Chapter 60 Eavesdropping
"Master Hou!"

In Zhu Chengwu's bedroom in the Marquis of Fu'an's Mansion, a familiar voice was heard.

"Brother Gao, why are you back? Didn't I ask you to..."

Hearing this long-lost familiar voice, Zhu Chengwu turned his head and looked in the direction where the voice came from beside the bed.

After Zhu Chengwu woke up from his injury, he did ask his loyal men in the Household Affairs Department to pass a message to Gao Yao.

Tell Gao Yao that his actions remain unchanged after being injured, and ask Gao Yao to get the "Fire Lotus" and then take the "Fire Lotus" back to the Marquis' Mansion privately.

But after Zhao Yugang suddenly arrived at Fu'an Marquis' Mansion, Zhu Chengwu asked his loyal members of the Internal Affairs Department to pass a message to Gao Yao to change the previous decision.

Let "Gao Yao" wait in a secret base outside the mansion.

Zhu Chengwu will find a chance to meet him!
Now, how is Gao Yao going to return to the Marquis' Mansion?

Didn’t you receive Zhu Chengwu’s revised order?
Or was there something else going on?
What if Zhao Yugang discovered the existence of the "Earth Core Fire Lotus"?
Zhu Chengwu looked at Gao Yao worriedly.

"Hmm~~"

Zhu Chengwu turned around, but only saw Gao Yao's empty hands.

"Where's the stuff?"

Zhu Chengwu looked at Gao Yao and asked anxiously.

When Gao Yao just arrived, Zhu Chengwu was worried that the "Earth Core Fire Lotus" would be discovered by Zhao Yuguang, which would cause trouble.

But now that he discovered that Gao Yao did not have the "Earth Core Fire Lotus" in his hands, Zhu Chengwu began to worry whether something had happened to the "Earth Core Fire Lotus".

"In the madam's hands!"

Gao Yao simply answered.

Both were careful not to reveal what was in their mouths.

Such small details may be due to Zhu Chengwu and Gao thinking too much and being too cautious!

But one act of carelessness can often cause more harm than ten acts of over-caution.

In Zhu Chengwu's previous life, there was a real case: the story happened in 1485. King Charles III and Earl Henry fought for 30 years to fight for the scepter of the King of England. On the wasteland outside Bosworth, the final battlefield was about to begin, and this war would determine who would rule Britain.

Then the war ended with King Charles being captured because his horse was missing an iron nail.

Since then, there has been a popular song in Britain:

A nail is missing, a horseshoe is lost;

A horseshoe is lost, and a warhorse runs away;
A warhorse ran away, a battle was lost;
Lose a battle and lose a country.

Past events are lessons for the future.

Many times, small details determine big success or failure.

Therefore, Zhu Chengwu would rather be criticized for being too cautious than being careless.

Zhu Chengwu has always known that he is very ordinary. He is not a wise man with extraordinary wisdom, nor is he a brave general.

He is just an ordinary reincarnated person.

In addition to the "Jade Book", his greatest reliance in this world is the broad knowledge brought to him by the era of information explosion in his previous life.

Zhu Chengwu must not lose these insights and experiences.

"lady?"

Zhu Chengwu repeated the words that Gao Yao had spoken.

After thinking for a while, Zhu Chengwu finally realized who the wife Gao Yao was referring to.

Cui's legitimate daughter!

The "Madam" Gao Yao mentioned should be the legitimate daughter of the Cui family whom he was about to marry.

If Zhu Chengwu remembers correctly, her name seems to be Cui Shu... Yes, Cui Shuyun!

With his thoughts racing in his mind, Zhu Chengwu finally remembered the name of the Cui family's legitimate daughter whom he was about to marry.

It’s not that Zhu Chengwu has a bad memory, but that Zhu Chengwu really didn’t take Cui Shuyun, the “gift” in exchange for the “Fire Lotus”, seriously.

Not bad!

In Zhu Chengwu's heart, Cui Shuyun, who was about to marry him, was just a "bonus" in exchange for the "Fire Lotus".

Zhu Chengwu was able to recall Cui Shuyun's name thanks to his powerful memory brought about by his successful martial arts training.

"Why give it to her?"

Zhu Chengwu was not satisfied with Gao Yao's answer.

Although Zhu Chengwu didn't know what Gao Yao, Zhao Xinghan and others encountered along the way.

But Cui's "Fire Lotus" is actually a high-level rare treasure of the world, the "Earth Core Fire Lotus", which is too important to Zhu Chengwu.

In order to obtain this "Fire Lotus" with the least possible accidents, Zhu Chengwu used all his limited brain cells.

Now, Gao Yao told Zhu Chengwu that such a precious treasure as the "Fire Lotus" was actually handed over by Gao Yao to the hands of Cui's legitimate daughter, whom Zhu Chengwu had never seen before, let alone trusted.

