184: Chapter 0184 You Good Old Xie

How could he have recognized Gui Qi's identity!?

Years ago, when Emperor Hong's eldest prince came to the Northern Border to reward the Border Army on behalf of the Emperor, Liu Qihai was responsible for his protection.

As a result, before even reaching the border pass, the eldest prince was killed by "mountain bandits"!

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Although Liu Qihai survived, he was severely injured.

Relying on his numerous eyes and ears in the Northern Border, Marquis Xie Shang found Liu Qihai and sent people to treat him.

The reason for doing this was that the person behind that assassination was none other than the current Virtuous Crown Prince, Li Chenghao!

As a valuable witness who knew many secrets, Liu Qihai was a trump card hidden by Marquis Xie Shang!

If the Crown Prince were to ascend the throne and become the sovereign in the future, this card would become even more critical!

Of course, to be safe, Marquis Xie Shang had Liu Qihai change his appearance and assume the alias Gui Qi, serving as the commander of the Marquis Mansion's guards.

Gui Qi knew well that his survival and any future chance of revenge depended entirely on the Marquis of Linyuan, so he was fiercely loyal.

Normally, he did plenty of dirty work for the Marquis Mansion; the soldiers who had surrounded the courtyard earlier had also been dealt with by him and his men.

"Liu Qihai?"

Chang Youkui, standing nearby, was stunned and suddenly remembered: "Isn't that the wanted criminal who fled out of fear after the eldest prince was assassinated? Why is he in the Marquis Mansion?!"

This was a major event that had shocked the world back then, so Chang Youkui naturally had a deep impression of it.

Cold sweat broke out on Marquis Xie Shang's forehead; he knew someone would remember!

What should he do? The development of events before him far exceeded his estimations!

Other things were easy to handle; bribery and such could be settled.

But... but harboring an imperial fugitive, especially someone like Liu Qihai—a key figure whom the Imperial Family and the vassal kings were all keeping a close eye on...

Marquis Xie Shang felt a chill on his neck. With the slightest slip-up, the Linyuan Marquis Mansion's centuries-old foundation would be destroyed by his own hand!!

Damn that Lin Xiao! How on earth did he find out!?

Lin Xiao feigned composure, but in his heart, he was overjoyed: Oh? An unexpected harvest? Even imperial secrets are involved now?

You sly old fox, Xie Shang, your greed knows no bounds. You even dared to meddle in the imperial succession struggle?

It would be against the laws of heaven not to take this chance to fleece you!

"Chang Youkui, do not jump to conclusions!"

Lin Xiao said, "Although this assassin is Liu Qihai, the Marquis might not have known."

"So, the Marquis taking him in as a guard might have been a result of being deceived, perhaps because he used an alias. What do you say, Marquis?"

Marquis Xie Shang felt as if he had caught a life-saving straw!

Disregarding the fact that he had just been cursing Lin Xiao, he hurriedly nodded like a chick pecking at grain!

"Exactly! Exactly! That's it!"

"This Marquis had no idea he was Liu Qihai; he always said his name was Gui Qi!"

"All of you present, bear witness for me; I have never called him Liu Qihai!!"

Everyone looked at each other. Though suspicious, Marquis Xie Shang indeed hadn't called him by that name.

A flash of bitterness crossed Gui Qi's eyes; in the end, he was nothing more than a pawn.

"Marquis... I am sorry... all these years, Gui Qi used you to hide my identity..."

Marquis Xie Shang felt a pang of regret, but things having come to this, he had no choice but to distance himself.

"You scoundrel, Liu Qihai! To think I trusted you so much! Were you trying to bring ruin upon me!?"

Once the two of them finished this act, their master-servant relationship was effectively over.

"Since it's a misunderstanding—men! Take this imperial fugitive to the dungeon!"

At Lin Xiao's command, General Wu Jinzhe and the others waiting outside immediately entered.

Once Liu Qihai was taken away, Lin Xiao walked over to Marquis Xie Shang and placed a hand on his shoulder.

The shaken Marquis Xie Shang didn't dare to resist this 'disrespectful' gesture at all.

"Marquis... I've helped you, so you should show some appreciation, shouldn't you? In my hometown, we say 'one hand washes the other.' What do you think?"

Looking at Lin Xiao's playful smile, Marquis Xie Shang's heart trembled violently!

That bastard! He definitely knows many other things!!

He knew from the very beginning that I was hiding Liu Qihai!

