4. Midnight doubts

  "You little brat, do you know? Since I took charge of this matter, among all the people I've recruited, I found that you're the most sensible one." Wang De seemed to be a bit drunk and his words started to become more casual.

  "Who has, who has, from now on, still have to rely on Brother Wang's support." Zhao Xuan, who had been drinking with Old Man Zhao since childhood and was not drunk at all, began to speak more and more sycophantically, because he knew that if he continued to pretend, it would be uncertain how he would die.

  "You little scamp, always speaking sweet words to deceive me..."

  "Even if I had ten times more courage, I wouldn't dare... Brother Wang, you're just teasing me..."

  Before Zhao Xuan could finish speaking, Wang De started talking to himself, "Among the many people I've met, except for a few big shots who are always high up, you little kid, are the most sensible one I've ever seen!" Wang De shook his head and swallowed his saliva, then cupped his hands and said: "Brother Zhao, if you become rich and successful in the future, don't forget about your brother Wang who introduced you!"

  "It seems that Wang De is really drunk again, how can this person get drunk so easily! However, as the saying goes, 'a drunken man speaks the truth', it seems I'll have to let Wang De flatter me a bit. Although he thought this in his heart, Zhao Xuan still hastily smiled and said: "Where did Big Brother Wang say that? If I really do fly high in the future, how could I forget you? Don't worry, if I really have such a day, I will definitely not treat Big Brother Wang unfairly!"

  "With brothers like you, I'm already satisfied. How about this: let's stay here for tonight and make do with it, then early tomorrow morning we'll go see our Lord Gu! What do you say, Brother Zhao?"

  Looking at Wang De's drunken appearance, Zhao Xuan also didn't want to go to the Western Factory ahead of time. After all, the Western Factory strictly prohibits drinking, and if Lord Gongyu were to see him, it would be bad. It might even implicate Zhao Xuan himself. Thinking of this, Zhao Xuan could only give up and hastily agreed.

  In the guest room, Zhao Xuan looked like he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. The comfortable bed was something Zhao Xuan had never seen before. Since childhood, he had always slept on a hard board bed, so now he felt unaccustomed to it. Taking advantage of his insomnia, Zhao Xuan lay in bed and thought about his plans.

  "What's the reason for Xī Fāng to be in such a hurry to get people this time? Is it just to serve the imperial court with so many people? There must be some ulterior motive! I'll definitely get to the bottom of this. Since that's the case, let's start with Wáng Dé first, haha, finally my luck is changing after years of hiding and scheming!"

  Thinking of this, Zhao Xuan put on his clothes and shoes, got out of bed, and sneaked to the door of Wang De's room.

  "Huh? Why is the light on in this house, and it seems like there's another person's voice?" Hearing that there was someone else in the house, Zhao Xuan didn't go in, but instead crouched down to eavesdrop on their conversation...... "You're really something, Wang De! The factory head told you to find men with pure yang physiques, but you've gone and used our West Factory's reputation to recruit people outside, and even dared to drink wine despite our factory's ban. Do you want to start a rebellion?" The man's tone was sharp and bitter, with a hint of eunuch-like quality.

  "Alright! Zhu Shou, we're both working for the Imperial Court, loyal to the throne. I may have had a bit of wine, but it's not like I'm going to be accused of treason and have my head chopped off, is it? You should know that slander is punishable by death. Besides, our Western Depot is currently short-handed, and we're both in charge of different aspects - you're in charge inside, and I'm in charge outside. It seems like you're trying to control too much! Hearing Zhu Shou's sarcastic words, Wang De also got angry. Over the years, Zhu Shou had been in charge inside, interrogating prisoners every day, but there was hardly any profit to be gained from it. On the other hand, Wang De was in charge outside, and he received most of the rewards and accolades for his achievements. That's why Zhu Shou harbored a deep grudge against Wang De and wanted to replace him, but unfortunately, their cunning and martial arts skills were evenly matched, so neither could get the better of the other."

  "Looking at the two of them, that old man Zhu is probably about to be driven mad. I'd better use the 36th strategy and retreat first." With this thought, Zhao Xuan bowed his waist and prepared to withdraw back into the room. However, he hadn't taken two steps when he accidentally kicked a stone by his foot against the door, producing a "thud" sound.

  "Who is it?!"

  "Who is it?!"

  Wang De and Zhu Shou ran out of the door, but at this moment outside the door was empty, where there were no people.

  "How detestable! That thief has escaped. It seems that our West Factory's plan has been leaked!" Wang De said worriedly.

  "Don't worry, we've spoken secretly enough and didn't say anything specific. Besides, that person can't guess what we'll do next. No need to worry. Alright, since I haven't caught you in the act, I'm leaving!" With that, Zhu Shou left, while Wang De went back inside to sleep.

  "What a close call! I almost got caught!" Zhao Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, sat down in the chair and started drinking tea.

  "What is the purpose of the Western Factory wanting people with pure yang physique? Is it to offer them to the current emperor? Is the current emperor a... Oh my god, I just discovered that my imagination is so powerful. Forget it, forget it, sleep, sleep!" Zhao Xuan took off his clothes and lay down on the bed.

  "Bang! Bang! Bang!"

  "Who is it?! Can't you let people sleep at this late hour?!" Hearing the knock on the door, Zhao Xuan's habitual wakefulness since childhood was triggered again.

  "Zhao brothers, it's me, your big brother Wang." Just then, a voice came from outside the door.

  As soon as he heard it was Wang De, Zhao Xuan's heart tensed up, "Could it be that he found out I eavesdropped on their conversation earlier? That shouldn't be possible?!" He thought to himself, but still quickly put on his shoes and went to open the door for Wang De.

  "Brother Wang, have you sobered up?! How are you feeling? Are you much more comfortable?" Zhao Xuan looked at Wang De with a concerned expression.

  "It's much better! I came here just to see how Brother Zhao is sleeping. Is he used to it in the city?" Similarly, Wang De also looked at Zhao Xuan with a worried face, but his heart was thinking: "It seems that this kid didn't eavesdrop on my conversation, otherwise why wouldn't he be nervous? It looks like I'm overthinking."

  "Brother Wang can rest assured, if I have any discomfort, I will definitely inform you."

  "Ah, okay, I'm relieved then."

  The two of them each had their own thoughts, and after exchanging a couple of sentences, Wang De returned to his own room.

  "Oh no, I'm scared to death! Luckily, nothing was left behind, or else I'd be in big trouble!"

  After such a fright, Zhao Xuan didn't have any more adapting to do and fell fast asleep on the bed.