When Yi Qing followed the person beside Xue Tianlang to his study, Xue Tianlang was the only one in the room.
He stood with his hands behind his back in front of the painting of a fierce tiger descending the mountain, as if carefully examining something.
Yi Qing stood still. Hearing the sound of the person behind her closing the door, she didn't say a word but quietly stood there waiting for Xue Tianlang to speak.
Xue Tianlang left her hanging for a while before turning around. He scrutinized her up and down with a sharp look in his eyes and slowly spoke, his voice cold: "Who on earth sent you? The Meng family, the Lin family or someone else?"
On the way and during this period just now, Yi Qing had thought it through clearly. She wasn't going to be so foolish as to refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit, but she didn't tell the truth either.
"Neither." She said calmly. Adhering to the consistent shameless principle of sacrificing others rather than herself, she said calmly and self - assuredly, "Deng Xiao, the Commander of the Imperial Guard. I'm not just randomly mentioning him."
Sorry, Deng Xiao.
On the horse, Deng Xiao sneezed several times in succession. Seeing this, his subordinate in plain clothes said, "My lord, are you too exhausted from the journey? Do you want to stop and rest?"
Deng Xiao waved his hand and tightened the reins of his horse, saying, "It's okay. Keep going."
It was just an ordinary question and answer, but the subordinate somehow heard a hint of gritted teeth in Deng Xiao's words, as if filled with countless hatreds.
He didn't dare to say any more. He clamped his horse's belly with his legs and quickly caught up with Deng Xiao, who had already galloped away.
"... I was originally a maid in Deng Xiao's mansion. Later, I was set free." Yi Qing made up a story off the top of her head. "But I still wanted to do something meritorious for my old master, so I wanted to persuade you to pledge allegiance to him."
Xue Tianlang had imagined countless possibilities, but he never expected that she was Deng Xiao's person.
However, he was no ordinary person. He was still skeptical about Yi Qing's words.
"You said you were a maid in the Commander's mansion. Do you have any evidence?"
Yi Qing spread her hands: "You must have heard of the Commander's reputation, right? I don't have any evidence to prove myself, but I can tell you a top - secret thing. You can send someone to verify it."
"Tell me."
"Old Lady He, Deng Xiao's mother, was the one I served before. Old Lady He has never known that Deng Xiao is a eunuch. Not many people know about this. I guess the leader hasn't heard of it."
Sure enough, Xue Tianlang was stunned.
Didn't even know such a big thing? It seemed that Old Lady He was rather naive.
"Moreover, Old Lady He is very kind to people, especially young girls. She doesn't care about family background and just wants Deng Xiao to get married and have children. If the leader doesn't believe me, you can send a young girl to approach her. It won't be difficult to find out."
Xue Tianlang sneered: "Do you think I'm stupid? Going to stir up trouble under Deng Xiao's nose. Do you think I'm tired of living?"
He wasn't going to be so easily deceived.
Yi Qing secretly thought that she had caused so much trouble, yet she was still alive and well.
"What I said is true, but if the leader doesn't believe me, there's nothing I can do." She sighed and said, "I really saw that Miao'er didn't want to marry into the Meng family, so I helped her come up with an idea."
Xue Tianlang was rolling two iron balls in his hand, deep in thought. He looked at Yi Qing scrutinizingly, as if trying to tell whether what she said was true or false.
Yi Qing remained calm on the surface, but was secretly sweating in her palms.
Xue Tianlang was not an easy person to deal with. Being able to be the king of the mountain for so many years and still remain standing must mean he had some skills.
Xue Miao'er's innocence must have come from her mother.
A remnant of the previous dynasty. Her mother was really unqualified.
Xue Tianlang seemed to believe her words and said, "I'll believe you for now, but you have to prove it to me."
Yi Qing was speechless: "I've already made it very clear just now. I..."
"Deng Xiao is coming to Henan in the next two days."
"Ah?" Yi Qing almost dropped her jaw in surprise.
Why did this plague god leave the capital and come to Henan to cause trouble?
She even had a very bad thought in her mind - did the emperor not fully trust Xiao Tian and send Deng Xiao to monitor him after sending Xiao Tian out?
If that was the case, she might as well poison the emperor.
But this thought didn't last long. Since Xue Tianlang knew about Deng Xiao's whereabouts, it meant this matter wasn't very secret.
While she was thinking all this, Xue Tianlang thought she was feeling guilty. Angrily, he picked up his machete and put it on her slender neck, shouting, "Tell me, who on earth sent you?"
Yi Qing: "I've already said it just now."
"You're lying. Otherwise, why are you feeling guilty!" Xue Tianlang roared.
Yi Qing was speechless. She really wanted to ask, which eye of his saw that she was feeling guilty?
"I'm just surprised, not feeling guilty." Yi Qing said patiently, "He's been staying in the capital all the time and is the emperor's right - hand man. How could he leave the capital so easily? Has something happened? Could the leader tell me his purpose for this trip?"
Xue Tianlang's expression softened a bit, but he didn't withdraw the knife.
"The emperor is bestowing an honor on the ancestors of the Meng family and sent him to deliver the imperial edict to show his favor."
Yi Qing: "..."
What on earth was the emperor up to? He clearly hated the Meng family so much that he wanted to dig up their ancestral graves, but on the surface, he was pretending to be kind and bestowing honors on their ancestors.
Wasn't he afraid that the ancestors of the Meng family would climb out of the ground to settle scores with him in the future?
Then she thought that maybe the emperor wanted to use Deng Xiao to attract attention and create a better opportunity for Xiao Tian to investigate.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Xue Tianlang asked suspiciously. "Are you feeling guilty or making up another lie? Let me tell you, I'm not Miao'er. I always thought it was a bit risky for Miao'er to pick you up. Sure enough, you have a background and you're definitely not a good person."
"If the leader were Miao'er, the mountain stronghold would have been finished long ago." Yi Qing said. "I'm just thinking that it doesn't make sense for the emperor to send someone who is usually in charge of raiding houses to deliver an imperial edict of grace."
"You seem to know quite a lot!"
Xue Tianlang also thought this matter was quite strange. He knew that both the Meng and Lin families were now in a state of uneasiness.
These two families were like grasshoppers on the same rope. Once one was pulled out, the other would surely be involved. No one could stay out of it.
Yi Qing spread her hands: "I couldn't help but learn a lot in the Deng mansion. I know the leader suspects that I'm a spy from the court, but when has the court ever sent a woman as a spy? Even if there were, they wouldn't send a woman to persuade someone to surrender. I've been getting along with Miao'er for so long and I know she's your precious daughter. If I really had bad intentions, I could just capture her. Wouldn't you surrender then? That would be much quicker and easier."
Xue Tianlang was at a loss for words for a moment.
"Otherwise, how about this," Yi Qing volunteered. "When Deng Xiao comes, I'll go and see him. If he doesn't recognize me, he definitely won't see me, right? If you're not at ease, you can let Miao'er disguise herself as my maid and go with me. How about that?"
Xue Tianlang flatly refused: "I won't agree to let Miao'er take such a risk!"