Yi Qing quickly figured out the stakes involved and turned her back on Xiao Jinghan, ignoring him.
She had thought that Xiao Jinghan's plan to feign death was only because of the incident in Henan. She never expected that they had been planning so far ahead.
"Alright," Xiao Jinghan wrapped his arms around Yi Qing from behind. "I didn't mean to hide it from you. It's just that so many unexpected things happened after I met you."
"So you had already prepared to die," Yi Qing was angry about this.
Xiao Jinghan slowly tightened his embrace. He had indeed prepared to die. After all, the struggle in the court was even more cruel than on the battlefield. "That was in the past."
Yi Qing thought for a while and turned around to hug Xiao Jinghan. Suddenly, she felt a deep ache in her heart for him. In the past, he was alone, a god of war in others' eyes, but she had never thought that he was just a living, breathing person.
"Not angry anymore?" Xiao Jinghan gently ruffled Yi Qing's hair.
"Angry," Yi Qing said sulkily. "But I feel more heartache than anger."
Xiao Jinghan hugged Yi Qing even tighter. "Don't worry. I won't have such thoughts in the future."
They stayed in Pyongyang for three days. They sealed the Ping family's commercial firms in Pyongyang and seized their merchant ships, but they couldn't find the Ruyi cakes on the ships.
Of course, those Ruyi cakes had been taken away by Lord Ghost. The Ping family thought that they had been confiscated by the Marquis of Chu Nan, while the Marquis of Chu Nan thought that the Ping family had hidden them.
Xiao Jinghan also took the opportunity to investigate the Marquis of Chu Nan. There was evidence of tax evasion and underreporting, but there was no evidence of disloyalty. It seemed that he had really been used by the Ping family.
The group continued to travel south. They reached Minnan by water in three days. Qiao Ye, the garrison officer of Minnan, came to greet them.
He had originally been the garrison officer of Fujian and had just been promoted to the garrison officer of Minnan this year.
Yi Qing had a deep impression of this man. It was he who had escorted the King of Zhen into the capital. She had thought that Qiao Ye would be in trouble after the King of Zhen was safe, but instead, he had been promoted to the garrison officer of Minnan.
"Your subordinate pays respects to General Xiao," Qiao Ye bowed.
"Lord Qiao, there's no need for such formalities," Xiao Jinghan said, with his hands behind his back. "When I was in Pyongyang, I was attacked by a group of Japanese assassins. The Japanese have reached Minnan, but I don't see any mention of the Japanese in your memorial. Why is that?"
"This..." Qiao Ye pondered for a moment. "The Japanese are very mysterious, and the terrain in Minnan is very complex. Your subordinate has the will but not the strength."
"Humph!" Xiao Jinghan gave Qiao Ye a cold look.
"Your subordinate will definitely conduct a thorough investigation into the matter of the Japanese," Qiao Ye said.
"If I find out that anyone in the territory of the Great Jin has connections with the Japanese, I will not show any mercy," Xiao Jinghan threatened.
"Yes," Qiao Ye clasped his hands in salute. "Your subordinate has already prepared a residence for the general. Please follow me."
The residence that Qiao Ye had prepared for Xiao Jinghan was a courtyard. The weather in Minnan was very hot and humid, and there were many bamboo buildings with open verandas. This kind of courtyard was quite unique.
"The officials in Minnan have prepared a welcoming banquet for the general. Please do us the honor of attending," Qiao Ye said, seeing that Xiao Jinghan seemed quite satisfied with the courtyard.
"No need. My main purpose of this trip is to investigate the situation of the local garrison. Lord Qiao, please give the order," Xiao Jinghan said.
"Yes," Qiao Ye didn't insist. He bowed and left.
Yi Qing was very hot. She went to change her clothes first and then sat on the terrace to cool off. She didn't expect it to be so hot in Minnan.
"Why did this Qiao Ye get promoted?" Yi Qing asked in confusion.
"Qiao Ye comes from the Qiao family in Minnan, which is a local noble family. Minnan is a remote area, adjacent to the southern border, and there are also Japanese pirates on the sea. To defend Minnan, we need to rely on the local noble families. So as long as they don't cause any trouble or commit any major mistakes, the emperor won't easily take action against them," Xiao Jinghan explained.
