Can I get to the other side?

Following the path pointed by Dr. Tea, Liu Qi moved forward and soon saw a thatched cottage nestled in a sparse forest.

"This is it!"

Seeing this thatched cottage, Liu Qi couldn't help but feel a flash of joy in his eyes. He ordered the servants around him to wait there, and then went to knock on the door alone.

"May I ask if Mr. Kong Ming is here?"

After knocking on the door, Liu Qi straightened his clothes and then stood there waiting.

After a while the door opened.

Just as Liu Qi was about to speak, he saw that the person who opened the door was a boy of seventeen or eight years old, looking at him curiously.

"Who are you, and what do you want to see my husband for?"

When he heard the words "my husband", Liu Qi knew that he was in the right place. He smiled warmly at the boy and said, "I am Liu Qi, the son of Jingzhou Mu. I came here to pay a visit to Mr. Kong Ming on my father's orders."

"The son of Jingzhou Mu?"

Hearing Liu Qi's self-introduction, the boy couldn't help but feel a little surprised, and then said: "My husband is taking a nap at the moment. Sir, please wait a moment, I will inform him."

"No, no need!"

When Liu Qi heard this, he quickly stopped him and said, "Since Mr. Kong Ming is taking a nap, I can just wait here. How can I disturb Mr. Kong Ming's sleep?"

Although the people's reputation for Zhuge Liang was not very good, he did not feel contemptuous of him because of it.

How can the comments of mediocre people compare with the comments of celebrities such as Pang Degong? What's more, Zhuge Liang is also a disciple of Sima Hui, which is even more remarkable.

Celebrities do not accept disciples easily.

Therefore, before coming here, Liu Qi had already prepared to lower his stature and show courtesy to the virtuous corporal, and now he just put on the posture of asking for virtuous people.

"All right."

The boy scratched his head and agreed.

So Liu Qi stood in front of the door and waited.

In the forest not far away, there were three eyes watching Liu Qi's every move, and the conversation between him and the boy could be heard clearly.

These three people are exactly the three merchants from before.

However, the merchants are just a superficial identity they use to disguise themselves. Their true identity is the embroidered messengers sent by Jia Xu.

The messengers of embroidered clothes are divided into four classes.

The lowest rank is the embroidered clothes envoy, the second rank is the embroidered clothes captain, the third rank is the embroidered clothes lieutenant general, and the fourth rank is the embroidered clothes general.

The middle-aged man at the head is currently the only Zhonglang General among the Embroidered Clothes Envoys, codenamed Qingzhu; while the other two are Embroidered Clothes Captains, codenamed Wutong and Yinzhen respectively.

The purpose of their trip was to find Zhuge Liang.

"I didn't expect that he was Liu Biao's son."

After hearing Liu Qi's self-report, Yinzhen was inevitably surprised and couldn't help but ask Qingzhu: "General, isn't he here to invite Mr. Kong Ming back like us?"

"Don't we do something now? What should we do if he gets there first and invites Mr. Kong Ming away?"

Qingzhu glanced at him and said calmly: "Then do you want to kill him immediately, or do you want to jump out and reveal your identity now and compete with him for Mr. Kong Ming?"

Yinzhen's complexion was slightly sluggish, and he was speechless for a moment.

It's not difficult to kill Liu Qi, but if Liu Qi dies, Liu Biao will definitely be furious. Then it will be extremely difficult for them to take Zhuge Liang back.

After all, they are now on the border of Jingzhou.

As for revealing his identity, it's even more difficult. The task they got this time was to quietly bring Zhuge Liang back. If it attracts attention, what's the point of calling it quietly?

So Yinzhen had no choice but to be patient and continue to wait.

An hour passed like this, and Liu Qi stood at the door of the thatched cottage under the bright sun. He never rested even though his legs were sore and he was sweating profusely.

During this period, the accompanying servants came to persuade him several times, and even the boy brought him a small horse to sit on, but he refused.

Soon another hour passed.

Liu Qi felt dizzy and swaying, and finally fell straight to the ground as his eyes went dark.

"Master!"

The servants were horrified and rushed over to help him.

Among the people who were holding Liu Qi tightly.

After some resuscitation, Liu Qi woke up slowly and saw that his face was extremely pale and weak, but he still struggled to get up.

"Help, help me up, I will continue to wait for Mr. Kong Ming to wake up..."

The servant had a look of distress on his face and couldn't help but angrily said to the boy who came over with the water bowl: "Your husband is so rude. Where can you take a two-hour nap?"

