good season

Li Qing was not a greenhorn just entering officialdom.

He came from humble beginnings, and his rise to this position was actually related to Xiao Zhen and the Fourth Prince.

Back then, the person originally designated for this position was Deng Zheng, the heir apparent of the Duke of Dingguo.

However, Deng Zheng was also among those who went hunting in Shijishan.

Xiao Zhen died, the Fourth Prince was seriously injured, and everyone who went to Shiji Mountain that day was implicated. Deng Zheng lost his position as the garrison commander.

With Deng Zheng no longer an obstacle, all those who had wanted him before but dared not approach him came forward. Lu Qian, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was extremely annoyed and decided to go all out and directly promote Li Qing, who had no background.

Therefore, regardless of what others say, Li Qing herself has a special feeling for Xiao Zhen and the Fourth Prince.

It was the death and injury of these two that made him who he is.

Now, at a turning point in his career, these two people have reappeared.

From the day Li Qing met Xiao Zhen, who had come back from the dead, he felt that his luck was about to change again.

Li Qing never expected that this luck would come so unexpectedly.

He stood there for a long time. Why would the Fourth Prince do this?
It goes without saying that it was to get him out of the way.

Thinking of the ten boatloads of lost grain, Li Qing understood everything.

The fourth prince was probably inspired by this incident; he didn't need bandits to rob him, he was the bandit himself!
He couldn't help but look at Xiao Zhen: "Young Master Xiao, the Fourth Prince did not personally intervene in this matter."

Xiao Zhen smiled and said, "Commander Li, why don't you wait and see how things develop?"

Li Qing nodded. At this point, this was the only option he could take.

The following day, fifty large ships loaded with relief grain slowly sailed out of Huiji Warehouse Wharf and headed towards Tongzhou.

Liu Wang gazed at the Huiji Granary, which was getting further and further away, feeling smug and self-satisfied.

Without those Imperial Guards, even the stench-filled river breeze felt fresh.

He already regretted it; he shouldn't have cooperated with the Embroidered Uniform Guard last time, otherwise none of what happened later would have occurred.

From the very beginning, the Fourth Prince was informed that the deal involved his own people, so even if he didn't get to eat the meat, he could at least get some soup.

Cooperating with those fierce and ruthless Imperial Guards would put him and Zhang Hui at a disadvantage, at their mercy. They wouldn't even get a sip of soup, let alone any meat.

Liu Wang sighed, wondering where Zhang Hui's body had gone.
But Liu Wang quickly cheered up again because he saw Lao Dai waving at him frantically!

We've arrived at Baofeng.

After leaving the village, Old Dai no longer needed to wear a straw hat to cover his head and face. He dressed like a wealthy man, wearing gold and silver, and his face was powdered to cover the bruises that had not yet faded.

Learning from past mistakes, this time Lao Dai brought not only thirty porters to carry the loads, but also more than twenty bodyguards, all of whom were burly and imposing.

Unlike the desolate riverbank last time, this time they chose Baofeng Old Wharf as their meeting point.

Baofeng has two wharves. The one people usually talk about is the new wharf, while the old wharf has been unused for many years. However, the transportation here is convenient, making it very easy to commit murder and robbery or escape after a robbery, far superior to that wild beach.

As Liu Wang disembarked, twenty princes' guards immediately followed closely behind him. Liu Wang suddenly felt that his image had become more imposing, and he liked this feeling of being surrounded by people.

"Did you bring the silver?" Liu Wang asked.

"I brought them all, I brought them all!" Old Dai still had that same smiling look on his face. He pointed to the burly man behind him and said, "Show them to Young Master Liu."

The burly men untied the satchels on their backs and took out thick wads of silver notes.

Actually, Liu Wang wanted cash, a lot of real cash.

But Lao Dai did not agree.

They traveled a long way to Baofeng, carrying only silver notes—600,000 taels! If it were in cash, it would have been far too conspicuous.

If they wanted to exchange the banknotes for silver, they could, but it would take a lot of time. No bank would keep 500,000 taels of silver on its counter. If they wanted to exchange it for silver, it would take at least five or six days.

Old Dai could wait, but the Fourth Prince couldn't. Five or six days had passed, and he still hadn't received the silver when Li Qing returned.

Therefore, after some negotiation, it was finally decided to trade in banknotes.

Liu Wang checked each one; every banknote bore the seal of Wan Jin Bank, printed with Wan Jin Bank's unique gold ink—this could not be faked.

Liu Wang checked each and every one of the banknotes; they were genuine!

"Alright, unload the ship!"

Fifty boats lined up in the river, and the laborers began unloading grain. Basket after basket of grain was unloaded and loaded onto mule carts that were already waiting on the bank.

