In danger, he traveled through time to save her, and the black-bellied prince doted on her

"He knows that if he loses, only I can revive the Chen family. Mu Jinan has led the Youzhou army for too short a time. Many soldiers in Youzhou are loyal to the Chen family. Our attack on the city is a joint attack from both inside and outside!"

"You have accepted my father's job. Are you going to break the contract? If His Majesty knows about this, it will be a capital crime!"

Zhou Shenmao looked panicked. The reason why he was practicing Tai Chi was because he knew he had committed a capital crime! He needed to reassure himself!

When Chen Heng saw Zhou Shenmao's fear, he thought there was no need to practice Tai Chi anymore. He was so angry every day after practicing Tai Chi that it was time to vent his anger towards Youzhou in the north.

Chen Hengwang added: "He's here too!"

Zhou Shenmao saw the guard leading someone into the courtyard. He rubbed his eyes and asked, "Are you Fan Zhaoyang?"

They used to meet often in Yanzhou and Youzhou and knew each other a little. Zhou Shenmao knew that Fan Zhaoyang had killed his father and surrendered to Mu Jinan, so why did he come to Yanzhou at this moment?

Fan Zhaoyang stayed in Yanzhou for a few days and did not find anything strange in the city, but the calmer it was, the greater the crisis he felt.

Fan Zhaoyang came to the governor's residence alone. He bowed and said with a smile, "Greetings, Lord Zhou."

Zhou Shenmao suddenly smiled and pretended to be stupid, and asked Fan Zhaoyang directly: "General Fan, was it Prince Xi who sent you to Yanzhou?"

Fan Zhaoyang didn't expect Zhou Shenmao to be so straightforward. If he couldn't answer Zhou Shenmao's heart, he would be caught by Zhou Shenmao now.

Fan Zhaoyang did not kneel down to act pitiful, nor did he speak eloquently.

He chose to tell the truth: "Master Zhou, if King Xi hadn't forced me, how could I have killed my father? I will bear the crime of killing my father and brother for the rest of my life, and be cursed by the world!"

"It was Queen Xi who sent me here. She asked me to pretend to surrender and take you to Youzhou when you were least prepared."

"King Xi once had me imprisoned and under surveillance. Now that I have escaped from Youzhou, I just want to live in hiding."

"I have already told the governor about this matter, please think about it yourself!"

Zhou Shenmao was startled, rubbed his hands together, and closed his eyes to think.

He had seen Fan Zhaoyang being very filial and respectful to Fan Zheng before, and he thought that Mu Jinan forced Fan Zhaoyang to kill his father in order to control him and successfully capture Youzhou.

The common people and later generations still talked about the royal family's patricide, let alone the son of an official like Fan Zhaoyang?

Zhou Shenmao opened his eyes and saw Fan Zhaoyang looking haggard, with his hair disheveled and scars on his face. It seemed that he had suffered a lot.

If Fan Zhaoyang surrendered to him, he would suspect that Fan Zhaoyang was a spy among spies. Now Fan Zhaoyang just told him the truth and said that he wanted to remain anonymous, so he believed it 70%.

Last year, Jiang Yao returned to Sheng'an to visit his relatives. Jiang Yao met with Xie Xu. Lin Xiuyuan reported the matter to Emperor Ming, who demoted Zhou Mu in anger.

Later, Mu Jinan found out that Cheng Yuqin was involved in corruption in Suiting, and Zhou Mu was reinstated.

Everyone in the world and among the court officials knew that Mu Jinan had done Zhou Mu a favor. If Zhou Shenmao rashly attacked Mu Jinan, he would be branded as someone who repaid kindness with enmity.

Now that Mu Jinan sent Fan Zhaoyang here, Zhou Shenmao doesn't have to worry about that favor.

He was originally an adopted son whom Zhou did not value, and other people's verbal sparring and criticism could not hurt him.

Zhou Shenmao paced in the yard, holding a blooming pear blossom in one hand. He shook it vigorously, and the pear blossoms flew from Yanzhou City to the north with murderous intent.

"Send out troops in three days!"

Fan Zhaoyang touched the scratches on his face and it still hurt. In order to make the performance more realistic, he starved himself for two days. Now he looked like a proton who had suffered a lot!

