good season

Chapter 160 He Sneaked Out (Two Chapters Combined)

It was late summer, and a cool breeze was blowing in the courtyard. The evening air was filled with the fragrance of unknown flowers, making one feel drowsy.

Ah Huang stood up and stretched, his tail tip accidentally bumping into the little demon who was yawning. The little demon cursed and jumped onto the wall, looking down at the silly dog ​​and those two sneaky two-legged creatures below.
The little demon leaped down from the wall and slashed at Ah Huang's face with its claws. "You stupid dog, you didn't even know a stranger had come!"

Before Ah Huang could mount a counterattack, the little demon had already slipped out from the ditch at the base of the wall.

Under the moonlight, the little demon's figure blended into the night, silently appearing behind the two people.

"It seems no one will be coming back."

"Let's go back and report."

As the two turned to leave, a small shadow flashed past their feet—it was a cat.

They paid no attention and disappeared into the night in an instant.

And diagonally above them, an eagle was following them at a leisurely pace.
Watching the wings disappear into the distance, the little demon snorted. "Dumb bird, you're clever this time. You're much better than that talkative, silly dog."

She returned the way she came from the ditch, then crawled into the house through the cat hole specially made for her, jumped onto Zhao Shiqing's bed, licked her furry little hands first, and then slapped Zhao Shiqing across the face.

Zhao Shiqing turned over and continued sleeping. The little demon stepped over her and slapped her face again.

Zhao Shiqing turned over again, and the little demon continued to stomp and hit her. Zhao Shiqing finally woke up: "It's not even dawn yet, please, let me sleep a little longer."

The little demon rolled her eyes. Listen to this: she actually knew the cat was coming, but she just ignored it. The cat is good, but the person is bad!
However, after listening to Xiao Yao's rambling, Zhao Shiqing was wide awake and even opened the window, waiting for Xiao Guai to fly back.

The little demon was sleepy; she closed her eyes and instantly fell asleep.

An hour later, Xiao Guai returned: "The bird remembers the way; the bird will lead you there."

Zhao Shiqing understood. Although Xiao Guai went with the two men, she didn't overhear any useful information. She only remembered the place the two men ended up at.

She patted Xiao Guai's head: "Go to sleep first, then we'll go."

The next day at breakfast, Zhao Shiqing told Zhen Wuduo what had happened that night: "Grandpa, we've been targeted, and it's most likely Zhao Xingzhou."

She thought for a moment and then said, "Grandpa, what do you think will happen if he finds out about Aunt Wan's background now?"

Zhen Wuduo shook his head: "You grew up in the imperial family, so you should understand why he did that back then, right?"

Zhao Shiqing understood that when Zhen Wuduo said "do that," he meant the retired emperor would abdicate the throne and reside in the Changshou Palace for an extended period.

Zhao Shiqing smiled and said, "What else could it be? When he realized that he had raised a wolf, he also found that the wolf was full of fangs. If he didn't step down, he would probably be devoured until there was nothing left but bones."

When these things happened, Zhao Shiqing was still a child. During her formative years, she may not have understood them. However, in the past two years, she has experienced so much that she has come to understand things she had never thought about deeply before.

Therefore, the person Empress Xiaokang entrusted her son to was Princess Jiayi, not the Emperor Emeritus, her biological grandfather.

If Empress Xiaokang had handed Xiao Yue over to the Emperor Emeritus back then, Xiao Yue would have only had two fates: either he would have died young, like the Emperor Emeritus's fourth brother, who died of a cold at the age of seven or eight.

Xiao Yue could either be turned into a cripple, becoming a clumsy, pig-like fat man who pants as he walks, or become a plaything of palace maids and eunuchs at the age of twelve or thirteen, ruining his body and his fertility, only to be accused of being lecherous.
In short, he didn't even have the chance to become a playboy or villain like Zhu Yu, because playboys and villains need to appear in public and have their own connections and resources that they can control at will.

And these are things that are impossible for him to receive.

Princess Jiayi, though she could only give him the status of a concubine's son, allowed him to receive a normal education, had the princess's residence and the Xiao family to protect him, and had an older brother to rely on and help him plan.

Empress Xiaokang was a woman of keen insight, courage, and resourcefulness.

Therefore, even though she guessed that Zhao Xingzhou was most likely the retired emperor, Zhao Shiqing felt even more disdain for him.

Zhao Shiqing refused to believe that Zhao Xingzhou, as the father, had not noticed anything about what Emperor Yongjia had done to the former crown prince.
No, even if he doesn't know the whole story, he can still find clues.

Why wasn't it stopped?

The emperor was obsessed with Taoist cultivation and neglected state affairs, while the young crown prince gradually gained prestige among the ministers. Instead of being pleased, the father was very unhappy. He noticed that his other son was making some moves, so he decided to play along and use the second son to teach the eldest son a lesson. Unfortunately, he never expected that the second son was not human at all, but a wolf, who skinned the eldest son alive.

