267 New Year’s Eve Is Tomorrow
This wasn’t the first time Pei Qian had come to freeload, so he was very at ease when he entered the warm pavilion and didn’t feel that anything was wrong.
However, the two people behind him looked a little embarrassed.
However, Lu Ze, who was sitting by the charcoal basin and roasting meat skewers, wasn’t surprised to see them enter. Even the cutlery on the dining table was set for five people.
“You knew that we were coming?” Pei Qian leaned towards Lu Ze and stood on his tiptoes to look at the venison sizzling on the baking tray. He narrowed his eyes in satisfaction as he looked around again, but he didn’t see Lin Suisui, so he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. He reached out and poked Lu Ze’s shoulder. “Where’s Madam Liu?”
“She went to Doctor Luo’s place with Yuan Niang and Mrs. Song to deliver something.” Lu Ze raised his hand and gestured for Pei Qian and the others to sit first. “Isn’t it New Year’s Eve tomorrow? She went over early today to check on the situation of those soldiers. This way, everyone can spend the New Year in peace.”
“Brother-in-law, can my sister really help those soldiers stop their addiction?!”
Although he had seen Lin Suisui’s medical skills, Wei Qing still couldn’t help but feel a little apprehensive when it came to hemp leaves.
Compared to Lu Ze and the others, Wei Qing, who was born and raised in the southern border, naturally understood how terrifying hemp leaves were.
As long as one was infected, they would basically lose the possibility of ever escaping control.
The Wei family had guarded the southern border for generations, so it was naturally inevitable that some ignorant soldiers would accidentally get infected. They tried their best, but in the end, most of them couldn’t survive the pain of withdrawal!
They either committed suicide or lost their minds.
In order to reduce the damage caused by consuming hemp leaves by mistake, his father had no choice but to set up heavy punishment. All soldiers who had just arrived in the army had learn how to discern hemp leaves first!
After that, if anyone violated the rules and ate the hemp leaves without permission, they would be killed mercilessly!
However, although they could control the soldiers, many people in the southern border were still harmed by hemp leaves.
If there was really a way to escape the control of hemp leaves, it would be a good thing for the people of the southern border.
“We can only try our best.” Lu Ze gestured for Pei Qian to flip the venison on the baking sheet as he answered Wei Qing’s question cautiously.
“After all, you know how much that thing affects people!”
“Wei Qing, have you caught the person I asked you to arrest?!” At this point, Pei Qian remembered what he had entrusted Wei Qing to do before asking Wei Qing to look for Zhou Hengchang.
Wei Qing nodded and replied with a relaxed and affirmative tone, “Of course! I’ve already sent them to the Imperial City’s government office to be handed over to Su Qi. If they’re fast, the information might be sent over tonight!”
“Have you settled the Zhou family’s matters?” After Pei Qian asked Wei Qing, he turned to ask Zhou Hengchang, who was still standing beside Wei Qing.
“I asked Wei Qing to look for you on the way.” Since Zhou Hengchang didn’t reply, Lu Ze looked at Zhou Hengchang and said, “Although you caused trouble for my wife that day, since you knelt down and admitted your mistake, I won’t harp on this matter anymore!
“The Zhou family’s business is none of our business, but there’s no need to use the Zhou family’s army to settle it!”
Zhou Hengchang was indeed worthy of being the successor that Marquis Zhou had personally taught. He was one of the few people in the northern region who could lead the army!
Of course, most importantly, Zhou Hengchang had never made any mistakes in the border defense area that he had guarded for so many years!
Just based on this fact alone, he was worth helping.
“Thank you, Mr. Gu.” Zhou Hengchang wasn’t an ungrateful person.
As soon as Lu Ze said this, he thanked him without hesitation.
Because of this sincerity, Zhou Hengchang didn’t hide anything else. Instead, he simply told Lu Ze and the others about the investigation.
“My brother doesn’t know the severity of things, so when that person gave him a suggestion, he agreed! To be honest, I blame myself for this matter.” When he said this, frustration flashed across Zhou Hengchang’s face, but there was also a hint of loneliness in his eyes. “My mother has spoiled my brother ever since he was young. As long as my brother asks, I have to give in to him!
Actually, at first, I arranged for the Zhou family’s military supplies myself, but my brother kept causing trouble since last year and insisted that he be given the authority!
My father and mother were also pestering me about this matter, so I was annoyed. I thought that nothing serious would happen if I got someone to keep an eye on them!
“But we were still too negligent…”
Zhou Hengchang sighed. If he had not been lucky that Mr. Pei discovered that something was wrong in advance, when the subsequent problems became serious, it would be useless even if he skinned his brother alive.
“Although we’ve had a conflict with the northern barbarians at the border for so many years, it’s been almost ten years since we’ve fought!” Lu Ze stared at the roasted meat on the grill. He seemed to have deeper considerations about this matter. “Now, Sr. Khan is seriously ill, and his sons are all tough!
“Who do you think has the highest chance of inheriting the throne of the northern barbarians and becoming the next Khan?!”
“Actually, in my opinion, it would be best if the northern barbarians are leaderless.” Pei Qian slowly added a few pieces of charcoal to the charcoal basin and continued, “If the northern barbarians continue to be divided, they naturally won’t have the ability to attack us on a large scale!
“But then again, unlike King Gu Han, his brother, King Zadeh, is not easy to deal with! In my opinion, he is probably most likely to inherit the position of Sr. Khan and become the new northern barbarian ruler!”
“I’ve fought with Khan Zadeh’s troops the most.” After hearing Pei Qian’s analysis, Zhou Hengchang said, “The defense area guarded by the Zhou family borders Khan Zadeh’s territory!
“But over the years, Khan Zadeh has not been able to take advantage of us at all! Therefore, after this matter happened, the first person I thought of was Khan Zadeh!”
“I’ve already caught the northern barbarian who lured your brother into the trap! Won’t we know if he’s King Zadeh’s subordinate or not after the interrogation?!” Wei Qing wandered around the table for a long time. In the end, he couldn’t help but raise his hand to grab a peanut and throw it into his mouth. He chewed the peanut with a smile as he said, “It’s New Year’s Eve tomorrow, so can’t you guys talk about something happy? The topic is always the northern barbarians. How annoying!”