The city gate of Changping County opened.
The Spy Departnt and Jiefan Guard galloped westward, leaving only a few dozen people lurking in the county to continue searching for traces of Chen Ji.
As for Liao Zhong, he seed forgotten, neither Wu Xuange nor Xuan Snake showed much interest in him.
In a civilian house within Gongji Square, Changping County, the man of the household had just started a fire in the stove.
In the main hall, a three or four-year-old child sat on a small, low stool, eagerly watching the stove room, while the woman sat on a chair behind him, smiling warmly as she tidied his hair.
The child slled the fragrance wafting from the stove room and blinked his bright eyes: "Dad, I'm hungry, I want so sugar."
The man laughed loudly from the stove room: "Lord Zao has already left, where would there be sugar left? Ping Er, wait a mont, dinner will be ready soon..."
Before he finished speaking, a knocking sound echoed from outside the courtyard, and the woman instinctively covered the child's mouth.
The man walked out of the stove room and exchanged a silent glance with the woman.
The man gestured with his hand, and the woman, holding the child, hurried into the house, placing the child inside a wooden box used for clothes.
She pulled out a pack of stove sugar wrapped in oil paper from the box and stuffed it into the child's arms, nervously instructing: "Mom is playing hide and seek with you, stay inside and eat the sugar, don't co out or make a noise, or if Dad finds you, he won't let you have sugar."
The child nodded eagerly, licking the sugar.
The woman closed the box, returned outside, and signaled to the man, who wiped his hands on his apron at his waist before going to open the door.
When the door opened, there stood the white-haired village chief, and the man imdiately sighed in relief: "Village Chief, what's the matter?"
The village chief teased slowly: "Why did you open the door so slowly? I could sll the lard from your frying pan. What, hiding good stuff from ?"
The man laughed heartily: "No way, I'll get you a bowl once the al is ready."
The village chief waved his hand: "Just joking, let's talk business. It seems that a high-profile fugitive wanted by the court arrived in the county town. This morning, the County Magistrate and County Chief called us, saying that if we see unfamiliar faces, we must report to the authorities, and not shelter them. If you catch the fugitive, the reward money could last you a lifeti."
The man asked in a low voice: "Do we need to share the reward money with the county lords?"
The village chief sneered: "Do you really think you could catch the fugitive? That's soone who attempted to assassinate the Crown Prince, how many lives do you have to catch them? Better pray to The Three Pure Ones that you don't run into them."
The man awkwardly chuckled: "Indeed."
The village chief waved his hand: "I'm off."
The man watched the village chief leave for the next house, silently closed the door, bolting it. He exhaled slowly, collecting his composure over several breaths.
The man turned back, gesturing to the woman: "Bring Ping Er out."
The woman responded and went back inside.
But the next mont, the man saw the woman frozen at the main hall's doorway, staring blankly inside as if facing a formidable enemy. The man's heart skipped a beat, and he moved step by step towards the main hall, feeling like his legs were filled with lead.
As he stepped into the main hall, he saw Liao Zhong, missing an arm, with disheveled hair sitting on a wooden box. No one knew when he had co in, making not a sound.
Liao Zhong's face was ashen, his breath weak: "It seems that you two are not very welcoming to my old self, looking as if you lost your parents."
The man hurriedly moved in front of the woman, laughing as he said: "How could that be, your presence is a great honor for us."
The atmosphere inside the house was stagnant, and the man eyed Liao Zhong's weak presence, considering whether to make the first move, yet the forr authority hesitated him.
Besides, there was still a child in the box, careful not to act rashly.
Both the man and the woman restrained themselves from looking towards the box, fearing Liao Zhong might notice sothing amiss.
Liao Zhong let out a couple of bleak laughs, patting the wooden box he was sitting on: "Back then, I had you two lurking in Changping, pretending to be a couple, yet you turned pretend into reality. A happy little life you lead, if it weren't for having nowhere else to turn, I wouldn't have disturbed you."
The man respectfully cupped his hands: "What are you saying, both of us were grateful for your support in the past, now that you're injured, we are bound to ensure your safety."
"Is that so," Liao Zhong abruptly stood up, lifted the lid of the wooden box, and using his one arm, scooped up the child into his arms, bursting into laughter: "Uncle caught you! Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Uncle won't be like your dad, Uncle will let you have sugar!"
The couple's expressions changed dramatically!
The woman moved, but was tightly held back by the man. Her eyes turned slightly red, staring intently at the child in Liao Zhong's arms.
Holding the child in his lone arm, Liao Zhong walked past the couple and sat in the courtyard, instructing: "Bring a bowl of rice."
The man remained silent for a long ti, finally responding lowly, heading into the stove room to serve a al, and placed it respectfully on a wooden table beside Liao Zhong.
Liao Zhong lovingly looked at the child: "Ping Er, are you hungry? Uncle will feed you, okay? After we eat, Uncle will conjure up ten sugar candies for you, okay?"
The child, unaware of the situation, clapped happily: "Okay!"
"Good boy," Liao Zhong let the child sit on his lap, using his left arm to pick up a piece of preserved at, feeding it to the child's mouth, watching as the child ate it.
He didn't imdiately feed the second piece, instead watching the child's expression to see if there were any signs of poisoning.
Liao Zhong fed them while keeping his head down, "You husband and wife don't need to be afraid, this old man knew long ago about you giving birth to Ping Er. Only you two thought you had kept it well hidden."
The man and woman dared not respond.
