Crazy

"Young man, we're heading to Congwu Town. Are you going the same way as us? I know you can't speak, so just use a gesture." Zeng Liang, sitting on the donkey cart, hunched his shoulders and asked loudly into the cold wind.

The couple were mountain people from outside Wuzhen. They went to town to transport the dried goods they had stored for a year and exchange them for money for the New Year.

Who would have thought that as soon as I entered the inn, I bought two bowls of hot soup, and before I could even take a couple of sips, I would be subjected to this filthy mess.

This group of people was extremely vicious. Zeng Liang and his wife didn't even have time to bring out the hot soup. Thinking of the hot soup, Zeng Liang sighed twice and smacked his lips twice.

Upon hearing this, Mei Sheng offered no explanation, simply nodding in agreement and pointing in the direction.

She was quite surprised that they were indeed going the same way, and coincidentally, she didn't have to go through any more trouble to find a carriage in town.

The Wu County Pass is in the east. If you want to leave Wu County, the route you are currently taking is correct. Once you reach Congwu Town, find a caravan to follow. This will not only ensure your safety but also allow you to look out for each other.

Actually, the waterway is the best option, but Mei Sheng had developed a mental block about the waterway the first two times, so she no longer wanted to consider it.

On the donkey cart, both Mr. and Mrs. Zeng knew that Mei Sheng could not speak.

Perhaps because it was cold on the road, the two started chatting casually: "Luckily, we left all our dried goods outside instead of inside. I'll sell them in town and get some money to buy you two some better food."

“Great! I heard there’s a big caravan in town. Auntie went there a few days ago and said it was a few coins more expensive than other places.” Zeng smiled, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

"......"

As the two talked, Mei Sheng sat down.

What was the name of the caravan they were talking about again? The Anning Caravan?

Upon hearing these words, Mei Sheng looked surprised. Wasn't this the place where the traveling merchants she had inquired about in Yanjing were located?

An hour or two later, they got off the carriage, walked along several muddy paths, and arrived at the main road. After walking along the main road for a while, they arrived at the next town, Wu Town.

Wuzhen is a town where Wujun (吴郡) intersects with other prefectures and cities. It is well-connected by both waterways and land routes. However, due to the cold weather, most caravans have stopped operating and are waiting to set off again next spring.

Zeng Liang stood in front of the Anning caravan, carrying his goods, and hurriedly said, "Young man, we've arrived. You should go home now." He was treating her as a local.

Mei Sheng took out some loose silver from his waist, rummaged through it for a while, picked out a large one and handed it to them, then waved to them and stepped into a path to leave.

Upon entering the town, the crowd around her suddenly increased, and Mei Sheng's slightly tense heart relaxed a little. In this day and age, it's always good to be cautious.

Seeing the two enter the caravan's shop, and then emerge a while later, their faces glowing, Mei Sheng, afraid of brushing the dust off her back, also stood up and headed towards the caravan.

As soon as I entered, a young shop assistant greeted me excitedly, saying, "Brother, if you want to sell dried goods, just go this way."

The young shop assistant pointed to the open room on the left, where several people could be vaguely seen discussing goods behind a plain curtain.

Mei Sheng waved his hand, took out the black round coin and handed it to the boy. Seeing that the boy looked confused, he asked if the paper and pen on the table could move. After finding out, he picked up the pen and wrote a few words: "Is the caravan still going to the north these days?"

The handwriting is neat, upright, and square.

The young shopkeeper looked Mei Sheng up and down, then glanced at the black coin in his hand, and said seriously, "Brother, our caravan no longer goes north. If you want to go north, you should wait until spring."

With the year-end approaching, it's snowing heavily in the north right now. Moreover, the journey between the north and south is long, and if something happens along the way and their goods are lost, it would be heartbreaking.

He handed the coin back without much surprise. After all, the Anning caravan was known for its honest business practices, and they would give a coin to any regular customer they met.

Mei Sheng took the question and asked if there were any other caravans heading north in the town. When she learned that they were not, and that this was the reason for not heading north, she felt a little disappointed.

"If I pay more, can I charter a caravan to travel north?"

Upon hearing this, the young waiter was taken aback. The young man didn't seem to be wealthy, but since he had already asked, he was determined to ask the shopkeeper.

"Wait a moment, I'll go ask."

It seems that money is everything.

Before long, Mei Sheng was led by the waiter to a small hall. There were two people in the hall: an older man, who should be the manager, and a younger, lean man.

Suning Anhui?

When encountering unfamiliar strangers, Mei Sheng naturally ignored them and proactively wrote: "Can the caravan take my business?"

The shopkeeper kindly said, "Although our caravan's prices are fair, young man, you need to think carefully. You will need to pay for all the clothing, medicine, personnel rentals, and carriage rentals for the journey north."

This is a considerable sum.

Mei Sheng fell silent. She had money, but her current status was different. Did she still need his identity verification for these rentals?

The shopkeeper glanced at Mei Sheng and assumed he was just a bold, mute boy, and his anger subsided.

Su Ningwan, who was working on his abacus and looking at the ledger, saw the young man in front of him. He had an ordinary face and a listless demeanor, so he blurted out, "Manager Liu, I'm going back to my hometown tomorrow. How about this kid joins my caravan?"

As soon as he spoke, Manager Liu refused: "Young master, this is a private caravan. How can you let someone of unknown origin board the vehicle? What about your safety?"

