Li Huowang quickly found a group of people on the street. The so-called people from Daqi were mixed among the people from Daliang without any sense of discord. The people around them did not notice any changes.
When he caught up again and returned to the group of Daqi people, Li Huowang had a strange feeling.
It was as if these people in front of him were all actors, playing house around Zhuge Yuan.
"Brother Li, where did you go?" Zhuge Yuan asked curiously, and then worriedly advised, "This place is crowded and chaotic. Be careful, in case one of them is from the Taoist sects that deceive beings."
"Don't worry, I'm aware. I've been in contact with the Taoist sects for more than just a day or two. Zhuge, where are we going?"
In the cold weather, Zhuge Yuan continued to fan himself with a folding fan. "Let's go to Lord Liang's mansion first. After the disciples of Qin Lao and other people from the Jiangnan region discuss and come up with a plan, we can proceed to the next step."
Li Huowang nodded understandingly, looking at Zhuge Yuan with a hint of pity in his eyes. Zhuge Yuan seemed so powerful, but when it came to personal issues, he was still confused and couldn't distinguish reality from illusion, just like his past self.
Li Huowang knew that as an outsider, he couldn't help with this kind of thing unless he figured it out himself. Otherwise, no matter how much he said, it would be in vain.
The carriage continued to move towards the city center along the main road. When they were almost at the palace, their carriage stopped in front of a mansion with two black stone lions. The plaque on it was inscribed with two characters in golden sand, Liang Mansion.
A middle-aged man in official attire, with a small tuft of black beard above his chin, accompanied by a few people, had been waiting there.
Seeing the arrival of the guests, he immediately bowed to Zhuge Yuan, tears of excitement welling up in his eyes. "Mr. Zhuge! I didn't expect you to come too!"
"I, a nobody, can't afford such a big ceremony. Lord Liang, this is not a place to talk. Let's go inside and chat."
The so-called Lord Liang walked up to Qin Lao and called him "teacher" before supporting him towards the magnificent mansion. Li Huowang, who was standing on the side, seemed like a mere spectator.
They passed through the gate, walked through the courtyard, and finally arrived in the main hall for guests. Without even drinking tea, they began to discuss intensely.
The core of the discussion was the gap in strength between the enemy and themselves, and how to turn the precarious situation of Daqi into a stable one.
But Li Huowang had nothing to do with all this. In his free time, he stared at the side profile of the so-called Lord Liang, his thoughts wandering.
"What is the identity of this Lord Liang in Daliang? If I leave Zhuge Yuan's range now, would he mistake me for an assassin from the Taoist sects? Wait, could this guy be from the Taoist sects?"
Lost in his thoughts, Li Huowang gradually noticed that the sun above his head was setting. Some officials in official attire quickly gathered in the reception hall from sedan chairs and carriages.
When there was no more space to stand, Li Huowang no longer bothered to listen and simply went outside to get some fresh air.
"Dad, what are they talking about? Why can't I understand?" Li Sui's voice sounded in Li Huowang's ear.
"It doesn't matter if you don't understand. It has nothing to do with us." Li Huowang noticed that Li Sui had become more active now. Not only did she act cute and ask him to buy things, but now she even asked him about things she didn't understand.
"Dad, are you hungry?" Li Sui's tentacles wrapped around Li Huowang's shrunken stomach. She used to hide in his stomach, but now she had crawled out and covered Li Huowang's whole body.
Hearing Li Sui's words, Li Huowang added another thought in his mind. She was starting to care about others now.
Although his heart warmed, Li Huowang knew it wasn't a good thing. It meant that she was gradually maturing.
Thinking of this, Li Huowang's mood became extremely poor. If he didn't find Beifeng and force him to reveal the way to get rid of illusions before Li Sui fully matured, he would probably fall into illusions again.
He had never thought that he would long for the day when the Taoist sects appeared.
The sound of footsteps echoed, and Li Huowang turned his head to see an old man walking towards him, holding a square lantern in his hand. Li Huowang had seen him before. He seemed to be the steward of this so-called Lord Liang.
"Lord Li, dinner is ready. Please follow me." Li Huowang listened carefully and realized that the lively atmosphere inside the house had become quiet. They had all left while he was lost in thought.
"They are about to rebel, and they still have time to eat." Li Huowang stood up and followed him towards a side door.
Soon, Li Huowang sat down in front of a table of exquisite dishes. Feeling miserable, he didn't bother to listen to what Qin Lao, who raised his cup, was saying. He picked up his chopsticks and ate voraciously.
This so-called Qin Lao had such prestige in the court, why did he bother going to the Monitoring Bureau and risking his life? He must be full and bored.
The other people sitting together glared at Li Huowang for his rude behavior, but they only did so momentarily.
As the sound ended, everyone in the room raised their cups at the same time and began to eat. At this point, Li Huowang had already eaten enough.
Li Huowang stood up and came to Zhuge Yuan's side, asking, "How did your discussion with these people go? When will we take action? Who are we going to kill?"
Perhaps the Taoist sects were waiting in the dark. Maybe causing a big commotion here would lure them out.
Zhuge Yuan covered half of his face with his long sleeves, then tilted his head back and poured the wine from the cup into his mouth.
After leisurely putting down his sleeves, Zhuge Yuan whispered, "Don't panic, Brother Li. Such a big matter won't happen so soon. Many officials who would rather die than surrender have been imprisoned, and many others have been banished to remote places.""Moreover, those eunuchs have turned the entire ghost city into a smoky mess. Many people have long been dissatisfied. We need to spend more time to win over some fence-sitters. They are all citizens of Da Qi, the fewer who die, the better."
"What's the use of winning these people over?" Li Huowang, looking somewhat upset, furrowed his brows tightly. Ever since he found out what was really going on, he had lost interest in the affairs of Da Qi.
"Among these fence-sitters, there are quite a few military generals. Do you think they are useless?"
After saying this, Zhuge Yuan seemed to sense Li Huowang's mood and continued in a low voice, "Don't worry, Brother Li, I've got your back. Once this matter is settled, I will ask Da Qi to help you find the cultivation method."
As the two were whispering to each other, a duck-like voice suddenly came from the distant entrance, "The Emperor has arrived~"
"The Emperor?" Li Huowang's expression turned as horrified as the others around him. If he had heard correctly before, wasn't the young emperor of Da Qi supposed to be... a walking corpse?
(End of Chapter)
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