Liao Zhong chuckled, "I buried so many Death Soldiers for the Crown Prince across the nine counties outside the Imperial Capital. Why did I specifically co to Changping? Isn't it because you gave birth to Ping Er? Once people have a vulnerability, they are easily manipulated."
Though Liao Zhong's words seed plain, they cut like a knife into the hearts of the couple.
The man gritted his teeth, "Lord, this matter has nothing to do with Ping Er."
"Oh?" Liao Zhong said lightly, "You two receive the Crown Prince's stipend, while others' children go hungry, your child still has at to eat. Isn't what he eats also from His Highness's stipend?"
The woman suddenly knelt with a thud, "You are magnanimous, spare the child, my husband and I will serve you tirelessly. Wherever you wish to go, we will accompany you through trials and tribulations!"
Liao Zhong sighed, "What's this for? I haven't done anything to Ping Er... With Ping Er here, only then can you accompany through trials and tribulations, right Ping Er?"
At this mont, the toddler perceived sothing was wrong upon seeing his mother kneel and began to cry loudly.
He wanted to hug his mother, but his neck was held by Liao Zhong, unable to move.
Seeing the toddler not poisoned, Liao Zhong nonchalantly ate a few more mouthfuls without considering the breach in his actions, as if the couple were insignificant.
The more he acted so, the less the couple dared to move.
Having eaten so food, Liao Zhong put down his chopsticks, "Enough, cease this emotional scene of parent and child. Let ask, has the Crown Prince sent a ssage via pigeon?"
The man shook his head, "No."
Liao Zhong squeezed Ping Er's arm, causing it to drop limply, dislocated.
Ping Er cried even more fiercely, and the man hurriedly said, "A pigeon ca to Changping County last night, but not to us, it was passed to our superiors. The order was, upon encountering you, to report imdiately to the Imperial Capital..."
Liao Zhong casually dislocated Ping Er's other arm, "Is that all?"
The man gritted his teeth, "The superiors also instructed, encounter you and kill without rcy."
Liao Zhong wiped his mouth and casually reset Ping Er's arms while holding them securely.
He stared blankly at the blue bricks in the courtyard, a forlorn expression on his face, "I have served the Crown Prince for over ten years. Back then, he wasn't the Crown Prince, Prince Fu obstructed him, so I frad the Empress for having an affair with Prince Jing, claiming Prince Fu was not the Emperor's biological son; when Imperial Censors discovered his factional ties, I poisoned the Censor for him; when a palace maid carried his illegitimate child, I killed the maid for him..."
"The night he beca Crown Prince, I ran next to Taiye Pond through the heavy snow, wanting to scream with joy! My heart felt ablaze! But in the end, it's finally my turn to be silenced."
Shifting his tone, Liao Zhong said self-deprecatingly, "However, the path is chosen by oneself. Reflecting on when I first beca a retainer in the Eastern Palace, I could see the Crown Prince had a resolute and ruthless nature, and Chen Ji once said he was not destined to be a wise ruler. What does he know about wise rulers? Could a kind and righteous person be a wise ruler? Did he think anyone could sit in Jianji Hall's throne? If not ruthless, even becoming Emperor, wouldn't they rely be a puppet to the civil servants?"
The couple in the courtyard exchanged glances, afraid to speak, only able to watch their child firmly held in Liao Zhong's grasp.
Liao Zhong smiled, "I don't regret it, after all, the Crown Prince's brutality today was taught by . But I can't return to the Imperial Capital, I must leave."
The man cautiously said, "My wife and I are willing to protect you."
Liao Zhong laughed and patted Ping Er's head, "Yes, otherwise what else can you do?"
The man, with swallowed anger, said, "Where does Lord wish to go? Let escort you from Dongying Port to sea."
Liao Zhong drawled, "Going to sea won't do, Dongying Port is Chen family territory."
The man then said, "I can also escort you to Guyuan."
Liao Zhong shook his head, "Guyuan won't do either, Chen Ji has a foundation there, he might have gone to Guyuan."
The man took a deep breath, "Lord, you can proceed from Datong to the Jing Dynasty."
Liao Zhong praised, "Datong is good!"
The man bowed lowly and said, "Lord, the Spy Departnt's eyes and ears are everywhere, lingering in Changping too long could be risky. We should act tonight."
Liao Zhong chuckled, "The Spy Departnt... isn't that the reason I kept you around? Master Li, when you approached the Crown Prince as a Death Soldier, did you really think I hadn't seen through your identity as a spy?"
The man's expression dramatically changed, "What does Lord an, I am loyal to His Highness, I am not a spy."
Liao Zhong, with one arm around Ping Er, exclaid, "Whether you are a spy, this old man knows. Yima County, Tongma Village, third house in the village, Master Li, am I right?"
The man was shocked, "Then you..."
Liao Zhong mused, "This court and Jianghu, it's you in , in you, no black and white, only shades of gray filled with complex emotions. Keeping you was for today. Without you as a spy, how else would I arrive at Changping?"
Only then did the man realize that when he approached the Crown Prince more than ten years ago, he had already been seen through. Liao Zhong didn't expose him, and intentionally left him in Changping County to marry and have children, all were contingencies planned in advance.
All manipulation!
Liao Zhong slowly stood up, "Master Li, this old man hasn't planned to leave just yet. With you and Ping Er here, I'll stay for half a year and leave when the storm calms down, why not?"
In between speaking, he picked up Ping Er and soothed him, "Don't cry Ping Er, wait for half a year and uncle will take you to roam Jianghu."
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