You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 25 Favor
Chen Shao sat in the warm pavilion, casually flipping through the files on the Japanese army.

A soldier came forward to change his tea, and Chen Shao asked, "When do we, the soldiers supporting the Japanese, usually report for duty?"

The soldier bowed and said, "Those times were set for us. As long as the Palace Guard doesn't make any prior arrangements, you can leave whenever you want, Commander."

Chen Shao nodded, changed his clothes, and took off his magnificent armor.

Arriving at Maqian Street, the atmosphere immediately became lively. Vendors called out their wares, customers haggled over prices, and the waiters at the noodle shops greeted customers with beaming smiles.

Even in winter, the streets of Bianliang are never short of people.

If you walk along the riverside path to the west side of the street, you will find the Rainbow Bridge, an arched bridge.

Despite the tragic massacre that wiped out an entire family, it did not affect the prosperity of the area at all; in fact, many people came specifically to watch the spectacle.

Bianjing is a city with a strong sense of everyday life.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be works like "Along the River During the Qingming Festival".

Standing on the Rainbow Bridge, leading his horse, Chen Shao pondered for a long time.

Finally, he seemed to have made up his mind. He walked down the Rainbow Bridge, bought some things on the bustling street, and rode his horse back to the alley.

In the courtyard, Da Hu and the others were practicing martial arts, and they didn't stop when they saw Chen Shao return.

Chen Shao, carrying a bag of pastries and a box of rouge, knocked on the door in the middle room.

The door creaked open, and Chun Tao looked at him timidly.

She must have just been crying; tears were still clinging to her little face, making her look like a delicate pear blossom in the rain, a sight that evoked pity.

"I bought this for you, have some."

Chun Tao carefully took it and placed it on the table next to her. From childhood to adulthood, she had never suffered any hardship and had lived a very comfortable and wealthy life.

Chen Shao took a closer look. Since it was daytime, he could see it clearly now and realized that she was indeed a beauty in the making.

Her skin was like solidified cream, with bright, watery eyes, a small nose and mouth, a fair and slender neck, a slightly upturned bottom, and a graceful waist. She was incredibly cute.

However, she is still too young. If you were to consider her as a woman, she would appear somewhat immature, and her flat chest would lack sex appeal.

"I've already asked, and sure enough, there's a family surnamed Wu on Maqian Street who were..." Chen Shao sighed and asked, "Do you have any relatives? I'll take you there."

Chun Tao was overjoyed that he was willing to let her go, but then she became afraid.

Where can we go if we go out?
My older sister told me not to reveal my relationship with her, and that even my parents at home wouldn't dare to talk about it outside.

Unfortunately, the truth will out.

Although Chun Tao is young, she has thought about it carefully these past few days and concluded that this matter must be related to her older sister.

His family were all honest and law-abiding. They lived a happy and prosperous life with the money secretly given to them by his sister. They were kind to others and had no enemies. They rarely even had arguments with anyone.

Why did they have to use such a heavy hand?

"I have no relatives left."

Chen Shao was somewhat surprised. He had originally planned to take this opportunity to get to know Li Shishi, but he didn't expect the little girl to have kept it a secret from her sister.

He nodded slightly and said, "Then let's go to the government office?"

Chun Tao lowered her head, thinking that if she didn't go to her sister, she could wait for her sister to come to her.

Or wait a few days and then ask someone to send a message to her sister so she knows where she is.

It's not safe to go out now, but Chen Shao, who killed his enemy, is polite and, apart from being a little fierce to him when he first killed him, he is very reassuring.

Actually, she was also terrified after experiencing a great change, and then she saw Chen Shao and the others help her get rid of the terrifying murderer.

In a sense, Chen Shao was indeed her benefactor, and the benefactor of her family.

This experience made her young mind subconsciously feel that Chen Shao and the others were trustworthy.

"Brother Chen, I'm a little scared. Could I stay here for a few more days?"

Chun Tao mustered her courage and spoke slowly. Chen Shao nodded and said, "Then you'd better not wander around. These villains definitely have accomplices."

Wu Chuntao was very happy and thanked him while lifting her skirt.

Chen Shao closed the door for her and left.

He sat in the courtyard for a while, then instructed Da Hu to guard the gate, and took Zhao He out, heading straight for Tong Guan's residence.

Using this incident, Chen Shao outlined two paths for himself.

One plan was to take advantage of the situation to get in touch with Li Shishi, then use his own killing of her enemy to gain some benefits from her, and get her to help him ask Zhao Ji for an official position.

This approach was quickly rejected by Chen Shao.

Firstly, he didn't understand Li Shishi, and even less did he know how much influence she held in Zhao Ji's heart.

Using this incident to get closer to Li Shishi could open up more avenues for her, but one should absolutely not invest too much.

The second option is to tell Tong Guan the whole story.

Tong Guan could use this incident to achieve his own goals, whether it was to befriend Li Shishi and thus secure the emperor's favor.

Whether it's taking the opportunity to smear others, frame and suppress other political enemies, it's all something Tong Guan is happy to see.

Compared to Li Shishi, Tong Guan was far more important to him.

He held military power in the Northwest, which was what Chen Shao most desired.

Moreover, Chen Shao planned to tell Tong Guan by asking for help and apologizing.

Let him see your loyalty; that when you got into trouble, you didn't try to hide it from him, but instead came to you for help.

With such a powerful backer, they're not afraid of you causing trouble. What big trouble could you possibly cause?

Their energy is beyond human imagination.

While Tong Guan was fighting in the northwest, court officials submitted memorials impeaching him. Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) became frightened and ordered him to withdraw his troops. Tong Guan dared to tear up the imperial edict and then alter it to say that the emperor had ordered them to fight without worry.

They are not afraid of their subordinates causing trouble, but they are afraid of their subordinates stirring up trouble, covering up secrets, and being dishonest with them.

Even if you really messed up something that gave him a headache, he could just secretly eliminate you.

Chen Shao was confident that he hadn't caused much trouble this time. Regardless of who the other party was, he had only killed their henchmen.

Moreover, the fact that the Imperial City Guard was mobilized indicates that Li Shishi and Zhao Ji already knew about it and wanted to avenge their woman.

He went to Tong Guan to apologize, firstly to show his loyalty, and secondly to let Tong Guan know that he could be trusted and that he would not hide anything from him.

Secondly, it eliminates this hidden danger. After all, someone has been killed. If it is discovered and Tong Guan is brought to justice, then it would be a bad move.
Thirdly, it wouldn't interfere with his ability to use Li Shishi's younger sister and get in touch with her.

Upon arriving at the Tong residence, the guards told him that Commander Xuan had left.

Ordinary people would have to wait at home.

Fortunately, Chen Shao was acquainted with them, and these guards escorted him and Li Liangsi to Bianjing, where they received great care from Chen Shao along the way.

Among the guards at the gate, Yang Sanqi heard Chen Shao's voice and walked out with a smile.

"Commander Chen!"

"Seventh Brother, are you kidding me, brother?"

Yang Sanqi chuckled and said, "You're looking for Commander Xuan?"

"Yes."

"In a hurry?"

Chen Shao nodded.

Yang Sanqi hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'll take you there."

(End of this chapter)