After deceiving the villain, I was forced to love him.

Chapter 126 The real hunt has only just begun

The results of the discussion at Shangyang Palace were quickly reported to the frontier.

But Wang Qingyan received the military order even faster than the soldiers on the border.

"That's all the news circulating in the palace, but what's been going on in the streets lately..."

Jiu'er paused, unsure whether to say it or not, "There are a lot more rumors circulating."

"Tell me about it." At that moment, Wang Qingyan was taking down the wind-monitoring bell that Baili Ce had hung under the eaves to clean it.

Jiu Er had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Rumors say that the Wang family of Lincheng has long been colluding with the Northern Hu."

"Clatter..." Before he could finish speaking, Zhan Fengduo fell to the ground and cracked.

"..." Jiu Er quickly lowered his head, not daring to breathe.

Good heavens, this has nothing to do with him!

Wang Qingyan gently curled the corners of his lips, his expression very calm.

Even as he bent down to pick up Zhan Fengduo, there was a faint smile in his voice, "Anything else?"

"You were the one who secretly supported this southward invasion of the Hu people."

"They also said that the previous rat infestation in Cangzhou and the flood in Yongchuan were your doing."

"The goal is to gradually weaken the power of the Great Wei and cause His Majesty to lose the support of the people."

"That Cangzhou prefect is no longer human; he was..."

Jiu Er slightly raised his eyes and glanced over—

Suddenly struck back by the sharp edge beneath Wang Qingyan's gentle demeanor!

A jolt went through him, and he quickly continued, "A puppet controlled by you, you...".

"and......"

Wang Qingyan gently wiped the cracks on the bamboo strip...

As I wiped it, I suddenly felt that the once simple and elegant Zhanfengduo had become somewhat ugly and disgusting.

"And what?"

"The previous head of the Wang family was also killed by you. His son did not go on a journey, but was imprisoned by you."

"..." Jiu Er paused, her voice trembling slightly even though she had tried her best to control it.

"As for the forty-eight stewards, they were all... all of them were bewitched by you, which is why..."

"Crack!" Wang Qingyan crushed a bamboo tube connected in series into several pieces.

How could they know so much!

"..." Jiu Er quickly shut up and disappeared.

"Heh..." Looking at the broken bamboo tube, Wang Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief and slowly smiled again.

Deep down, I even felt a sense of relief.

I'm relieved that even if Zhan Fengduo is destroyed, it's because of him.

Yes, as long as it's his.

What does it matter if it's destroyed?

"Have you found out where these rumors originated?"

In a secluded spot, the Gu Guard with dull eyes silently approached Wang Qingyan's side.

He answered in a flat, monotone voice, "At first, it seems like..."

"Helizhai, Liufangyuan, Baiweilin, Fenglaiguan..."

It turned out to be the case.

Upon hearing the names of these restaurants, Wang Qingyan immediately understood.

They finally understood where Baili Ce got his confidence from, believing he would definitely wait another three years.

She really is... a master at gathering intelligence.

The key is that it's half true and half false, making it the easiest information to believe!

That's true. If they weren't even slightly confident, how could they dare to gamble with so many lives?

But these "confidences" and "certainties"...

After reading the so-called "rumors" about Jiu Er dropping off and running away, Wang Qingyan felt an overwhelming surge of bitterness in his heart.

It turns out he was just a joke.

Even at that time, he was insignificant to her.

She didn't trust herself, and never even considered choosing him.

Most importantly, the evidence that An Luoshi left them before she died had already been replaced by her.

The document he went to great lengths to have intercepted was actually a trap set by Baili Ce to test him.

He even thought...

I thought she liked him a little.

"Ha ha ha ha......"

The sudden, unprovoked laughter caused the new Gu Guard to instinctively take two steps back.

But having had his consciousness and thoughts taken away by Chaosheng, all he could express was—

He turned his stiff head toward the source of the laughter. "Patriarch?"

"A choice? She never chose!"

Because from the very beginning, she never considered being with him!

Give her some time!

What do you mean the Baili family treated her badly!

They were all lying to him!

Can......

With great interest, Wang Qingyan took out the perfume balm, applied a little to the back of his wrist, and quickly composed himself.

But Ah Zhu, I'll let you choose me.

Although he was smiling, a cold fire flashed in Wang Qingyan's eyes when he looked at the location of the imperial city in the distance.

Lu Jian, do you think that's all?

The real hunt has only just begun.

......

After the court meeting, Lu Jian summoned Lin Yuchuan and handed him the prepared letter, saying, "It's finally come in handy."

It was worth all the time he kept it in!

"What does Your Majesty mean?" The moment Lin Yuchuan took the letter, he felt its weight.

"Find some unfamiliar faces, and make sure that as quickly as possible, the people within the Great Wei territory, especially those foreign spies, hear these stories."

Um... Lin Yuchuan sighed again at the thickness of the letter; it was probably going to make the storyteller's mouth ache from talking so much.

But seeing the joy on Lu Jian's face, he didn't ask any more questions and took his leave.

Next, they returned to the Investigation Division to gather manpower, and then went to various teahouses and restaurants to spread the contents of the letter discreetly.

......

The ninth day of the eleventh month.

An unprecedented blizzard raged for half a month, day and night.

Not only were cattle and sheep dying one after another, but many families had no food left to eat.

At this point, the cow dung that had been stored up for a whole year played a crucial role.

Because the price of furs is much higher this year than in previous years, Bailize and his fellow herders are not having as hard a time as other herders.

They even provide food and cow dung to herders who are truly in dire need.

However, adhering to the principle of "a little kindness is appreciated, but excessive kindness breeds resentment," Baili Ce did not give much.