For him to rise so quickly, always anticipating the enemy's moves and winning battle after battle, he must possess incredibly powerful intelligence capabilities!

This young man's shrewdness is like that of a thousand-year-old fox!!

He couldn't win in a fight, and his weakness was being held by the other party.

Dejected, Marquis Xie Shang could only lower his proud head.

"General Lin is absolutely right. It's just some accounts; I have a clear conscience. If Lord Chang wants to investigate, then go ahead."

Chang Youkui's face was filled with excitement as he hurriedly bowed. "Thank you, Marquis!"

At the same time, Chang Youkui looked at Lin Xiao with eyes full of admiration and gratitude.

A scholar dies for the one who recognizes his worth; he finally understood the meaning of those words!

Chang Youkui took a group of men to the accounting room and hauled away a large number of ledgers.

By the time Lin Xiao led them out of the Marquis Mansion, the commoners gathered outside had already heard the news.

General Lin went in once and not only captured an imperial fugitive hiding in the mansion but also made the high-and-mighty Marquis of Linyuan bow his head and obediently accept an audit?

The events of this single day were more exciting than everything that had happened in Yangquan over the past three years combined!

The freezing cold could not dampen the people's enthusiasm!

Faces flushed red from the cold were beaming with hope, excitement, and joy.

"General Lin! General Lin is coming out!"

"General Lin is mighty! We support the Zhenbei Army!!"

The commoners didn't know how to say anything fancy; they could only use the simplest slogans to express their inner joy.

Lin Xiao waved to them, said nothing more, mounted his horse, and led his men back to the Inspector's Office.

On the way back, Lin Xiao instructed General Wu Jinzhe beside him:

"Regarding that Liu Qihai, send the best doctors and try your best to save him. I have things to ask him."

Lin Xiao had already anticipated that this man held secrets, so he had held back several layers of his strength when he struck.

Otherwise, taking such a direct palm strike, even a Martial Arts Grandmaster would have been crushed into a pile of meat!

"This general understands; I have already sent men to fetch a doctor."

General Wu Jinzhe was quite sharp; upon hearing Liu Qihai's identity, he had already thought of this.

Meanwhile.

In the messy living room of the Linyuan Marquis Mansion.

Marquis Xie Shang sat on a chair, while the large hole in the wall beside him was still letting in a whistling wind.

"Father... your daughter has failed you."

Xie Juner walked out with teary eyes and knelt on the ground.

"It's all my fault for being useless, unable to win Lin Xiao's heart, and causing you to suffer such humiliation."

Marquis Xie Shang snapped out of his daze and helped his daughter up.

"This cannot be blamed on you. I never expected that Gui Qi's identity would fail to remain hidden."

"But I just can't figure out where the leak occurred..."

Xie Juner frowned. "Could it be that Gui Qi revealed his own identity? When he went out to do business for you, it's hard to guarantee he didn't leave a trail, perhaps without even noticing it himself?"

"That is the only possibility."

Marquis Xie Shang sighed and said, "Juner, this man Lin Xiao is far more calculating than I imagined, but because of that, his future is limitless."

"If you do not want to marry him, I will not force you. If you do, you must be mentally prepared."

A hint of stubbornness appeared on Xie Juner's face.

"Father, in my eyes, there is no room for any other man. If he looks down on me, I would rather never marry in this life."

"The more he looks down on the Marquis Mansion, the more I want to prove to him that I, Xie Juner, am not just a decorative vase living off my title as a commandery princess!"

Marquis Xie Shang felt a surge of emotion and slapped his thigh. "Good! I am very gratified that you have such determination."

"It just so happens that this audit will definitely uncover some issues; I'll leave it entirely to you to handle."

"It doesn't matter if we take a bit of a loss; don't let some worldly possessions ruin your lifelong happiness!"

Xie Juner nodded with a smile, while her heart couldn't help but murmur:

Will there... really be happiness?

At night.

Lin Xiao lay on the soft couch in his study and opened the prestige shop.

He first exchanged Earl of Anyang's two weapons for 400 prestige and then refreshed the goods.

Lately, there hadn't been any stunning little items, and the ones he wanted to buy were particularly expensive.

Lin Xiao wanted to save up enough prestige or cultivation to get the final volume of the 'Indestructible Golden Body' first; other big items could wait.

When he scrolled far down, a long-lost little gift appeared.

"mysterious package! I thought you'd gone extinct!"