In a mule cart not far away, Li Qing put down his telescope and said to Xiao Zhen, "Are we just going to let them take the grain away like this?"

Xiao Zhen said, "Don't worry, I've already sent someone to follow them."

Li Qing sighed deeply and said with a wry smile, "I don't even know how to explain this to His Majesty when I get back."

Xiao Zhen glanced at him: "Commander Li only needs to tell the truth, no explanation is needed."

The one who should explain this matter is the Fourth Prince, not Li Qing.

Even so, Li Qing could only manage a wry smile.

This is, after all, the emperor's son. Although the fourth prince's influence in front of Emperor Yongjia is far less than that of the third prince, the emperor only has two sons he can rely on now. If either of them is lost, the emperor will not be happy.

Li Qing was only a pacification commander; he had not yet had the opportunity to face the emperor directly. However, he had already realized that this emperor was by no means the humble gentleman he appeared to be.

Li Qing sighed again and said softly, "My wife died early, leaving behind a son and a daughter. My son is named Fang Zhuo, who is ten years old, and my daughter is named Ci'en, who is eight years old. I went out on business and left them in the care of my elder sister. My elder sister is married out of the country, so she should not be implicated."

Xiao Zhen sneered: "You should raise your own children. There's no need to entrust them to others. I have no interest in raising other people's children."

Li Qing smiled wryly again: "I didn't mean anything by it, I just hope that if His Majesty blames me, you can defend me."

This is because they are worried about their family being raided and their children being implicated.

Xiao Zhen didn't speak. He thought of Zhao Shiqing. What crime had the Shi family committed?
He picked up the telescope, glanced at it, and said, "It'll be unloaded soon. Let's get started, or they'll start mixing sand into the grain."

Li Qing gritted his teeth; the arrow was already on the bowstring, and he had to fire it whether he wanted to or not!

Looking at the truckloads of grain, Liu Wang's tense muscles finally relaxed, and he said to Lao Dai, "Let them start loading sand, and we'll count it."

This amount, of course, is not the amount of grain, but rather silver notes!

I only checked whether it was real or fake, but I didn't actually count it.

With a wave of his hand, Old Dai ordered the burly men to pack all the silver notes they were carrying into a large box. The entire box of silver notes made Liu Wang beam with joy.

He squatted down and began counting the silver notes. There were five thousand of them, each worth one hundred taels. In his entire life, including his previous and subsequent lives, Liu Wang had never seen so many silver notes. He was so excited that his hands trembled. He counted the stack of silver notes three times but still couldn't get it right. He was sweating profusely with anxiety, but this did not dampen his good mood.

He was overjoyed; the transaction had gone very smoothly, and he had easily obtained 500,000 taels of silver.

Most of his body was buried in the box, like a busy groundhog.

Suddenly, the surroundings became quiet; you could hear a pin drop.

But Liu Wang was unaware that his heart, his spirit, and his soul were all focused on these countless silver notes, and everything around him was no longer important to him.

Something tugged at him, but he wiggled his hips and ignored it, continuing to count.

But the next moment, his body was lifted into the air, and the silver notes flew out of his hand, fluttering and tumbling in the air. Liu Wang panicked. His silver notes had flown away!

"Ah, ah, put me down, put me down!"

As fate would have it, Liu Wang was thrown heavily to the ground, his tailbone feeling as if it had cracked, causing him excruciating pain.

But his mind became clear after the fall.

He subconsciously looked up and met Li Qing's magnified face.

"what--"

Liu Wang let out a shrill scream. He had seen a ghost! In broad daylight, under the bright sun, he had actually seen Li Qing!
The pain in his buttocks felt so real that he had to admit it wasn't a dream, it was reality, it was all real, and Li Qing was really standing in front of him.

"Young Master Liu, aren't you going to explain why this grain was loaded onto the cart?"

Li Qing's words were laced with undisguised sarcasm, and she looked at Liu Wang as if he were a mouse struggling to its death under a cat's claws.

"Yes, Your Highness was worried about encountering bandits while traveling by water, so he instructed me to change to the land route here. Yes, the land route is much safer, much safer."

Li Qing gave a cold laugh: "Can you get to Tongzhou by land? Young Master Liu, can you tell me which land route to Tongzhou hasn't been washed away by the flood?"

Liu Wang wanted to slap himself. How could he have come up with such a ridiculous reason?

Tongzhou is already a vast expanse of water; there's no way to travel by land there anymore.

"What the student means is, yes, it's about sending the grain into Baofeng City first, and then changing ships at Baofeng Wharf. Yes, changing ships. The official grain ships are too conspicuous and will attract the attention of those vicious bandits. Changing to civilian ships will be safer and more discreet."

