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Eastern Star shot back at Song Qun with a single remark, scratching his head and saying, "We have a deep marital bond."
"Don't try to back out now; if others don't know, I certainly do. It's not that anyone is interested in you, nor can anyone tolerate you. I still wonder how Sister-in-law ever fell for such a fool like you," Eastern Star's barrage left Song Qun at a loss for words.
Song Qun turned his face away, "I'm not talking to you anymore; I can never win against you."
Liu Guanfeng laughed as he put his arm around Song Qun's shoulder, "Brother Song, there's no need to rush. Once I'm done with my busy schedule, I'll find you someone good. Then you can take it out on Eastern Star."
Eastern Star chuckled, "You better find someone better than Sister Hong; otherwise, it won't bother me at all."
"Brother Eastern Star, if you want, I can help you find a gentle one too," Liu Guanfeng said with a mischievous grin at Eastern Star, implying that he understood.
At that moment, Liu Hong stepped forward and stood in front of Eastern Star after noticing Liu Guanfeng's sly smile. She pointed her finger at Liu Guanfeng's nose and said, "You little rascal, don't think this is your territory. If you provoke me, I won't hold back."
Liu Guanfeng quickly waved his hands, "Sister Hong, come on now! I was just joking with Brother Eastern Star."
Eastern Star stepped in to mediate, "Sister Hong, it's fine; Xiaofeng is just joking. Xiaofeng, you haven't eaten yet, right? Let's eat together. Someone bring two more sets of chopsticks. Come on, let's go inside and chat while we eat."
After saying that, Eastern Star pulled Liu Guanfeng into the courtyard. Although the courtyard was small, it was tidy and filled with blooming flowers.
Liu Guanfeng nodded as he looked around the little courtyard. "Brother Eastern Star, your little courtyard is quite charming."
"We're not the ones who tidied this up; it's all managed by Sister Hong," Eastern Star replied.
Liu Guanfeng smiled slightly at Liu Hong. "Sister Hong, I didn't realize you had such skills."
Liu Hong raised her chin proudly. "Now you know! I'm not just good at fighting; I'm skilled in all kinds of needlework and knitting."
Liu Guanfeng clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Impressive, impressive. No wonder you were able to handle Eastern Brother so thoroughly."
Eastern Star waved his hand and replied, "Alright, you two stop bantering. Sit down."
After everyone settled in, Liu Guanfeng and Bao Rui finished arranging their utensils. The five of them chatted while eating. "Xiaofeng, you haven't been back for a long time. Is there something you need to do this time?"
Liu Guanfeng nodded while eating. "Yes, I'm back to settle some scores."
"Settle scores? With whom?" Song Qun asked.
"Isn't it obvious? Xiaofeng is back to settle scores with that Emperor Sun Yong. If it were someone else, he wouldn't need to come back himself; a message from Bao Rui could resolve everything," Eastern Star quickly grasped Liu Guanfeng's intention.
"Brother Eastern is right. I'm here to settle scores with Sun Yong. He caused my family to be destroyed and made my parents and brother suffer years in prison. I cannot let this grudge go unpunished."
"So how do you plan to take revenge? Do you have a plan?"
Liu Guanfeng didn't respond immediately; he looked around and slowly nodded. Eastern Star didn't press further; after all, this wasn't the place for such discussions.
Soon, they finished dinner, and Liu Guanfeng was assigned to an empty room in Eastern Star's small courtyard.
The next morning, after breakfast, Liu Guanfeng began wandering around Starfall City. He wanted to see what the city was like now, but the more he walked, the colder his heart became. The streets were much less crowded than usual, and when he inquired about the prices of various goods, he found them drastically different from a few years ago; some items had even tripled in price.
Many everyday items had now become luxuries that intimidated the common people. The prices clearly reflected the current desolation of Starfall City.
By noon, Liu Guanfeng found the most inconspicuous hotel and sat down inside. It was mealtime, yet only two tables were occupied in the small hall.
Liu Guanfeng called over a waiter and casually ordered a few dishes. Before long, all the food arrived. At that moment, Liu Guanfeng waved his hand at the waiter and said, "Young man, take your time leaving; I have some questions for you."
"Guest, feel free to ask anything. I will tell you everything I know."
Liu Guanfeng took out two Silver Coins from his pocket and said, "You can take this for now. If you answer well, I have more rewards."
As soon as the waiter saw someone giving money, he immediately smiled so widely that he could hardly close his mouth. After quickly putting away the Silver Coins, he repeatedly thanked Liu Guanfeng, saying, "Thank you, sir. Please feel free to ask anything."
Liu Guanfeng nodded and said, "Young man, I have come from afar. It has been several years since I last visited Starfall Kingdom. Today, as I walked outside, I felt that Starfall City seems so desolate now."
The waiter sighed and replied, "Alas, you wouldn't know. Ever since our New Majesty ascended the throne, many new taxes have been imposed, and the original tax rates have increased significantly. Even ordinary folks like me have to pay a head tax of five copper coins every month. With higher taxes, people have less money in their hands. Who would still go out shopping for no reason?"
"Do you know what the reason is?" Liu Guanfeng asked.
The waiter lowered his voice and said, "I heard that the increase in taxes is because the king of Hua Xing Empire promised our king that his purpose in ascending the throne was to increase the annual tribute amount. That's why the taxes were raised; otherwise, how could he even become king?"
"Why are you slacking off? Get back to work!" At that moment, the Shopkeeper's voice rang out, causing the waiter to shrink his neck and hurry back to the counter.
