Chapter 439 Substitute
What happened over the next two or three days made Yafei look haggard and thin.

Xue Nu felt a little distressed when she saw Ya Fei like this.

The original Sister Yafei was confident, elegant and beautiful.

And now...

"Sister Yafei, maybe it was just a coincidence. Then how could Guo Kai kill the King of Zhao?"

Xue Nu knew what Ya Fei was thinking about. She didn’t know how to comfort people, so she could only try her best to prevent Ya Fei from thinking too much.

There was a hint of coldness in Yafei's eyes.

"I've thought about it again and again, and I think it's possible that my brother was killed by Guo Kai, but there are still some things that I need to wait for General Li Mu to return to the city tomorrow to confirm."

The Snow Girl nodded slightly and said no more.

She learned from Cheng Jiao that Zhao Yan's death was caused by Queen Chang and Guo Kai, and Cheng Jiao also indirectly contributed to Zhao Yan's death.

In order to prevent Concubine Ya from suspecting Cheng Jiao, it would be best to let Guo Kai take the blame.

Cheng Jiao walked in from outside, holding a jar of sake he had brought back from Yafei Pavilion.

"I received news that Li Mu will return to Handan City today."

Ya Fei showed joy: "Really?"

"Really? The news has spread all over Handan. This time we attacked Yan and captured more than 20 cities. It was such a great victory that Guo Kai has already led people out of the city to welcome us."

"Not good!" Ya Fei's face changed: "Although I sent an urgent letter to General Li Mu, he may not know that Guo Kai is the murderer who murdered my brother."

"Sister Yafei is saying that Guo Kai might assassinate Li Mu? No way, General Li Mu is..." At the end, Xue Nu shook her head helplessly. Considering Guo Kai's character, it seemed normal for him to assassinate Li Mu.

……

Outside the city of Handan, Guo Kai went ten miles out of the city to meet Li Mu.

"General Li Mu has returned victoriously. The king has set up a banquet in the palace to celebrate the general's triumphant return."

Li Mu, a middle-aged man with a resolute face and a sturdy build, did not show any emotion in the face of Guo Kai's courtesy.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will wait for you to rest before heading to the palace."

Guo Kai thought to himself, "He even disregards the king's orders. He is so arrogant. But he is really careful."

"Haha, General, you are a meritorious minister, please do as you please."

Li Mu glanced at Guo Kai indifferently. Having served in the same court with Guo Kai for many years, he knew that Guo Kai was a guy who appeared to be honest and simple, but was actually vicious and cruel.

After returning to Handan City, Li Mu showed up in the general's mansion, then quietly left the mansion and went to the Qin envoy's posthouse that Concubine Ya had mentioned.

On the way, I thought of Cheng Jiao's follower, the spirited young man Gan Luo.

He was forced to suffer the loss of the interests of the two cities, but unfortunately the matter had been settled and the little guy had returned to Qin, so he had no choice.

I just don't know if I can get any more benefits from Chang'an Jun.

Li Mu was very fast. He was able to rise step by step from an unknown soldier to a general commanding an army. Learning military tactics was only one of the reasons. The second was his strength, which could be considered top-notch even in the martial arts world.

Coupled with the bloody and murderous aura, he is enough to compete with Gongsun Yu, who is known as the number one person under heaven.

If he were given another three thousand elite soldiers, even a celestial being could be killed.

Military strategists are always full of ways to use their numbers to bully the few!

Cheng Jiao accompanied Ya Fei and Xue Nu to drink some wine. "Someone is coming, full of blood and energy, condensed into evil and restrained in his body, it must be Li Mu."

Ya Fei immediately put down her wine glass and stood up. After waiting for three days, Li Mu finally arrived.

In the small courtyard, the Black and White Sisters and Da Siming were surrounding Li Mu.

Meng Niang took out a tiny poison whip soaked in poison and looked at the person who sneaked in with some solemnity.

The pressure she was given was no less than that put on Gongsun Yu.

Li Mu was shocked. He didn't expect that Cheng Jiao had such powerful women, and more than one of them.

"I, General Li Mu, come to pay my respects to Lord Chang'an!"

Cheng Jiao brought Ya and Xue Nu out.

"General Li Mu, I have long heard of your great name."

Looking at the middle-aged man in front of him, he is not old yet, and he is proficient in martial arts and military tactics. He is hard to find an opponent in the world.

Thinking of Lilimu's historical achievements, driving out the Chanyu in the north, defeating the Donghu, annihilating the Tanlin, suppressing the powerful Qin in the west, and aiding Han and Wei in the south...it made him want to conquer them for the first time.

It would be a sheer waste for Zhao to use such a talented person.

The Black and White Sisters and Da Siming saw that Li Mu and Cheng Jiao seemed familiar, and disappeared in the yard in the blink of an eye.

Meng Niang moved her lips slightly, briefly told Cheng Jiao about Li Mu's strength, and then left. She still had to continue to supervise Niang Rong in learning the art of medicine and poison and practicing martial arts. If she continued to neglect it, it would really be a waste of talent.

Li Mu exchanged some simple pleasantries with Cheng Jiao.

He couldn't help but sigh, "Chang'an Jun's subordinates are really talented. Gan Luo was so young, but he almost made me attack the State of Yan in vain. What surprised me even more was that in this inconspicuous courtyard, there were four top masters, and they were young women. I am very ashamed!"

Cheng Jiao just smiled faintly. The Black and White Sisters were originally only first-rate masters, but after his hard work, they had already become top masters.

That's why he was able to keep Da Siming very happy. Every time he went to spend the night there, he could see Da Siming's unique performances. How amazing!

"General Li Mu, please come in and talk. Ya Fei has been waiting for you for a long time."

Li Mu followed Cheng Jiao and others into the house. He also wanted to know the current situation in Handan City.

As soon as he sat down, Li Mu asked, "Your Highness, Princess, how did the king die? Do you have any clues?"

In just a few days, many conspiracy rumors spread inside and outside Handan City. He had no way of distinguishing the truth from the false. The only eyewitness he could trust was Ya Fei.

In order to allow Zhao Jia to stay in Zhao State, he had personally corresponded with Zhao Ya and knew that Concubine Ya was worthy of trust.

Ya Fei pressed her eyebrows and said, "The night before, Zhao Qian, who had just succeeded to the throne, left the palace without permission and made a scene in my Ya Fei Pavilion. He accidentally revealed that Guo Kai had killed my brother. Although Guo Kai covered it up, we found out from the investigation in the past two days that a group of imperial guards in the palace were missing and were transferred to various places. Probably because..."

Li Mu frowned and said, "Although the king's martial arts skills have been neglected for many years, Guo Kai cannot kill him. Is there another hidden reason?"

Zhao Ya slowly recounted what she had seen at the mourning hall that day.

"No scars? Guo Kai is not a person with profound internal strength, it is impossible for him to attack without leaving any scars... Hmm?" Li Mu's eyes suddenly narrowed: "Could it be a substitute?"

Cheng Jiao was a little surprised. Li Mu's brain was too good, wasn't it? Could it be that Di Pangpang was possessed?

"Substitute? What substitute?" Ya Fei didn't react for a moment.

Li Mu said in a deep voice: "Back then, the king secretly entrusted me to find a person of similar age to him in the army for training. This is very common among the princes and nobles of various countries to prevent assassinations, so I took the trouble to find one in the army. Even I may not be able to tell the real from the fake in person."

(End of this chapter)