"My young master is the son of a dignified state shepherd. He is rich in gold. If something goes wrong, can Zhuge Kongming be able to take the responsibility?"

"Why don't you hurry up and wake him up to entertain the guests!"

The son of Zhou Mu was always cheered and respected wherever he went, but when he arrived at the house of the little-known Zhuge Liang, he slept soundly in the house while his son waited outside.

"Don't be rude!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Qi immediately sternly reprimanded his servant, then glanced at the thatched cottage with a complicated expression, and then said to the boy: "I'm sorry for bothering you today. I'm weak and can't stand it anymore. I'll visit again tomorrow."

"Please tell Mr. Kong Ming."

After waiting for so long, he vaguely understood that Mr. Kong Ming might not want to see him, or that he wanted to test him.

Otherwise, with the loud voice of his servant just now, it would be impossible for the other party to continue sleeping peacefully.

Waiting until he was unconscious today was enough to show his sincerity, and it was getting late now, so he could only come to visit tomorrow.

After finishing speaking, Liu Qi bowed deeply to the thatched cottage.

Then he left with the help of his servants.

After watching Liu Qi and others go away, the boy shook his head helplessly, turned around and walked into the thatched cottage.

There are several seats in the thatched cottage.

A young man eight feet tall, with a face like a crown jade, wearing a turban on his head, and a crane cloak, looking like an immortal, was lying on his side, sleeping soundly.

However, after the boy entered the thatched cottage, he opened his eyes, stood up, stretched, yawned and chanted:

"Whoever wakes up from a big dream first will know it in my life."

"I sleep late in the spring in the thatched cottage, and the sun gets late outside the window."

After taking a long breath, he looked at the boy and asked with a leisurely smile, "Mr. Liu has left already?"

"Gone..."

The boy answered subconsciously, then suddenly realized something, widened his eyes and said, "Sir, are you awake a long time ago?"

He always thought that Zhuge Liang was really sleeping, but after hearing what Zhuge Liang just said, he realized that his husband had woken up long ago.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to know that Liu Qi was outside.

Zhuge Liang picked up the feather fan placed aside and said with a smile: "I woke up as soon as he came. I just didn't want to see him, so I just made excuses to fall asleep."

"Tomorrow I will go out to visit friends. I will probably be away from home for a few days. If Mr. Liu comes again, I will use this to thank you."

After hearing this, the boy said doubtfully: "Sir, Mr. Liu is the son of Zhou Mu and has a noble status. Why don't you want to see him? Mr. Jingzhou Muhe's uncle is an old friend."

Liu Qi's servant was right. There was no way he could take a nap for two hours. He even asked the son of the state shepherd to stand outside and wait.

Of course, the most important point is that Zhuge Liang's uncle Zhuge Xuan and Liu Biao are old friends, and they are both emotionally and logically so that they would not even meet his son.

Zhuge Liang said: "Mr. Shui Jing wrote to me a few days ago, saying that Pang Gong recommended me to Jingzhou Mu in order to support me."

"Master Liu came here today to invite me to serve under Jingzhou Mu."

The boy became even more puzzled when he heard this: "Wouldn't it be great to serve under Jingzhou Mu? With your talent, you will definitely be put to good use."

As a dignified state pastor, it would not be unfair to serve under such a high official, not to mention that he has shown such sincerity.

"You don't understand."

Zhuge Liang smiled faintly, patted the boy's head gently with his feather fan, and looked out the window at the setting sun hanging on the top of the mountain.

"The situation in Jingzhou is complicated, and the major families are constantly fighting against each other. Jingzhou Mu has no power at all. He invited me over because he wanted to cultivate new forces and check and balance his ministers."

"I have no intention of doing this kind of thing."

A mere state is not enough to satisfy his ambition, not to mention the internal power struggle, which is even more boring.

Now that the world is in turmoil, what he really wants to devote himself to is the emperor who now dominates the north and has great talents and strategies.

Because this world is the stage for him to display his ambitions.

"It's a pity that I have no reputation now. I'm just a peasant from the countryside. There are so many talents under the emperor's command. Even if I apply, I'm afraid I won't be reused."

"It's better to take good care of Wang."

"Or, like Shi Yuan, you can first serve under Liu Xuande and then enter the court. The situation in Yizhou happens to be unstable, and maybe there is a place for me to use my skills."

Zhuge Liang thought in his heart.

Just as he was thinking this, a respectful voice came from outside the house: "May I ask if Mr. Kong Ming is here? Are you awake?"

Liu Qi is back again?

