Dad, open the door. I'll bring your mistress back for you.

When the owner of the Yun Family Teahouse led Zhou Lin into the private room, he immediately saw Xie Xiuqi sitting there leisurely, with two empty dim sum on the plate in front of him.

Zhou Lin frowned slightly, "Why did you choose to meet here?"

He knew clearly that this teahouse belonged to Shen Chuning's maternal grandfather.

"I can't possibly invite you to my residence. If others knew, they'd probably mistakenly think I'm a homosexual!" Xie Xiuqi said, casually gesturing at the remaining dim sum on the table and chuckling. "Besides, the dim sum at the Yun Family Teahouse is really good. While it's a little inferior to Cuiwei's homemade dim sum at Ningfengzhai, it's still top-notch."

Hearing this, Zhou Lin's heart moved, and he couldn't help asking: "Do you often eat the snacks made by Cuiwei?"

In fact, what he really wanted to ask was whether you often went to Ningfengzhai to find Shen Chuning.

However, the words changed when they came to his lips.

Xie Xiuqi was such a smart man that he saw through Zhou Lin's thoughts immediately and deliberately teased him, "Of course. Have you never tasted it before? That's a shame."

Seeing that Zhou Lin remained silent, he seemed to have no interest in this topic.

Xie Xiuqi's eyes rolled as he continued, "Looking at you like this, could it be that you've fallen in love with a girl from some family and want me to help you compare your horoscopes?"

You know, everyone who comes to him recently is talking about these things.

Zhou Lin suddenly raised his head and interrupted Xie Xiuqi with a serious face, "That's not the case. I came to you this time because I plan to return to the Northland and I want you to help me."

As soon as these words were spoken, Xie Xiuqi almost spit out the tea he had just put into his mouth. He looked at Zhou Lin in astonishment, not knowing how to respond for a moment.

"Who on earth is in the North? Why do you insist on going back to the North? And I see that your forehead is dark and you are not in good health. It is not suitable for you to go to that bitter and cold place. Could it be... that you have a concubine hidden in the North?" Xie Xiuqi said as he looked Zhou Lin up and down.

Zhou Lin shifted his gaze away from Xie Xiuqi and looked directly out the window behind him.

This is the fourth floor of the Yun Family Teahouse. The building is tall and has an excellent location.

Standing here and looking out the window, you can clearly see the North City Gate in the distance.

At this moment, Zhou Lin's gaze was firmly fixed on that direction.

Zhou Lin curled his lips helplessly and explained, "The northern barbarians have been making some small moves recently, but now only my father and eldest brother are guarding the north. I really can't bear to let them suffer so much."

Hearing this, Xie Xiuqi fell silent.

After a long while, he slowly spoke, "After all, this world belongs to the Xiao family. Even the current emperor isn't anxious, so why are you so anxious? Besides, if you really want to serve the Xiao family loyally, you should go to see His Majesty and volunteer. Why would you come to you?"

Zhou Lin thought to himself, if His Majesty is willing to agree to this matter, why should he come to Xie Xiuqi for help?

Emperor Jing's current attitude is very clear. As long as the north has not fallen, he will never let me go back.

Even if we take a step back and say that the North was unfortunately lost, the chances of Emperor Jing sending his grandfather back to the front would be much higher than sending him to fight.

At this moment, he was like a foreign hostage imprisoned in the capital.

However, his father's situation is not optimistic!

If the northern barbarians launched a fierce attack with all their might, his father might not be able to hold out for long.

Although this vast land belongs to the Xiao family, it is the brave soldiers of their Zhou family who guard the north and resist foreign invasion.

If the north falls into the hands of the enemy, the Zhou family army will suffer immeasurable losses, and tens of thousands of passionate men may die.

Therefore, in his short lifetime, Zhou Lin wanted to do his best to weaken the military strength of the northern barbarians.

At this moment, Zhou Lin looked at Xie Xiuqi with a burning gaze and said in a deep voice, "You are now someone deeply trusted by His Majesty, and when it comes to making up stories, who can compare to you?"

Hearing this, Xie Xiuqi rolled his eyes at Zhou Lin in annoyance and retorted, "What nonsense are you talking about? Who said I could make up stories? Those were all conclusions I came to by observing the night sky, okay? I just added a little artistic touch to them."

Zhou Lin nodded and replied, "Alright, let's just say it's an artistic interpretation. If that's the case, then you should refine it and tell His Majesty that the northern barbarians are about to rebel and they won't be able to withstand it without me. I'll have a small number of them enter the city to harass the city and increase the credibility of your story."

Xie Xiuqi thought for a moment and replied, "It's not completely impossible, but..."

As he spoke, his eyes glanced at the wall behind Zhou Lin intentionally or unintentionally.

Seeing Xie Xiuqi showing signs of letting up, Zhou Lin quickly pressed, "Just what? Tell me now!"

Xie Xiuqi smiled slightly and said slowly, "But before that, I want to ask you something. You must answer truthfully and absolutely no lies are allowed. While I'm learning the art of astrology, I've also delved into physiognomy. If I find out you're lying, I'll be able to tell right away."

Zhou Lin nodded, "Okay, if you ask, I will tell you the truth."

Xie Xiuqi glanced at the wall behind Zhou Lin again and asked slowly, "Are you interested in the Ninth Miss of the Shen Family?"