Chapter 233 The Benevolent Lord
The lobby of the Southern Pacification Office was brightly lit. There were lamps hanging from the beams, lamps sitting in the corners, lamps placed on the large desks, and two large braziers burning brightly in the middle of the room.

It was getting dark, and there was still no news from the palace. The several thousand households in the Southern Pacification Office were like young wives caught in a dilemma. They did not dare to release the people, nor did they dare to offend those upright officials. They carefully served tea and snacks, but were worried that those upright officials would go hungry, so they asked the kitchen to heat up a pot of rock sugar lotus seed soup, and everyone was drinking a bowl of it.

After a while, the soup in the bowls of Kong Qingxiang, Kong Xiaoer and Qingliu were all gone. They wiped their hands and looked at Li Hu who was sitting on a chair in front of the big desk.

A group of people just watched Li Hu eat, and no one dared to say anything, so the sound of Li Hu chewing lotus seeds and drinking rock sugar soup was particularly loud.

Kong Qingxiang looked at Li Hu with admiration. This was the true demeanor of a great general. He saw Li Hu scooping the food into his mouth little by little with a spoon.

After a long while, Li Hu drank the rest of the soup in one gulp, took the towel handed to him by Wang Daniu and wiped his mouth, complaining in his heart: It’s not delicious. It’s far inferior to the lotus seed soup cooked by Lin Daiyu, even the one cooked by Amber is better than this. If he wasn’t really hungry, he wouldn’t eat it!

Kong Qingxiang asked the guards to collect all the bowls, walked over to Li Hu, and asked in a low voice: “It’s already dark, can you still find it?”

Li Hu didn’t look at him, but only looked at the thick cotton curtain. His deep eyes seemed to be able to see the scene outside the house through the curtain. After a long while, he uttered two words: “Here I come.”

Although the words were spoken softly, they were clearly heard by everyone.

All eyes were on the door, and the only sound in the room was the occasional crackling sound of burning silver frost charcoal.

Finally, an official in a red robe couldn’t help but stand up, walked to the door and lifted the thick cotton curtain.

A gust of cold wind immediately blew in a lot of snowflakes.

Everyone was startled by the wind and looked at the heavy snow falling outside the dim door.

The red-robed official was about to lower the door curtain when he suddenly froze there!

There was a sound of hurried footsteps, and a warm sedan chair led by two lanterns came in from the courtyard gate!

“It’s true, it’s true.” The red-robed official stuttered.

Almost at the same time, Kong Xiaoer and the Qingliu people stood up at the same time.

The sedan chair stopped at the foot of the stone steps, the pole tilted, and the person who stepped out was actually the Fourth Prince!

Li Hu also stood up.

Without waiting for everyone to go out to greet him, the Fourth Prince strode in.

The fourth prince stood in the hall and said: “May Buddha bless us! The handwritten letter from Duke Yansheng has been found!” Then he took out an envelope from his arms.

The Qingliu people surrounded him.

The fourth prince held up the letter and said, “Please see, the seal of this envelope is intact, which is enough to prove that no one has read this letter.”

An old man in a red robe said: “The seal has indeed not been moved. This old minister can testify to this.”

The fourth prince looked at Li Hu again: “Loyal and Brave Lord.”

Li Hu walked over and took a look: “It is indeed not moving.”

The Fourth Prince: “That’s good. Captain Kong, open this letter and see if it is the handwritten letter from Duke Yansheng!”

Kong Qingxiang took it and saw “A secret letter to His Majesty the Fourth Prince” written on the envelope. He opened the seal and read a few lines. He was shocked and stood there, staring at the Fourth Prince.

The fourth prince pretended to be surprised and asked anxiously, “Why, isn’t this the handwritten letter from Duke Yansheng?”

The Qingliu people all looked at Kong Qingxiang in surprise and doubt.

Kong Qingxiang opened his mouth and spoke after a long while: “The handwriting is genuine, but the content of the letter is not real. You should tell me, uncle.” Then he handed the letter to Li Hu.

The fourth prince: “Lord Zhongyong, the handwriting is not new, right?”

Li Hu took a closer look and found that the handwriting was indeed not new, but the content of the letter was too explicit. Even if Yan Shenggong had no bottom line, he should not be so flattering! At this moment, a light bulb suddenly flashed in his mind, and he subconsciously wanted to rub the letter with his thumb. Fortunately, he controlled his curiosity. If this ruined the emperor’s strategy, he would be punished.

