Reborn, the daughter of the Marquisate went crazy

Looking at Xie Qingli's tender face, Zou Ping felt conflicted and an impulse was violently hitting his heart.

In just a short period of time, his initial wariness and suspicion of Xie Qingli turned into his current concern, all because Xie Qingli's every move somehow evoked memories of his daughter Jiaojiao.

What has been appearing repeatedly in his mind these days is the scene of his birthday that year.

Jiaojiao was about twelve or thirteen years old at that time. On his birthday, his cousin Zou Xiangming and the elders of the clan blocked him in the Zou family ancestral hall and forced him to hand over the secret recipe in front of the ancestors. He struggled for a long time and was exhausted both physically and mentally. He only returned to his yard with a tired body when the moon was at its zenith.

When he reached the gate, he saw his daughter Jiaojiao's petite figure sitting on the threshold, full of anxiety. The moment Jiaojiao saw him, her eyes flashed with great surprise, and she smiled brightly, like a bud, illuminating his gloomy heart.

Jiaojiao happily called "Daddy" and threw herself into his arms. Hugging the little person whom he had raised with care, he regained the courage to fight against everything.

Jiaojiao was very good at painting, and she stuffed a painting into his arms like presenting a treasure.

It was a birthday gift Jiaojiao had prepared for him. The painting depicted their family of three, and everyone was lifelike, especially Jiaojiao's mother. Jiaojiao's mother had passed away young, but Jiaojiao had painted this painting based on a small portrait of her mother.

He was both proud and heartbroken, his eyes moistening unconsciously. If it weren't for Jiaojiao, he wouldn't have been able to endure those years alone!

But later, with an imperial decree from the royal family, he was forced to send Jiaojiao into the palace. Once inside, it was like entering a deep sea. From then on, he never had the chance to see her again. What he finally waited for was the news that Jiaojiao had died of illness.

Jiaojiao was not of high rank, and her death happened to coincide with the Queen Mother's birthday. The palace didn't even hold a funeral, and she was buried hastily. From then on, he and Jiaojiao were separated forever!

Now Xie Qingli comes to Beijing, which is so similar to Jiaojiao entering the palace back then!

His failure to protect Jiaojiao back then had become a lifelong pain in his heart. He had escaped everything and lived a miserable life in Luming County for over a decade. Was he going to continue living in such a miserable state?

The impulse finally broke through his chest, giving Zouping the courage to do something big.

He bowed to Xie Qingli, his voice trembling slightly. "This old servant suspects that everything the young lady has done is definitely not just to return to the Jing'an Marquis' Mansion. Although this old servant has mediocre abilities, he is willing to follow the young lady and serve her wholeheartedly!"

Xie Qingli was surprised. She didn't understand why Uncle Ping suddenly pledged his allegiance to her. She hesitated and said, "Uncle Ping, you are a martial arts expert with unique skills. I would be very happy to receive your help, but how can I be so worthy..."

Zou Ping interrupted Xie Qingli and said resolutely, "I have made up my mind. Miss, there is no need to say more. Since you don't dislike me, I will make it clear to Master Zhang."

He paused, a smile forming on his lips: "As for those little skills of this old servant, if the young lady is interested, this old servant is willing to teach you everything he knows!" He had already figured out that those skills were the life's work of his father, and he couldn't just let them go to the grave.

Xie Qingli said with full respect: "You are too modest! Your disguise skills are superb and amazing. How can it be called a trivial skill? The time when you deceived Song Zhaoxing, the role of the traveling merchant you played was simply amazing!" Han Jue and Chunya nodded frantically beside them. They were indeed shocked that time.

Xie Qingli had already suspected Zou Ping's identity. She tried to test him, "I once heard that there was a great, hidden clan in Fengqian whose disguise skills were unparalleled in the world. Although I haven't had the chance to see them, yours must be even better."

Xie Qingli observed Zou Ping's reaction as he spoke, but Zou Ping's expression remained the same, without any change.

She stopped trying to test him and bowed solemnly to Zou Ping. "With such a unique skill, Qingli would definitely first become your disciple before daring to learn from you. I wonder if you are willing to accept a dull disciple like me?"

Zou Ping nodded with satisfaction. He smiled heartily and thought to himself that this little girl was quite cunning. She was praising him while secretly testing his identity, but it didn't disgust him.

He stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Of course I'm willing to accept a smart apprentice!"

Since he decided to accept an apprentice, he naturally no longer called himself "old slave".

Without waiting for Xie Qingli's response, he smiled slyly: "Miss, you guessed right. I am from the Fengqian Zou family."

Xie Qingli used a little cleverness, but was caught on the spot, and his face suddenly turned red. In front of the wily old fox, the little fox's shallow skills were certainly not enough.

Xie Qingli quickly stood up and performed a proper apprenticeship ceremony to Zou Ping, saying happily, "Thank you, Master, for accepting me as your disciple. I will definitely pay you the apprenticeship fee tomorrow." She cheered secretly in her heart. She didn't expect to meet such a powerful person so casually.

Zou Ping nodded slightly and said in a deep voice: "Since we have become master and disciple, it's time for you to see the true face of your master." As he spoke, he took off a human skin mask from his face, revealing an elegant face, which was exactly the face of the merchant!

Xie Qingli and the other three opened their mouths wide, too shocked to speak.

Zou Ping sighed slightly and said, "I have worn this mask for so long that I have become accustomed to this ordinary face and almost forgotten what I look like." As he spoke, he put the human skin mask back on his face.

After watching the magic trick, Xie Qingli and the other two were all upset, with a huge question mark in their minds: Is Uncle Ping's face fake?

Zou Ping suddenly asked Xie Qingli, "Master, I heard that you already have a master to learn medicine from. Does he agree that you can take another master as your master?"

When mentioning that person, Xie Qingli's eyes dimmed and he shook his head slightly.

Although she called that man her master, he always said, "People outside the world should not get involved in worldly affairs." He could teach her medicine and martial arts without reservation, and he could carefully guide those young Taoists to practice and attain enlightenment, but he never admitted that he was anyone's master. He did not want to have any emotional ties with this world.

What's more, in her previous life, she followed that man to learn skills under Lu Li's skin. Even if that man was reborn, she could only be a stranger when she stood in front of him now!

……

On the official road outside Jiazhou City, there were groups of refugees fleeing Jiazhou Prefecture.

I don't know who spread the rumor, saying that Nan Jing has stationed hundreds of thousands of troops on the border and will soon flatten Dongling.

Dongling may have General Jiang, the God of War, but he's currently stationed on the northwest border, and distant water can't quench immediate thirst. Meanwhile, Nanjing has always had a prosperous economy and advanced weaponry, and with an army of hundreds of thousands, Dongling is undoubtedly unable to resist. The people of Jiazhou are terrified and feel a sense of insecurity.

In order to appease the people of Jiazhou, Chu Yuncang and Xie Tingyu tried their best. Not only did they post notices everywhere in the name of the government, they also arranged for many people to beat drums and gongs to announce that Jiazhou was safe and sound and to appease the people. They even released the news that the prince was already in Jiazhou Prefecture. However, all these methods had little effect.

It seemed like someone was fanning the flames behind the scenes. The rumors became more and more outrageous, even to the point that a million-strong army from Nanjing would attack Jiazhou tomorrow.

As the rumors intensified, more and more people abandoned their homes and businesses, packed up their belongings and fled Jiazhou. In some places, nine out of ten houses were empty.

The shadow guards tracked down the source of the rumor and found it was actually a group of beggars...