Zhutian: My skills are not serious

Chapter 438 Good sisters, of course we have to serve him together

the other side.

Led by an official from the Ministry of Rites, Fan Xian went to the court to meet the Queen Mother and the Emperor of Northern Qi. There could be no secret talks in the court. It was just some ceremonial procedures. There was nothing much to say.

At noon, the Queen Mother invited Fan Xian and others to have a meal in the palace. After the meal, the officials of the Ministry of Rites took Fan Xian, Hu Jinzhu and others to the posthouse to rest. Zhan Doudou came to a waterside pavilion next to the Jiying Palace, where one could see the lake. There was a small platform in the middle, with a couch and a table on it. There were fruit plates, jade pots, and jade cups on the table. There was an incense burner with smoke rising from it.

Haitang Duoduo, no longer dressed as a village girl, was kneeling on the couch in a wide-sleeved long gown with a red belt, holding two books in her hands. One was "A Red Mansion" which had been discontinued by Danbo Bookstore, and the other was "A Dream of Red Mansions" which had just been published by Nanqing Official Bookstore.

"Is the person gone?"

Zhan Doudou walked up the steps, dragging the slightly longer end of her crown robe, and sat down opposite her.

"gone."

"It's a pity, it's a pity."

I don’t know whether she was talking about the person being pitiful, the book being pitiful, or both.

Zhan Doudou sat back and sighed, "I thought Nanqing had produced an extraordinary talent, but I didn't expect... Alas..."

Haitang Duoduo said without even looking up: "Fan Xian should not be underestimated."

She had fought with Fan Xian in Cangzhou and knew how slippery he was.

"It's just that Chu Pingsheng... is more insidious."

The paper of "Dream of the Red Chamber" was wrinkled by her fingers, and there was a crack at the bottom edge.

Zhan Doudou knew that she was thinking of Lang Tao and Ku He. One of them died at the hands of the white ape, and the other was seriously injured by Chu Pingsheng's master Bai Feng. As for Haitang Duoduo, she and Chu Pingsheng had a great grudge.

"The man Shen Zhong sent to follow him was killed."

"Killing people in the street?"

Haitang Duoduo first put down the Dream of the Red Chamber in her right hand, then put down the Dream of the Red Chamber in her left hand, raised her head and looked at Zhan Doudou: "It's something he can do."

"My uncle's injury..."

"It's no longer a problem, but Master means that before he meets Ye Liuyun, it's better to stabilize Master and Disciple Bai Feng first."

Zhan Doudou nodded: "I want to see how arrogant he can be."

Tread, step, step...

At this time, a small but quick sound of footsteps came from the back, and a eunuch stepped forward to report: "Your Majesty, Saint, Miss Lili has entered the palace through the back door."

"Just bring her here."

"Yes."

The eunuch took the order and left. Not long after, Si Lili, wearing a white gauze dress, accompanied by two palace maids, came to the waterside pavilion where Zhan Doudou and Haitang Duoduo were.

Zhan Doudou waved her hand, meaning for the eunuchs and palace maids to leave.

The three men looked at each other, confirmed the emperor's intention, and bowed and retreated one after another.

"Sit down quickly."

Zhan Doudou stood up, took Si Lili's hand and sat down on the couch beside her. She looked her up and down several times before she said faintly, "You've lost weight. I told you not to go to Nanqing, but you insisted on going... Do you know how worried my little nun and I were when we learned that you were caught by the Overwatch Council?"

Si Lili said: "This is what I should do."

"Okay, everyone is back. What's the point of talking about this? It's all in the past." Haitang Duoduo knew how heavy this "thing that should be done" was for Si Lili.

The empress dowager took in Si Lili and her brother because she wanted to take advantage of their status as descendants of the Nanqing royal family. However, the empress dowager was extremely dissatisfied with Zhan Doudou and Si Lili because they were too close. In order to protect her brother and to take revenge on Li Yunqian, she risked her life to leave Northern Qi and work as a spy in Kyoto.

