Li Yao withdrew his fist and said calmly, "So it's Princess Yunluo who has arrived. Lu Xiaochuan, please offer Princess Yunluo a seat."
"yes!"
Lu Xiaochuan quickly ordered someone to bring over chairs.
Princess Yunluo put her hands behind her back and said, "The kung fu you were just doing was Wudang Tai Chi, wasn't it?"
Li Yao nodded and said, "The princess has quite a broad perspective!"
Princess Yunluo proudly raised her head and said, "Of course, I have masters from Wudang, Emei, Shaolin, and... well, many more."
Li Yao sat down at the stone table, poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and asked, "What brings the Princess to our Imperial Guard?"
Princess Yunluo immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Master Li, please, take me as your disciple..."
"Can!"
Li Yao said calmly.
"ah?"
Yunluo was stunned. She had never expected Li Yao to agree so readily this time.
Last night, she begged Li Yao to take her as his apprentice, but was refused.
Therefore, before coming to the Embroidered Uniform Guard's office today, she had prepared a whole bunch of arguments, intending to persuade Li Yao to accept her as his disciple.
Unexpectedly, Li Yao agreed as soon as she asked.
What's going on here?
A warm smile appeared on Li Yao's face as he said, "However, the princess needs to exchange two things."
Yunluo immediately showed a look of realization and said, "No wonder you agreed so readily. It turns out you had conditions. But it doesn't matter. I have plenty of things. Just tell me what you want. Even if I don't have it, I can ask my brother to get it for you."
Li Yao said, "No need for that trouble. Taking out these two items is too easy for you."
Yunluo asked curiously, "What exactly are the two things you want?"
Li Yao said, "I heard that the princess has a mermaid pearl. The first thing I want is this pearl."
Yunluo was slightly taken aback.
She hadn't expected that Li Yao would actually want Little Pearl the Mermaid.
She hesitated and said, "No, this little mermaid pearl has great significance to me. Can you give me something else in return?"
Li Yao shook his head firmly and said, "No, I only want this little mermaid pearl."
"Alright then, here you go."
Yunluo hesitated for only a moment before taking out an extremely beautiful pearl from the sachet at her waist and handing it to Li Yao.
Actually, this pearl was not a rare object to her.
However, this pearl was given to her by the late Emperor's Consort Shu before her death.
The late Emperor's Consort Shu was very kind to her when she was alive, so she was just reluctant to part with her for the time being.
Of course, Li Yao didn't like the mermaid pearl; rather, the third Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom was hidden inside it.
"Thank you, Princess."
Li Yao immediately put the little mermaid pearl into his arms.
Yunluo quickly asked, "What is the second thing you want?"
Li Yao said, "I heard that His Majesty has a Tian Shan snow lotus in his collection, and this second item is also a Tian Shan snow lotus."
"What?"
Yun Luo suddenly stood up, her beautiful eyes widening, and exclaimed, "You want me to steal my imperial brother's Heavenly Snow Lotus?"
"I didn't ask you to steal it!"
Li Yao smiled slightly and said, "As long as you hand over the Tianshan Snow Lotus to me, I will immediately take you as my disciple."
The Tian Shan Snow Lotus was a sacred object presented to Emperor Zhengde by a small kingdom in the Western Regions. It could not only cure all kinds of poisons, but also greatly enhance the power of those who consumed it.
Li Yao would never let such a priceless treasure slip by.
Yunluo thought for a moment and said, "Alright, once I retrieve the Heavenly Snow Lotus, you must take me as your disciple."
Li Yao nodded slightly.
Then, Yunluo came in a flurry of activity and left just as quickly.
Not long after Yunluo left, a member of the Imperial Guard reported: "Reporting to the Commander, there is a man who claims to be surnamed Gu outside requesting an audience."
Chapter 158 I can't afford to offend them, I can't afford to offend them.
"Another person has come knocking on our door!"
Li Yao smiled slightly.
"ah?"
Lu Yichuan, standing to the side, looked completely bewildered.
Li Yao said to the Imperial Guard who brought the message, "Call him over."
The Imperial Guard said, "There are two of them, one old and one young. Should we call them both over?"
"Two people?"
A thought struck Li Yao: Could the other one be Cheng Shifei?
Could it be that Gu Santong and Cheng Shifei, father and son, have met?