Although Zhao Shiqing was intelligent, she was inexperienced in the ways of the world. Even though her lips were tightly pursed, the emotions in her eyes could not escape Zhen Wuduo's notice.

Zhen Wuduo said earnestly, "My dear granddaughter, you know your grandfather has many sons. With more sons, there are more problems, and open and covert attacks are inevitable. But your grandfather can still play with you here. Isn't your grandfather afraid that they will unite against me?"

Zhao Shiqing had never thought about this question before. She paused for a moment, then suddenly realized as if by lightning: "You and the Emperor Emeritus, you want them to check and balance each other?"

Zhen Wu nodded: "That's right, that's how it is. But unlike the Emperor Emeritus, firstly, they are not my biological children, and secondly, before this family business is handed over to you, your grandfather has to clean up the mess. Someone has to do the dirty work, instead of getting your hands dirty. The Zhen family business ends with my generation. My granddaughter is not a member of the Zhen family. She has to be upright, clean, and beautiful."

Zhao Shiqing was stunned again. She only learned today that her maternal grandfather had this idea, that he actually wanted to change the Zhen family's name and hand it over to her.

When my grandfather said "upright, clean, and beautiful," he meant that the Zhen family should completely sever ties with the pirates and turn to legitimate business.

She shook her head: "I don't know anything about business. If you hand over the family business to me, I'm afraid I'll squander it all in a few years. You should hand it over to Xiao Zhen instead."

Zhen Wuduo's face hardened, and he said unhappily, "Give it to him? Let him use all my wealth to rebel? He's not my own son, am I crazy? Am I stupid? No, no, absolutely not!"
It doesn't matter if you don't understand business. Your grandfather will dispose of all those businesses and convert them into land and gold. You don't have to worry about anything; you can just spend the money.

As the saying goes, "Gold is valued in times of chaos, and land is valued in times of prosperity." No matter how the world changes, even if you lose your land, you'll still have gold. It's all yours; your grandfather has hidden it away for you, and no one can take it away or steal it.

Touched, Zhao Shiqing peeled a tea egg for Zhen Wuduo herself: "Grandpa, try it. Your precious granddaughter peeled it for you herself."

Zhen Wuduo loves to eat tea eggs and eats at least two every day. Zhao Shiqing has decided that, for the sake of her prosperous and golden land in this chaotic world, she must also learn how to make tea eggs.

Zhen Wuduo took the tea egg that his granddaughter had peeled, took a bite, and said, "Mmm, it's really delicious."

In the courtyard in the early morning, a scene of family bliss unfolded, and the matter of Zhao Xingzhou was completely forgotten.

However, this is only temporary. After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, they will get down to business.

Zhen Wuduo said, "No matter what Zhao Xingzhou does, Madam Wan should not show her face for the time being."

Zhao Shiqing hurriedly asked, "He won't let anyone force their way in, will he? After all, he already knows we're staying here." Zhen Wuduo shook his head: "Firstly, if he only suspects that Madam Wan is related to the Qi family, then as you said, he is deeply influenced by Empress Dowager Qi and has no feelings for the Qi family. The reason he sent people to investigate is simply to take control of everything."
Secondly, if he associates Wan Niangzi's appearance with Empress Dowager Qi, or even his own daughters, he will be even less likely to force his way in, but will instead proceed gradually.

Thirdly, he is not free now; he most likely escaped by sneaking out. If you don't believe me, you can send someone to inquire. The retired emperor is certainly still cultivating in the Longevity Palace. Given this, he wouldn't act so blatantly and recklessly.

Zhao Shiqing nodded repeatedly. Old ginger is spicier. Compared to her maternal grandfather, she was far inferior.

She then thought of the Dong family and said, "Even if he didn't reveal his identity, he must have something to rely on, otherwise Chief Constable Li of the county government wouldn't have let him go, much less arrested the Dong family on the spot."

Zhen Wuduo laughed heartily: "Silly child, did you reveal your identity when you dealt with Cui Rong in Liang? Did those people know that you were the second young lady of the Liang Prince's Mansion?"

Zhao Shiqing shook her head. No, that's not true. That's Liangdi's territory. It wouldn't be difficult for her to do anything there.

She suddenly realized: "Zhao Xingzhou doesn't need to use his status as the retired emperor to intimidate people. He only needs to show his badge from the Ministry of Justice or the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Constable Li will obey him without question. As for Zhao Xingzhou, he can easily obtain the badge from any government office in the capital."

Seeing that she had come to her senses, Zhen Wuduo stopped talking and said, "Alright, I'm going to walk the dog. You go and do your thing."

Every day, Zhen Wuduo would take the birdcage and lead Ah Huang outside for a stroll. He also made some old friends, and they often played chess and listened to storytelling together. The old man really enjoyed this kind of life full of warmth and everyday joy.

