Chapter 136 Secret Mission
After Su Luo came up with the idea, he left mysteriously, like a dragon that is hard to find. This is how all the masters are.
Qin Huai looked at Li Rusong who seemed to be deep in thought and interrupted his thoughts, "Why did you let Su Luo come to Luoyang?"
"What?" Li Rusong looked up.
"Don't play dumb with me. It was you who told Su Hong about Su Luo, so Su Hong wrote a letter to ask Su Luo to come. Why?"
Li Rusong laughed and patted Qin Huai on the shoulder. "Nothing can escape your boss Qin's discerning eyes." He pondered for a while, "I'm afraid she...can't bear the blow. Find something for her to do, maybe she will feel better."
Qin Huai shook his head slowly. "Don't bluff me with such words. You and I both know what kind of personality she has. Even in Nanjing, she would find something to do for herself. She wouldn't have to travel so far to Luoyang. Is it inconvenient to tell me? If so, I won't ask again."
"Hey!" Li Rusong stopped Qin Huai who was about to leave and scratched his head for a long time. "There are indeed some situations. It can be regarded as a secret mission, but there is nothing I can't tell you. It's still the Wufeng ship owner of the smuggling group. There are clues pointing to him being in Nanjing now, and... he has contact with Su Luo."
Qin Huai narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression changed slightly, "Is Su Luo related to the smuggling group?"
"I didn't say that." Li Rusong spread his hands. "I'm not sure yet about the purpose of the Wufeng ship owner approaching Su Luo, but I can be sure that he is definitely a dangerous person. I don't want Su Luo to stay and have any contact with him again."
"Have you confirmed who it is?" Qin Huai asked anxiously, "The people who are often with Su Luo are all those she brought over from Zhuxian Town. Could it be one of them?"
Li Rusong exhaled and shook his head slowly. "I don't know. Fujian has been tracking down the Wufeng ship owner for many years, but there is no specific information. We don't even know if he is a man or a woman. The last time I sent the princess home, I went to meet a member of this group. He said that he and the ship owner have been communicating with each other at sea mostly through letters in the past two years. He sometimes helps cover up. The most recent letter was sent from Nanjing."
"member?"
Li Rusong nodded. "They say they are members, but they are just errand boys for the group. They were arrested in Fujian before, and this time they came ashore from Fujian and went back to their hometown to visit relatives, so we targeted them."
"What else did he say?"
Li Rusong shook his head. "He didn't know much. He had never even met the ship owner. He just escorted the ship owner's secret envoy to Nanjing. After arriving in Nanjing, he had nothing to do. I wanted to take him back to Beijing or Xuanfu, but unfortunately, he was assassinated before he got halfway."
Qin Huaiyou asked, "Only you and the Iron Guards escorted the princess back home. Could it be that someone in the Iron Guards was secretly colluding with the smuggling group and leaked the news?"
"Absolutely impossible!" Li Rusong said firmly, "These iron guards have been following me since they were young. Their fathers were also my father's iron guards. There is no way they could be traitors."
Qin Huai shook his head slowly. "It is well known that all of Li Chengliang's followers are loyal, but the premise of their loyalty is that General Li can provide them with generous material guarantees and a stable family, so they are willing to work hard. But once they know that this guarantee is about to disappear, it is not surprising that they make plans for a retreat. When we were fighting against the border tribes last year, didn't a major general falsely report the seized materials and was driven out of Liaodong by General Li?"
Li Rusong looked up at Qin Huai in surprise, "How do you know this? My father felt ashamed and issued a gag order."
"You told me."
Li Rusong frowned and thought for a long time, but he couldn't figure out anything. He waved his hand and said, "Maybe, but this time it was definitely not the work of the Iron Guards. The problem was with the memorial I submitted to the emperor. It was a secret memorial that was intercepted by the thieves, so they killed the informant so easily."
Qin Huai suddenly realized, "So that's why you want to come up with another secret plan this time?"
"almost."
