Chapter 388: Disaster
"Where was Sanniang sent?"
With Sanniang around, this would never have happened. Although her cultivation was not as good as Lan Ling's, her status was not low. Back then, the old helmsman of Nanyang entered the city alone to buy a glimmer of hope for tens of thousands of refugees. This legacy made his beloved disciple very popular within the Red Lotus Sect, and no one dared to expose their dirty deeds against her and her friends.
"She went to pick up the leader."
Zhao Yushu took a deep breath. The person who came up with this idea was indeed a talent. This was a very good conspiracy.
Winter was about to arrive, and with the two capitals separated, the Red Lotus Cult's offensive against the southeastern city of Qiantang was temporarily suspended. At this time, the Red Lotus Cult's leader, who had been away all year round, decided to return to Yuezhou while the situation was stable to spend the Spring Festival with his relatives who stayed behind.
So Sanniang was appointed as the representative of Yuezhou to go to Qiantang to welcome him. This was an honor and there was no reason for Sanniang to refuse.
Sanniang has been gone for a long time and will be back with the leader in half a month at most. In other words, Lan Ling's safety will be determined within this half month.
Zhao Yushu regretted very much that he had walked hundreds of miles slowly from Xiangzhou. If he had known this would happen, he would have asked Meng Laosi to fly him here.
"Don't blame yourself. You didn't do anything wrong. I feel much more at ease now that you're here."
The two chatted for a while, and when the sun was high, Lord Zhu sent someone to invite them.
The place where Lord Zhu held the banquet was his own mansion. One of the teachings of the Red Lotus Sect was to not be greedy for food and drink, so in this environment, Lord Zhu's mansion was only slightly larger than that of an ordinary family. The so-called banquet consisted of just four meat dishes and four vegetable dishes.
"Yuezhou cannot compare to Dongdu. There have been many natural disasters in recent years, and it's winter again. It's a little shabby, please don't be offended, Mr. Liu."
Lord Zhu was sitting in the main seat in casual clothes, with a woman next to him, who he introduced as the chief official in charge of Yuezhou's finances. On the other side was an old man, who was a respected person recommended by the locals and also the leader of the Yuezhou branch. The Red Lotus Sect had close ties between politics and religion, and these three were the people in charge of Yuezhou.
The guests were Zhao Yushu and his two companions, and they were accompanied by Ah Huo and Mr. Zhu's wife. There were eight dishes for eight people, which was quite normal.
At the ordinary banquet, there were a circle of unusual people sitting around, Ah Huo was a little indignant. This scale was enough to entertain envoys from the East and West Capitals, but now it was used to entertain a mere Mr. Six. Was the academy so proud?
After a few polite words, Lord Zhu got down to business.
"Mr. Liu, are you coming to Yuezhou for the academy's sake or just to have some fun?"
"All."
Zhao Yushu is no longer the rookie boy he used to be. It is not easy to trick him with such a tricky topic.
"All of them?" The three bosses looked at each other obscurely, not knowing what was going on.
"My teacher asked me to come to Jiangnan for a visit. If anything happens, I can act first and ask for your permission later. Sorry, I used that word incorrectly. I can, act arbitrarily? That's not right either. Well, anyway, I can do whatever I want. Do you understand?"
You know nothing!
You are using the tiger's skin and raising a big banner, which means that even if you make a big fuss in Jiangnan, you are still protected by that old madman, right?
But what on earth is this guy trying to do? The Red Lotus Cult has no grudge against the Academy.
"Hehe, the academy is located in the Eastern Capital. Is it to support the new emperor?"
The leader of Yuezhou stroked his white beard and asked an extremely sensitive question.
"You have to ask my third senior brother about this. He and my uncle worry about this kind of thing. I am just like my eldest senior brother. I am only responsible for drawing the knife and chopping people."
The captain almost pulled out a strand of his beard. This guy made it clear that he was a rough man. It was useless to reason with him. If he was determined to take Lan Ling away...
The three of them looked at each other again, with a hint of murderous intent in their eyes.
The Red Lotus Cult and the Tang court have long been irreconcilable. No matter whether Xijing or Dongdu wins, there will be a decisive battle with the Red Lotus Cult. The academy is located in Dongdu. No matter what its attitude is now, it is likely that they will be enemies in the future. In this case...
The Red Lotus Sect occupies half of the country and has countless masters, so they may be able to do nothing to an old madman.
Zhao Yushu patted the black deer who was eating and drinking lavishly: "Old deer, eat quickly, or you may not have so many delicious dishes to eat in the future."
Master Zhu's expression changed, and he immediately laughed: "Mr. Liu, you are joking. Although Yuezhou is not as wealthy as Dongdu, we can still afford to provide a little food."
"Then I have to thank Master Zhu first. By the way, Master Zhu, the teacher has told me many times to pick up Miss Lan and bring her back to Dongdu to the academy so that we can celebrate the New Year together. I heard some rumors that Master Zhu is keeping Miss Lan under house arrest. I guess it's just a rumor, right?"
Bang! Lan Ling kicked Zhao Yushu lightly, but Old Zhao remained calm.
Black Deer raised his head and swallowed the food with his cheeks puffed up: "No, not here, for the New Year?"
Ah Huo was the first to get anxious. He jumped up immediately and said, "Xuexian is fine here. There's no need for her to go to Dongdu with you!"
Zhao Yushu laughed: "Is it so bad that you can't even leave the house?"
Master Zhu slammed the table and said, "Guests are here, how can you yell like that? If you can't eat, get out!"
Madam Zhu and the chief officer in charge of money and grain hurriedly spoke to appease him. After venting his anger by scolding his son, Master Zhu immediately put on a smiling face and said, "These are all rumors. Miss Lan is very free and can go wherever she wants. Mr. Liu has just arrived, so you can ask Miss Lan to take you around Yuezhou. As for the New Year, it's just the beginning of winter, and it's still early. Mr. Liu might as well stay for a few more days. Sanniang will be back soon. You two are good friends. You have come all the way here, so don't you want to meet her?"
Zhao Yushu confirmed once again that Lord Zhu was indeed a good talker. If he insisted on taking Lan Ling away immediately, not to mention whether the other party would immediately break up with him and try to keep him, he would definitely sow discord with Sanniang.
Moreover, he had a mission to complete, which was to find out the true strength of the Red Lotus Sect Leader.
However, these are secondary. Lan Ling's safety always comes first. Sanniang's side can be explained later, and the Red Lotus Sect Leader also has plenty of time to contact her.
"In that case, let's stay a few more days."
Before Zhao Yushu expressed his opinion, Lan Ling spoke first: "We have to wait for Sanniang to come back."
Zhao Yushu nodded immediately.
"In that case, I'll have someone arrange accommodation for Mr. Liu."
Lord Zhu smiled and said that as long as he stayed, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.
"Don't bother. I can live with Black Deer."
Zhao Yushu is not stupid. It is impossible for him to be transferred away. He just hopes that Heilu will develop a good habit of taking a bath.
The welcoming banquet ended with both the host and the guests having a great time on the surface but each having their own ulterior motives. Zhao Yushu walked out of the Zhu family residence and took a breath of the cold early winter breeze.
Ever since I traveled through time, it seems that I am either killing people or on my way to kill people. The most peaceful time for me was when I was taking the college entrance examination. Even the physique of the Death Detective is not as good as mine.
Well, I heard the echo of inviting disaster.