Chapter 0114: Jian’an’s Iron-Butt Hu Lai, Scumbag But Responsible Hu Lai
Upon learning that Xie Chengze was going to Liaozhou, Hu Lai hurried to the main hall. Using the unmelted snow on his boot soles and the slippery wet floor, he slid into a kneeling position at Xie Chengze’s feet.
With a deeply earnest expression, he exclaimed, “Your Highness! Your Highness! Please take this humble official with you to Liaozhou!”
Xie Chengze didn’t want to bring him along and made an excuse, “The Fourth Prince and I will be riding at full speed to Liaozhou. Can you handle that?”
“Of course I can handle it! Before joining Your Highness, this humble official traveled extensively across the lands. Riding swiftly back and forth between places is no problem at all—they call me Jian’an’s Iron-Butt! The mere journey from Jingcheng to Liaozhou is nothing to fear!” Hu Lai patted his firm buttocks proudly and said, “Your Highness may not know, but my previous record while horseback riding was…”
Xie Chengze didn’t want to hear about his strange records and quickly interrupted him, “Why not stay peacefully in Cheng Huan Palace like the other retainers, enjoying your paid leave with food and drink? Why must you follow me to Liaozhou to suffer?”
Hu Lai immediately looked up at the sky with a bitter expression, “Your Highness, winter is approaching, it’s time to add clothes and firewood. My twenty-eight concubines…”
“Stop!” Xie Chengze raised his hand, completely unconvinced by this worn-out excuse. “Speak properly.”
“Alright…” Hu Lai rubbed his hands and told the truth, “This humble official has a concubine in Liaozhou whom I haven’t seen for a long time, and I miss her terribly… I’m still a man, it’s been a while since I’ve… you know… and I don’t want to settle for pleasure quarters…”
“Don’t you have any concubines in Jingcheng?” Xie Chengze asked, puzzled.
“Working for the Second Prince is too dangerous! How would I dare leave evidence in Jingcheng? Especially since I’m such a responsible man—how could I put my wives and children in danger…” Hu Lai lowered his head shyly.
Xie Chengze: … “Could it be that the person who gave you gold before came to find you, asking you to follow me to Liaozhou to keep an eye on me?”
Hu Lai: …
Hu Lai twisted his beard: “If Your Highness thinks that way, then this humble official has nothing more to say…”
Xie Chengze: … “Hah! Scumbag! So you did take the money!”
“Hand it over.” Xie Chengze waved his fingers heartlessly. “Give me half.”
“Your Highness…” Hu Lai blinked, “They didn’t give much, there’s really not enough to share…”
“You’re too old for that cute act.” Xie Chengze extended his hand again, threatening, “If you don’t give it, you’re not going!”
Hu Lai had no choice but to take out two Gold Cakes and hand them to Xie Chengze.
Xie Chengze extended his hand yet again.
Gritting his teeth, Hu Lai produced two more Gold Cakes.
Xie Chengze extended his hand once more.
With tears streaming down his face, Hu Lai took out his final Gold Cake and wailed, “There were only ten total! Your Highness, there really are no more!”
Satisfied, Xie Chengze tossed the Gold Cakes to Zhu Xiaobiao. “Xiaobiao, take this money to bribe those confiscated private soldiers, then hire some experienced guards to help General Dingyuan escort these soldiers to Liaozhou!”
“Yes, Your Highness~” Zhu Xiaobiao took the Gold Cakes and left to handle the matter.
Hu Lai watched Zhu Xiaobiao’s departing figure with reluctant eyes, muttering behind his back, “Your Highness, this guy looks unreliable. Why not entrust this task to me instead?”
Xie Chengze gave him a cool glance. “If I gave it to you, at least half of these Gold Cakes would disappear.”
“I’m wronged, Your Highness!” Hu Lai quickly cried out in injustice. “This humble official can clearly reduce expenses by ninety-nine point nine percent! Moreover, this humble official is doing this to save money for Your Highness. You must understand my sincere efforts!”
