r18novel Chapter 225
Chapter 225
An hour later.
Looking at the fully satisfied Zhao Meng, Zhao Simin immediately put on her clothes and fled the room as if escaping.
Zhao Meng stood up unhurriedly, got dressed, and went to the backyard.
Seeing Zhao Simin desperately rinsing her mouth and washing her hands, he found it utterly ridiculous.
"Tell me your specific plan."
He didn't have the ability to kidnap Qi Yanzhou and force him to sleep with Zhao Simin.
Zhao Simin spat out the dirty water from her mouth, shook the water off her hands, and walked quickly to Zhao Meng.
She took a bottle of medicine from her sleeve pocket and handed it to Zhao Meng.
"Inside is a mixture of aphrodisiac and muscle-relaxing powders. As long as Qi Yanzhou breathes it in, he will fall prey to it."
The aphrodisiac could arouse one's lust, while the muscle relaxant could seal away inner energy, leaving the limbs powerless.
After Qi Yanzhou refused the arranged marriage, she had someone prepare this bottle of medicine.
It was finally coming in handy!
Zhao Meng took the medicine bottle. "Stay here and wait for my news."
With that, he left the lit but unoccupied house.
He actually had another bold idea.
After Qi Yanzhou slept with Zhao Simin, he wanted to have some fun too.
If he was lucky, Zhao Simin would become pregnant with his child, who would become a future prince, or even the Crown Prince!
He would help this child seize the throne, and then he would become the Grand Emperor!
At this thought, Zhao Meng laughed aloud in delight.
He didn't immediately go to the pharmacy to find Qi Yanzhou. Instead, he wrote a letter and had his subordinate deliver it to his deputy general at the garrison.
Regardless of how tonight's plan went, the deputy general must not bring troops to Dayang Town.
Of course, he merely postponed the troop deployment until noon tomorrow.
This was in case Zhao Simin's plan failed and angered Qi Yanzhou, bringing a fatal disaster upon himself.
Having a large army pressing at the borders would make Qi Yanzhou wary and save his own life.
After writing the letter, Zhao Meng went to find Qi Yanzhou.
Qi Yanzhou was sitting behind the counter, leaning back against the medicine cabinet, dozing with his eyes closed.
Unfamiliar footsteps made him vigilant, his body tensing up.
"Young Master Qi, this general would like to chat with you."
Hearing Zhao Meng's voice, Qi Yanzhou asked lazily, "What does the Commander want to chat about?"
"About the sudden outbreak of the epidemic in Dayang Town, and the price I would have to pay for betraying the Emperor."
Qi Yanzhou understood; Zhao Meng was trying to find a way out for himself.
He opened his eyes, stood up, and sat at the consultation desk.
"Let's chat."
Zhao Meng sat down opposite Qi Yanzhou.
"If I make the truth of the sudden epidemic in Dayang Town public, will I be able to get the prescription to treat the plague?"
Qi Yanzhou nodded. "Yes."
"In that case, I will offend the Emperor. Whether it's military pay, rations, or winter clothing, there will be no more supplies. More seriously, my entire extended family will be executed, and the whole Northwest garrison will be reduced to slaves."
"Given the Emperor's vengeful nature, that would indeed happen. So?"
"So I want Young Master Qi to give me a way out."
Zhao Meng didn't directly propose joining Qi Yanzhou because he wanted to test Qi Yanzhou's thoughts.
Qi Yanzhou understood Zhao Meng's meaning, but he had no intention of taking over the garrison.
On the one hand, he didn't believe that the royalists would be loyal after changing masters.
On the other hand, he didn't want to be a sucker and supply an army that had no loyalty to him.
"I can barely protect myself right now. If the Commander wants a way out, you will have to find it yourself."
Zhao Meng had long expected that Qi Yanzhou would look down on his ten-thousand-strong army.
He wasn't discouraged and added, "I wonder if I might have the honor of becoming a member of the Qi Family Army?"
Although the Qi Family Army had long been disbanded, he believed that as long as the Qi family gave the word, the army could be reunited.
