Chapter 67

PS: New book, please recommend, collect, and reward!

As cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

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Amidst the cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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In the room, Ma Zhou and Liu Hui were also sitting. Zhao Chen turned his curious gaze to them, as they had both heard what Wei Chi Baolin said. Zhao Chen wanted to see if they were also as clueless as Wei Chi Baolin and Cheng Chumu.

However, he was disappointed!

Ma Zhou and Liu Hui looked at him with hopeful eyes, as if they also wanted to know what brilliant plan Zhao Chen had to transport the grain from Lantian to Chang'an.

Ma Zhou had been waiting for Zhao Chen to come up with a plan, but instead of a good strategy, he saw a somewhat disappointed look on Zhao Chen's face. His heart sank, thinking that perhaps there was a simple method he had overlooked.

Thinking about it, Ma Zhou frowned and began to think carefully. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head as he remembered the sleds outside. He was so frustrated that he wanted to slap his forehead. Wasn't there already a ready-made solution right in front of him? Why hadn't he thought of it?

It was no wonder Ma Zhou had overlooked the sleds. When Zhao Chen first asked He San to make them, it was just to save time, and the sleds were hastily put together. Moreover, they looked quite small.

When Ma Zhou and the others saw the sleds, they only marveled at their ingenuity and never thought that larger sleds could be used to transport large amounts of goods.

"Brother Baolin, how did you and Chumu get to Chang'an?" Zhao Chen looked at Cheng Chumu with a somewhat unhappy expression and asked in a less friendly tone.

"Sleds!" Cheng Chumu looked at Zhao Chen strangely and, without waiting for Wei Chi Baolin to speak, said, "Xiao Chen, didn't you see them?"

After Cheng Chumu spoke, Wei Chi Baolin suddenly frowned and, before Zhao Chen could say anything, asked suspiciously, "Xiao Chen, do you mean to use those sleds to transport the grain?"

"Exactly!" Wei Chi Baolin was older, so Zhao Chen couldn't speak to him as casually as he did to Cheng Chumu. He patiently explained, "But not those small ones. Brother Baolin, you can have people make larger sleds based on the ones outside. With two horses pulling each sled, I think we can transport all the grain to Chang'an in no more than three days!"

"Is it feasible?" Wei Chi Baolin, like his father, always sought stability. Even though he thought it was feasible, he still wanted to confirm it multiple times for safety.

"Of course it is!" Zhao Chen smiled and joked, "If it doesn't work, Brother Baolin can come to Lantian and capture me!"

"That won't do!" Wei Chi Baolin, hearing this, opened his mouth and smiled honestly, "To be honest, my father instructed me to treat you with respect and not to be the least bit disrespectful!"

Zhao Chen, hearing this, was somewhat at a loss. Wei Chi Baolin was indeed very honest, even revealing what his father had privately told him. Only someone from the Wei Chi family would do such a thing.

Old Wei Chi Gong was still in Chang'an. Once Wei Chi Baolin confirmed the feasibility with Zhao Chen, he didn't waste a moment and immediately bid farewell to Zhao Chen and the others, rushing back to Chang'an to report.

"Speak!" As soon as Wei Chi Baolin left, Zhao Chen immediately pulled Cheng Chumu into the room and, with a serious expression, asked, "What happened in Chang'an that made you come to Lantian?"

Cheng Chumu wouldn't come to Lantian for no reason. Moreover, Zhao Chen had noticed something was off about Cheng Chumu from the moment he saw him. If nothing major had happened, Cheng Chumu wouldn't be so quiet; he usually acted carefree around Zhao Chen.

"This is a letter from Uncle Qin!" Cheng Chumu chuckled and then carefully took a letter from his chest, handing it to Zhao Chen.

Zhao Chen's heart sank as he took the letter from Cheng Chumu, suspiciously unfolded it, and read it with a frown.

The letter was filled with Uncle Qin's angry curses, with almost every sentence starting with "You scoundrel." Zhao Chen could almost imagine Uncle Qin's furious face as he wrote the letter.

After the curses, Uncle Qin briefly described what had happened in the court over the past few days, and at the end, he instructed Zhao Chen to remain calm and not give those people any chance to find fault with him.

"I didn't expect that a mere Zhao Yuankai would cause such a strong reaction!" Zhao Chen, after reading the letter, sighed and said in disbelief.

Zhao Chen had anticipated that Zhao Yuankai's actions would provoke a backlash from the Cui family, but he hadn't expected that not only the Cui family but also the old ministers would all rise up. This was somewhat beyond his expectations.

