Chapter 456 I Will Help You

That noon, Song Yu and Ma Xu led a large group of people out of Fufeng.

Although the army was fully armed, the core of the procession consisted of dozens of water carts. When the people of the city saw this, they braved the scorching sun to see them off at the city gate. After all, water supply was a matter of life and death for the entire city. Seeing the army escorting the water carts upstream on the Xiaolin River, the people were overjoyed, and their cheers carried far and wide.

Even after leaving the city gate and walking quite a distance, Ma Xu could still hear the cheers behind him. Holding the reins in one hand, he shook his horse impatiently and said, "What's there to be happy about?"

Walking beside him, Song Yu said, "The people have no water to use, don't they hope we can bring some water back to save their lives?"

Ma Xu rolled his eyes: "A military general of the imperial court, now reduced to fetching water for others."

Song Yu scoffed, "You make it sound like you don't want to come out."

"..."

"Alright, stop complaining. We've brought out this large group of people this time. If we really run into Xue Xian's men, we'll have to deal with them properly."

"response?"

Ma Xu's eyes narrowed, and he said, "I'll utterly annihilate them to avenge what happened last time!"

Seeing his excited expression, Song Yu shook his head helplessly.

Because they were carrying waterwheels, the group couldn't move at full speed and could only proceed slowly along the riverbank. On one side was the surging river, and on the other side was the lush, dense forest outside the city. Soon, the tall city gates and towers behind them were no longer visible. Ma Xu glanced back, then seemed to remember something and whispered, "By the way, didn't you think the eldest young master looked like—"

Song Yu looked up at him: "Hmm?"

Ma Xu glanced around again. The soldiers around him had their heads down, looking as listless as wilted leaves under the sun, and no one was paying attention to their conversation. He then lowered his voice and said, "Didn't you say before that Young Master Yuwen was with Lord Yu's family? But these past two days, I've noticed that he seems to be speaking in favor of that general's wife."

"..."

"It's as if there's something between the two of them."

Song Yu's brows slowly furrowed.

After a long silence, he said, "Although I don't know what the eldest young master is thinking, he can't just confront his younger brother and sister-in-law in front of everyone."

At this point, his expression darkened again, and he said, "However, that general's wife doesn't seem to be someone easy to deal with."

"she?"

Ma Xu asked, "What about her? Didn't she stop investigating—that matter?"

For him, the arson was their biggest weakness. Although Song Yu had repeatedly assured him last night that they had not left any clues for anyone to investigate, thieves are always guilty, and he always had a sharp blade hanging over his heart.

Song Yu said, "That's right, that's what my men said."

"..."

“Last night, she asked about the cause of the fire in front of Yin Changyue and the others, and also had someone investigate it. It was just as we thought, so she also concluded that it was just an accident.”

"Then what are you still worried about?"

"..."

Song Yu didn't speak immediately, but her brows furrowed even more, especially when she recalled how Yuwen Qian had almost put the words in Shang Ruyi's mouth, but she had unexpectedly calmly deflected everything.

Such behavior indicates either extreme stupidity or excessive intelligence.

Which one is she?

Recalling the message he had received from Daxing City, Song Yu murmured, "I always felt that she was plotting something."

Braving the blazing sun, they walked for several miles until they finally reached a place where the river water was clear and pure, without a trace of silt, and far away from the Jingguan that exuded a strong smell of decay. After confirming that the water source here was not polluted, the group immediately stopped.

Song Yu said, "Hurry up and fetch water."

The soldiers immediately stopped and set up the waterwheel on the riverbank to draw water.

Some people, whose bodies were burning from the sun, couldn't wait to go to the riverbank and drink heartily, splashing the clear river water on themselves, instantly feeling cool and refreshed.

However, Ma Xu did not participate in it.

He sat on his horse, looked at the opposite bank of the river, and surveyed the surroundings upstream and downstream. He said, "Didn't they say that the Longxi Army had been lying in ambush upstream, and that our men were ambushed as soon as they arrived? Why is there not a single person here today?"

Song Yu also dismounted and drank a couple of sips of water.

Hearing this, he couldn't help but turn around and laugh, "What, are you still hoping they'll come?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a gust of wind suddenly blew from behind. The soldiers, who were already soaked from the river, felt a chill seep into their bones from the wind, especially Song Yu, who shivered inexplicably. He subconsciously looked at the lush forest behind him, and heard the rustling of branches and leaves, as if countless shadows were hidden within.

But upon closer inspection, there was nothing there.

Ma Xu also looked back, frowning, clearly somewhat disappointed.

He had originally come out of the city hoping to encounter the Longxi army, fight a battle, and earn merit, but he didn't expect that the people who had gone to fetch water were all stopped, and he didn't even see Xue Xian's shadow when he came out, which made him somewhat discouraged.

Song Yu breathed a sigh of relief, but also became more vigilant: "It's good that no one stopped us. Get the water and go back quickly; that would be a good deed."