"Let's get down to business."

Zhan Doudou glared at her and complained, "Master, Lili just sat down and hasn't even had a chance to catch her breath."

"I think she's in good spirits."

Zhan Doudou was stunned after hearing what Haitang Duoduo said, then looked at her carefully. As expected, apart from being a little thin, the man was in very good spirits, with bright lips, white teeth, sparkling eyes, and skin as white and rosy as new jade. She didn't look like someone who had traveled a long distance.

Si Lili felt a little embarrassed by her gaze, so she tilted her head and asked in a low voice, "Chu Pingsheng never entered the palace, right?"

"Hey, how did you know about this?"

After Si Lili changed the carriage outside the city, she asked someone to take her to the Green Willow Villa where she rested during the autumn hunting in previous years. She stayed there until the court meeting was over. After getting the empress dowager's approval, she ordered the eunuch to go outside the city to invite people. So how did Si Lili know what happened in the city?
"When we parted, I advised him to control his temper, considering the Queen Mother and His Majesty's kindness to me, but he said... the gift he prepared for the Queen Mother was lost, so he would not go to the court meeting. He wanted to go see an old friend first. I think... the friend he mentioned should be Mr. Zhuang."

Did Chu Pingsheng prepare a gift for the Queen Mother?
Haitang Duoduo thought of the iron bell at the Cangzhou battlefield that killed four thousand cavalrymen with one blow.

A gift? A clock?
Both of them looked unhappy.

Si Lili noticed the change in their expressions and explained hastily, "It was flower dew. The princess prepared some flower dew that she made herself for Chu Pingsheng as a gift for the Queen Mother during his mission to Northern Qi. But after arriving in Cangzhou, his master didn't know that the flower dew was also on the truck, and it spilled when he split the wooden cabinet."

Haitang Duoduo grabbed some melon seeds from the fruit plate and said sarcastically, "I forgot that he is the son-in-law of Princess Nanqing."

Zhan Doudou removed the hand that she was holding against Si Lili's and personally poured her a cup of fragrant tea and pushed it over to her.

"He didn't go to see Mr. Zhuang, he went to Uesugi Tiger's residence."

"Uesugi Tiger?"

Si Lili didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Chu Pingsheng was still the same Chu Pingsheng who liked to say ambiguous things. Upon closer inspection, this was not a bad thing. Uesugi Tora could indeed be considered an old friend.

Haitang Duoduo thought the two of them were talking too much, so she spat out the melon seed shells in her mouth and asked bluntly, "Did he tell you the real purpose of coming to Northern Qi this time?"

"..."

Si Lili hesitated for a while, picked up the jade cup and took a sip of tea, then said hesitantly: "Do you really want to know?"

"Say it."

"Do you want to hear his original words, or..."

"Exactly what I said, exactly what I said!" "Then you can't blame me for speaking rudely."

Haitang Duoduo was almost driven into autism by her: "If you don't tell me, I will blame you."

"He said, I will return you to Northern Qi, and I will have to exchange you for a better one to avoid any loss. I asked him what he wanted to exchange you for, and he said Northern Qi Saint Haitang Duoduo."

"..."

"..."

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly froze, with only the incense rising from the incense burner and the hot steam rising from the jade cup.

Zhan Doudou and Haitang Duoduo thought they had heard it wrong. You looked at me, I looked at you, and after a few breaths, you both turned to look at Si Lili.

"Li Li, say it again!"

"He said he was a businessman and would never do business at a loss."

She did not repeat the above words, but said the last sentence that Chu Pingsheng asked her to tell Zhan Doudou and Haitang Duoduo.

From Haitang Duoduo's point of view, this is simply ridiculous.

Bai Feng severely injured Ku He, and Bai Yuan killed Lang Tao. With such a deep hatred, how could Chu Pingsheng still want to marry her?