Zhao Shiqing was quite relieved. No matter where the old man went, the four masters would secretly follow him, as the old man valued his life.

Unable to leave, Wan Ruyi temporarily reverted to a four-person team. Zhao Shiqing disguised herself and the other three. She originally wanted to dress as men with Lingbo and as women with Niqiu and Shen Wangxing, but the two refused. So, all four of them had to dress as men.

Xiao Yao wanted to take her beauty sleep, so the four of them took Xiao Guai out together.

The morning sun wasn't hot, but it was bright. Xiao Guai led the way, and the four teenagers followed behind, chatting and laughing. At their teenage years, without any adults around to supervise them, they were at the age where they were unrestrained and exuberant. The wind blowing through their hair seemed to come alive, becoming light and free.

They followed Xiao Guai, and as they walked, they came to a quiet place.

“Dabei Temple?” Zhao Shiqing stared blankly at the old and worn-out plaque.

Who would have thought that Zhao Xingzhou, dressed in a Taoist robe and with his hair in a Taoist bun, who was determined to cultivate immortality, would live in such a dilapidated temple?

Because of an idle and irresponsible retired emperor, the Dayong Dynasty favored Taoism over Buddhism from the time he took the throne. As a result, temples were all struggling, with very few worshippers. Dabei Temple was no exception; even in broad daylight, there wasn't a single worshipper.

The four looked at each other, and each saw the difficulty in the other's eyes.

If this were a Taoist temple or a place like Dongxian Temple, they could impersonate worshippers and walk in openly. But not here. There isn't a single worshipper here. Even if they say they've come to offer incense, no one believes them.

This reminded Zhao Shiqing of when she first met Zhao Tinghan in the capital, which was also a temple without incense offerings.

But at that time, her eldest brother was in the temple. She just needed to go in, and her brother wouldn't harm her.

But the person living here is Zhao Xingzhou. It was fine before that we didn't know his identity, but now that we know, it would be a lie to say that we are not wary of him.

Zhao Shiqing: "Hmm, this place definitely isn't fun."

Lingbo: "That's right, let's go somewhere else."

Now that we know that fake Taoist priest lives here, that's fine, let's go.

The four returned to the bustling street, only to see many people running ahead. They stopped one of them and asked, "Where are you all going?"

The man said, "The body of Scholar Dong has been dug up!"

Scholar Dong?
It's not Dong Xian anymore?
It would be foolish not to watch the excitement, so the four of them ran after them.

The body of Dong Xiucai was dug out from the Dongxian Temple and buried under a banyan tree. Countless devout men and women had walked on the ground there.

Mudfish squeezed into the crowd to inquire, and soon returned. It turned out that the Dong family had been taken back to the yamen yesterday, but they were not severely tortured; they were just frightened, and the Dong family confessed.

Dong Xiucai did not become an immortal; he died.

Scholar Dong was determined to cultivate himself into an immortal, but instead of achieving immortality, he became addicted to Five-Stone Powder.

One day, after taking Wushi Powder, he went berserk and tried to assault his sister-in-law. His two younger brothers, Dong Lao Er and Dong Lao San, happened to witness this, and during the ensuing struggle, Dong Xiucai was beaten to death by his two brothers.

Dong Xiucai died an dishonorable death, and his family did not want to get involved in any legal trouble. Even Dong Xiucai's wife and children wanted to keep the matter a secret.

The family got together and came up with the idea of ​​ascending to the celestial realm.

Since he had ascended to heaven, there was no body, so there was no need for a coroner to examine him. Therefore, the family worked together to bury Dong Xiucai under the banyan tree.

However, when the news of Dong Xiucai's ascension spread, it attracted countless devout men and women. After discussing it, the Dong family decided that since Dong Xiucai had not made any contributions to the family while he was alive, they would make up for it after his death. Thus, the Dong Xian Temple was built.

Dong Xiucai had been dead for a year, and no one had ever suspected it until a crazy old Taoist priest came along, and the scam of Dong Xian Temple was finally exposed.

The loach was about to cry: "My money! I don't know if I can ever get it back."

Not only him, but yesterday Zhen Wuduo gave each of them twenty taels of silver, which they all gave to the Dong family's donation box.

Even if the Dong family returned all the silver donated by the believers, it wouldn't end up in their hands; in the end, it would still benefit the county government.

The four men were crestfallen. They were clearly very clever; how could they have been fooled?

"Kids, you've been scammed too, haven't you?"

The familiar voice startled the four of them. This old swindler was relentless; even though they had disguised themselves, he still recognized them.

The four looked up and saw Zhao Xingzhou standing behind three women, speaking to them.

Two of the three people resembled Zhao Shiqing and Ling Bo from yesterday in terms of height, age, and clothing.

Did this old swindler mistake someone for someone else?
Just as the four were about to watch the spectacle, they suddenly heard shouts from the crowd: "Weapons! Weapons have been unearthed from the Dongxian Temple!"