The Prodigal Son

Yuechi County.

Although he knew Qin Yu was trying to put pressure on them, Xi Ya still led people to follow Song Xian and the others around the city and its outskirts every day.

After several days of wandering around, Xi Ya felt increasingly pressured, but even more so, ashamed.

A group of warriors won the hearts of the people of Yuechi in a very short time.

What does this tell us?

Governing a country is not difficult!

The difficult part is winning people's hearts!

If local officials put in even a little effort and treated the people like human beings, the people would be much better off than they are now!

Xi Ya secretly made up his mind that after returning to the capital and paying homage to the emperor, he would tell all the officials about what he had seen and heard, and he would also thoroughly rectify the administration of officials!

Otherwise, even if the Ning people don't attack, they will eventually be consumed by the resentment of the people after losing their support.

In the past few days, they have also been looking for opportunities to test Da Ning's bottom line in negotiations.

Unfortunately, both Song Xian and Lü Si kept their mouths shut.

They racked their brains but failed to find out Da Ning's bottom line in negotiations.

Just when Xi Ya was at her wit's end, Baili Yunshan hurriedly came over, first whispering a few words in Xi Ya's ear, and then handing Xi Ya a note.

Xi Ya's pupils contracted, and he immediately picked up the note and examined it carefully.

The note contained very simple information.

They asked them to prepare two hundred taels of gold and meet at midnight tonight in an alley near the prefectural governor's residence.

The other party specifically emphasized that it must be gold and cannot bear any official seals.

There was no signature, and the handwriting was very messy.

It seems the other party did this on purpose to avoid having their handwriting recognized.

Xi Ya checked the contents of the note again, quickly burned it, and then asked Baili Yunshan in a low voice, "Where did this note come from?"

"Someone just threw this into our yard!"

Baili Yunshan replied, "Our men gave chase, but they couldn't find any trace of the other side."

Xi Ya frowned and asked in a low voice, "What do you think they mean by this?"

Baili Yunshan replied, "This humble general suspects that the other party may have leaked important information to us, most likely the bottom line for Ning Kingdom's negotiations! It's just that we don't know who the other party is or whether they are reliable."

"Yes, I think so too!"

Xi Ya nodded slightly. "If the other party is not trying to deceive us, I suspect they are likely a guard accompanying the Ning Kingdom envoy, or even someone close to Song Xian or Lü Si."

Two hundred taels of gold is equivalent to twenty thousand taels of silver, which is indeed not a small amount.

If it can really get Ningguo's bottom line in negotiations, then it's worth it.

But they were afraid that the other party was deceiving them, and that the two hundred taels of gold would be wasted.

Baili Yunshan thought for a moment and replied, "This humble general believes that since the other party specifically emphasized that it must be gold without the official stamp, it means that the other party is also afraid of being discovered, so it is still somewhat reliable."

This matter does indeed involve some element of gambling.

If you lose the bet, you will lose two hundred taels of gold.

But if they win the gamble, they can get the Ning people's bottom line in advance, and this amount of gold is nothing at all!

Now, it all depends on whether they're willing to gamble.

Xi Ya lowered his head in thought.

A moment later, Xi Ya raised his eyes and ordered, "Here's what we'll do: tonight you will personally take the gold and go there! First, test their strength and weaknesses!"

"good!"

Baili Yunshan immediately agreed.

After nightfall, Baili Yunshan quietly took the gold and left, hiding in the agreed-upon alley to wait patiently.

Around midnight, a dark figure glanced around furtively before quietly slipping into the alley.

Seeing the other party's furtive appearance, Baili Yunshan became more convinced.

Just as the other party was preparing to find a place to hide, Baili Yunshan suddenly appeared from the shadows.

The man was startled and instinctively tried to run away.

Baili Yunshan quickly called out to the other person, "Brother, I am the person you have been waiting for."

Upon hearing Baili Yunshan's words, the man suddenly stopped.

After giving Baili Yunshan a wary look, the man quickly stepped forward and pulled Baili Yunshan back to the shadows in the corner.

Only then did Baili Yunshan realize that the other person was dressed in night clothes and his face was completely covered.

"Did you bring the things?"

The masked man asked Baili Yunshan in a low voice. His voice was rough and clearly a deliberate disguise.

"certainly!"

As Baili Yunshan spoke, he gently shook the package in his hand, and a pleasant sound of gold clashing came from inside the package.

"Open it and take a look!"

The masked man seemed uneasy.

"no problem!"

Baili Yunshan agreed, but then said with a chuckle, "Brother, shouldn't you take that mask off your face?"

"No!"

The masked man refused without hesitation, saying in a deep voice, "If you don't want to know Qin Yu's bottom line in negotiations, then pretend I was never here!"

As he spoke, the masked man immediately prepared to leave.

"Wait!"

Baili Yunshan grabbed the other man's arm. "Of course I want to know Qin Yu's bottom line in negotiations, but I don't even know what you look like, so how can I know if what you're saying is true?"

"Then there's nothing more to say!"

The masked man didn't give Baili Yunshan a chance to bargain, and shook off his hand to leave.

Seeing this, Baili Yunshan quickly pulled him back again, smiling and saying, "Let's talk this out, why bother?"

"Since you don't trust me, there's nothing more to say!"

The masked man snorted coldly.

Faced with this unyielding masked man, Baili Yunshan was caught in a struggle.

To gamble, or not to gamble?

Or...

Baili Yunshan's gaze fell on the black cloth covering the masked man's face, hesitating whether to tear it off and see his true face.

Correct!

If we knew who he was, we might even be able to save those two hundred taels of gold!

Having made up his mind, Baili Yunshan immediately said with a smile, "Don't worry, as long as it's confirmed..."

Before he could finish speaking, Baili Yunshan suddenly made his move.

Just as Baili Yunshan made his move, the masked man seemed to have anticipated it and quickly dodged, then struck Baili Yunshan on the neck with a backhand.

Baili Yunshan only had time to let out a muffled groan before collapsing against the corner of the wall.

"You think you're so clever!"

The masked man snorted coldly, grabbed the package from Baili Yunshan's hand, and quickly left.

Soon, the masked man returned to the prefectural governor's mansion and quickly knocked on Lü Si's door with the stolen gold.

"Boss Zeng, did you succeed?"

Lu Si looked at Zeng Guan with a face full of excitement.

"That bastard thought he was so clever, but I knocked him out."

Zeng Guan ripped the black cloth off his face, glaring at Lü Si with a mixture of anger and amusement. "If you ever dare to make me do this kind of thing for you again, watch out, I'll slap you! You may not care about your reputation, but I do!"

He, the dignified commander of the Baojing Division, actually did such a thing for Lü Si.

This is so embarrassing to say!

If he hadn't been genuinely bored, he wouldn't have bothered to do such a thing, even if Lü Si had knelt down and begged him.

"Look at what you're saying."

Lu Si grinned broadly, "Isn't this just to disgust those bastards from Chu?"

"I think you're just as despicable as Qin Yu!"

Zeng Guan smiled and tossed the package to Lü Si...