Qingzhu looked at him and said coldly, "If we follow the etiquette and leave, we won't be able to see Mr. Kongming even if we stand here for ten days."
"Either we set fire to it, or we end our lives here now, rather than go back and face Duke Jia's methods."
"You choose for yourself."
Wutong and Silver Needle both shuddered, and without any hesitation, they immediately ran to Back Courtyard to set fire to it.
Within the Thatched Hall.
Tongzi angrily said to Zhuge Liang, "Sir, those three guys outside don't look like good people. They call themselves Embroidered-Clothes Envoys, and they came to invite you to come out on the order of Son of Heaven."
"How dare they brag."
Although it is a bit derogatory to Zhuge Liang, to be honest, how could Son of Heaven, the most respected person in the world, send someone to invite a little person to come out?
"Embroidered-Clothes Envoys? Son of Heaven?"
Zhuge Liang's expression changed slightly after hearing this. He had only seen Embroidered-Clothes Envoys and Official Post in some written records, but it was no longer established after Emperor Wu.
Now it has reappeared in the world.
The most important thing is, how did Son of Heaven know of his existence and specially sent Embroidered-Clothes Envoys to find him?
Even though Zhuge Liang's thinking was extremely sharp, facing this sudden situation, he felt strange and filled with doubts.
Could it be that Liu Qi sent someone to test him?
At this time, Tongzi suddenly changed his face. He pulled Zhuge Liang's sleeves, pointed out the window and exclaimed, "Fire, fire! There is water outside!"
Zhuge Liang was startled and looked in the direction he pointed.
I saw that Back Courtyard had thick smoke billowing and fire everywhere. It looked very scary, and it seemed to be burning towards the house where he was.
"Get out quickly!"
Zhuge Liang's expression changed immediately when he saw this. Without any time to think about it, he directly dragged Tongzi and ran out of the Thatched Hall.
And Qingzhu is waiting outside the house at this time.
At this time, Silver Needle and Wutong happened to come back. Their faces were stained by fireworks, and they were still holding Fire-Folding Tube in their hands.
Tongzi understood everything immediately when he saw this, and said angrily, "You, how dare you set fire to the house? Do you want to kill someone!"
Zhuge Liang also frowned deeply, protected Tongzi behind him, looked at Qingzhu and the others warily, and said, "Who are you, sir, and why do you insist on seeing me, even setting fire to me?"
He didn't know these three people at all.
But it can be seen from their walking movements and sharp eyes that these three people are obviously highly skilled in martial arts.
"I'm sorry."
Qingzhu hugged Zhuge Liang, then took off his coat, revealing the luxurious and extraordinary Embroidered Clothes underneath, and said seriously, "Embroidered-Clothes Central Commandant Qingzhu, I have met Mr. Kongming."
"On the order of Son of Heaven, sir, please rush to Ye City!"
Chapter 297 Zhuge Liang: I have never seen such a shameless person
Qingzhu took the initiative to express his identity and purpose to Zhuge Liang, and then apologized.
"Sir did not want to come forward to meet you, so we had no choice but to resort to some extraordinary measures. Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way."
His tone was full of apologies, and his attitude was very polite and respectful, but Zhuge Liang still did not let go of his guard.
Although Qingzhu claims to be Embroidered-Clothes Envoys, this organization has disappeared for a hundred years. Who knows whether it is true or false?
And the wording is also very suspicious.
Zhuge Liang asked calmly, "Your Excellency claims to be here on the order of Son of Heaven. May I ask how Son of Heaven found out about me? Why did you ask me, a commoner, to go to Ye City?"
"You are not looking for the wrong person, are you?"
He has been staying at Nanyang since he came to Jing Province with Uncle Zhuge Xuan. After Uncle passed away, he worked hard in the fields.
Although he usually interacts with Famous Scholars such as Pang Tong, Sima Hui, Pang De Gong, and Xu Shu, he himself is not well-known.
Not to mention Jing Province, his name is widely known, not even Nanyang Commandery knows about him, let alone Son of Heaven who is thousands of miles away?
That's why he was suspicious of Qingzhu's purpose.
"You have not found the wrong person."
Qingzhu shook his head and replied, "The order we received is to come to Jing Province to find Zhuge Kongming, the son of the former Mount Tai Commandery Prime Minister Zhuge Gui, and escort him to Ye City."
"I'm just following orders. As for how Your Majesty knows about sir and why he invites him over, we should wait until he arrives at Ye City before asking Your Majesty for advice."
"We really don't know either."
As Embroidered-Clothes Envoys, they don't need to know anything else, they just need to complete the order. Knowing too much is not a good thing.
As for finding the wrong person, it is even more impossible. Zhuge Gui does not have a second son named Zhuge Kongming.
"The sun is setting. Sir, please come with us."