Xie Chengze chuckled coldly. He wasn’t afraid of Hu Lai saving money; what he feared was Hu Lai treating these household soldiers like black slaves – starving them and leaving them unclothed along the journey, then upon reaching Liaozhou, deceiving these retainers by claiming there was food in the mountains, making them fight bandits to mutual destruction…
After all, this was exactly the kind of thing Hu Lai was capable of doing.
In the original book, most of the Second Prince’s fierce death warriors had been trained by Hu Lai.
Loyal he certainly was, but cruel he was equally so!
“Just stay honestly by my side,” Xie Chengze patted Hu Lai’s shoulder and said meaningfully. “You won’t be shortchanged.”
This person couldn’t be used, but absolutely must not be used by others either!
——
Yu Fu Palace.
“Mother Consort, where’s my Life-Preserving Pill? Why can’t I find it?”
Xie Zimiao stuffed piece after piece of hundred-year-old ginseng into his bundle. Having turned everything upside down without finding his Life-Preserving Pill, he couldn’t help but ask Rou Fei.
Rou Fei sat on the tea couch sipping tea, so angry she was rolling her eyes. “What do you need the Life-Preserving Pill for? Don’t tell me you want to give it to that one from Cheng Huan Palace?”
And now you’re taking away so much hundred-year-old ginseng too! Why not just take a hundred old hens along and supplement that ungrateful wretch to death!
“The weather is freezing, Second Brother is physically weak, and suppressing bandits is difficult. He might need it,” Xie Zimiao searched through the chest again. Unable to find the Life-Preserving Pill, he looked at Rou Fei and frowned. “Mother Consort, that was given to me by maternal uncle! We agreed we’d each have one. Why are you coveting mine!”
“Do you know how precious this Life-Preserving Pill is!” Rou Fei slapped the tea table discontentedly. “I haven’t even been willing to give one to His Majesty!”
“But you gave one to Aunt Hua,” Xie Zimiao pouted and muttered. “Then what’s wrong with me giving one to Second Brother?”
Rou Fei: ???
“How can Aunt Hua be compared to him? That little thing is nothing but an ungrateful wretch…!” Rou Fei lost her composure. “He even extorted three thousand taels of silver from me before!”
“That was money Second Brother used for donation silver, and didn’t he give you both the Yun Duan Jin and Cang Hai Zhu?” Xie Zimiao argued reasoningly. “Mother Consort! Where exactly have you hidden my Life-Preserving Pill! Second Brother has probably been waiting outside the palace gates for me for a long time! Please take it out quickly! Even if Second Brother doesn’t need it, what if I might need it someday?”
“You wretched boy, actually taking an outsider’s side!” Unable to withstand her son’s persistence, Rou Fei ordered someone to bring out the Life-Preserving Pill, then heard Xie Zimiao say, “Mother Consort, has maternal uncle sent you any silver notes recently? Could you give me some?”
Rou Fei: …
Rou Fei threw the small case containing the Life-Preserving Pill at him: Get out!
Outside the palace gates, Xie Chengze looked at the bruise on Xie Zimiao’s forehead and asked puzzled, “What happened to this?”
Xie Zimiao touched his head and smiled innocently, “Just accidentally bumped it.”
Xie Chengze leaned in to look closer. The bruise had swollen into a lump – it looked painful at first glance. He couldn’t help but blow on it gently, while admonishing, “Why didn’t you have the imperial physician apply some medicine? It wouldn’t have taken that much longer.”
Xie Zimiao blushed, lowering his head obediently. “It’s fine, Second Brother. It’ll be better soon. Let’s hurry and go.”
Shaking his head helplessly, Xie Chengze swung onto his horse.
In my previous life, I was at least a wealthy young master. During idle holidays with nothing to do, I became a VVIP client at various major clubs and occasionally visited equestrian clubs for horseback riding, so horsemanship was never an issue.
The only question was whether my backside could endure it.
General Dingyuan and the hundred cavalrymen were left behind to escort the family troops to Liaozhou, while Xie Chengze took Xie Zimiao, Hu Lai, and Wuhen Wuji ahead on horseback.