Actually, when Wu Min found out that the person she had saved was Xiao Jinghan, what made her angriest was that Lu Tianxun had been keeping it from her all along. She thought it was because Lu Tianxun had only ever loved Yi Qing.
"I concealed it at first, and later I didn't know how to tell you. Besides, Xiao Jinghan was still unconscious. We couldn't afford any accidents," Lu Tianxun said, thinking that Yi Qing must have thought the same way.
"So you still don't trust me," Wu Min said, looking at Lu Tianxun.
Lu Tianxun lowered his head and thought for a long time. "It's a different matter. I didn't tell you just because his identity is rather special. If anything went wrong, the consequences would be very serious. It's not because there's a lack of trust between us."
"Is there a difference?"
"Yes." Lu Tianxun looked at Wu Min. "If it were just a matter between the two of us, not telling you would mean a lack of trust. But this matter involves the court of the Great Jin and the Southern Border."
"Then tell me what other things you've been hiding from me," Wu Min said, tilting her head.
"I've had a lot of things happen to me since I was a child. I don't know which one you want to know about."
"Your business with Yi Qing."
"Okay." Lu Tianxun nodded. "It all started when she treated my leg..."
There had always been a proper distance between him and Yi Qing. There was nothing he couldn't tell. He also mentioned a bit about Yi Qing and Xiao Jinghan, which made Wu Min laugh.
Over there, Wu Peng had escorted them out of Wu Gorge. There was an official road as soon as they left the forest. Xiao Jinghan was placed in a carriage.
"Aren't you going back?" Yi Qing asked as she saw Wu Peng getting into the carriage too.
"I'm not tired of living yet," Wu Peng said. He wasn't going back. Once his junior sister got angry, Wu Gorge might even cease to exist.
"You'd better think it through. If you don't go back now, you might not be able to go back later."
"It's okay, it's okay. We in Wu Gorge don't have so many rules," Wu Peng said, eager to leave.
Wu Gorge wasn't far from Cixi City. They arrived at Cixi City when it was getting dark. Only then did Yi Qing realize that Wu Peng had deliberately taken them on a detour before, making it impossible for them to determine the location of Wu Gorge.
A scout had already gone back to report to Zisu. Zisu was waiting at the gate of the main hall. When she saw the King of Zhen and the others coming back, she rushed over.
When the King of Zhen saw Zisu coming over, he was so excited that he dismounted and wanted to give her a hug. But Zisu walked past the King of Zhen and went to Yi Qing's side.
"You scared me to death. I heard they offended Wu Gorge. Did it affect you?" Zisu checked Yi Qing's body. "Why have you lost so much weight?"
"I'm just slender," Yi Qing said. She wondered why Zisu had suddenly become so fussy. "How did you find us?"
"We'll talk about it when we get back," Zisu said, pulling Yi Qing along.
Behind them, Su Ge and the others carefully carried Xiao Jinghan down and went in together.
Yi Qing didn't have the time to talk to Zisu until Xiao Jinghan was settled. She saw that there was already food on the table.
"You really understand me," Yi Qing said as she sat down and started to eat.
"Slow down. I heard that the saintess of Wu Gorge is domineering. She poisoned all the slaves so that they couldn't speak. Were you okay during your long stay in Wu Gorge?"
"She's a bit domineering, but she's not impossible to get along with. How did the King of Zhen and the others find that place?" Yi Qing asked curiously.
"Did you set off fireworks in Wu Gorge during the New Year?"
"Yes."
"We could see the light of the fireworks from the palace in Wu Gorge. We guessed you were there. Since you could set off fireworks, you should be safe. Later, we captured a subordinate of Xiang Beizheng and found his hiding place. It was actually underground. He had been operating there for many years. No wonder we couldn't find him no matter how hard we searched."
Yi Qing suddenly understood. "You mean the cave where Xiang Beizheng was located was also in the area of Wu Gorge?"
Zisu nodded. "By the way, we found some things there. They might be useful to you. I'll show them to you later."
"Useful to me?" Yi Qing said that Xiang Beizheng's business had nothing to do with her at all. How could Xiang Beizheng's things be useful to her?
"It records how Xiang Beizheng colluded with the Ping and Qiao families to sell Ruyi Cakes in the Great Jin, and how he tried to ally with the Northern Di to attack the Great Jin."
Yi Qing's chopsticks paused for a moment. She suddenly remembered the handheld grey rhino bird skull that Prince Nian had given her.
At that time, she was curious. There were no grey rhino birds in the Northern Di, yet the handheld was of such good quality. And as far as she knew, there was no trade between the Northern Di and the Southern Border.
So that's what happened. It was a pity that Prince Nian had died and couldn't return to his hometown, and Xiang Beizheng had become a prisoner.
"Don't you want to use these things to continue cooperating with the Northern Di?" Yi Qing said jokingly. "The Ping family is a fat sheep. They used to be able to influence the government of the Southern Border."
"If I give these things to you, will the Ping family still have a way out?" Zisu said with a smile.
"No," Yi Qing said as she continued to eat.
After Yi Qing finished eating, Zisu asked someone to remove the food. The two of them went outside to drink tea and chat.
"No wonder he's the God of War of the Great Jin. He has such a strong life force. What if he can never wake up? What's your plan?" Zisu asked, looking worriedly at Yi Qing.
"What plan can I have?" Yi Qing didn't care at all. "I've now realized that people really shouldn't curse themselves."
Zisu remembered that Yi Qing always said she wanted to be a widow. "If you had just ignored this matter, nothing would have happened."
But how could a person live without caring about anything?
The next day, Zisu asked someone to bring the things left by Xiang Beizheng. Yi Qing was shocked when she saw them. If Xiang Beizheng had been allowed to operate for a few more years, even though the Great Jin still had the ability to suppress him, it would have suffered a great deal.
Ping Xinian had had a tough year. At first, her goods were robbed. It seemed that the robbers were specifically targeting the Ping family. They would rob any goods belonging to the Ping family.
She used all the power of the Ping family to find out that it was done by Ghost Floating Mountain. Ghost Floating Mountain had been severely damaged due to its involvement in the power struggle between the Northern Di and the Great Jin. The killers from Ghost Floating Mountain who had allied with Ping Xinian were also dead. She thought it was revenge from Ghost Floating Mountain.
Later, she found out that it was actually done by Lord Ghost. She could hardly believe it. There was no possibility of Lord Ghost surviving. And if Lord Ghost were still alive, he would surely have taken her life directly. How could he have let her live?
However, she still hastily married into the Qiao family.
Qiao Ye married her because he coveted the Ping family's business routes, not to protect Ping Xinian. Mrs. Qiao was also not a kind person. She wanted to take advantage of Ping Xinian every day. Fortunately, Ping Xinian was capable enough to barely maintain her position in the Qiao family.
This had already consumed most of her energy, and she simply didn't have the energy to fight back against Ghost Floating Mountain.
Besides, how could she fight back against Ghost Floating Mountain?
"Miss, miss..." Liu'er rushed into the room in a hurry.
"What's wrong again?" Ping Xinian felt a headache every time she heard Liu'er call her like this. There must be something bad.
"Lady Xiao has appeared, and she's bringing the seriously injured and unconscious General Xiao with her," Liu'er said excitedly.
Ping Xinian immediately stood up. "Where?"
"In the palace of the Southern Border. They'll probably return to the Great Jin soon."