My game even includes ancient times

About half an hour later, He Shi met Steward Chang in a three-courtyard house in the center of the city.

Manager Chang was a short, middle-aged man with gray hair, a smile on his lips, and a very shrewd appearance.

He Shi handed the thin envelope that Chu Zheng had given him to Steward Chang. Steward Chang took it, but without opening it, he casually stuffed it into his pocket and said to He Shi with a smile, "Young Master He, you must be hungry after your long journey. So, I'll treat you to a simple meal at Xuri Restaurant today. What do you say?"

Upon hearing this, He Shi glanced at the air around him without making a sound.

He Yu, who was invisible, didn't speak, but raised his hand and gently tapped He Shi's shoulder twice.

He Shi smiled slightly: "Manager Chang, before my master left, he instructed me to ask you to read this letter as soon as possible."

Manager Chang laughed and said, "Don't worry, Young Master He, it won't cause any delays. Let's go eat first."

He Shi's expression remained unchanged as he quietly watched him.

The smile on Steward Chang's face gradually froze. He looked He Shi up and down, and finally took out the letter from his pocket, opened it and started reading.

The letter contained little information, and Steward Chang finished reading it quickly.

He calmly folded the letter, put it in an envelope, and then put it in his pocket. He said to He Shi, "I've read the letter. It's nothing important or urgent. Let's go, Young Master He."

Seeing that he had read the letter, He Shi didn't say anything more and followed Steward Chang out to get into the carriage.

Xurilou is a luxuriously decorated restaurant. The guests who come and go are all dressed in fine clothes and have an extraordinary temperament. It is clear that the prices here are not for ordinary people.

He Yu remained invisible and followed He Shi upstairs, glancing discreetly at one of the private rooms on the second floor, where a faint red light was emanating from the door.

Manager Chang led the way, stopping at the door of the private room.

He Yu raised an eyebrow.

Pushing open the door to the private room, Steward Chang stepped aside, gesturing for He Shi to enter first: "Young Master He, please."

He Shi stopped at the doorway, only stepping inside again after feeling a hand gently pat his sleeve.

There were three people in the private room, and from He Yu's perspective, all three of them were glowing with red light.

This is truly like walking into a wolf's den.

"Manager Chang," He Shi looked at the three men one by one and asked in a calm voice, "So you have other guests to entertain besides me? And who are these people?"

Manager Chang led He Shi to sit down at the table and introduced him with a smile: "These are all prominent figures in Yunzhou. Let me introduce them to you."

He pointed to the young man on the far left: "This is Military Advisor Hou, who is in charge of Yunzhou's taxes, household registration, and warehouses. He has a lot of power."

Hou Canjun smiled and nodded to He Shi: "This must be the beloved disciple of Master Chu that you mentioned, Steward Chang. I didn't know he was so young. Truly, a hero emerges from among the young."

As the saying goes, one cannot hit a smiling face. Although he was puzzled, He Shi still politely returned the greeting: "Military Advisor Hou is too kind. You are the one who is truly promising at a young age."

Seeing that the two men got along well, the steward's smile deepened, and he continued to introduce them: "This is Magistrate Wang of Dingshan County. Magistrate Wang is a kind and generous man, and is a well-known philanthropist in the county."

County Magistrate Wang was sipping tea when he heard this. He merely glanced at He Shi, nodded slightly, and said nothing.

He Shi nodded at him as well.

"This last one is Captain Liu, the head of the city guards of Dingshan City. He works very hard maintaining order and guarding the city gates."

Captain Liu was a burly man who looked to be in his early twenties. He glanced at the sword hanging at He Shi's waist and said with great interest, "Young Master He, do you practice swordsmanship? It just so happens that I also have some knowledge of this art. Let's have a friendly spar sometime."

He Shichong smiled and nodded at him.

He had already sensed that something was wrong with the banquet, but the thought of He Yu standing right next to him made him unable to feel nervous at all. Instead, he became even more calm and continued eating and drinking.

Seeing how composed he was, the others exchanged glances and began toasting each other, looking for an opportunity to get He Shi drunk.

He Shi kept in mind Xia Yuan's admonition that children shouldn't drink alcohol, and no matter how much the others tried to persuade him, he refused to drink a drop. In fact, he ended up making Steward Chang quite drunk by the end of the meal.

He Yu stood quietly to the side, recalling the contents of the letter he had just glimpsed. After a brief assessment of the official positions and powers of these individuals, he sneered inwardly, having roughly understood what this Steward Chang was up to.

"Snapped!"

Captain Liu slammed the wine cup down on the table, put his left hand on He Shi's shoulder, and picked up the wine pot with his right hand to pour wine into He Shi's cup: "Young Brother He, there's only one sip left of this wine. This is a real blessing. The brothers thought you were young, so they specially saved it for you. You must drink it!"

Just as He Shi was about to refuse, he felt someone press against him from behind, and a hand went around his shoulder and reached under his lips.

He Shi's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly understood He Yu's meaning. He didn't care about being shy and directly picked up the glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp.

Finally, he smiled and said to Captain Liu, "Thank you all for your care, and thank you for your hospitality, Steward Chang. It's getting late. Steward Chang, where shall I rest tonight?"

Manager Chang glanced at the empty wine cup, a hint of smugness flashing in his eyes, and said with a smile, "Please, Young Master He, stay at my residence. Look at me, I've been so busy drinking with my brothers that I forgot Young Master He must be exhausted after a long day of travel."

"How about this, let's call it a day. I'll take Young Master He home to rest, and we can meet again in a couple of days."

The other three nodded in agreement. He Shi stood up and was about to follow Steward Chang when he heard a very low whisper in his ear: "There's a drug in the wine. Pretend to faint."

He paused, then staggered back a step, head down, left hand on the table, right hand covering his forehead: "Ah, why am I suddenly so dizzy..."

He then collapsed to the ground.

The lively atmosphere in the private room suddenly stopped, and the four people looked at each other.

Steward Chang stepped forward, squatted down, and shook He Shi's shoulder vigorously: "Young Master He, why are you asleep? Wake up!"

He Shi's shoulder was sore from being squeezed, but his expression remained unchanged, not even his eyelashes trembled.

Manager Chang looked up at the three of them and said, "It's done."

He stood up, clapped his hands, and looked at He Shi on the ground with a cold smile: "This kid insisted that I open that letter and read it when he was at my manor. Now I can't let him go back to the manor. If Chu Zheng finds out that I read the letter but did not do as instructed in it, even if he still cares about our past relationship, my old life will probably be over."

Hou, the military advisor, said, "In that case, whose hand should this brat be killed?"

County Magistrate Wang smiled slightly and gently stroked his beard: "In the past few days, assassins from the Moyun Tower have been appearing near Dingshan City."

Manager Chang carried He Shi on his back and, upon hearing this, smiled and said, "That's excellent."