Chapter 1409: Royal Winter Hunt

When Luo Qingwu left the teahouse in a depressed look, Zhou Yiqiao, led by Luo Lishang, walked out from the other side of the endless stream of people.

"How could you have guessed that Luo Qingwu was going to seek help from the forces behind the scenes?"

Luo Lishang looked at Luo Qingwu's disappearing back, turned his head to stare at Zhou Yiqiao's jawline, and asked curiously.

Zhou Yiqiao chuckled, lowered his head and met Luo Lishang's gaze, then explained.

"Although Zhou and Luo Qingwu have only been dating for a few days, I can clearly understand that this woman is not someone who is willing to be controlled by others."

"Zhou has been humiliating her to the utmost these past two days, just to provoke her and make her desperate enough to seek help from the forces behind her."

When Luo Lishang heard this, a hint of admiration flashed in her eyes, and she raised the corner of her mouth slightly and said.

"So what should we do now? Should we just arrest her and the man in the teahouse?"

Zhou Yiqiao shook his head with a deep look in his eyes.

"No rush. Since she dares to act so openly, it means that the person behind her is at least powerful."

"Now that we have confirmed that Luo Qingwu has been constantly provoking you, she is being instigated by the forces behind her. Why don't we follow the clues and find out the forces behind her?"

"and."

Zhou Yiqiao paused for a moment, a cunning look flashing in his eyes.

"Zhou can sense that there are many people hiding in the dark who want to deal with Her Royal Highness the Princess. Why don't we use her to lure out more rats hiding in the dark."

After hearing his words, Luo Lishang's eyes suddenly brightened, as if he understood the meaning of Zhou Yiqiao's words.

"You want to use Luo Qingwu's hand to lure more enemies to the surface!"

"That's right. There's a saying that you can steal for a thousand days but never be on guard against thieves for a thousand days. Instead of passively defending, it's better to take the initiative."

"The strength of the Tianchen Realm is everything. The strength behind Luo Qingwu needs to be sneaky to deal with us. Either she is not strong enough or she has some reservations."

"As long as we can find these people, even if we can't catch them all, we can force them to give up their intentions of harming Her Royal Highness the Princess."

Luo Lishang showed a look of joy, and was completely moved by Zhou Yiqiao's plan.

"What a great plan that kills two birds with one stone! In this way, my future safety will depend entirely on Master Zhou."

The two of them complimented each other for a while, then set off to return to the mansion.

In the time that followed, Zhou Yiqiao used the information recorded in the Xuantian Treasure Record, and with Luo Qingwu and Zhu Changfu as his starting points, he forcibly subdued a dozen cultivators who also had stains and held high positions in the Great Xuantian.

Among these people, some were like Luo Qingwu and Zhu Changfu, doing shady things for the people behind them; others, due to momentary greed or misjudgment of the situation, fell into a quagmire from which they could not extricate themselves.

Zhou Yiqiao deliberately used the "offering" that Zhu Changfu offered every month and asked Luo Qingwu to come forward and pay the money to these conquered people in the name of rewards, thus connecting all these people together.

In this way, these people are like grasshoppers on the same boat. Even if they cannot work together completely, they can at least maintain a delicate balance for a short period of time, restrain each other, and dare not betray each other easily.

On this day, Zhou Yiqiao was still on the pleasure boat, and under the cover of Luo Qingwu and Zhu Changfu, he was considering the next person to bribe.

The two were enjoying the pleasures of life in the boat's hall, while Zhou Yiqiao was in a quiet room at the stern, sorting out the information he had extracted from the Xuantian Treasure Record.

Although the Xuantian Baolu records many illegal acts of officials of the time, not everyone can be easily caught by Zhou Yiqiao like Zhu Changfu.

After arriving at Daxuantian, Zhou Yiqiao truly experienced the intricacies of the Daxuantian government and the people.

The officials have complex connections and dense networks of relationships. Sometimes, even if Zhou Yiqiao has evidence of a person's guilt, he dare not act rashly for the risk of alerting the enemy.

The reason for being so cautious is that Zhou Yiqiao's strength is too shallow. If he makes the slightest mistake, he may be counterattacked by the opponent, or even cause a shock that he cannot handle.

"The powerful are supposed to do whatever they want, but the young ones can only choose to scheme against each other."

After some careful selection and picking out the most suitable candidate from the remaining candidates, Zhou Yiqiao put away the information in his hand, looked up and sighed.

"What is Mr. Zhou lamenting about?"

Luo Qingwu's voice suddenly came from the door of the quiet room, interrupting Zhou Yiqiao's thoughts.

Perhaps Luo Qingwu has accepted her fate now, and has completely changed the way she dresses according to the instructions of the old man in the teahouse.

She, who originally liked women, was now wearing an elegant blue and white gauze dress, with her hair tied up high and fixed only with a simple jade hairpin. She looked fresh and refined.

This was what Luo Qingwu did after she had made many attempts and realized that Zhou Yiqiao's favorite attire was that of women, so she did this on purpose, hoping to slowly win Zhou Yiqiao's trust as the old man had said.

Although Zhou Yiqiao was not very interested in women, he would naturally not refuse to taste this "dessert" that was delivered to his door for free.

During this period of time, he went from just a quick taste to swallowing it all up, and he had tasted the beauty in front of him almost completely.