Ma Xu snorted coldly: "What kind of achievement is this?"

|

Meanwhile, in a quiet room in the inner courtyard of the government office, Shang Ruyi sat on the edge of the bed, blowing on a spoonful of warm, fragrant rice soup to cool it down before feeding it to Yuwen Ye.

He was unconscious and naturally unable to speak on his own initiative.

Shang Ruyi used a spoon to pry open his jaw and gently put the spoon in. After a while, he swallowed it with a "gulp".

Shang Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief.

And so, she patiently fed Yuwen Ye most of the rice porridge, little by little. Just then, she heard Wo Xue's voice from outside the screen: "Young Madam."

"Um?"

Shang Ruyi calmly took out a handkerchief and wiped Yuwen Ye's mouth before getting up and walking out. She saw Wo Xue kneeling on a low table, on which was an open roll of cotton paper containing incense, mugwort, and other herbs. It was clearly used for incense burning, but last night, someone had added a drug called Uncaria rhynchophylla, which could cause unconsciousness, almost causing a disaster. So Wo Xue had specially opened it to examine it carefully.

But she didn't understand pharmacology and had to ask Shang Ruyi.

She asked, "Young Madam, are there any poisons in these medicines?"

Shang Ruyi came over, took a look, and smiled, "No problem, they're just ordinary medicinal herbs, they'll do."

Wo Xue finally breathed a sigh of relief.

So she rolled up the paper tube, lit a section of it as before, and then extinguished the flame. Immediately, a wisp of smoke drifted out from the medicine box. Wo Xue carefully brought it to her nose to smell it again, making sure she didn't feel any discomfort. Then she took the paper tube into the inner room, waved it around the bed where Yuwen Ye was lying, and then fumigated the whole house.

Just as the room was filled with the aroma of medicine, the half-closed door was suddenly pushed open.

"Wow!"

Then they heard Shan Tong let out a soft gasp from the fumes, thinking another fire had broken out inside. He was about to rush in, but seeing Shang Ruyi sitting calmly at the low table, he was relieved.

He hurriedly walked to Shang Ruyi's side: "Sister Ruyi."

Shang Ruyi smiled and looked up at him. Although he had led the guards to stand watch around the courtyard all night, children always have good energy, and he was already full of spirits again. She asked him, "Have you rested well? Have you eaten?"

Shan Tong'er nodded hurriedly: "I'm full!"

"So, how's it outside?"

"I sent someone to go and see for themselves. Song Yu and Ma Xu have already led their men out of the city."

"Where are Lord Yin and the others?"

"They've all gone up to the city wall. I heard that a lot of people have gathered in the city. I'm afraid something unexpected might happen this time."

"oh……"

Shang Ruyi nodded, then stood up and said to Wo Xue, "You stay in the room and don't go anywhere. We're going out to take care of some business."

Wo Xue seemed to sense something, but without asking any further questions, she simply nodded and said, "Yes."

So, Shang Ruyi led Shantong'er outside. The sun was blazing, and they were already drenched in sweat before they even reached the gate. As they walked, Shantong'er seemed to remember something and softly asked, "Sister Ruyi, where did Brother Nie go?"

"Um?"

"I haven't been able to find him since last night, and I didn't see him when I went back to rest today. Where did he go?"

“I asked him to go and do something for me, and he won’t be back for a while.”

"……oh."

Shan Tong blinked, seemingly curious and wanting to ask, but after thinking about it, he decided not to say anything. Just as the two were about to reach the gate, he added, "By the way, I couldn't find a carriage, so I had to ask them to prepare horses."

Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "Riding a horse is the same."

As soon as they finished speaking, the two had already walked out of the gate, but when they looked up, they saw a carriage parked outside the gate.

Both of them were stunned. Before they could react, they saw a tall and handsome figure emerge leisurely from behind the carriage. He was dressed in a blue robe that seemed to float in the clouds, and even under the blazing sun, he gave off a sense of tranquility.

It was Yuwen Qian.

Upon seeing him, Shang Ruyi's breath hitched. Yuwen Qian smiled and said, "I just heard that my sister-in-law was going out, so I had a carriage prepared."

"..."

"It's so hot, let's not ride horses."

Shang Ruyi's brow furrowed involuntarily.

However, she did not hesitate for long. She stepped forward and said with a smile, "This is too much trouble for you, brother."

"We're family, no need to trouble yourself."

"But does my brother know what I'm going to do?"

"..."

Yuwen Qian shook his head and smiled, "I wouldn't say I know."

A hint of inquiry flashed in Shang Ruyi's eyes: "Then, why did you need to prepare a carriage for me, elder brother?"

Yuwen Qian looked down at her, his clear eyes showing no emotion, and said with a smile, "I said last night that after that letter is sent back to Daxing, I will no longer urge my sister-in-law to take Fengchen away from Fufeng. You can do whatever you want from now on."

"..."

"I will help you."