"I can't understand his mind, can you?"

Zhan Doudou shook her head, she couldn't understand either.

Si Lili said: "He is such a person."

She was the only one of the three women who could understand.

Chu Pingsheng is such a guy with a lot of evil tastes - he will not necessarily show leniency just because the person who wants to kill him is a relative of a close woman, and his men are never vague.

Haitang Duoduo said coldly: "He is wishful thinking."

"Haitang, Doudou, you...can't beat him."

Haitang Duoduo and Zhan Doudou didn't know how powerful Chu Pingsheng was, but she knew it very well.

"Your Majesty." At this time, a maid in a purple robe came over, interrupted the conversation, and bowed and said, "The Queen Mother wants to see Si Lili."

Zhan Doudou nodded to the nanny and said to Si Lili, "Do you want me to go with you?"

"Need not."

She stood up with the help of the couch, bowed to Zhan Doudou, and followed the nanny out of the pavilion.

"What do you think?"

Zhan Doudou asked while looking at Shang Wen's teacup.

"She changed and became distant from us."

Haitang Duoduo tapped a few times and said with a dull expression, "She should know more about Chu Pingsheng, but she chose to hide it."

"Maybe... that guy treats her very well." Zhan Doudou turned sideways and looked at the Pinghu Lake not far away. Two black swans returning from the south to the north were neck to neck, paddling lightly with their webbed feet, creating ripples.

"If he had not treated Lili well, Lili would not be in this state. The retainer of the Prime Minister of Nanqing was framed by him for using private punishment and was executed by slow slicing outside the Meridian Gate. The nanny sent by the Queen Mother was torn to pieces by the white ape on the spot because of her harsh words. Perhaps the intelligence from the south is not accurate. In my opinion, he has more than just the intention to play with the courtesan of Zuixianju."

"You were calling him a lecher before the delegation's parking lot entered the city yesterday."

Haitang Duoduo said: "If he is not a lustful person, why did he send her back to Qi?"

Zhan Doudou said: "Is there a possibility that he did this to paralyze Qingguo, stabilize his mother, and protect Lili and Liguang?"

"So what's the deal?"

"Little Master, if there hadn't been a battle in Cangzhou, what do you think my uncle would have thought of this deal?"

Haitang Duoduo's expression changed.

If Western Hu formed an alliance with Northern Qi, Southern Qing would be in trouble.

Zhan Doudou continued, "I heard that the Second Prince of Nanqing is currently under house arrest. He has caused such a big disaster. Don't you think this punishment is too light?"

"You mean...he hit the jackpot?"

By now, she has realized that her master Ku He, Jinyiwei Commander Shen Zhong, General Shangshan Hu and the Nanqing Border Army have all been used by Li Chengze.

……

The next day, it was past midnight.

Chu Pingsheng met Sean in a dilapidated wooden building by the river in the mountainous area east of the city. Compared with his previous state, he looked cleaner and more energetic. His shoulder-length hair was tied behind his head, and he was wearing a tight robe and an airtight black cloak on the outside.

"Tell me, what do you want from me?"

"I remember the last time we met, we were interrupted by Qin Heng's cavalry before we could finish our conversation."

"Is it about the whereabouts of my grandson?"

Chu Pingsheng looked at the face that showed little emotion and said, "You don't seem very interested?"

“One must learn from his mistakes.”

"..."

Chu Pingsheng was slightly stunned. He didn't expect that Sean was so petty. Chen Pingping used the grandson born to the brothel girl Yuxiang to plot against him and set a trap that lasted for eighteen years. He almost mistook Fan Xian for his grandson. Now he was also making a fuss about his grandson who was missing. Given Sean's suspicion, it was normal for him to be cautious.

"Well, let's not talk about your grandson, how about we talk about your future plans? I think... you don't want to live like a rat, roaming around, right?"

(End of this chapter)