang Shiqing turned around to leave, but Xu Chu stood up and said, "Wait a minute."

"Huh?" Zhang Shiqing turned back to look at him. After waiting for a while, he frowned slightly and said, "Do you know how much I hate 'wait a little longer'?"

"Take care." Xu Chu finally squeezed out two words.

"Yes." Zhang Shiqing nodded, waited for a while, and walked away.

Xu Chu sat down and continued reading. After a while, he realized that he had not read a word, but was listening to the sounds outside.

The old servant walked in and sighed softly, "The little princess is gone."

"It's time to go." Xu Chu said calmly and continued to stare at the book.

"Young Master... Actually, I think that if the Young Master opens his mouth, the little princess will stay."

"Then what? I am a sojourner here, so I am ungrateful, but I want to ruin the good things in Yecheng? Besides, this place is remote, and she will get tired of living there sooner or later, so what will happen then? I will not do anything that harms others or myself."

The old servant sighed again. In fact, he knew better than anyone else that Siguo Valley could not keep the little princess and the young master refused to mess around. This made him very happy, but he also felt that the young master had such an old heart at such a young age. Pitiful.

"Really... there is no way at all? The young master is so smart..."

Xu Chu put down the book, turned around and said with a smile: "The so-called wisdom is not omnipotent. The most important thing is that Princess Fangde is undecided. If I intervene rashly, I will probably destroy her."

"Young master is right." The old servant turned around and went out, walked slowly for a few steps, and suddenly ran after the people from the Prince's Palace of Jibei who had already left.

The officers and soldiers guarded the exit of the courtyard. The old servant was out of breath after not running a few steps, and said urgently: "The little princess... left something behind, I will send it to him and I will be back soon. I am an old guy, and I rely entirely on the young master to support me. I can’t drive them away, I will never run away.”

The old servant was a good man and often entertained the officers and soldiers with wine and meat. The principal in charge didn't say anything and just walked away. The soldiers understood what he meant, made way for the passage, and whispered in a low voice: "Go back quickly, don't embarrass us."

"Yes, yes." The old servant spread his legs and ran as hard as he could. He hadn't run so hard in more than ten years, but the speed was not that fast. He watched the convoy drift away.

Finally the motorcade stopped and a servant ran over, "What's the matter with you chasing me?"

"That... thing... the little princess."

"Thank you, I can pass it on."

The old servant shook his head desperately, feeling that his chest was about to burst, and his legs were as soft as noodles, "I must...with my own hands..."

The servant looked back and supported the old servant, "I'll take you there."

"Thank you..." The old servant was too tired to speak.

When the car curtain was raised, Zhang Shiqing said in surprise: "Binfen saw it was you from a distance...what happened?"

"I...I..." The old servant looked around.

Zhang Shiqing ordered the servant to step away and said with a smile: "How can you be so tired after just walking a few dozen steps?"

"Old man, it's useless." The old servant finally regained his breath a little, "I just want to say one thing. If I don't say it, I'm afraid that the young master will regret it, and the little princess will regret it too."

"You want to talk, but we two regret it?" Zhang Shiqing said with a smile.

"Young master actually hopes you stay."

Zhang Shiqing shook his head, "Old man, you are an honest person and you cannot lie. Mr. Xu must not say that he has no such intention. Even if he does, he will not let anyone tell anyone. Doesn't he have the words himself?"

"No, the young princess knows that the young master is a person. He thinks too much and is always worried about affecting the future of others. He doesn't know the young princess's thoughts and thinks that the young princess will regret staying sooner or later, so..."

Zhang Shiqing interrupted the old servant, "Mr. Xu is right. He has always known things well and judged people very accurately. He said I would regret it, and I will definitely regret it. Please come back, there is no need to say more."

"Young Master is not always good at predicting things..."

However, Zhang Shiqing had already lowered the curtain, and the carriage rumbled forward, followed by the servant woman. The old servant could no longer catch up, and stood there blankly, muttering: "Young master is still young, and you will make mistakes in this kind of thing, little princess... "

The convoy did not stop, so the old servant had no choice but to turn around and found that he had not chased very far, less than a hundred steps in total. "I only have so much ability. Alas, in troubled times, it is good to have food and shelter. I still want to Why so much? Master is right, there is no benefit in offending Yecheng."

