Joy of Life: Invincible Starting from Basic Swordsmanship

Chapter 19: Night Battle with Bean

"That's my own sister! You're going a bit too far!"

"I knew your apology wasn't sincere. Xiaolan, see the guest out."

Ye Chengfeng wouldn't give Fan Xian a friendly look and directly ordered Xiao Lan to kick him out.

Fan Xian stood at the door for a while, and finally snorted coldly, but still did not do the beastly thing of betraying his sister and using her childhood deeds as a bargaining chip.

Back in his room, Gao Da was already asleep, but his snoring kept Wang Qinian awake.

"My lord, you're back?"

"Hmm, Old Wang, what exactly did Ye Chengfeng intend to do by sending people to the capital ahead of schedule?"

"My lord, are you overthinking this? Dongyi City has always maintained good relations with Northern Qi, so sending people there in advance is perfectly reasonable."

Wang Qinian's words made sense, but Fan Xian still felt that things were not that simple.

"Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore. Time to sleep, time to sleep."

The mission entered Northern Qi territory early the next morning.

After traveling for two days, just as they were about to reach the city of Northern Qi, Ye Chengfeng broke away from the delegation.

Fan Xian had no reason to stop him. Ye Chengfeng was traveling with him, and it was Ye Chengfeng's freedom to act alone.

However, before leaving, Ye Chengfeng asked Xiaolan to deliver a letter to Fan Xian.

"For Ruoruo's sake, I'm giving you a heads-up: don't hand over Sean to Shen Zhong so quickly. That's all I have to say. The choice is yours."

Fan Xian looked at the contents of the letter.

"What does he mean by that?"

Fan Xian handed the letter to Wang Qinian!

These are actually some of the unspoken rules in the diplomacy between the two countries.

A formal handover would indeed be in accordance with the rules, but Fan Xian's decision not to hand over the duties immediately would not violate the rules.

"Old Wang, do you think we should pay?"

"My lord, I believe the young swordsman is right. My only fear is that if we hand over the person, they won't release him, or they might hide Yan Bingyun and delay us. What will we do then?"

Fan Xian pondered for a moment, then folded the letter and put it into his pocket.

"Then I won't pay."

As expected, upon entering the city, Shen Zhong asked Fan Xian to hand over Xiao En and Si Lili to him.

With Ye Chengfeng's reminder, Fan Xian naturally couldn't hand over everything, only giving Si Lili to Shen Zhong.

"Lord Fan, what do you mean by this?"

Seeing that Fan Xian's men had stopped the Imperial Guards who wanted to take Xiao En away, Shen Zhong pretended to be displeased.

"Lord Shen, I have no choice. Handing Si Lili over to you is already my bottom line. If you want Xiao En, then exchange him for Yan Bingyun."

"Lord Fan, there is no need to worry. Our Great Qi has always valued promises. If we say we will keep our word, we will not go back on our word. When Lord Fan leaves Great Qi, Yan Bingyun will be handed over to you."

If Shen Zhong hadn't said that, Fan Xian might still have doubts about Ye Chengfeng's reminder.

It seems that Northern Qi really intends to stall for time!

Come to think of it, the Southern Qing intelligence network controlled by Yan Bingyun is extremely important to Northern Qi.

If we don't extract the information Yan Bingyun has, how can Northern Qi release him?

"Lord Shen, there's no need to say more. It's not that I don't trust your Northern Qi, but Yan Bingyun is a hero to my Qing Kingdom. I can't be too cautious."

Seeing that Fan Xian would never hand Xiao En over to him at this time, Shen Zhong's eyes turned cold.

"I hope Lord Fan won't regret his decision today!"

With that, Shen Zhong turned and left.

"My lord, Shen Zhong's words make sense. The Holy Maiden of Northern Qi is still following us. If she comes to kill Xiao En, we might not be able to stop her!"

Wang Qinian reminded him.

Fan Xian certainly hadn't forgotten Haitang Duoduo. Haitang Duoduo was a ninth-rank expert, and if she were to come and assassinate them, they really wouldn't be able to handle it.

"Sigh, that Ye Chengfeng guy, he really knows how to create problems for me. This isn't a hint at all!"

Fan Xian felt that he had been tricked by Ye Chengfeng.

