Chapter 27 Chapter 27 Going South

After returning to the East Courtyard, Zhe Rou left a handwritten letter for Lu Chen, which was both a farewell and a way to explain the whole story to him so that he would not vent his anger on Xiao Chan and the guards in the mansion in the future.

Lu Chen had never been on guard against her, and no one in the mansion could restrain her actions. Zhe Rou used the excuse of going to the pharmacy and took Xiao Chan out smoothly.

He boarded the carriage as usual, raised the whip, and the wheels started rumbling.

As they were about to leave the alley, Zhe Rou glanced back through the car window, then immediately looked away as if nothing had happened, silently suppressing the mixed feelings in her heart.

When I came to Shangjing, it was a spring day with lush grass and singing birds. Now I am leaving, it is only the end of summer in June. In just a few months, it seems like a fleeting dream.

The carriage drove to the drugstore, sent Pingchuan away, and then sent Xiaochan to the warehouse to inventory the finished medicines. Zherou changed into the simple clothes of an ordinary peasant woman, carrying a bag prepared in advance, and walked out of the back door of the courtyard, heading straight for the ferry.

She hadn't decided where to settle down yet, but she had grown up in the north and was used to the cold wind and snow. She wanted to go south to Huai'an and Jiangning first to see the small bridges and misty rain that she had never seen before.

As to whether to settle down there permanently, it depends on the situation.

Shangjing has well-developed water transportation, and if you want to go south, the most convenient way is to travel by boat. Zhe Rou plans to take a grain ship that is unloading grain and returning south.

Although the price is twice as expensive as an ordinary boat, the boats and boatmen are registered with the government, and there are also soldiers on the boat who transport the grain back home.

Also because of the high price, there are very few ruffians among the passengers. For a single woman like her, the canal boat is much safer and more secure. After all, she used a fake name in the public inspection, so she was not afraid that Lu Chen would be able to find out her whereabouts.

When they arrived at the ferry, the nearest grain boat was about to depart. Zhe Rou hurried to the duty station to check the official inspection, paid the boatman, and was led onto the boat.

It was still early, but the deck was already filled with passengers, in groups of three or five, bustling about. The boatman turned around and asked his companions to untie the ropes, and the canal boat broke through the river surface and slowly left the ferry.

Zhe Rou looked at the shore that was gradually moving away, and a dull pain began to linger in her heart.

Now we are parting ways and will go our separate ways.

Love or hate, everything in the past is like yesterday's death, and she has nothing to do with Lu Chen anymore.

There were a lot of people on the boat, and after standing there for a while, Zhe Rou didn't stay any longer and turned to go to the cabin.

In a private room in a teahouse across the Bian River, a servant in embroidered attire happened to catch a glimpse of her profile through the window. He couldn't help but exclaim, turning back and pointing to the young man beside him: "Your Highness, look, isn't this the 'Nine Lady' that the young prince protected so fiercely that day in Pan's House?"

Li Zhen was casually sipping the green phoenix marrow in the cup, waiting for the grain ship carrying the official birthday gift to arrive in Beijing. Upon hearing this, his expression paused slightly and he looked in the direction Yuanfeng was looking.

After squinting for a moment, he recalled the events of that night and sneered, "Xie Yunzhou does have some taste. Although she's a woman, not a perfect match, she's graceful and beautiful. A rare beauty."

Yuanfeng noticed that his master's eyes looked a little strange, and when he thought of Xie Yunzhou's usual unscrupulous behavior, he suddenly felt afraid and regretful. He almost wanted to slap himself twice for what he had said just now!

He quickly glanced up at Li Zhen's face and cautiously said, "This woman must have a close relationship with the young prince. If he knew..."

"What little prince? He's just a groom."

Li Zhen's eyes flashed with a sinister look. He clenched the jade cup in his hand and sneered disdainfully, "He only relies on his good mother. In order to protect the emperor's throne, she married a princess to a groom. The emperor must have felt guilty, so he indulged his reckless behavior and even made him a king and gave him a title... Ha."

Although Duke Xu was of humble origins, originally serving as a lieutenant raising horses at the Tiansi Supervisor, he later achieved great military exploits on the battlefield and has now become a powerful figure. However, since his master had spoken so, Yuanfeng, as an eunuch, naturally followed suit and flattered him, "Your Highness is right!"

As he spoke, Li Zhen seemed to recall something, and with a cold expression, he sarcastically said, "Maybe it's not even the groom's offspring. Who knows where my good aunt got this bastard from?"

These few words were already considered as speaking ill of one's elders. Yuanfeng's heart was pounding when he heard them. Fortunately, although his master said this, he did not suggest stopping anyone. He could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Then Li Zhen ordered, "Send someone to investigate the identity of that woman and her relationship with Xie Yunzhou."

As long as you don't try to snatch people away, everything else doesn't matter. Yuanfeng sighed and nodded in agreement.

It usually takes seven or eight days to travel from Shangjing to Huai'an by water, and five or six days with a favorable wind. Zhe Rou gave the military officer an extra coin and booked a single room.

