Chapter 23: Mutation (2)

For Qian Guinan, these few days are probably the most difficult days of his life. The rain in Tingzhou has become more upset since yesterday, and its endless dripping look is even more annoying. That afternoon, Qian Guinan sat in the main hall of the governor's mansion. Recalling the conversation with Pei Suyun last night, he felt suspicious and fell into deep thought without realizing it.

Yesterday morning, he left Chi Duo's urgent letter at Pei Suyun. At first, Qian Guinan knew nothing. When he was resting at noon, he almost fainted. Such an important thing can directly prove the evidence of his secret collusion with Chi Duo. If it falls into the hands of others, Qian Guinan's fate will be over! After calming down, Qian Guinan felt that it was more likely to be in the Pei family and wanted to ask Pei Suyun immediately, but she was still distributing the divine water in the governor's mansion, so she was inconvenient to disturb her. Qian Guinan had to wait patiently until the recorder joined the army to report to Yidu's work and returned home. Qian Guinan hurried back to the Pei family courtyard.

He stepped into the room with the smell of Baihexiang. Before Qian Guinan could speak, Pei Suyun nodded to him. Qian Guinan looked at the table with her eyes straight and the letter was placed upright, and then he breathed a sigh of relief. He almost rushed forward. Qian Guinan grabbed the letter and stuffed it into his sleeves, sat on the chair and took a few breaths. Then he saw Pei Suyun looking at him with a slightly strange gaze. Qian Guinan couldn't help but have a blue and white face and said with a smirk: "Haha, it's okay, it's okay. You have taken this deadly thing. If it falls into the hands of others, I will..."

Pei Suyun lowered her eyes, and her expression made Qian Guinan feel more and more nervous. Qian Guinan swallowed his saliva and stammered: "Uh, Suyun, this... I and Chi Duo are absolutely necessary." Pei Suyun did not move at all, and after a long time he raised his eyes and looked at Qian Guinan: "Guinnan, we have made an agreement that I will know anything you do in Yibotai."

Qian Guinan was extremely embarrassed, his eyes flashed for a long time before he made up his mind and said, "Well, Suyun, now that things have come to this point, I will no longer hide it from you. You and I have been together for ten years. Although we are not known as husband and wife, we are still kind and loving. With this little evil, An'er, now we have to meet each other and support each other to overcome the difficulties together." Pei Suyun still lowered his head and was honest? Have they ever been honest with each other? Maybe there was, but they all had conditions attached, even today.

Seeing Pei Suyun's silent appearance, Qian Guinan thought that his opening remarks had touched people's hearts, so he continued to say with emotion: "Suyun, you know, in order to help you keep Yibotai's secret, I have taken great pains. I transformed that place into an underground prison, formed a non-staff team, and sent troops to garrison. First, Lu Jia and then Lao Pan, and the ones I sent to manage Yibotai were my most trusted confidants..."

Pei Suyun nodded slightly. She had been used to watching similar performances of Qian Guinan in the past ten years, but for some reason, the same appearance has made her increasingly unbearable in recent days. It seemed that her heart had quietly changed tremendously. Pei Suyun sneered on her lips, interrupting Qian Guinan without hesitation for the first time: "Guinnan, you have also gained a lot of benefits from Yibotai over the years, and you are not at a loss."

Pei Suyun's attitude made Qian Guinan University unexpectedly and he couldn't help but say, "Well, you mean..." After a pause, he got up and walked to the bedside, hugged Pei Suyun's shoulder intimately, and said half-jokingly and half-seriously: "Suyun, what's wrong with you recently? Are you too nervous? Cough, it makes Guli weird and serious, so that people can't get close to you." Pei Suyun tightened his body stiffly and said nothing.

Qian Guinan was deeply bored, and he didn't feel like he was smiling and said coldly: "When it comes to benefits, there are some, but they all take risks, and you don't know!" Pei Suyun murmured: "I know, of course I know. I remember that I have advised you many times not to do things like taking money from the fire..." "What's the use of saying this now!" Qian Guinan was impatient, glanced at Pei Suyun fiercely, and said sternly: "What should I do or not, it has happened anyway. I'm not looking back at the arrow. I'm anxious today. To put it bluntly, it's because of those things that I didn't tell you thoroughly, just because you were afraid that you would be so unhappy, which is really heartbreaking!"

"I don't appreciate it?" Pei Suyun repeated in a low voice, her heart suddenly drowned out by great regret and sorrow. In fact, she knew very well that the person was mostly staying in the governor's mansion for himself, but all he got was rejection again and again. He was not only not grateful for him, but he probably was too cruel and heartless. Now even she began to doubt what the meaning of her persistence was?... Thinking of this, Pei Suyun smiled sadly and said softly: "Guinnan, of course I appreciate it. But you want to tell me what's going on with this Chi Duo? Maybe I can also give you an idea."

Qian Guinan sighed with a sigh, stroked Pei Suyun's beautiful hair, and said, "You have read the letter from Chi Duo. Let's say that, Chi Duo used the agreement reached with me through Mochu, using Yibotai as an intermediate bridge to attack Tingzhou through Shatuoji." Pei Suyun widened his eyes: "Guinnan! You are really...why is this?"

