Rebirth: My Healer Wife Owns Superpowers

Chapter 284: Chapter 284: There’s Obviously a Problem Here!
 

Lou Chuhe had come to attend the banquet.

When Qi Yue and Zhao Xiyan arrived, the man was waiting in the front hall, and from a distance, he seemed quite imposing.

By the time they reached the hall and saw his true appearance, Qi Yue had already developed a favorable impression of him.

Lou Chuhe did not have the corpulent figure typical of the wealthy elite; rather, he was strikingly lean, exuding an air of integrity.

His face was thin, his eyes bright, and his beard sparse but neatly trimmed.

He wore a plain gray robe with no accessories at his waist.

Looking at him, he did not resemble a famous magnate from Yecheng but rather an unknown scholar.

Seeing the two from afar, he had already deeply bowed in respect.

“Greetings, Marquis, Miss Qi!”

“Please rise.”

Zhao Xiyan beckoned him to stand, and then Qi Yue noticed that he was quite tall.

He must have been a handsome man in his youth.

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Just as the three were about to take their seats, having completed the formalities, Lou Chuhe suddenly knelt on both knees and kowtowed to Zhao Xiyan, surprising Qi Yue as well.

Zhao Xiyan was clearly also taken aback.

He had never seen such persistent salutation before. Moreover, Lou Chuhe was the one invited to the banquet, making such excesses clearly inappropriate.

“Mr. Lou, what is the meaning of this?”

After finishing three kowtows, Lou Chuhe finally looked up.

“This humble one represents my son, Lou Zhifang, to express gratitude for the Marquis saving his life!”

What life-saving grace?

Qi Yue curiously looked at Zhao Xiyan, who appeared equally perplexed and obviously knew nothing about it.

“Mr. Lou, this Marquis is aware that your son serves in the Donggao Army and I understand your purpose here. However, as there are no definitive conclusions yet, it would be best not to thank me prematurely.”

Lou Chuhe wiped away tears, shaking his head repeatedly.

“That is exactly why I must express gratitude.”

Normally, a family like Lou Chuhe’s would simply pay more silver to the government office and would not need to serve in the military.

But the lord of Yecheng, Song Chengye, did not follow conventional wisdom.

He held a strange belief that only by drafting the sons of the wealthy into the army would their families contribute more silver to support the war effort when battles occurred.

As the Lou family had two sons, the elder, Lou Zhifang, was naturally enlisted.

But only Lou Zhihe knew that his eldest son, Lou Zhifang, was his true hope.

His younger son had been frail since birth, truly delicate and precious. He would fall ill with just a hint of cold wind and was frequently medicated. The doctor had claimed he would not live past twenty.

But Song Chengye did not care about these concerns. He not only drafted Lou Zhifang into the army but also extorted silver annually. If a battle occurred, wealthy families like Lou Chuhe’s would have to contribute even more silver to save their sons’ lives.

Those with more silver could secure safer duties during battles, such as supply roles that were generally far from the front lines and had a high safety factor.

Although Lou Chuhe had also paid silver, somehow, every time there was a battle, Lou Zhifang would still end up on the battlefield.

What they did not realize was that this was merely a tactic by Song Chengye to intimidate these wealthy families into continuing to pay silver.

Interestingly, fate intervened for Lou Zhifang, who had just joined the army the year before and was sent to fight against Beiyuan, facing the forces led by Zhao Xiyan in his first role as the General of the South Road Army.

That year, Donggao and Nanyue had joined forces against Beiyuan. At that time, Qi Yunzhang had passed away, and Hu Chengxuan, who had taken over the Longnan Army, couldn’t withstand the two-nation alliance with his 150,000 troops. As a result, the then 18-year-old Zhao Xiyan was promoted to lead the South Road Army against the Donggao forces.

In that battle, Zhao Xiyan single-handedly broke through the enemy lines, devastating the Donggao Army and capturing many of its soldiers.

The attending military supervisor suggested executing all the prisoners, but Zhao Xiyan decisively opposed this and decided to release all those captured instead.

Among those released was Lou Chuhe’s son, Lou Zhifang.