Her cabin was in the middle, with people living next to her on both sides. In the left wing was a couple, and in the right wing was a young scholar in a blue robe, accompanied by a little servant boy about ten years old.

They didn't look like frivolous people, and Zhe Rou felt a little relieved.

After putting away her luggage and brushing off the dust on the couch, Zhe Rou was about to take a rest when she suddenly heard a "clang" sound of something falling to the ground from next door, followed by a man's angry curse and a woman's low sobbing.

It was someone else's family affair, and she was alone outside, so she naturally ignored the argument, shook out the quilt, and lay down on the couch.

However, the noise from next door was even more frightening. The man seemed to have taken action, and the woman began to cry and scream, occasionally with a few mournful pleas for mercy.

The woman's crying was so pitiful that Zhe Rou could no longer bear it after enduring for a moment. He bent down and walked out of the cabin. He was about to spend some money to find a soldier to help him when he saw the blue-shirted scholar from the right wing come out, knock on the couple's cabin door, and speak righteously.

"You, you are a man, how can you lay hands on a woman?"

The cabin was quiet for a moment. The man pulled open the door and stood inside, sizing up the scholar with a cold gaze. "Who are you? Why are you meddling in my family's affairs?"

The scholar straightened his back and said, "I am a scholar."

"I'm disciplining my own wife. It has nothing to do with you, a fresh-faced brat!" The man glared at him fiercely and retreated to close the door. "Grandpa can hit whoever he wants! Get out of here!"

The scholar quickly stepped forward, stretched out his hand to stop him from closing the door, and glared at the man angrily: "This, this kind of behavior, you are unworthy of being a husband!"

The man's eyes widened with anger. He pushed his palm, as big as a palm fan, towards his chest with all his strength, cursing angrily, "Get lost!"

The scholar in green was completely unprepared and could not withstand the man's fierce push. The blood in his chest surged up and he fell backwards suddenly. His eyes rolled back and he died.

The incident happened suddenly. The woman screamed sharply and the man was stunned for a moment. He stood there with his legs and feet weak.

Hearing the noise, people near the cabin gathered around and started talking at once. Some asked what was going on, some shouted for a doctor, and some suggested pinching the Ren Zhong point. It was a chaotic scene for a while.

"My dear! My dear!" The little servant came to his senses and rushed forward, bursting into tears. He was at a loss as to what to do and wanted to help him up. "My dear, wake up!"

"Don't touch him."

Seeing him reaching out his hand, Zhe Rou hurriedly spoke out to stop him.

"What did you say?" The little servant was stunned and raised his head with red eyes. "Do you want my husband to lie down like this?"

His tone was harsh, but Zhe Rou didn't mind arguing with a child. She simply explained in a gentle voice, "The blood and qi are surging, so it's best for him to lie still. Wait a while before helping him up, otherwise it will damage his blood and qi."

Although the little boy didn't understand much, he saw that she spoke slowly and softly, and didn't seem to have any malicious intentions, so he just said "oh" in a daze and didn't move.

Zhe Rou gently pushed through the crowd, approached, squatted down, and in the stunned eyes of the people around her, she lifted up the blue-shirted scholar's left wrist and pressed hard on the Hegu, Neiguan, and Shuigou acupoints. After a while, she heard a long groan from the man on the ground, his eyelids moved slightly, and he woke up.

"My dear! My dear, you're awake!"

The little servant boy cried with joy, and tears as big as beans welled up in his eyes again. "My dear, are you feeling better?"

The scholar in green seemed to be still in shock. After a long while, he raised his hand to cover his chest and slowly nodded.

Seeing that the man had woken up, the man who had beaten him finally breathed a sigh of relief, and angrily sent the woman to get some water for the scholar to drink.

The crowd watching also breathed a sigh of relief, whispered to each other, and praised her with words like "Madam, you have a great hand" and "You are so lucky and have a long life."

Seeing that the man had woken up, Zhe Rou felt relieved. She turned to look at the little servant and said softly, "Your husband just had a momentary surge of blood and qi. He's not seriously injured. But it's best for him to rest for the next few days."

The little servant boy nodded hurriedly and thanked him repeatedly. Then he came to his senses and turned around to show Zhe Rou to the scholar, "My dear, it was this lady who saved you just now!"

The scholar in green followed his gaze towards Zhe Rou, his eyes paused slightly, then he gestured to his servant to help him stand up.

Suddenly waking up, his hands and feet were still a little weak, and he couldn't stand steadily, but he pushed away the hand of the servant who was supporting him, and bowed respectfully and solemnly to Zhe Rou, "My name is Ye Yian. Thank you very much for saving my life."

Although he is not very eloquent, he is a serious, warm-hearted and polite scholar.

Zhe Rou smiled gently, "It's just a small favor, don't mind it. I admire Mr. Ye's chivalrous heart."

"Well, I just saw something unfair." Ye Yian seemed a little embarrassed, his ears slightly reddened, "I still don't know what to call you, my lady?"

Zhe Rou naturally wouldn't reveal her real name, and only said the pseudonym given on the official report: "My last name is Chen, so you can call me Madam Shen."

