Suzhen returned to the inn area and found a small child, giving him some broken silver to deliver a letter to the Quan residence, then returned to the inn to settle accounts and leave the capital.

At this time, Quan Feitong was having secret discussions with Consort Ai, Qiu Jing, Chao Huang, and Li Zhaoting in his residence.

Li Zhaoting had always paid close attention to Quan Feitong’s use of Spring Return Hall. However, in this conversation, even when he again pretended to casually ask about it, Quan Feitong only said it was handled properly. He was very cautious and didn’t elaborate, suggesting it was an important step in the uprising. Other aspects like military deployment and long-term preparations were nearly complete, lacking only one element.

The Minister of War, Wei Chenghui.

This person’s decision would affect the course of major events.

He controlled abundant military forces. Once battle was joined, if he sided with Lian Yu, this war would have no chance of victory. But Wei Chenghui, this old fox, had always been tested and persuaded by Chao Huang, who served as his son-in-law under Quan Feitong’s orders. Yet no matter what, he wouldn’t loosen his tongue, always lightly deflecting the conversation without revealing his position.

“That Wei Chenghui! Even when the late emperor was alive, he always pretended to be a good person, earning the late emperor’s trust and letting him control considerable military power!” Consort Ai’s delicate eyebrows furrowed tightly in great anger. After pondering briefly, she continued: “General Chao, see if you can have your wife speak with him?”

Chao Huang smiled bitterly: “This subject has already tried, but the old fox is too cunning. My wife can’t persuade him either.”

Everyone looked toward Quan Feitong. Qiu Jing wore a grave expression: “Second Brother, what do you say?”

Quan Feitong’s expression was inscrutable: “Big Brother, don’t worry. It’s also time for Zhaoting and me to personally meet with him. Zhaoting, you’re quick-thinking – figure out how we can take down this old codger.”

Li Zhaoting stood up and spoke slowly: “He has already reached the pinnacle of ministerial rank. If he follows us, what higher position could we promise him? The answer is ‘difficult,’ and he may not trust us either. He might fear that after our success, we’ll eliminate him. Without the three-way balance of power, he would become dangerous. Therefore, for him, maintaining the status quo would be more appropriate.”

“Big Brother, everyone, Zhaoting has been thinking about this problem, and now I have an idea. If we can find a way to lure the tiger from the mountain and move his forces to distant locations ahead of time – outside the range of battle between our army and Lian’s army – temporarily trapping them there, then we needn’t care what he’s thinking. Otherwise, even if he agrees to neutrality, we’d find it hard to distinguish truth from falsehood. If he’s actually cooperating with Lian Yu, we’d be in serious trouble!” He suddenly stopped and spoke word by word.

“Good, very good!” Quan Feitong slapped the table and stood up, his eyes bright.

Li Zhaoting: “But currently, Zhaoting hasn’t thought of how to transfer this mountain king’s military forces away.”

“On this matter, you and I will deliberate at length.” Quan Feitong patted his shoulder and looked toward Consort Ai: “To ensure everything is foolproof, Your Ladyship, the originally planned Lantern Festival uprising may have to be postponed until we devise a completely reliable strategy.”

Consort Ai and Qiu Jing said simultaneously: “We’ve waited this long – what’s a few more days!”

“Master, this servant has something to report.”

“Come in.”

The discussion inside was intense when the steward’s voice came from outside. Quan Feitong knew the steward wouldn’t disturb him without important matters and gave permission.

The steward entered and whispered in his ear: “Master, there’s a letter from Magistrate Li.”

He had previously instructed the steward that if any letter came from Suzhen, regardless of what official business he was handling, he should be informed immediately.

He quickly took the letter the steward handed him, opened it, and immediately laughed and scolded: “This little ingrate always makes me do errands for her.”

The letter read: “Departed in haste. Please tell Wu Qing I am well, have him inform Zhui Ming and others not to worry. Couldn’t bear farewells. We shall meet again someday.”

She thought Wu Qing was still at the Quan residence and, unable to bear the pain of parting, asked him to pass on the message.

Everyone saw that though he scolded, there wasn’t a trace of real anger, and his eyes even showed indulgence. The letter writer seemed to be a woman.

Li Zhaoting said: “I wonder who this letter is from that makes Senior Brother so happy?”

Quan Feitong smiled slightly: “A girl I recently met.”

Li Zhaoting thought of his former feelings for Suzhen and thought faintly: Feng Suzhen, if your spirit knows of this, are you sad? Always warming up to these men’s power games first, throwing yourself in headfirst without weighing your own worth.

Subsequently, everyone agreed to think of countermeasures and discuss again later. When Li Zhaoting returned to his residence, Wei Chenghui and Si Lanfeng were already waiting in the study.

Hearing Li Zhaoting speak of the Quan faction’s situation, Wei Chenghui stroked his beard and laughed, his eyes flashing shrewdly: “They think this old man is being difficult, not knowing it’s you who’s dragging things out. They thought making Chao Huang my son-in-law would gain my military support? Ridiculous!”

