Chapter 310 After Dying, I Woke Up In Ancient Times With My Pharmacy 9.0
After speaking to Lu Qian, He Yuan left the Imperial palace immediately. There was a possibility that 888 was in the Lu mansion but he had no idea where exactly. If his system was around Lu Wenduo then it shouldn't be too hard to sneak into the Leaser's courtyard since him and his mother were placed in the secluded parts of the Lu mansion.
But if 888 was around the Special one then... Well then things would become a little special. In the original storyline, Tian Weisheng had sent out some of his best shadow guards to monitor Lu Xuilan secretly.
He'd transferred into this realm a week ago and although his cultivation was great as a General, he hadn't practiced his own cultivation method so his strength was currently around the level of masters in this realm.
As promising as that sounded, it wasn't really special.
Tian Weisheng's shadow guards were specifically trained from birth. This meant that, at his current strength, he might be able to sneak past the defenses of one or two but any more than that was going to be a problem.
He could also throw caution to the wind and go ahead anyways but... he didn't know 888's particular situation so it wasn't wise to draw unnecessary attention to themselves -especially Lu Xuilan's and Tian Weisheng's.
The carriage soon arrived at the He mansion and He Yuan alighted with a frustrated sigh. He stared at the bronze gates of the mansion for a few seconds before walking in with his hands clasped behind his back.
On his way to his courtyard, he ran into someone.
Holding several ledgers in his hands was a middle aged man with a straight posture, a stern face and a neatly trimmed beard dressed in the dark green robes of the He family servants.
As soon as he set eyes on He Yuan, those stern eyes softened a notch and he inclined his head respectfully. "General."
He Yuan straightened. The man before him was, Mu Huan, the Head servant of the He mansion who had been here even before 'he' was born. The man was a native of a different country who had become good friends with, He Enlai, the deceased master of the He mansion, during their teen years.
The special thing about Mu Huan was that he'd been a soldier of a neighbouring country but during a war, his Commanding general had deflected to the enemy's side, automatically compromising his soldiers.
Mu Huan and a few other soldiers had managed to escape the enemy barrack only to later realize that they -alongside their entire army- had been declared as traitors in their own country and were wanted.
With no other option, they chose to flee in different directions.
After aimlessly traveling for several months, Mu Huan had run into his old friend, He Enlai, and the master of the He mansion hadn't even thought twice before taking his good friend in. On Mu Huan's insistence, he had been the Head servant of the He mansion ever since.
The retired soldier was also the reason 'He Yuan' had entered the army after the death of his parents. More than a servant, he could also be said to be a teacher of sorts.
He Yuan cleared his throat before calling out, "Uncle Huan." This was the way 'he'd' always referred to the man and he saw no reason to change it.
Mu Huan nodded. "This time, how was the battlefield?" He had been on his usual trip to fetch the records of all the He family businesses in and outside the Capital and even Xiangshan so he missed the boy's return by a day.
His eyes went from He Yuan's head to his toe. Nothing seemed to be missing so his shoulders relaxed. Although.... something about the young man's bearing seemed different. More mature. He nodded inwardly.
On the other hand, He Yuan thought back to when he transferred over and waved. "It was as expected."
With another nod from Mu Huan, his eyes went straight to the ledgers. He was aware of the He family businesses and knew that the ledgers were for him to go through.
Business was his forte and he needed some distraction from straining his brain over his System's situation so he inclined his head at Mu Huan and walked in the direction of his study.
Mu Huan followed behind with his usual stern expression.
.
.
.
30 minutes later, He Yuan finished going through the stockpile of hefty ledgers and handed them back to Mu Huan to be stored. Although he had planned to use this as a distraction, he wasn't effectively distracted as his mind had drifted over to his System again at some point.
It was very hard to concerntrate whenever he thought of how they'd ended up in this realm. Who's doing was it? He wanted to assume it was the Hunter's but he'd seen the man's expression just before him, 888 and the Leaser had been sucked into the white void so he knew it wasn't the Hunter's doing.
Also... He seemed to have felt a large outflow of energy from 888 so his best bet was that the transfer had been his System's subconscious doing.
He Yuan pinched his forehead. Another thing that bugged him very much was the Hunter's address of 888. No matter what he did, that intimate call rang out at the back of his head like a broken record and it angered him to no end.