It must be said that Liu Wang was quite quick-witted. If Li Qing hadn't been with him all the way and hadn't witnessed him almost being buried under the silver notes, she might have actually believed him.

"I see. Then, could Young Master Liu explain where these silver notes came from? There must be five or six hundred thousand taels of silver. What, does Huiji Granary have silver notes in addition to grain? Not only can we transfer disaster relief grain from Huiji Granary, but we can also withdraw disaster relief silver?" Li Qing asked.

Liu Wang was speechless. No matter how eloquent he was, he couldn't explain how so many silver notes came about.

You can't exactly say that the Fourth Prince was worried about his residence being robbed, so he took all his valuables with him when he left the palace.
Seeing Liu Wang's face turn red and he unable to speak, Li Qing waved his hand and said, "Take them all down!"

As soon as he said it, Li Qing realized that he wasn't there.

He blushed and looked at Xiao Zhen.

Xiao Zhen nodded and winked at Jiang Ping. Jiang Ping waved his hand, and dozens of guards and yamen runners in plain clothes rushed up and headed towards the guards of the prince's residence.

The guards had already drawn their swords when Liu Wang was subdued, but Li Qing's appearance prevented them from rushing forward.

As long as Li Qing is there, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will remain.

They had traveled with these Imperial Guards all the way, and even if they didn't know the names of Li Qing's men, they were still somewhat familiar with them. However, among the people following behind Li Qing, there were no familiar faces; these people were not the Imperial Guards they had seen before.

However, this does not mean that there are no Imperial Guards nearby. It is impossible for Li Qing to appear here without his men. Those Imperial Guards must be lying in ambush around.

Even the guards of the prince's residence were wary of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. They never expected that Li Qing, as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, would be all alone. There was no other Embroidered Uniform Guard here except for him.

They hesitated and did not step forward.

Suddenly, someone exclaimed in a low voice, "My God, Xiao Zhen!"

Since the Fourth Prince was injured, there has been a major reshuffle in the Prince's residence. Most of these guards came after that incident, but a small number of them are also old guards from the Prince's residence.

They've seen Xiao Zhen!

And at this moment, the imposing young man standing next to Li Qing is none other than Xiao Zhen.

Wasn't Xiao Zhen dead?
The other guards, though they had never met Xiao Zhen, had heard of his name.

This name is associated with the fourth prince's disability.

Who in the capital doesn't know that one of these two is dead and the other is crippled?
"You're not mistaken, are you? Didn't Xiao Zhen die a long time ago?"

"How could I be mistaken? That's Xiao Zhen. I even received a reward from him."

Some people couldn't help but look up at the sky. It was a bright, sunny day with a dazzling, red sun.

"It's broad daylight, there can't be any ghosts, right? Aren't ghosts supposed to be unable to see the sun?"

Just as they were filled with suspicion, Xiao Zhen gave an order, and dozens of guards and Tongzhou yamen runners pounced on them like wolves and tigers.

The laborers who had just been working hard and willingly under their command now drew their weapons from the mule carts and joined the battle.

The guards understood immediately; they had fallen for the trap!
Liu Wang is such a good-for-nothing!

When they left Tongzhou, all they knew was that they needed to procure grain. The Fourth Prince told them to do whatever Liu Wang said, so they didn't think much of it. It wasn't until just now, when they saw Liu Wang trading with that merchant, that they understood what was going on.

Some of them cursed Liu Wang as a scoundrel, but they only cursed him in their hearts. Since the Fourth Prince told them to listen to Liu Wang, it meant that the Fourth Prince knew about this matter.

They were the Fourth Prince's men; their fates were intertwined, and they knew what they had to do.

Now that the Imperial Guards have arrived, they have no choice but to fight to the death.

Xiao Zhen swung his sword, slashing at the shoulder of one of the guards. The guard, wincing in pain, retreated while asking, "Xiao Zhen, are you a human or a ghost?"

Xiao Zhen smiled: "I am a human being!"

Before he finished speaking, the long sword in his hand pierced the man's chest. The man let out a muffled groan and died.

Li Qing, brandishing his embroidered spring knife, joined the battle. This was a fight he could only win, not lose. As he fought, he shouted, "Leave survivors! Leave survivors at all costs!"

Half an hour later, the battle ended. Most of the prince's guards were captured, and the rest were tied up with cowhide ropes and thrown onto the boat.

Liu Wang had already fainted from fright; as a mere scholar, he had never witnessed such a scene before.

Looking at the mess on the ground, Li Qing smiled bitterly.

"Young Master Xiao, my two children."

Xiao Zhen knew he still wanted to entrust his son to someone else, and said impatiently, "Fine, seeing how afraid you are, find someone to back you up." (End of Chapter)