Qian Guinan clenched his fists and slammed heavily on the table: "I was forced!" "Forced? Who forced you? Could it be... Mochu?" Qian Guinan snorted muffled: "Who else besides him! Let me tell you, Suyun, I was threatening the villain! I thought everything we did at Yibotai was perfect, but I didn't expect that I would really catch the handle, which made me very embarrassed and had to deal with them."

Pei Suyun frowned and said, "Guinan, Mochuo threatened you, is it because we cooperated with him, pretending to be a bandit in Yibotai, and robbing and killing the caravans across the road?" Qian Guinan sighed and said, "Oh, this is what he said. He originally thought of just working secretly and getting what he needed. I was responsible for disrupting the trade routes in Shatuochi and rushing the caravans to the Eastern Turks to borrow the road. They took the road tax and divided the benefits. I don't have to bear it.

What risk? But I didn't expect that Mochu, a Turkic thief, had a very big appetite. He was not satisfied with burning, killing, looting on Hebei Road in Dazhou a few years ago. Now he has the idea of ​​Longyou Road again!" Pei Suyun lowered his head and sighed softly: "I reminded you at the beginning that Mochu is a villain who goes against his word. It's no different to cooperate with him..." She looked at Qian Guinan's face and swallowed the words behind. After a while, she asked again: "But how did Chi Duo get involved?"

Qian Guinan looked angry and gritted his teeth, "Mochuo, who wanted to seize Longyou but was not sure, actually made a plan to attack people from both sides. The Eastern Turkic troops led by himself in the east were mainly captured by Guazhou and Suzhou a month ago, and now they are in stalemate in Shazhou and the Great Zhou army. The joint thunder cavalry of the Tudou, Shi Chiduo, set out from the Saiye, and killed all the way to Tingzhou. And I must cooperate with Chiduo's side to pick up Chiduo's troops in Yibotai, and then open Tingzhou to take it in!" "Oh my God!" Pei Suyun stared at Qian Guinan, his lips trembling and couldn't speak. After a while, the wet air in her eyes condensed, and she murmured and said: "Guinan, this is a death sentence..."

"Cough!" Qian Guinan lowered his head, his eyes were a little red, and he smiled reluctantly: "Suyun, don't be too anxious. This matter seems to be still in a state of change." Pei Suyun looked at him sadly, and felt a little disappointed for a moment. He never dared to think or not, and finally had to face it. Qian Guinan sighed and said empty-looking: "Suyun, you heard that I said, what I originally planned was that instead of letting Mochu hold on to the handle, it would be better to do it than to sleep and eat every day.

I just gambled and cooperated with him to seize Longyou Road. If he could succeed, I would get rich and prosperous. The Great Zhou court had no kindness and benefits for me, so I would not be nostalgic for money. As for places like Tingzhou, political changes have always been frequent, and the people have long been used to the situation of alternate rule by Hu and Han. Even if Tingzhou was really captured by Chi Duo, he would not stay here for a long time. At that time, the chief of Tingzhou would still be me. And Mochu also promised that after the matter was completed, the other nearby prefectures, including Yizhou and Xizhou, would be handed over to me."

Pei Suyun was silent. Qian Guinan's wishful thinking really left her speechless. Since Qian Guinan had already planned to vent his anger, he ignored the others and continued: "Who knew that Mochu had encountered trouble in Shazhou as soon as he sent troops. He could not capture it for a long time. The court had sent several large troops to advance into Longyou Road. According to my opinion, Mochu would soon be defeated on the East Road, and his plan to seize Longyou will surely be shattered. Suyun, this is a blessing that I had left a hand at the beginning and had been dealing with Chi Duo, delaying a lot of time, just to wait for the battle situation on the East Road to be clear, so as not to get out of it." Pei Suyun raised his eyes at this moment and asked, "What Chi Duo said in this letter?"

Qian Guinan nodded and said, "Chi Duo was impatient and finally sent the vanguard to Shatuochi. Unexpectedly, the vanguard fell into the trap set by Wuzhile and Wuxun, and the entire army was wiped out. So Chi Duo was furious and sent this letter to condemn me and asked me for guilt!" Qian Guinan frowned and stopped. After waiting, Pei Suyun asked, "What are you planning to deal with him?" Qian Guinan thought, "This battle will win, and I will never pay attention to Chi Duo again. Now, I have to take good care of Tingzhou.

To defend Shatuochi and find an opportunity to make a contribution in front of the court!" As he said, Qian Guinan became a little excited. While paced around the house, he said: "Anyway, after this battle, Mochu was completely untrustworthy in front of the saint. I am not afraid that he would hold my handle to sue the court again. Chi Duo failed to hit me, and without my news, he would not act rashly. As long as I send Hanhai Army to strictly defend Shatuochi and Tingzhou, and then let out the wind, Chi Duo would not dare to invade again. In this way, I became a great hero of the Great Zhou!"

