Speaking of the devil, just as Huo Qixiao was immersed in his memories, Wang Bingchang requested an audience outside the tent.
After hearing the report from outside, Huo Qixiao took a moment before sitting upright in his chair and replying, "Come in!"
"Greetings, Young Master." Wang Bingchang, appearing to be in his late thirties, was dressed in a dark cyan robe embroidered with begonia patterns, and a jade-white cloak. He exuded an scholarly aura. With such a refined and gentle appearance, it was hard to imagine he was once the feared assassin Wen Tu.
If Su Muqing were present, she would surely recognize this man as the ruthless individual who had annihilated the entire Chen Dahe family. The only difference between them today was that Wang Bingchang was not wearing a fake beard.
"No need for formalities. How did it go? What did you find out about what I asked you to investigate?" Huo Qixiao beckoned him to sit beside him, even pushing his own teacup towards Wang Bingchang. The elite guards standing by maintained a stoic expression, as if seeing nothing.
In truth, such an action between two grown men felt rather peculiar. Especially when Huo Qixiao waved Wang Bingchang over, it gave the impression that he was toying with a small animal. Moreover, casually offering his used teacup to someone else conveyed a sense of disrespect.
However, Wang Bingchang, on the other hand, did not feel at all belittled or toyed with. With a faint smile on his face and a docile demeanor, he sat down and naturally picked up Huo Qixiao's teacup, taking a sip. He showed no sign of disdain for it being previously used.
Not only did Wang Bingchang not show any aversion, but his barely concealed smile clearly displayed a look of pure bliss!
Good heavens! This overwhelming sweetness was almost unbearable. It felt as if the air was thick with unspoken affection.
After happily finishing Huo Qixiao's leftover tea, Wang Bingchang cleared his throat and called out to someone waiting outside the tent. "Su Ling'er, come in!" (The old acquaintance is back again. How many of you remember her?)
As soon as Wang Bingchang finished speaking, the tent flap was lifted. "Jingle, jingle, jingle..." Accompanied by a series of crisp tinkling sounds, a peculiar fragrance wafted into the tent, causing a slight daze. Then, a woman entered, dressed in black gauze and adorned in a seductive manner.
She had a slender figure, with captivating curves. Despite it being April, the woman, referred to as Su Ling'er, was wearing not only a shoulder-baring crop top but also unusually thin trousers.
Her chest was a expanse of white, her waist was as slender as could be held in a single palm, her hips were perky, and her legs, faintly visible, invited endless imagination. Even the two accompanying elite guards began to pant heavily.
Huo Qixiao's attitude also shifted from initial nonchalance to something else entirely. However, having lived two lives, he wouldn't overtly display his thoughts, especially with Wang Bingchang sitting beside him.
"Ling'er greets the Young Master." Su Ling'er placed her right hand diagonally on her left shoulder and greeted Huo Qixiao with a soft, charming tone. Her voice was so sweet and alluring that it made one's bones feel as though they were melting.
Upon hearing this melodious voice, which surpassed the song of orioles, the two accompanying elite guards could no longer suppress their long-simmering desires and two streams of blood dripped from their noses!
Huo Qixiao stared at Su Ling'er for a long moment. Under Wang Bingchang's somewhat displeased gaze, he finally restrained himself and then asked, with a hint of confusion, "What is the meaning of her arrival? Didn't you say you were going to infiltrate the Huaxia Dynasty to investigate? What were your findings?"
Wang Bingchang cast a disdainful glance at the two elite guards who had lost their composure, waved them out of the tent, leaving only the three of them. "Young Master, you may not know, but Su Ling'er has been undercover in the Huaxia Dynasty for over a year. She has come specifically to rendezvous with us, so you can ask her directly about Huaxia matters."
Hearing that Su Ling'er had been hidden in Huaxia for over a year and could still safely exit the city to find them, Huo Qixiao's interest grew further. "Which area of Huaxia did you infiltrate? Have you obtained your formal household registration documents?"
"Reporting to you, Young Master, Ling'er resides in Zhengyi Lane, about ten miles east of the imperial city of Yaoyjing. All procedures, including household registration, have been completed." Su Ling'er could not conceal the pride on her face as she spoke of this.
The imperial city of Yaoyjing? That was the capital of the Huaxia Dynasty. The speed of Huaxia's development in recent years was terrifyingly abnormal. They had started with only two or three small cities. Changning Prefecture was geographically remote, once a poor and desolate region of the Great Yu Dynasty, with a total population of only a few hundred thousand, including those in no-man's-land.
However, after the establishment of Huaxia City, they had steadily encroached upon and annexed several severely disaster-stricken prefectures of the Great Yu Dynasty. Initially, Emperor Rui and Huo Qixiao paid little attention, even adopting a more of a "watch-and-see" attitude.
After all, it was common knowledge that after experiencing natural disasters, it was extremely difficult to restore people's livelihoods. Following such a severe drought, it would take at least three to seven years of reconstruction before crop yields could return to their former abundant state.
Therefore, when they learned that the abandoned cities and refugees of the Great Yu Dynasty had been taken in by the newly established Huaxia City, both of them were inwardly pleased.
Huo Qixiao had even sent people to heavily publicize Huaxia City's acceptance of refugees. In the end, the number of wandering refugees who migrated there exceeded a million.
With so many mouths to feed, even if heaven decided to bestow rain immediately and planting resumed, it wouldn't be fast enough to satisfy their hunger. Facing such a colossal mess, Huo Qixiao found it inconceivable that the people of Huaxia City could easily resolve it.
But fate is often unpredictable. Things they deemed impossible to happen, happened precisely when they were anticipating a spectacle.
The intelligence gatherers they had dispatched reported back that they could no longer infiltrate Huaxia City and had only been able to stay in Changning Prefecture for a period.
Yet, within less than half a year, they had personally witnessed how Changning Prefecture had rapidly erected city walls using new materials around several large surrounding areas, and even the abandoned buildings within the city had been demolished and rebuilt.
This scout, being a person with some intellect, had his own insights and analyses upon witnessing the rapid transformations in Changning Prefecture.