My wife has a secret

Chapter 203 Underwater
The rough outline of the black shadow emerged faintly, and King Xiang was shocked to find that the body of the "Key to Heaven" was almost filling the entire pool.

You know, his huge body makes him a leader in terms of size. No other ferocious beast is bigger than him, even the elephant, the sacred beast of India, is slightly inferior to him.

But the thing at the bottom of the pool was obviously bigger than him, and this was just the shadow part of the pool.

"Are you a messenger from heaven?"

Faced with this bizarre scene, King Xiang was not surprised but happy, because the weirder this guy was, the more it demonstrated the greatness of the ancestors and the omnipotence of the Kingdom of Heaven.

According to his idea, the so-called "Key to Heaven" should be the watchdog of Heaven. If one passes its test, one can successfully reach the sacred hometown after death.

Suddenly, the water in the pool exploded several feet high.

Before King Xiang could react, the black shadow opened its bloody mouth from the water and pulled him in, tearing and biting him.

With just the first bite, he had eaten up most of the bloated King Xiang.

Before he could even breathe out a sigh of relief in pain, the other half of his body was dragged underwater by the monster in the pool and swallowed.

In just a moment, the water in the pool surged with blood and broken flesh and body parts.

"Didn't he die too young?"

Three feet above the water dungeon, a candle was lit, revealing a heroic man in an imperial robe.

There was another person standing opposite him, wearing an orange robe and looking very masculine.

His eyes were deep and bright, his back was straight, revealing an indescribable tenacity and confidence.

"not early."

The person asking the question was the Liao emperor, Yelu Chu, and the person answering was Xiao Chong, one of the only two princes of the Liao... and now the only prince.

"King Xiang is in charge of internal affairs and finances. For many years, he has been advocating peace with Qi. He will definitely oppose the plan to send troops during the meeting."

Xiao Chong answered very coldly and was indifferent to King Xiang's death.

King Xiang was originally a tool used for checks and balances. Once he died, his followers would naturally scatter like birds and beasts, and his power would collapse.

The Xiao family's control over the Liao Kingdom is even stronger than the world imagines, but their own people have always been hiding in the dark and don't want to show up in public, so they pushed the Yelu clan to the throne and created the illusion of a three-way balance of power.

Prince Xiang focused on commerce, agriculture and industry, the Liao Emperor focused on diplomacy, and the Xiao family was in charge of military power.

Under his persuasion, the Liao Emperor was already tempted to send troops to Qi. As long as he added fuel to the fire, this matter would be able to pass the layers of review in the council hall.

But Prince Xiang's faction has always been stable. He has been sitting on the position of prince of Liao for so long, and he is definitely not a mediocre person who can be found everywhere.

The Liao Kingdom was fighting fiercely with the Jin Kingdom on the border. The battle had been going on for several years and neither side was willing to admit defeat.

King Xiang knew the financial situation of the national treasury, and his subordinates were all conservative people, so they would never agree to go to war on two fronts.

"That's right. Without him, this emperor will have the possibility to expand his territory."

The Liao Emperor looked down at the pool below with disdain. In his heart, he had long felt disgusted with the giant Buddha statue of King Xiang.

Although the other party is considered a talented person, he has been arrogant and dissolute in recent years and often does some extravagant things.

For example, yesterday, he had the audacity to embarrass and assassinate the envoys from Qi State in the street just for a few lowly women.

The leader of the Qi State delegation this time was the Prime Minister Shen Nianyan! Although he heard that the other party was implicated because of the little emperor's affairs, Shen Nianyan's intelligence, ability, and resourcefulness were known in all countries, and the newly enthroned empress was not stupid, so how could she not use this person?

If something happened to Shen Nianyan's delegation in Shangjing City, the Liao Kingdom's intention to turn against the Liao Kingdom would be exposed in advance. How could they complete the surprise attack plan?
When Yelu Chu thought of the surprise attack that Xiao Chong had offered him, he suddenly felt his blood boiling and he could not control his emotions.

As long as the goal can be achieved, the Liao army can march straight into the south of the Yangtze River.

I have heard that the south is a fertile land. Once the Liao Kingdom conquers it, why worry about the money in the treasury? Why worry about the lack of military equipment?

"Xiao Chong, the task of taking care of the aftermath is now left to you."

Yelu Chu patted Xiao Chong on the shoulder, then strode out through the back door.

He didn't want to stay in this place any longer.

Although the Liao royal family called it the "Key to Heaven" and the place where souls return, he, who was familiar with his family letters, knew early on that there was only a man-eating monster inside.

He didn't even understand why the royal families of previous generations would tolerate this thing living in the present.

