Reborn: Revenge of the Concubine's Daughter

Lu Jiangbei came out faster than Gao Jue. He Danggui couldn’t hide her face in time, so she closed her eyes without any other choice. Was it called the “ostrich policy”? Lu Jiangbei had just made Meng Xuan injured from a sword yesterday. According to Meng Xuan, he got himself injured “because of her”. Although she thought that she had never offended Lu Jiangbei, it was better not to see him in case of any trouble.

After Lu Jiangbei went out, he paused and then smiled, “Gao Jue was right. There is really a girl sitting here.”

He Danggui lowered her head and closed her eyes under the veil, hoping Lu Jiangbei didn’t recognize her.

Lu Jiangbei said kindly, “Little girl, since you have come to the inn, why bother sitting in the cold wind? There is a stove inside, and it is warm there. Those people drinking inside are not bad guys. You can get in there to warm yourself.”

He Danggui closed her eyes and nodded. However, she kept muttering in her heart, “He could not recognize me! he could not recognize me!”

Seeing her reaction, Lu Jiangbei thought that she was shy and was afraid to talk to a man. So, he said “please yourself” and left the inn.

Hearing the footsteps drift away, He Danggui opened her eyes in relief. Fortunately, she was wearing a veil and Lu Jiangbei did not recognize her from her forehead. Lu Jiangbei had not changed at all even three years passed. He was a gentleman who grew up reading Confucian books. Although he was at a high rank, he was not arrogant at all. He even politely talked to a strange girl. But, why did he stab Meng Xuan? What were these men thinking about? Did they have to fight if they got nothing to do?

After Lu Jiangbei left, only Duan Xiaolou, Du Yao, and Jiang Pi were in the room. She could call a servant and let him bring the money to Du Yao.

Since Gao Jue had gone home, she could just find him at his house. She had already figured out the reason for coming to him. She would say that the Zhenqi she received from him three years ago was uncontrollable and could not be used smoothly. Therefore, she gradually developed the cold poison, and she did not notice it until several days ago, so she came to ask for a solution. She was not afraid that Gao Jue would check her pulse. She would poke herself with needles to make her shiver for a few hours.

However, she still wanted to stay here a little longer to listen to that man’s voice.

“Whom was the boss talking to just now?” Jiang Pi questioned, “Why did I only hear his voice. Has he also gone evil?”

Du Yao smiled, “What’s the meaning of ‘Also’? Who else has gone evil?”

Jiang Pi pouted and pointed to Duan Xiaolou who was still drinking. He explained to Du Yao, “It was so unfortunate that we were ambushed by somebody yesterday and almost lost the important terrain we had occupied many days ago. But suddenly, something strange happened and the situation was changed immediately. The leader of the enemy was injured and escaped. We even took advantage of the victory to pursue him and killed some of his men. However, the boss said that it was better not to chase the desperate enemies. So, we let them go.”

“Oh?” Du Yao became curious at once, “What happened exactly?”

He Danggui also listened to him carefully. Was the “leader” named Meng Xuan? Meng Xuan was injured at that time, and he was also hurt by the imperial guards.

Jiang Pi recalled the thrilling scene excitedly, “Their leader was a master in kung fu, and he had only brought eighteen people with him. However, all of them had great skills. They marched and retreated rightly and their tactical matrix was as powerful as ours. Though we have many people, at least eight elites were not there, not to mention many of them had just finished drinking, we couldn’t form the tactical matrix. Soon, we were in tatters and were driven out of our land. To be honest, at the time, I was almost killed because of the hangover.”

Du Yao suddenly realized, “So, Master Duan was injured yesterday?”

He Danggui looked up, Duan Xiaolou was injured? Was his wound serious? Where was the injury? How could he drink regardless of his wound!

Jiang Pi nodded, “Yes, he was hurt by them. I don’t know if it’s my illusion. That leader’s lethal movements were always directed at Duan Xiaolou. Almost every time! Hey, Master Duan, have you offended someone in Jianghu?”

Duan Xiaolou snorted drunkenly, “Who knows.”

Du Yao asked, “What happened later? How did you turn the tables?”

“Later...” Jiang Pi continued to recall, “Later the boss came to rescue us. He drew with their leader, but I think he didn’t play to his full strength. That leader gradually became strenuous. After all, he had consumed a lot of energy on us. How could a kid be comparable to us? We have been trained for several years.”

“A kid?” Du Yao was surprised, “You mean a bunch of people was beaten up by a kid?”