Not only did they rely on others for help, but they also lived a very frugal life.

At first, Tan Lang didn't quite understand and thought his younger sister was too calculating.

After all, we've known each other on the grasslands for over a decade. Everyone has their difficulties. It's not fair to think so badly of people.

Ha, how naive~

"Really? Then why don't you take a few more days, brother?"

Facts speak louder than words.

When a wealthy herdsman was poisoned for not consistently feeding several poor families, Tanlang said nothing more.

"I ran into your Uncle Gillette today, he...sigh..."

Grandpa Mu couldn't help but feel sorry for that honest and kind herdsman.

Tan Lang felt it even more deeply, "Yes, his hair has turned completely white, and he's lost all his energy and spirit."

He finally understood why his sister always said not to think too highly of human nature.

"Does brother also think that making them exchange valuables for food is taking advantage of their misfortune?"

Tan Lang shook his head. "There are some things that should never be started. Once you start, there will be endless troubles."

"It's good that you understand," Grandpa Mu agreed with Baili Ce's words.

Human nature is something that should never be indulged.

The best way is to exchange effort for reward.

Even if there are some things they don't need.

However, as long as you can't just exchange any kind of junk for food, you can minimize unnecessary losses.

"I heard that grain prices in the east have risen again, more than five times the usual price."

After Tan Lang finished speaking, he immediately began to wonder, "Although there must be a reason related to the blizzard."

"But there's never been a shortage of grain in the east, so why is it so popular this time?"

Bai Li Ce smiled, but didn't say it outright, "Brother, aren't you working for Chief Zhenhe now? Why don't you analyze it for me?"

Mona Louzhenhe was the western leader of the Xianbei.

One of the results of the last grassland conference that the two elders attended was that they used their connections to get their grandson a job working for the chief.

"Hmm..." Tan Lang stopped cutting the meat and began to think.

"For a tribe that doesn't lack food to be able to offer such high prices for grain, there must be someone pushing it from behind."

"It's natural."

There are two possibilities for why they did this.

"First, the eastern region wants to hoard grain to short the western region."

"Then they'll sell it to us at a high price, or they'll take advantage of the fact that people in the west have starved to death and then seize their territory."

"Secondly, they wanted to use this method to buy off the grassland owners in the west or incite internal strife."

"But now the price you're selling grain to the east is already very high."

Even the wealthiest grassland tribes could not compare to those in the Central Plains; the resources they could provide to the grassland lords were limited.

Given the nomadic lifestyle, trying to short the West in this way is wishful thinking.

Tan Lang was well aware of this, "Therefore, both possibilities can be ruled out directly."

"After all, these things were agreed upon by Zhen and the leader. He is much smarter than me. If there is a trap, he will be able to see it."

"So, what do you think is most likely, bro?"

Tan Lang shook his head. "I didn't think that much about it."

He then countered with, "So, what do you think, little sister?"

Oh no, it's coming for her.

But seeing that Mu Haizhu, her son, and the elderly couple were all looking at her with great anticipation, Baili Ce had no choice but to give a brief explanation.

"I think the east might really need food, but this food..."

Bai Lize plunged the knife straight into the meat on the plate, pretending he was just guessing, "Maybe it wasn't for them."

"If it's not for the East's own use, then..."

Before he could finish asking, Tan Lang had already figured it out.

He immediately grabbed his thick coat and ran out, saying, "I'm going out for a bit, you guys eat first!"

"Hey kid! At least eat before you leave!"

"Alright, alright, let him be."

......

The leader's camp.

After hearing Tan Lang's speculation, Mona Louzhen didn't seem to care much.

You could even say that I'm somewhat willing to make it happen.

"Since those idiots in the east are willing to follow the Northern Hu."

"Whether it brings benefits or invites trouble, we in the West won't lose out, so why bother?"

At first, he said that grain prices should not rise, which made the grassland owners, who also held large amounts of grain, hate him.

Not only did they openly and secretly sabotage him, but they also wanted to join forces with those bastards in the east to seize his food and territory.

If it weren't for Tan Lang's many good ideas, those bastards in the East would have been shitting on his head long ago.

Why does he care whether they live or die?

Dead is best!

He's dead, and the eastern territory is his!

Ha ha ha ha......

“But…” Tan Lang wanted to persuade Zhen He again.

"Chief, what if the Northern Barbarians exhaust the eastern region and then turn against us?"

"..." Mona Louzhen was stunned.

His face began to turn pale little by little.

Tan Lang added, "Or perhaps, seeing that we disregard our kinship with the Xianbei, will the Eastern tribes directly unite with the Northern Hu to deal with us?"

"......" Mona Louzhen stared wide-eyed!

Tan Lang added, "Alternatively, they could join forces with the Great Wei and stab the Northern Hu in the back, and then..."

"Alright, alright," Mona Louzhen quickly stopped him.

If we keep talking, he really won't be able to take it...

However, after thinking it over, he felt that Tan Lang's concerns were indeed very reasonable.

"In that case, you'd better go to the East for me!"

"Yes!" Tan Lang replied and ran outside.

He called out to her again, "Come back!"

"..." Tan Lang stopped, puzzled.

He wondered if Zhenhe and the leader would really go back on their word.

"You're just going to go like this?"

"Then... how should I get there?" Tan Lang looked himself up and down, but for a moment he didn't think anything was wrong.

Mona Louzhen impatiently took out the token from his waist, "Go to Heda's place to collect a few cartloads of things before you go."

"When you arrive, tell Youlian Zangtu, 'It's better to believe Laozi than the Northern Barbarians!'"

Stabbing?

Compared to the Great Wei, the Xianbei people would certainly prefer to kill the Northern Hu first!