Qin Huai crossed his arms over his chest, thinking about what Li Rusong had said, and raised another question, "You said that the informant had never seen the ship owner. Since you can't identify the target, how do you know that the Wufeng ship owner has contact with Su Luo?"
"This Wufeng ship owner is very secretive. Except for a few upper echelons of the group, no one has ever seen his true face. The person in charge of contacting the ship owner at sea is also a core member. Last time, after the informant escorted the secret envoy to Nanjing, something important happened suddenly. The secret envoy took the initiative to go to a house to look for the ship owner, but was kicked out by the people in the house, saying that men were not allowed to enter. I have verified this matter with the public. I guess the reason why the secret envoy found the beauty salon is that the ship owner is probably hiding in the beauty salon. There is another possibility. Maybe the ship owner is a woman, a customer of the beauty salon. They met near the beauty salon before. The secret envoy was inconvenient to look for the ship owner at her residence, so he broke in there. If the ship owner heard about the commotion, she would take the initiative to contact him."
"So you concluded that it was someone close to Su Luo?" Qin Huai seemed to disagree. "There are many customers in the beauty salon, and not all of them are familiar with Su Luo."
"This is the key. If he is a frequent visitor, Su Luo must be familiar with it. If he is not a frequent visitor, how could he let the secret envoy know this place? Maybe there is an agreement that if there is an emergency, he will go there to make a scene as a signal."
After hearing this, Qin Huai fell into deep thought and didn't speak for a long time. Li Rusong called him a few times before he came back to his senses. "Since it's smuggling, people in the business community might know something. I'll keep an eye on it for you during this period. As for the relationship between Liaodong and the court... it's better to have peace. We should fight the Mongolian tribes. The court knows you are useful, so it will naturally not make any plans to lay you off."
Li Rusong smiled, still in a relaxed manner, "Didn't I say it? No one wants to change. It's just that the civil are targeting me, Li. We have no intention of harming anyone, but we must be on guard against them."
Although Qin Huai disagreed, he did not persuade her any further, "I will try my best to help you raise the money you need."
"I have my own way with the money."
Qin Huai didn't believe it at all, "What can you do?"
Li Rusong walked around twice and said, "Anyway, don't get involved in this matter. Just take care of Su Luo and let her go back to Nanjing after this matter is over."
"Speaking of this..." Qin Huai said with a hint of blame: "You didn't tell her the reason for leaving her, nor did you tell her the reason for letting her come to Nanjing. You kept everything from her. Do you really plan to be with her in the future?"
"Of course, once everything is settled." Li Rusong seemed to be looking forward to it. "It will be soon."
"You should tell her."
"She's too impatient. I'm afraid something bad might happen."
Qin Huai shook his head, "You still don't understand her."
Li Rusong smiled and said, "Let's take it as that."
Qin Huai asked again: "Why did you bring Su Jiang here yesterday? What were your plans?"
Li Rusong hesitated for a while, but still spoke, "Su Jiang...is just like me and Su Luo."
Qin Huai didn't quite react, "What's the same?"
"origin."
Qin Huai was really surprised, "How... is this possible?"
Li Rusong then roughly told the story of how Bai Qing'er set fire to Jintaixuan, how the Iron Guards rescued Su Jiang from the fire, and how they stole the cushion. Qin Huai pondered for a long time and didn't dare to believe it. "How many people are you going to bring?"
Li Rusong smiled and shrugged, "Don't tell Su Luo about this for now ."
"Does Su Jiang know Su Luo?"
Li Rusong nodded, and Qin Huai rubbed his temples. Did he only keep it a secret from Su Luo? So far, Su Luo still didn't know Li Rusong's true origins, and even thought that she was the one who had the same experience as her. Was this really fair to her?
"Why keep this a secret? They are sisters in name only. If they knew about this, they would definitely become closer."
Li Rusong suddenly became serious, "This matter must not be told, let Luoluo... just live her happy life. I think there is something wrong with Su Jiang as well."