The old servant comforted himself like this, returned to the valley, and rested for a while before he recovered.

Xu Chu knew nothing about what was happening outside. He had stabilized his mind and could read the words in the book again.

When the palace came to pick him up, Meng Yingbo was so frightened that he hid. When no one paid attention to him, he slowly walked out and went straight to the study. As soon as he came in, he said: "Sir, let's run away. We will run away tonight."

"You live well, why do you want to run away?"

"Although I'm not as smart as the young master, I can understand some things. The young master lives here only because of the protection of the Prince of Jibei's family, and the key is the little princess. Now that the little princess has been recalled to the city, I don't think the princess has anything to do with it. The illness was just an excuse. As soon as the princess returned, she would marry someone else and break up with the young master. It was absolutely impossible for the young master to live in peace and stability without his support. It was better to run away and become the king of Wu again in Qinzhou. Wouldn’t it be nice to live in one place?”

"Qinzhou already has an overlord, and it is useless for me to go there. I will only make people jealous. If we wait a little longer, the news of the defeat of the officers and soldiers will come soon. At that time, Yecheng will send General Xiao Meng back to Qinzhou with gifts."

Meng Yingbo smiled bitterly and said: "In this matter, Young Master really... takes it for granted. I came from Xijing and don't know the situation there? It would be good if we can hold on. How can we talk about a big victory? Even if there is a big victory, Yecheng will not be able to win." You will treat me as a guest. Young Master has forgotten that I am... I came to Yecheng without permission. If I cannot take Young Master with me, I will be executed by the Golden Saint once I return."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "This little misunderstanding can be easily resolved. When the time comes, I will write a letter and you will take it to Qinzhou. Not only will the Golden Saint not kill you, but she will also reward you heavily."

"But the Incarnation Army can't win..."

"Wait a moment." Xu Chu turned his head and continued reading.

Meng Yingbo had no choice but to retire. He looked up outside and saw officers and soldiers guarding everywhere. He sighed secretly, thinking that it was difficult to fly here and escaping was indeed too risky.

Without Princess Fangde, the valley has returned to quietness, even quieter than before. Without her taking the lead, no one plays polo, and the wine has no taste. Everyone sleeps every day, day and night.

On the third day after Zhang Shiqing returned to the city, it started to rain in the early morning. It was raining every now and then, but it just kept on stopping. Everyone was bored, so they all lay down and rested in the room. Xu Chu sat at the table, unable to read, so he simply gave up. , staring blankly at the rain outside the window, the tabletop was wetted by the raindrops that swept in, but he didn't notice.

A woman in a long skirt suddenly appeared in the rain, holding an umbrella and walking quickly. Xu Chu stood up suddenly and found that it was not Zhang Shiqing, and slowly sat down again.

Feng Juniang entered the house, put away her umbrella, and said to Xu Chu: "The princess invites the young master to come into the city."

"What's the matter?"

"There is no news from Qinzhou yet. The officers and soldiers fought several battles with the World Army, and there was victory or defeat for each other." Feng Juniang knew what Xu Chu was thinking.

Xu Chu smiled and said, "The officers and soldiers failed to win the battle quickly?"

"Oh, it's a long story. Master, please follow me into the city first."

"I need to know why."

"It's to save the young master's life." Feng Juniang looked back and saw no one outside, so she approached the table and said, "Yu Zhan still has it. The matter has already passed. Neither the King of Xiangdong nor the princess believed him and did not pursue him. But I don’t know who brought the news to the Empress Dowager. I don’t need to say more about what the Empress Dowager thought of the young master. After she learned the news, she didn’t blame the Prince of Jibei and his son. She insisted that the young master was the one who instigated it. I will arrest you and interrogate you. Now Siguo Valley is no longer a safe place. Please follow me into the city first and then think of a solution."