However, don't think that frequent "interactions" will allow Zhou Yiqiao to let down his guard against Luo Qingwu and reveal all his secrets as this woman and the old man in the teahouse hoped.

On the contrary, the more attentive Luo Qingwu was, the more wary Zhou Yiqiao became of her.

"Why, is there something you need to report?"

Zhou Yiqiao reached out and grabbed Luo Qingwu's wrist without any hesitation, then held her tightly in his arms. He sniffed the fragrance from Luo Qingwu's neck, looking malicious.

A trace of disgust flashed across Luo Qingwu's brows, but she still forced a smile.

"Master Zhou has misunderstood. Qingwu saw that you locked yourself in the quiet room every day and was worried that you were too tired, so she stole a pot of the best spiritual tea from my father to help you relieve your fatigue."

As she spoke, Luo Qingwu reached out her hand, and a pot of steaming, fragrant spiritual tea appeared on the table in front of them.

Seeing this, Zhou Yiqiao did not refuse. He held Luo Qingwu with one hand, picked up the cup with the other hand, and drank slowly.

After taking a few sips of tea, Zhou Yiqiao put down the tea bowl in his hand and asked with interest.

"Miss Luo, if you have anything to say, just tell me."

His tone was as gentle as a spring breeze, but both of them knew that there was not a trace of real emotion in his gentle voice.

Luo Qingwu's heart shuddered when she was looked at by Zhou Yiqiao's eyes that seemed to be able to see through people's hearts, but she quickly adjusted her mood and still had a gentle smile on her face.

"I really can't hide it from Master Zhou."

"In three days, it will be the winter hunting day of Daxuantian, which is held once every hundred years. At that time, Qingwu will go with her father to the royal hunting ground to represent Luo Mansion, one of the Eight Pillar States."

"Does Master Zhou have any instructions?"

There was a hint of temptation in Luo Qingwu's words. Not only that, even Zhu Changfu, who was enjoying the sounds and sounds in the hall, pricked up his ears unconsciously.

Zhou Yiqiao smiled gently and stroked the edge of the teacup with his fingers. He knew what Luo Qingwu meant.

The Great Xuantian Winter Hunt is one of the most important royal events, held every hundred years. It is not only a moment to demonstrate the majesty of the royal family, but also an excellent opportunity for the major forces in the court to compete secretly and make alliances.

Luo Qingwu came here specifically to ask this question in order to test what Zhou Yiqiao's plans were for the winter hunt.

After all, the Winter Hunt was presided over by the Immortal Emperor himself. If she could find out some trace of Zhou Yiqiao in the Winter Hunt, she and the forces behind him could be prepared and even counterattack, and with the help of the Immortal Emperor, they could get rid of this person whose depth they still couldn't see.

However, Zhou Yiqiao is not a fool and it is impossible for him to easily reveal his plan to Luo Qingwu.

He smiled slightly and answered as a matter of course.

"Zhou is the Taoist companion of Her Royal Highness the Second Princess. I will naturally follow Her Royal Highness the Second Princess to the Royal Hunting Grounds when the time comes."

"As for what Her Royal Highness the Second Princess is planning, that is not something I can easily guess."

"If Miss Luo is interested, you might as well pay more attention to your own arrangements. Don't let anything go wrong in the hunting ground. That would be embarrassing."

Luo Qingwu's heart sank when she heard this.

Although Zhou Yiqiao's words were polite, the warning in them was very obvious.

But she still maintained that gentle smile on her face, as if she was not affected by Zhou Yiqiao's words at all, and she even responded in the same way.

"Mr. Zhou is right. Qingwu will naturally act with caution."

"This winter hunt is indeed full of dangers. Master Zhou needs to be more careful."

After a confrontation between the two, Zhou Yiqiao took advantage of the situation, while Luo Qingwu's cheeks turned red. She left the houseboat first, claiming that she had something to do at home.

It is worth mentioning that in order to save a little face, before Luo Qingwu left, she used her status as a financial sponsor to make all the prostitutes on the boat stop what they were doing and say goodbye.

In just half an incense stick of time, only two grown men, Zhou Yiqiao and Zhu Changfu, were left on the huge pleasure boat.

Being alone with Zhou Yiqiao really made Zhu Changfu feel a little pressured. He coughed dryly and prepared to say goodbye and leave.

"Lord Zhu, how do you officials in the court make arrangements for the winter hunt?"

Before Zhu Changfu could open his mouth, Zhou Yiqiao spoke first.

Zhu Changfu's heart skipped a beat, thinking that Zhou Yiqiao would not let him go easily. Suppressing his anxiety, Zhu Changfu answered carefully.

"Master Zhou, on the day of winter hunting, officials like us usually follow the royal family members into the royal hunting grounds in batches according to our ranks."

"As the prefect, although my rank is not very high, I am fortunate enough to follow a prince or princess into the hunting grounds."

"In previous years, I followed the Third Princess. I'm sure there won't be much change this year."

Zhou Yiqiao nodded and looked at Zhu Changfu with a smile.

"Oh? Following the Third Princess?"

"I thought that Lord Zhu was born with such a special position as the prefectural governor, and would follow a more powerful member of the royal family like the crown prince or the sixteenth princess."