Naturally, Zhu Chengwu found it a little hard to accept.

"Brother Wu, this matter is complicated! To put it simply, there were many accidents along the way, and General Zhao, Chief Steward Dai, and I all agreed that Madam should hold the thing."

After saying that, Gao Yao briefly explained the cause and effect.

"Wan Wan!
The lineage of refining the spirit!
It seems that once a secret is known by a second person, it is no longer a secret!

Huo Lian has been living in peace with the Cui family for so many years!

Now that we've discovered them, all kinds of monsters and demons are coming out!

I just don’t know how the news leaked!
However, let’s not worry about Cui for now.

Since Wanwan from the Yinkui Sect has shown up, it means that there is a high probability that something has gone wrong inside our mansion.

After all, as an outsider, Wanwan had almost no interaction with the Cui family, but on the contrary had conflicts with our Fu'an Marquis Mansion.

After the wedding, Brother Gao, you will search the mansion thoroughly.

Don't wrongly accuse a good man, but don't let a spy go!"

After listening to Gao Yao's story, Zhu Chengwu finally understood why the "Fire Lotus" was in the hands of Cui's eldest daughter.

It was all just chance.

However, from these accounts, Zhu Chengwu felt that it was time to clean up the Fu'an Marquis Mansion again.

Loyalty and faithfulness always deteriorate over time.

With his past life experience, Zhu Chengwu never believed that there would be eternal loyalty and trust in the world.

As Zhu Chengwu said in his previous life: The only thing that is constant in the world is change itself.

Therefore, after taking office, Zhu Chengwu would regularly screen his subordinates from time to time.

Screen out some spies and those who try to take advantage of the situation.

Now that the wedding procession of Marquis Fu'an's Mansion was suddenly attacked by Wanwan, Zhu Chengwu felt that he should re-check the personnel under his command.

After all, Wanwan has nothing to do with the Cui family, but instead has some grudges with Zhu Chengwu.

Wanwan was able to get the news and raid the Fu'an Marquis's wedding procession. In Zhu Chengwu's opinion, there was a problem within the Marquis's mansion.

Regardless of whether Zhu Chengwu's guess was correct or not, whether someone inside the Marquis' Mansion had passed the message to Wanwan, it would always be a good idea to screen it.

Zhu Chengwu was not convicted directly.

"Okay. Brother Wu!

It’s my lady’s place. Do you want to go there now?

Although I was getting closer to Xuzhou City, I left the large wedding procession of the Marquis' Mansion after I felt there was no danger.

But before leaving, I asked Qiuyue Dongxue to take Madam to the villa prepared by the Marquis' Mansion for Madam to rest temporarily.

They also sent death squads from the Internal Affairs Department.

There should be no problem with safety!"

Gao Yao accepted Zhu Chengwu's order to screen the Fu'an Marquis Mansion and asked at the same time.

"go!

Of course I want to go!

After all, that thing is too important!

Brother Gao, you arranged it very well!"

Zhu Chengwu expressed satisfaction with Gao Yao's arrangement.

After saying this, Zhu Chengwu tapped his body several times.

Relying on his strong internal strength, he suppressed his physical injuries and recovered a certain amount of combat power and mobility.

Then he sat up.

"Brother Wu, there is one more thing. You need to prepare in advance."

Gao Yao looked at Zhu Chengwu who stood up and handed him the long gown.

"what's up?"

Zhu Chengwu took the gown and asked.

“Ma’am, it’s not that simple.

She got the things by chance, even though she got the consent of me, General Zhao and Chief Steward Dai.

But, thinking back on it, the lady might have had some influence over it.

And outside Xuzhou, when I left, I asked Madam to return the item to me, but she refused! I think Madam may have seen how much you value that item... She seems to have other plans!"

Gao Yao recounted the judgment he made after reviewing Cui Shuyun's behavior along the way.

Gao Yao was able to run all the way from the brothel to the capital, and then find a way to castrate herself and enter the Ming Palace.

He is good at reading people's expressions and has a high IQ.

As long as Gao Yao thinks carefully afterwards, it is difficult to hide some of Cui Shuyun's things from his review.

After all, no matter how smart Cui Shuyun was, she was just a girl waiting to be married, while Gao Yao had already been struggling in society.

The experiences and knowledge of the two are not on the same level.

"If it's not simple, then it's not simple!

Just hand it over to me in the end!
I don't care what she's up to!"

Zhu Chengwu believes that although his IQ and EQ are average, he at least has one advantage, which is that Zhu Chengwu deeply understands his ordinariness.

Therefore, Zhu Chengwu never competes with others in wisdom and calculations, or plays against others in conspiracies and schemes.

Zhu Chengwu will only set an ultimate goal for something.

