Hearing that Xiao Tian was going to do something at night, Lu Tianzuo, who had been extremely bored in the capital city, constantly forced by his mother to marry, and already feeling like life was meaningless, instantly perked up.
"General, how many people do you need? Count me in!"
Chang Yuanzhi happened to be complaining to Lu Tianzuo about the capital city. Hearing this, he couldn't wait to say, "Count me in too, old Chang! General, what are we going to do? Break into the palace and steal things?"
This fellow Chang Yuanzhi had recently become infatuated with novels about master thieves and was eager to give it a try every day.
Xiao Tian's face darkened. "Are you two that idle?"
"Yes, yes." The two rushed to admit it.
Lu Tianzuo said, "Just now I was telling old Chang that maybe we should go to the general's mansion and be Baozi's martial arts teachers."
"Exactly," Chang Yuanzhi said in a rough voice. "General, you're being too petty. You won't even let us go. I took a fancy to Baozi before I even knew his identity. He's definitely a good material for martial arts training."
Lu Tianzuo laughed. "The general is afraid that we'll give something away and mess up his plans."
Only then did Chang Yuanzhi say, "General, how are things going between you and Yi Qing now? Are you going to marry her or what? You should at least let us know, right?"
Xiao Tian said coldly, "Don't say 'us' all the time. Do you think just because you're a brute, Lu Tianzuo is the same as you? Ask him if he knows what I'm going to do."
Chang Yuanzhi immediately looked at Lu Tianzuo. "You know?"
Lu Tianzuo nodded. "I do."
"You're being unfair! General, why do you treat him better and not tell me?"
Lu Tianzuo burst out laughing. "It's not that the general is being unfair. It's just that you're too stupid. Do you think the emperor would just arrange a marriage randomly without the general's consent? Do you think a first-rank imperial consort title is as common as cabbages that can be given out casually?"
Chang Yuanzhi was stunned. "Is it really settled like that? Then the general really doesn't even know if he's slept with her or not?"
That's so stupid!
Xiao Tian cleared his throat. "Stop talking nonsense. I'm here to talk about something serious."
The two put away their joking expressions and showed the solemnity they had in the army. They bowed and said in unison, "Your subordinate is here. Please give the order, general!"
Then Xiao Tian's order left them both stunned.
He actually asked them, two second-rank generals, to dress up as ghosts and scare people at night!
The order itself was terrifying.
Chang Yuanzhi said, "General, are you possessed by something?"
Lu Tianzuo managed to hold back his laughter and bit his lips. "General, is there any deep meaning behind this arrangement?"
Xiao Tian barely managed to hold back the urge to flick his sleeves and leave. He gritted his teeth and said, "If we don't do this, Yi Qing will get suspicious."
"General," Lu Tianzuo said seriously. "Your subordinate thinks that instead of being so entangled, it's better to just be honest with the lady."
Xiao Tian flatly refused. "No way."
Chang Yuanzhi was confused about matters of love between men and women. Although he already had several children, he was still quite clueless.
"What's there that can't be said? Aren't you two already a couple approved by the emperor? Besides, there's Baozi too!"
Sometimes the general was just so stubborn and pretentious.
"Yi Qing has high self-esteem and is proud. She can't tolerate any deception. If she finds out that I lied to her, she might just leave without saying goodbye."
Yi Qing had done such a thing before, and Xiao Tian didn't want to experience the pain of losing her again.
Every day of their future was worth looking forward to. He was lucky to find her last time, but he might not be so lucky next time. He might miss her for a while or even for the rest of his life.
"If that's the case," Chang Yuanzhi finally understood after Lu Tianzuo's further explanation. He stroked his chin and said, "I've got an idea for the general."
Xiao Tian didn't think Chang Yuanzhi could come up with a good idea, but he decided to give it a try. "Let's hear it."
"Get the lady pregnant. Once a woman is pregnant and gives birth, things will be different!"
Xiao Tian frowned. He clearly didn't quite believe it and then looked at Lu Tianzuo.
Lu Tianzuo shrugged. "Don't look at me. I'm still a bachelor just like you. No, no, no. Now I'm the only bachelor left."
Chang Yuanzhi slapped the table. "You can trust me. This will definitely work. We're going to dress up as ghosts today, but we can't do this every day. We have to find a permanent solution. Otherwise, you'll be on tenterhooks all the time. We can handle this situation for now, but we can't just kill Ping Xinian to silence him, right?"
Xiao Tian fell into deep thought.
"General, am I right?" Chang Yuanzhi said proudly.
But what Xiao Tian was thinking was, would it be feasible to kill Ping Xinian to silence him?
At night, Yi Qing indeed heard someone shouting that there was a ghost outside. Then Xiao Tian rushed out with his sword in hand.
Although Yi Qing wanted to follow immediately, Baozi held her back, so she was much slower.
By the time she reached the haunted garden, the ghost was already gone. Only Xiao Tian was standing there, holding a white shroud in his hand.
"Did it get away?" Yi Qing asked.
"Yes. They didn't really come in. They were just on the wall, so they ran away quickly. I was worried it was a distraction, so I didn't dare to chase after them."
Yi Qing yawned. "It doesn't matter. Anyway, once they've been exposed this time, Ping Xinian will know that I won't believe it. He'll come up with a different plan next time."
Xiao Tian finally breathed a sigh of relief. He threw away the shroud, picked up Baozi, and said, "Let's go back."
Although he had managed to cover up the lie for the time being, Ping Xinian was still a concern.
After Xiao Tian lulled Baozi to sleep, he picked up his sword and left the room.
Ping Xinian was sitting in front of the dressing table, combing her hair and talking to her maid.
"I'll go to the general's mansion again tomorrow. I didn't make things clear to Yi Qing today, so she was able to live in peace for one more day."
The maid said worriedly, "But the maid heard today that that Guard Xiao was very strict..."
"I've already written a petition to the emperor as he asked. What else does he want from me?" Ping Xinian said coldly.
"He wants your life!"
Ping Xinian and her maid were greatly shocked. They didn't even notice how Xiao Tian had entered. They only felt a gust of wind, and then a cold and sharp long sword was pressed against Ping Xinian's neck.
"Fifty thousand taels of silver for a piece of information. The Ping family is really as rich as a country," Xiao Tian sneered. "If the Ping family falls, will the emperor be able to fill his stomach?"
The coldness in his words made Ping Xinian shiver.
"A firefly's light dares to compete with the moon?" Xiao Tian looked down at Ping Xinian with disdain. "Even if all the women in the world died and only you were left, General Xiao would never take a fancy to you. Whether he's alive, dead, or comes back to life, he'll never choose you. Give up this idea!"
"Do you know how the imperial noble consort died?" he continued to sneer. "Do you know why she didn't have any posthumous title after her death? Think about these things clearly, and you should know who has the fifty thousand taels of silver now and how the emperor views you, Ping Xinian!"
"You'd better think about how to save your own life instead of causing trouble for Yi Qing!"