He felt that Chen Hengwang was not so easy to fool, so he did not let down his guard.

Why didn't the smart Chen Hengwang suspect Fan Zhaoyang?

Chen Hengwang hoped that Zhou Shenmao would send troops. No matter what strategy Fan Zhaoyang used, he could not stop him from attacking Youzhou.

Zhou Shenmao liked to play the role of a good host, so he arranged a banquet to entertain Fan Zhaoyang.

Zhou Shenmao used to have frequent contacts with Chen Xuan, Fan Zheng and others. They were a united group that relied on each other in the northeastern border area.

Chen Xuan is dead, and the incompetent Sheng Panzhu was captured by the two kings in Zhuozhou. The only commander Zhou Shenmao can rely on now is Chen Hengwang.

On his table was the ginseng that Sheng Panzhu had given him. He swallowed it in one gulp, and the friendship went into his stomach.

The banquet was held in front of the inner hall, and the courtyard was planted with magnolia trees of different colors, with piles of pink and white snow dyeing the spring.

White and pink veils were hung on the trees, and the six dancers only revealed their graceful dancing postures behind the veils.

Zhou Shenmao sat at the top of the banquet table, and three Xilu women served him food and wine. How could he look like a general about to go to war? He looked like a playboy who was addicted to singing and dancing.

Zhou Shenmao signaled a Xilu woman to pour wine for Fan Zhaoyang.

The woman could only speak a few simple Chinese words. She poured a glass of wine and handed it to Fan Zhaoyang: "Sir, please drink."

Fan Zhaoyang did not take the glass of wine, nor did he look at the foreign woman. He sat back a little, signaling the woman to stay away from him.

Since Zhou Shenmao is going to send troops and time is so tight, he should be deploying the troops and planning strategies for attacking the city. Why is he sitting here and having a banquet?

Fan Zhaoyang looked at the drunk Zhou Shenmao. A man as addicted to alcohol and sex as Zhou Shenmao should have practiced his alcohol tolerance. How could he become confused after just a few drinks?

Fan Zhaoyang vaguely felt that this was the Hongmen Banquet, or that he had brought himself to the Hongmen Banquet. If the cup of wine was poisoned, he would die on the spot.

Zhou Shenmao just brushed off the whole thing by saying he was drunk and didn't know what happened.

When Fan Zhaoyang saw Zhou Shenmao looking up at him, he said bluntly, "My wife doesn't allow me to drink."

Zhou Shenmao heard from others that Fan Zhaoyang and his wife treated each other as equals, but if their relationship was really good, why didn't Fan Zhaoyang have a child after being married for seven years, and why didn't he take a concubine?

Zhou Shenmao has always been suspicious of Fan Zhaoyang leading troops to attack foreign tribes: "Zhaoyang, it is rumored that you and General Mu's daughter, Princess Qing's wife Mu Yun, are close friends?"

"You led the troops to Quhe. Could it be that you are risking your life for the woman you love? Hahaha."

Fan Zhaoyang tightened his grip on the chopsticks, his back was slightly sweaty. After all, he was alone here, in a large courtyard, and he was not familiar with the place.

If the enemy surrounded him, he would not be able to escape for a while.

However, this gave him an opportunity to explain.

Fan Zhaoyang only agreed with half of his words: "I am trying to rescue my father. Mu Yun wants to kill Mu Jinan, so I am just in alliance with her."

Zhou Shenmao relaxed a little when he heard that Fan Zhaoyang didn't say it was for Mu Yun, nor did he emphasize how much he hated Mu Jinan. Fan Zhaoyang looked helpless and sad when he spoke.

Zhou Shenmao then smiled and spoke. He pointed at the Xilu woman and said, "Drink for General Fan!"

Xilu girl didn't say a word of rebuttal and didn't hesitate. She picked up the wine cup and drank it all. After a long time, she was still kneeling beside Fan Zhaoyang.

Fan Zhaoyang's Adam's apple moved, but he still didn't drink. He was still a little scared, worried that Zhou Shenmao and Chen Hengwang would turn against him and kill him.

Zhou Shenmao listened to the musician playing the pipa. He took a pair of chopsticks and tapped the wine glass, then sang along with the musician.