However, this time, Ye Chengfeng didn't actually scheme against Fan Xian; instead, he genuinely helped him.

Ye Chengfeng's group was small, consisting only of Xiao Lan and the coachman Lao Ma. They arrived in Shangjing before the city gates closed.

The Eight Swordsmen were already waiting for Ye Chengfeng at the city gate.

Upon seeing Ye Chengfeng arrive, he immediately stepped forward to bow and reported, "Young Master, the young emperor of Northern Qi wishes to see you."

"When?"

"Tell him you've arrived in the capital, and inform him immediately!"

"Then inform him that I'll be waiting for him at the biggest restaurant in the capital."

Ye Chengfeng followed the eight sword attendants straight to the place they had arranged for them to stay. Meanwhile, inside the Northern Qi Imperial Palace...

He also received news of Ye Chengfeng's arrival and was told that Ye Chengfeng was waiting for him at Zuiyue Tower.

Zhan Doudou listened to the little eunuch's report with a furrowed brow.

"How arrogant! To actually order me to see him?"

Zhan Doudou fell into deep thought. As the emperor of a country, it was indeed somewhat beneath her dignity to secretly meet someone outside the palace late at night.

But she had no choice. At present, Northern Qi was completely suppressed by Southern Qing, and Dongyi City was its only remaining ally.

Even if it's a bit embarrassing, she has no choice but to go.

On the top floor of Zuiyue Tower, Ye Chengfeng sipped tea. Under the moonlight, one could vaguely see Ye Chengfeng's wicked smile.

"How handsome! Is this the young swordsman from Dongyi City?"

Zhan Doudou was so captivated by Ye Chengfeng's handsome appearance that she was completely mesmerized!

"It's very impolite for the young emperor of Northern Qi to secretly stare at someone like that!"

"Hmph, you think you're being polite by having me come to see you in person?"

Zhan Doudou blushed slightly, snorted coldly, and sat down opposite Ye Chengfeng.

"Speak, what deal do you want to make with me?"

"Don't be in such a hurry. The moonlight is so beautiful tonight, why not have a drink?"

Ye Chengfeng waved his hand, signaling the eight sword servants to bring some good wine.

"This is a special wine from our Dongyi City, would you like to try some?"

Zhan Doudou rolled her eyes. These were clearly bought by the Eight Swordsmen after they entered the city, even though the wine was indeed produced in Dongyi City.

Moreover, this is a brewing recipe left behind by Ye Qingmei.

"You are so generous to bring me such good wine from so far away."

Zhan Doudou glanced at Ye Chengfeng with disdain, but did not refuse.

Zhan Doudou accepted the wine glass handed to her by Ye Chengfeng.

After the two clinked glasses, they drank it all in one gulp. After finishing the drink, Ye Chengfeng suddenly asked, "I heard that your commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard doesn't listen to you. Don't overthink it; I'm just repeating what I've heard."

"Hmph, what? You think you can help me get rid of Shen Zhong? After all, he's still a man of Northern Qi."

Although Zhan Doudou said that, the murderous intent that flashed in her eyes did not escape Ye Chengfeng's observation.

"Sigh, an emperor indeed! You can't even completely hide your murderous intent. You're hardly competent!"

Ever since Zhan Doudou arrived at the restaurant, she has been led by the nose by Ye Chengfeng.

Especially when she first met Ye Chengfeng, Ye Chengfeng knew she was a woman, so he used his good looks to seduce her.

And Zhan Doudou did indeed fall for the trap!

Immediately afterwards, Ye Chengfeng changed the subject, gradually diminishing Zhan Doudou's vigilance.

After having a drink, the conversation suddenly shifted, and they started talking about Shen Zhong. Sure enough, Zhan Doudou couldn't hide her emotions.

"What's going on? Why does he give me a feeling of reliability?"

Zhan Doudou was secretly alarmed!

"You didn't invite me here just to talk about these trivial things, did you?"

"Would you be interested in deepening our cooperative relationship with Dongyi City?"

How to deepen the effect?

"It's naturally a marriage alliance."

Upon hearing the word "marriage alliance," Zhan Doudou suddenly blushed.

But then she thought again, Ye Chengfeng didn't know she was a woman, so her marriage partner was definitely not her.

The only possible candidate is her older sister, the current eldest princess of Northern Qi.