Could it be such a coincidence?
However, upon closer reflection, it is indeed possible!
At the beginning of the original drama, Cheng Shifei was sold into the palace to become a eunuch, but by accident he fell into the ninth level of the imperial prison.
Then, Gu Santong passed on all his skills and martial arts to Cheng Shifei.
Subsequently, Cheng Shifei returned to the palace from the ninth level of the Heavenly Prison, where he happened to witness the fake Wuhuan kidnapping the Empress Dowager.
Therefore, based on the timeline, after Li Yao went to spar with Gu Santong yesterday, Cheng Shifei should have fallen into the ninth level of the Heavenly Prison not long after he left.
After thinking it over, Li Yao ordered, "Let them all come over."
The Imperial Guard who delivered the message immediately accepted the order and withdrew.
A short while later, the Imperial Guard arrived in the courtyard with an old man and a young boy.
The old man was none other than Gu Santong, whom Li Yao had seen in the prison.
That young man had shifty eyes and looked like a petty thug.
Although Li Yao had never met him, this person's appearance bore a resemblance to Gu Santong.
Therefore, Li Yao could almost certainly conclude that this hoodlum was Cheng Shifei.
Cheng Shifei looked around curiously. The courtyard was beautiful and very quiet.
He said with a puzzled look, "Isn't the Embroidered Uniform Guard supposed to be a place that eats people alive? It doesn't seem like it at all to me."
"It seems this young man is quite curious about our Embroidered Uniform Guard."
Li Yao said expressionlessly, "Men, take this young man to the Imperial Prison and let him experience the Ten Great Tortures of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
"Imperial Prison?"
"The Ten Great Tortures?"
Cheng Shifei was startled and quickly said with a forced smile, "Don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand, I was just joking."
Li Yao said with a stern face, "Who's joking with you? What are you all standing there for? Make your move!"
The two hesitant Imperial Guards immediately seized Cheng Shifei like wolves and tigers.
Cheng Shifei was completely bewildered.
What did I do to deserve this?
First, he was betrayed by a friend and sold into the palace, where he was told he would be castrated and made a eunuch, and that feathers would be inserted into the place where he would be castrated.
They finally found a tunnel and thought they could escape, but they ran into a disheveled, crazy old man and were almost sucked dry by him.
Now, just for saying a few words, I'm going to be subjected to ten cruel tortures. The Embroidered Uniform Guard is indeed a place that eats people without spitting out the bones.
Why am I so unlucky!
Cheng Shifei felt utterly speechless.
He looked at Gu Santong with a mournful face and said urgently, "Brother, don't you know him? Quickly, plead for me!"
Gu Santong quickly said to Li Yao, "Young friend, this kid doesn't know how to talk, let's forgive him this time."
Li Yao gave the two Imperial Guards a wink and said to Cheng Shifei in a low voice, "Young brother, next time you want to joke around, make sure you choose the right place. Not everyone has a temper as good as mine."
Cheng Shifei nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand, I understand..."
He secretly thought to himself, "If he has a good temper, he can subject me to the Ten Great Tortures. If he has a bad temper, wouldn't it be even more terrifying?"
I had long heard that the new commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was a ruthless devil, and he certainly lived up to his reputation.
We can't afford to mess with them!
Li Yao looked at Gu Santong and said with a smile, "What? Old Master Gu, you've finally figured it out."
Gu Santong nodded and sighed, "Alas, the person I have wronged the most in my life is Su Xin. Since Su Xin is not dead and has given birth to a son for me, if I am still hiding in the prison, then I am not a man."
After a pause, he asked, "Young friend, do you know where Su Xin is? Is she hidden by Old Pig Luo at the Dragon Guard Manor?"
Li Yao asked, "Since you think she's being hidden by Zhu Wushi at the Dragon Guard Manor, why don't you go there and investigate?"
Gu Santong hesitated for a moment and said, "Although you shattered the iron tablet inscribed with 'Iron-Blooded Marquis,' I promised Lao Zhu Luo that I would be imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison. Now that I have broken my vow and been released, I have no face to see Lao Zhu Luo."
Li Yao laughed and said, "You yourself said that you've already broken your oath, so what's the point of having any shame?"
Gu Santong was silent for a moment, then said, "Since you know that Su Xin is not dead, you must also know where Su Xin is. Can you tell me?"