After lunch, Liu Guanfeng knew he needed to find out what he wanted to know. With some free time on his hands, he returned to the Red Star Mercenary Group. The two soldiers on duty today were from Diaoyu Island. Upon seeing Liu Guanfeng, they stood up straight and said, "General, you're back."
Liu Guanfeng nodded and patted both of their shoulders before entering through the main door.
Once inside, Liu Guanfeng did not leave the Red Star Mercenary Group's headquarters again. During this time, he sparred with Eastern Star and two others, making them all lament how old they had become.
These three learned a great deal from Liu Guanfeng. He also made some modifications to their most skilled techniques, enhancing their moves without increasing their overall strength.
Thus, Liu Guanfeng stayed at the Red Star Mercenary Group's headquarters for another two months. During this time, Copper Bull, Iron Bull, Song Haitao, and his two brothers brought a total of ten thousand soldiers selected by him to the Mercenary's base and Platinum Wen's Merchant Guild one after another.
With this arrangement, Liu Guanfeng could mobilize a force of twenty thousand troops at any time through the Red Star Mercenary Group and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce established by Platinum Wen.
Moreover, among these twenty thousand troops, at least five thousand had strength surpassing that of the giant crocodile warriors in Starfall City; the remaining soldiers were mostly on par with those giant crocodile warriors.
With these forces within Starfall City, it would be easy for him to overthrow Sun Yong's rule. Now all he needed was for his father and Dai to bring back Sun Liang, the Third Prince; then he could justifiably send troops to attack Sun Yong.
Liu Guanfeng waited for half a month, and on this evening, he finally awaited the person he had been hoping for.
That day, Liu Guanfeng had just finished dinner with Eastern Star and the others when Bao Rui brought in three people. Upon seeing them, Liu Guanfeng felt a sense of relief. Two of them were his father, Liu Yong'an, and his attendant, while the third person was unfamiliar to him.
This person appeared to be around twenty years old, looking somewhat thin and not very rosy in complexion, yet there was something endearing about him.
Liu Guanfeng nodded to himself as he looked at the person before him. Seeing this individual gave him a feeling reminiscent of Sun Guangshan. Although this person seemed somewhat frail, there was an unmistakable air of authority about him. Just by looking at his appearance, Liu Guanfeng felt confident that he would become an outstanding emperor.
When he saw so many outsiders present, he did not feel a hint of panic; instead, he felt a surge of excitement.
Liu Guanfeng pointed at the young man in the middle and asked, "Father, is this..."
Liu Yong'an nodded. "Yes, he is His Majesty Sun Guangshan's Third Son. He is also the younger brother of the current emperor, Sun Yong—Prince Sun Liang."
Liu Guanfeng symbolically bowed to Sun Liang. "Greetings, Prince Sun Liang."
At that moment, Sun Liang stepped forward and grasped Liu Guanfeng's arms, pulling him up. "General Liu, there's no need for such formality. Whether I can succeed depends on your assistance. Right now, I am hardly worthy of being called a prince; even ordinary citizens have more freedom than I do."
Taking advantage of the situation, Liu Guanfeng stood straight. "Please rest assured, Third Prince. If you truly become a good emperor in the future, I believe it will all be worthwhile. However, I must say this upfront: if you ascend to the throne and I find you unworthy as an emperor, you must believe that I will not hesitate to cause you trouble."
After saying this, Liu Guanfeng's eyes fixed intently on Sun Liang. Sun Liang remained calm without showing any displeasure and nodded firmly. "General Liu, rest assured that if one day I truly become emperor, I will strive to be an emperor who does not fall short of my father’s legacy. I want to revive the Starfall Kingdom."
"I hope you won't forget what you've said today."
Afterward, Liu Guanfeng led Liu Yong'an and the others into a small courtyard. At this point, only those involved in the plan remained in the courtyard, which was well-guarded by assassins from One-Pin Hall surrounding it; thus, it was quite safe.
Once everyone settled around the stone table, Liu Guanfeng asked Liu Yong'an, "Father, besides yourself, who else knows about the imperial edict given to you by His Majesty?"
Liu Yong'an thought for a moment. "When His Majesty entrusted me with the edict initially, there was one other person who knew—our Old Chancellor Cui Jinchong."
Beside him, Iron Bull poked Cui Jinchong and said, "Brother Cui, you share a name with Old Chancellor."
Cui Jinchong scoffed, "What's so strange about that? It was precisely because your country's Prime Minister Cui was so famous that my father named me this. There are several people called Cui Jinchong where I'm from."
Liu Guanfeng glanced at Cui Jinchong, then smiled and said to his father, "Father, can you go find Prime Minister Cui and see what he has to say?"
Liu Yong'an nodded, "Alright, I'll go find Prime Minister Cui tomorrow."
"Xiao, you are responsible for the safety of my father and the Third Prince. Remember, you must guarantee their absolute safety."
"Third Brother, don't worry. We at One-Pin Hall are best at assassination and protection."
"Bao Rui, arrange for the Third Prince and my father to stay in the same courtyard."
"Third Brother, the place has long been arranged, right next to this courtyard. It's already been cleaned up; the Third Prince can move in at any time."
"Okay, Third Prince, you should rest here for now. Remember not to go out. Once my father clarifies things with Prime Minister Cui, we will find a time to act."
"General Liu, don't worry. I won't go out. I've waited for so many years; these few days will be no problem."
Liu Guanfeng was very satisfied with the prince's demeanor; he had never flaunted his royal status and had always listened to Liu Guanfeng's words.
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