"Xiao Chen, you're wrong about this!" Cheng Chumu, hearing this, looked at Zhao Chen and said, "I heard from my father that these people are not just targeting you because of Zhao Yuankai. They don't really care about Zhao Yuankai's fate at all!"

"Huh?" Zhao Chen, hearing this, looked at Cheng Chumu in surprise and asked, "If it's not about Zhao Yuankai, then what is it about?"

"Status!" Cheng Chumu seemed very pleased, as this was the first time he was explaining something to Zhao Chen in such detail. Zhao Chen could only listen attentively, which clearly gave Cheng Chumu a great sense of achievement.

Imitating his father Cheng Yaojin's tone and manner, Cheng Chumu explained to Zhao Chen, "Zhao Yuankai is just a pretext. Their real goal is to vie for their rightful positions in front of His Majesty!"

Zhao Chen, hearing this, was so surprised that his mouth dropped open!

Are these people crazy? At this point, they are still obsessed with vying for power. Don't they fear that Emperor Taizong will be provoked and have them beheaded?

"What is His Majesty's attitude? Did Uncle Cheng say anything?" Zhao Chen took a deep breath and asked Cheng Chumu.

"He didn't say that!" Cheng Chumu, hearing this, scratched his head and said, "But my father said that these people are coming at you with great force, and they are now fixated on the incident when you attacked the city. They won't let it go easily!"

They won't let it go easily!

Zhao Chen, hearing this, narrowed his eyes, revealing a cold, murderous intent.

Cheng Yaojin's meaning was clear. If the situation escalates to this point, it might be necessary to let Zhao Yuankai off the hook as a form of compromise. Only then would those people be silenced.

Zhao Chen sneered inwardly. If he had not been involved in Zhao Yuankai's case, he might have let it go. But now that he was involved, he couldn't let it end so easily. What if they think they can bully him just because they are many?

This time, I will make Zhao Yuankai pay, and not only that, I will make you all personally execute him!

"Chumu, you'll go back to Chang'an soon!" Zhao Chen, having made up his mind, suddenly looked at Cheng Chumu and said sternly, "Take a letter back to Uncle Cheng and Uncle Qin for me!"

"Ah?" Cheng Chumu, hearing this, opened his mouth in surprise, clearly unwilling to return to Chang'an so soon. However, seeing Zhao Chen's stern expression, he hesitated and asked, "Xiao Chen, what are you planning to do?"

"Nothing!" Zhao Chen, hearing this, suddenly sneered and said, "Now that these people are ganging up on your brother, are we just going to sit here and let them bully us?"

"Of course not! If anyone bullies us, I, Cheng Chumu, will be the first to stand up to them!" Cheng Chumu, hearing this, immediately stretched his neck and shouted.

However, as soon as he thought about the identities of those people, Cheng Chumu's stretched neck drooped, and he said dejectedly, "Xiao Chen, but those people are not ordinary! Even my father and Uncle Qin have to be cautious!"

"Don't worry!" Zhao Chen, having a plan in mind, spoke with great confidence and joked, "Your brother is not a soft target; not everyone can push him around!"

"Alright then!" Cheng Chumu knew that at this point, he couldn't help Zhao Chen much. The only ones who could help were his father and Uncle Qin. Therefore, he didn't want to delay and stood up, urging Zhao Chen, "Xiao Chen, write the letter quickly! I'll take it back right away!"

"Okay!" Zhao Chen, not wanting to delay either, nodded at Cheng Chumu. He then found some paper, took out a pen, and began to write down what he planned to do next in detail.

After finishing the letter, he carefully folded it and handed it to Cheng Chumu to keep. The two of them pounded their chests in a brotherly gesture, and Cheng Chumu then climbed onto the sled, ready to rush back to Chang'an.

"Oh, right, Xiao Chen!" As the sled started moving, Cheng Chumu, the simpleton, suddenly remembered something and stopped the sled, saying to Zhao Chen, "I almost forgot. My father said that in the end, Du Yan might come to Lantian. This old fox is very cunning, so you must not let your guard down!"

Du Yan? The uncle of Du Ruhui, one of the eighteen scholars of the Qin王府 (Qin Wang Fu)?

Zhao Chen, hearing this, immediately recalled information about Du Yan. However, according to historical records, Du Yan was a rather eccentric person, often doing things that made people laugh and cry.

However, since Cheng Yaojin said he was very cunning, Zhao Chen couldn't be too careless. Old age and cunning go hand in hand, and every old fox he had encountered in the Tang Dynasty was no exception.