And work hard towards this ultimate goal.

As long as the final goal is achieved, Zhu Chengwu doesn't care about the conflicts in plans during the process.

Zhu Chengwu believed that the simpler it was, the better it could be at dealing with conspiracies and plots.

Just get the key things.

Overcame many obstacles in becoming a Grandmaster.

When the day comes that Zhu Chengwu truly achieves the status of a Grandmaster, all his conspiracies and plots will become pieces of waste paper that will shatter with a single poke.

All the wise men and masters of conspiracy and intrigue will bow down and tremble in fear before Zhu Chengwu's invincible military force.

People, don’t compare your own shortcomings with others!
Instead, we should maximize our strengths!
This has always been Zhu Chengwu’s creed.

If you can’t socialize, don’t socialize. If you can’t plan, don’t plan.

As long as we grasp the most crucial key of "martial arts", no one can and dares to underestimate Zhu Chengwu.

Therefore, as long as the "Earth Core Fire Lotus" finally falls into Zhu Chengwu's hands, Zhu Chengwu doesn't care about the planning and calculations in the middle.

As long as the eldest daughter of the Cui family honestly handed over the "Earth Core Fire Lotus" to Zhu Chengwu, Zhu Chengwu would not care about her little thoughts.

"thing?
lady?

Is it the girl from Cui’s family?
What is in the hands of the girl from the Cui family?

What is it that is worth Wu Ge'er being so cautious?
Even I have to hide it!

Is this the Fire Lotus that Shan'er mentioned?"

In a courtyard not far from Zhu Chengwu, Zhao Yuguang, who had eavesdropped on the conversation between Zhu Chengwu and Gao Yao with the power of a grandmaster, was thinking secretly in his heart.

The Shan'er in Zhao Yuguang's mind refers to his legitimate daughter, Zhu Chengwu's mother, and the current queen - Zhao Wenshan.

Although Gao Yao had already achieved first-rate skills, he was injured and his physical skills were greatly affected.

In the end, Zhao Yuguang was alarmed.

In other words, as long as Zhao Yugang is determined, even if Gao Yao is not injured, he cannot hide it from Zhao Yugang, the master.

Gao Yao's appearance attracted Zhao Yuguang's attention, allowing him to use his master's power "Clairvoyance" to eavesdrop on the conversation between Zhu Chengwu and Gao Yao.

At this point in time, even if it was not Gao Yao, but any other relatively important person, entering Zhu Chengwu's house would attract Zhao Yuguang's attention and be eavesdropped.

One is for Zhu Chengwu’s safety.

Second, Zhao Yuguang was worried about accidents, no matter what kind of accidents they were.

Zhao Yuguang has already flapped his wings.

At this time, Zhao Yuguang would never allow anything unexpected to happen to Zhu Chengwu, let alone allow Zhu Chengwu to change his mind and decision.

Fortunately, Zhu Chengwu and Gao Yao were very careful in their communication and did not let anything slip.

Tell me what's in their mouth!
Otherwise, the news of the "Earth Core Fire Lotus" would be known to Zhao Yuguang.

But even if Zhu Chengwu and Gao Yao did not mention the "Earth Core Fire Lotus", Zhao Yuguang had already guessed that what Zhu Chengwu and Gao Yao were talking about was Cui's "Fire Lotus".

In order to make Queen Zhao support Zhu Chengwu's decision to marry Cui's daughter.

Zhu Chengwu told Queen Zhao the real purpose of marrying the daughter of Cui through a letter. It was this letter that Zhu Chengwu sent Zhao Xinghan to deliver.

Zhu Chengwu even made a promise to Queen Zhao, promising that he would become a master with the help of Cui's "Fire Lotus" within five years.

Afterwards, he took advantage of his success as a grandmaster to return to the capital and compete with the crown prince for the throne of the wise king.

It was precisely because of Zhu Chengwu's promise that Queen Zhao supported Zhu Chengwu in marrying the daughter of Cui.

Otherwise, based on Cui's family background, how could Queen Zhao, who was eager for Zhu Chengwu to compete for the throne, agree to let Zhu Chengwu marry Cui's daughter who would not be of much help to Zhu Chengwu in ascending the throne?

The Chang family in the northwest and the Han family in Shandong, the top families in the Ming Dynasty, were the ideal marriage partners for Zhu Chengwu according to Queen Zhao.

Zhao Yushan has great trust in her father Zhao Yuguang.

Otherwise, Queen Zhao would not have agreed to her father Zhao Yuguang's arrangement at the prime age of 17 or 18 to marry the current king, who was over 50 years old and whose two wives had already died.

Therefore, the fact that Queen Zhao knew that Cui family possessed the rare treasure "Fire Lotus" meant that Zhao Yugang also knew that Cui family possessed the rare treasure "Fire Lotus" from heaven and earth.

