"She sent you to apologize to me?" Xiang thought.
"No, but Sister Qingyi has been away from us for a long time. It's rare to reunite, and you, you heartless man, have ruined it," Gu Pingshi said seriously.
Liang Xiao frowned. "Heartless?"
"Isn't it?" Gu Pingshi said with a cold face.
Liang Xiao fell silent, finding it difficult to explain for a moment.
"As expected!" He Qiushui, who was beside Gu Pingshi, finally put on a stern face and stared at Liang Xiao hatefully.
Liang Xiao shot them a look of annoyance. "I can't explain. In short, I'm not a heartless man, and I was never involved with her."
"Men are indeed big pig trotters, turning their backs on people!" "Scumbag, is it that hard to admit it?"
The scholars and beauties could no longer hold back, and they began to denounce him one after another.
Are these people out of their minds?
Liang Xiao was puzzled and unsure of Ye Qingyi's situation, so he didn't offer an explanation to them.
Before anyone could react, Liang Xiao said in a deep voice, "As the foremost scholar in the Northern Territory, Lu Changhe, why would I need to apologize to others?"
Jian Qinwan and Yue Lian, who were behind Liang Xiao, almost fell over.
How much resentment did this guy have towards Lu Changhe to be constantly offending people under his name?
Gu Pingshi looked at Liang Xiao with disappointment. "I thought the person who could play such a beautiful zither melody must be a courteous scholar. I didn't expect you to not only drive Sister Qingyi away but also to spout such nonsense here!"
"The foremost scholar in the Northern Territory, what a big mouth!" He Qiushui couldn't help but laugh. "Sisters, let's go. We don't need to bother with such a madman!"
Liang Xiao's brows furrowed even tighter.
He couldn't expose his identity here and had to waste time dealing with these people.
Moreover, the scholars among them were clearly pretenders who came to scold him without understanding the situation. He had no interest in knowing them.
Because Liang Xiao had informed Jian Qinwan and Yue Lian beforehand, the two women understood his intentions and simply held onto his arms for comfort.
In the cabin, Liang Xiao was contemplating his encounter with the Cloud Dweller, filled with confusion.
But when he thought of Zhuo Xun, Liang Xiao suddenly understood, and everything made sense.
"Young Master is misunderstood again, what undeserved misfortune..." Yue Lian said with a heartache.
"Then learn from the Bodhisattva and comfort the young master," Liang Xiao raised an eyebrow.
Jian Qinwan gazed at Liang Xiao resentfully. "The flower thief is becoming more shameless..."
Yue Lian summoned her courage and finally gave Liang Xiao her first kiss, then blushed and covered her face.
"Alright, now I'm happy even if the sky falls," someone said proudly and began to read the intelligence on Jinling provided by the Zhuo family.
"Miss He Qiushui, the eldest daughter of the He family, the pampered pearl of Jinling Prefect He Jingyun, unmarried, a renowned talented woman."
"Gu Pingshi, the second daughter of the Gu family, cousin of the scholar Gu Shaoyan, who has resided in Jiangnan for many years, the pampered pearl of Yangzhou Prefect Gu Hai."
After reading the intelligence on these two, Liang Xiao could only sigh, "I didn't expect Ye Qingyi to have this kind of connection. Didn't she used to stay at Bai Chun Tower in the capital?"
Jian Qinwan snorted. "I thought she had truly let go, but I didn't expect your appearance to shatter her psychological defenses again!"
Liang Xiao could only chuckle speechlessly.
In fact, he hadn't done anything to Ye Qingyi. Perhaps it was just that popular people attract trouble.
He was wary of these beautiful strangers who approached him proactively.
While Liang Xiao was browsing the intelligence in the cabin, Yu Qingchuan and the guards were observing on several boats, ready to report any conspicuous scholars to Liang Xiao.
In the deep courtyard of the inn, the Cloud Dweller had put on his human-skin mask again and had become Hong Jie.
Lin'er also put on her veil, her eyes turned cold, and she became Zuo Jing, the leader of the Cloud Heaven Guard.
"Hong Jie, this was such a good opportunity. The Cloud Heaven Guard had also ambushed nearby. Why did you take us away?" Shangguan Jiusi, who had put on her human-skin mask, said unhappily.
Zuo Jing interrupted Shangguan Jiusi and said coldly, "Did he discover something?"
"How could he discover it? You were flawless. If I didn't know you, I would have believed you!" Shangguan Jiusi said in confusion.
Hong Jie closed his eyes, clenched his fist, and after a long time, sighed, "I can't figure it out either, but I have a feeling he really did discover something. His conversation with me seemed to have hidden meanings. None of his guards or those Tianshan swordsmen left; instead, they were on alert around the perimeter."
"Hidden meanings?" Shangguan Jiusi was stunned.
Hong Jie nodded and explained, "He deliberately implied that the Great Heng Kingdom and the Great Zhou Dynasty both belonged to the old era that was swept away, and they should not be revived to cause chaos..."
Zuo Jing fell silent.
Shangguan Jiusi sneered, "We serve different masters, so we don't need to believe him!"
Hong Jie did not respond, only murmuring to himself, "An era where loved ones don't need to worry..."
The three fell into a long silence.
Shangguan Jiusi's expression became increasingly grim.
They, the remnants of the Great Heng Kingdom, lived like rats crossing the street.
After a long time, Zuo Jing said coldly, "If you waver, I will report back to my father, and we will have nothing to do with you from now on."
Hong Jie smiled bitterly and shook his head. "If it weren't for the Marshal, we would have all died long ago. This kindness is hard to repay. I'm just wondering, even if we can restore the country someday, how will we govern it without repeating the same mistakes?"
Zuo Jing's voice remained cold. "That's your business. I'm only responsible for completing the mission assigned by my father. The heartless hurt others, and the sentimental hurt themselves. If you cannot abandon your superfluous emotions, you will eventually be manipulated by this Liang Xiao! The Cloud Heaven Guard is on standby and will not miss any fleeting opportunity!"
With that, Zuo Jing abruptly stood up and returned to her room.
Shangguan Jiusi also reminded him, "Hong Jie, don't think about failure. We can only go forward with no turning back. We have no other choice!"
Hong Jie could only smile bitterly. "He is too despairing. As the saying goes: A good fighter achieves no great fame! He always manages to thwart our plans before they can even be implemented."
Shangguan Jiusi agreed wholeheartedly and nodded, but then said seriously, "As long as Jiangnan is in enough chaos, we will find an opportunity! At worst, we can use him and the Huichun Sect to watch the tigers fight, and then it will not be too late for us to make a move!"
Only then did Hong Jie nod. "I had the same idea. Let's arrange another encounter with him. Those demonic monks will probably make their move too. Let's be careful not to be betrayed by them. The Marshal and I have always suspected the true identities of the Huichun Sect members. These people do not fully trust Qingyi, and they must have other ulterior motives. In the past hundred years, many of our compatriots who met with misfortune were probably betrayed by the Huichun Sect."
"What makes you say that?" Shangguan Jiusi was shocked. This was the first time she had heard Hong Jie say such things!
Hong Jie took out a Buddhist bead carved from jade and said, "A few days ago, a group of compatriots were burned to death in Jinling. I found that one of them had this Buddhist bead in his mouth. When I contacted a demonic monk from the Huichun Sect, I saw him wearing a string of jade Buddhist beads that were identical!"