He said this to Mei Sheng's face, intending for her to hear it and leave in anger. But Mei Sheng was no ordinary person; she immediately shook her head, clasped her hands in a gesture of respect, put on a pitiful act, and handed over her waybill.

Seeing Mei Sheng's sincerity, the shopkeeper could only stare blankly, speechless. Under Su Ningwan's insistence, he finally agreed.

The guards hired by the caravan were no pushovers.

With that, Mei Sheng's schedule for tomorrow was set.

After leaving the shop, Mei Sheng settled in a small inn diagonally opposite the store, booking a bright room on the second floor with a window that allowed her to keep an eye on the caravan's movements.

As dusk fell, Mei Sheng sat in the warm room, soaking her feet.

She held a bronze mirror in her hand. The mirror was blurry, but one could still make out Mei Sheng's appearance at a glance. She could only describe her as ordinary and plain.

Water droplets fell on my face and wrists, but my skin tone remained unchanged.

Inside Pei Jue's residence, Mei Sheng received a tutorial on waterproof makeup in a dream and practiced for a long time before she was able to create it.

Tea oil is an essential ingredient.

With waterproof foundation, Mei Sheng was able to evade inspection at the city gate.

Now that they were some distance from the Pei residence, Mei Sheng was no longer as anxious as before, but as long as she hadn't left Wu County and escaped this place, she couldn't put her mind at ease.

Touching her face in the mirror, Mei Sheng thought to herself: Now, he definitely won't be able to find her.

The water in the foot basin was warm. Taking advantage of the rising heat in the water, Mei Sheng carefully recalled what other flaws she had made along the way.

Apart from the original corpse that looked exactly like Mei Sheng's, and the subsequent encounter with the man, Mei Sheng believed there were no loopholes.

She pushed the body into the river, and kicked the man unconscious. Before leaving, she checked his breathing; it was weak. In the cold weather, his survival was in question.

After thinking it over, Mei Sheng finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. After a night, the river would definitely freeze over, making it difficult to retrieve the body. Secondly, there had been a fierce battle at the manor, and there were many corpses. Who would know that a young boy's body was missing?

Instead of thinking about these things, we should think about whether she can find her way home after going north.

And the forest where she fell.

As the year draws to a close, every household is preparing for the New Year, but what about Mei Sheng? She is nothing more than a lonely ghost in this world, with neither friends nor relatives.

At this moment, Mei Sheng recalled the question that Mr. and Mrs. Zeng had asked her during the day: whether she wanted to go home.

Her home? It's so far away. What will she do if she can't go back?

Mei Sheng will never get used to this place.

Suddenly, she missed her grandfather.

In the past, whenever Mei Sheng caught a cold and couldn't speak, her friends would always tease her and call her "Little Mute."

But her grandfather would always cover her ears, stare into her eyes, and tell her that if she took everything to heart, how could she live? Even so, he was still anxious and soon went to find the children's parents, advising them to educate their children properly.

In the heat of the argument, he would say that his child was not wrong, that he was the best child.

In the evening, her grandfather would bring her a bowl of chicken soup as usual. The chicken soup was very effective; after drinking it, she would cover herself with the blanket and sleep for a while, and her throat would feel much better.

Mei Sheng would always stick close to him, jokingly asking, "Is Grandpa's chicken soup some kind of magic elixir?"

Drinking a bowl of this will make you feel better.

Even though the room was warm at midnight, Mei Sheng still felt cold.

She opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling of the bed in thought: I'll go buy a bowl of chicken soup tomorrow.

That's fine.

On the other side, at Governor Pei's residence

Pei Jue stood by the desk, showing no intention of sitting down. He paced back and forth, his mind unsettled.

The room was dark, but the moonlight made the figures appear ghostly.

"Have you found the person yet?"

You promised to wait for him to come back, so why aren't you waiting?

Pei Jue took out the fresh flowers from the double-eared vase on the table. Winter flowers are extremely rare, and this small vase was made possible by the careful care of the florists.

The petals were crushed, and pink juice dripped through the fingers. A cold wind blew, and the juice on the ground instantly froze.

Han Zhou cupped his hands and said, "This subordinate is guilty; I have not yet found it."

Pei Jue closed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "How's the investigation going?"

"After being severely tortured, the maidservant next to Aunt Ling finally confessed that she was jealous of Miss Mei, so she paid a deposit and brought in some thugs from the martial arts world, intending to kidnap the girl out of the mansion."

After saying this, Han Zhou lowered his head slightly and said, "Last night, the guards in the manor saw these suspicious people and killed them all. The corpses of these scoundrels are mixed together with the corpses of the group from last night, making them really hard to distinguish."

"Go ask Lu Lan."

Who would ask the enemy, "You came to kill me, and who else did you bring?" Han Zhou thought to himself. "But this time, Miss Mei disappeared inexplicably. Did she escape on her own, or was she kidnapped?"

"I've already asked them over there. After comparing the portraits, I found that there are still two people missing from Aunt Ling's side. I also asked the guards who registered people leaving the city. We should have news soon."

Pei Jue hummed in agreement, then smiled bloodthirstyly: "Find the person, spare their life, and interrogate them thoroughly."

Han Zhou received the order and quickly retreated.

Another voice came from inside the room: "Also, find out exactly where you are in this city, every single inch."

Han Zhou hesitated for a moment before saying, "The rest is easy to discuss, but Hanoi is currently frozen over..."

"Do I have to teach you? Of course, I'll smash it to pieces and search for it inch by inch." Under the stern voice, Han Zhou was somewhat dazed and murmured: This old man has gone mad.