Fortunately, Zhu Chengwu had prepared for it. He only told Queen Zhao that Cui had a "fire lotus", but he did not tell her that Cui's "fire lotus" was most likely a high-level rare treasure of heaven and earth, the "Earth Core Fire Lotus".

Otherwise, Zhu Chengwu's plan would have been exposed from the very beginning.

After spending more than ten years together, Zhu Chengwu was well aware of Queen Zhao's feelings towards her mother's family, the Zhao clan.

That's why Zhu Chengwu kept it a secret from Queen Zhao.

If it wasn't for the purpose of winning the support of Queen Zhao, agreeing to the marriage between Zhu Chengwu and Cui, reaching a deal with Cui, and successfully obtaining the "Earth Core Fire Lotus".

Zhu Chengwu didn't even want to tell Queen Zhao about the news that Cui had the "Fire Lotus".

Zhao Yugang, who thought he had figured out Zhu Chengwu's purpose, shook his head with a smile and silently withdrew his "clairaudience".

Even for a master, maintaining the "clairaudience" for a long time is still a big burden for Zhao Yuguang.

"Brother Wu, you are still too petty!
Just a fire lotus!

Hiding it like this!
Are you afraid that I will snatch it away from you?

Or maybe the Zhu family has too many people and too many geniuses! This is why a legitimate son of a wise king like Wu Ge'er can only get a magical book and a rare treasure of heaven and earth to cultivate, thus supporting Wu Ge'er's petty style.

If it were me, Zhao..."

Thinking of this, Zhao Yuguang choked.

Zhao family!

Although the Zhao family is known as being second to none but above all other families.

But in fact, in terms of foundation, the Zhao family is inferior to many large families with a long history, let alone the royal Zhu family.

Since Zhao Yuguang achieved the status of Grandmaster, Zhao Yuguang and the Zhao family as a whole have only obtained two ordinary-grade rare treasures in the past few decades.

Unfortunately, they were all consumed.

Zhao Yugang broke through to the Grandmaster level without any rare treasures from heaven and earth.

At that time, the Zhao family had not yet become prosperous, and Zhao Yuguang did not have the chance to see the rare treasures of heaven and earth.

Therefore, when Zhao Yugang achieved the status of Grandmaster, he did so by relying on his peerless physique and the magical skill manual "The Strategy of the Mountain of Corpses and Sea of ​​Blood".

That time, Zhao Yuguang was very lucky.

It worked!
The Zhao family also began to prosper due to Zhao Yuguang's success.

Afterwards, perhaps Zhao Yuguang’s achievement of Grandmaster status had exhausted the Zhao family’s luck.

All the Zhao family disciples who intended to become masters through brute force failed one after another.

During the process, there was a junior whom Zhao Yuguang was very optimistic about. When he broke through to the Grandmaster level, he used a rare treasure that Zhao Yuguang obtained by chance after becoming a Grandmaster, but he also failed unexpectedly.

Afterwards, in order to help their young men become masters, the Zhao family used trickery and force to obtain another rare treasure from heaven and earth.

Unfortunately, the Zhao family disciple who used the second rare treasure of heaven and earth to break through to the master level also failed!

The consumption of two rare treasures from heaven and earth and the failure of nearly ten talented young men in the clan completely stunned the Zhao family!
The situation can only be supported by the aging Zhao Yuguang.

At the same time, he worked hard to cultivate a new generation in the clan and placed his hopes on Queen Zhao and her children.

It was hoped that if all other plans of the Zhao family failed, the Zhao clan could rely on Queen Zhao and her children to land safely and preserve the Zhao bloodline.

"Fire Lotus, a rare treasure of heaven and earth...

I remember that the foundation of Yier's inner strength training was fire attribute!"

As his thoughts turned, Zhao Yuguang was knocked down by reality from the arrogant and disdainful master Zhao Yuguang to the Zhao family's nanny Zhao Yuguang who worked tirelessly for the Zhao clan.

At this time, Zhao Yuguang looked in the direction where Zhu Chengwu and Gao Yao secretly left, and his eyes became inexplicable.

Zhao Yuguang was moved!

This world is different from Zhu Chengwu's previous life. In this world, nephews are closer than daughters, and it is normal that grandchildren are more valued than grandchildren.

Because his nephew, grandson and he all worship the same ancestor.

The daughter and grandson worship another ancestor.

Fortunately, Zhu Chengwu and Gao Yao kept their mouths shut and did not utter the words "Earth Core Fire Lotus" during the entire conversation, otherwise...

　If you are interested, you can check out "The Wizard: Double the Damage Starting from Ultimate Elegance" by the great god of Feilu Tianbang and "Mystery: A Few Things Between Me and the God of Heaven" by the mysterious fan fiction.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)