"The great hero..." Pei Suyun's eyes were gone, and the absurdity in her heart made her unable to face Qian Guinan, but at the same time she felt relieved. After all, things seemed to have really turned around, killing, betrayal, and disaster. Can all of this be avoided? A thought jumped into her heart without warning. If Tingzhou was safe and sound, Qian Guinan was lucky enough to escape. If all the crises were resolved, then she would be worthy of Qian Guinan and the past ten years. At that time, maybe she could face her sincerity without hesitation... Pei Suyun's fingers clenched the hem of her skirt in a spasm. How could she suddenly miss that person so much that she missed that heart was heartbroken and unable to control herself.

After a moment of self-intoxication, Qian Guinan regained his awakening again. He took out Chi Duo's letter from his sleeve, held it to the incense burner of white porcelain beasts burning with sandalwood, lifted the lid, and brought a fire to a corner of the letter, and watched with all his concentration as the letter curled, charred and scattered in the flames. Finally, he carefully put all the paper ash emitting blue smoke into the incense burner, then clapped his hands and sighed: "This is considered a destruction of corpses."

Pei Suyun was completely immersed in his thoughts without any movement. Qian Guinan looked at her in a daze and suddenly frowned, raised his voice and said, "Suyun, now I have the biggest confusion. How could Mei Yingchun, the exiled prince of Tuqishi, run to Yibotai? In addition, Lao Pan actually failed, Wu Xun completely controlled Yibotai, but we didn't even get any news. These two groups of irrelevant people even joined forces to fight against Chi Duo, which was incredible!...Suyun! Suyun!"

Pei Suyun was shocked and said, "Mei Yingchun, Lao Pan... I don't know, do you ask me, Guinan? How could I know?" Qian Guinan stared at his blood-filled eyes and asked, "I just want to ask you, didn't Mei Yingchun ask you to go to the diary a few days ago to talk for an afternoon. What did you talk about? You didn't see any clues?" Pei Suyun replied with a pale face: "I will tell you what I'll talk about when I come back. It's just witchcraft and divine calculations. Do you think he will discuss with me how to seize Yibotai?"

Qian Guinan was stunned for a moment and quickly changed into a soothing tone: "Oh, Suyun, don't be too careful, I have no intention of being there. But I thought that Mei Yingchun was not too late, and she met you in those few days. Most of the time, I wanted to find out the movements of the Tingzhou government from you, so I reminded you of whether his words were different at that time?" Pei Suyun shook his head: "No." "Oh." Qian Guinan nodded in disappointment, and said to himself: "How could Mei Yingchun know Wu Xun? It's so incredible..." His eyes suddenly lit up: "Suyun, do you remember? When Old Pan killed Lu Jia, he mentioned that a princess Meng Dan of Tuqishi was involved. Meng Dan was Mei Yingchun's sister. Could it be... what's the relationship here?"

Qian Guinan lowered his head and thought, Pei Suyun stared at him nervously, but saw his face getting darker and darker, gradually becoming ferocious, and he squeezed out his words from his teeth: "Li Yuanfang, Li Yuanfang, it's him again! Lao Pan's report is clearly written. Meng Dan and Li Yuanfang and his party met, then Mei Yingchun might have had a relationship with Li Yuanfang. As for Lao Pan saying that Wu Xun and Li Yuanfang have a rift, it is probably just that they were fooled by these two people!...Li Yuanfang! Think about it carefully, all these things really cannot be separated from him!" Qian Guinan was gasping for a cold air and gritted his teeth and said, "If all this was really arranged by Li Yuanfang, then this person is really terrible, terrible! Suyun, what do you think?!"

Pei Suyun had no expression on his face and reluctantly replied: "Guinan, I don't know. I don't know anything about Li Yuanfang at all, and I can't judge..." She should have expected that Qian Guinan would sooner or later learn that she had visited Li Yuanfang, and such a lie was too easy to be exposed. But at this moment, Pei Suyun was in a mess and lost her calmness.

After thinking about it all day, in the evening, Qian Guinan began to draft letters to Wu Xun and Mei Yingchun respectively. For Wu Xun, he commended his achievements in repelling Chi Duo's troops as the governor; for Mei Yingchun, he thanked him for help, and also clearly asked him to withdraw Tuqishi's troops from Yibotai as soon as possible, because the entire operation had not been granted permission from the Great Zhou government, which was not just right. Qian Guinan, the governor of Tingzhou, and Yibotai, of course, had the right to raise objections.

Although his suspicion of Li Yuanfang is getting deeper and deeper, Qian Guinan is still unwilling to face him now. Behind Li Yuanfang is Di Renjie. Under the current situation, Qian Guinan is both afraid and hopeful of him, and has a bit of a complicated feeling of twists and turns. When he has not made a full deployment, Qian Guinan does not want to act rashly, so as not to show any flaws in front of the other party like last time. After writing these two letters, Qian Guinan is not in a hurry to send it out. He is still waiting for the arrival of a key figure: Wang Qian.

After a day and night of hard work, the fire in Zheluo Manshan was finally put out. Accompanied by Kong Yupeng and other officials from all over the country, Wu Chonggui came to the nearest fire scene to Yizhou with his arms around. The sun set in the sunset, and the bleak and bleak red fell on large areas of dark scorched earth, highlighting the indescribable tragic and sadness.
Chapter completed!