"You mean that the Qiao family is like a local emperor here," Yi Qing said angrily.
"We can only say that we each get what we need," Xiao Jinghan said.
Yi Qing thought this was a compromise. "This Qiao Ye dared to deal with the King of Zhen before, but now he's so polite to you. It feels strange."
Xiao Jinghan also felt that it was strange, but he didn't think that Qiao Ye would dare to do anything to him.
Just as they were chatting, He Tai came over.
"General, Miss Ping Xinian of the Ping family has come to pay a visit," He Tai bowed.
Xiao Jinghan and Yi Qing looked at each other. They guessed that Ping Xinian had come because of the Ping family's business in Pyongyang.
"Let her in," Yi Qing crossed her legs.
Xiao Jinghan smiled indulgently. Yi Qing had suffered a bit in Pyongyang. Now she probably wanted to take revenge.
Ping Xinian brought a lot of gifts, most of which were from overseas.
"This golden-threaded giant clam is a precious Buddhist treasure. It's very rare," Ping Xinian presented it to Yi Qing. "Does Madam Xiao like it?"
"It's just a shell. There's nothing to like about it," Yi Qing glanced at it. The quality was indeed very good. Maybe because of the limitations of fishing technology, the price of the golden-threaded giant clam was very high now.
"Madam Xiao is really well-informed," Ping Xinian put the giant clam on the tray. "We're really fated. I just arrived in Minnan not long ago, and Madam Xiao has come."
"Maybe this is what they call meeting one's enemy on a narrow road," Yi Qing said.
Ping Xinian looked aggrieved. "Why does Madam Xiao say that? I'm really here to see Madam Xiao and apologize for what happened before."
When this strong woman acted like a green tea, she must have a clear purpose. She had failed to attack secretly before, and now she was coming out in the open.
"For the sake of these gifts you've brought, I'll accept your apology. But in the future, stay away from me. Otherwise, I might remember what happened before, and even if I've taken your gifts, I won't be lenient," Yi Qing said with a smile.
Ping Xinian bowed very aggrievedly. "Thank you, Madam Xiao. But there's one more thing I'd like to ask General Xiao about today." She glanced at Xiao Jinghan and started to get to the point.
"If it's about the Ping family's business in Pyongyang, Miss Ping, there's no need to say anything. After the truth is investigated, the court will naturally give the Ping family an explanation," Xiao Jinghan said directly.
Ping Xinian looked very embarrassed. "There's commercial salt on the Ping family's merchant ships. If the goods aren't transported in time, it might affect the lives of the local people. Please think twice, General Xiao."
She was clearly threatening Xiao Jinghan.
"I understand. As long as the Ping family cooperates, the investigation will be completed quickly," Xiao Jinghan didn't even look at Ping Xinian.
"Thank you, General Xiao," Ping Xinian bowed.
After Ping Xinian left, Yi Qing immediately ordered someone to line up all the gifts she had brought.
Xue Miao'er was very curious. She reached out to pick up the glass pendant on the table, but Yi Qing slapped her hand away.
"I just want to touch it," Xue Miao'er said unhappily.
Yi Qing took out a magnifying glass. She didn't believe that Ping Xinian was so kind.
"She does things in a very unpredictable way. Maybe this time she's just putting on a show to lower your guard," Xiao Jinghan said, seeing how serious Yi Qing was.
"No matter how unpredictable she is, I'll be on high alert," Yi Qing said as she examined each gift one by one. "Bring me some realgar wine."
Realgar wine contains realgar. A large amount of realgar can even kill a person, let alone bacteria and live larvae.
Gan Ermei brought the realgar wine. Yi Qing soaked a pearl in the realgar wine. Immediately, a long, thin thing started to wriggle in the wine. Xiao Jinghan quickly pulled Yi Qing away.
"It's okay," Yi Qing said. After the wine stopped moving, she stirred it with a silver needle and picked up the long, thin worm. The worm was less than an inch long and was transparent.
"I'll send someone to deal with her right away," Xiao Jinghan's eyes were filled with killing intent.