"Yes, Your Majesty, please slow down."

After Xiao Chong bowed his head and saluted, he waited until the footsteps of Yelu Chu and his guards became farther and farther away before he slowly raised his head, turned around and walked to a seat at the side.

From here you can see the entire calm water surface, like a huge diving platform.

The smile on Xiao Chong's face disappeared, and after taking a deep breath, he rushed forward.

Without any guardrails to protect him, Xiao Chong fell into the water with a "splash" and fell straight to the dark and terrifying bottom.

The huge and exaggerated monster was lying in the water, its body forming a semicircle.

Faced with Xiao Chong's arrival, it just opened its mouth and burped a bloody burp.

Xiao Chong held his breath and concentrated, using a secret method to continuously increase the weight of his body. After passing the monster, he finally reached the bottom of the water prison.

Finally, he saw an extremely heavy iron door with a ring-shaped handle on it.

On the outermost side of the iron gate, you can faintly see the word "贰".

……

"What are you thinking?"

On the return journey, Xu Qing sat in a corner of the carriage in silence.

After hearing that Prince Xiao wanted to take action against the State of Qi and that the Emperor of Liao also had the same intention, Shen Nianyan immediately made a new judgment.

That was to bury the tribute cloth and money and grain transported to the capital city on the spot, and then everyone disguised themselves and returned to the country immediately.

After all, the saint's mission has been completed. If they stay here any longer, when the two countries go to war, their entire delegation will become prisoners.

Because of their special identities, Xu Qing and Shen Shuangxu were considered the first group to return to the country in disguise, and they specially used the Liao caravan as their disguise.

In order to deal with the banquets and feasts hosted by the Liao Emperor, Shen Nianyan could only return home at the latest and try to delay time.

Shen Shuangxu, who was in the same car, was very different from usual. Because the carrier pigeon of Chengxuanfang would expose the identities and locations of several people, she could only sit back and chat with Xu Qing.

Although they are husband and wife, they rarely have time to be alone together. I'm afraid they have only spent some time together when they took the bus to the capital.

"I was thinking of something weird... By the way, you read a lot and have a wide range of knowledge. Have you heard of Arabic numerals?"

Seeing Xu Qing, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly asked a strange question, Shen Shuangxu frowned slightly and thought about it carefully in his mind.

"Arabic numerals?"

"Yes, or have you ever seen Arabs come to our Da Qi to do business? They usually wear white scarves, and the women often wrap their heads with black gauze or white cloth, so that nothing is exposed."

As Xu Qing explained, he used his hands and feet to gesture, describing the characteristics of Arabs very vividly.

But Shen Shuangxu obviously had never seen this person before, and asked in confusion: "Why do they wrap their heads?" "Because they live in the desert, the ultraviolet rays are strong, and the wind and sand are strong. Wearing a headscarf can block the sun and dust, and protect the head and facial skin. There is also a scripture that requires this behavior, saying that it can protect the soul."

Xu Qing had never read the Koran, but he knew that the Arabs' headscarf was related to religion.

"I have not seen it."

After getting the answer from Shen Shuangxu, Xu Qing rubbed his temples, slumped in a corner of the carriage and fell into deep thought.

Even someone like Shen Shuangxu has never seen an Arab. Does this mean that there are no Arabs in this world?
But if there were no Arabs, how could I see Arabic numerals by the waking stream?

Arabic numerals are very different from ancient Chinese numerals, so it is impossible for him to have read it wrong.

"elder brother……"

A soft call came from outside the door. Xu Qing pulled open the car curtain and saw Ryoko and Qingqing leaning against each other.

Because he was worried about King Xiang's fanatical attitude towards Ji Yin's daughter, after careful consideration for a while, he decided to bring the two girls back to Qi.

Through his connections in the diplomatic corps, he learned that Qingqing's parents had disappeared in the eastern part of Liao after their daughter and food were robbed by bandits.

For the safety of the two girls and their future, he wanted to take them to the Guangping Marquis' Mansion and let Xiaohuan teach them how to do things.

I am a sentimental person. If I just leave the two girls alone, it would be better not to save them.

Compared to the chaotic world outside, the Guangping Marquis' Mansion has its own protection, so life will not be difficult.

After knowing Xu Qing's idea, Ryoko and Qingqing nodded in agreement.

But what was a little different from their usual interactions was that Qingqing, who was born a lady, told Ryoko the difference between nobles and commoners. After learning about Xu Qing's identity as a marquis, Ryoko was cautious in addressing him.

At this moment, she was twisting her thumb and secretly glancing at Xu Qing with her big watery eyes.