After briefly explaining to Zhuge Liang, Qingzhu turned sideways slightly and made a gesture of invitation, indicating Zhuge Liang to leave with them.
After listening to Qingzhu's words, Zhuge Liang had confirmed that they were looking for him, but after thinking about it again and again, he still shook his head and said, "Forgive me for not obeying my order, please come back, you three."
He still couldn't believe the identities of these three people, let alone the so-called summons of Son of Heaven.
Silver Needle and Wutong couldn't help but feel very anxious after hearing this. Now that people have seen them, they don't want to let them go. What should they do?
The two once again set their sights on Qingzhu.
"Alas."
Qingzhu sighed slightly, and his eyes became dark, "Sir doesn't want to go with us Ye City, and we can't be rough with him."
"But if we fail to complete the mission assigned by Duke Jia personally, our end will be worse than death, if not death."
"Of course, I am not saying this to make you pity us, but I hope you will understand that we will use some extraordinary measures when necessary."
"For example, Mr. 's elder brother Zhuge Jin is now in Danyang Commandery, and his younger brother Zhuge Jun is in Longzhong County."
"Sir, you don't want anything to happen to them, right?"
Upon hearing this, Zhuge Liang was shocked, and then a look of anger appeared on his face. He stared at Qingzhu and cursed, "I have never seen such a shameless person like you!"
He set fire to the house and threatened his family with such cruel methods. Could this be the person from Son of Heaven Faction?
Silver Needle and Wutong were also stunned by Qingzhu.
Because if it were them, they would only be kind to each other and would never dare to use violence or threaten the other person's family.
For some reason, they saw the shadow of Jia Xu in Qingzhu - is this the weight of Gentleman of the Household, the only one among Embroidered-Clothes Envoys?
As expected, it was brought up by Duke Jia!
Qingzhu ignored Zhuge Liang's eyes and said calmly, "As long as you, sir, come back with us, they will be safe."
A gentleman can be deceived.
To deal with a person like Zhuge Liang, threatening his life will probably not have any effect, but threatening his family's life will.
Seeing Qingzhu's indifferent expression, Zhuge Liang knew that if he refused, something might happen to his two brothers.
"I'll go with you."
Zhuge Liang calmed down and said calmly.
He couldn't go on this trip.
Tongzi behind him suddenly became anxious when he heard this. Just as he was about to open his mouth to persuade, Qingzhu's cold eyes looked over, frightening him so much that he turned pale.
I could only swallow back the words that came to my lips.
Qingzhu withdrew his gaze, nodded to Zhuge Liang and said, "We have prepared Carriage, sir, please get on the bus."
Zhuge Liang said nothing and walked out of the yard with Tongzi.
Before boarding the car, he looked back at the thatched cottage where he had lived for three years and was gradually being swallowed up by the fire, and couldn't help but shake his head.
Although Liu Qi was turned away on the first day of his visit, this did not dispel his determination to invite Zhuge Liang back.
After casually finding an inn to rest in Longzhong County that night, we came over again around noon the next day in order to prevent Zhuge Liang from taking a nap again.
But when he arrived at Zhuge Liang's residence, he was stunned by the scene in front of him.
"Where's the thatched cottage? Where's that big one?"
Liu Qi looked at the ruins burned by the fire and rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
When he came yesterday, there was a thatched cottage here. Why is it now in ruins?
"Is it possible... that something went wrong?"
Liu Qi had a terrible suspicion in his mind, his face suddenly changed, and he hurriedly ordered his servants, "Quick, go inside and look for any corpses!"
If Zhuge Liang dies because of drowning, then his trip will be in vain!
After hearing this, several servants immediately started searching in the ruins. Even Liu Qi personally participated in the search, but after searching around, they did not see the body.
"Sir, could it be that Zhuge Liang didn't want to see you, so she deliberately burned down the thatched cottage and left this place?"
A servant couldn't help but guess.
Liu Qi frowned, because this guess was reasonable, otherwise how could the fire and water in the thatched cottage be so coincidental.
But based on the relationship between his father and Zhuge Liang Uncle, even if Zhuge Liang doesn't want to see him, he doesn't have to be so cruel, right?
"Sir, come and see!"
Just as Liu Qi was deep in thought, another servant suddenly shouted, attracting his attention.
The servant pointed to the ground and said, "Sir, there are ruts and horse hoof marks on the ground, which must have been left by Zhuge Liang!"
It is snow melting time now, and the ground is very muddy, so the traces of ruts are very obvious late at night and can be seen at a glance.
They did not take Carriage when they came here, and there were no bodies in the ruins, which means that Zhuge Liang must have left by car.
"Follow me!"
Liu Qi only hesitated for a moment before making the decision. Regardless of whether Zhuge Liang was willing to be recruited by him or not, he would try his best to give it a try.