Zhuge Liang frowned slightly, and after thinking for a moment, he said to the boy, "Just say I'm still sleeping."

The boy nodded, turned around and walked out of the thatched cottage.

However, when he opened the courtyard door, he found that it was not Liu Qi standing outside the courtyard, but three strangers dressed as businessmen.

"Who are you?"

The boy asked with some vigilance. For some reason, he always felt that these three people gave him a very dangerous feeling.

Of course these three people are Qingzhu and the others.

Qingzhu smiled and said: "We are the messengers of embroidered clothes. We are here to invite Mr. Kong Ming to come out of the mountain on the order of the emperor. Please tell the boy."

The boy was shocked after hearing this.

He didn't know who the embroidered messenger was, but he could understand the words "ordered by the emperor". The three people in front of him were actually sent by the emperor?

How is this possible?

The boy didn't believe what Qingzhu said at all, but he felt that these three people were more and more strange, and said directly: "My husband is still sleeping, you just stand here and wait."

"No."

Qingzhu rejected the boy's proposal without thinking, and said with a smile: "Please wake up sir, we can't wait too long."

"you……"

The boy was a little annoyed. Why was this person so rude? He was completely different from Liu Qi before, and he was not willing to wait.

So his attitude cooled down and he said bluntly: "Guest, please go back. My husband is still sleeping. I'm afraid he won't wake up today."

After saying that, he closed the door heavily.

After being rejected, Yinzhen and Wutong turned their attention to Qingzhu, waiting for his next instructions.

Without saying a word, Qingzhu took out a fire stick from his arms, threw it to Wutong, and said, "Go and burn down the house to refresh Mr. Kong Ming."

"Huh? Burning down the house?"

Wutong was stunned by Qingzhu's words. He held the fire fold and said with an embarrassed look on his face: "This is not good. Mr. Jia told us not to be rude before."

"And what if Mr. Kong Ming is burned?"

Qingzhu looked at him and said coldly: "If we leave according to etiquette, we won't be able to see Mr. Kong Ming even if we stand here for ten days."

"Either we set fire to it, or we end our lives here now, which is better than going back and facing Duke Jia."

"Choose for yourselves."

Both Wutong and Yinzhen shuddered, and without any hesitation, they immediately ran to the backyard to set a fire.

In the thatched cottage.

The boy angrily said to Zhuge Liang: "Sir, those three guys outside don't look like good people. They claim to be messengers of embroidered clothes, and they came to invite you to come out on the order of the emperor."

"How dare they brag."

Although it is a bit derogatory to Zhuge Liang, to be honest, how could the emperor, who was the most powerful emperor, send someone to invite a little man to come out?

"Messenger of embroidered clothes? Emperor?"

Zhuge Liang's expression changed slightly after hearing this. He had only seen the official position of Embroidered Clothes Envoy in some written records, but it was no longer established after Emperor Wu.

Now it has reappeared in the world.

The most important thing is, how did the emperor know of his existence and send an embroidered messenger to find him?

Although Zhuge Liang's thinking was extremely agile, facing this sudden situation, he felt strange and full of doubts.

Could it be that Liu Qi sent someone to test him?

At this time, the boy's face suddenly changed. He pulled Zhuge Liang's sleeves, pointed out the window and exclaimed: "Fire, fire! There's water outside!"

Zhuge Liang was startled and looked in the direction he pointed.

I saw thick smoke and fire in the backyard at some point. It looked very scary, and it seemed to be burning towards the house where he was.

"Get out quickly!"

Zhuge Liang's expression changed immediately when he saw this. Without any time to think about it, he grabbed the boy and ran out of the thatched cottage.

Qingzhu was waiting outside the house at this time.

At this time, Yinzhen and Wutong happened to come back, their faces were stained by fireworks, and they still held fire certificates in their hands.

When the boy saw this, he immediately understood everything and said angrily: "You, how dare you set the house on fire? Do you want to kill yourself!"

Zhuge Liang also frowned deeply, protected the boy behind him, looked at Qingzhu and the others warily and said, "Who are you, sir? Why do you insist on seeing me, even setting fire to it?"

He didn't know these three people at all.

But it can be seen from the walking movements and sharp eyes that these three people are obviously highly skilled in martial arts.

"I'm rude."

Qingzhu hugged Zhuge Liang, then unbuttoned his coat, revealing the luxurious and extraordinary embroidered clothes underneath, and said seriously: "Qingzhu, the general in the embroidered clothes, has met Mr. Kong Ming."

"By order of the Emperor, sir, please rush to Yecheng!"