“That’s not the point!” Jiang Pi said irritably, “Furthermore, he was wearing a silver yarn mask, and I don’t know his age, but judging by his figure, he is about seventeen or eighteen. Well, where did I go? Du Yao!” Jiang Pi yelled angrily, “Don’t interrupt me!” 𝑓𝗿𝐞𝘦𝘄ｅ𝘣n𝘰𝘷eƖ.c𝘰𝗺

However, Duan Xiaolou suddenly interrupted, “Lu Jiangbei and the young man were in a stalemate, but the enemy still gained the upper hand. They must have spent a lot of time preparing for this attack.” After a pause, he said in a much more sober voice, “After the battle, I analyzed with Lu Jiangbei. They suddenly appeared when our defense was weak. This was not an accident. We believe that at least two of the forces currently lurking in Yangzhou City are related to Imperial Court, but they are not the Emperor’s men.”

Jiang Pi and Du Yao both opened their mouths wide and asked in unison, “You mean there is a traitor in the court?”

Duan Xiaolou did not deny, “We shall wait. Everything will naturally come to light after the Wulin Assembly of the Lantern Festival. A ghost could not hide forever.”

The three people in the room were silent for a while, and He Danggui outside the door was also silent. The “enclosure” movement they were talking about was like a gang fighting for land and she did not understand. She also did not know what those forces in Yangzhou City had to do with the Wulin Assembly. The city seemed to be in peace, but the tide was raging under its peaceful surface. It must have something to do with the recent earthquakes. As for why the Emperor was also interested in the assembly, it was very intriguing.

However, she still breathed a sigh of relief, because Duan Xiaolou’s voice sounded energetic. It was good to hear that!

After a while, Duan Xiaolou took the lead to break the silence, “Jiang Pi, Du Yao, I mean you shouldn’t only have fun these days but be more focused on business. I am sure that Yangzhou City now has more than one force under the tranquil water. The various elite forces of the Ming Dynasty have all settled here. Although we represent the Emperor and we can directly control Han Fei and Yangzhou City’s soldiers, we are not the strongest force...”

At the time, Duan Xiaolou started coughing and the coughing grew even worse. The sound made He Danggui feel that her heart was hung up and torn apart because she heard that Duan Xiaolou had coughed up blood in the end!

“Master Duan!” Jiang Pi panicked, “Your injury is serious. Don’t drink more! Du Yao, take away all wine jars now!”

Du Yao acted in response, and the sound of wine jars echoed in the room. Maybe Duan Xiaolou had enough wine, or he was too weak to retort them, he did not say anything to stop them from taking his wine jar. Only a clear clash sound of cups and saucers sounded in the room.

He Danggui was in chaos. She stood up and walked several steps but then sat down there again. She wanted to see Duan Xiaolou’s injuries, but she dared not face him.

After a long time, when He Danggui became anxious, she suddenly heard that someone was eating melon seeds in the room. She tilted her head suspiciously and then heard Duan Xiaolou’s voice. He seemed to be good as usual and was smiling with a seed in his mouth, “In conclusion, since we are not the strongest force, we have to be more dutiful and industrious than others. From now on, nobody is allowed to go on duty after hangover until the end of our trip to Yangzhou City. Start with me, and you two are witnesses. I am the first senior general to give up drinking. In the next half month, the military and the local government shall all obey this rule. All amusement will be resumed after the business is done. In addition to being on duty, you two need to help me monitor the local government of Yangzhou City in your spare time. I suspect that the treater is there.”

These words were righteous as if involved with something serious. However, Duan Xiaolou said this while eating melon seeds, which made He Danggui feel unspeakably weird.

Sure enough, Du Yao said anxiously, “Master Duan, we will drink less in the future as you request. But your mouth is stained with blood. If you don’t drink, you should stop eating the seeds. Just rinse your mouth and take a rest.”

Jiang Pi also pleaded, “That bastard had hurt you badly yesterday. The trauma is easy to heal, and you will be fine within three to five days. However, you shall rest for ten days or half a month to get your internal injuries recovered. Master Duan, you shall be careful. Let me help you go back to your room, okay?”

Duan Xiaolou said slowly, “I want to chat with you more. Since yesterday, I have been upset and can’t sleep at all.”

After a while of pause, Du Yao asked again, “Jiang Pi, why did the bastard who injured Duan Xiaolou suddenly lose? Didn’t he beat your guts out?”

Jiang Pi said angrily, “Du Yao, you are a jerk! I will beat the crap out of you next time! You have such a mean mouth! I have told you that during the fight, a dagger suddenly fell out of our boss’ arms, and the scabbard was shattered by that guy. A girl’s relievo engraved on the knife was exposed. Then, several people were stunned. Among them, the leader of the enemy was stunned most, so boss took the opportunity to attack him with his sword.”

“Several?” Du Yao was curious, “Who was stunned? Why they were stunned?”

“That guy, Master Duan, our boss...and me.”