Instead of answering, Qi Yanzhou asked, "Do you know who is currently supplying the Qi Family Army?"
The implication was that Zhao Meng had to feed his own army first before he was qualified to become part of the Qi Family Army.
These words were also telling Zhao Meng that he had the intention of overthrowing the imperial power.
If he wanted to use the name of the Qi Family Army to freeload, there was no chance!
Zhao Meng answered truthfully, "The Qi Family Army is supplied by the Emperor."
After saying that, he asked again, "Does that mean as long as my army is not supplied by Young Master Qi, we are qualified to be the Qi Family Army?"
It wouldn't be long before Qi Yanzhou rebelled.
He only needed to stabilize the army's morale for a few months, and then he could seek a future for himself.
Qi Yanzhou shook his head. "Of course not. The Commander needs to complete an assessment and show absolute loyalty to be qualified to join the Qi Family Army."
A free pawn delivering himself to the door was better than nothing.
Zhao Meng knew that Qi Yanzhou couldn't easily accept his army; after all, he was a royalist.
The so-called assessment was very likely a stalling tactic.
"Young Master Qi is very thoughtful. This general is willing to accept your assessment."
He had to play along with Qi Yanzhou first to lower his guard, so he would have a chance to drug him!
Qi Yanzhou poured himself a cup of cold water and said, "Can we talk about exposing the sudden epidemic in Dayang Town now?"
"Of course. Please give your orders, Young Master Qi."
After Qi Yanzhou explained the course of the three sudden epidemics in Dayang Town, he asked Zhao Meng about his mission.
Zhao Meng answered truthfully.
"My mission is to shoot and kill the soldiers who accidentally contracted the disease while guarding Dayang Town, and then bury them on the spot."
"Go outside the town now and say this to the soldiers besieging the town."
"Alright, I'll go right away."
Zhao Meng immediately left the pharmacy and went out of the town.
Watching Zhao Meng's retreating figure, Qi Yanzhou felt that things weren't that simple.
Zhao Meng had been quite arrogant before, but suddenly wanted to defect to him. There must be something fishy going on!
He wanted to follow quietly, but remembering that the streets were full of Zhao Meng's men, he had to give up the idea.
He returned behind the counter, leaned against the medicine cabinet, and closed his eyes to rest, waiting for the hour of Mao to arrive so he could light the medicinal smoke.
After resting for a short while, Zhao Meng returned.
"Young Master Qi, after the soldiers outside the town learned that they had been deceived by the magistrate of Lai County, they want to see you."
Qi Yanzhou guessed what those soldiers wanted to say and couldn't be bothered to make the trip.
"There's no need to see them. Just tell them to tell the truth tomorrow."
Zhao Meng thought that with people coming and going in the pharmacy, even if he successfully drugged him, he wouldn't be able to take Qi Yanzhou away.
He had to lure him outside the town before making a move.
He said, "Young Master Qi, it's best if you go. They also want to seek some assurance."
Even if Qi Yanzhou had the ability, he wouldn't give those deranged soldiers any assurance; he only wanted to get rid of them as quickly as possible.
But he agreed anyway.
"Let's go."
Seeing that his goal was achieved, a glint of success flashed in the depths of Zhao Meng's eyes.
"Young Master Qi, after you."
Although the glint was fleeting, it was caught by Qi Yanzhou.
He wanted to see what kind of tricks Zhao Meng was going to play.
The two walked out of the town one after the other.
When the besieging soldiers saw Qi Yanzhou, they knelt down one after another, begging for their lives.
"We were forced by the magistrate. If we didn't follow his orders, our whole families would die!"
"Our families are controlled by the magistrate. We beg Young Master Qi to save them."
Someone slapped himself hard twice.
"We were wrong! We shouldn't have done such deranged things!"
"We beg Young Master Qi to give us a chance to make amends."
Seeing that Qi Yanzhou's attention was entirely on the kneeling soldiers, Zhao Meng secretly poured out the medicine from the bottle and forcefully threw it at him.