He wanted to believe that it was just the Hunter's way of referring to people but that tone had been too intimate. Too, too intimate.
888 was just a System in the Soul realm so how did he grab the attention of a Hunter all the way from the Realm of Realms?
There was also the issue of that stall owner in the Soul realm...
He Yuan's jaws ticked in frustration and he crossed his arms over his chest. He had hundreds of questions and when he figured out a way to leave this Task realm with his System, he had better be getting answers.
For now.... He would focus on reaching out to 888.
Different options flashed through He Yuan's mind and slowly he drummed his fingers against his smooth mahogany desk.
After thinking through all the possible options, he decided to make up a reason to visit the Lu mansion first and sneakily scope the place out. When he confirmed 888's location then he could think of a concrete plan.
With that thought, He Yuan finally lifted his head only to find Mu Huan staring at him with a curious frown. His eye twitched and he cleared his throat. "Uncle Huan, have Mu Shu prepare a carriage for me in 10 minutes."
Mu Huan eyed his master for a while more before nodding. He turned to leave but stopped a few steps later. Actually, he'd heard from Mu Shu that the General had suddenly fallen ill on the day of his return and had immediately asked about someone when he woke up.
Just now, he'd also noticed the absentminded look on the young man's face and he wondered whether or not he should ask about it. After contemplating for a while, Mu Huan decided against it.
Although he'd watched the young man grow up and had instructed and looked after him after the death of his parents, General He was no longer a child so if the young man wanted his advice, he would naturally come to him.
Better not to be too nosy.
With that thought, Mu Huan walked out of the study with the ledgers.
Alone in the study, He Yuan's head lolled back on his chair. With his eyes, he traced the abstract patterns that had been sculpted onto the ceiling as he thought of a good enough reason to show up in the Lu home without arousing suspicion.
This was especially important because he was the General of the Northern army whilst the Lu mansion was the home of the right Prime minister. He didn't need a priest to tell him how strange it looked for a General to suddenly visit the home of a Prime minister whom he had no prior interaction with.
A minute later, He Yuan's eyes narrowed and he stood up with a smile on his face. He'd figured out what to do. The day before, he saved Lu Xuilan from a nasty fall. He could go to the Lu mansion under the pretense of caring for her wellbeing.
Although this was ancient times and casual interaction between men and women were frowned upon, he wasn't actually going to interact with Lu Xuilan.
He would simply make it look like he was probing the Lu mansion because he was interested in Lu Xuilan as a potential partner. Naturally, Lu Qian would 'politely' reject him but that didn't matter.
He would've already gotten what he wanted by then and he wouldn't even bring suspicion or blame upon himself because the the engagement between the Special one and Tian Weisheng wasn't known to the public yet.
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30 minutes later, He Yuan arrived at the Lu mansion.
What he didn't know, was that the second his carriage arrived at the very street leading the the Lu mansion, a shadow guard had quickly written a few words on a piece of paper and had a messenger bird send it to the Cang Tian palace.
It was Tian Weisheng's palace.
In the dark study, Tian Weisheng read the words on the paper and his eyes flashed. That General He had held Lu Xuilan inappropriately just yesterday and now he was suddenly paying a visit to the Lu mansion?
What else could this mean? Did no one tell him who Xuilan belonged to? Was the man so eager for death?
He sneered and lifted his chin arrogantly. "Prepare the carriage."
A shadow immediately flew out and Tian Weisheng crumpled the piece of paper in his hand. He'd initially wanted to hold off on seeing Lu Xuilan in order to observe how she handled herself in that den of pretentious wolves but now... he had to go over there ahead of time so he could find out what that General He was planning.
He also wanted to see how the cunning Lu Qian would respond to the General's advances towards Lu Xuilan. For Prime minister Lu's own good, he hoped the old man still has a modicum of common sense. If not...
Over in the Lu mansion,
A lone figure dressed in black robes stood ramrod straight with his hands clasped behind his back as he waited patiently in the grand hall located in the outer courtyard.
10 minutes later, Lu Qian walked into the hall. Staring at the back of the young general, his eyes flashed. He had no idea if the General was here for the issue with that fifth son of his or something else.
Either ways... His mind trailed to the conversation he'd had with the Ninth prince in his palace after morning court. Getting the General on his side was a must and he knew just the perfect way to do it.
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