“Young Master’s move is excellent! When the time comes, this old man will pretend to agree. When he thinks my army is elsewhere, we’ll catch them off guard and destroy their forces without them knowing.”

Li Zhaoting’s eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings, casting a layer of calm shadows on his face. Si and Wei, seeing his confidence, couldn’t help but exchange smiles.

Si Lanfeng said: “Everything is ready on our side now. In terms of strength, we’re no worse than them, and they’re in the open while we’re in the shadows. When both armies are severely damaged, we can reap the fisherman’s benefit. Great success is within reach.”

“Don’t be careless,” Li Zhaoting wasn’t as openly emotional as him and spoke faintly. “I’m familiar with Quan Feitong’s military strength, but I still don’t know exactly how he’ll operate or when he’ll act. Lian Yu has now lost two great generals, Huo and Murong. Murong Ding has limited abilities, and there are signs of military disarray. Liu Shouping’s former troops have been secretly taken by Quan Feitong without Lian Yu knowing. When rebellion comes, it will be overwhelming – this is advantageous to us. But this person has competed with Quan Feitong several times with extraordinary moves. When he was crown prince, he achieved much, and since ascending the throne, his policies have been greatly beneficial. This opponent is more troublesome than Quan Feitong. At this dawn moment, we must advance step by step and avoid carelessness.”

“Lanfeng, how has his situation been recently?”

“Yes!” Si and Wei responded in unison, their expressions serious. Si Lanfeng quickly answered when asked: “After going out to recuperate for several days, he returned and began searching for Huo Chang’an’s whereabouts while intensifying training of his troops and having Murong Ding hurry up with military drills.”

“Good,” Li Zhaoting curved his lips slightly. “Very good. Continue watching. However, this General Huo Chang’an… will be hard to find.”

At this time, Wei Chenghui asked: “Young Master, how long do you plan to delay Quan Feitong?”

Li Zhaoting sipped his tea: “No rush. I’m delaying him for two reasons: first, to catch him off guard when the time comes; second, to wait for another new force to arrive.”

“New force?” Both Wei and Si were surprised. They knew Li Zhaoting had recruited two entirely new forces during this period, both formidable, but they hadn’t expected a third new force to join!

“Young Master?!”

“When the time comes, you’ll know. For now, I’m waiting for news from someone,” he said faintly.

After Wei and Si heard this, they became even more confident. After the two bid farewell, Li Zhaoting began handling Ministry of Personnel affairs. Previously, Lian Yu had made things difficult for him over Feng Suzhen, but in government matters, their policies for implementing and reforming the Ministry of Personnel and nationwide promotion – streamlining redundancies and implementing measures to serve the people – were perfectly aligned, and Lian Yu had given him strong support, clearly separating public and private matters.

He was a respectable opponent, but… if he failed and died, that would be fine. Otherwise, he would still grant this opponent a miserable end. He thought coldly.

After handling Ministry of Personnel documents, he instructed Xiao Si to prepare a carriage for a trip to see Aluo.

These days, with major events incomplete, he tried to see her less, but she had written several times and he was somewhat concerned. As long as they weren’t overly intimate and he entered and left through the main gate openly, their teacher-student relationship was actually a favorable shield. His occasional visits were reasonable and wouldn’t arouse suspicion.

The curtain was slightly raised. As the carriage passed a certain place, he had been leaning inside calculating some matters when he suddenly thought of something and slowly said: “Stop for a moment.”

“Young Master?” Xiao Si was puzzled, but Li Zhaoting had already stepped down from the carriage. He didn’t understand why – this was the Magistrate’s Office. Why would the young master…

Li Zhaoting looked at everything before him, slightly frowning. The Magistrate’s Office was being repaired?

An old acquaintance – he wanted to get down and briefly look at the place where she had once lived, as a form of remembrance.

Seeing a familiar man step out – it was that Ninth Prince Lian Qin – he couldn’t stay long and immediately returned to the carriage.

As the carriage passed by, he lifted the curtain to look, and his eyes suddenly showed a strange expression.

Under the stone lion, why were those things there?!

“Young Master Li, today my brother and I invented a set of secret codes for use when wandering the martial world. Come look too.”

In his mind, an annoying voice chattered noisily, and a short, stocky figure snatched the military manual from his hands, dragging him to the neighboring house, where bizarre symbols covered the wall base, quite unsightly.

“Young Master Li, look quickly, or we won’t have a common language in the future.” That person again offered a booklet like a treasure, clinging desperately to his sleeve.

He was so annoyed he wanted to give her a rap on the head, pinch the fat off her face, and make her cry. However, seeing that pine-green figure in the distance, he finally suppressed the urge…

The so-called secret codes simply expressed commonly used characters in different forms. With his photographic memory, after half an hour, he finally escaped from her.

His gaze fixed again on the area under the stone lion, his temple throbbing.