Ye Yian thanked him again and said sincerely: "When you are away from home, Madam Shen, if you don't mind, you can come to me if you have any problems."

Zhe Rou didn't say much, just smiled and agreed.

**

Lu Chen was absent-minded the whole day on duty and couldn't tell why. He kept thinking about Xiuxiu, and even thought about her so much that his heart ached. He wanted to go back home early, but on the way he received a message from Xu Chong, asking him to go to Xu's house to see her.

Lu Chen looked up at the sky. It was still early and there was no news yet about what he had asked Nan Heng to do. He might as well go to Xu Chong's house and wait for news.

When he rode his horse to the gate of Xu's mansion, the doorman came forward respectfully, patted his waist and invited him in.

Lu Chen handed the horsewhip to the servant, straightened his clothes, and was led into Xu Chong's study.

"Husband."

Seeing Lu Chen come in, Xu Chong smiled and raised his eyes, motioning him to sit down. He waved his hand and asked the servant to serve tea. After a long pause, he said in a casual manner, "I heard that the young prince lived up to the emperor's expectations and achieved great results in this bandit suppression campaign. Not only did he eliminate the most rampant Cao Gang water bandits in Shanyang, but he also captured Pan Xing, the gang's second-in-command, known as the 'Crossing River Dragon'. He will be escorted to the capital soon."

Lu Chen nodded and agreed.

"I've heard that there are still some remnants of the Cao Gang who are following us, intending to kidnap their second-in-command. The young prince is worried about others, so he has specially requested an imperial decree, asking you, Sanlang, to go outside the capital to provide support in two days. Is this true?"

This matter was not a secret, so Lu Chen nodded and said, "Yes, my husband, do you have any instructions?"

Xu Chong uttered a "hmm," and slowly blew on the floating leaves in the cup. He looked up and smiled, "Since Sixteenth Lady is here, I won't hide anything from you. Pan Xing has a serious feud with one of my students. Now that he's been escorted to the capital, I'm afraid he'll make unwarranted accusations before the government. I'm thinking that if we really run into bandits and capture prisoners... it's better to just go with the flow."

As he spoke, he looked at Lu Chen meaningfully, examining his expression, "What do you think, Sanlang?"

Lu Chen was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "I, the junior, will take on the responsibility of helping my husband."

Xu Chong nodded with satisfaction, and after chatting for a few more words, he stood up with a smile and saw Lu Chen out.

As the two of them were talking, they walked out. Just as they were leaving the courtyard, they heard a sudden sound of hurried footsteps not far away. A figure hurriedly crossed the flower hall and crawled over, shouting, "Husband! Something's happened! It's bad!"

"Stop." Xu Chong's face turned cold, and he glanced at the people below the stairs with a cold look, scolding: "How can you be so ignorant of etiquette?"

"Madam, she was kidnapped on the street! I don't know who did it, but they only left a letter!"

The servant hurriedly handed over the envelope. Xu Chong's eyes fixed for a moment. He reached out to take the letter from his hand, unfolded it, and read the contents of the letter from beginning to end. His face gradually became gloomy.

After a moment's hesitation, he waved the servant away and turned to look at Lu Chen, "There has been a change in what we were discussing."

Lu Chen frowned slightly: "What happened?"

"Take a look for yourself," Xu Chong handed the letter to him, and with his hands behind his back, he looked at the green jujube tree in the yard and said calmly, "You little bandit, how audacious! You actually thought of using the Zhou family to threaten me? Who would believe you if you said there wasn't someone behind you who was so powerful?"

Lu Chen quickly glanced at the letter, looked up at him, and asked in a deep voice, "What are your plans, sir?"

Xu Chong smiled and said nonchalantly, "Then let's keep him alive for now. Let him live a few more days. First, we can get Zhou back. Then, let out the line a little longer and see if we can catch the big fish later."

"Don't worry, my husband." Lu Chen bowed and replied yes, then said goodbye from Xu's house.

As soon as he returned to the Imperial Guards' Office, Nan Heng came up to him, "Sir."

Lu Chen glanced at him and raised his eyebrows slightly: "Is it done?"

Nan Heng nodded and said in a deep voice, "Don't worry, my lord. The person has been kidnapped and hidden in the suburbs. The guards of the Xu Mansion have never caught up with him."

After a pause, he asked, "When do you plan to take action, sir?"

Hearing this, Lu Chen's eyes darkened and he said in a cold voice, "Keep her alive for now. In two days, once we get Pan Xing, we'll throw that bitch into the Bian River to feed the fish and shrimp."

Nan Heng nodded, "Yes."

Lu Chen looked up at the sky, grabbed the reins with one hand, and turned the horse's head straight, "Let's go back to the mansion first."

Since Zhou dared to plot against Yaoyao and harm their child, how could he let her live?

The most important thing is that as long as his biological mother dies, Xu Yourong needs to stay at home to observe mourning. This will completely save him from trouble. After some time, he and his wife will be the same as before.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but curl his lips, kicked the horse's belly, and headed towards home.