"what happened?"

"Did you disturb my brother? Mother told Ryoko that if a man and a woman are in the car, they should try not to disturb each other."

Shen Shuangxu in the carriage obviously heard these words. Her eyes flashed with restraint, her red lips slightly parted, but she could hardly speak.

This unspeakable feeling of shyness is like the morning mist, hazy and beautiful.

Although the two are husband and wife, they are not actually husband and wife, and their relationship is more like that of friends.

But how can you tell these words to children?

"Ahem, it's okay."

Xu Qing coughed a few times to hide his embarrassment, then changed the subject and asked, "So you two little guys came here now, did you find something?"

The disguised Liao merchant caravan was imitating the Liao people's customs and practices, taking a nap at noon every day.

Even though they were about to cross the Huangling Pass, everyone did not dare to let the surrounding Liao people notice anything unusual and kept moving forward at an extremely slow pace.

"Brother, do you still remember the caravan that traveled with us?"

Speaking of the caravan that traveled with them, Xu Qing actually had some impression of it.

When the caravan reached the border town, a merchant caravan from Qi State followed. The leader spoke authentic Jiangnan dialect and asked the two teams to travel together.

Since the Liao and Qi countries opened their borders, more and more caravans have been traveling back and forth. In order to avoid rampant banditry and rugged roads, caravans often traveled in parallel to form a large-scale team.

This kind of thing is most common in small caravans, and the caravan that Xu Qing and his team disguised themselves as was this type of caravan.

"remember."

"Just now when we were taking a break, Qingqing and I went to play in the woods behind us and heard them speaking Liao dialect."

Hearing this, Xu Qing and Shen Shuangxu looked at each other and saw incredible expressions in each other's eyes.

Although Khitan was the official language of the Liao Dynasty, the Khitan people were few in number and they all held aristocratic titles, so Mandarin was generally spoken among the common people.

Like Qi, Liao also pursued a policy of emphasizing agriculture over commerce. How could Khitan nobles who knew Khitan language appear in Qi's caravan?

"Are you sure you didn't hear it wrong?"

Ryoko looked up and whispered, "The official who came to our village to collect taxes before was a Khitan... Ryoko has seen him many times, so she wouldn't have heard it wrong."

"Ok."

Xu Qing nodded to show that he understood, and then warned: "Keep what happened just now to yourself, and don't tell anyone. Also... don't get close to the caravan next door. If there is any movement, come find us."

"Ryoko knows."

"Qingqing also knows!"

Xu Qing watched the two little girls walk to the next room, then he lowered the curtain and returned to Shen Shuangxu.

Today, Shen Shuangxu is as delicate as a flower. She is wearing her favorite black gauze dress, with her long black hair draped over her shoulders. Her fair skin is like snow in winter, quiet and beautiful.

"Did you hear it?"

"Ah."

Shen Shuangxu's facial expression remained calm.

"Only Khitan people can speak Khitan. Although the leader of the caravan next door is from Qi, judging from what the children say, there are many Khitan people among them."

Xu Qing asked in confusion: "Why are the Khitans hiding in the caravan? What do they want to do? Do they want to go to Qi to learn business?"

"Do you still remember the information given by Tianxuan Xingjun?"

Considering the rumor that the Liao Kingdom was about to go to war, Xu Qing was stunned for a moment, then he figured out two things.

Although Liao and Qi did not state it explicitly, their respective merchant caravans enjoyed privileges when traveling within their own territories. They would not be subject to tariffs, and the patrols responsible for inspection would also have a relatively easy time.

This is also why Xu Qing and others chose to disguise themselves as a Liao Kingdom convoy.

Within the Liao Dynasty, the Khitans not only accounted for an absolute proportion of the nobility and officials, but also formed the backbone of the army.

Because they believed that their bloodline was noble and that the Han people could not be trusted, they rarely recruited Han people as soldiers.

It seems that those Khitans...are most likely Khitan soldiers in disguise.

Just as they wanted to escape from the Liao Kingdom under the name of the Liao Kingdom caravan, they also wanted to use the name of the Qi Kingdom caravan to secretly sneak into the Huangling Pass and achieve the miraculous effect of breaking through the pass.

At this moment, the Liao emperor was treating the Qi envoys with great kindness in Shangjing City. No one would have thought that Liao would resort to risky tactics under the pressure of being attacked from both sides.

"what should we do?"

After understanding the Liao Kingdom's intentions, Shen Shuangxu made the simplest and wisest choice.

"Of course, we should contact the Yang family army at Huangling Pass and have them stop this caravan at the entrance."

(End of this chapter)