The fourth prince: “Loyal and brave Earl?”

Li Hu came back to his senses and said, “Yeah.” Then he shook the letter in his hand and said, “The handwriting is not new.”

An official in a red robe could not help but ask, “What exactly was written in the letter from Duke Yansheng?” The other officials started shouting.

The fourth prince also spoke up: “Please ask Earl Zhongyong to read it to us, or just give us the general idea.”

Li Hu glanced at him, then at the letter, and after a while he said, “It would be better if Your Highness the Fourth Prince reads it to us personally.” Then he handed the letter over.

The Fourth Prince was stunned. Why didn’t this guy play by the rules?

Without teasing him any more, Li Hu cleared his throat and said, “Then let me just say a few words. In his letter, Duke Yansheng flattered the Fourth Prince harshly. He actually praised the Fourth Prince. He said that he had noble character, broad talents, noble character, and respect for the wise and humble.” At this point, Li Hu was slightly stunned. He looked at the letter and then at the Fourth Prince.

The fourth prince was puzzled: “What’s wrong?”

What a good pretentious guy! He must have read the letter! Li Hu coughed and said loudly, “Benevolent Lord.”

When these words were spoken, everyone was shocked.

Kong Xiaoer, who was completely unaware of the situation, turned pale. The words “benevolent ruler” can only be used to describe one person, and that is the emperor!
The silence lasted only a moment, and then there was a loud bang, and the hall immediately became noisy.

The fourth prince showed a look of panic!

Without waiting for Li Hu to continue reading, the Fourth Prince snatched the letter and ran quickly towards the sedan chair outside the door, shouting, “Enter the palace! Enter the palace!”

The lobby became even more chaotic now, with the upright people talking at once, making the whole lobby like a boiling pot.

Kong Xiaoer’s legs went limp, and he sat on the ground, mumbling, “It’s over. It’s over.”

Looking at the warm sedan chair disappearing outside the moon gate of the courtyard, Li Hu smiled. He was really an expert at pretending. If it were in his previous life, he would have been a definite movie king or TV king.

Kong Qingxiang came over: “Uncle.”

Li Hu was about to speak when he suddenly caught a glimpse of the envelope in his hand. He took it and looked at it carefully. The seal was indeed not moved. He looked at the line of words again and rubbed it hard with his hands. It turned out to be cut from another letter and pasted on. Uh, it was pasted twice.

The Fourth Prince had indeed read the letter!

Kong Qingxiang: “Uncle?”

Li Hu stuffed the envelope into his sleeve, glanced at the crowd, and said loudly: “Disperse!” He then said to Kong Qingxiang: “Don’t get involved in what happens next.” After saying that, he walked out.
The snow really stopped!
The wind howled in the night and the breath turned into ice. Li San led a number of stewards and servants to wait in front of the mansion gate. When they saw Li Hu getting out of the carriage, they immediately went to greet him.

Li Hu smiled and said, “You don’t have to wait for me here.”

Li San was silent for a moment, then said, “I can only put my heart at ease after seeing Second Master come home.”

Li Hu smiled and helped Li San into the gate.

Li San stopped and said, “Ni Er is here, waiting for the Second Master in the front hall.”

Li Hu: “Oh? What’s the matter?”

Li San: “I didn’t ask. Second Master, please go quickly. I’ll go to the kitchen to prepare some wine and food and send them to Miss Lin’s room in a while.”

Li Hu nodded and strode into the ceremonial gate.

As soon as he stepped into the front hall, Li Hu was stunned.

Ni Er, who was wearing a coarse cotton robe and a cloth hat with the brim pulled back, came over and said, “Second Master.”

Li Hu looked at him strangely: “Why are you dressed like this?”

Ni Er grinned, then took off the hat and handed it to Li Hu with both hands.

Li Hu was startled at first, then he reacted. He took the hat and touched it. His eyes lit up immediately. With a “swish”, he tore open the hat and took out a letter. On the envelope was written “Personally from His Majesty the Fourth Prince”. He tore it open and asked, “How did it get into your hands?”

Ni Eryi smiled and said, “This hat happened to be picked up by one of our people.”

Li Hu smiled. It was really true that there was no coincidence in the world!
After reading the letter, Li Hu shook his head. This old man was so cunning. The letter only asked the Fourth Prince to take care of Kong Xiaoer and did not say anything else. Now there was something interesting to watch!
Well, this letter cannot be wasted. Give it to Jia She. Who knows, it may be of great use in the future!
(End of this chapter)