It was as if Zhao Xiyan had indirectly saved his life.

But if it had been just that one time, it would not have counted for much.

Strangely, a little over a year ago, the Fox King once again led an army to invade, and Zhao Xiyan, just having recovered, once again confronted the Donggao Army, saving Lou Zhifang’s life on the battlefield once more.

According to Lou Chuhe, that battle was particularly fierce, his son Lou Zhifang was so terrified that he accidentally wandered into the Beiyuan camp—a situation in which he was highly likely to be treated as a spy. If not killed, he would be brutally handled, or at least captured.

Upon seeing the captured Lou Zhifang, Zhao Xiyan merely said two words— “Let him go!”

Lou Zhifang miraculously escaped disaster yet again.

If the fighting resumed, it would be the third time, and it was uncertain whether Lou Zhifang would still have a chance to live.

Upon hearing Lou Chuhe’s recounting, Qi Yue was greatly astonished.

How could such coincidences exist in the world!

“Marquis, I am old, and my youngest son is about to…” Lou Chuhe almost broke into tears here.

“…I wish to preserve a glimmer of hope for the Lou Family, and also do something for the people of Yecheng. Please permit me to leave the city, I will do my utmost to uncover the true situation of the enemy camp and report back to you, and then I hope you will look after my son Lou Zhifang…”

Through Lou Chuhe’s slow narrative, Qi Yue also roughly understood his intentions.

Lou Chuhe wanted to feign surrender to gain Song Chengye’s trust, then coordinate with them from the inside out.

The idea was good, but if mishandled, this old gentleman might not make it back.

More importantly, he specifically requested to take his whole family with him, which would completely convince Song Chengye of his genuine defection.

Although the Lou Family really had not many people left—just a wife and a frail, sickly young son—taking the whole family to scout the enemy camp sounded highly suspicious no matter how one heard it.

She glanced at Zhao Xiyan thoughtfully and seeing he was as usual, cold and detached, his expression unreadable, she almost wanted to laugh.

Who outside would guess that he had been flirting and speaking words of love just half a Shichen ago?

“Marquis, I have understood Mr. Lou’s intentions clearly,” Zhao Xiyan’s voice was chilling like the cold wind of autumn, “but I wonder how Mr. Lou intends to demonstrate his sincerity?”

This was also Qi Yue’s concern.

Initially, she and Zhao Xiyan had agreed to use both carrot and stick on Lou Chuhe, ensuring he dare not entertain any thoughts of betraying Yecheng.

But Lou Chuhe’s series of actions after entering the room completely exceeded their prior expectations.

The kowtowing and storytelling were indeed touching, making it hard not to trust him.

However, Qi Yue and Zhao Xiyan were no ordinary people; they had been through too much life and death to not have a deeper understanding and vigilance about human nature.

Even if Lou Chuhe was speaking sincerely at this moment, truly wishing to save his son and Yecheng from the ravages of war, it was uncertain whether he would remain unswayed once on Song Chengye’s side.

After all, once he took his family there and revealed everything, they could all be reunited!

Moreover, Song Chengye commanded an army of 300,000 men; facing such might, it was uncertain whether Lou Chuhe would be intimidated.

All these factors needed careful consideration by the two of them.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Lou Chuhe showed not the slightest surprise, as if he had anticipated it all along.

“Marquis, I am fully prepared,” he said.

As he spoke, he pulled out a wooden box from his chest and presented it.

“Marquis, inside this box are the deeds to my family’s ancestral home, the land deeds, all bank receipts, and in the ancestral home of the Lou Family there is a bluestone slab deck. Beneath the slab is a secret room containing the fortunes accumulated by two generations of the Lou Family, all of which I am willing to offer. Furthermore…”

Hearing this, Qi Yue was secretly astonished by Lou Chuhe’s drastic actions.

She had never seen anyone dare to court death like this, emptying out their family’s entire fortune!

Clearly, there was a problem!

But what exactly the problem was, Qi Yue could not pinpoint.

Suddenly, Lou Chuhe paused, his lean face showing a long-suppressed agony, his pale lips trembling helplessly, as if about to disclose something terribly difficult to say.